Hey there Slopers – it’s me Sid today.

I hope you  all are staying warm and cozy. It’s been so dang cold here that I wish my dad would just buy some of those wee-wee pads so I can stay inside until Spring.

So I read on the internet that we’re supposed to leave cookies out for Santa to provide him the stamina required to deliver all those millions of presents and treats to humans and pugs around the world. So I asked my Dad to set out some cookies and almond milk (I also read Santa is lactose intolerant).

But I couldn’t help staring at the cookies; they were calling out to me. “Sid! Sid! We’re so tasty and filled with PEANUT BUTTER! Please eat us!”

It was UNBEARABLE to have them just sitting there, mere inches from my muzzle.

Then my little pug brain started thinking, with all the other BILLIONS of pugs and humans on planet Earth, doesn’t Santa get all the cookies he needs? Surely he’s not going to miss a few small Nutter Butters, right?

I thought perhaps my Dad would agree with my logic but he insisted that I could not eat any of the cookies. Being the persistant pug I am, I respectfully bowed down (you know, like you’re taught in gentle-pug finishing school) and dipped my head as low as it would go and repeated my plea.

But still my Dad denied me the cookies.

Humbug! Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll get lots of cookies later tonight and tomorrow. It’s just so hard to BE PATIENT when you’re a pug!

We got a decent dumping of snow over the weekend and most of it has stuck around. We’re supposed to get some more tonight. It’s actually really pretty. The initial snowfall is the best phase of snow, before it eventually morphs into grey piles of mush. The wonderful sight of Christmas light shining out under a thin layer of snow almost makes up for the fact that temperature is in the single digits.

Sid enjoys the snow, although when there’s more than an inch or so, it gets stuck between his toes and he starts trying to walk on three legs while staring at me pathetically. I can usually appease him by holding his limp paw in my ungloved hand to melt the snow and warm his paw up a bit, but other times the only way to console him is to carry him the rest of the way home. He was born and raised in southern California so I can’t fault him for having thin blood.

If it stays this cold, we’re going to have to double up his layer of confidence shirts and invest in some insulated pug boots!

Well, I hope everyone was as fortunate as Sid this year because he got all that his heart/stomach desired and more this Christmas.

First up was a hand-made fleece blanket from his grandmother (he’s sitting on it in the photo above). It’s extra thick so it doubles as a play mat where he can round up his toys and partake in a good chew session. The bright colors help balance out the ho-hum grey weather we’ve had all December in Chicago.

Also in the photo above you might be able to catch a glimpse of Sid’s new collar (look closely under the neck fat).

It was made by Kelly from Collars By Design. She has fantastic patterns and it was hard for me to pick out just one. The collar is really soft, sturdy, and the colors are really vibrant! I would definitely recommend her shop if you are looking for a new collar with some style.

Lastly, Sid got a Wigzi  Stuff n’ Throw ball and grain-free crunchy peanut butter treats (“Tasties“) to stuff inside the ball’s pockets. He absolutely LOVES this thing! It’s perfect for keeping him busy while I shovel down my own food.

Oh yeah, and last, but not least: Squeakers.

And by Squeakers, I mean a GIGANTIC BAG FULL OF SQUEAKERS!

Whoops – I said that too loud and now Sid is staring at me expectantly.

For those of you that might not be hip to the cutting edge of pug culture, according to Sid – “Raw squeakers are the new coolest thing among pugs“. You can read more on his obsession with “raw squeakers” here.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and all got some fun and tasty stuff!

First of all, Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas and New Year’s have already passed and I’m sure everyone is eager to get on with 2012 and return to normal life, but we wanted to do a quick recap of our trip with Sid to Chicago for Christmas with my side of the family.

I’m sorry, Sid – but all those presents aren’t just for you!

The three of us stayed with my sister and her husband in their amazing pug-proof house. See, they are also familiar with a food-motivated dog – their Bichon/Poodle mix named Sweetie has an appetite on par with our flat-faced wonder. Sid had met Sweetie before when we passed through Chicago on our cross country drive from California to New York. For the most part they got along well – although Sid was a bit of a jerk and commandeered all of Sweetie’s favorite toys. Luckily, Sweetie lives up to her name and was kind enough to let him chew on her prized possessions.

Sid and Sweetie teamed up anytime someone was in the kitchen. They would turn on the charm, do tricks, create distractions, basically anything they could think of to obtain a morsel of what was on the counter. We were extremely diligent in assuring that nothing fell down to their level, but that didn’t squash their optimism.

My sister’s house is very sunny and Sid quickly discovered many warm, cozy spots to lay down and relax in. In addition to taking over Sweetie’s favorite toys, he also found her favorite spot on the back couch cushion and after a few spins was soon nested in. (Sorry, Sweetie! Sid can be a turd sometimes.)

Sid received many nice toys and treats for Christmas, including a Christmas neckerchief handmade by my sister and a new plush frog toy from my parents. Almost immediately after getting the frog, one of the little legs came off. Sid forgot about the rest of the frog and carried the little lone leg around with him the whole night. He loved that little leg.

Um, Sid – you sure you want to play with just the leg?

He also got a package of his one of his all time favorite toys – plush potatoes. Yes, these seemingly simple toys are one of Sid’s favorites. His favorite game is catch and these potatoes are the perfect size for him to catch. Plus – they have a squeaker inside which he adores (and quickly destroys).

Hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday. We’re hoping to get back to regular commenting and posting now that we are slowly getting back to normal life. We have a few more stories and photos from Sid’s trip, including a special “in-the-fur” meeting with one of Sid’s pug-blog pals, Payton!

P.S. Thank you all for your tips for flying with your pug – I think we used just about every single one. I’m so proud of how good Sid did! He’s a flying ace now.

The past twenty-four hours have been so awesome that we have TWO exciting topics to explore in today’s post.

First up, Miss Timothy Buttons came over last night with her parents and her brand new red Sherpa travel bag.  Her bag is just like Sid’s, except it’s Timothy-sized.

Yes, the bags are slightly different sizes, but we humans are bozos sometimes, and as soon as Sid and Timothy got inside the bags, we forgot which pug was where.  It’s in situations like these that a pug’s obsessive love of treats comes in handy:

Next, Sid woke up to find this package under the Pug Slope fiber-optic Christmas tree!

At first he thought Santa Pug had visited, but then he read the return address and realized someone even more awesome than Santa sent him this package – PAYTON!!

Sid wanted to open the package as soon as possible, but first he begrudgingly posed for a photo.

Inside the package were two wrapped presents and a little card!  Sid impatiently posed for another photo before unwrapping the gifts.

Seriously, guys. 

OMG, Payton!  An APPLE!  With a WORM!!!

Payton, it’s almost as though you regularly read a blog about Sid or something and know that apples are his FAVORITE things EVER!!

The apple toy was such a home run that Sid didn’t even wait to open the second present before going into full-on apple attack mode.

Sid quickly figured out that the worm comes out of the apple!  It’s like a mini puzzle toy!! He’s loves puzzle toys!!

When Sid finally calmed down from playing with his new BEST TOY EVER, we unwrapped the second present – a tiny Cuz!!!

Sid hasn’t quite figured out how to play with the Cuz yet…perhaps we can get some great photos and video of the amazing Miss Payton teaching Sid how to Cuz it up WHEN THEY HANG OUT NEXT WEEK IN CHICAGO!!!

Sid told me to say thank you SO MUCH to Payton and her parents for such an awesome and thoughtful surprise, and he can’t WAIT to learn how to Cuz from the master!!

Now that the barf-tastic events of this Thanksgiving are behind us, Sid can barely contain his excitement for his favorite holiday – Christmas!