Text-only edition

Our camera seems to be broken so there aren't many Tojo pictures to post these days. Tojo has been busy, though. This morning he traveled to Astoria Park for another pug meet-up. There, he met many friendly pugs and sniffed many hindquarters. Then he took a walk by the river - Tojo seemed to enjoy the salty breeze. Now it's time for a restful and cool afternoon in the apartment.

You may recall that Tojo is not fond of the rain and snow. It turns out that he's not too keen on the superhot weather, either - he will get so tuckered out that he lays down in the middle of a walk! Still, he does enjoy the fact that the nice weather brings more dogs out for walks, meet-ups, and other activities.

Tojo does not have any summer trips planned yet, although there's a movement afoot to get Tojo to the beach soon. Hopefully our camera will be working by then if we do go.

Unrelated Tojo anecdotes

1. We talk to our dog on the street. Sometimes, this one-sided conversation probably sounds to outsiders like the rambling of the lonely ("Look, Tojo, peaches are in season!"); sometimes, it's like the comfortable commentary of an old couple ("We'll have some pug food for dinner tonight"). Tojo doesn't seem to mind as he merrily trots along, sniffing everything and giving the stink eye to Boston Terriers.

2. Tojo was recently given a gaggle of old stuffed animals to play with. He left behind a trail of stuffed animal carcasses, most notably this one:

Splendor in the pug grass

It's spring! Time for lots of smells - flowers, trees, and grass! A pug is ecstatic.

Prime ministers don't like wet paws

Just some random shots of the Toj. He is very upset by the current rainstorm and refuses to use the bathroom outside. Good times.

In like a lion, out like a lamb

Tojo is slowly turning into a mature pug. He's drastically improved in the housetraining department, and he has learned to love to just chill out sometimes. It's a wintry April night and we are all enjoying a night inside with our favorite toys - Greenies, laptop or "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

March madness

Tojo turned one on March 8. We decided it was time for him to start eating grown-up pug food. He quite likes it, as you can see here. Tojo also went to his first Pug Meet-Up, where he got to see his old friend Peanut and hang out with some new friends. Tojo also recently got a new toy - tentatively named Manny - upon which he loves to chew. The author of this post has noted with some amusement that Tojo now looks a little differently at the Boston Terriers in our neighborhood; he seems to be thinking, "Yeah, I could fit 'im in my mouth."

More winter fun

Although Tojo did not get to travel to the ultra-snowy environs of Syracuse, NY with one of his owners, he did get a very safe safety-yellow vest from his human great-aunt Judy. Tojo enjoyed wearing the safety-yellow vest on Oscar night, where he was easily seen by all guests at our party.








Tojo continues to dislike going outside in the wintry weather and often tries to hide when it's time to go for a walk. Here, you can see him using his chameleon-like blending abilities as he sits in a chair. It's good that we did not receive the safety ORANGE vest, or Tojo would probably spend the rest of the winter blending in with our couch.

New pug clothes

We are huge dorks and knitted a little preppy pug-sweater for Tojo. It doesn't fit him very well, so perhaps next time we should follow a pattern. Luckily, one of us got a book of dog sweater patterns from a friend!

Winter is here

Our little corner of the world had its first major snow last week. This came as a shock to Tojo, who, as he approaches one full year of age, had not experienced such accumulation. At first, he was happy to smell new things, but as the snow lingered, he began to view the snow as more of a cold annoyance. Tojo has always hated getting his paws wet in the rain, and the moist snow was not any more pleasant for him. In protest, he stopped using the bathroom outside (this was NOT a good week for housetraining!). Even his warm coat would not convince him to spend much time outside. We even bought him some jaunty little booties, but they did not please Tojo. We hope that the winter ends soon so that Tojo can start enjoying the great Queens outdoors again ... or we will have to move somewhere considerably less snowy.

Since the writer of this update hates the snow as much as Tojo does (perhaps he got it from her!), the only picture we have to post is of Tojo taking out his anger on a winter hat.

Devil dog, indeed

Recently we went to Paris without Tojo. To try to salve Tojo's feelings of jealousy, we treated him to an exciting vacation in the Fortress of Solitude with our wonderful friends Team Inwood. Unfortunately, photographic evidence shows that Tojo perhaps wasn't on his best behavior:

SCARY!

A very nice pug gift

We wouldn't have Tojo if it weren't for Kevin. Luckily for us, Tojo and Kevin's pug Peanut were not the best of friends, so Tojo needed a new home where he could be the only prime minister pug in the house.
Kevin came over last Saturday to bring over a gift for Tojo - a very cute dog coat that his mom had made! Tojo has very much enjoyed wearing his new coat, especially since the weather has turned cold. From all of us - thank you!

An injured puggy

Tojo had a major scrape last Friday night. He was chewing on a hanger when the metal hanger-y part punctured the top of his mouth and went into his sinus cavity. It ... looked, and sounded, insanely painful. Our dog walker happened to be in the neighborhood and came over. At that point, it didn't look like there was anything wrong with his mouth except that he had bitten his tongue. Tojo seemed to sleep that night. The next morning, though, we decided to take him to the vet because his eye was looking pretty disgusting. Tojo will be ok, but has to take several medicines until he gets better. At first, he was having a slightly hard time eating and drinking because of the pain, but over the past couple of days his intense and neverending hunger has returned. He has seemed interested in chewing on his old toys, but he can't seem to do it for very long. We are so happy that our little Tojo is starting to feel better.

We Wish You a Merry Pug

After proving himself a pest to Chance at Thanksgiving, we were anxious about Tojo's first Christmas with Teddy (Herminson) and Mysty. Luckily, "Uncle" Teddy was proud to step up to the plate as Sheriff Teddy, telling Tojo when he was crossing the line. Tojo left his Christmas vacation a better dog. It was the best Christmas gift we got! Many thanks to Human Grandmother and Human Grandfather for their patience and love with little Tojo, and for a very special Christmas.

Long time, no pug.

It has been a long time since the Tojoblog was last updated. In part, it's that it's the start of the holiday season (Thanksgiving has already come and gone; Chance, for one, is very happy). There's also a chronic lack of time in the day (too much damned work!!). Last, and most unfortunately, it's that Tojo is a tough nut to crack ... or train. He still barks too much, bites too much, and pees on our clothes to much. Worse still, people stop us on the street to comment on what an "angel" he is. We try to agree, but it's hard when we know that as soon as we get home, we have to deal with a daft pug running around as we try to clean up the dozens of paper muffin cups he spread all over the kitchen floor, and prevent him from eating the plastic container they came in.

We often meet people who also have pugs, and we can't help but ask how long it took their pug to calm down. There have been a variety of answers, from a year to (depressingly) four years. We can't help but think, really? Four years of not having anything toxic or shatterable within an athletic stretch of a curious puglet? Four years of hoping the neighbors can't hear his operatic shrieks, whines, and barks? Four years of being human chew toys??

Honestly, though, at least on the part of the author of this post, the main reason the Tojoblog has lain fallow is that I can't believe how naive I was to think that this blog would simpy chronicle my usual life of leisure, accessorized smartly with a little fawn dog. Since the reality is quite the opposite, I suppose I'm feeling a little chagrined.

At least the feeling will last only one to four years.

Trick or pug

It was Tojo's first Halloween earlier this week. With children, it's probably important to have extensive photo documentation of "baby's first Christmas" or "baby's first birthday," but, with pugs, Halloween is the big day. Pugs like to be the center of attention, and Tojo is no exception. This year, after not having time to gather materials for our pug costume of choice (Crazy Cat Lady), we were lucky enough to be given an extremely cute pumpkin costume. Although it was a little big on Tojo, he didn't seem to mind. Sadly, only a few people saw Pumpkin Tojo, since we had no trick-or-treaters. Next year, we hope to go bigger and better with Tojo's Halloween costume ... maybe something that hints at our Tojo's personality.

Party time, excellent

Tojo got to meet a lot of our friends last Saturday at a birthday party ... well, meet their feet, at least.

Gifts from human grandma!

Tojo has enjoyed the fun gifts he got from his human grandma. Unfortunately, he has gotten too long for the very cute Asian-print carrier, but he looks very stylish in his denim vest. Tojo enjoys the way it makes him look even tougher than he is!

A quiet week

Tojo has had a fairly quiet week. He began being walked by Will, an activity that seems to tire him out. When we return home from work every night, Tojo seems to be most interested in cuddling up and sleeping.
The weather turned cold on Wednesday, and Tojo began snuggling under the covers with us at night. Prime ministers need down comforters, too!
Today Tojo will have his first outing to another person's house. He will ride the bus to Williamsburg in a very stylish Asian-print carrier, courtesy of his human grandmother.

Dogpark

Although we live in an area with many canine residents, there is only one dog run. This sole dog run was a secret one, too: it was only discovered when an army of dogs was heard and a curious gentleman sought to find from whence the barking came. The gentleman was greatly pleased at the presence of a dog run not terribly far from the apartment (about ten blocks). He went in with Tojo, and, in addition to discovering a great resource, happened to meet a friendly dogwalker who will soon begin walking Tojo daily while we are at work.

We took Tojo to the dog run yesterday, and were saddened to see that he was the only dog there. Over the course of our time there, sadly, no other dog came. We used this opportunity, however, to run around and throw many sticks. As you can see here, the thrown sticks were sometimes ignored. Overall, though, it was a good time in a fun new place to take Tojo.

Today (Sunday), we officially agreed to take Tojo. He spent last night with his friend Peanut and was mighty tuckered out from his sleepover today. He also walked to very busy Northern Boulevard and got to smell many people and other dogs.

Jackass the Pug

Tojo has impressed us lately with all of the strange things he's been eating. In addition to his regular food and water, he's eaten (and often digested): glass, pillow stuffing, CDs, acorns, gaffer tape, newspaper, plastic caps for bottles, and olive seeds.

We recently changed his puppy chow to one with more vegetable vitamins, so with any luck, it'll help with his pica.