It's been a crazy time since getting Pups the pug, I can't actually believe he's one year old today. I've wanted a pug for as long as I could remember and I was the happiest girl in the world when I first met him, two days later he was coming home with me and diamonds are a girls best friend Pups is my best friend. Despite his name causing some confusion when the vet thought I'd be bringing in more than one puppy and just hadn't got round to naming them yet, it really suits him now much better than some of the names we came up with (Preston, Presley and Pepper to name some). Pups was the puppy that slept a lot, ate a lot and was very quiet, which lasted all of a few months...
A year on, Pups is one of the noisiest dogs I've ever come across. He barks a lot. I mean, a ridiculous amount. Even when you think he's asleep he'll be listening to the TV and wake up to bark at it (his favourite programme is Paul O Grady For The Love Of Dogs). It's not been the easiest time with Pups and I'll admit we still have a lot of issues we're working on: Pups doesn't like vehicles or people other than me, my parents and my boyfriend. He's actually quite aggressive if they get very close to him, and he'll go absolutely mental if anyone other than us four come into the house. It's so strange and we can't pin point when he changed from being calm and letting everyone stroke him to really having his defences up when he's out. He really doesn't like the vets and seems to associate cars/people with going there. He went through months of screaming at cars and people, and his walks were limited to 5-10 minutes every couple of hours because it was almost unbearable. He's got a whole lot better and rarely screams, just the occasional bark now when he's out. He has had blood tests to check that it wasn't a liver shunt causing the aggression but they were clear, and for now it's still a mystery, fortunately he's improving every day. Thank goodness for pet insurance.
But Pups is the most loving dog in the world to us. He sleeps on my bed and sometimes he won't fall asleep until he's been held in my arms. He's got his spot on the sofa despite having his own bed downstairs too and looks so cute resting his head on the arm of the chair. Pups always rolls onto his back when he's too tired and doesn't want to be picked up, yet goes crazy when I get home from work or my boyfriend comes for the weekend. He's 95% toilet trained but does favour one of the curtains in the living room, so strange :/ He wakes me up every morning by snorting and sniffing in my face (gross), for some reason this always seems to be about 30mins-1hour before my alarm urgh!
He loves cuddles, and always loves to play. His favourite toy is a manky old penguin toy that lost its' squeak a long time ago. If you don't throw it, he will bring it right up to you and keep nudging you until you do. This can sometimes be very late at night or early in the morning, he's very active! He eats a lot but is constantly running around (he doesn't ever walk; great exercise for me!) which is why he isn't quite as chubby as some pugs, he also has really long legs. He still fits in the bowl in the kitchen sink for bathtime though, which he loves as he gets a little massage! He's very cheeky though and will jump up if you leave your chair out from the dining table to check if there's any food. He runs up the stairs himself and jumps onto the windowsill which is his favourite place to sit/lie in the daytime, especially if it's sunny. He's not mastered going down stairs but he does now understand two basic commands 'sit' and 'stay'.
So the past year has involved Pups having all of his vaccinations, being microchipped, playing in the snow for the first time, becoming the boss of the house and taking over my bed, winding my other dog up on a regular basis and in a few weeks going on his first holiday. He's not too bad travelling in the car, but thankfully we're taking two cars and he's going with my parents rather than me!
To celebrate his birthday he'll be getting some more toys, some new treats (puppy milk for up to 18months is his fave!) and a new harness. He's been spoilt in the past twelve months and has got 3 beds, 9 coats and about 30 toys. I love him so, so much and he was worth every penny. I've been slowly trying to get round my dad to let us get another pug as all four of us love him more than anything and it would be great to have another addition to the family. I swear my eulogy will say "the crazy pug lady".
I post regular photos of Pups on my Instagram @rebeccalouiseee where you'll find photos of him from the very first day I got him!
