How Cute is Your Puggle?

It's been almost a year that Oates has been a part of the family.  He's been there in good times and bad.  He's been good, and he's been bad, but we love him all the same.  Shortly after I got him I entered a Snapfish pet photo contest and my photo of Oates won honorable mention out of hundreds of entries!

We really wanted to win the home stereo system and blu ray player... well... I wanted the stereo system... Oates really didn't care.  But honorable mention was awesome out of so many entries!  And I happened to win a blu ray player at my boyfriend's company party this year anyway, score!

What a handsome little puggle...

Doggie Bed Triumph

So I think this is something like round 4 or 5 with the deal of a dog bed.  At $5.99, I told myself that I wouldn't care all that much if it got chewed up, but then I changed my mind because hey, that's 6 bucks!  Might as well save however I can, right?  So I decided the dog bed would be a new addition to my junk room, which I have been slowly but surely turning into a home office.  

I've got things set up enough that I can comfortably work on my laptop and other things, and Oates definitely needed a place to chill out in here with me.

So i laid a small rug down, and then put the doggie bed on it.  He has been introduced to it a few times in here, had a treat in it, and sat in it.  One day I left the door open and he appeared in the livingroom with it in his mouth, bad dog!

So tonight I decided to work in the office some, and he needed to come with me.  I gave him a treat, and then slowly but surely, the miracle happened.  He decided it was a cozy place to sleep!  He may be a little big for it, but he looks pretty comfortable to me.

Goes to show you that patience will pay off.  He also has been going potty outside like a good boy, but it's also no longer zero degrees or negative out there...

No Mas Poo Poo

Snow, snow, snow, and more snow.  Cold, cold, cold, and more cold!  I say, no more!

I think woudl Oates agree with me that a few inches of the powdery white can be fun in winter.  I'm sure it's fun to frolic in the snow and sniff after bunny tracks in the backyard, but what happens when the depth of the snow becomes greater than the height of your puggle?

No more poo poo.  That's what.

Can I blame him?  I suppose not.  Is it a problem?  It sure is turning into one!  Not only are we contending with all this snow, it's also subzero.  Single digits and negatives are not good for little puggle paws, and we can't manage to stay outside long enough to get the full tour of duty done on a single trip.  This photo is of Oates begging to let me back inside at the gate after only going number one.  I told him not until you number two! 

But, my heart is not at cold as this weather, and I just can't leave him out there for long. 

A few days ago I discovered something horrifying.  Secret Poop Land.  At some point, not under my watch, he has jumped the baby gate at the stairway and decided that our entire upstairs is his pooping palace!  "Why go out in that cold snow when I can stay warm and go up here?" he must be thinking.  Can I blame him?  Of course not.  Is it a problem?  Of course it is!

I'm not sure I'll figure out a resolution to this problem until we start to thaw out.  It's going to be awhile so says the weatherman, so I better just prepare to poop scoop my house when it's all said and done.  Gross!