Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Caption This #155

Another one from the puppy files. Looking forward to your captions in the comments.

Monday, June 14, 2010

No

I have talked about things I have learned from the pugs over the years (Henry, Benjamin and Luna), but I don't think I have talked much about things the pugs have learned from each other.

When Sol walked into our lives, Luna picked up one of Sol's personality traits very quickly - the act of saying no. Before Solsey arrived, I think Luna did a lot of things because the boys did them. She ate her piece of banana each morning because the boys seemed to love it. But, it was plain to see that Luna was not very fond of bananas.

The first time Luna watched Sol turn down a bite of banana a lightbulb went off in her head. Sol smelled her banana offering, gave a big huff, spraying snot all over the banana and everything else in close proximity and then looked up with her big brown eyes asking, "What else you got?" In a sign of solidarity, Luna turned down her bite of banana that morning too.

In the short 15 months that Sol was with us, Luna took pride in turning her nose up at many of our offerings. And without Sol, Luna continues to carry the torch. This morning, she didn't even bother to come to the breakfast table to turn down her banana. From the couch, she declared "Bananas, who needs stinkin' bananas!"

Friday, June 11, 2010

Paws

Benjamin has recovered well from his surgery. His incision has healed beautifully and he is back to his usual self.

Now that he is felling better, I think Benny is peeved because it is too hot to go for his usual walks. He lives for his walks and the quick little jaunts we have been taking just haven't been cutting it for him. Not to mention that the only suitable summer exercise for the pugs is swimming. And while Benny is a great swimmer, he prefers to keep his paws firmly planted on dry ground.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Between a Dog Bed and A Soft Place

We have so many dog beds that the pugs have started combining them to ensure maximum comfort. Like they are saying to themselves, "This bed does wonders for my back, but I love how this bed supports my neck. No problem, I'll just drag this bed over next to the other bed and voilà!"

And when it comes to dog beds you know I am willing to help in any way I can.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Night Owl

For the last few months we have been noticing a trend with Luna. Specifically, that you have to drag Luna out of bed in the morning. She has no interest in anything going on around the house that happens before 10am. And why is Luna so tired in the morning? Because she stays up all night chewing!

Well, not all night because we take her bone away from her when we go to bed, but from 9pm to 11:30ish each night, you can find Luna chewing one of her bones.

The boys are usually sawing logs by 8:30pm, but little Luna, she is just getting started at that time of night. You can even see Henry sleeping in the foreground of the picture while Luna steady chews.

Whoever named Luna could not have picked a better name her because after dark she is the only one stirring around here.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Caption This #154

A Caption This from the puppy files. Benjamin is just a little over a year in this photo. Looking forward to your captions in the comments.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Scrapless

When we took Benny to the vet for his cough a few weeks ago we talked with our vet about breathing issues in pugs and ways to deal with the hot weather here in FL. Our vet had a few good tips for us. For example, he suggested that we swap our evening walks for early morning walks. Morning walks would be a bit better for the pugs since the pavement would be cooler in the earlier part of the day. Clearly something I should have realized, but I think my disdain for all things morning got in the way.

Another thing he mentioned was keeping the pugs as trim as possible. Keeping them at an ideal weight not only helps them deal with the heat, but also helps with breathing issues that chronically plague pugs.

Our vet also pointed out that Benny was up a pound from his last visit in September 2009. At our recent visit, Benny weighed in at 25.4 pounds.

The truth is that we have become very relaxed with our treats and table scraps rules. When the boys were younger, we were very diligent in making sure the boys stayed fit and trim. Our main motivation was Henry and his hips. When Henry was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, we were told the best thing we could do for him was to keep him at a healthy weight.

So the boys grew up on carrots for treats and very rarely ever got a scrap from the table. But, over the years we gradually started giving them a little bite of dinner or breakfast and then dinner and breakfast. Heck, for about 15 months they got a little bowl of spaghetti each week. (But no one has had any spaghetti since Solsey passed. I just haven't been able to bring myself to make it.)

So, we are making a few lifestyle changes around here. Table scraps are being cut way back and I stocked the fridge with carrots. The difficult thing so far is that Luna does not like carrots. So it is a real pain to give the boys carrots and Luna something else. Especially, when I have not been able to come up with a healthy something else that Luna likes.

Our goal is to have the boys lose 3-4 pounds and Luna to lose around a pound. The weight has slowly crept on the pugs so our approach is to have it slowly creep off. We are in no rush and are not making any drastic changes so hopefully over the next year or so we can get the pugs in a bit better shape. The downside is that the FL heat is in full force now and the pugs usually gain a bit of weight during the summer months because their walks and any other outdoor activity is severely limited if not totally eliminated by the heat.

So, our short term, summer goal is to be more mindful of extra curricular eating and not have the pugs gain any it's too hot to even move weight. And remember, the camera adds 10 pounds