A Thanksgiving Update

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! It's been superbusy with work, school, Thanksgiving... Anyway, we took Daisy to my parents' in Boston for the holiday and she was all kinds of worked up because my parents don't have carpeting throughout the house. I realized she was pacing around and not lying down, so my mom found her a small area rug and Daisy immediately claimed it as hers!

On Black Friday, we went to Target and found the CUTEST doggie clothes in the dollar bin! (They were really in the $2.50 bin, but close enough.) I couldn't resist and bought both a baby blue parka and a reindeer costume, much to Tom's chagrin. I don't understand why though, they never make doggie clothes wide enough to accomodate a pug's barrel chest! Thankfully, my mom is an accomplished seamstress and managed to alter both articles of clothing to fit Daisy.

On a more sobering note, right before Thanksgiving, we noticed that one of Daisy's eyes was puffy and red. Tom took her right to the vet who said that it was an ulcer (a scratch) which was easily fixed with some eye ointment. However, the vet noticed discoloration on the whites of Daisy's eye, which had always been there, but this time the vet said it could be a sign of dry eye, which I guess is really common in pugs. Oh but it doesn't end there. THEN the vet noticed a spiderweb pattern in Daisy's iris, which she said could be an early sign of blindness!!

So of course we were all worried and thinking "Oh no, not again" (Daisy has had quite a history of illness with bladder stones, two tumors, etc.). Tom took her back to the vet a few days later and the vet ran a glaucoma test which turned out negative. So he called the animal opthamologist who said that if it's not glaucoma, there is nothing we can do. Slowly, over time, Daisy may become more sensitive to light. If it worsens, she may have to wear Doggles (doggie sunglasses) when outdoors. But thankfully, they do not think it will lead to complete blindness.

WHEW! And that's an update. :)

Drumroll, please...

I was so excited about Daisy's Halloween costume this year. We entered the contest at aka Spot in Clarendon last year but only the homemade costumes won. Daisy was a very cute ladypug but at least two other dogs had the same costume. This year, we brainstormed for several weeks about what we wanted her to be. Tom is the one who came up with this adorable idea and using my best friend, Iron-On-Hem-Tape, I managed to piece it all together!

Unfortunately, the day of the costume contest was a complete mess! After weeks without rain, we had a HUGE storm. Most of the morning was overcast and damp but it was not yet raining. But OF COURSE, just when the costume contest started, the rain picked up and it started pouring! We managed to get Daisy registered, viewed by the judges, and photographed by a professional (for a small donation to charity), then decided to walk 3 blocks to a friend's house to wait out the rain.

About half an hour later, we headed back to the contest to see if the winners were being announced yet. To my dismay, everyone was gone and some workers were taking down the tents! But wait, all hope was not lost - one of the workers recognized us and told us that Daisy had won.... for Best Little Dog!

The winning pug doesn't look so happy with her prize, but just wait until I cash that in for some yummy pug treats! Or maybe a pug hoodie? Or a new toy? Actually, we don't need any new toys since my boyfriend just ordered THREE new ropey raccoons to replace Daisy's favorite toy that he just refuses to wash! (He claims it has flavor.)

Anyway, I'm so happy that she won! My hard work was not for nothing. :)

Puppies = Exhausting!

Did I say I wanted a puppy? A little black pug puppy? I take it back! I want a black pug ADULT. No more puppies, please!!!

Okay. Done with the theatrics. Suffice it to say, the puppysitting was very very tiring. For some reason, my coworker's puppy (Paddington - although I prefer the name Fuzzbutt) seemed to think my carpet was the outdoors. Good thing I own a big bottle of Petzyme which takes care of both stains and odors like nothing else. Well, I suppose it might be like something else but I've never tried another pet stain remover since this one does the job so well. Anyway, if he wasn't so darn cute, I might have booted him out the window. But then he just looks so pathetic and you're like awww....

He and his brother had a great time roughhousing all over the apartment while Daisy and the cats looked on in horror. Paddington had an unending fascination with the cats and couldn't figure out why they didn't want to play with him. Even after being bopped on the head a few times by annoyed kitties, he didn't seem to get the message. At least the cats were being "nice" and didn't use their claws on him. Daisy, on the other hand, was relentlessly interested in him, particularly in the smell of his underside. She'd roll him onto his back to take a good sniff - think she was trying to figure out if he was hers?

The only time I got some rest was when he was eating...

...or sleeping...

Can't leave the other two dogs out of this post, so here's a pic of all three sleeping on the couch:

Coming up soon... Daisy is being entered in a Howloween Costume Contest this weekend! I handmade her costume so I can't wait to see if she wins a prize. I think it looks great. I have subpar pictures of the costume so far so I'll have to wait till I get better pics to post. Wish her luck!!

Puppysitting!

Pebbles is coming back to stay this weekend, and this time, he's bringing a friend! My coworker and his wife got a new puppy, a 12 week old Shih Chon (half Shih Tzu, half Bichon Frise) named Paddington. I'm so excited to puppysit but I'm sure Daisy will be quite unhappy with the addition of two more dogs. It's going to be quite the zoo this weekend with three dogs and two cats! There will be so many photo opps though, so stay tuned for some adorable pictures!

Daisy vs Corn

Daisy has discovered corn. She'll do anything for it, so we exploited her desire to get some tricks on camera. She loves chewing on the cob but not as much as my boyfriend loves finding corn in her poop! ;) Be sure to turn on your speakers for the hilarious snarfing sounds.

Some Old Sleepy Pug Pics

I'm working on downsizing a great video of Daisy attacking an ear of corn, but in the meantime, here are some old pictures that I've never posted:

Halloween 2007: LadyPug! (but I think she looks like a little monk)

Cuddled up in a blanket

Cuddled up in Daddy's sleep shirt

Funnily enough, Daisy is repeating her pose in this picture at this exact second!

A Rare Glimpse of Playfulness

My coworker's dog Pebbles stayed with us for almost a week over the summer. While he was here, Daisy seemed much more playful, but in a competitive way. It was as if she was proving that she too could play tug-of-war and fetch. We tried to get them to play together but she wasn't having any of it. But I did manage to get a few pictures of them "playing", even though Daisy was only trying to protect her Bobo from being taken away!

The First Ever Sleepy Pug Video!

Finally, I have remembered to post this video on YouTube while on my home computer, so I can embed the video into Blogger! And here it is, the first extremely adorable (but not quite action-packed) video of Daisy doing what she does best. You definitely need sound to understand this one.

Such a Sleepy Pug

I'm trying desparately to post a video of Daisy but unfortunately there is no way to embed it from my Picasa web album. I will need to upload the original file to Blogger at a later date. In the meantime, here's a preview:

Practically face-down on the couch

Greedy Pug

Not the most flattering picture of her Daddy, but this is very typical Daisy.

Begging for cupcakes

Two of My Favorite Things

My Leather Slim Carly Coach bag and my princess Daisy

Snuggling with Kitties! (kind of)

This doesn't happen often so I had to take pictures.

Ok, ok, so what really happened is that Daisy was using my lap as a pillow. I got up and eased her onto the couch where she landed on Nemo's tail/butt. She decided it was soft and comfy enough to continue sleeping, and Nemo decided they weren't touching enough to contaminate him. Cute though, isn't it?

Daisy Loves Daddy

Daisy must be over the moon now that Tom is done with his summer job and has a few weeks off before school starts again. I'm sure she's looking forward to long naps on the couch with her head resting on some part of Daddy. She's like a leech sometimes:

Let's get a closer look at the pathetic face:

So Sleepy

Daisy takes after her mommy in that she will gladly take a nap at any time and she loves to hit the snooze button. Well, not literally of course, but she'll wake up, look around, go back to sleep, wake up, look around (maybe wag the tail once or twice) and go back to sleep. We like to snooze together while Daddy gets up to start the morning routine.

Snoozing in Daddy's sleep shirt

She also has incredibly persuasive sleep powers. Just sitting on the couch with her can induce us to lean our heads back and nap for a while. Even the cats fall asleep when she's nearby!

Sleepy Zoo

Bratty Sleepy Pug

Daisy loves to sleep on the couch or in bed, but she has difficulty getting up and down. She is not at all like the young energetic pugs we see at the dog park, and jumping is definitely not in her repertoire. Instead, she'll put her front paws on the edge of the couch or bed and gaze pleadingly at us until we lift her up.

Tom's mom sent him a great solution to the the back-breaking labor of lifting a 20-lb pug up and down multiple times a day - a doggy ramp! His family's dachsund used it to get onto the couch or bed (before the poor weiner lost the use of his two back legs and was relegated to a chariot). Daisy seems nervous about the contraption and so far I've only been successful in luring her up with a treat.

The other night, I was watching TV on the couch and the sleepy pug wanted to come up and sit in my lap. So I patted the ramp and she put her front paws on it but refused to go any further. Both Tom and myself repeatedly called "Daisy! Come on, good girl! You can do it!" but she stubbornly resisted. Giving up on the zero-incentive method, I got up to get a treat and walked back to the couch. But wouldn't you know, before I even sat down, Daisy ran right up the ramp onto the couch and snatched the treat from my hand!

What's the lesson learned here?
a) Pugs are not stupid.
b) Pugs will do anything for food.
c) Daisy is a huge brat.

Sleepy Pug at the Shore

We had a great weekend at the shore and Daisy thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was very interested in the pool and looked like she wanted to get in. She also had lots of space to run around without a leash, and she took full advantage to pee on anything and everything in the area!

Lounging by the pool

Unfortunately, she was not a very good girl and terrorized my friend's dogs, a small black lab mix named Maddy and a big yellow lab named Jake. Thankfully, the other dogs were terrified of her and didn't try to retaliate or else Daisy would have been in trouble! Jake was at least 5x her size.

Sitting in Jake's bed after she's chased him away

Pictures of Pebbles

Here are just a few pics of Pebbles with the cats; more to follow of Pebbles and Daisy "playing".

Pebbles surrounded by the toys

Pebbles attacking a helpless giraffe

Pebbles eating as Nemo watches jealously

Sleepy Pug Update

Daisy has been busy sleeping lately while Mommy and Daddy study, work, and study some more. But she's had company for almost a week as we are dogsitting an adorable Shih-Tzu named Pebbles! He's only 2 and much more energetic than Daisy. She seems to find him vaguely annoying but when Pebbles starts running around playing with all the toys, Daisy musters up some energy as well. It's almost like she's competing with him and saying, "Hey, I can shake my toys just as viciously as you can!"

We took the dogs to a Fourth of July BBQ at a friend's house on Friday. Pebbles was the most well-behaved dog there, sitting neatly at attention in front of anyone who had food. Daisy, on the other hand, was a total brat and tried to attack this poor Tibetan Spaniel named Harvey, who was completely unaware that Daisy wanted him for breakfast. We had to lock her inside the house so she wouldn't chase him down. She has this thing with wanting to kill larger dogs. Small dog syndrome, perhaps?

Other than that, it's hot and sweaty in DC, and Daisy is mostly staying indoors where the AC keeps her nice and cool. We're taking her to the Eastern Shore this weekend so we'll see how she likes the water! I think a pug lifejacket is in order.

When Mommy and the cats came to visit.

Finals are approaching. Look at me help Daddy study!

Smells Like Sleepy Pug

Daisy has a very particular odor. I'm not sure if all pugs smell this way, or just her, but for whatever reason, we find the smell absolutely fascinating. It emanates from the wrinkles around her nose yet is faint enough that you have to lean in and sniff real hard to smell it. It smells like... salty pug. I don't know how to explain it, but not a day goes by that we don't grab her wrinkly muzzle and bring it up to our noses for a good sniff or two... or ten. I think we need help.

Sleepy Pug versus Tarepanda

Who's cuter??

Introducing the Sleepy Pug

We brought home the sleepy pug in June of 2007. She had been dropped off at the PG County Animal Shelter by her previous owners, who claimed they were too old to take care of her. Kind-hearted volunteers from the Noah's Ark Foundation found her there and placd her in a foster home to await adoption. We first saw Daisy's picture on Craigslist (she was called Diamond then) and for whatever reason, fell completely in love with the fat little beast. We waited one excruciatingly long week to meet her at a Petsmart adoption event, and were lucky (and tenacious) enough to be chosen as her family.

Diamond quickly adapted to being called Daisy (after all, what pug wants a porn-star name like Diamond??) and grew very attached to Tom, who was home all the time and could sit with her on the couch while studying. We soon discovered her sleeping addiction - we actually thought there was something wrong with her because she sleeps so much! But apparently it is quite normal, especially for a pug who is well past her puppy years. Daisy is a non-discriminating sleeper and will plop down just about anywhere, although her favorite places are the couch and the bed. I recently bought her a very expensive, plush and luxurious new doggy bed, but Daisy vastly prefers to be pressed up right against a human on the couch. These days, she is living the life with an excess of laps to snuggle!