Happy Halloween!
Photo by Tana, who posted it to the Urban Pug Facebook Page
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Happy Birthday Gizmo and Gadget!
Today, Gizmo and Gadget turned 6 years old. We celebrated by making them a cake. Here are the pictures:
First, I made the cake batter, and put carob chips on top.
Then, I baked the cake. The carob chips didn’t melt nicely, so it looks a bit strange. They tasted good, though!
I decorated the cake with frosting made from cream cheese, honey, cinnamon, and a little yellow food coloring. If you look closely, you can also see green sprinkles on top, so it’s Purple, Green, and Gold.
Here’s a picture of the cake with the candles lit! The “4” is for Oopsy, who turned four a little while ago.
Here’s another picture of the candles lit.
Gadget approves.
So does Gizmo.
Oopsy, too.
Happy Birthday Everyone!
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Bee Sting, Oh No!
I took Gizmo, Gadget, and Oopsy for a walk this morning, and on the way back to the house, I noticed that Gizmo was limping. Actually, he wasn’t even letting his back right paw touch the ground at all. I checked, and I noticed a (freshly) dead bee by his foot. We think that what must have happened is that the bee stung him on the top of his food, then he stepped on it. Anyway, I carried him back home, and we checked everything out. We looked to see if there was a stinger in his foot still. There wasn’t. Then, to help with any symptoms, we gave him half of a benadryl. Our vet told us that benadryl was fine for dogs, and that’s what we gave Gadget when his face was swollen.
However, Gizmo’s foot still hurt. So, apparently, Tylenol and Ibuprofen are really bad for dogs, toxic at low doses. However, aspirin is acceptable (but get your dosing information correct). Aspirin can upset the stomach, and Gizmo has a sensitive stomach. So, we gave him a large coated aspirin disguised as a large hunk of cheese!
Hopefully he feels better soon!
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Useful Pug Products
-
We use Bissell Pet Carpet Products
. They work great!
-
Microfiber Cleaning Cloths
are great for cleaning up messes, and are reusable.
- Kids n Pets - absolutely the best for household spills and stains
Pet Cleaning Products
We saw these products on TV this morning, and I thought everyone would be interested in hearing about them. The vacuum cleaner attachment is a combination of a brush and a UNIVERSAL attachment. You can brush your pug w/ it, and the fur will get sucked away. The SpotBot is a carpet cleaner that does all the work for you, you just put it down on the ground, and it cleans the spot it’s placed on. Finally, the Pet Hair Eraser is a tiny corded vacuum cleaner, almost like a dust buster, except it is just for cleaning hair. For example, you could keep it in a drawer by your sofa, specifically to clean the hair off the sofa before guests come over.
Here are the links:
- Bissell 98Q1A ShedAway Handheld Pet-Grooming Vacuum-Cleaner Attachment
- BISSELL 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser Corded Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
- Bissell 1200A SpotBot Pet Hands-Free Compact Deep Cleaner, Blue Illusion
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Martine Feeds Gadget
Martine is good at sharing her food with the pugs. So good, in fact, that we think they have brainwashed her into giving them half of her food! Maybe they tricked her, convincing her that in return for letting her stay here, they would require her to give them half of her food? Who knows, but she loves feeding them treats.
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Howl-O-Ween Photo Contest
FunnyFur Howl-O-Ween Contest
FunnyFur is having a huge “Howl-O-Ween” Photo Contest this year, and the winner gets a $200 gift card to FunnyFur. There is $5 entry fee, but 100% of the fee will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society. So, if you like Pugs in costume, submit a picture, and help a good cause.
Link: Howl-O-Ween Contest
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Dog Ear Infections for Beginners
This is a Guest Blog Post written by Dr. Susan Wright, Staff Veterinarian for DogFenceDIY.com
Dog Ear Infections for Beginners:
You notice that your dog has been swatting at his ears or shaking his head excessively. These are the classic signs of an ear infection. What causes ear infections in dogs and how are infections treated?
Dog ear infections do not happen spontaneously, but are secondary to some other condition going on in the dog’s ear. The most common causes are:
Allergies, either to foods, or the environment or a combination of both. Allergies cause an increase of secretion production (which naturally happens to keep the ears clean). Dead skin, warmth and moisture from the increase in secretion production are the perfect breeding ground for bacterial or fungal infections. For example, even though German Shepherds have erect ears, they are prone to allergies, which also make them prone to ear infections.
Foreign bodies. Plant matter, ear canal masses and impacted ear wax may lead to infection.
Ear anatomy. Dogs with floppy ears are more prone to infections due to the outside of the ear, the pinna, flopping over the opening of the ear. This reduces the amount of air that can get to the inner ear and creates a warm and moist environment. The breeds of dogs that fall into this category include pugs, spaniels, basset hounds and poodles. Also, some dogs have a narrowing or stenosis of the ear canal, which also stops air circulating and keeps the ear canal warm and moist.
You’ll need to visit your veterinarian to get an accurate diagnosis as to the cause of your dog’s ear problem.
She will take a look at the outside and inside of your dog’s ears using an otoscope to determine the extent of the infection. If the infection is only on the pinna and outer ear, the irritation maybe due to mild allergies, mites or scabies, and a topical medication may be all that’s needed.
If you dog has had chronic inner ear infections or infections that have never resolved over a period of months, a maintenance treatment plan of topical and systemic medications may be the best way to bring your dog some relief.
If the ear is very painful, or the infection is the result of a foreign body, or mass in the ear canal, your dog may need an anesthetic to allow your vet a good look at what’s going on.
She will also take a sample of the secretions to look at under a microscope to determine if bacteria or fungi are growing, and she may even have the sample cultured in a lab to see what specifically is growing so the appropriate medication can be prescribed.
When your vet has established the cause of your dog’s ear infection, she can start an appropriate course of treatment.
The ear first needs to be cleaned with a gentle cleanser to remove as much of the discharge as possible. Do not use cotton tips to “dig” the discharge out. You may actually push it further into the ear canal.
Antibiotic drops may be prescribed to topically treat the infection. Most antibiotic drops also contain an anti-inflammatory to reduce the pain in the ear. Sometimes, antibiotic tablets are added when the infection is more advanced.
In more chronic cases when long term inflammation has thickened the outer canal, and is preventing air circulation and drainage of any fluid, surgery may be necessary. This surgery will open up the ear canal and allow more air to get to the canal, and allow the ear to drain properly.
There are steps you can take to prevent your dog getting ear infections.
Keep the outer opening of the ear as clean and dry as possible. Trim or pluck the hair from in and around the ears. If your dog swims or has floppy ears, ask your vet about products to dry out the ear canal and stop moisture accumulating.
If your dog is showing signs of an ear infection, do not use old medications from previous infections. Your vet will need to reexamine your pet to determine what the next course of action should be, including what ear drops are important. Using the wrong medication can make things worse.
Ear infections are usually preventable. Your vet can show you how to properly care for your dogs ears to keep infections at a minimum and treat them efficiently and thoroughly when they do occur.
—
This Guest Blog Post was written by Dr. Susan Wright, Staff Veterinarian for Dog Fence DIY, a provider of do-it-yourself dog fence solutions.
Additionally, Malacetic Wipes & Malacetic Otic solution are great for cleaning pug ears & folds to help prevent buildup bad-ear-stuff. Check the products out and read the reviews — they are what we use on our pugs and are what our vet has recommended for cleaning their ears.
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Happy Birthday Oopsy!!!
Today, Oopsy is FOUR years old. That means that she was born on September 29, 2005, which means that Oopsy is a “KatrinaPug.” She was born in the aftermath of the storm. A lot has changed since she was born, but we’re still here, blogging and photoblogging all about pugs!
Happy Birthday Oopsy! Time for some Dog Birthday Cake.
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Sad Pug?
I saw a picture of this pug, and posted one of the pics to the Urban Pug Facebook page. Then, I asked people to post their “sad” pug pictures to the Urban Pug Facebook page, too. The results have been amazing! Lots of people have posted. Go check it out (you can check it out even if you don’t have a Facebook account), and if you DO have a Facebook account, please post some of your pics!
You can go directly to all of the Urban Pug Facebook Photos if you like.
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A Basket Case for Pugs
Martine has discovered playing in the laundry basket, and she has also discovered that it’s a whole lot more fun if you can fit some pugs in there, too. Oopsy is actually the easiest to fit in there, but she only tolerates being in there for so long. Gadget (as you can see in the video) wants absolutely nothing to do with this game. However, Gizmo, I think, actually LIKES being in there. I’m not sure if you can tell from the pictures or video, but he’s actually kinda relaxing in there, just chillin, putting his chin on the edge of the basket.
After a little while, Oopsy wanted out, but Gizmo didn’t want to get out until everyone else was leaving the room.
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Two more pics of Oopsy in a Bag
Martine loves making Oopsy get in this really large canvas bag. Oopsy, not so much. She tolerates it, but only for so long.
Here are a few other pictures of them playing.
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Picture Captioning
A few weeks ago, I posted a picture on Facebook, and asked people to suggest possible “picture captions.” I said I’d post the best ones to Urban Pug, but I couldn’t decide, so I’m putting all of them here.
Remember, you can become a “fan” of Urban Pug on Facebook, just go to http://www.facebook.com/urbanpug, and click “become a fan.” Then, you’ll be able to get Urban Pug updates in your stream. Anyway, here’s the picture and the captions.
- Uh oh….don’t think this bag will meet the airline weight limit
- I swear, Officer, I don’t know how it got into my bag…
- The culprit of the pug smuggling ring captured!
- Uh oh! You caught me!
- It was HER idea, honest! She made me do it!
- I just do what she tells, me….
- Shes with me!!!
- How did this puggie get into my bag and what is that smell?? And where is my lunch??
- Kisses now come in a handy carrying case
- Don’t look at me. She’s the one in a diaper!
- Who farted?
- Don’t judge! We are on our way to the try outs for the remake of Caddyshack!
- What did I forget ???…Got me..Got Best Friend…Yes
I have everything I need. - Well, I had a coupon.
- Martine had a little pug that followed her to school one day. It was against the rules, so what is Martine to do?
- Have pug will travel…
What’s your favorite? Do you have another suggestion? Leave a comment and let us know!
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Nico and Lola
A while back, I was sent a copy and asked to review a book titled: Nico and Lola: Kindness Shared Between a Boy and a Dog. Simply, it’s a picture book about a boy taking care of a Pug. However, it’s a lot more than just that. The aim of the book is to teach kindness to young children, and it is FILLED with lots of pictures of kids and a Pug named Lola.
Right now my reviewer’s perspective is that of a pug owning parent of an 18 month old. Kids that young aren’t exactly ready to fully understand the message of the book, BUT Martine absolutely LOVES all the pictures. You see, she’s used to seeing pugs in person, but all of her books have other kinds of dogs. So, when she gets to see a PUG in a BOOK, she gets really happy and points out the pug in each picture.
If you’re looking to get a book for a young child, I would recommend Nico and Lola. More information is available at the Nico and Lola Website.
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New Bed!
For 6 years, we have used. 6 years ago, Gizmo and Gadget claimed two old chairs we had as their own. Because the chairs got used by the pugs so much, they got impossible to keep clean, so we basically had to use them only as dog chairs. However, we finally decided to get a bed that’s designated as a DOG BED.
The pugs like it just fine, and they’re sleeping on it as I write this.
Update: Link to the bed we got on Amazon: Coolaroo Steel Pet Bed with Knitted Fabric
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