More cute photos of Boba

PJs

Boba's modeling the new PJs her grandma gave her for xmas next to her fave cousin, Jack.

The Extended Fam

Boba it's cold outside...

On our way to the holiday pug meet up

Happy 1st Birthday, Boba Muqtada Wormington, III!!!!

12.1.07: Boba's first Bday!

Typing difficulties

The real reason for my lack of research productivity--being Boba's pillow makes for slow typing.
P.S.- Gotta love unicorn thermals.

Gobble Oink Gobble

Boba's first Thanksgiving, yummm.

Boba's back!

Pug Puberty and Single Parenting

Sorry about the long delay between posts. Boba's been in heat (ahh!), and her dad's away again. She's also entering a rather defiant phase of puppy-dom. I spend most of my time with her disciplining her and cleaning up her "accidents." Fun times. But she still has her sweet moments. She's quite cuddly at night and is attached to my ankle in the apt. I can't even take a shower without her trying to jump in, and she's no water baby. In terms of development, her face is starting to look more like a grown up pug, and her fur is not as soft as it used to be. I think these changes are occurring, but I could just be psychotic, you never know.

WWDWD? (What Would the Dog Whisperer Do?)

Bad Boba! Time out wasn't working, so Raj stuck her in the trashcan (it was empty).

Oink Oink

Yummm... Boba loves the bougie little desserts her Grandma sends her. I think her favorite is the pumpkin pie. She devours them in less than 5 minutes.

Birthday Gifts

Boba can be such a sweet pug. She gave me a lovely framed picture of herself for my birthday. It's the first thing people will see when they enter my apt.

Stylin'

How the cool kids sport visors.

Aloha Boba

Boba's Grandma sent her a lovely little Hawaiian dress and matching visor. Unfortunately the visor is a little large for her small pug head, but the dress fit nicely. isn't she a foxy little wahine?!

Pug Facial Expressions: The Zygomatic Smile

Who says dogs can't smile? This looks like a genuine smile to me!

Vote for Boba!!!

Please vote for Boba! Don't forget to verify your vote so that it counts. Boba will be oh so thankful for your vote and give you a personal snot rocket as thanks.

Click her to vote for Boba!

Father's Day...

Boba's father is requesting a gift for father's day, and I have mixed feelings about this. I can understand a Boba-oriented gift (e.g., I received a bag to carry her in for Mother's day), but he wants a Raj-centered gift (e.g., clothing from Sisley). I am resistant, but can't think of any Boba-centered gifts for him...maybe a new pooper scooper?

Animal cruelty

This is cruel, but she only had the doggy diaper on for a few minutes. Too funny! She looked like a baby monkey!

What a face

With a face like this, how can I not love her?

It doesn't hurt that Raj is finally coming back tomorrow, which means I'm off Boba-duty for a month:)

The Woes of Single Parenting

Raising a monster pug all by your lonesome self while working full-time (for free) is NOT easy. It sucks, for both of us. I'm not getting any work done while at home because I have to play with her, clean up her messes, etc., AND spend a good hour or more at the dog run every evening. She is not getting enough attention, and by the time I get home she's so anxious for some lovin' that she barks her head off. And you don't want to hear the sounds she makes when I leave her line of sight (e.g., I go to the bathroom).

I am counting down the days 'till Boba's deadbeat dad returns. HURRY UP! I love my little monster, but I am in desperate need of a Boba vacation. Otherwise, I might end up forgetting her at the dog run one night...

Enuresis Hell

Boba just peed on the bed, AGAIN! When will it end?! Thank goodness for the mattress protector. I try to get her to pee before bed, and she never goes. Sometimes she's fine until morning, other times, like tonight, she pees on the foot of the bed after 5 mins. Arghhh! And tonight's pee was no small twinkle, it was a serious flood. How can so much urine come from such a little dog?

And then there was one...

Boba and I are back in NY, and poor Boba Muq is depressed. She was receiving endless attention, never alone for an entire week straight. And now it's just the two of us, with me working while she attempts to entertain herself and whines by my feet. Come Tuesday, it will just be poor little Boba Muq, alone all day while I'm at work. Maybe Boba needs an Old English Bulldog sibling...

Pugs are "special"

Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs

WASHINGTON, DC—While pug owners are accustomed to chronic dog malfunction, the latest animals are prone to more than the usual overheating, seizures, and joint failure.

Boba's Tongue

Flying Boba!!

Boba's going to Cali. on Sat! I bought her a Sherpa carrier, which is not aesthetically pleasing but is practical for the plane. Here are some pics of the Binski testing it out.

Brown Nosing

Whenever I get out of bed before Raj, I throw Boba in bed with him to wake him up. She attacks him/licks him/scratches him, like an effective alarm clock. Friday morning I threw her on him and he screamed (louder than usual)-- he thought his face smelled like Boba shit. He was whining that he smelled and asked me to check, so I took a quick glance and nothing stood out on his brown skin. He continued to complain as Boba wandered around the bed. I looked at his face again and saw Boba poop smeared on his nose--GROSS!! She must have stepped on it while in her cage. Two days later and Raj still hasn't washed his face, the stench...

Blood Sucking Pug for Sale!

With Mother's day coming up, I'm rethinking my status as a pug mother. Perhaps, god forbid, pug motherhood is not for me. Today, (not) for the first time, I was so frustrated with Boba that I wanted to physically abuse her. I wanted to pick her up and shake her, spank her, squish her 'till her eyes popped out, and. . . Before I say more (in case there is a doggy CPS out there), I would like to clarify that I did NOT do any of the above, I did not physically abuse her. She was driving me insane. Rather than making any progress as she's aging, she's becoming more of a demon! Her separation anxiety-ish stuff, her out of control leash behavior, her overall uber brattiness.

Rather than beat her, I took her for a walk and told her that I was going to post an ad on Craigslist to rid myself of her, or abandon her in the dog run, or commit a suicide/murder as we jay walked... but I digress. So I settled on psychological and emotional abuse rather than physical. She ignored me and proceeded along as a happy demonic pug, eager to get to the park.

At the dog run, everyone loved her, thought she was adorable, blah blah blah. If they only knew. I had to feign agreement, wishing that I had any one of their much calmer, monster-free dogs. She played happily and, surprisingly, was only humped once. Perhaps her pheromones were off today. Little Boba Muq was having fun and came over to say a quick hello to me, and as she was psychotically jumping up and down (like she usually does), she bit me (like she usually does), but this time, she drew blood! Boba's bites have grown increasingly more painful the past few weeks, but never has she been so out of control with her biting. Surprisingly, after my earlier bouts of wanting to rid myself of this little evil, my desire to do so didn't spike. The presence of all of the sane dogs made me hopeful, that one day, she too will be normal.

Then we got home, she spazzed out, and all hope was lost.

Pug Monster in Action

This picture speaks for itself...

Pug Facial Expressions: Tard Teeth

This is my favorite of Boba's many facial expressions. It's usually a little more exaggerated than in this pic, but it's hard to get a photo of the Teeth. She usually does this after playing; I think her mouth gets dry, causing her lip to get stuck a little and her teeth to show. Makes me want to squish her.

Rebellious Pug

Now that Boba feels comfortable going both up and down the stairs in our apt. complex, her stubborn puggishness/pug stubbornness has revealed itself.

We went on a quick (30 minute) walk this afternoon, but didn't have time to hit the dog run, which Boba loves dearly. She was clearly not ready to return home, and started refusing to move on the sidewalk as we got closer to home. I carried her in, like usual, and placed her down in front of the stairs. Typically, she runs right up and never turns back, unless she's waiting for me to catch up. But today, she was defiant. She refused to go up the stairs. I was shocked. I placed her a few stairs up and started walking, expecting her to follow me. Instead, she ran back down the stairs to the door. I ran back down and carried her up two flights of stairs, then placed her a few steps on the third staircase, expecting her to comply. She started to go up a few steps, and then bolted back down the stairs. By this time, I learned my lesson and begrudgingly carried her up the four flights of stairs. What a rebellious little worm. Good thing she's only 10 lbs.

Boba's Specific Phobia

Boba's a brave little pug. She'll wrestle with me like she's the alpha and bitch smack Great Danes in the face like they're her hoes. Boba's a pretty chill dog, but she does have a specific phobia: stairs. She has a full blown panic attack whenever we try to leave the apt. and she sees the stairs. Tears form in her eyes, her heart races, she whimpers and crouches down like she's about to be beaten (no comment on my disciplinary techniques). I usually carry her down (yes, I realize I'm reinforcing her anxiety) the four flights of stairs as she panics, and once we're outside on the sidewalk, she's perfectly happy. Boba used to fear going up the stairs as well, but for whatever reason got over that fairly quickly. So today I decided I would use some flooding to get her over her fear of going down the stairs. I'll spare the details, but this basically involved slowly pulling her down (more lifting, really) by her harness. After about 10 minutes of this she finally gave in and attempted to go down a few steps on her own. A few treats later, and voila! Boba has been cured of her stair phobia. She ran up and down the stairs tonight, leaving me in her dust. I'm glad my 3 years of grad school have come in handy-- I can cure my dog of her phobias, success!!!

Pug Facial Expressions: The Tard Tongue

This is one of my favorite Boba expressions, the Tard Tongue (second only to the Tard Teeth). So adorable.