Since the summer solstice occurred this past weekend, along with the superb Supermoon, Sid and I felt it was time for a new masthead for summer.

The previous masthead photo had been taken when it was like 10 degrees outside and Sid had been wearing no less than 2 layers of fleece. It was definitely time for a change.

We swung over to the park for a little summer masthead photo session.

Ever the seasoned professional, Sid nailed the poses right away and we were back home in no time. As per his contract, Sid received three belly rubs and one Wigzi ball stuffed with treats and peanut butter. Although now it seems he wants to renegotiate in order to include refills.

“Yo! I need a refill!”

(Thank you to my talented sister who handmade the bunny bow tie for Sid. She also was the one who made him the crocheted Easter egg toy.)

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!

As prophesied by our fantastic (and possibly psychic) readers, Donald and Daisy from Pug-a-Boo (and their ‘rents, Tim and Christy) were the special guests that spent the weekend kickin’ it at Chateaux Pugslope.

Despite the predictions of a brutal snow storm, the weather stayed on our side somehow, so we couldn’t resist taking the pups to the park for a photo shoot to capture this special occasion.

Ladies first… here’s the delightful DAISY!

And here’s her partner in crime, the dapper Donald.

Let me tell you, it was tricky getting all three pugs in one photo. Even more difficult was getting them to all look in the same direction at the same time. While Sid and Donald were captivated by the baby carrots that Tim was seductively waving off-camera, Daisy wasn’t very interested. It’s been rumored that she doesn’t get out of bed unless filet mignon or higher is on the menu, so the BC’s weren’t really up to scratch. Luckily we also had some tasty venison jerky on hand, which captivated the entire gang.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, lose sight of that venison jerky!

(A squirrel breaks Donald’s concentration)

HOLD UP! Um, are you telling me I just missed the venison jerky delivery?! WTP?!

After the photo shoot and a liesurely stroll through the park, the pugs crashed, allowing us humans to hang out for a bit and partake in some treats of our own.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2!

Sid has been nagging me to change the masthead for a while now.

He said the background of hundreds of baby carrots was a mixed blessing. Yes, he LOVES baby carrots, but he said he couldn’t stand to visit the blog because it always made him insanely hungry (I suspect a few of you other pug readers felt the same way). So we decided to go with our original vision of changing the masthead along with the seasons.

We headed to Winnemac Park to get an outdoor photo that would capture the season and arctic temps we’ve been having. Much to our dismay the weekend we picked was snowless so the photos failed to convey the “dead of winter” concept (but at least this masthead won’t seem out of place come April, right?).

The lack of snow did allow us more time outside though as Sid isn’t a fan of long walks when it’s 17 degrees out and he can’t get any traction on the icy sidewalks. He preferred the photo above because he has more ‘tude going on. While I thought his tail did look amazing in that photo, I suggested a profile shot. I told him he would appear more “regal” in profile which instantly won him over to the idea.

What do you guys think?

P.S. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Time to get out and romp around a bit, right?!

Well, it was a wet, rainy, blah sort of weekend here in Park Slope.  Let’s brighten things up a bit with this photo-flashback of a pre-Carl, pre-salt-and-pepper-muzzle, post-confidence-shirts, fun-fun-fun-in-the-California-sun-lovin’ Siddhartha Lamont.

Sigh.  Not really helping.  Let’s try to find a Sid photo-flashback that’s a little less “dripping with ennui.”

Ooph.  No.

Oy!  No!

Okay, maybe a video-flashback is what we need.

Wow, Sid.  I never knew Kool and the Gang could be such a downer.*

Er, maybe today we should just turn things over to you guys.  Did any of you pugs play any good April Fool’s pranks on your ‘rents?  Share ’em in the comments!  And let’s keep it cheery!!

*I know, I know, that’s like the fourth time I’ve used that video in a post – It’s my favorite Sid vid EVER and I need only the flimsiest excuse to toss it up on the blog.