Duke Loves the Ladies

I am almost positive that Duke thinks the world revolves around him because everytime someone walks through the door, he automatically thinks that person has come just to see him. My boyfriend's dog, Jack, does exactly the same thing (which I think will be hilarious when they are both together). However, unlike Jack, Duke does not make any noise. He tries to climb up your legs, give you kisses, run around in circles, and to top it off his curly little tail manages to wag furiously ...and he does this everytime you walk through the door! How could you not love coming home??!

With that said, this past weekend my old athletic trainer from Fordham, Ann Marie (who is now happily working at Pitt), came out to the house. When she pulled into the driveway, Duke knew someone was there. He sat by the side door and waited patiently. Once I opened the door, he ran directly over to Ann's open car door and proceeded to demonstrate the first element of the 'welcome home dance'. Since Ann's car is raised slightly higher than mine, the little guy could not fully jump in, but he did the best he could. Duke must have liked what he saw because when Ann was finally able to get out of her car and shut the door, we both noticed a little pee puddle (on the cement, not in the car, phew).

During the time we spent at my house, Duke continued to harrass Ann. If she was sitting in the pool he would go over and try to drink her beer, when she pulled it away he would bite her pony tail, when she shoo'ed him away he would paw at her shoulder. This cycle repeated itself many times and I began to think back to most of the females Duke has met. He never does this to males, which brings me to the conclusion that my pup is a ladies man!

Remember in my last blog I was very excited to report that Duke is inheriting some of the dominant pug qualities?? Well let's just say I spoke too soon. After 2 bottles of wine and a couple beers out by the pool, Ann made the responsible decision to stay over. I was basically bragging to her about how Duke sleeps all the way through the night and, more importantly, how he sleeps in. So at about 7:00am Sunday morning I wake up to a whiny pup. I tried to shush him a couple of times, but that was unsuccessful so I got up and took him outside. Okay, so he just had to go to the bathroom, right? Wrong. We came back upstairs and for the next hour he sat in his crate staring at me while leaving out some pathetic whines and every once in a while an obnoxious bark. All he wanted to do was get to Ann. He knew she was somewhere and he needed to be there, too! When we were finally up and readying for the day, Duke continued to bother my poor friend.

Although it hurts a little when my puppy finds a new love interest, I know deep down that he will always come back to his momma. As for all you ladies out there, if this little guy can't win you over, I don't know who will!

It's Been Way Too Long ....

I realize it has been way too long since my last post, and I promise to no longer neglect the blogging world as much as I have in the past month -- so here it is people, what you all have been waiting for, more DUKE DIARIES!


Oh, but where to begin ......Duke and I have been spending a lot of time out by the pool, so I am trying to get him used to the water. He currently jumps down onto the first step into the pool to cool off a bit, but he can't quite figure out how to get down to the second step without drowning and it is absolutely driving him crazy. When I lay on a raft and float up to the pool's edge, he loves jumping onboard and floating around with me. I, on the other hand, am not a big fan of this.


As a couple of us found out a few months ago; my dog is a booze hound. I am beginning to think that his little 'problem' is only getting worse. I really frown upon giving dogs alcohol, but every time someone puts a drink down on the ground, preferably an alcoholic beverage, Duke goes right for it. If a beer is spilled, he is the first one on the scene for clean up duty. He will actually stick his entired head into a cup just to finished off the last couple sips. One night we stayed downtown at a friend's apartment and Duke got a hold of a solo cup. It was quite the sight when his entire head was submerged in the cup and he was walking around without a clue as to where he was.

I would have to say the greatest thing about my little guy is that he is becoming housebroken. Except for the occasional pee when someone picks him up, I can't remember the last time Duke has had an accident in the house. (And when I say 'pee when someone picks him up', I don't really know if this is an accidental occurrence - he had to go and by picking him up you pushed a 'button' - or something he does on purpose to be a jerk ...). Not only is potty training going rather well, the Monster himself is beginning to learn the ways of the pug. A couple of months ago I figured my days of sleeping in were over, but now, some mornings I have to drag the little fella out of his crate. Unfortunately, along with all this sleeping comes the pug trademark ...snoring.

So now, Duke has finally worn himself out and is snuggling (and snoring) ever so peacefully up next to me. These past 6 months have flown by and it's amazing how he suddenly has the ability to do things that he couldn't accomplish the day before. As for me, I promise to provide updates more frequently! Not only for Duke's die hard fans, but also for myself, so one day I can look back and track my pups progress.

Day at the Pool

Last week while I was at PetSmart picking up puppy food, I happened to pass by the doggie clothing aisle. Of course, I just had to see what they had. After about a half hour of browsing through EVERYTHING available on the shelves and trying to figure out what my little pup would fit into, I decided to go with the doggie swim trunks.

Since the weather this weekend was gorgeous, I had plenty of opportunities to get my little guy in his brand new swimming attire and take tons of pictures and videos.

So, here is a video of Duke running around in his over sized swim trunks ...

And now here is a video of Duke doing anything to get out of his doggie swim trunks ...

Weekend Recap

At the tender age of not quite 5 months, Duke is turning into a little traveling puppy! This past weekend we found ourselves in DC with Andrew. We stayed at his grandmothers very big, very old house in Chevy Chase. Nothing too eventful went down, but as Andrew would say - Duke was 'turding it up' all weekend. The majority of the weekend we found him exploring Grandma Shang's bedroom (which was off limits to him) or trying to steal toilet paper from her bathroom (which was also off limits to him) ...not to mention the numerous pain killers I found him chomping on.

Also this weekend, Duke finally found his voice. He now barks at anything and everything. Before the weekend was over, Grandma Shang even asked if I was going to put him through a puppy class!

Finally, I am beginning to think my little guy doesn't really like the boyfriend. Not only does Andrew torture the crap out of him (refer to the pictures attached to this blog), but I kinda make Andrew do all the mean things. My reasoning? I do the disciplining all the time! I also can't help but think there might be a little jealousy present ..both ways! Well, either way, these two better work something out soon!

PS. I just got Duke doggy swim trunks. Pictures coming soon!

Duke's Girlfriend

Each morning as I get ready for work, I have a little puppy attached to my feet. Literally. He likes to chew my toes, ankles, and pretty much anything that moves. He follows me from my room to my bathroom, my room to my bathroom, my room to my closet (and so on) I don't even know how many times each morning. One may ask, how do you refrain from stepping on the little guy?? And my answer: I do. A lot. But I must admit I have become quite nimble in the past couple months. I was beginning to think the Monster was obsessed with me until someone else caught his slightly-lazy eye ...


This past weekend one of my best friends from college, Beth, stopped by Pittsburgh for a short visit. After some minor complications which are neither here nor there, we made it to my house. I ran excitedly across the kitchen to release the Monster, and the second I opened the mini crate door, Duke bolted out of his crate running directly to Beth. He did his usual welcome home dance (even letting out a bit of pee), without taking one second to notice me! I tried to call him over so he could do the welcome home dance for me, but I got nothing. Feeling a bit depressed, I grabbed one of Beth's bags and we headed upstairs to get ready for the evening.

It was then when I realized maybe this new arrangement wasn't so bad after all. The second Beth put her bag down, Duke jumped right on top of it and began tearing articles of clothing out of the bag. Discovering anything from shorts, shirts, socks, shoes and bras, Duke would take an object in his mouth and run furiously down the hallway. As Beth was chasing her new Toms down the hall, I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I was able to put on a pair of pants without an eight pound puppy hanging from the pant leg. I forgot what it was like to put on a shoe and not find the other one all the way across the room in my puppy's mouth. Suddenly those feelings of depression I felt earlier turned into feelings of sheer happiness.



Duke continued to follow (and terrorize) his new love throughout the weekend, and come Monday morning in one final attempt to impress his lady friend, he got a hold of the toilet paper in the downstairs bathroom and ran with it through the house. I thought that only happened on TV!



Now, Beth is gone, and Duke is back in that old familiar spot between my feet. He may have a fickle heart, but I have a feeling he will always come back to me .....as long as I keep giving him treats!

Duke in Action!!!

I know it has been a while, but now that I have replaced my computer charger that Duke so kindly chewed up, I will be able to update his fans more frequently! For now, I leave you with a video of Duke playing with his rubber duckie. Andrew and I created a YouTube account so if you get a chance check out our other videos! The account name is SaltAndPepperPugs (clever, right??). Enjoy!

Gotta Love Monday Mornings!

After a wonderful weekend road trip with my little guy, I was thinking maybe, just MAYBE, we were finally getting this potty training thing down. Unfortunately, Duke found a way to piss all over my dreams. Literally.

Saturday afternoon the monster and I set out on a three hour car ride to surprise my dad for his 62nd birthday. Since Duke prefers to sit on my lap, and only my lap in the car, I chose to be a responsible driver and put him in his mini crate for the duration of the car ride. The mini crate is just that, mini, and he can only really stand and turn around in it. After putting up a pretty big fight, Duke finally went into the crate and within minutes he was sound asleep.

Once we arrived at the hotel I took him for a long walkies because about an hour later I had plans to meet up with my parents. Being an accommodating momma, I put Duke in the hotel bathroom with his bed, water bowl, and an abundance of chew toys. Before I left I was sure to "Duke proof" the entire bathroom. After a couple of hours and one too many drinks, I came back to the hotel room expecting to find the remains of a battlefield in the bathroom. To my disbelief Duke was sleeping peacefully in his bed and the bathroom floor was spotless! Amazed, I took my pup out to go potty then went to bed for the remainder of the night.

Besides some minor windshield wiper issues that I won't get into, Duke endured the car ride home just as well as the previous day. Sunday evening I was feeling pretty good. Not only was he learning to hold his bladder and go potty outside, but also he was beginning to master the sit and stay commands. I couldn't help but think that my turd of a puppy was starting to listen to me. Enter Monday Morning ....

Duke (in his big crate directly next to my bed) and I were sleeping like babies until my 6:45am alarm went off. At the sound of first beat of my alarm ringtone, Duke was whining to be let out of his crate. I, on the other hand, love hitting that snooze button. An extra 10 minutes was all I needed, so I grabbed Duke before he could take a leak in his crate. As he does every morning, the monster was jumping all over me, licking my face and biting my pillows. Ugh okay okay I'll get up. Leaving Duke on my bed (because "he won't go on my bed"), I grabbed a sweatshirt, turned around and saw the very last thing any person would want to see at 6:50 Monday morning. There he was, in all of his little puppy glory, taking a nice, long morning pee on my comforter. Happy Monday morning to me!

Now as I lay in fresh out of the dryer bed linen and my tired little pug pup snuggles up next to me, I can only be optimistic: Duke will be going potty outside in no time, and come to think of it, it was probably time to wash my sheets anyways, right?

Meet Duke

As I sit here on this rainy Friday night, my 4 month old pug puppy, Duke, is eyeing up a plant in the corner of the living room. He is in 'attack mode' and inching around the chair trying to figure out a way to sneak up on this mysterious object. Oh wait, he heard an odd sound coming from the television ..back to chewing on Army (His armadillo chew toy). I can honestly just sit and watch him for hours. And to think, a couple weeks ago this little guy couldn't stay awake for more than a half hour at a time!

Anyways, I'm not exactly sure how to start a blog, but I think I should set up my story. After living in New York for about a year with my boyfriend and his 4 year old pug, Jack, I moved back home to Pittsburgh. Long story short, I love my boyfriend and all, but Jack ..oh I just fell in love with him. I would be miserable after a long day of classes, basketball practice, and to top it off a grueling walk up 5 sets of stairs. I'd open the door to my boyfriends apartment and just like that, I would forget about everything. Jack always greeted me at the door as if it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. For this reason, along with various other pug qualities, I knew I wanted one of my own one day.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2010. I was sick of waiting and the pug hunt was officially on. I did a little research online, but I felt extremely overwhelmed. Since Jack is a fawn male, I wanted to switch it up a bit and decided to look for a black male. After a ton of frustrating internet searches, emails, and phone calls I finally got in touch with a breeder who had 3 pugs left for sale - 2 fawns and a black male - That day I drove out to see the little guy and immediately fell in love. Two weeks later I drove 45 mins up the highway and picked up the little stinker.

After being around this puppy for about 3 months now, I can describe Duke in one word, TURD. Anywhere I go, Duke has to go. Anything I touch, Duke has to touch. Of all the toys I have bought for him, he prefers to chew my shoes, newspapers, bathing suits, HAIR (that's right, the hair on my head), pillows, socks, hairdryer defuser and so on. But after all is said and done, I love this little guy. He has certainly brightened up this transition period in my life, and I love the bond we already share.

Now as a worn-out Duke sleeps on my shoulders, I am kicking myself for not starting this sooner in his little puppy life! But I know I will have plenty to write about in the months to come. So join me as I attempt to keep up with my job, exercise schedule, social life and this crazy puppy of mine. I guarantee you will be entertained.

That's it for now. Happy Friday.