Vancouver Adventure: part 2

Ready for work
Originally uploaded by iTripped.

One of the other advantages of having Louise come to Vancouver last weekend was that she was able to come into the office on Friday to... um, well, disrupt things mostly.

When she wasn't begging for cereal, she was often running around checking to see which of the various employees happened to be eating. If she was not at my desk, I could either find her in the kitchen (trying to become someone else's new 'best friend') or in one of the meeting rooms, looking out the window so she could bark at cars.

Overall, she was well behaved though. I'm looking forward to being able to bring her in on a more regular basis once we get moved in.

Goofing around
Originally uploaded by iTripped.

This second picture was taken while Louise was getting a little silly in my lap. Every now and then she likes to 'burrow' in someone's arms. Personally I think it's a sneaky way for her to wipe the goop out of her eyes. Anyhow, that was what was going on when this photo was taken.

Vancouver Adventure

Louise was in Vancouver this weekend, and here are some photos we took while at Stanley Park. This was her first visit to the park (at least, with us) and she was very excited. But that could simply be due to the fact that she had been in a car all morning and was ready to run.

There are a few people we would like to thank: Bill, Colleen and their dog Daisy and also Noel, Lindsay and their dog Sasha. These people were kind enough to invite Louise into their homes for the evening, meaning that we did not have to use a dog kennel. Thanks again everybody - you really helped us out.

But back to Stanley Park. Louise is still overly excited whenever she sees passing cars, but we have noticed that she is starting to relax a bit (just a bit!) on that point. After about six thousand cars, the whole routine started to get old, even for her. But at Stanley Park, Louise got to see an entirely different creature: the Canada Goose.

We were able to pull up the car beside a dozen or so geese and let Louise hang out the window as she examined these birds safari-style. She wasn't quite sure if she should bark at them or not, as they didn't seem to be too worried about her being there. So she just stared at them for a while, fascinated. By the time we parked the car, she was more interested in the world of new smells to explore, and had to sniff just about everything in sight.

However, after about half an hour or so, the excitement was starting to wear off, and she was ready for another nap. As you can see in the final picture (which features Downtown Vancouver in the background) Louise was starting to get a little tired. This is a typical signal from Louise, one that she sends when she is getting bored of the camera, and having to sit still for all the pictures.

It was getting close to the time to find a new place to explore. Louise informed us that Stanley Park would be a lot more exciting if there was more to eat.

Classic Louise

Ours is a lap dog. A very skilled lap dog. One of her favorite activities is not really an activity at all, but the total non-activity of lounging on the couch - especially if it involves lounging on a PERSON who is also lounging on a couch.

If said person could also grab a blanket, and turn the TV on, things would be great.

This photo was actually taken back in February of this year, but it could have easily been taken last weekend, as Louise's habits haven't really changed much in this regard.

Creative Napping

Creative Napping
Originally uploaded by iTripped.

Another weekend, an other visit back in Vernon. At least the weather is much nicer this trip, so we had more time to relax and enjoy each other's company.

By the time I arrived back home this weekend, Louise was already settled into the bed for the night - and had to wake up a bit before realizing that I had arrived. Once she did, well it was party time. There really was no settling her down, which was fine by us. It's always fun to see a happy pug. She finally settled down after I took her out for her evening walk.

This is me, getting ready to drive from Vernon to Burnaby in the early afternoon. One of the last things I had to do before taking off was to say goodbye to Louise. She is getting pretty used to the routine, which is to say, she turns into one sombre little pup, as she knows that I'm leaving for a while.

My wife tends to have a similar reaction, especially if I haven't been particularly aggrivating during my visit.

But this blog is about Louise, and because of that I should mention that today she went out for her walk, lasted all of three minutes or so, and then promptly ran back up the stairs to the appartment. I guess it was a bit colder outside than she wanted to deal with.

But to be clear, Louise is a huge fan of the snow. She really enjoys it. She just isn't so fond of the bitter cold, which we sometimes get up in Vernon. I can remember times last year when I would have her out for her nightly walk, and would have to stop to warm her paws, as they were getting frostbite. I would know because she would stop, and raise a paw to indicate that it was starting to hurt her. At that point I would have to pick her up, and use the warmth from the palm of my hand to gently warm her paw. Sometimes it would be enough that we could continue, and other times I ended up just carrying her home.

We are in for more cold weather in Vernon this week - hopefully Louise is able to sneak out during the day when it is (relatively) warmer than at night.

Fashionista

One of Louise's favorite stores around town is Zellers. For the American readers, Zellers is very similar to K-Mart. She likes this store because they will let her come in, so long as she is either riding in a shopping cart, or carried. During the summer months this can be very important, as it can get too hot to keep her in the car while we run errands.

But today was a shopping day specifically for Louise. We took her to the store to try on a 'hoodie'. The picture is of her modeling it, but what you can't see is the little hood. (You can see one of the drawstrings though.)

Ultimately, we did not get it though. The fact is, Louise is just too big in the chest and it kept sliding lower and lower. It's tough to find well fitting garments for her. If it is big enough in the body, it tends to be too long, and if it's the right length, then it seems to be designed for an impossibly thin dog. Does anyone know of pug-designed clothes?

It don't look like this anymore

This photo was taken a few weeks ago, when I was back visiting in Vernon. Since then, it has snowed, rained, melted off, snowed again, etc.

Needless to say, the grass ain't so green these days. At least not in the dog park.

But that doesn't seem to slow down Louise too greatly. She is always up for a walk - so much so that unless we are serious about it, we have started to refer to it as a 'stroll' or a 'w-a-l-k' to avoid any misunderstandings. Because once you say 'walk', you better be prepared to put your jacket on.

Rediscovered toy

Last Christmas, Louise got a new toy 'bone' and she fell in love with it. She chewed on it, and carried it just about everywhere. That is, until she lost track of where it was.

We found it recently, hiding under one of the sofas (I think.) As you can see by the photo, Louise was thrilled to have her toy back. Every now and then she will get up, go find it and bring it back to where she was, so that she can chew on it some more, or just play with it. And of course, she also likes to sleep with it occasionally too.