Sleepovers

Sadly, my sister's kitty had to be put to sleep earlier this spring. She was almost 17 and she and Tug shared a birth week. (He's 5 now.) However, now, without a furry face of her own she's stealing Tug every few weeks to sleep over with her. :)

The first time, Mama and I took him over and left him. He apparently was quite confused. LOL Since then she's taken him from our house or we've dropped him off. The payoff? He gets to sleep in her bed some of the time (he's in his camping crate at least part of the night- or so she says....hmmmmmm). ;)

passive agressive tactics-- or raw, unfiltered fear

Tug had a bad time with his last nail clipping just before Christmas so we've let his nails grow out to near claw proportions and everytime I pick him up I wince as scratches are dug into my arms...clearly, the time had come to take him back to the pet store (who did NOT cause the problem) and get the situation fixed.

I'll name names- we (Tug & I) were pulling into the PetSmart parking lot when he began to whimper and "moan" in anticipation- he LOVES to go there and smell everything. So, a 20 lb terrier is strong enough to pull a (censored) lb woman around and he took me straight to the back aisle before pausing. I then turned him around and headed back to the grooming room up front. As we approached and I veered off to the door, the leash suddenly pulled around behind me (he usually leads). I look around and guess who's applied the brakes and is staring at the grooming door with a "deer in the headlights" look?? Yeah, my big brave boy. (snort)

I pull on the leash and say "walk" which has worked at times. Nope- nuthin' doin'. I'm not so easily embarrassed by his behavior to let this bother me- even when, as I continue to try for the door, HE LAYS DOWN ON THE FLOOR ON HIS BELLY WITH HIS FOUR PAWS SPREAD OUT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS!! Yes, he did!

Feeling a little bad that I'm dragging him in there (in front of witnesses- I know he wasn't being hurt physically) I bend over (that's the embarrassing part- my big ole butt being so prominently displayed) and pick him up. He's shaking so hard his teeth are chattering.

All's well that ends well. They have good groomers at our location who genuinely like dogs. I explained he'd had a bad experience and the young man who did his nails handled him so well. Tug shivered as it was happening but was such a good boy I bought him a toy I hadn't planned on!

brrrrr

It's been really cold lately- this is Central FL and we had little snow flurries so I'm not just bitchin'- and the Tuggums has one thing on his mind in cold weather: sleep! He's been sleeping a good 15 hours a day if not more. Today, I put a t-shirt on him so he was able to stay out from under the covers longer. Normally, he's just snuggled down under a blanket all day when it's cold. I wish I'd thought to put it on him a few days ago... (sigh)

November beach photo

Bad days & recoveries

So, Tug went back into doggie daycare and 40 minutes after I dropped him off I got a call to come get him. Long story short, without the details: he just got "normal" a few hours before Mama got home 4 days later. He was fine within 2 days after she returned which was great as we had a long weekend away for Christmas.

The really cool part of being away this past weekend was an unexpected bonus for the baby: Mama was sleeping on our suite's couch the first night and let Tuggums stay on the couch with her- all night!! He was snuggled in and keeping her legs warm so we shut the door to the bedroom so he wouldn't decide to come join my sister or me without warning. He stayed right with her and it was the first time he'd slept out of his crate since he moved in with us at 7 weeks old (he's 4 1/2 now). He loved it! It went so well that Mama let him sleep with her the whole weekend.

So, the first night we were back at home and Mama calls Tug to go into his crate- home is different, after all- and he looks at her like "huh?" It took me tricking him into my lap so she coul pick him up and pop him in. The next night he understood the rules and went back in without a yip! :) Gotta love our boy!

spoiled dog enters the "real world"

Mama's traveling so Tug went into doggie day care for the very first time ever this week. He had a nice, private room (about the size of my office cubicle, actually) and pleasant people to take care of him. However, being that he's never been away from home without us, Mama is his security blanket and he just doesn't adapt easily- he's had a hell week (all in one day).

Mama and I dropped him off and settled him in- sort of. He didn't really want us to go, of course. My sister picked him up and he wasn't doing well. By the time I got home from work he was somewhat normal. Then , the next day he didn't need to go as I wasn't working a whole day. But, I left for an appointment and a quick trip to the grocery store and then came back to let him out of his crate. We cuddled for an hour then I left for work for 2 hours. When I got back he was reasonably fine- the leaving and coming back was okay by him. So, then I take him to a patio at a restaurant to meet my co-workers but we all froze due to a fierce wind! He still found time to fall in love with one of my bosses.

Tomorrow, back to day care so I just don't know how the baby is going to do...

bath time

Poor Tug. I was bathing him and he just prefers Mama. She has a routine with how she does it and he just loves routine. He even slipped and fell in the bathtub which scared me and that scared him worse. He's fine now, of course. He had the post bath crazies and now he's settled in with Mama- all is forgotten! (Thank goodness for little pea brains!)

Hi!

Yeah, I'm a slug. I haven't logged in forever. However, I do have a cute story to relate from a camping trip at the end of October.

I was helping put Tug to bed in his crate and I grabbed a big, soft lap blanket to use as his bedding. Normally, Mama puts in 2-3 towels and he makes a nest to sleep in so she wasn't sure he'd be happy with that. With confidence, I'm saying "he'll just push it around to make it comfy in a minute" as Tug puts his head inside the crate. Within moments, his little back feet are pushing the lap blanket out of the crate like he's digging down into the earth and aiming for China!! My mother and sister are in absloute hysterics and, finally, Mama grabs if out from under him and tosses in 2 towels. Within a minute, he had made his nest and snuggled down to sleep.

So, file that under "famous last words!"

Techno Terrier

I had my laptop with me on the floor and Tug had been getting in the way while I was working on it. So, my mom was asking me a question and when I looked back to the screen it was all messed up- the site I'd been working on was gone and another one was showing. I reach over to grab the mouse and Tug's got his toy balanced on top of it while he's chewing on it- he'd closed my internet connection!

Mama's "funny"

Mama now calls treats "morsels of deliciousness."

Good errand day

My sister needed to return her rental car and pick up her SUV from the dealership (way too much money going out on the vehicle this month...). So, I didn't tell her this would be an outing for the boy. Mama got him dressed and I took Tug out and loaded him into his usual spot behind me in the jump seat of the truck. We had a nice ride to the rental place and then he saw my sister- hysteria city! I thought he was going to ruin the console between the seats he was clawing so hard to try and get up front with her. We took a short ride all together to the dealership and then she got out- very disappointing. Tug and I sat for about half an hour before we were certain she was going to get the SUV back. Then we stopped at a Mexican style place in at the pick up window and Tug sniffed mightily until we got home. He had some of my taco salad (just the shell and a shred or two of cheese). All in all- a good day for the boy!

sweet fella

We never leave Tug to freely roam the condo while we're gone. A bored terrier is a destructive terrier so he has to go into his crate when we leave. He gets treats so it's okay and there's always lots of lovin' when we get home and "release the beast." However, from the time he was less than a year old, Mama would leave him to step outside and she'd say "I'll be right back." He quickly learned the difference between that and "bye-bye." He would watch her take out the trash to the dumpster or she'd leave his sight for a minute for something but she'd come back so everything was fine. Now, she's leaving him if she runs to the store or drive thru pharmacy first thing in the morning. Granted, some of the time he knows I'm asleep in my room, but sometimes she does it when I've already gone. It's a basic truth that while Tug is a "sweet fella" he's very, very lethargic and sleepy after his 8-9 hours of sleep overnight...he just gets comfortable in a chair or his piled up "nest" of beds in the living room and snoozes 'til she comes back!

sorry, I'm a lazy slug

It's not that there are no stories to tell about the Tuggums- I'm just a lazy slug who hasn't logged in lately.

I was walking down an aisle in the home improvement store and saw the wireless door bells. *aha* A lightbulb went off over my head (no, the store wasn't turning out it's lights to save $). Our one last, horrible task with the Tug is to get him to calm down when guests arrive. We've had limited success at getting him to stop jumping on people at different times and it's really up to us to keep up the training for it to work.

So, I get a wireless door bell- see, we live in a 2nd story condo in a gated community where (theoretically) guests have to call in from the front gate. Therefore, no doorbells were installed. Tug hasn't heard one since he moved in at 7 weeks and he's 4 years old. Now, we're training him to go to a certain patch of carpet and SIT. (His little butt hovers over the carpet when he realizes someone's actually at the door but he's momentarily "at attention" and waiting for his treat.) With practice, we hope this saves our guests from a sloppy greeting!

Grown up

Tuggy was 11 months old in April, 2006, when I posted the carpet adventure on this blog. The little monster barked all 3 1/2 hours the carpet installers were here. So, last week, the renovators were here for 2 1/2 days bringing my bathroom into the 21st century (everything but the tub, ceiling and some drywall went bye-bye).

Mama reports he was fussy on the first day and had to bark everytime they walked into the condo. If you've ever renovated or had a neighbor who did it you know they're in and out of the house all day! However, by the end of it all, one of the guys was lying on the kitchen floor (the kitchen got the same vinyl floor as my bathroom) and Tug just laid on his chest and licked his face...

Our baby is all grown up! He can identify a friend vs. foe after just half a day (LOL).

Free-feeding to the nth degree

Mama buys Tug’s food in the smaller size bags as he’s a smaller size dog. She had bought a big one once since it’s less expensive over time but we had to store so much of it in the fridge to keep it from going bad that our food was cramped…that’s simply not acceptable. :)

So, a few years back, I’d bought a plastic food box from the pet store and we keep his bag of food in that. It keeps it fresh and doesn’t let any creepy crawlies get happy. (We live in Central FL and an open bag of pet food would be like a 4 star restaurant to ants and roaches.) Today, we were putting a new bag into the plastic box and I wasn’t aware it had been completely opened at the top. I had Mama lay the plastic box on its side and I was stuffing the bag in when an avalanche of kibbles erupted from the bag. Tug was about two feet away so he bravely dove in to eat the dangerous foodslide and save any trapped victims. Mama scooped up much of it but we didn’t call him off or fuss at the boy. He was eating as fast as he could swallow and completely focused on the feast. It was like he’d won the lottery. Of course, we’re not feeding him a single treat or probably much dinner tonight…

Currently, he’s gone from wide awake and terrorizing a new toy to lazing in Mama’s chair with a relaxed air. Good thing, too, because that was at least a meal portion of kibbles and I expect there to be gastric issues later (gaseous eruptions and solid emissions)!

tired boy

Poor Tug hasn't gotten his naps the past few days. Different things keep him up. Yesterday it was me going back and forth down the hallway removing junk from my room! Right this very minute he's standing by Mama's chair, still as a statue and staring up at her. He's so bored he probably just wants to get into her lap to sleep.

He also feels like a technology orphan. I got a handheld game system in late March and played it a lot for awhile. My sister and I also got some games for Mama so she's been doing it, too. Then I got my new notebook computer in mid-April and actually sit with it in my chair so he can't be in my lap. He stands and mopes. I offer to pet him but he's sulking about it and doesn't want to be petted while "that" thing in my lap!!

I forgot to mention...

I forgot to mention that the Tuggums' birthday was last week. Our boy turned four years old Wednesday!

I came home from work and sang "Happy Birthday" to him and Mama sang it a few minutes later. :)

Tug the Love Bug

Tug's been very clingy and lovey-dovey lately. He's Mama's little shadow and follows her around. He doesn't even nap without one eye being open for her moving out of the room to go somewhere without him. He's back to being velcro dog but he's also back to being the treat slut. Tug demands food some days- he sits or stands directly in front of you as still as a statue and stares at you...and stares at you...maybe he blinks...but mostly he just stares. I just call it Terrier Telepathy. He's very still and attentive to only the one person he's trying to coerce into doing his bidding. It's patience to the nth degree- who would believe that of a Terrier??

Tug's Top Ten

So, according to Mama and my sister Tug has 10 really well-practiced behaviours. This came about because Mama moved his crate in her room and I was walking back in there with him following and he just trotted towards it like I was putting him to bed with a treat- only it was the middle of the day!

In no particular order here are 10 things Tug does everyday without thinking:

1. lie in the sun
2. eat
3. beg for treats
4. follow Mama around from room to room
5. snooze in a chair
6. bark at someone from the porch
7. snort on someone's leg/foot
8. stand at the door to beg for a walk
9. lie on his back with his paws in the air
10. chew something (hopefully, a toy)

idiot

So, Tug is a "condo" dog. He only gets sunshine on a screen porch or coming through windows. It doesn't seem like that would be important but we went camping for four days and the site didn't have overhead tree cover from 11am-3pm. Tug loved laying out in the sun- I call him a "solar puppy"- but he would get very overheated. We'd insist he drink water and come under the sunshade my sister brought along. He didn't want to!!

Sadly, Friday was rough but Saturday was a nightmare. He literally wouldn't come out of the sun unless we picked him up. Mama realized he was so hot at one point she put him in our camper with the a/c on and kept an eye on him. Shortly afterwards she came out with him and we bathed him in cool water as he was cooling down but still breathing funny. This was just a few hours a day and he was getting heat exhaustion!

Sunday we came home and Mama said he slept most of the way- he didn't even get up for toll booths which is just unheard of in his life. She gave him a bath and he slept a lot but she said he was fine again that Monday.

I just worry about our sweet, little idiot- who else would've watched close enough to see how sick he was so quickly? Most people, us included, think dogs are smart enough to head for shade when they're hot but he didn't want to waste a single ray of sunshine!

camping trip starts tomorrow

Mama's trying to keep the boy quiet tonight so he won't be overly tired tomorrow. We're going to a campground on the Gulf Coast which is a good 3 hours away- our longest trek of all the campgrounds. :)

pumpkin pie

I was in a different pet store chain this weekend to look for a special "t" for the boy (we can't say "treat" unless we intend to give something to him). A lady dragged me over to a different area of food- I was looking in the bone section. She pointed out pumpkin pie (crumble, I think they call it), berry cobbler and apple pie- tiny little cans of desert for dogs! I'm thinking "oh, geez" but I look at them and realize they're made by the dog food company we prefer and they're less than a buck each. I buy one can of each and finish my errands elsewhere.



I go home, sit on Mama's bed to talk to her and I'm holding the cans in my hand. Tug sniffs them curiously and I say "these are for Tug." It's what Mama says when she's giving a special treat by hand and I think he realized there was food in there. He started pawing my hand and his eyes got wide and he even licked the cans!



I went in and opened the pumpkin pie one and spooned about a third of it into his dish. It was like me with European chocolate- don't talk to me, don't look at me, you can't have any and I'm making this LAST!! He loved it. When Mama gave him another third of the can today she heated it in the microwave first as it was stored in the fridge and the kitchen smelled like pumpkin pie! :)

picky eater

Yeah, I think I've mentioned Tug won't eat his nasty, dry food without a garnish on top- cheese, bread crumbs, crackers, biscuit bits, pancake bites, canned veggie juice...seriously, this isn't Chez Snooty but you'd never know. He will literally wait by the food bowl full of crunchies and look at you. I clocked him at over 3 minutes once and I caved.

So, here's the lowdown: it's better if it comes from our hands, or off our plates, or is dropped from the kitchen counter or even the dirt while camping. However, if it's not garnished and it's in his bowl it's invisible and odorless. He used to eat carrots and apples when he was little and then gave them up. You give him a bit of raw carrot and he takes it, ducks his head and just lets it fall from his mouth. Then he still begs for more even if that's all you have- BUT he doesn't believe it's all we have- when I'm done he jumps up and sniffs all over me and around on the table beside me to see if there's anything else!!

So, this weekend, Mama's sitting on the couch eating an apple she's peeled. She's got a paring knife in one hand and the apple in the other and she's slicing off nibble sized bites to make it last longer (must've been a seriously good apple). Tuggums jumps up beside her and freezes in position. She reminds him he doesn't eat apple anymore but he is unconvinced. (We talk to him like he's a kid and we think that's why he's so people oriented.) So she slices off an itty-bitty piece and puts in on her pants leg; she's not about to get dog slobber on her hands while she's eating. He picks it up in his mouth and chews 'n' swallows like it was cheese! Mama's so astonished she gives him two more pieces and he eats both of those, too!

I just love it when the boy makes a liar out of her. :)

cold weather and bipolar terriers

So cold weather brings out the snuggle bunny in our boy. He sleeps a lot! Tug will snuggle down into his blankets after making them into a nest and snooze with his head tucked under an edge. He doesn't just do this in his crate but also in our recliners (barker-loungers) and on his soft dogbeds (piled one on top of the other).

Then, there's the flip side- some days he runs around the house like a lunatic. Just real frisky and giddy. Cool weather brings different smells and, if it's not too cold, he doesn't get overheated so his "play" just keeps escalating with no shut off valve!

New Year's foolishness

Terriers don't like fireworks, as a rule.

Poor thing- had a great night as my aunt had a nearby campsite and being with her is a rare treat. Then the fireworks started. He slept agains the door of the crate so he could see Mama at all times. She tried to reassure him and even move him further back into his crate so he'd be comfortable- he wasn't having any of it!!

Christmas Wrap Up

We went away for Christmas to a beach motel on the Gulf Coast. I hadn't been on Anna Maria Island in at about 5-6 years. We spent 3 nights and 4 days wandering around and Tug had some brand new adventures!!

When we went to Tarpon Springs a few weeks ago he went to a restaurant. A great Greek place with outdoor seating allows dogs on the patio. He was a very good boy and they brought him a bowl of water which was much appreciated. He ate Greek bread with butter, pita and a bit of my gyro meat. We walked him around until we found a patch of grass not on the main thoroughfare but he didn't feel the need.

So, at the beach, my sister had found this great dockside restaurant. It has it's own fishing fleet and the seafood is truly fresh! There's a dozen picnic tables and a bar- all actually on the dock itself. Mama and my sister snagged a table, finally, while I waited in line at the bar to order. It was lunchtime so it took an hour for our food to be served and we're huddling under the umbrella at the table due to the pounding sun. Bless the inventor of anti-persperant/deodorant!

Tug ate some scraps he found under the table which concerned us but his tummy was fine. I had a cup of ice I kept holding at his level. He licked & ate the ice until some melted and he drank the ice water. I think he would've had heat stroke otherwise. He stared at big, brown pelicans and came nose-to-nose with a dock cat. We were worried the cat might start something as it was clearly a tough, outdoorsy type but it wandered off. When the food arrived Tug got some hushpuppy bits so he was happy.

That night, for dinner, we drove around trying to find a place he could sit outside but the options we found weren't working. We finally settled on a diner near the motel with outdoor seating and I asked if Tug was welcome. They were so dog friendly they had dog bowls and put ice water in it for him- plus, the whole wait staff trooped outside to meet him. He felt like a star! The one fly in the ointment was he hadn't had dinner yet so was hungry. I fed him some of Mama's dinner roll and parts of my hamburger bun & bacon off my cheeseburger. It wasn't enough. When a waitress would come out with food to serve another table he'd start barking to get her attention- it would have been funny if we weren't so anxious not to be the owners of one of "those" kinds of dogs. Barkers ruin it for everyone else.

He had a great time and power napped a lot. He tried to sleep the whole way home but when we'd slow in traffic he'd get up to see if something interesting was happening- and you know how holiday traffic can be!

Tonight, my sister and I head to a campground nearby for two nights. Tug and Mama join us tomorrow.

the Thanksgiving Low down

"LOW" as in temperature.

36 degrees two nights running- I think the 3rd night was 38!

Thanksgiving- 8am- 37 degrees outside & Tug has to go sooo bad they don't think they can get him "dressed" fast enough (collar, harness & leash). He leapt out of the trailer!

Later, Tug got re-released from his crate and made straight for my sister on her bunk (he's no fool). He snuggled in with her and was wrapped in a blanket. He had no urge to roam and even tucked his head down so all you could see was white blaze on a black dog in a black blanket. He's always so happy to get home after camping for 3 days we were cracking jokes about how he'd feel after 5 (and with horribly low temperatures, no less!). Mama said she'd never get her chair back. My sister said he'd run around pawing at everything going "mine, mine, mine!" I said he'd never go for another walk- he'd put his paws out against the doorframe and scream "no!"

Saturday, we were sort of packing early as we'd been warned there'd be rain (none came, of course). Tug decides to sleep in. Literally, after his morning pee break, he would not leave his crate. If you tried to talk to him he'd burrow his face down into his blankies and lay his ears back. Someone was sick and tired of the cold! He stayed inside by himself for the first time and it was without complaint.

He spent much of the time in the chaise lounger with whomever would sit with him. He likes it as he can stretch out just like our recliners at home. Tug loves to watch the fire and we had them every night. He's learned he's not allowed to get close so he doesn't try now. I know he loves the warmth, though.

When we got home he herded me to my recliner and jumped into my lap for a power snooze. Poor baby, he was filthy so Mama bathed him that night. I went in with her and he just stood in the bath tub with his head down like he was mourning his best friend. Then, of course, he got to kill his towel so everything was okay!!

Tug in the screen room

Tug in the screen room on our camping trip a week and a half ago. He hates being tied to a tree or chair but loves being outdoors. He was watching a car drive by the campsite so this is his "supervisor" mode.

first camping trip this season

If you're interested in the non-Tug camping details see our blog "thecoveredwagon."

Mama, Tug and I pulled the camper out to the site Friday afternoon and my sister beat us there (she was at work). He'd been sleeping that afternoon so Mama and I packed up and attached the camper without his supervision. We weren't taking a "full" trip so we hadn't been prepping for days- he had no clue what was coming. I went in to wake him up and asked "ride" which is a word he dearly loves. He was up and out to get dressed in no time. I walked him down and there's the truck with the camper attached- he did a double take and then ran towards the truck. Happy day!

Tug and I stayed long enough to eat dinner and enjoy the fire but we went home for the night. I was fairly tired and it was Halloween- I've seen too many slasher movies to be the chicks in the campground with a dog...

The next morning we got up and he lazed about in the chair while I cooked our dinner. He had a short nap in the crate in the late morning and I packed up while he slept. Then we went out to the site around noon. He couldn't believe his luck- Mama and my sister came back from a short trip to my sister's house right after we got there. PLUS, my aunt came to the park to see us and spent a good, long time with us chatting in the screen room. Much of the time with a very happy Tug in her lap!

He was so tired that night he just leapt into the crate when we got into the camper. He was annoyed we took so long to get settled as he wanted to sleep. In the morning he got to get into my sister's bunk with her and just loved on her- including licking. He and I stayed inside while they got breakfast ready as it was just too cold for him to be on the ground that early. He even had to have his coat on for the morning. Tug likes to supervise the tear down of the site but we needed him out from under our feet. He spent some of the morning in the bed of my pickup where he couldn't see enough of the action. We did give him a cushion, breakfast and water but he wasn't happy 'til he could see us all.

He was happy to sleep on the way home and sat in the chair with me for a little while...until Mama had his bath ready! He power napped the rest of the afternoon away. It's a dog's life, indeed.

faker

Lately, around his normal choice for bedtime, Tug has been pulling a fast one. He does his normal "I'm ready for bed now please deliver my snack to my crate" routine...until he's IN the crate...then, it's five minutes of quiet and "bark." It's his very polite "may I come out now" bark that he does when he's woken up from a nap. If not addressed, there's a minute or so of quiet and "Bark." If you still ignore him there's either a "BArk" or this type of part-yawn part-groan sound. The little butthead wants to come out- mostly so in about half an hour he can go back in again- with another bedtime snack! That's the deal- go in the crate quietly and there's a treat put inside. He is so working it!!!