Gus the Boston Terrier at almost 8 weeks

Why Gus was the right choice for us: Selecting your puppy from the litter is an important step. Cesar would back me up in saying you don’t want the first puppy that runs up to you and licks your face.

Gus' Anxious Litter Mates

You want the least dominate of the pack because that puppy will have the most calm-submissive attitude. You want to choose a dog that is one energy level below the energy of your household. We selected a male to avoid any same-sex aggression issues. We know Lady will be three times the size of Gus and she is used to being an only child.  We also selected Gus for the traditional boston markings on his head. Typically dogs who have predominately white heads and ears show signs of deafness. The key is asking your breeder a ton of questions.  Ask questions about the parents, past litters, the puppies’ health, health guarantee, and ask her to describe the temperaments of each dog. A good breeder will be glad to hear you asking all the questions and she will always be available for questions throughout the puppy’s life.

Gus on bottom right with the speckled nose

Gus is the most calm-submissive boston in the litter

At eight weeks, Gus is the smallest of the litter weighing 4.5 pounds. His biggest brother, Brutus (pictured on far right), weighs 1.5 pounds more than Gus. No wonder he is bigger; Brutus also pushes his litter mates away to nurse from his mother. Brutus is a bully to Gus. This is natural. Hopefully the bullying will prepare Gus for playing with a dog three times his weight. Gus was a huge momma’s boy at 7 weeks. 

Gus being a momma's boy

Hopefully the love that Gus has for his mom will be an indicator of the love he will have for Lady. The breeder tells us Gus is gaining his independence from his mom and playing well among his litter mates.

 We have whole game plan outlined for Gus’ first day home. Stay tuned for the blog on dog introductions. And wish us luck!

Boston Terriers are known as the American Gentleman. They are compact in size and they are great companion dogs. Bostons are highly intelligent; you can train a boston to do just about anything.  In the video below you will see a teenager who has trained her boston (also named Gus!) to do 15 tricks at 6 months of age. Amazing!

Jason and I first fell in love with a boston terrier at a surf shop in the Outer Banks.  The dog just hung out in the store all day with his owner.  The owner would hold his finger out to chest height and commanded “touch”. The Boston would leap up in one bound to touch his nose to his owner’s finger. He repeated the trick several times. We couldn’t stop talking about the adorable little baby for the rest of the trip.  Little did we know we would end up getting one.

Dog owners and dog lovers come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. But does having a certain dog say something about you? Some say “yes”. Check out what your dog says about you!  Here is what we found out “about us”: Owners of Boston terriers are compassionate people that make lifelong good friends. They are very friendly and happy people. Friends consider them to be extroverts with a silly streak. They love practical jokes and making people laugh. They are kind and respectful of others and rarely have a negative thing to say. Favorite TV show: Punk’d.

We are really looking forward to getting to know Gus’ personality.  Bostons are very sensitive to sound and the tone of your voice.  That’s probably why they are so easy to train.  You have to check out this video that demonstrates their sound sensitivity.

Can't wait for Christmas

He is a boston terrier from North Carolina.  He is 8 weeks old and about 5 pounds.  His name will be Gus.  Gus will be coming home with us on Dec 16^th 2010.  Needless to say we are counting down the days and buying looooots of toys. 

Meet Gus

Why not a French bulldog? The plan has not changed to get a frenchie, but the timing has.  Down the road we will get a frenchie. His name will be Bisco. Yes, like Nabisco crackers. Lady, get ready for Gus.

This week I was lucky enough to have sushi on three occasions; I am sushi spoiled!  My first dinner of the week:  I wanted to head over to Ginza after a long Monday.  My boyfriend is not a sushi lover so he compromised with me and we ended up at Red Bowl in Cary.  He ordered sweet and sour chicken and I had one Tsunami Roll and one Spicy Tuna roll with a side of unagi sauce.  Neither sushi rolls were something to write home about; in fact, I’ve had the Tsunami Roll before and remembered it tasting much better.  So he agreed on a Ginza date on Friday night (lucky me!).  I could already taste it.  Couldn’t wait. 

Second Sushi spot:  When planning a business lunch later in the week I learned that my client liked Sushi so we quickly selected the restaurant new to Brier Creek, Tasu Sushi Bar Asian Bistro.  Tasu wins the ambiance award for the week.  It also takes the Menu and Service Award as well with tons of speciality rolls to choose from accompanied by a very knowledgable staff to help with your selections.  Pictured below from left to right:  Manhattan Roll, Dynamite Roll, Fashion Eel Roll, and Caterpillar Roll. Of these four I enjoyed the Fashion Eel Roll the most (bottom, middle of photo).  The eel taste was not strong and the cream cheese was a nice touch.  My second favorite was the Dynamite Roll.  I hear their Dragon Roll is great as well.  I have yet to find an online sushi menu but I definitely recommend trying Tasu!  Tasu earns a spot on the ”LIKE IT” list untill I am able to try more rolls.

Friday and we finally arrived at Ginza among fabulous company!  This is the second time this week I’ve discussed sushi with 2 others who recommend Shaba-Shabu but have never been to Sono or Sushi Blues.  It was great to exchange Sushi recommendations; Shaba -Shabu is next!  Pictured below from top to bottom:  Chef’s Special, Rainbow, Cary Parkway, Shaggy Dog.  Chef Special and Shaggy Dog win for best rolls at Ginza.  Hint – you must ask for the full sushi menu (the paper menu with full descriptions and boxes to select your rolls).  The bottom 6 rolls or so on this menu are the additions not found on the dinner menu.  Other poplar rolls here are The Cary Parkway Roll, large and spicy, and the Caren Roll topped with spicy tuna with shrimp tempura inside.  Next Photo:  Shaggy Dog and Caren Roll.  I got even luckier when my boyfriend (finally) agreed to try sushi again and he really liked the Shaggy Dog roll. Other sushi adventures and related posts found here.  Ginza remains on the “LOVE IT” list. 

More funny videos of lady sleeping, snoring, dozing off on her grandpa’s lap watching Chelsea Lately HERE!

YouTube Dogstar

• Good Morning Puppy Face
• Jelly Neck Head Bob
• Lady Meets Opossum
• Snorable
• Snow Coat
• Snow Dog
• Snow Play and Plant Destruction
• SPCA K9 3K Dog Walk 2010
• Watching Dogs on TV
• Watching Pit Boss on TV

Final numbers are in!  On Saturday, April 17th 2010 the Second Annual SPCA Dog Walk Fundraising goal of $200,000 for the care of homeless pets was met! Final totals come to $213,854 funds raised by the participation of 3,200 dog walkers and 1,500 dogs. Visit the SPCA of Wake County website for more information and official event photos posted next Saturday. View 100 photos of the Dog Walk by clicking here.

Congratulations to team Love in Blue for completing your first Dog Walk!  Small steps have been taken toward this great cause.  If you wish to donate you can click on this link and then select the big orange donate button “Donate to this Walk Participant”.  It’s never too late to save a homeless pet! 

See the Love In Blue 2010 SPCA K9 3K Video

Honorable Mentions:  The SPCA “Pit Crew” team raised over $9,600.

Photo Credit:  Photo and Article on the PitCrew

This is what we found lady barking at one Friday night.  Gross!

Check out the video.

Lady was not a fan of the fence-lurking marsupial.  I hope the rodent doesn’t visit again.

Hello again loyal readers! Thanks for your patience (and happy April by the way!).  There have been a lot of exciting things Lady and I would like to share with you but I guess we have been so busy doing them we haven’t written!  I would like to take the opportunity to share what’s coming next and find out what you want to hear about.  As you may know, this is my second full month in the blogosphere and I would love to know what you want to hear about…what cool dog date ideas you may have….what interesting findings you’ve come across on dogs, pit bulls, things that are blue, or local restaurants to the Raleigh area.  Love in Blue isn’t about one specific thing but I do like to carry these themes: dogs, positivity, blue, and discoveries/adventure!  Please share your ideas

So here’s what’s coming!

What’s Blue and White and Yellow all over??? (one hint…spring flowers)

Top 10 Doggie Dates

Lady Goes Camping at Umstead Park – last weekend, I took over 100 photos!

K9 3K Dog Walk in Downtown Raleigh Supporting the local SPCA for finding pets a home – April 17th

Lady Hikes 6 miles at Umstead – this weekend

More videos

Stay tuned…

I will post this weekend!  I look forward to hearing from you.  You can catch me by commenting here or privately at email.

Don’t call me GaGa
I’ve never seen one like that before
Don’t look at me like that
You amaze me

He ate my heart
He a-a-ate my heart
(You little monster)

He ate my heart
He a-a-ate my heart out
(You amaze me)

                          – Gaga “Monster” lyrics

  

 

Why we call Lady a monster. 

Jason and I call Lady a monster because she is a big, strong girl.  It’s funny how she doesn’t know her own strength. Out of pure excitement she can bulldoze furniture, a manicured lawn, and the entire bottom of her crate. 

Lady is our first dog together so she is considered ”The First Lady” of the family.  For my birthday I got the Lady Gaga Albums, The Fame and The Fame Monster.  Now that Lady is broadcasted across the Internet on YouTube and WordPress, we sometimes refer to her as The Fame Monster. She likes it.  She’s a little princess.  

Mirror Mirror on the wall

Wanna talk to her, she’s hot as hell 

                                                      -Gaga
 

Jason was nice enough to let me play the Gaga albums on repeat during our winter road trip to Asheville in December.  We missed our booboo so so much. Guess who was dog sitting?? (click here to see). While we listened to Gaga we imagined dressing lady up like her alter-ego, Lady Gaga.  She would wear shiny, strange fabrics and giant shoulder pads.  Can you believe this cutie pit bull beat us to the punch??  I’m so jealous! 

That (girl) is a monster, m-m-m-monster 

That (girl) is a monster, m-m-m-monster 

That (girl) is a monster, m-m-m-monster 

That (girl) is a monster 

                                        -Gaga 

photo credits: PeoplePets.com