Friday, June 24, 2011

Conjoined

Benjamin and Luna love to hug up to Henry. Sometimes I feel bad for Henry because he almost never gets a moment to himself. But he never seems to mind when Benny and Luna come to lay with him. He's a good boy that way.

I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy some snuggle time with your pug.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Jump

Swimming for Henry means rescuing all of his toys from the pool. He has a set of water toys that float and are easy fro him to grab out of the water. After he gets his vest on, we throw all his water toys into the pool at the opposite end of the steps.

When he is ready, he goes to the first step in the pool and then jumps into the water to swim and rescue one of his toys. After he snags one of his toys from the water he swims back to the step with it and takes it out of the pool.

He will then mill around a bit on the pool deck, taking a break from his lap, and when he is ready he will jump back in the pool and rescue another one of his toys.

While it is fun to watch Henry, from the pictures you get a great idea of how Benjamin and Luna feel about Henry jumping into the pool. It makes them a nervous wreck! Plus, Benny always grabs the freshly rescued toy from Henry when he brings it out of the pool.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Stuck

On Saturday the pugs went swimming for the first time this season. When the pugs go swimming for any length of time we put their life jackets on them. Having their life jackets on really improves their swimming.

We usually put their vests on poolside, but we were out in the yard, so we just suited them up out there. Henry was dilly dallying around in the yard and did not come in with us using the regular, human, door so he had to use the doggie door. Well, with his vest on he no longer fit through the doggie door. That will teach him not to be last.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Rolling

When Henry isn't soaking up the sun, his second favorite activity is rolling in the grass.

If you look at all the places the puggers lay and roll, it is a miracle they make it as long between baths as they do.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Sunshine

I think the thing Henry misses the most about me working from home is getting his morning sun time. He gets a bit of sun time in the midday, but by that time of the day it is often too hot for him to be outside for any length of time.

So our new routine is sun time as soon as I get home from work. As soon as I get home, the puggers and I go outside and Henry finds a nice patch of sun and just falls out

Monday, June 6, 2011

Pug Legs

If my legs are ever stretched out, you can pretty much always find Henry laying like this. He loves to lay on my legs and have his belly rubbed. Luna squeezing in to lay on my feet is just icing on the cake. Luna is a lap dog for sure and she will wiggle herself onto any lap, leg or body part for that matter.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

A Story of Aging

As many loyal readers know, the boys each turned 9 years old earlier this year. Obviously, being a week apart in age, they did not come from the same genetic line. Not unless that pug mama had one heck of a labor!

It is clear that the boys are not blood brothers. There are many things that make the boys alike and many that make them different. Benjamin has been a spitfire his whole life. Henry, well, he has been more laid back. As time moves on, this is starting to reverse. We are starting to see the years of running hard and fast taking its toll on Baby Benny. Henry, while still relatively mellow, now takes the lead on walks and other events. It is sort of like watching the extended version of the tortoise & the hare.

Benny is simply slowing down at a more rapid pace than Henry. I can only compare it to what Solsey must have been like a few years before we got her. Benny's hearing is not as sharp as it once was, he walks considerably slower, he is not eager to go outside for his final potty of the night even though it always garners him a treat. He is as lovey as ever, handsome with adorable wrinkles, precious with his needy whine and irresistible with his appreciate kisses. He is just getting old.

He really is getting to be more & more like Solsey. So much so that now we sometimes call him "Solsey Benny". This is a spin-off of the "Solsey Baby!" call we would yell out when we would be super excited at something funny or adorable Sol did. We feel so lucky to have had Sol and experienced her for as long as we did. And now it is like having another Sol. Only this time we get to be there for more of the onset of the aging process. We really feel truly special to have had 2 pugs age ever so gracefully. We are curious to see if Henry will age in such an accepting fashion.

While it is hard for us to think of what happens after "aging", for now, we are simply enjoying their golden years. They are no longer the shoe string eaters and crate poopers they once were as puppies. They are now fine mature gentlemen that stroll rather than run through the parks and on the beaches. They are finessing their senior moments to be most splendid. We have of course, signed them up for their AARP (American Association of Retired Pugs) membership so they can get discounted meals and services.

Nonetheless, while Benny is ripening quicker and Henry is comparatively more green, both boys are getting up there in age. They are both still our ultimate pleasure. We adore them young, old and in between. Can’t even imagine what Little Looney will be like when she hits 63 in dog years like her bros. Only time will tell.