Christmas Naps

It was a successful Christmas back home for Oates' first Christmas with me!  There was a lot of exploring at my mom's house, sniffing here, there and everywhere.  There sure is a lot more stuff to get into at grandma's!  Luckily, we made it out with nothing destroyed, and also with a very exhausted puggle.  

The 8-12 inches of snow made for interesting trips outside to potty, and a few moments of getting stuck in a tall snow drift, but we all made it home safely, and had a great holiday.

Now Oates gets to have a few days with his pal Snickers, the dachsund corgie mix while mommy and daddy head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for New Years!  (If we can ever get out of here!).  Here's to a wonderful 2010!  *Cheers!

Snuggle for a Puggle

The snow has begun to fal li paradise, and Oates officially took his first trip out into the wintery backyard last week.

This being his second winter, there was a certain puggle curiosity about the snow, but it didn't take long for him to remember what it's like to romp and run through the mounds of white!  He let me put on his sweater without trying to eat it first, and he ran circles through the yard at full speed.

It usually takes him awhile to find 'his spot' when it's cold and snowy, so when we finally came inside, he was practically a puggle popsicle!  I decided it was time to pull out the new fleece doggie bed.  I found it at the hardware store for only $5.99!  I thought it was a great deal to try it out.
Being only a few bucks, it's not the best bed in the world, but since there is a pretty good chance Oates might decide it's a plush toy and destroy it, then, no harm, no foul really.  It wouldn't be too big of loss (unlike some of the other items that have perished, now including some tools, more shoes, a few irreplaceable christmas ornaments and two strands of Christmas lights - not plugged in thank god.)

Round One:  Puggle grabs bed, growls and runs around tripping over it and thrashing it around. -- Mom has to put it back into hiding for another time.

Round Two:  Gentle interest at first, followed by more grabbing, biting and thrashing.

Round Three:  Puggle is fast asleep.  Mom sneaks new bed out of hiding and gently places sleeping puggle in it, treat in hand for possible good behavior.

This actually worked... for about 10 minutes.  Once he woke up and realized the gold mine of fun he was sleeping in, he went back into attack mode.  So for now, the cute doggie bed will be put away again until the cute doggie can be trusted and trained, just like everything else!

When A Puggle Goes Rogue

Ever have those late Friday nights out on the town when you can't necessarily give your 4-legged friend the utmost attention he/she may need after work before you go out?  Yeah, me too, and here is what can happen....

There are those days that all Oates gets is a quick backyard bathroom break, hug and kiss, dinner, and then swiftly gets ushered back to his house for the night.  It happens.  That's life.

These nights usually end up in me getting home past 1am or later, quickly letting him out one more time, and then quickly falling asleep on the couch.

Oates is a lucky puggle and gets to sleep with me.  Rarely does he have to sleep in his kennel, but perhaps on nights like these, he should.  As I fall asleep on the couch, he's got other plans in mind.

This is his chance.  Ultimate freedom he thinks.  Mom and Dad will never wake up, no matter what i do!  His mind must be racing as he pretends to fall sleep, sweetly curled up next to me.  Little do I know that he is scheming his inevitable destruction of something valuable in the house.
Did I learn when I woke up and found my laptop cord chewed up?  Did I learn when I woke up to the dvd remote destroyed?  Did I learn when he tore off a corner of the couch cushion and decided to de-fuzz it like one of his plush toys? Apparently not... This time, it got personal.

Of all things... my cute little puggle in paradise destroyed our palm tree, Walter.  As you can see, he chewed the roots clean, and as you can't necessarily see, there was absolutely not a lick of dirt left in the pot.  Yes, he got every last bit of dirt out onto the floor, under and in the chair and heaped up next to the stairway.  Knocking over the magazine basket was just a bonus, I'm sure.  
I was lucky to be able to salvage my 2009 Ikea catalog out of the rubble, but my last issue of Dwell was not so lucky.  Doused in wet mud/dirt, it went straight to the recycling bin.  

Another obviously causality was our Majesty Palm.  It was so big and grand before... now all that remains is a single palm.  Lonely.  Beaten.  Traumatized.  Surprisingly enough, it has not yet died, and has a few new palm sprigs coming up... but only time will tell if it can survive until spring.

Next time?  Oates gets to stay in his house all night.  He just can't be trusted.

Sweater Weather

"What's Monica's biggest pet peeve?"
"ANIMALS DRESSED AS HUMANS!"

It was only $5.00.  It matched his fur.  It was cute.

I bought my dog a sweater.  I really didn't think I'd ever be that person, but I brought it home, and called Oates to the kitchen.  He gave his new clothes a sniff, and was a little reluctant as I pulled it over his little head.  Once I was pulled his legs through, he seemed to be ok with it.  He was so cute!  He strutted around the kitchen with a new gait and then hopped up onto his usual spot to look out the window, secretly showing off his new outfit to the world.  Later he curled up on the couch all warm and toasty. 

He kept it on all day, loved it.  He even did just fine going potty, making sure not get any on his new favorite sweater.  I'm not sure what I've started... But if Oates likes to wear clothes, then I want to make him happy!

Oates 'n Friends

Oates has had a few summer sleep-overs lately, a must for any young doggie I'd say. Colby the yellow lab, and our neighbor Belle the toy poodle have come over to stay recently.

It could not have been more night and day between the two...

Weekend one: Colby the Lab. He's just about Oates' age, and despite the massive (nearly 100 pound) difference in size, these two got a long like ice cream and cake! They'd play chase and keep each other company in the backyard, and Colby was totally ok with it when Oates continually lunged for his neck. It was doggie brethren bliss... like brothers from another mother.

If given the chance, I could see these two getting into some serious doggie mischief together.




Weekend Two: Belle, the Toy Poodle. Oates already knows Belle from living across the street. She's small and cute, and doesn't really like to play like Oates likes to play... She doesn't go for neck biting and wrestling. She prefers perching on the couch next to a human and generally being dainty.

As I type this, Oates is laying next to me gnawing the crap out of his paws for fun... this is the type of crude behavior that Belle does not participate in.

When Oates would try to play, Belle would take cover behind me on the couch. When Oates would try to lay down next to her, she's yap at him until he got farther away. We eventually found a happy medium between the two, but Oates is definitely no prince to the princess.

All in all, there were good times, and there were bad times... but the doggie comradery was there. An important part of any dog's life - visiting other dogs.

It has made me think though, how much of a handful is my little Oates to dog-sit? The mere fact that he enjoys running away would be enough to deter any potential dog-sitter I'd say. Runner or not, I love the little guy.

Itsybitsy Massacre

You think that after having a dog for 6 months (and today is actually the 6 month anniversary of getting my cute little hellion), that you'd learn that certain things have to be picked up and away from a puggle's grasp...

I'm learning this the hard way. From memory, Oates has destroyed:

DVD remote control
1 pair of old navy flip flops
Corner of a couch pillow
A puppy crate
One of David's hats
A Makeup Brush
A Hair brush
Banana Boat tanning lotion bottle
No less than 6 sets of window blinds
My cell phone

For the most part... these things are replaceable, and/or not of much value (except the hat - i know David misses it), but recently, Oates has taken his seek and destroy scheme to far!

Maybe you've been to my website before, and if so, you're aware that in my spare time, I sculpt miniature figurines. I keep these precious and fragile cuties in a small wooden latch box. It's not unusual for someone to ask to see them, so the box is typically in various 'out of the way' places that would seem safe from a little puggle.

Wrong.

Kitchen counter? Probably safe.
Fireplace mantle? Probably safe.
In spare bedroom behind a closed door? Definitely safe.
In the middle of my bar height kitchen table? Probably safe you might think...but no...NOT SAFE!

Oates was under David's watch when it happened. He'd left the house for only a few moments when he heard a CRASH! He ran inside and saw my little wooden latch box toppled to the ground, surrounded by the carnage of many dismembered itsybitsycutes! Shock, horror, anger... Oates new he was in trouble. David, the eyewitness, says that after getting severely scolded and warned that mommy would be very upset, Oates went willingly into his kennel and laid down. (the new kennel we're borrowing b/c he ate through the old one.)

Five Itsybitsycutes must now be remade and re-listed on my etsy store.

How did he jump atop my bar height table? We don't know.
Why did he go straight for my box of itsybitsys? We don't know.
Will he destroy something again? I'm sure at some point i will let my guard down and he will strike again.

Has your pet destroyed anything precious of yours?

Who needs Mr. Miagi?

I'm not sure if it's common puggle trait or not, but Oates has a special talent... for catching flies. Bare mouthed! No chopsticks necessary. I've seen him do it 3 times now; his agility is superb, taking mere moments to catch his prey in mid-air.



He must like the way it feels in his mouth too because he doesn't just swallow it, he's got to play with it for awhile. Spitting it out - looking at it - tossing it back around in his mouth, and finally, he'll eat it. Maybe he learned his skills during he street days. However he learned it, it beats having to chase them around with a fly swatter, and no carcass clean up!

Runaway Puggle

Oates does get some freedom in the front yard… but not much; he just can’t be trusted. It’s the beagle in him. Loves to sniff, loves to dig, loves to run.

During our front yard parties in Paradise, he gets to be on a short tieout. He can reach everything he needs to reach, although he doesn’t think so. He’s always stretching the limits and tugging at the cable.

This particular day, I was excited about getting my old bike fixed up and ride-able again. With the help of David (the boyfriend) and the neighbors friend (Bradford), I was ready to blaze trails on my old Trailblazer in no time.

Seems that Oates was also excited to blaze some trails this day… It was late afternoon on a Saturday. We had gathered a small crowd of friends in the front yard for brewskies. I gave them a wave as I headed down the street, and quickly realized that one handed bike riding was not a good idea. I grabbed hold tight and looked ahead. I only went a few houses down and was about to turn around when I heard some yelling from the direction of my house. In no time I saw a blur of fawn furn and floppy ears bolt passed me toward State Line Rd. It gave meaning to "faster than a speeding bullet."

It only took seconds for me to realize that Oates was loose! I cried out for him and almost passed out as he zipped past me full speed toward the busy street at the end of our road. Of course he didn’t even hear me (or want to). In fear that I would crash if I rode my old bike down the steep hill, I ditched it (maybe in the middle of the road, I was too panicked to remember) and took after him on foot (thank you new Teva Mush flip flops, you were comfy and I could run with you on!). He ran into the street and narrowly missed two cars passing by, and thank goodness made it into the park – still – full speed. As I crossed the street into the park with tears in my eyes and sweat on my brow, David (the boyfriend) comes cruising awkwardly after me and Oates on my girl bike. A sight to see – his knees to his elbows and bowed out so he could pedal.

We chase after Oates as he comes to a brief pause at a tree for sniff. Calmly, I call for him, but as he sees us approach, he obviously thinks we are playing chase with him and he takes off toward the jungle gym, again – full speed.

Thank goodness for the warm and sunny Saturday – the park was littered with all kinds of people. Oates was interested in excitement coming from the jungle gym, and this is where his freedom finally came to a stop. He ran off toward the kids, and approached an older lady. We yelled for her to “GRAB HIM PLEASE!!” as we made our way over, out of breath. I scooped up the 20 pound assailant and trudged him back up the two major hills to get back to our house. David decided to stay on the bike, and proceeded to lose balance and fall off of it while we were still in the park. Another sight to see!

We got back to the front yard to find 2 cold brewskies and some friends waiting for us, not to mention the broken tieout (Advertised to contain up to a 30 pound dog; FAIL). Oates got to spend some quality time in his house for the afternoon, and hasn’t been allowed to hang in the front yard since. He got a stern talking to, and he better not scare me like that again! Goodbye freedom, hello leash!

Coming soon...

New puggle in paradise post - coming soon!