Tug and his Merrick Super Phat Flossie

Dogs love treats. The thought of tasty nugget of deliciousness as a sidebar to their normal eating routine is enough to make just about any dog salivate and launch its tail into a wild wagging frenzy. I have had dogs who only acknowledged my existence when I had a treat in my hand. Fortunately, Tug likes hanging out with me even when I’m not the bearer of treats. Tug, like any dog, loves a good snack.  His issue, though, is that he becomes a lurker once he receives a treat.

Tug does not devour his snacks in the typical 0.22 seconds like most dogs.  He likes to hold onto his treat and lurk from room to room like a ninja becoming aware of his surroundings.  He’ll tiptoe across the room and stand with his back to the wall and stare into the room to see who is watching him.  He does this no matter if there are other dogs or people around.  With the droopy eyes and oversized head, he looks like one of the card-playing dogs from the well-known tapestry or even Winston Churchill. It’s really amusing when he goes into a dark room at night and just stands in the middle of the room, treat dangling from his mouth. Sometimes he’ll stand behind a doorway or piece of furniture and peek his beach ball-sized head around the corner to see who is watching him. After a prolonged period of time, he’ll hunker down to savor (more like devour) his snack.

A couple of days ago, I gave Tug one of Merrick’s Super Phat Flossies, an all natural beef tendon more than a foot long. Tug’s mouth was watering on overdrive, with twin drool streams hanging from either side of his mouth. He took the spiral shaped tendon in his mouth and quietly lurked around the house. He went from room to room, watching the other two dogs tear into their flossies like the hare in the Aesop fable.  In true tortoise fashion, Tug took the next 20 minutes to find the perfect corner of the house to enjoy his treasure. He laid down, head facing the corner, and put on his magician hat. The Super Phat Flossie disappeared in about 3 seconds.

It’s entertainment at its best, and usually better viewing than what’s on TV. Gosh, I love that dog.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to dog sit for Bella, my parents’ 4-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Tug seemed to take the experience in stride. Always the gentle giant and typically focused on one thing, and Bella didn’t seem to impact his rigorous sleep schedule. The other two dogs in the house, Toby, a high-strung German Short Haired Pointer, and Eddie, a sort of easy going yellow lab-cattle dog mix, each had their own reactions to the 5-lb puppy. (For the record, Tug weighed more at birth.) Bella trounced into the house and comfortably assimilated (and asserted) herself into the pack. It was like the the movie, Three Men and a Baby, with the same personalities on display.

Bella, Tug and Eddie (in the back)

The three boys greeted her with the usual fanfare of sniffing and cautious tail wagging. Tug, in a way only Tug and Eeyore can do, let out an unemotional sigh and went back to his corner.  Eddie engaged in play with the pup and was happy to have another happy-go-lucky playmate. Toby spent the weekend uncertain on how to behave around Bella. He spent the weekend as a four-legged contradiction, letting out a low, non-aggressive growl–along with a couple of barks when she got too close–combined with a constant wagging of the tail whenever Bella approached him. The whole scene was entertaining to watch.

The most fun though was taking the four dogs on a three-mile hike and swim at Lake Grapevine. The hike and swim is a regular event for the three Stooges (Tug, Toby and Eddie), and three miles is nothing for the adult dogs. I wanted to bring Bella and assumed she would need to be carried most of the way, but like the little red-haired girl with Howie Long in the Chevy commercials, she’s a big girl and insisted on trotting alongside the lumbering Tug the entire way. Keep in mind that the hiking and horseback riding trail is not easy for a puppy. Bella navigated the soft dirt with an easy stride and dodged oversized horse hoof prints with finesse.

We reached the lake at the midpoint of our hike, and Tug and the gang raced into the water and waited for sticks to be thrown and birds to be chased. Bella chased after them and stopped right at the water line and sniffed. She remained hesitant and watched the other three frolicking in the lake. After another few seconds, Bella took the plunge–sort of. She never ventured farther than knee-level (which is about 3 inches for her), but each time one of the dogs came running back with a stick to be thrown, she jumped at the stick trying to help bring it back.

Bella tackled the hike back with the same ease as the first half. Back home, Bella and Tug each enjoyed a bowl of Merrick Elements Wilderness Blend. Bella chose to ignore her puppy food in favor of the gourmet treat she discovered in Tug’s food dish, which could double as a bed for the puppy. After a long workout and a stomach full of Merrick dog food, it was lights out for all four dogs.

Winter is gone and spring is here. The arrival of the warm weather also marks the beginning of an annual tradition at our house that we call Shedapalooza. It’s the time of year when Tug loses his hair faster than the Detroit Lions lost football games last year. (For those with short memories, the Lions were the first-ever NFL team to finish the season 0-16.)

It is absolutely “mind bottling,” to quote Chazz Michael Michaels, to try to grasp how much fur this long-haired St. Bernard has and doesn’t have on his body. Tug gets brushed pretty regularly, but this time of year is absolutely amazing to watch –and endure. The floor gets vacuumed twice daily, and the collection canister on the vacuumed gets emptied twice per cycle. It also should be noted that vacuum cleaners meet their demise at my house this time of year. And no matter how much of an accomplishment I feel after taking the vacuum for a spin around the fur field, the feeling is always quickly unraveled as I plop down on the couch and watch a Tuggleweed (think great big ball of fur) casually rolls across the floor to spawn yet another crop of vacuum busters.

The ultimate encore of Shedapalooza is when Tug stops in the middle of the room, and in slow motion—really slow motion, just like the movie Beethoven—Tug steadies himself and begins one of his earth-rattling shakes that sends fur and drool flying from floor to ceiling in every direction imaginable. I call this “little” maneuver the Tugnado. It’s eye watering on so many levels. It’s all I can do put myself between him and the 60-inch TV. I will sacrifice my body for the TV—especially with the NCAA Tournament underway right now.

This year’s Shedapalooza may have a different ending. This week, which seems to be the height of the season, I took Tug to our local groomer. I expected them to give him a good bath and spend a lot of time brushing out his undercoat, which they did. They also bathed him what I can only call some sort of Wonder Tonic. They bathed him twice with a couple of cycles of FURminator. It’s really called that, no kidding. It is pretty amazing stuff, and has practically eliminated the need for vacuuming since his trip to the groomer three days ago. And no Tugnadoes yet this year! Though they are sort of special, I don’t think I’ll be heartbroken if I don’t get to witness one this year.

The reduced shedding combined with the Merrick Elements diet, Tug is enjoying his best spring ever as an adult. He is more active and playful—almost puppy-like—since he started eating Merrick dog food. The Elements additives also seem to be having a significant influence on his joints and breath. The breath is the most obvious improvement. I don’t flinch or wince when he wants to get face-to-face with me. The improvements on his joints, though, have been really noticeable. Tug seems more spryly and playful and is engaging other dogs in play rather than other dogs trying to engage him.

Cowboy Cookout crossed our food bowl this past week, and we have just posted our initial review and list if ingredients.  Start reading the review below:

Beef, beef and more beef.  Nothing gets Tug drooling faster than when watches me grill steaks. The loving stares from his “Don’t-you-love-me?” brown eyes just beg for his own ribeye grilled to perfection, and I have to admit to serving Tug a steak or two (or 20) during our years together. Read More

Tug and I opened a bag of Merrick Elements Wilderness Blend. What a treat for a dog! This 5-star gourmet food blends buffalo, venison and salmon into an exotic and fulfilling meal for dogs. Check out our review:

Ever thought of riding horseback across the plains with your BDF (best dog forever) trotting alongside? Roaming the wilderness, living off the land, being a cowboy? I reckon it’s the dream of most people who enjoy the outdoors. As a boy I always thought it would be cool to be a cowboy, and now, in my late 30’s, I find myself daydreaming about the alluring call of the wild. Those dreams were reinvigorated this week when Tug and I opened a bag of Merrick Elements Wildnerness Blend. Read the full review here.

This just in, Tug is launching his own YouTube channel! The channel will be where we share videos of Tug in action–we promise to not overload with his favorite activity of sleeping. Visit the site when you get a chance and take a tour of the Merrick Pet Care facility–home to our favorite dog food, Merrick Elements.

Also, if you didn’t know, you can stay in touch with us on Twitter. Send us a tweet @tugstale.

Tug and I opened a bag of Merrick Elements Turducken yesterday.  So far so good, except Tug now has a preference for Grammy’s Homestyle Chicken Gravy. Check out the review, and the Grammy’s Pot Pie review here. We also sampled the 32-inch Mondo Stix, a natural beef tendon treat from Merrick. Tug disappeared into another room in the house for about an hour-and-a-half and didn’t come out until the Mondo Stix was gone. I think he liked it. Be sure to let us know if your dog has tried any of Merrick’s 5-Star Entrees or other produts.

Be sure to follow Tug’s adventures on Twitter. You can click on the Twitter widget to the right or go here. More pictures soon.

Tug and I have been watching ESPN and the NFL Network most of the day staying abreast of the news coming from Tampa. We’re gearing up for the big day, though Tug may be disappointed when he discovers the Super Bowl is not his food dish filled with Merrick Elements Cowboy Cookout or Turducken and is instead a football game. I reckon I’ll cross that bridge on Sunday.

Don’t get me wrong. Tug is indeed a football fan. His mouth is too large for a tennis ball–he has been know to hide one in each jowl and a third somewhere in between–so we play fetch with a football.  It’s actually more like Tug plays “Bo Jackson” to my “Brian Bosworth” when he has the ball. When I have it, it’s more or less the same result, except Tug resembles Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. For a big dog he is quick and nimble, though to see him in action is a lot like waiting for an eclipse.

Come Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll fire up the grill, watch the pre-game shows (which if you’ve been watching ESPN, they’ve already started), and settle in to watch the Cardinals take on the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. No matter the outcome, history will be made Sunday. Pittsburgh will win an unprecedented sixth Lombardi Trophy or Arizona will end the second largest championship drought in professional sports. Sorry Cubs. Neither Tug nor I have a dog in the fight since we both root for teams in the NFC East. Like everyone else though, we hope to enjoy a great game and awesome commercials.  Our pick is Arizona to win the game, 31-17.

It’s been a week since we opened the bag of Grammy’s Pot Pie. Tug is still a fan, but we tried a different twist during the weekend. Tug has a tendency to grow tired of the same food day in and day. I guess we all do. On Saturday, when I put the bowl of food down for him, he attacked the bowl with the same excitement he had all week, but for the first time, instead of burying his head in the bowl, he sniffed the food and then looked up at me with an expression of, “Pot pie again?” I think he has been checking out the bag of Merrick Elements Turducken. In an effort to stay a couple steps of Tug, I mixed some warm water with the Grammy’s to form a gravy. Tug is in love and even licked the bowl for a good five minutes after emptying it. The gravy seems to enhance the flavor, and my dog is even more excited to see what’s in his bowl.

Also, Tug seems to be more playful. Usually he sleeps the day away either in the bath tub or next to my desk while I work.  During the course of the last week, though, he has an extra pep in his step and is engaging the other dogs in the house to games of tug-o-war.  The puppy-like behavior is fun to see. I haven’t noticed an improvement in his breath yet.  I test that every morning when he politely rests his head on my bed next to mine and pants politely until I get up to let him out. Ever wake up to St. Bernard breath?

Mike and Tug, age 8 weeks

A man, a dog and a friendship

For as long as I could remember I wanted a St. Bernard. There was something fascinating to me about having a dog my size with which I could get down on the floor and wrestle without worrying about stepping on or crushing underneath my 230-pound frame. Whenever I would mention to someone that I wanted a Saint, the faces and comments were always the same, “Why would you want a dog that drools so much?” or “A dog that size will take over your house.”  To the first question, I would always say, “So what. Isn’t that we have towels? Nothing that can’t be cleaned up.” And to the notion that they take over the house, I didn’t have an answer before owning a Saint, but I didn’t let that deter me.  Not even movies like Beethoven or Turner and Hooch could deter me. In fact, those movies only nurtured my desire to one day own a St. Bernard.

After college and a stint in the Navy, I came across an ad for St. Bernard puppies in November 2004. At the time of the ad, the puppies were three weeks. The mom had a litter of 13 puppies, and the owners were hoping to find them new homes as the holidays approached. When I saw them, it was love at first sight. I was the first to respond to the ad and had pick of the litter. The largest of the litter was a male puppy that bore a near-perfect resemblance to Beethoven, from the movie with Charles Groden.  I was hooked.  I staked my claim and went home excited and disappointed all at once. Excited that I was about to be the proud owner of a St. Bernard but disappointed it would be five weeks until he was ready to leave the litter.

The five weeks went by faster than I thought, but it was time well spent getting the puppy’s new home ready and trying to figure out what I would name him.  There were so many possibilities. For years, I always thought I would call him Bevo, after the University of Texas mascot. It didn’t seem to fit, though. I kicked around several ideas, including Tank, Sarge, Tex, Bull and a few others. They all seemed like “big guy” names to me, but they also seemed like “tough guy” names. And this puppy was too lovable to have a tough guy name. In the vein of lovable, oaf-like names, Tug came to mind while driving down the road one day. I’d like to say it was a moment of epiphany and that there was some sort of sign from the heavens, like the clouds formed the word “Tug” in the sky, but it was really the result of a week-long brainstorm session and the Tug McGraw autobiography that had been laying on my coffee table. Tug it was, and the start of a friendship that has been filled with color during our four years together.

I will share stories about Tug, past and present, as we put Merrick Elements to the test. We hope you enjoy.