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.