Benjamin is by far the quirkiest of the four pugs. He likes what he likes and whenever he wants something he wants it right then. To him all gratification should be instant. So it is amusing to watch how he acts when he wants something and can’t have it. A good example is when one of the other pugs is in one of his favorite sleeping spots (it is usually Henry and the spot in question is almost always the dog bed on the ottoman in my office). Benny will pace back and forth. You can see the wheels turning in that little head of his trying to reconcile that what he wants isn’t available. And then, after a few minutes of turmoil, he will claim whatever spot he wanted like there is nothing there. He will just simply lay right on top of whoever is occupying what he wants. You can look at him and tell that he is not comfortable. He would be much better off if he picked a different spot to rest, but instead, he just lays on top of whoever is where he wants to be knowing that they will eventually get tired of him smothering them and they will move.
Yesterday, Benjamin executed his little devious plan on Henry who beat Benny to the coveted dog bed in my office. However, it took Henry over a half an hour to get tired of Benjamin laying on him. Henry was taking so long to move that I thought Benjamin was going to be the one to give in first. But, Benny toughed it out and Henry finally moved up a level to the bin and Benny eventually got the spot he wanted all to himself.
In the evenings, Benjamin & Henry like to bask in the sun on the sofa and keep watch out the front door. Benny is almost always perched on the back of the sofa and Henry makes himself comfortable on the arm rest. Luna gets in on the action too, but she actually sits in front of the door, like you would expect a guard dog to do. No extra comfort for her when she is on duty.
The evenings are usually pretty busy in the neighborhood. A lot of people walking dogs, jogging or riding bikes. There is most definitely a lot more foot traffic and interesting things for the pugs to bark at. I think a huge draw for the pugs though is that they can find the rays from the setting sun in the front of the house. In the mornings they spend their time out back and in the evenings they shift to the front of the house. They are like sunflowers, they always point towards the sun.
While I was snapping pictures the other day, I got a short video of the guard pugs in action. I just love how big Henry’s eyes are in the clip.
So after months of trying everything except getting another bin, I think I have come up with a solution that is agreeable to both parties. I took one of their new donut beds and put it on a ottoman I have in my office. This isn’t the special part, though, I have tried the bed on the ottoman solution before. What I did differently this time, is that I was sure to place the ottoman in the same sun beam that warms the bin. I think this was the piece I was missing all along!
Here I was thinking that the pugs liked the bin because it was elevated and I was missing once crucial piece - sunshine. So the key to creating two agreable sleeping spots was elevating the bed and putting it in the sunbeam. The other day they even took turns sharing the bin and the bed on the ottoman.
Lucky for me, Luna has no interest in laying in either the bin or the bed on the ottoman because I am out of ottomans and I would have to move a bookcase to fit her into the same sunbeam!
As you will see, Benjamin takes his treats very seriously. When he gets a Kong he doesn’t let up until he gets every bit of peanut butter that I slather inside. The original video goes on for more than 3 minutes, but I edited it down because you might have other things to get to today and after about a minute you get the gist. My favorite part is the snorting and sniffling.
