Thursday, June 26, 2008

An Old Man

When we decided to re home Fonzo we knew we would have to get another dog. I began just checking out Craigslist and seeing what was available and what was a good breed for us. I knew I didn't want to do the puppy thing again and definitely a much smaller one.

Last night my DH picked up this senior citizen (they claim he is 6 yrs old but he looks much older than that). He is a retired Medic Dog, his first owner died and he ended up in the Humane Society, he was purchased by a young woman and she has had him briefly when she discovered he needs alot of attention. She was looking for a little dog to run and snuggle with. He is not the one. Snuggle, yes, run is not in his vocabulary. OMG! He is so well trained and behaved. He is making himself right at home. He goes to the door and whines, if you don't respond with quickly taking him out he will jump on the door and bark at you. He is a picky eater, we gave him a "treat" b/c the last owner did it for every trick and he spit it out at us and barked. He "talks" to you to get you to do things for him like feed him or rub his belly. He pees on EVERY puff of grass outside and them kicks dirt on his poop. He is a fur ball and shedding like crazy so I need to get a good brush for him to keep that down. He listens and seems to almost understand what you are telling him and turns his head like he is relating. The kids really like him (I know anything new is great) but the little ones love that they can participate in taking him out. Poor thing can't run or tug too hard and he stands at the bottom of the stairs and waits for someone to pick him up, when we don't he kinda mumbles and then follows. He is constantly at my feet but will go to a kid for love if they call him. This is my kinda dog! His name is Preema. I hate the name. He doesn't come to it so I think we can find another. Any ideas?

Cyr tried to sleep with him but he whined and she brought him back to me. We chatted for awhile (me and the dog) and begged to sleep with me on the sofa (whole other story something about me snoring and no one else can sleep, a bunch of lies if you ask me. I don't hear anything). When I explained he needed to sleep on the blanket on the floor he would look at it and look at me then bark. This went on for quite a bit. Eventually, I just kept pointing to the blanket and he went over there walked around it and laid down. He gave me one more mumble and decided to sleep there. He woke me up this morning with a quick bark in the face and a run (sorta) to the door.

7 comments:

DramaMama said...

He looks like a Gary to me! Sorry, one of my parents long time friends is Gary. He is always happy and joking, trying to get you to smile, but he doesn't move too fast. He's kind of a wallflower but a great friend. Glad to hear things are going well!

zunzun said...

Oh no...you have a "talker" - my cat is like that...I used to think it was cute except it's not too cute at 4:00 a.m!LOL I'm so glad you are giving an older look a new lease on life...in case he hasn't said it "thank you" hehehe.

Yondalla said...

cute dog. I have no ideas for names, although there are web sites with pet names.

About the snoring, I got a referral yesterday to see a doctor who specializes in sleep stuff. I wear a mouth guard because I clench my teeth in my sleep. My family physician says the sleep doctor can make me a different sort of guard that will reduce snoring.

I resisted believing that I was snoring for a long time too.

Suzanne said...

He needs to be named Oliver. That's what he looks like.

I'm a pug owner, and as a seasoned pug owner I can tell you that dog is at least 11.

Tudu said...

lakme, I think he is pretty old, too. He is sooo grey around his face and way overweight. His teeth are not in great shape. I need to make a visit to the vet soon and see what he says, I tend to agree with you, 10 or 11.

I know to beware of the heat and the wrinkles need to be be cleaned. Any other advice? We are so in love with this dog already, I may never do a puppy again!

Marthavmuffin said...

Oh he is cute, I am glad you took him...poor baby. I vote for some guy name like Oscar or Henry or Freddy.

Suzanne said...

Owning a pug is not like owning other dogs, I will say that. It's more like having your life taken over by a dominant being who sneezes in your face. They are not like any other dog.

A pug must always sleep with somebody and doesn't like to be left alone. If left alone, he will dig in any accessible trash cans and eat tissue out of them because they hold your scent the most, and then have a wonderful tissue poop :) So, be sure to pick those up when you go out.

The wrinkles and the heat you know about; I would also advise giving this guy glucosamine chondroitan capsules because I'm sure he's in the double digits and pugs are prone to arthritis. 500 mg a day; it's a food supplement so you don't need to clear it with the vet first. You can get them at PetSmart and like that.