After a non-stop string of daytime temps in the high eighties, it’s clear that we’ve hit the dog days of Summer. Those of you who’ve been keeping up with us for a while know that, much like a chef planning a menu at a Park Slope restaurant, we keep our masthead seasonal. And now it’s time for the debut of our Summer 2011 Masthead! Woo hoo! (In case you missed them, here’s Spring 2011 and Winter 2010).

Here’s how the photo shoot went down:

This time we came armed with plenty of tastey potato & venison morsels to ensure Sid would hold his poses. We made it plain and simple for him: If there was trick, there would be treat. 

He was skeptical about this agreement as unfulfilled promises of treats at the Spring masthead photoshoot left a sour taste in his mouth – well, um, actually make that no taste. We also had some problems getting the exposure right. Determined to get our shot, we thought that perhaps a new location might perk the little guy up and provide us with better lighting conditions.

“OK, buddy, we know you’ve got places to go and pugs to see, but can you give us a little less ‘tude and a little more cute & cuddly?” I think he was also tapping into his sass reserve that was left over from Flap-Flip Friday.

“There we go! That’s more like it. We know you had it in you.” OK, yes, we only got the adorable smile because we offered him double treats.

“That’s a keeper! Good work, Sid!” Triple-treats got us a coveted smile-with-full-tongue-exposure. He may have a high compensation requirement, but Sid sure can deliver.

Earlier this week, Puglet, star of The Daily Puglet (one of the many other pug blogs we enjoy reading), created an awesome webpage for all his internet friends of the furry variety to post their photos on. After the whole incident last week with the adorable baby pug and everything, Sid insisted we posted one of his more youthful looking shots (he’s a tad vain). After combing through our whole iPhoto library, which is about 80% Sid photos at this point, we finally agreed on the photo above – one of Jenn’s personal favorites.

Anyway, here a couple more from the same day. He was really working his angles like a true pug model. I mean, what Pug wouldn’t want to buy that blue t-shirt he’s wearing after seeing him sporting it?

Okay, a little backstory: Sid hates going for walks.  Unlike most dogs, who tend to get super excited when they see their leash, Sid suddenly becomes OH SO EXHAUSTED when we get out his walking gear.  It’s quite the act; there’s a lot of dramatic yawning and and sighing involved.  By the time we’re done strapping on his harness he’s flopping around like a wet noodle*.  We often need to carry him out the door because he won’t stand on his own legs.  For real, we’ll pick him up from his bed and put his feet on the floor, and his legs just collapse, over and over.  It’s like he thinks he can fool us into believing his skeletal system somehow disappeared while we were putting on his collar.

ANYWAY.

It was a little brisk outside the other night, so we wanted to put a tee-shirt on him for his evening walk.  This is as far as we got:

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As you know, we here at Pug Slope like to keep our masthead up-to-date as the seasons change in our neighborhood. At this point, we are definitely past the time when snow is in the forecast, so we thought it would be a good time to update the masthead which can only mean one thing: Pug Photo Shoot!

We took Sid into the park hoping to catch him doing something adorable in front of some daffodils, but he was a proving to be a little difficult to work with today – largely due to the eventual revelation that we didn’t really have any treats and were just pinching our fingers together and waving them around in an attempt to lure him into posing for the photos. (Don’t worry – he got plenty of real treats when we got back home!)

Here is a shot-by-shot transcription:

“Marvelous shot, Sid. You’re off to a great start. Can we just get a tad more of a head tilt? You know it’s one of the rules of cuteness.”

“WHOAH…ok, that was way too much head tilt. Reel it in a bit…we want a head tilt without it looking like a head tilt, y’know?”

“No, Sid, that guy over there said he was going to meet someone…he didn’t say ‘treats‘…yes, yes, you’ll get your treats after the session per your contract.”

“Alright, Sid! I think we got a winner! Now, uh, about those treats we discussed…I’ve got a tiny bit of bad news…um…”

It’s time to reveal the winner of last week’s Pug Slope Guessing Game!

We had three very, very smart guesses about why Sid is so excited in this photo:

From Noodles:

Hmmmmm, speaking about me here, that look is usually reserved for FOOD.
Love Noodles

From Mochi, Macho, and Marshmallow:

If it were us and your were hold any kind of food, our butts would not be on the floor sitting. So we guess it your squirrel toy.

Mochi, Macho, Marshmallow

And from Mia:

Froggy toy? Oh, and I hope the prize is a visit!

So, what was Sid so excited about in that photo?

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Just beyond the edges of this photo, Brian’s holding a mysterious object that’s caught Sid’s attention.

First person who correctly guesses the object that’s gotten Sid so amped up wins…well, something.

(This is a poorly thought-out contest; I didn’t really think that far ahead.  I imagine the prize will be something abstract, like pride or bragging rights.  Don’t expect a million dollars or anything.  But, really, what’s more valuable: a giant pile of money or a boost to your self-esteem?)

Leave your guesses in the comments!

On Saturday morning, I came across Sid and Brian taking a nap on the couch.  The light was great, so I grabbed the camera and started snapping away.

Of course, as soon as I started taking photos, they both woke up.

And as soon as they woke up, Brian got a phone call, and had to leave poor little Sid all alone on the couch.

Snuggle time was over, but the light was still nice, so I suggested to Sid that we take some fancy photos to share on the blog. Being a pug of extreme vanity, Sid complied, but being a pug of extreme laziness, he started to fall asleep halfway through the photo shoot.

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