What do little doggies dream of?

Its a question thats been bugging me for a while. Do they dream of running behind chickens or rabits, or may be of playing with other little doggies? Or may be they dream of doggie treats hanging from trees, like kids dream of chocolates hanging from trees... Or do they dream of wide open places where they run, run n run.!.!.!.


Pluto is an ardent dreamer... Ever since he came home, I've seen him dreaming... How do I know he's dreaming?

Well, coz he does doggie peddling in his sleep...n sometimes starts barking...sometimes u can see his tail doing this cute immitation of otter tail...
So, I often wonder ... What do little doggies dream of????

The white enemy

Diwali preps are in full swing... I n Pluto have been locked outside of bedroom, where mom is in full swing for cleaning. So, to keep myself busy I started cleaning kitchen while Pluto was busy sneefing under closed bedroom door, nudging the door to see if he can sneak peak inside.

A couple of minutes of cleaning done, I suddenly hear Pluto barking... I walked a couple of paces, peaked around from washing machine, I see Pluto standing at bedroom door. I think to myself, that he's tired of nudging, so he's gone into offensive strike mode. I shake my head n get back to kitchen... But Pluto is insistent and now I can hear him growling... Thats new. I hurry back to him, and he's not facing the bedroom door. He's actually standing in full alert mode, looking at bathroom door n growling n barking.... I wonder what is he growling at... That growl suddenly makes me realise, no matter how cute, adorable, lovable n chitaku my puppy is... He's still a beast. Its a very basic, intense n primal growl.

I hurry to him...trying to figure out whats got himin attack mode. I step behind him, peering inside the bathroom...and burst out laughing finding the reason of his ferocious attack stance.

See...while we are in cleaning mode, mom started on laundry, n put her fav detergent in machine along with curtains... The major selling point of this detergent is its foaminess. And just a minute back I drained the washing machine. The drain pipe of machine shares the same exhaust point as the bathroom drain. And force of draining water has caused the foam to rise from bathroom drain.

From Pluto's perspective something white n noisy is emerging from a corner in bathroom. And as the guarding beast he needs to protect his territory... So, he's in full alert mode, growling n barking....at detergent FOAM... :)

A steel-y obsession...

Recently we discovered that Pluto enjoys heavy metal... it started with his accidental jump on a steel tumbler. He knocked a steel tumbler down and was stratled with the loud noise it created... In his own personal puppy style, he tried pushing the tumbler away which caused another set of noise. And which set of Pluto on a "chase-the-noise" journey through the house... at a point the tumbler was caught between the washing machine and the wall and stopped moving... no matter how much Pluto probed and poked, the tumbler wont move... what is a little puppy has to do to make that dumb noisy thing to move??? Any guesses... well, he started encouraging the tumbler in his own sweet way... by barking. :)

None of us are used to hear Pluto bark. Whenever he barks, the entire household rushes to him, to find out whats causing him to bark... usually it's a pigeon on the window sill or some neighbouring kid trying to tease him through the half open door... but ever since the steel tumbler event, we have come to realise that the easiest way to get Pluto to raise his voice is to give him access to metal.

To test this theory we did a small experiment... we introduced him to my sisters color pallete box. The box is flat, thin and metal... we emptied the box of its possession and made it to stand upright... and the fun that followed cracks us up even 2 days post the event... I recorded a small video of Pluto with the box today morning... Check out how he jumps on the box if the box slides away from his paws... I think, he believes the box is running away from him... its sooooooo damn cute. Hope you enjoy the vid as much as I have enjoyed making it... (am sorry for the initial background noise...I was watching Big Bang Theory when I started filming...)

The mid-night scare

It was a very typical holiday. Amit was home owing to the state holiday. When the day started, it showed no signs of the terror the night was going to bring. Rather the morning started on a very jovial note with me craving for the fried delicacy, samosa. My darling hubby braved the heat outside to walk down to market for finding a few for me... :)

Evening came with a visit to the vet. Pluto was due for his shots. Doc delivered the first news, kiddo has fever and cold. It came as a news to us, as neither me nor Amit had seen any symptoms of the same. Shots were given, Vet also informed us that we need to change Pluto's food from Pedigree to Royal Canin, since Pluto had refused to eat Pedigree from past couple of days. Vet also said change in food will do good for his skin and shine of the coat. We picked up medication for his itchy ears, doc suspected a parasite infection. Medics for cold n fever also joined the bag next. A short visit to the pet store next door saw us picking up the Royal Canin's Lab Puppy kibble with a pet toothpaste. Once back home, we saw our super moody puppy chowing down on Royal Canin with a gusto. Night came... and then came the terror.

Ever since his first day in the house, Pluto has cleared his bowls around 2.30 / 3 am. Post which he wants to play. Recently, I discovered, if I pick him up (since he can't climb up on his own) and put him in bed with us, he snuggles up and sleeps soundly. Which is much better than leaving him on the bedroom floor, trying in-vain to ignore his whine n desperate attempts to climb on the bed. So, it wasn't really a big deal that he woke up @2. As such my bathroom breaks are aligned to his waking up; I was up. As usual, I picked him up and placed him on the bed. Pluto rather than sleeping, went into a freaking out mode. Started pacing from one corner to other, clawing at his muzzle, vigorously rubbing his back on the bed, trying to chew everything. My first thought was he's acting out, in mood for some masti...so, I put him back down where he had his chews and toys. But there was something very wrong with him. He was upset, very frantic. Almost histerical. My first response was, "I guess he's itchy coz of ticks." Amit walked out to get his tick powder, while I picked him up on the bed. In the dim night light, I thought I saw something...something which made me switch the tube light on. The instant light came one, my heart stopped beating.

Pluto's face was swollen to thrice his normal size....bright red, eyes to puffy, he could hardly see, his paws trying to scratch it with a frenzy that was almost sickening. He was yelping, whining...trying to fight some invisible demon off his face. He looked like some grosteque boxing champion, swollen in every single pore, read and gauzy. The pain in his yelps heart breaking, trying to reach into my lap as to believing his pain would go away if only he reaches there. Not finding solace there, he jumped off the bed again to carry on with his frantic pacing through the house. Going to every one of his favourite place...as to see if that works.

They say when you experience near death experiences, your entire life flashes through your eyes. When I saw Pluto's face, and heard the pain in his yelps; his whole month in my household flashed through my mind. The first time when the breeder opened his crate, the night he chewed my slippers to shreds, the way he barks at his food bowl if the food is a touch hotter than his like, the way he tags along with me no matter whether i'm in kitchen or in the bathroom, the way he sleeps in the corner between my love seat and wall...countless occassions and countless expressions. As such my harmones make me suseptible to tears...his face and his unease didnt take long for the leakage to start gushing. Seeing him in pain, I became frantic, yelling at Amit to call the Vet, RIGHT NOW... running behind Pluto to try and calm him down. I hugged him, rubbed his bak, tried wetting his face with water to ease burning sensation, if any, tried talking to him soothingly ...nothing worked. After some 4-5 tries Amit finally got the vet on the line. Said, he must have eaten something, which is causing an allergic reaction. We should give him BETNESOL... he would calm down then.

Where would I find BETNESOL at this time of the night?

Any 24hr chemist shop should have it.

Is there any 24hr shop around?

There should be one some 3kms away from your place.

Thanks Doc.

Zip went my dear hubby, leaving me with a restless puppy and net connection to find any 24 hours chemist shop in vicinity, just in case the one doc suggested is not open (which was a possibility). Within a couple of minutes, which seemed like hours at the time, I located one chemist who had BETNESOL...located some 5kms away. I relayed the info to Amit and got onto reading on puppies and allergic reactions. There's tons of information out there about it...but the one I found to be most sensible is here.

It took almost 10 hours for the welling to subside completely after we gave him the BETNESOL dissolved in water. But minutes after the tablet and a few sips of Glucose water, he slept soundly. He was back to his own mischievious self by morning, stealing Amit's shoes and running around house with Amit chasing him. It was both of us who were handling being around him gingerly. He still was moody about food but recovering steadily. I haven't had the heart to give him any oral medication today...just applied his topical one's. He's duller than his normal self, the redness is still very much there. But he's definitely not in pain, not yelping or whining. He even barked at is food bowl in the evening...so I'm guessing he is feeling not too bad.

18 hours after the incident, I've found the courage to write this down. Pluto is sleeping under the bed and am waiting for Amit to come home so that he can take Pluto up to the Vet's clinic. I'm so mad at Pluto for giving us a scare last night (technically today morning.)...but the scare last night taught me that I have someone in my care, who is so utterly dependent on me for everything. It breaks my heart to remember the way he was trying to reach my lap, to burry his face between my legs in his search for solace. It scares me to realise how blindly I've gotten my self in such a HUGE committment. I only pray that I prove myself worthy of all the trust I saw in Pluto's eyes last night...

The lab who made me fall in love....

This a re-post...am redirecting my Pluto posts here... original post and comments are here.


We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us. - Maurice Maeterlinck


How very true... isn't it?

I've always been told that if you need to feel unquestioned love and devotion, get yourself a pet dog. They are smartest creatures that will not only guard you but also love and adore you with their heart and soul. After months of deliberation and research... I finally got myself a puppy... a cute, adorable, unstoppable, lovely 2 month old Labrador puppy, whom we christened Pluto.
It was a hard decision to take. I had left my corporate life behind to find a more subtle and gentle way of life, of a home maker... there were a lot of issues to be solved...mostly financial in nature... we also are preparing for a new member in family... admist all that taking on an additional responsibility seemed like a very BIG risk, but we were so ready... no one thought it was a good idea, but we were adamant.




Me and hubby, both spent the entire night awake...when this 2 month old bundle of energy was bought into the house... partly coz we were not sure how to handle this unstoppable ball of yellow fur, partly coz we were too excited to shut our eyes on him. First 3 days went in a whirlwind of housebreaking, cleaning and running behind him... I hardly got any sleep in those days... Pluto being my first pet, I had to check everything about him... why is he sleeping so much? Is he supposed to breathe this fast? Why does he chew so much? Why is he not barking? When is this barking going to stop? How do I train him for potty? What do I feed? What is normal weight for Lab puppies... so many questions and so much research... :)


The research isn't over yet... and days are definitely not smooth... there are still hiccups and confusion... but its a part of daily life now. I dont feel tired anymore... I dont feel like I'm buried under the weight of the world. I don't feel sad anymore... don't feel stressed...


I always was told that dogs love their pet parents... and I always assumed that was evident when your dog jumps up on you or licks your face... I learnt the other day, that sometimes love is about being around when you dont even know you need someone to be aound you...


It was yesterday evening when I sat down to work on a personal project... Pluto sleeping at his usual place, around the wicker chair... I looked at him... sleeping peacefully... I was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of sadness. Felt like I took this kid away from his mother... he hardly knew his mother... mere 60 days and I took him away. I felt like it was my responsibility to make sure that this kid will get the best I can offer... I owed him that much...Never realised how much I began to love this bundle of fur...in mere 10 days... I didnt even realise that my eyes were tearing up... within seconds, I was crying my eyes out. I buried my face in a pillow, I didnt want to disturb Pluto's sleep...


Seconds later, I felt something touching the top of my head... I jerked my head up from the pillow, Pluto was standing in front of me... looking at me with those cute brown puppy eyes... almost like asking... "What's Wrong?" Without a sound, he simply climbed up into my lap, curled up and slept... Wave after wave of tears were crashing up in my heart, in my eyes... and with Pluto in my lap... I cried all those out...

After sometime, I stopped... couldnt really cry more... felt silly that I cried like a child... blamed all those on my harmones... my breathing came to normal and mind got back to the fact that I needed to get up and drink some water. As if he could actually hear my thoughts, Pluto woke up... looked at me (as if to make sure, everything was alright)... walked back to him fav place in the house and went back to sleep, as if nothing has happened. I stared at him for a couple of minutes, but he was fast asleep... without even realising that he made me fall in love with him... all over again...

Welcome to Pluto-verse

Ain't I the cutest one??

Wait till you read what my mom has to say about my antics...