Archive for April, 2013

Pug Scrubbing

Monday, April 29th, 2013

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

On Sunday morning, I took Sid over to Urban Pooch for some de-skunk-ification. This was his second visit to U.P. and while he was still squirmier than when bathed at home, he seemed more relaxed than the first time we went.

While I was busy scrubbing him, two different pugs came in and had their nails dremeled. Both seemed pretty calm during the process so I thought I’d see how Sid would do. He runs away and hides whenever I get out the nail clippers (hoping to trim his dew claws) and refuses to let me so much as touch his paw so I didn’t have high hopes for the dremel, but I figured I’d at least give it a shot.

After I dried Sid off, the Urban Pooch assistant, Luke,  popped Sid up on a table and started dremeling away. My job was to distract Sid with a constant flow of venison jerky straight to the muzzle. Luke was super quick and gentle with the dremel – I don’t think Sid even really had time to process what was going on until it was already over. Sid actually kept his cool for most of the process, and wasn’t bothered at all by the noise (it was a lot quieter than I expected). He started getting super-squirmy near the end so we conceded to let him get away with two nails un-trimmed.

So it looks like two (nicely trimmed) dew claws up for the dremel!

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Beach Dog

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

Like Sid mentioned on Monday, we did head to the Montrose Dog Beach this past weekend. The sun was certainly nice and bright but it was still pretty cold out and the wind was quite blustery. Still, we had a blast.

Sid went bonkers when he reached the water. You probably are aware by now of his strange obsession with water. I was afraid he might head out to sea so I brought him a little further inland so he could sprint on the sand. Here’s a short video of the little guy at top speed!

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The Third Coast

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Ahoy there!

I’m so glad those insane thunderstorms from last week finally wrapped up on Friday. I was exhausted from being on storm watch the whole time. I hope everyone stayed safe and no one’s basement flooded.

On Saturday, the sun finally decided to return to work after a week-long vacation. My dad and I went on an expedition and we ended up all the way at the Michigan Ocean. OK, well, I guess technically it’s a lake but it is ENORMOUS and I couldn’t even see the other side.

The wind was whipping around and the waves were leaping up onto the shore, but it was definitely not as scary as a thunderstorm (which I WASN’T EVEN AFRAID OF…NO, REALLY, I WASN’T. LET’S LEAVE IT AT THAT).

Oh, and the best part was that I got to go to the beach! Not just any beach but a DOG BEACH! Yeah, you heard me right. A beach devoted to us dogs. It was awesome! But I’ll have to tell you more about it later this week – I gotta run now – it’s DINNER TIME!

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Storm Watch

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

The Midwest is getting pummeled by massive thunderstorms, but have no fear, Sid the Pug is on watch.

Hope everyone else experiencing these crazy storms is staying safe!

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Today’s Mission

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

The sky is dark and ominous. Thunderstorms are brewing. Torrents of rain are flooding my alley. I have one very important mission today, and the objective is clear:

PROTECT THE POTATO.

I will not fail…well, unless someone distracts me with a baby carrot.

What is your mission today?

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Spring Training

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

This week, with all the thunderstorms passing through the Midwest, we seem to stuck in the “April Showers” part of Spring. However, this past weekend, Sid and I were able to enjoy a rain-free, clear, sunny day at River Park – named as such because it is adjacent to a stretch of the Chicago river.

Sid was super excited because I had brought the bag of baby carrots along so we could do some Spring training. He’d gotten a little rusty being cooped up most of the winter. We began the training session with some of the basic moves – like “down“.

When I don’t have a treat in hand, Sid will eventually lie down, but he does so very begrudgingly – or sometimes he’ll just sit and dip his head really low (it’s actually extremely adorable). But today, when presented with a b.c. as a reward, Sid fully descended tout de suite.

Next we tried “stay” and “come“.

Here I come! Now where’s my treat?

Finally we worked on the “jimmy” – the adorable move made famous by Puglet.

You’re almost there, Sid, just get your head a tiny bit lower.

There we go! Don’t forget to turn those bright eyes up…

 

Perfect! I think a look that cute deserves FIVE b.c.’s!

P.S. Thank you all for advice / suggestions re: Sid’s “barking problem“. The DAP Diffuser arrived a couple days ago and it’s been plugged in ever since. I also have put some soft classical music on the radio whenever I go out for a while. So far, things have been good!

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The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

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