Oh, the Games Dogs Play

The family is not the only ones that play games. I do my share of game-playing too. Here’s my favorite game. Whenever the family sits down to dinner, which they conveniently do just about every night, I beg and beg and beg at the dinner table. Sometimes I jump up and put my paws on the table. The family always say – “Down Miles, No Miles, Miles you are driving us crazy.” They never give me any food from the table, but you can’t blame a dog for trying.

Now, whenever the family has company over for dinner, I’m not the same dog. Usually I greet their guests, never with barking, but with my cute little puggle face. They bend down and pet me and basically fall in love with me. Who wouldn’t? When the family and their guests sit down to dinner, do I beg and put my paws on the table? No way, I go to my “spot,” and rest quietly while they eat. Of course, this makes the guests say – “What a cute dog – what a good dog – can I take him home?”

Would I dare go to my “spot” when the family was eating? You’ve got to be joking. This is my favorite game because it makes the family proud of me, but they still put up with my begging when it is just the five of us. This could go on forever!

Got Puggle!

So home came Miles and it has been a really wonderful experience these past two and a half weeks. Overall, he is a pretty well-behaved dog and only has a few annoying habits. My younger son and I are taking a dog obedience class so hopefully we will be able to re-direct some of his difficult energy.

I have noticed a really interesting phenomenon since we got Miles. Of course I have been telling everyone that we got a dog. The first thing folks say is “What kind?” and I say, “a mutt.” And they say, “no really, what kind?” So I have learned to say in this designer dog era that “we got a puggle!” (If you have read my previous post, you know that the shelter told us that Miles was a mix of corgi and pug.) But since he has been home, everyone has said that he looks like a pug and beagle mix. If he was a corgi, his body would be longer and his legs would be shorter. I went to the official “Puggle” web site and there were hundreds dogs that looked just like Miles and so I knew we had a puggle.

What I didn’t know is how lucky we were to have a puggle. According to PuggleSavvy.com:

Puggles are incredibly loving and friendly dogs. They love to be in the laps of their master and fellow family members, just as they love to be outdoors running and enjoy the fresh air. Due to their incredibly social and affectionate nature, the Puggle is considered an excellent family pet and is wonderful with both children and other family pets.

Keep in mind that although they are affectionate, and Puggles can look serious when calm and quiet, they are not ideal guard dogs and will welcome virtually any stranger into their home. That being said, they are quite the watchdog and love to bark to say “hello” or to alert their family to strangers. Puggles are a relatively intelligent breed. The Puggle is a clown at heart and easily catches on to tricks and adopts certain behaviors that bring out their true character.

So we really are very lucky to have a puggle. Miles is a perfect fit for our family.

But why is it that you can’t say that you have a mutt anymore? People really need to know what the genetic make-up of your dog is and in some cases, it gives you a lot of attention. Afterall, some of these designer dogs cost a lot of money and people are happy to pay so that they can have one.

This whole situation reminds me of race identity. Long ago, people wanted to be American (whatever that was), they wanted to blend in, they readily denied their ethnic make-up. And then, it became important for people to identify who they really were – Irish-American, African American, Black, Latino, Hispanic, etc. Each distinct group were the ones to define how they would be identified and people readily wear these new identities with a real sense of pride.

I’m not sure if Miles wears his Puggle identity with pride, but I definitely notice that people take note when I say we have a puggle versus a mutt. Go know, huh?