Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Practical Jokesters

The other day, I found a snake on our screened-in lanai.  Now granted, it was a baby snake, so it was not very big, but it was enough to really startle this city girl.  The worst part about it was that I wasn’t able to get the snake out of the lanai.  Cupid, the cat, was the first to spot the snake.  So she proceeded to poke and torment it.  I was so worried about getting the cat away from the snake that by the time I had the cat safe inside the snake was no where to be found.  Needless to say, I looked high and low for that thing, but I could not find it.  For my sanity, I am presuming that the snake let itself back out the same way that it came in, but you can never be too sure.

So yesterday, I pass by the sliding glass doors that have sheer curtains on them and I see a snake like shadow.  My skin starts to crawl and I just know my snake friend is back for a visit.  Determined to catch the little guy this time, I slide the curtains back and what do you know, one of my good little pugs has gotten their rope toy out of the toy box and has forgotten to put it away.  Needless to say, I was very relieved, but I still wonder which one of the pugs was playing tricks on me.

Monday, May 8, 2006

Crate Training

When we adopted Luna she was not crate trained.  This was a bit of a hurdle for us because the boys are crate trained and we have not had success in “un-crate training” them.

After many of the boys’ puppy habits were broken, we tried giving them more freedom in the house.  We were very curious to see how the boys would react to their new found freedom so we set up a video camera.  Needless to say it was a complete disaster.  The boys were nervous wrecks.  They paced, they whined, they barked, they barked at each other - it was chaos.  It seems that they just prefer to be in their crate when we are not at home.  It is where they feel safe.

So knowing that the boys need to be in their crate while we are away, I knew that one of the first orders of business for Luna was crate training.  To gauge her progress and see how much she protested we again setup the video camera.  To help ease her into crate training we were only gone for a small amount of time.  The first time we put her in the crate we didn’t even go anywhere, we just stood in the driveway for about 5 minutes.  After we came home each time, we let them out and then reviewed the tapes to see how the little one did while we were away.

Needless to say the first couple times were disastrous.  Luna never settled, she whined, scratched and barked the whole time.  She even started to get the boys worked up and they joined in and started whining as well.

But we kept with it and by the end of the week we had made significant progress.  The boys started to act like their usual selves and went to sleep shortly after being put in the crate.  By them ignoring Luna and her cries, this helped her to settle.  She still protested a bit in the beginning but after only a few short minutes she was laying down and going to sleep.

Now it is safe to say that Luna is fully crate trained.  Not only does she eagerly go into the crate when we leave the house, but she also goes to the crate on her own when we are home.  The little one is not much of a morning person, so on weekdays when we get up for work, the first place she runs is to her crate.  There she can get an extra hour or so of uninterrupted sleep.

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Return of the Pug Tug

Henry loves the water and when he is not swimming he likes to float in his Pug Tug.  While relaxing last week, we got the Pug Tug back out and Henry was as anxious as ever to go for a ride.  We weren’t too sure what Luna would think of the boat, but she was brave and decided to set sail with her brother.  The interesting part was that Luna would only ride in the boat if Henry was with her.  If Henry was not in the boat she wanted nothing to do with it.  Henry being in the boat really made her feel safe.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Henjamin

Sometimes we think we should have re-named Luna Henjamin.  The more we learn about Luna the funnier it is because she is an odd cross of the boys.  The traits she takes from Henry are: 

• they are similar in physical looks (same colors/ buggy eyes, tail curls toward the right side, is snorty)
• neither are morning people
• both will stop at odd places because they have an irresistible urge to scratch
• both bark at you to egg you on

I could go on but you see what I mean.

But she is also so much like Benjamin that it is crazy, too.  Just like Benny, Luna has:

• times when she gets sudden bursts of energy and just runs around in circles
• an insatiable appetite
• the annoying habit of jumping on your leg at meal time
• the ability to sleep standing up
• the constant urge to chase the cat
• a huge dislike of all water related activities
• the need to gives lots of kisses
• the quirk of scratching to settle down
• the disdain of being put on her back

It is just too weird.  Luna has some of her own traits, too, like the way she scoots across the carpet to rub her belly, the way she grunts at you if you are not giving her her dinner quick enough, the way she perches her butt up in the air when she chews her bones.

One trait that they all have, though (but is very un-ladylike) is that they all lift their legs to pee-pee.  Yup, even Luna will cock herself up on a little bush or perch her hind legs up the side of a tree to go potty.  It looks absolutely ridiculous.

She really must admire her brothers because she sure has picked up a lot of their habits!  So much so that she is perfect combination of the both of them!  Henjamin, Benry, whatever you call her, Luna is fits right into the mix!

Monday, April 17, 2006

Teary-eyed Joy

Well, Luna had to go back to the ophthalmologist for her follow-up appointment.  She has chronic dry eye and was taking 3 separate drops 3 times per day.  When she first went to the eye doctor her tear production in her right eye was a 3 and in the left it was a 5.  (This is on a scale of 20 with 20 being the highest.)  So, needless to say, her condition wasn’t good.  The eye specialist put her on the medications and we were diligent to follow through and get her well.  Well, when it came time to go back to see how the meds worked, boy were we in for some good news!!  Luna’s tear production had increased to 20 in each eye!  The vet said she had never seen such a dramatic increase.  The vet thought Luna maybe would’ve made it to a 15 at best, but she has resumed normal tear functionality.  We were overjoyed!  The vet gave some extra kudos because she said that Luna is overall healthier now (diet, exercise and outlook on life) and that has dramatically helped her eye health, as well.  They were even able to eliminate one of her medications so now she only gets 2 medications 3 times per day.  GO LUNA!!!  Good job, girl!

Friday, March 31, 2006

Pug Pile

In the morning, Benjamin, Henry & Luna usually get off to a slow start.  Here the gang is all piled up in the chair and a little mad at me because I moved them from the bed to the chair so I could make the bed.

But being the troopers they are, they made due with just the chair and blanket and managed to catch a couple more minutes of shuteye before getting up and gettting their day started.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

A Walk in the Park

This weekend we decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.  We took the boys to a local park and went for a nice, long walk on the trails.

While walking we came across a bird observation deck.  The deck was about two stories off the ground and had a nice bench at the top.  Everyone eagerly climbed the stairs to the top of the deck and gazed out at the trees and the water below.  Baby Benny appears to be afraid of heights because he wasn’t too keen on going close to the edge and looking out.

We did however take a small break from our walk and enjoy the view for a bit.  During that time, everyone sat on the bench and waited while we looked around.

After our short break, it was back to the trails.  The boys had fun smelling and trotting along.  Little Luna was going full steam ahead and was very anxious to go exploring.  We had fun and after our long walk everyone was quite tired and ready for a nap.