Life at home

Hello everyone!

I thought I'd give you a quick little snapshot of what a normal day at home is like for me. My dad works a lot-- he's got two jobs right now, and he goes to school, so I don't get to see him as much as I would like to. I'm sure that will change soon, though. Snoufer tells me Dad usually only has one job, so this is a bit unusual. Mom, however, is home all day during the summer! She's a teacher, so she gets the summers off. Believe me, she seems REALLY happy about it-- and of course I am too!

I usually sleep in until about 6:00 in the morning. I'm still a young guy, so I've got a lot of energy pent up that needs to get out! That's right after Dad gets up, so it works out great: he lets me out to go to the bathroom, he scratches me a bit, he throws my toy squirrel around for a little while, and then he feeds me. Snoufer is a bit more of a late riser-- he doesn't get up until 9:00 at least.


Speaking of food, I eat Royal Canin puppy food. I don't know; my humans have been giving me food that I'm not thrilled about. Don't get me wrong-- I'll eat it eventually. I just don't feel like it in the morning. They've changed my diet a lot recently. Maybe I'm picky; I just can't find something I really like. Treats, though-- those things rock! I'll eat anything in treat form!



Especially CHEESE! Oh! Have you tried cheese? You've got to! My humans definitely get that right-- I've eaten smelly cheeses, sweet cheeses, cubed cheese, sliced cheese, processed cheese, organic cheese: it's all yummy! I like the smelly cheeses the best. Snoufer tells me that the one I really like is called Swiss. He used it for training and got me hooked on the stuff.

Speaking of training, I think I'm doing pretty good for a puppy! I can sit, I can wait, and I recognize my name and come when my humans call me.


I'm doing pretty good on potty training as well, although I can't see why Dad and Mom won't let me go behind the chair whenever I want to. It's perfect: a small, enclosed space that I've already got my scent on. I'm just trying to set up my territory and set it apart from Snoufer's! I don't know; I guess Dad likes it a lot better when I go outside, because he gets really excited and gives me treats when I do that. Snoufer teaches me what I'm supposed to do, as well.


Yummy cheese, yummy cheese, yummy cheese...

Sorry, what? Oh, right. My day at home. So, Dad leaves for work, which is not fun. I don't whimper and whine-- I've still got Snoufer and Mom, after all. But I still miss him. Then, I usually go back to sleep until Mom and Snoufer wake up around 9:00. Believe me, I've tried to wake them up before: it doesn't work. They just get grumpy. I like the extra sleep, anyway. The only problem is, sometimes they take pictures of me in... shall we say, less than flattering poses?



Then, Mom gets going for the day while Snoufer and I play for a while. I love that! We get a little rough sometimes, but that's fun too! Mom throws our toys around for us, and we chase after them. My favorites are my squirrel, my hedgehog, and my reindeer.


The reindeer is awesome! It's got these legs that you can pull out if you try really hard, and if you shake it they whip around you. Lots of fun!


Even though Mom doesn't go to work right now, she still works during the day on getting her lesson plans in order for next year, and she also scrapbooks. She likes to do this upstairs on the bed while watching TV, so we get a lot of time to play there.



We also get a lot of time to amuse ourselves, which I do with two things: peanut butter and rawhides! We get peanut butter either on a spoon (which is easy) or in a Kong (which is hard).


I envy Snoufer and his long snout! He can get a lot more peanut butter than I can. I think that's why I get it first.


I also LOVE chewing on rawhides and pig ears, especially when they are sticks. I love sticks. Long, skinny things you can make a game of chewing until you get to the end-- AWESOME!

So, later in the day Dad comes home and we will usually go out for a walk, if we haven't already with Mom. Snoufer and I love going on walks-- so many new smells! Dad lets me know if I get ahead of him, though. It's hard to remember that Dad is the alpha and I'm supposed to let him lead when there are all kinds of cool stuff around, but I catch on pretty quick. He makes this noise with his mouth that lets me know I've done something I shouldn't, and then he kinda pulls the leash tight so I can't go forward any further. It works; I just wish sometimes I could run free.

Speaking of which, that's why I LOVE GOING TO THE DOG PARK!! It's this place called Bear Creek, and it has a small space just for little dogs like me and Snoufer, and Dad takes us every month for this thing he calls Pug Club, where I get to see tons of little flat-noses like me! He takes us other times as well, but that's the time I really like. There's one coming up this Saturday-- I can't wait! I hope Veronica is there. She's this gorgeous black pug I met there one time. She is so pretty! I have a major crush on her.


Mom and Dad say they're planning on studding me with a beagle to make something called a Puggle. I have no idea what they're talking about. I'm sure I'll find out when I'm older.

That's what we do some weekends. Others, we go to some of Mom and Dad's friends houses and play with their dogs and the humans. Mom and Dad's best friends have a Cocker Spaniel named Chase... wow! Talk about hyper! I've got nothing on this guy. He's really fun to chase, though.


And of course, I love all the attention I get around other humans.


Well, I've really rambled on for a while now. That's a glimpse into my daily and weekly routines. I think I've got it pretty good. Mom and Dad spoil me a little: they give me yummy treats and a pillow for my cage and lots of food (even if I am a little picky about it) and exercise and a friend and I even get a few clothes! I've got a really snazzy little blue polo shirt-- I'll put up pictures when I get some. I do have a picture of my sweater that I wear during the winter.


That's all for now-- thanks for the emails so far and keep checking back!