22 weeks-old: The early bird celebrates being 5 months old by staying cool

We had record high temps here in San Diego on the day I became 5 months old, it was 101 degrees yesterday which is not the most comfortable weather for a pug puppy. I had plans to socialize with other pugs at a happy hour pug meet up scheduled at a local BBQ restaurant yesterday afternoon but had to cancel due to the high temperatures. My parents and I were bummed we couldn’t make it but decided to play it safe and stay indoors with the a/c on since my breed tends to overheat when it’s hot outside.

Most of my potty breaks were very quick walks to the tree outside my building and my parents planned most of my long walks outside during the early morning while it was still cool. It was really nice being an early bird and running with my parents along the harbor after a quick starbucks pit stop for my mom. After our run, we stopped to check out all the nice boats that were docked. I peeked over to see the water and was excited to see two ducks swimming. I wonder if they were trying to stay cool too?… The weather in the early morning was perfect for me to get a little play time in with a nice run and I think my parents enjoyed the fresh air too!

I’m starting to enjoy the time I spend with my parents and they’ve found a few great restaurants with outdoor patios that are pet friendly so they can bring me along when they go out. Surprisingly, we are discovering more and more pet friendly spots in San Diego. In fact, we enjoyed happy hour this past Thursday and I watched football next to my dad at a local restaurant called, The Red Dragon. I thought I would share a picture of us since it is pretty similar to what I did today, relax with my dad while watching football while my mom cleaned up the house a little and watched from the kitchen. That reminds me, I want to congratulate the Chargers on winning their home opener today and their second game this season. I’m thinking my mom really needs to find me a Chargers jersey, don’t you think?

21 weeks-old: The Valet Desk and My First Puppy Tooth

I’m starting to become more familiar with my neighborhood and already have a few favorite spots that I enjoy visiting during my walks. First, the valet desk at the Marriott Gaslamp in front of Petco Park is hands down at the top of my list of favorite spots along with the valet desk at the Marriott Residence Inn on 6th. I’m pretty sure I’m known as a regular at both valet desks and have been caught pulling on my leash to get here…. not exactly a proud moment for my mom. These guys are amazing and their pet friendly service is top notch. My parents and I really appreciate how friendly the valet team is when they take a minute to pet me and give out a treat.

The second place would be the dog grass area in front of the Hilton Gaslamp where lots of other pups go to do business and I’ve met many friendly larger and small pups. The last great spot that also happens to be another definite go to place is Petco Park. The grass is clean, the staff is super friendly and the bonus is that I get to stop and visit the Marriott Valet guys on my way. Unfortunately, I’ve been known to throw a few tiny, stubborn fits out of disappointment when there’s a padres game and I’m not able to go in. Again, not my proudest moment, but I have to remind myself that the park was made for the Padres to play and not entirely for us four legged pups.

The best news I wanted to share, I had to save for last…. I am proud to report I lost my first puppy tooth! Well, the first puppy tooth that my parents have found. My parents were to told that I would begin to loose my puppy teeth and most likely will just end up eating them. To their surprise, I had just finished eating breakfast and started to make a noise in my bowl. My mom came over to find out what I was doing and noticed I was my playing with my tooth in my bowl so she picked it up to share my exciting news with my dad. Then the question was raised, “Is there a tooth fairy for puppies?”

20 weeks-old: Crashed my first Dog Park meet up

It was Labor Day weekend and my parents wanted to stay low key so they grabbed coffee and checked out a local smoothie place for breakfast. On their way home, they decided to stop at Balboa park for a quick walk and remembered there was a small dog park. Since this was going to be my first dog park experience they thought the earlier we went there might be a smaller crown and it wouldn’t be so overwhelming. We hopped out of the car and followed all the other owners with their pups and noticed two other pus walking towards the dog park. To our surprise, we opened the gates to many, many, many more pugs all gathered under a shaded tree.

My tail was wagging with excitement and curiosity as I started to notice all these pups looked like me and were very close to my size. I sniffed and smelled around to introduce myself to the crowd of other pups and their owners. After talking to a few people, I realized I crashed a pug meet up of other pugs and their owners. Immediately, I began to play chase with a few of the other pugs. At one point, I did get chased by a small crowd but luckily my parents were on watch and grabbed me before anything got out of hand. I figured it was my initiation to the crowd and jumped back in to play a little more with the other pugs. I played to the point where I began to pant so my dad picked me up and I knew it was probably time to leave. After we got home, we checked out the meet up site and found some great pictures taken by one of the members that captured my first time at the dog park.

After a little rest, I joined my parents for a late lunch at one of their favorite happy hour spots, La Puerta. I didn’t actually have a drink, it was my mom’s, but the people watching view is alway better when I sit in her lap.

The next morning we woke up fairly early and decided to extend my first time experience weekend by checking out Coronado dog beach for the first time. We arrived early enough to snag a great parking spot and made our way through the soft sand. I really enjoyed getting my paws in the sand and as soon as my dad let me off my leash made a quick friend with a black French bulldog. We played and chased each other through the shallow water. This friend of mine seemed to be pretty familiar with the beach and left to play with some of the other dogs so I ran through the sand with my dad while my mom watched. My mom and I dipped our feet in the ocean then a larger wave crept up and drenched both of us and I immediately froze. Not so sure I like getting completely wet just yet. I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon but may need a few more trips to the beach first.

After the beach, we drove to Southbark to get a bath and rinse off all the sand and the fun weekend away from my paws. My weekend was a very successful low key weekend of firsts…my first time at a dog park and a dog beach. Now that I know what is out there for me, I’m looking forward to many more meet up events with my fellow pug friends and early mornings at the dog beach.

19 weeks-old: My first photo shoot

We hear from everyone to take as many pictures possible of me while I am small because I won’t stay a puppy for long and will grow up real fast. Luckily, my dads friend, Justin, is a pretty amazing photographer and had me over for my first photo shoot. When we arrived, I met Justin’s pup, an English Bulldog, named Bunny. I was really excited to be in a new place and so it was hard for me to sit still long enough plus I really wanted to play with Bunny but I think Justin was able to get a couple of great shots of me.

I also included a picture he took a few weeks ago during Comic Con, a huge event held here in San Diego literally out my front door. Justin stopped by to say “hi” and snapped this quick picture of my dad and I. As you can see, he is a very talented photographer and some of the picture he took during Comic Con have received rave reviews. If you get a chance, you should definitely check out Justin, the photographer’s, site at http://www.Novakphotos.com

18 weeks-old: Sharing a treat with my aunt Mallory

My aunt Mallory flew in from Utah for a long weekend to spend some time with me and visit with my parents. She’s going to school in Utah and works part time so It was really thoughtful of her to spend her free time off with me. I sneaked up behind her to meet her at the baggage claim and I think she was surprised at how small I was in person. She sat in the backseat with me and kept me company while I slept as we drove her home.

The next two days my mom and dad worked during the day so I got to spend some quality time with Mallory. We played with my toy monkey and when I would get tired, I’d fall asleep and she would work on her computer. We worked well together. When my mom came home she would join us on my walk to Petco Park and sneak in a quick happy hour or shopping trip. One night, she treated me to my first pup cupcake from a local cupcake store down the street. I think we bonded over our love for this delicious treat, although her cupcake was not a pup cupcake and she ate the real thing. Now that I think about it… her entire visit was the real treat! I enjoyed her company very much and can’t wait for her to visit us again.

Did I mention she has her own blog? I follow it often to keep up with what she is doing and enjoy when she mentions my name. I definitely feel the love. Feel free to read her version of our special time together. http://mblack47.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/my-nephew-bentley/

17 weeks-old: My first flight to Napa

My first week walking outside was full of excitement and lots of girls shrieking with “oohs” and “awws”. I guess pug puppies have that affect on people. I think it also helps that I am not afraid to say hi to everyone, another great pug trait. My favorite spot to walk to is Petco Park to grab a spot on the grass and people watch in my new harness.

My parents were invited to a baby shower being held in Napa and after lots of research thought it would be a great idea to get me used to traveling and take me along for the trip. Hence, this post is all about my first flight and to make it better it’s to my dad’s hometown in Napa, CA. First a quick road trip in my new car seat to my uncle Troy’s house to spend some time with my cousins while my parents attended a wedding.

The next morning, we woke up early to board a 5:30 in the morning flight. All the sights and sounds of the airport were very new and I actually had to remove my harness and go through the security check in my mom’s arms. I was on my best behavior on my flight and pretty much slept through the whole flight. I think my parents were pleased at how smooth everything was traveling with me. Kudos to the Jetpaws crew with Jetblue airlines!

After we landed, I spent the day with my dad’s mom while my parents went to their puppy shower. I had so much fun exploring the new place we were staying at plus there was a small yard for me to explore. Again, my parents received rave reviews at how well behaved I was and my mom was relieved I didn’t have any accidents in their house.

The next day we sneaked in a quick shopping trip at Dean & Deluca for lunch goodies for my parents. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the day at my dad’s grandma’s house nestled in the Carneros area of Napa. I explored a bit around the ranch but with all the traveling the last few days found myself most comfortable near my dad’s grandma’s feet sleeping in the air conditioned house. I enjoyed slipping in and out of my puppy sleep while my parents caught up with everyone.

On my flight home I was more alert but still a well behaved pug. It was a quick trip but definitely one to remember and I could see myself traveling a lot more!

16 weeks-old: My first day of puppy kindergarten

Finally the long wait is over and I get to walk on my own outside and my first stop was Southbark Dog Wash for their signature blueberry facial. This place was amazing and their service is top notch. I was greeted with friendliness the moment I walked in with my tail wagging and was immediately given a tub. The blueberry facial was the perfect way to calm me down after I was overcome with all the excitement and the perfect way to clean my pug wrinkles before my bath. After a calming towel dry. I left feeling like a new man who could take on the world!

The next morning was my first day of puppy kindergarten, a class to help me socialize with other puppies, people and most importantly teach me and my parents basic puppy manners like sit, lay down, come, give, etc. I walked in and was overwhelmed with all the scents from other dogs but had no problem socializing with the other owners. Part of the class required my mom to hand my leash to another owner and they give me a treat to “sit”- I pretty much mastered this concept and enjoyed meeting the new people. The teacher told everyone I was “the social butterfly”, looks like the socialization skills I picked up from my puppy shower paid off. On the other hand, I was a little hesitant to play with my four legged classmates. I guess my first homework assignment is to socialize with other four legged friends.

The best part of the class was all the treats I received from the other owners and from my teacher. One lesson we worked on was learning how to “give” when we are chewing a toy. My teacher gave us a rawhide bone and a dried cod skin stick to switch out, I would chew on one and my mom would say “give”, I’d give it up for the other. I devoured the cod skin. My teacher was explaining to us how since we were puppies we needed to have lots of chew toys and the more natural the better. Many of the owners had a few questions which led my teacher to giving all of us pups a bone marrow to chew. My mommy felt like I was on an episode of Anthony Bourdain after all the new and interesting things I got to feast on. All in all my first day of puppy kindergarten was a huge success.

After school I cam home to a great surprise, my new harness and leash arrived. We decided to splurge on a buddy belt harness and leash that I could grow into. The arrival was perfectly timed for me to wear on my first visit to my dads work. My first 24 hours out and about was exciting and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.