Mochi's World

Doggie, Toddler

Mochi was born July 11, 2004 (7/11!) This makes him 17 months old this month, effectively in doggie adolescence, but for us he's still a toddler. And as parents of toddlers are sometimes obsessed with their children's bathroom habits, we too can be obsessed with Mochi's bowel movements.

I took him out this morning to go pottie and he was sniffing around in the cold and snow. He went fast as it was so cold (I could see him shiver) and immediately turned around and wanted to go back home. We usually walk around the block, but he went #2 just around the corner and wanted to go back. I obliged and we hustled back home to where it was warm.

Last night we lit the fireplace and lay in front of it. It was surprisingly warm and very nice to look at. Thank goodness for gas, though we probably won't be using the fireplace as much as we want this season, it was nice to have it last night. Mochi's living room bed is right in front of the fireplace and he made the most of it, stretching out in front of the fire and not having to curl up to stay warm.

About Mochi

Mochi is a fun dog. He likes to follow us throughout the house and sits and waits for us when we have to leave him. He likes to play and wnjoy himself and especially loves to give kisses. Most of the pictures of him on this site so far have been of him lounging around or sleeping. By no means should you be fooled, while he likes his snoozing and lounging around time, he loves running around. His favorite game is Mochifetch, where i throw something and he gets it. Then he comes by and teases me with it. He's not a fetching breed so it's not innate, but he'll do it, and even give it back, but I have to distract him with something. A Jack Russel, or Retriever he is not.

People have asked what kind of dog Mochi is. Well here's the slightly logner explanation along with a link to the breeder's website:

Mochi is an American Lo Sze Pugg™ (ALP) his breeder Rebecca Manns saw pictures of pugs in China, both ancient and at the turn of the century and wondered why they looked so different from the Black and Fawn varieties we have today. She found that when the breed was brought to Europe, the longer legged Black and Fawn varieties were much preferred and the other variations were bred out. Basically the pug that was known in China before 1800 no longer exists as a breed. She set out to develop a breed from pugs which retains the characteristics of the original breed while keeping the pug personality and some parts of its morphology.

She will not divulge which breeds she used to develop the ALP but she maintains that these dogs are a breed and not a hybrid as I mentioned before on my blog. The difference being that the ALP when bred with another ALP will produce ALP's as offspring. Hybrids such as pug-a-poos (poodle/pug mix) will not do this.

You can find out more about the ALP from Rebecca Manns' site here.

and now --- PIctures!!!

We love holding Mochi, even though he's much bigger than he used to be.

Mochi loves to snooze, here he's even a little reluctant to get up.

He came when I called so I can take these pictures. Once he figured out that there was no food or going out for walkies, he walked back to his cushion in the living room.

Grand Opening

This is Mochi's space on the web. The next few entries will be a short intoduction to the world of Mochi the Pug, the cutest dog in the world.