Dogs - classic or dud?

hmm, wonder why blue heelers might be so timid with other dogs. Whens she sees cow or horses she goes insane but a bumbly, fat lab makes her cower!

That's not what HE would say!

I've had pugs since I was five years old. The original trio I grew up with--the happy little pug family of Rosie, Jubie (Rosie's daughter) and Rocky (Jubie's son)--are all gone now.

Jubie was the first to go. She died in her sleep in early 2002, during an hour-long episode of Will & Grace. :( I was pretty devastated. Yet, surprisingly, I found myself wanting a new puppy soon after her passing. The first time I opened the newspaper to Classifieds to look I found an ad for fawn/black mask and black pug puppies in a town nearby. I brought my baby, Oliver Jose, home one month later. Rosie was half-blind in the only she had left (a rooster got her when she was young), so she didn't pay the new arrival much mind. He sure gave Rocky a new spark, though. Rocky would sit beside Oliver's box and watch over the little one while he slept. And once Ollie got a little bigger, he took to sleeping with his head resting on Rocky. It was terrific. They were good buddies. :)

When Rocky died suddenly in January 2005, it was devastating. (I didn't even get to say goodbye.) It wasn't just my parents and I who were heartbroken, though. Oliver didn't understand why my mom had taken Rocky away (to the vet) only to return that night without him; he became really depressed. It was so sad. :( He didn't know what it was like to be the only pug in the house. I knew I had to get another pug for him ASAP.

My mom and I got together a large assortment of newspapers from around the Bay Area and Sacramento. Amazingly, the first one I picked up (The Sacramento Bee) was packed with classified ads for pug puppies. One of them was for a litter of fawns and brindles. I'd never even seen a brindle pug before, so I had to call that one first. The lady had one male brindle left. She emailed me some pictures of him and I fell in love. They were coming from Oregon, so all the new puppy parents had to meet in the parking lot of Sacramento's Arden Fair Mall. When they pulled up, I rushed over and saw two big round eyes peering out from one of the kennels in the back of their SUV--a pug! Then I looked past the pug puppy sitting quietly up front to the one tearing up newspaper behind him. That was my Jack! haha As my dad drove us out of Sacramento, I put on the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet. Jack raised his little head up and looked attentively at the speakers, like he was really diggin' the music. I later learned that he likes James Brown and harmony vocals (cf. CSNY), too. I was so proud. Anyway... When we got home, teeny little Jack actually chased Oliver. It was like a mouse chasing an elephant. hahaha We'd been telling Ollie that we were getting him a new toy to play with, but it took a while for him to warm up to Jack. You know puppies aren't supposed to go outside until they have all of their shots. When Jack was finally able to go into the backyard, Oliver--to our great surprise--began chasing Jack and wrestling with him in the grass(I got pictures, of course). It was hilarious. Now they're like real brothers.

I love my puggies. The biggest dogs in the Toy Group. Not little yappers! They've got personality by the ton. Charming, boisterous, sweet, fiesty, soulful (those eyes!), funny, curious, clever as can be and oh so lovable. Their very thinking creatures and you'll see it written all over those wonderfully expressive faces. Another expressive feature of a pug is their snort. Oliver & Jack mostly do it when they're happy or content. I love it. Pugs are very loyal and loving but they do possess a great stubborn/independent streak. Yup, they've definitely got minds of their own. It's pretty funny to see a pug get indignant. I don't wanna make it sound like they're not difficult to train, though, 'cause they are not. They're very intelligent and quick learners. It only took Jack one or two lessons to catch onto to "sit" and "come inside" (treats helped!). Oh! How could I neglect to mention how cute they are?! http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/froehlich/e006.gif

If you're thinking of getting a new dog, Sick Mouthy, I wholeheartedly recommend the pug. They're awesome. Don't know what I'd do without 'em. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/CitizenGatsby/1grinsmilie.bmp

"I want CHAKI!"

Oliver:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/758/pr09961181597a20tl.png

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/2695/pr09961181511b1ao.png

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/993/pr09961181522a7fn.png

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/628/pr099611045107a6ut.jpg

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/728/pr09961122960rsu1c5jv.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5792/pr09961122977bw12mo.jpg

Scrappin' with a couple chihuahuas in the parking lot of Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento:
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/9530/pr09961123084a10zb.png

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/8398/pr09961181533a22qg.png

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41552000/jpg/_41552924_ankara_220_afp.jpg

my friend ellison's dog Knoe died last week, she was 12 and had cancer. she had to be put to sleep. :-( she was a great dog. RIP Knoe.

This is my dog guarding the weaponry in our office hallway:
http://static.flickr.com/40/112897806_d56f85224a_o.jpg

I know a few sweet rescue dogs, and their owners also got that benefit, although they came with some problems (mostly super shyness) as well. So it's not always a perfect situation.

Cats are unable to kill you, but would want nothing more and this angers them immensely.

Personally, I bear dogs no ill will but I've got no use for their barking and shedding and drooling and farting and the hair all over the place and the licking their ass and then licking your face and the filthiness and all of that. Cats, I'm highly allergic to so I've never thought much about it. I exist separately from them and always have.

But pugs are cute as hell, as are dachshunds and welsh corgies. I'm tempted sometimes.

ok, so this is the funniest thing i've read today so far.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1124/741750900_aa37eedc55_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1065/740883845_b07be68401_b.jpg

Is that a pitbull/freetail bat hybrid?

OMG PUPPY I LOVE YOU! That is the same face my dog makes in that position, except when you aren't giving him a belly rub, he looks at you from the corner of his eye like, "Where's mah bely rub?"

yay! fat beagles!

I just (yesterday) got home from house/dog-sitting a labrador. It is joy being in a home with no dog hair and no wet doggy smell. I vacuumed that place every day and there was STILL hair everywhere, nearly drove me batty. The dog was gentle and lovely, but a tad clingy - I'm glad to be home not having her following me everywhere in the house. I think if I ever got a dog it would have to be reasonably independent and not pine for me every time I left the house.

dogs=classic!!!
we have a staffy/lab/? cross called Bella, and she brings so much joy into our house (fuck that sounds corny, but it's true). she's kinda like an ADD 4yr old on smack sometimes, but she's so much fun, so loving and so smart. awhile ago my flatmate was imitating the sound of a motorbike (don't ask) and bella started to imitate *her*...

a couple of nights ago i gave her some bones, but because she swallows everything whole, she started choking on it. it was one of the scariest things - my flatmate put her hand down bella's throat and pulled it out, and she was ok. but it made me realise how devastated i'd be if anything happened to her.

Oh so classic.

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v62/8/65/19400695/n19400695_30292316_384.jpg

I'm okay with dogs as long as they're the quiet type. The ones I've known like this were also big dogs.

But I am a cat man, always will be, etc.

My wife found this on the internets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/whippetgood.jpg

It's a whippet.

for some reason that dog makes me think of the robot dogs in neal stephenson's 'snow crash'.

I like other people's dogs but don't want one myself -- like lots of people say about children. Had dogs growing up and have "known doglove" but still vastly prefer cats to dogs. My mother is coming to visit in a few days with her dog who growls at and nips at children. Should be a hooot.

http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-gallery/dog-pictures-breeders-puppies-rescue/catahoula-leopard-dog-pictures-breeders-puppies-rescue/pictures/catahoula-leopard-dog-0019.jpg

me and my closest childhood companion, jody.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t73/rubyred79/lkjjhgg4.jpg
we had to give her to my aunt and uncle when we moved a few years later. they were fuckheads who treated their pets like shit. about a month after my grandfather died (my other closest childhood companion) i found out from my cousin that his parents had jody put to sleep "because they wanted to get a new dog". i have never forgiven them for this.

Anybody see this one yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dzMp61G5w

Big dumb yellow lab wanders into Tour de France, hijinx ensue.

OMG Rubyred that is so utterly evil. You look v. v. happy with your little dog friend!

I wanted a dog more than ANYTHING as a child. Me & my neighbor worked out one day that we'd trade his collie for my Nintendo. When our parents came home, we of course were forced to undo the trade with which we were both very happy.

I didn't get a dog until I was 23 but he brings so much fun & joy & entertainment & calm & love to my life.

no offense to your family but those people were shits xxpost.
what maria d says, i've never had a dog and i love them but don't really ever want one.
dogs are great, but there's nothing worse than listening to dog owners talking about dogs.
i actually love these conversations! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> child owner conversations anywy. unless it's the parenting thread amirite

I have become a dog person and i wasn't even trying.

no offense taken, tremendoid. most of my family are indeed big shits. the dog (bella) isn't technically mine; she belongs to my housemate. i thought it was going to be kinda a pain having a dog in the house, but like abott says - she 'lights up my life'!!