Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Benny, Henry & Luna love to go on walks and I think we generally do a great job, considering hectic schedules, making sure they get their fill of walking. During the week they go for at least one walk a day (usually a 1/2 mile). And at least once during the week, we go for the super long walk (2 miles). On the weekends, is when the boys and Luna get most of their exercise. We almost always do a long walk and if the weather permits we go to the beach or a local park so they can just go have fun.
In Florida, we are lucky. The Winter, Spring and Fall is perfect walking weather. Summer is stifling hot and the pugs just can’t go for the usual walks during the day, so we can only get out to walk during the very early morning hours and late at night. Pretty soon summer will be here and our walking routine will drastically change.
One of the main reasons we walk with the pugs is to keep everyone fit. Not just the pugs but also us. But I have to admit, that sometimes our walks are so slow that I think we might be burning more calories if we were sitting on the couch. With two boys and a girl that marks like a boy, there are some nights that we have to stop at every tree, pole or weed that happens to be sticking out of the grass.
So last week, I had just had enough of the constant stopping on the walks, and before we left for our walk, I explained to Benjamin, Henry & Luna that once everyone had done their business, we were walking. Every time one of them took a little detour, I just gave them a little tug on the leash to correct them. The walk went spectacular. I thought they were going to fight me at every turn and just pull their way to whatever they wanted to mark, but the little correction work. And while they weren’t perfect, the walk was so much better. We were able to settle into a nice little pace and everyone got a good little workout.
We have been walking like this for a week and I find the walks so much more enjoyable. The funny things is I think Benjamin, Henry and Luna are enjoying them more, too. Granted, I am no Dog Whisperer, with three perfectly behaved pugs all waking at my side, but they are doing a terrific job and their urge to mark every vertical object they see on their walk has greatly diminished.
I thought it was going to be impossible to break the boys and Luna of their bad walking habits, but it turns out, as soon as I changed my habits the pugs happily followed. That really surprised me. I guess you can teach old pugs new tricks.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Benny likes to watch his sister, Cupid the cat, and mimic her routines and habits. Lately he has taken to laying on the back of the sofa. The back of the sofa is the cat’s throne and while Cupid will begrudgingly share her spot, she would prefer if her brother would keep his paws off her spot. Benny on the other hand, hasn’t taken the hint and in the afternoons he has been soaking up the sun while laying in one of the cat’s favorite napping spots.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Every weekday morning, I drag myself out of bed way earlier than I would like. Benny, Henry & Luna usually follow me from room to room throughout the day, but in the morning, they don’t budge from the bed. Eventually, it comes time for me to make the bed and I have to do one of the things I hate the most, take the pugs out of the bed. Every morning, we do the same thing, but no one ever budges until I pick them up and carry them to the living room. I carry each one into the living room and pile them up on the sofa or on their favorite chair.
The other morning I stacked the gang up on a pile of pillows. They really liked having their pillow booster seat.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Every pug needs a little sister for a pillow.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Mega Millions lottery draw is up to a whopping $355 million. Needless to say, people are lining up to purchase what they hope is the winning ticket. The Mercury News, polled a few individuals on what they would do if they won and I just love Dan Orloff’s response:
“I’d retire and run a pug ranch,’’ he said. “Hundreds of little pugs running around can put a smile on just about anyone.”
Me too, Dan. Me too.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Sunday was an absolute gorgeous day and we decided to go to the beach and take advantage of the weather before it gets unbearably hot here. Instead of going to our regular beach, we took a drive to another dog beach in a neighboring town. This park has a lot more room for dogs to run around.
Since it was their first time at the park, the boys and Luna were very fired up. They had a blast running in the sand and in and out of the water. I think they liked the fact that the beach was very wide and they could run huge circles around us.
While strolling along the beach, we came across this guy. Luna and Henry didn’t really bother with him too much, but Benny was obsessed with him. We didn’t let him get too close, but he kept trying to flop on his back and roll over it. I have no clue why. Benjamin is just a very odd kind of guy.
Everyone had a lot of fun, but I think Henry enjoyed the day the most. We sat on the beach for a bit and watched the boats go by, so Henry had a chance to soak up the sun and get some petting. For Henry, it doesn’t really get any better than that!
Friday, March 2, 2007
The pugs are very fortunate to have 2 sets of grandparents. G’Ma & G’Pa live in Maryland while Grammy lives here in Florida just a few doors away. There are occasions when each pug gets to take a special trip to Grammy’s house right up the street. Tonight was Henry’s turn. While the 3 pugs are sometimes all at Grammy’s house at once, it is much more manageable when they go up in singles. (The fact that Grammy has 4 cats and don’t really have the love of pugs the rest of have also makes it easier when they visit one at a time.)
So, this evening a little errand had to be run to Grammy’s house and Henry really wanted to go. Henry is definitely the smartest and completely understands the question: Do you want to go to Grammy’s? When he was asked this time the answer was no different. He raced to the door, got hooked to his leash and dragged “his human” straight up the road. Usually we visit Grammy in daylight hours and use her back door but since it was already dark the front door was the safer entrance. Henry, known for being a little lazy and enjoying his short cuts, though, still tried to use the rear entrance to Grammy’s. When he was told to use the other door, Henry immediately changed his path and headed for the correct entry.
Once there, Henry darted to the kitchen where Grammy was waiting. She had her box of cereal (special Grammy dog treats) nearby just for the king of all pugs. As soon as he saw the box, Henry sat and went into the down position going back and forth between his 2 “tricks” to see just how many treats he could get. All the while Grammy was enjoying having the most well behaved of the 3 pugs at her house. (When any of the 3 pugs are by themselves they each can be the perfect single dog with Henry topping the list.)
Henry was only mostly a good boy at Grammy’s, though. After getting plenty of Kashi cereal bites, Henry decided to take a nibble into the cats’ food bowls. Fortunately, Henry also knows the command “leave it” and after being fussed at, Henry laid off the cat chow. Just when it was time to go home, Grammy pulled out all the stops. She offered Henry some ham lunch meat. Whoa! So, again, Henry goes into sit and down positions while he anxiously awaited more yummy treats. At the mere smell of the ham, Henry’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He ate it not even chewing it. It made Grammy wonder how Henry even knew that he liked it. Could he even get a taste?
Needless to say, Henry made out like a bandit! He had a very good day. Now, if he could figure out how to make a pit stop at Grammy’s every day, he’d be living high on the hog!
