Watching Their Stories

I have the tv on almost all the time, even if I'm not really watching it just so I have some background noise.  Sunny doesn't really care about the tv, but Rosy loves watching her stories.  Seriously.  She'll watch anything.  And she gets this intense look on her little face.  She goes especially bananas for animals, but sometimes she'll react even to simple changes of lighting or specific people or sounds.  She went through a James Spader phase when in the first season of Blacklist (he does have a mesmerizing voice and swagger), but that's since faded.

And what better way to relax in front of the tv than with a big bowl of popcorn?  Notice Rosy's double fisting the popcorn because she's a greedy popcorn monster.

Picture evidence of Rosy's tv and popcorn addictions.

Pug Phrases

Over the years, I've come up with a bunch of random phrases to describe my two pugs and the things that they do.  Sunny and Rosy are so funny and strange, these thoughts just come into my head as I watch their crazy antics.  Over time, with repeated use, the terms become firmly embedded in my internal dictionary.

I think all these phrases are self explanatory, but below are some photos showing examples.  And besides, who doesn't love seeing photos of pugs?  Crazy, sad people, that's who.

Drumstick Attack:  Rosy has a deep, deep love for Sunny's drumsticks.  I don't know what caused it, but she's frequently head butting and gnawing at them, all while wagging her tail in pure joy.  Sunny's so chill, she puts up with it for the most part, but when she's had enough she lets Rosy know.

Wing Attack:  Rosy's love for Sunny's wings is strong, but not as strong as her love of her drumsticks of course.  Usually she'll resort to a wing attack if the drumstick is blocked, but drumstick is always her first choice.

Rice Teeth:  I love Rosy's tiny row of bottom teeth that look like grains of rice!  Her top lip often gets tucked in, showing off her beautiful teeth in a funny, awkward smile.  She has to go for a dental cleaning sometime this year, and I fear that she'll lose some of her precious lil rice teeth.

Pug Blanket:  Sunny usually likes hanging out in her corner of the couch for her naps as it's more comfortable than draping over me like she used to do when she was younger.  But sometimes she wants to snuggle and Rosy's in the way.  Sunny's solution is to climb on top of both of us and lay down, creating a super warm and cozy pug blanket.  I love pug blanket in the fall and winter!  But in the warmer weather months, it's not so much fun.

Pug Barnacle:  Pug barnacle is just another way of saying velcro pugs.  I use the term velcro pugs to describe how my pugs are obsessed with me and follow me room to room.  But when they can't stand being separated from me and have to make some form of constant, physical contact, I think of them as lil barnacles, glommed onto the ship that is me.  Rosy's the main culprit.  When Sunny wants my attention, she resorts to painfully pawing at my arms until I pet her.

Dagger Nails: Pug nails grow faster than anything else on earth.  And while many dogs have their nails ground flat against the pavement on their regular walks, something about the way my pugs walk or stand sharpens their nails into tiny daggers at the ends of their paws.  Every time I come home and they jump on my legs I wince at the little stabbings.

Hearts Shooting Out of Their Eyes:  When my pugs aren't sleeping, eating, fighting with each other, playing with their toys, or watching tv, they're likely gazing at me as if I'm the best thing that ever existed in this universe.  Such adoring stares!

Some of these photos have crossovers. Like the one below is an excellent example of lil bean and rice teeth too!

Sunny Dreams of Sushi:  If you've never seen the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, then add that to your Netflix list right now!  After my sister and I watched it a few years ago, we noticed that Sunny's tongue often looks like a piece of sashimi.  This then led to our singing, "Sunny dreams of suuuushhiiiiii!" over and over again as we massaged her lil velvety ears.  Sunny loved that.  She still has a little sashimi tongue.  Actually, it's not so little.

Freshly Baked Pug Loaves:  I don't mean to brag, but Sunny is one of the best pug loaves I've ever seen.  Sometimes I can't even see a single limb.  But this phrase isn't meant to describe just her awesome pug loafing (she does her best work on the couch, which often involves her dreaming squeaking).  It's specific to when I wake up and Sunny and/or Rosy are sleepy pug loaves on the big bed, smelling Fritolicious.

Sunny Singing The Song of Her People:  My mom loves teaching our dogs to sing.  She gets great joy out of tossing her head back and seeing our dogs mimic her action and howl.  We thought Sunny was mute for the first few years I had her.  Now we can't stop her singing even if we wanted to.  But why would we ever want to do that?!  She has the best little hoarse awoowoowoo!  She's so dramatic about it, I like to say she's singing the song of her people, as it seems that serious and important.

Lil Bean:  Sunny and Rosy are both shaped like lil beans, but Rosy is especially a lil bean.  Something about her plump small body just screams, BEAN!  I often like to sing to her "Lil bean! Lil bean, lil bean, lil beeeaaaaaannnn!" which gets her really really excited.  And that makes me happy.

Boop!:  With a tongue as fabulous as Sunny's and one that's always sticking out, how can I resist touching it and giving her a "boop"?  She hates the boop so I don't do it that often.  But sometimes it looks so soft and squishy or so dry and wrinkly I can't resist.

Happy Leap Day!

Happy leap day!

That is all.  Carry on.

What To Do With Your Pug When It's Snowing

It never fails.  Every first snowstorm, Sunny gets even more stubborn than usual and refuses to do anything outside.  I lay down pee pads indoors and she just sits on them.  I take her back outside and she just stands there with her tail down.

Rosy does her business quickly because she gets that the faster she does it the faster she gets to go back inside.  But Sunny either doesn't get it or just doesn't care.  It's like it's a matter of principle.  She won't go.  Doesn't matter if I dress her up warmly, put booties on her delicate lil paws, or shovel her an elaborate racetrack or maze in my backyard.  She will hold it in for as long as possible until I start to worry about what must be going on inside her.

This snowzilla blizzard was no different and she went the first 24 hours without pooping.  Luckily, she eventually went outside and we avoided any accidents in the house.  After the first day with snow, she gets better but it never gets easy.  I still have to follow her and nudge her to walk to make sure she goes.  While all my neighbors' dogs are frolicking in the snow, Sunny (and, to a certain extent, Rosy) are begging to go inside so that they can snuggle on the sofa.  They're definitely "special" dogs.

And here are some photos of Sunny and Rosy "enjoying" the snow.

The first day started off with light snow and the girls were miserable and refused to do anything in the backyard.

When that didn't work, I got out new sweaters (mostly to keep their fur from getting wet) and put on some booties, hoping they'd feel comfortable enough to go during a walk.

They were not pleased.  But at least it kind of worked.

The next day was the height of the storm and Sunny refused to go but Rosy happily obliged.  (For the record, Rosy does not poop butterflies.)

Once the storm ended, the first thing I did (before even digging out my car) was shovel a racetrack in the backyard for the pugs.

 

Sunny finally went after digging into the snow until her paws got encrusted with dirt and grass.  Smh.

The pugs started to get restless with their racetrack...

So I extended it into an awesome maze.

Sigh.  So much snow.  Such demanding pugs.  Such a crazy pug lady.