Gladys is glad, glad, glad.

About three weeks ago I left foster-care to come to my forever home and even though not much time has passed I've got a lot to catch you up on.

Right after we signed the papers!

Before I even got to see my new house or meet everyone I had to spend a few nights at the vet in Casselton.  I was born with stenotic nares, a condition which caused the holes in my nose to be too small.  It is a common problem for short-nose (brachycephalic) breeds like pugs, bulldogs, and boxers.  The surgery was like a "roto-rooter" and widened my nasal passages so they would stop collapsing when I breathe in.

  

Just before the vet.

The vet suggested that I have that done when they spayed me so I only had to go under anesthesia, take pain medicine, recover, and wear the awful cone on my head (for a whole week!) once instead of twice.  I'm pretty happy about that. (It also meant I didn't have to wait to breathe better, which makes me healthier and life easier...and it saved my people lots of money.)  While they were in my head they found a baby-tooth that hadn't come through and removed it from my jaw.

It wasn't the best way to start out with my new life and family but the day after my surgery they came to pick me up (first thing in the morning!) and after a short car ride I finally made it.  Now that it's all said and done I'm glad that I got all the hard-stuff out of the way so I can focus on being a healthy, happy, playful puppy.

I spent the first few days here sleeping a lot and was sort of timid but then I started to feel a little better it became clear that I had also started settling in.  Since then I have been working really hard on potty training and am pretty good at letting my people know when I have to go outside.  (I've even started ringing a bell by the door when I can't hold it anymore!)  Some days I still have to wake up pretty early to go but I'm starting to able to hold it longer and longer; more often than not I even remember that my people want to go back to sleep but every now and then I get hungry and need play time to distract me.

I have yet to destroy this toy.  
Others haven't been so lucky.
R.I.P. Ducky

As you know I'm a pug so I'm pretty much always hungry.  On top of that I'm also super smart so I've been learning all sorts of new tricks.  In can now: sit, shake, lay-down, and stay (that one is a little harder, but I'm working on it).  Sometimes I want to show my people how good I am and how much I love them so do the things they've taught me without them even asking!  I know that I have to listen when there aren't treats and love to play with toys so I hardly ever get in trouble.

I'm pretty happy to cuddle 
whenever the opportunity arises.

I have a new brother who is also a pug.  His name is Moses and he is really, really, really old.  He pretty much just likes to take naps and hardly ever wants to play.  Sometimes he indulges me but mostly I think he just wishes I would lay down and cuddle with him.  Sometimes after I play I'm pretty tired so then I indulge him as well.

I was really happy to find out that he doesn't really play with toys much anymore and I get to have them all to myself; he doesn't even care when I take his favorite rope, as long as he's not playing with it.  That really helps me because sometimes I like to chew on stuff that my people don't want me to.  I'm grateful that they're helping me remember what is okay and what is not because sometimes I get really excited and forget.

The last week or so it has been nice enough outside that I get to go on walks.  I'm not very good at being on the leash yet but Moses is helping me learn not to pull and jump around.  Even with his help it is hard to ignore the smells and noises until I wear off a little energy.  Sometimes I get bouncy so I've also started to learn how to "fix it" when my leash gets tangled.  I can't wait for summer because I really like to be outside but my little body gets cold pretty quickly; eventually I hope to spend hours running around playing in the yard, hanging out at the dog park, and going for bike rides...it's going to be soooooooooo much fun!

Ten days after surgery I went back to the vet and they took my nose stitches out.  Since then I've been snoring less and during the day rarely can you hear me breathing; really only when I'm trying to get your attention, exercising, or showing my disgust (I'm pretty outspoken at times).  This coming week I have to go back to the vet again to get a skin-scrape to make sure that all of the mange is gone.  I'm feeling a lot better so I'm pretty sure we'll get good news so I don't have to take any more medicine!

Dog-gone tired o'blogging.