Thursday, February 26, 2009
On our way to Maitland for the marathon day of eye and specialist appointments last Friday, we made a stop at Paw Park in Sanford. Waiting patiently at two different veterinary offices isn’t the strong suit of four energetic pugs, so I like to make a pit stop at the dog park before our appointments to let them drain some of that energy to ensure good behavior later in the day.
What I love about Paw Park is that they have a sidewalk that meanders around the outskirts of the park. This makes the park a great place to walk the pugs off leash. When we arrive I let the pugs smell around and meet the other dogs and then we start walking on the path. The pugs follow along, stopping to smell, and I never have to break my stride.
Since I don’t have to stop each time the pugs stop, they have to keep a close eye on me. They don’t like it if I get too far away, so they stop and smell and then make a mad dash to catch back up.
This way they get time to smell around and everyone still gets a nice, tiring walk.
Monday, February 16, 2009
On Sunday, we decided to make the most of an overcast day and we took the pugs to the beach. We haven’t been to the beach since we adopted Sol, so I thought it would be fun to see what she thought of the sand and the salty air. The whole trip could have bee a disaster (more to come on that), but we pulled it together and had a really good time. The boys and Luna had fun as always and Sol really seemed to be having a good time as well.
Here are a few pics from the day.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
During the winter months, when it gets dark so terribly early, we sometimes take the pugs to the tennis courts and let them run around. I know this a clear violation of the rules posted outside the court, but we make sure the pugs are on their best behavior and make sure we leave the courts in no worse shape then when we arrived (and of course we never take them there when anyone is playing tennis).
The boys have been going to the tennis courts ever since they were pups. When we lived in Maryland, we did not have a fenced yard and the tennis courts in our neighborhood were never used by anyone. So we started taking the pugs there to do some training. Since the courts are fenced, we could let the boys off their leash and we would practice their come and stay commands. When working on the come command, each one of use would stand at one end of the court and we would call the boys back and forth. Not only did it help them learn the command, but it also helped them burn off some of that puppy energy. For stay, we would tell the boys to stay at one point on the court and then walk around until we let them break their stay.
Now we pretty much just use the tennis courts for the pugs to run around. They like to play chase around the net. It is really just a bigger version of the game of chase they play around the sofa at home!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
We didn’t get to do much with the pugs this weekend since we were so busy doing our holiday shopping. So, I thought we would take advantage of Monday night and get the pugs out for some much needed exercise. The City Center near the house puts up lots of lights for the holidays and it is always beautiful. We hadn’t been over to see the lights this year, so I thought we would take the pugs over for a nice walk around the lake and enjoy the lights at the same time.
It was such a beautiful night out that we decided to stop and get some ice cream for us and the pugs afterwards. Needless to say, I think the pugs enjoyed the ice cream more than the lights.
Sorry for the low quality photos, I took them with my phone.
Monday, December 1, 2008
When my family was in town, we went to New Smyrna Beach for a very cool Segway tour. On the way there, I saw a sign for a dog park. I hadn’t known about the dog park, so I couldn’t wait to take the pugs there for a visit.
The park was quite spacious and there were a few dogs there playing when we arrived. The park also had the big tunnels that the boys love to run through. We haven’t been able to convince Luna to go through the tunnel yet. She just doesn’t see the point of it.
This big guy wanted so bad to play with Benny. As soon as we got to the park, he ran up to Benny and immediately dropped down into a play stance (which Benny understood), but then he was barking at Benny to egg him on to chase him. That is where there communication breakdown occurred and Benjamin just stood there looking as confused as ever. I tried to explain to him that it is exactly what Luna does to get the boys to play, only much, much, much louder.
This guy arrived shortly after us and started his visit in small dog area. The pugs had so much fun playing with him through the fence. They ran back and forth and back and forth. The other dog’s owner eventually brought him over to the other side of the park where all the other dogs were and I thought the pugs would have so much fun chasing this quick guy around. But, as soon as he came to our side of the park, the pugs had no interest in playing with him whatsoever!
After all their romping and stomping it was time to head home.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Over the weekend, we had a sizable date palm removed from the yard. In its place, we planted a Crape Myrtle. Crape Myrtles aren’t in bloom right now, so the tree looks like a Charlie Brown tree, but I am sure it will look beautiful in the Spring. The boys were sure to welcome the tree the first opportunity they got.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Whenever I am out alone with all 3 pugs, I always use their 6 foot leashes. With three energetic pugs, there is no way I can manage 3 retractable leashes. The only issue with the 6 foot leashes is that Luna has horrible leash management skills. I thought Henry was forever getting tangled, but my opinion quickly changed when we adopted Luna.
Once the pugs settle into the walk, the leashes normally drag a little bit on the ground and this is where Luna gets herself all tied up. The boys step over the leash or let it pass all the way under them, but Luna she always ends up getting her paws tied up with the leash. We are forever stopping so that I can untangle her which really annoys Ben and makes him pull on the leash, which is his way of saying, “keep up slowpokes!”
To solve the issue, I have tried taking the slack out of Luna’s leash and not letting it drag on the ground. But then she will get tangled up in one of the boy’s leashes. So in order to make it a block without having to free Luna, I have to keep the slack out of all three of the leashes. Which pretty much means, I am doing all the work of the retractable leash.
Oh, you should just see us out and about. It’s good for a laugh.
« Older Posts
| More Recent Posts »
Want more? Wander through our archives.
