# The life and times of Irma-Goat



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I think I've mentioned Irma in here a few times, but just thought I'd update. 

She's basically "mine". She lives up in my room with Abbie & Murph, I feed her, care for her, and love on her. She's become a bit bonded with me, and I think she appreciates the affection I give her. 

She's notorious for being naughty, and has earned the nickname "Goat" because she climbs everything, eats/rips up everything, and is just nuts!

We're gonna begin showing in November I think  Very excited. She's a natural in the ring.

I took some pics of her while she was snuggling in bed with me last night, which I've let her do two nights in a row now.



HEY MOM, WHAT'S THAT IN YOUR HANDS?!











She was very worried about something, most likely the promiscuity while we were watching The Jersey Shore











Still a bit worried











DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I'M THE GOAT!


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I don't even know how I got such an unattractive picture of her











Pretty Goat











Talk to da paw











*Snore*


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

you've got a black pug....how awesome....are they not the best?


----------



## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Very cute! She's got some great facial expressions. 

Also, I LOVE THE JERSEY SHORE TOO!!! I know, it's ridiculous. But I can see endearing qualities in all of them. Except Sammie Sweetheart. Can't stand that girl!!

Thanks for sharing she's adorable. Even in her mad pic. :wink:


----------



## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

LOL their are no UNATTRACTIVE pics of that little sweet smushy face! She is absolutley adorable. Love her eyes when they are so wide LOL! I just want hug her!:wink:


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> you've got a black pug....how awesome....are they not the best?


you're kidding, right lol?


----------



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Aw, I love frenchies! giant bat ears, stubby tails, whats not to love?


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

meggels said:


> you're kidding, right lol?


LOL....no, i wasn't...now that i'm looking again, i see the frenchie...but when i first looked....i could have sworn i was looking at a pug...

my deepest apologies...LOL

this is what happens when i start overthinking things like kidney function and bone nutrients.....


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> LOL....no, i wasn't...now that i'm looking again, i see the frenchie...but when i first looked....i could have sworn i was looking at a pug...
> 
> my deepest apologies...LOL
> 
> this is what happens when i start overthinking things like kidney function and bone nutrients.....



hehe, sorry, I was just giving you a hard time. I knew you had a black pug so I wasn't sure if you were being silly or not


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

meggels said:


> hehe, sorry, I was just giving you a hard time. I knew you had a black pug so I wasn't sure if you were being silly or not


i kept looking at the pics...thinking, wow, that looks like bubba when he lays like that, but those ears don't look quite right and he's got different face smushy....do pugs look THAT different from each other? LOL

i love frenchies....and i want one....although if they are anything like pugs.....

what a work out. LOL


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> i kept looking at the pics...thinking, wow, that looks like bubba when he lays like that, but those ears don't look quite right and he's got different face smushy....do pugs look THAT different from each other? LOL
> 
> i love frenchies....and i want one....although if they are anything like pugs.....
> 
> what a work out. LOL


LOL. Pugs are super active right? 

I think frenchies would be a nice rest for you


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

meggels said:


> LOL. Pugs are super active right?
> 
> I think frenchies would be a nice rest for you


pugs are a lot of work.....they go through their terrible twos and impossible threes, but then they are couch potatoes...


whenever i read about them, their favourite activity is sleeping 18 hours a day....

he IS the best sleeper i've ever had....

BUT

they are very stubborn....and so food driven that using food as a reward is sometimes not the way to go.....

they are very smart dogs, so they do the behaviour you don't want, so you'll reward them to get them to do the behaviour you do want....

the best example i can think of is this.

when we first got him, he was very anxious and hyper, understandably.

he shut down when it came to peeing outside.

so we used treats, as our trainer instructed....and he did pee.

and then he figured out if he didn't pee at the pee spot, he'd get treats until he did and then a treat for peeing. then he figured out how to not want to go outside in order to get a treat. then he figured out how to sit on the couch to get a treat to go to the door to go outside to walk further and further until he gained two pounds and i said enough.

i put a leash on him which he wore for days. when it was time to go out, i picked up the leash, took him to the pee spot and outwaited him. it took 45 minutes for him to pee, but finally he blinked.

i love malia, but bubba? he's my soul dog....stubborn and loving and not a mean bone in his body....i think much of what we went through was because he was a rescue who had been abused.

i wonder how he would be had we gotten him as a baby and not a rescue.

when you get a chance, tell me about frenchies....


----------



## Jodysmom (Jan 9, 2010)

Oh Re....that just made me laugh. Not so fun for you but hysterical.


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Well, Murph is my first frenchie and I just got him in May, so i'm still kinda new to them, but I also live in a house with about 12 LOL....

IMO...

Frenchies are the life of the party. They love to have a good time and act silly. They seem to like other dogs for the most part, but are far more interested in making friends with the humans. When I brought Murph to the dog park last weekend, he ran around, to every single person to greet them. He could care less about the other dogs there. 

They aren't too exhausting in terms of physical activity, and they don't really care to learn stuff for the most part, but they love food so they will usually work for treats. Sometimes they get into little scuffles with one another but it's usually food or toy related, and they can sometimes have a Napoleon complex (Murph would boss around our 70lb boxer and literally use his tiny little nugget body to block him from leaving or entering rooms). 

They are not loyal. No. They are little sluts who will give it up to whoever has food or wants to give them attention. While I do think mine are a *bit* bonded to me, as has been displayed in certain situations where they'd prefer to go with me over someone else, I definitely wouldn't use the word "loyal" to describe them, whereas my hound mix is very very very loyal.

They are very easy going, they are down for anything and just seem to enjoy doing whatever you are doing. 



They have lived up and blown away my expectations. I'd wanted one for years, since early high school probably when I first learned about them. I'd always had a "crush" on them. I finally went ahead and got one in May when I learned that I would no longer be living with my parents and I wanted my mini hound to have a canine companion since she does better with a confident dog to lead the way. Even though frenchies have a lot of health issues and can be costly, I can't imagine never having one again. I think I will always have one in my life cause they jsut make me smile each and every day.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

what a wonderful description....sounds a lot like pugs....expensive but worth it...

i had always wanted a pug, and i can't imagine living without one, now...even though they shed entire dogs and have notorious health issues.....

thank g'd i can only have two at a time, otherwise, my next dog would be a frenchie. i have had a crush on those for a long long time...

something about those smushy faced dogs...


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

what are a frenchie's health issues...i presume they are not so dissimilar to that of pugs...but what issues are they known for...


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> what are a frenchie's health issues...i presume they are not so dissimilar to that of pugs...but what issues are they known for...


"French Bulldogs are prone to joint diseases, spinal disorders, heart defects and eye problems. Dams often have to deliver pups by cesarean section, because pups have relatively large heads. They often have respiratory problems. They tend to wheeze and snore and have trouble in hot weather. Prone to heat stroke. An overweight Frenchie may have trouble breathing, because of a swollen abdomen. Do not overfeed this breed. Putting them under anesthesia is risky because of their breathing issues. French Bulldogs are high maintenance and potential owners need to be aware that their vet bills may be high. Take this into consideration before choosing a Frenchie puppy. "


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Puppies can go very quickly. We've lost a few puppies this summer because of aspiration. My friend puts it best I think, saying, "Frenchies are born wanting to die." She lost a male two years ago because a bee stung him in his mouth/throat, and there's not much room to begin with. It swelled shut and he was gone within a few minutes.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

sounds a lot like pugs.....those brachycephalic dogs....

we've had bubba a year now...he was two when we got him.

he's had a nose job because his nostrils were so narrow, the vet wondered how he was still breathing.

he had two eye surgeries..one for the turned inward lower lashes which cost him 15% of his eye sight due to corneal scratching and the other to reshape the eye lid, since his eyes don't close all the way.

the nose job? best 150.00 we have ever spent. 

what a saying, though...'frenchies are born wanting to die'....wow.....

does your frenchie have health issues? is this a breeder problem or a frenchie problem?

our pug, we are sure, is a result of byb.


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> sounds a lot like pugs.....those brachycephalic dogs....
> 
> we've had bubba a year now...he was two when we got him.
> 
> ...


Well, I think that it can be a breeder problem, but also can just be a frenchie problem.

I got Murph because he has a subluxated patella in his left back leg. It's never bothered him, and it may never, but the woman I live with (who is not his breeder, but was using him in her show program) wasn't going to put the money into showing him and then NOT use him to breed down the line.

It's a shame cause he's gorgeous, GREAT mover, it's like he's floating when he trots along  

I met her at a dog show up in MA because I had contacted her about getting a puppy this summer and she likes to screen people as much as possible. I met several of her dogs, including Murph (whose name was Aro at the time) and she mentioned he would be going for his health testing in a week because she suspected she had felt the patella pop. 

I was pretty smitten with him when meeting with her. He was everything I had always wanted in a frenchie. 

Luckily (for me) he did fail his patella exam. Everything else is healthy as can be on him. And the breeder he came from is a very good breeder, does health testing, and his lines never had a problem with the patellas. Even when you do all of the testing, sometimes, things just happen.

And if it weren't for that, he would still be in the show ring, but instead, he was retired at the ripe old age of 8 months to be my pet  I tell him every day "you're Mama's handsome little man."

I adore him. He makes me smile each and every day. 

Here's a recent video of him with his "mini me" puppy. I now live with the woman I got him from (not the breeder, the woman I mentioned that retired him). So I get to be around frenchies all day every day, and puppies too  

DSCN0106.mp4 video by meg31829 - Photobucket


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

what a great video.....especially that big'un just laying there and taking it...LOL

'mini me'...so cute

i think the same holds true with pugs....breeders can help breed out some of their worst problems but stuff still happens....if we ever get another pug, for i love mine as you love your frenchie....it will be from a reputable breeder...that way, if anything does go wrong, it will be due to circumstance, rather than two idiots pairing up untested and untried dogs


----------

