Attention All Units!

A message from The Pug Police:

All units be on alert for an American Bulldog having waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much fun. Use any force necessary to stop him from having fun.

We repeat, use ANY FORCE necessary to stop him!

I Can Only Promise This

I promise you this is not PhotoShopped!

I wish I could tell you all about Gino's flying powers, but he swore me to secrecy.

At least I managed to get it on film!

It's all about meeeeeeee!!

I woke up this morning in a foul mood. I had one of those dreams where you are mad about something and you end up waking upset.

Here, let me paint a picture for you so you can see the mood I woke up in:



The Pugs didn't help my mood. A fight erupted this morning after Vinnie informed Gino that Gino was adopted.

TAKE!

IT!

BACK!!!!

(Yes, Gino has been lifting weights. He's developed quite the muscular body!)

After I broke that up, I tried having a cup of coffee to improve my mood. Then, I looked at Bruno.

Bruno was all smiles today.

He kept trying to convince me that a play session with him would make me feel better. I said "No." He pouted.

"Hmmph."

I still said "No."

And then he did something that had me laughing for hours on end. He created his own little game.


I watched him place his orange ball underneath the Pugs' cot.




Then, he acted as if he had no clue as to how his orange ball managed to get underneath the cot.

"Huh? How'd you manage to get underneath there?"




"Can I get you out of there from up here?"

"I'll get you out!"

"Don't worry orange ball! I"ll save you!"

Aha! Success!

"So this is what they mean when they say
I'm like a bull in a china shop..."

"Gotcha!"

He did this five more times before he grew bored of his own little game. I have to hand it to him for being creative!

Watching him construct his own little silly game improved my mood. So we played our own game of tug. The day is much better now. :)

Transcendental Pug...

"Ohm..."

Gino: "Whatchoo doing?"
Vinnie: "Meditating. Now scram! This takes lots of focus!"

Gino: "Can you meditate with me on your head?"
Vinnie: "MA!!! Make him stop!!"

But I'm with the band!

Today was nice and sunny, so decided to take my camera to dog training.

Parker, not recognizing me with my camera , demanded I stop dead in my tracks. He promptly informed me only employees were allowed beyond this point.




After I cleared my credentials with Parker, I went outside to help Lisa with her class. Only she didn't really need much help since the class was small today. So instead, I snapped shots of her students.


Trigger was not very pleased about my camera. In fact, I think if you stare at this picture long enough, you might be able to see his lips moving. I think he gave me instructions on where exactly I can stick my camera!

"Basically, up your butt and 'round the corner, Lady."

Frankie was more concerned that the camera might steal his soul.

"My soul!! Give it back!!"

Rizzo was all about relaxing and enjoying the sunny day. Now here's a dog that had the right plan for today!



And then there's Quacky.



Bet you didn't know we train ducks also! Haha!

Actually, Lisa took her class on a field trip to the duck pond and I wanted to see if I could take some good shots of the male ducks.

The ducks were more the willing to pose for me.

This is Jerry. Jerry is very serious.

He has a very serious job to do. In a few months, he's going to take his test to qualify as a guide dog for the blind.

"I have a serious purpose in life."

He's not here to mess around. I love Jerry.




This is Sarge.

"Oh, hello!"

Sarge is not so serious. He's actually a goof ball.

And then there's Cora...

"Yes, I know...hard to believe,
but I really am this beautiful!"

Cora won the genetic lottery for good looks. She is soft, cuddly and damn near irresistible.

But don't let her good looks fool you! She can be a good ball, also!





Speaking of goof balls...



Bruno was feeling extra spicy today!




And I found out that sometimes, he's not so graceful...

"Doh!"

He was also NOT in a sharing mood!

"Touch my Frisbee and I guarantee that your little
black head will be rolling down the sidewalk."

Sensing that Bruno was not the mood to play, Gino sought Vinnie for some play time.

But Vinnie did not want to play either!




Every time Gino approached him, Vinnie ran away as fast as he could. Maybe Gino forgot to put on deodorant this morning?





At one point, Vinnie resorted to flying in order to get away from Gino!





Alright folks! There's a recap of my day. Surrounded by dogs and more dogs. I now know what the old adage "It's a dog's day" means. :)

It's the little things that make you smile...

Poor Ryan has been having a semi-crappy week at work. Today, he is working 12 hours. I've been wracking my head trying to think of something I can do to make him smile. And then it hit me...teach Gino how to give a "Hi-Five."

You see, the dogs giving Ryan a hi-five brings an instant smile to Ryan's face. I don't know if it's the anthropomorphism behind the cute little trick, but the dogs giving him a round of hi-gives is an instant spirit lifter for Ryan. Bruno and Vinnie know how, but unfortunately not Gino. If you give him your palm and ask for a hi-five, he'll automatically down. I guess I haven't made it a priority. :)

Today I decide we would learn this trick and have it down pat before Ryan gets home. Then we could surprise him with it. Only Gino was not having it.

"I do not perform for dog treats."

"You say you have cheese?
Ok, well, now we're talking! Whaddya want me to do?"

Figures. I started off trying to lure him to offer me his paw. That didn't work. Then I moved onto talking frantically. "Give me your paw...give me your paw...come on...your paw!"

Then I slapped myself. I am my worst nightmare: the person who won't shut up or stop confusing the dog with a lure.

I decided to be patient. I just sat there on the floor waiting for him to offer me any behavior that even remotely resembled him offering me his paw. I sat there for 18 minutes before he lifted his paw just one inch off the floor. I rewarded. Rinse and repeat...

And finally, the little wheels in his head clicked. He began to paw at my hand. Then ultimately, he offered me a hi-five. Success!

"So...all I have to do is this and you give me cheese?

Sweet!"

Now he's a hi-five offering fool! He's walking around the house offering me hi-fives every time I look at him!

Free-shaping is like playing the game Hot/Cold. When a dog is engaged trying to figure out how to get into the "Hot" zone, he stays with you longer. The hard part about it staying patient and having your timing down pat. Yes, it takes a lot longer, but what the dog learns ends up staying firmly in his brain.

Tonight, we are all set to elicit some smiles!