Thoughtful Thursday

Dad and Mom both have a new 'puter! The stuff is getting transferred from the old one, which BTW is literally fried. The power cord decided to send a jolt of super-heated energy straight into the motherboard. Tasty, huh? Long story short, it will be a week before the data is saved, which includes some recent pics I had plans to post. Oh well. In the meantime, there is a decent amount of old videos to put up, so sit back and enjoy!

But first, since it's a Thursday, I'm doing a Thoughtful Thursday. Dad and I have been watching lots of "It's Me or the Dog" with Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet. This is the counterpoint show to Cesar Millan's "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic. Victoria is a trainer, Cesar is a rehabilitator. Victoria is nearly all the way positive training, Cesar is nearly all the way corrective. There is little controversy over Victoria's methods, there is a ton over Cesar's. So, confession time: until about a year ago, Dad was a Cesar-o-phile.

I've seen this guy on TV, and it's easy to see why Dad liked him so much. The guy is charming and engaging, and his methods seem to be downright magical. But then, when Snoufer was getting trained at Petsmart (KGC test, here he comes!), the trainer noted some of the interventions Dad used were Cesar-ish (i.e., "shhht!", or the "alpha" lingo). So, he pulled Dad aside and asked him if he was aware of any of the controversy surrounding Cesar and his methods. Without preaching or lecturing, he advised Dad to check it out and to look into positive training methods similar to what he was being taught at Petsmart. So, Dad did.

The bottom line is, Dad is now a total "positive training" convert. I haven't heard a "shhht!" unless I start to do something really wacky and don't pay attention to anything else. Big Brother says he's never been "alpha rolled" since, and we get lots and lots of treats! Score! Plus, I've watched this Vicky lady with Dad on TV every Sunday, and she seems to be the real deal. No questionable methods, she is presented as fallible, and she has less of a magnetic personality to make me wonder if there isn't an element of "hero worship" in her following. Finally and most importantly, this whole positive training stuff doesn't rely on outdated science and is supported by broad-based and current research. Two weeks ago, she even had some pugs on her show! I kept looking at Dad during the show, as if to say, "See? I'm not THAT bad!" She straigtened them up right, and they and their owners will be better for it, I'm sure.

Plus, she has an English accent. 'Nuff said.

So, I'll never look down at or lecture those who choose less positive methods of training, but I certainly encourage everyone to check out the information for yourself. It's there in spades-- just Google "Cesar Millan controversy" and you'll get more than you ever wanted to know. Just please-- stay away from forums and junk like that. Those places are full of trolls.

And now, the lighter side: some videos from the last Pug Club! Remember Picasso? She's the little black one.

Week-late Pug Club, part 2

I love big dogs! I'm just sayin'; they're awesome. Especially huskies!


I hung out with some of my brachycephalic and/or wrinkly brethren:



And I explored the ravine with Big Brother:



Now, the water saga is kinda interesting with me. I started out not liking it, but then I kinda started to warm up to it. I even jump in the shower now with Dad whenever he's trying to take one. He doesn't really let me stay, but I'm not afraid anymore of the "white coffin", as I used to call it.

So, today I even plucked up the courage to cross the stream! Just one problem: now I'm stuck on the other side:


Drat. I eventually found a better place to cross back, but Big Brother and I got SO dirty!


I was pretty wiped after that, but a fun time was had by all.

Week-late Pug Club, part 1

Hello everydoggy!

I know it's a week late, but last Saturday I went to the Bear Creek dog park for Pug Club! It's a monthly meeting of pugs and owners here in Colorado Springs where we just hang out and swap stories and take pictures. Speaking of those, in fact:


The big guy on the right was snorting up a storm-- I kept thinking he would keel over and die any minute!

Not all of them were pugs; there were several miniature Schnauzers two other Westies!


That was a little girl Westie that Dad thought was just adorable. Harumph.

Snoufer also found a friend that usually comes by during Pug Club: Oliver, a senior male Westie.


Can you guess which is which?

There was even a brindle pug there in costume:


He was a devil dog, let me tell you that. BTW, I think Roxy Dragon Pebbles needs this costume!


As you can tell, there were a lot of dogs there and I got really tired out!

The little black pug there is named Picasso, and she was an adorable little 3 month old girl who LOVED Dad's lap. Here's another picture of her and me fighting over her human's lap.


I think I won. I made really good friends with her.

I also made friends with tons of other cute pugs!




A good time was had by all. After that, I moved on to the big dog area. But that will have to wait until tomorrow and part 2!

Freaky weekend

The title says it all.

So, I went to the dog park at Bear Creek for Pug Club! Dad and I were so looking forward to it, and sharing pictures with everyone, and having a great time, and then disaster struck. First, the camera's batteries died. Then, the backup batteries Dad brought did not work! I think there was a gremlin in his pocket that ate up the battery juice. Then, while there, Dad couldn't find his cell phone and figured that a dog (or shifty human) took off with it and gave it up for lost. THEN, Dad had two people ask him if I was available to stud. That's right-- two weeks after getting me a hoo-ha ectomy, after seeing me for over 4 months consecutive prior to this Saturday, they chose NOW to suggest that. A little late, there. So that bummed Dad out, so much in fact that he left a bit early, especially on top of everything else. I didn't mind, though-- it was getting a bit hot.

The good news was that later that day Dad found his cell phone under the seat of the car. It must have fallen out of his jacket. Then, I hung out with Mom while Dad went to work. While I was with her, she discovered that my nose wrinkle was accumulating a lot of gunk, so she cleaned it out. Unfortunately, one of her nails slipped and scratched me so I was bleeding a little bit. I know she didn't mean to do it, and felt really bad, but it hurt for a good little while. This is why we pugs need fingers like the humans-- so we can get into little crevices and such. Would come in REALLY handy for getting that bit of food out from under the fridge, I can tell you that.

Then on Sunday Mom and Dad left to go visit their little cousin and left me at home. I was kinda bummed about this, but I just sat in front of the TV and watched the football games. Then all kinds of wierd stuff happened! Luckily, no one from PugNation got hurt, but I think we're going to lose this week because people didn't do what they're supposed to! I bet Laurence Maroney would run a lot faster if I were nipping at his heels... Note to self: call Bill Billicheck later. Also, visit the Dawg Pound and tell Braylon Edwards to get his act together. Finally, eat lots of food and poop behind Dad's chair.

I'll leave you with some pictures left over from before the camera fritzed. I found an empty jug of milk in the recycle bin and liked the smell coming from it, so I tried to get at it. Once Dad finished laughing his head off, he took it away from me. Sad day.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Wowsie! I have had a very trying past week or so, so I first of all apologize to everyone for disappearing off the face of the earth!

Here's what happened.

Sunday July 27th: Mom and Dad took me to the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur for a jam-packed day of fun and food! I will put up pictures and a full description when Mom gets back. Speaking of which...

Tuesday July 29th: Mom left for Michigan to stay with her family at their cottage on Upper Silver Lake. And she is going to be gone for two weeks! She comes back Sunday August 10. I am very very sad. When she left, I sat at the door and whined under my breath for a good 30 minutes. Also, on the first day after she left, I tore up a pair of Dad's shoes while he was at work. I NEVER DO THAT! I was just so upset, I had to gnaw something. So now, I have to stay in the crate during the day. Which means I can't get to the computer. Which means nothing happens for a while on my blog.

There have been a couple of side effects of Mom leaving. First off, she took the camera with her, so there will be no more pictures until she gets back. Sorry everyone! Secondly, I have to keep Dad company a lot when he gets back from work because... well, that's my job. Besides, he's really bummed that Mom is gone. He told me that they've been married just long enough to get used to each other being there, and yet not long enough to get sick of each other. So, he's really kinda been out of it the past week. Finally, I've missed her too, so I've picked up some bad habits. In addition to chewing up Dad's shoes, I started to go to the bathroom in the house more and also have started to climb up on the dining room table and grab stuff that's up there. That's not all bad, though: I got an asiago cheese bagel out of it two days ago!

To cope with Mom being gone, Dad has alternately snuggled with Snoufer and I and watched a movie or worked like crazy. Mom left him a to-do list of stuff, so he's been busy with that, but he's also taken us out to places. Speaking of which:

Saturday August 2: We had Pug Club at the dog park! It was BLAZING hot-- the day before set a record for Colorado Springs (99 degrees!)-- so we didn't stay long, but I had lots of fun meeting new pug friends! There was a big stocky fawn named Roscoe who liked to chase tennis balls; I can run faster than him, so I beat him usually. There was a skinny fawn named Romeo who might even put me to shame for how energetic he is! There was also a black female named Gina who was there... but no Veronica. *sigh* Maybe I'll see her again someday. And then there were 4 puppies as well! One was only 12 weeks old-- she crawled right into Dad's lap. I could tell he melted then; maybe I can use this as leverage to get a female pug in the house. Dad's got a soft spot for the ladies, and we are one of the VERY few families with only one pug in the house. You know what they say about us: you can't buy just one! The others were about 18-20 weeks old. I had fun with one of them-- finally, someone I can play with who is smaller than me! I slept for the rest of the day after that.

Sunday August 3: Dad took us to a place called Nosh here in Colorado Springs that has a Puppy Pool Party on Sundays. It's this outdoor bistro with a fenced-in area next to a downtown park that dogs can roam around in and meet/greet while the humans eat. Don't worry: they provide doggie treats for us, and kiddie pools to splash in (No, I still am not a fan of water-- I didn't get in), and they give you a bandanna afterwards! I've decided I like big dogs. I hung out with a Weimeraner and a Rottweiler a lot that day.

Backtracking a bit...

Thursday July 31st: I got my last shot. I am officially set! Now comes the big decision. Dad and Mom like the way I look so much they want to find a lady Beagle and, as they put it, "make Puggles." I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I think I'm starting to get it. I've been feeling wierd lately-- increased energy, awkward body, deeper bark, increased protective instinct... And I find that I like big furry toys. A LOT. Anyway, Mom and Dad are having a bit of a moral dilemma, because they have been told by several friends and Petsmart people not to find me a lady, because there are a lot of dogs who get put to sleep due to overpopulation. Complicating the issue, I have a baby tooth that just won't fall out, so now I'll have to get it extracted, which means anesthesia and big bucks if it's not already part of another procedure. I'm a little nervous as to what kind of procedure they would do that would put me to sleep (temporarily), but I trust my parents to do what's best. If only they knew what that was... So that's adding to Dad's stress level a lot. He would certainly like help from all the Pugverse if they want to give it!

So as you can see, it's been both a busy and an emotionally full past week or so! Now I have to get back to my Morale and Welfare job, so I will sign off and give written updates as they happen!