My dog is so weird.
Recently, Murphy has become obsessed with our fireplace. Most of the time, he just sits and stares at it, but, sometimes, he even whines and barks at it. It’s very bizarre, and it’s been going on for weeks now.
At one point, Mal and I thought maybe Murphy heard an animal inside the fireplace. Mal opened the door and looked up the chimney, but he didn’t see or hear anything.
Mal even let Murphy check out the inside of the fireplace. Neither of them found anything out of the ordinary, but Murphy is still obsessed with it.
We also thought maybe Murphy saw his reflection in the glass, but he sits off to the side of the fireplace and still stares at it.
Pretty much every night, this happens in our house.
I have no idea what’s going on in his little pug brain.
Hopefully, Murphy loses interest soon.
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That is way too funny. Maybe he think is would make a really nice dog house..
Murphy is so dang cute! Afraid of the fireplace? Precious. My old dog was afraid of bubbles. It was the funniest thing ever. We had one of those water bowls with the plastic cooler tub thing on top. As he would drink, it would bubble sometimes. It scared him to death…poor thing. Because of it, he started drinking out of the toilet and would bark when the toilet was shut. Ah, how I miss my golden retriever.
This is too funny! My pugs are always doing odd things like this. My guess is that he is seeing his reflection and thinks its another dog.
Maybe he wants another stick!?
Our dog does that all the time too! I used to go through the same list of reasons myself until I realized why she does it – the chimney and fireplace acts as a sound conduit for noises outside and through some physics that I don’t understand, seems to enhance the sound as well. I figured this out when I heard my husband’s car parking outside and our dog reacted to the noise as if it was coming from the fireplace. And yeah, she barks ALL the time at it too! So I bet Murphy is listening to everything that’s going on outside when he’s staring at the fireplace?
Hmm…I was thinking refelction. Maybe puggy wants to make a s’more?
Murphy makes me laugh every time I see him. I love his pug eyes!
Ah, ha, ha….hilarious. Our late tabby cat Raleigh did the same, and it was bizarre. We chocked it up to him seeing his own reflection (or as we called it – “Raleigh’s parrallel universe”) and thinking it was another cat that he could stare down. It went on for a couple of months but he eventually left the fireplace and transferred his attention to his own reflection in the mirror in our bathroom. Crazy cat. He’s been gone almost a year and a half, and I still miss him every day!
Dude…your chimney is haunted!
This maybe random- but have you or Mal checked it for birds or other creatures…? I know it’s not typically the time of year for nests but it’s happened to me before!
That’s so crazy. What a funny pug!!! I love dogs & their crazy little habits.
That is the cutest thing ever, I’m in love with your dog. I wonder if he can hear something outside or on the roof through the chimney? Maybe you have squirrels partying it up on the roof.
Most brilliantly weird dog ever.
Hahahahaha this post just totally made my day!
Ha! This post cracked me up
So cute!! Dogs find the strangest things to be obsessed with. My dog always barks at the hot air balloons, and continues barking even 20 minutes after they’re out of sight. Crazy!
Agree with Ali. We often get birds nesting at the very top so you might not be abe to see/hear them yourself. I’d get it cleaned just to be sure – especially as you’ll soon be needing it! Boo winter!!!
Mouse in the wall? My dog does the same in our kitchen near oven and it was a mouse!
Hahaha, that’s hilarious! He kind of reminds me of my last dog who would sit & just stare at the wall in a trance. You’d have to yell her name a few times before she’d finally look away. I love dogs lol.
haha maybe there’s a stealthy animal that’s made its nest in your chimney, waiting for its opportunity to move into your home and murphy is standing guard
I’d say there is some sort of reflective glare happening. My puppy sits to the side of the oven door and does the same thing…we realized he was seeing light bounce off of it. Weirdos.
hahaha that is too cute! i love all the pictures!! my dog likes the fireplace when there is a fire in it he sits so close, he must love the warmth! sometimes were afraid he’ll step right into the fire. he usually lays right on the brick!
Omg the pic of Murphey looking over the table with those big pug eyes is adorable. My pups won’t look directly at the camera for cute pics like that. She’s a diva.
Haha! I love this! Murphy is too cute!
I think he is probably just stairing at his reflection and is wondering who that other dog is. My family dog will do that with the window. He loves stairing at his reflection.
maybe he thinks he can get outside through there?! When I first saw this post in my reader I thought it was going to be a review of the Fireplace in Brookline. haha!
I have to tell you–The dog at my office did the EXACT same thing every single day. We assumed it was his reflection. A few days later, a –ugh–dead bird appeared at the bottom of the fireplace. We think it was stuck up in the chimney and eventually died and fell. Dogs are too smart to just stare at nothing. I’ll bet there is something stuck up there…..
See, now that would freak me out since you have no idea what he sees/smells/hears, lol.
Murphy knows something is up with that fireplace.
My first instinct was that your fireplace is a portal to another dimension (perhaps Narnia?) and Murphy is sensing the lions and satyrs from beyond.
. . . because that’s the most logical conclusion of course
My dog did that for a while too! We found out later there was a mouse in the chimney brick work. So you might want to check outside along the base of the chimney and look for a little mouse hole. They often know more then we do!
That’s hilarious!!!!!
I think you need a “Team Murphy” t-shirt.
BTW, you never know what could be living up there. A few months ago my mom came home from vacation to find a trail of Hershey’s Kisses wrappers leading upstairs to her bedroom. When she got there, there was a squirrel sitting with Mom’s stash of chocolate. The squirrel looked at her defiantly and popped another kiss in its mouth, as if to say “Yeah, I’m sittin’ in yer bed, eatin’ yer chocolate! What’re you gonna do about it, huh?”
She called animal rescue. Turns out there were a bunch of squirrels in the attic.
My sister has two pugs named Ben and Jerry. All the kids call them the ice cream dogs.
LOL how funny is that!
I won’t lie, I have never like pugs…until now that is!! Murphy is so adorable I just love the pictures of him. He big, worried eyes staring at the fireplace are so sweet.
Omg. I miss Murphy. Hilarious!
Maybe he’s cold and he wants a fire? Or it’s the one year anniversary of the death of his stick at the hand of that infernal fireplace? Or maybe he’s hoping Santa will come early? OR maybe it’s really “The Pug, The Peanut Butter Jar and The Fireplace”?
Team Murphy lol. The crazier the pet, the better. =)
Hi Tina!!
So, dogs cannot actually discern that their reflection is themselves (only dolphins can do this). So, he probably thinks is some like ghost-dog. Maybe see if placing a blanket or a towel over it helps to dissipate the odd behavior!
This is so funny – posts like these are why I decided to get a dog! I am still choosing what kind but Murphy is looking more and more cute so I might just turn into a pug girl:)
The picture with just his eyes over the table, best. Pug picture. EVER!!
That’s too funny! In our last apartment, my cat used to open the cabinet under the sink and sit there all night with his front paws propped up inside. He only did this at night, but all night, every night. We never figured out what he thought he was “waiting” for.
Love this
He’s adorable.
Murphy is so hilarious!! One of my pugs is always staring into the wall…We laugh at him all the time saying lights are on but no one’s home…LOL
I am cracking up. It never fails when you have a post about Murphy! Too cute!
Have you tried keeping the doors open? Or does Murphy venture inside if the doors are open?
Murphy makes me smile! Love your Murphy themed posts!
I know you said you checked for animals – but I would put out a mousetrap – maybe inside the fireplace where Murphy can’t get to it. It’s that time of year when mice find their way inside due to the colder temperatures – and I know that in my history chimneys are a prime entry way. Our cat used to do the same as your dog – and he caught more than one mouse that way!
maybe he is reminiscing about his favorite stick and is still sad that it was used for a fire. just a thought. =)
Our bulldog (Gus) does the same thing. I think that he sees his reflection, ours and/or the reflection from the t.v. When there is a fire it is even worse. He sits super close until he is so hot he can’t stand it, we call it Gus t.v.
Most brilliantly weird dog ever.
My Australian Terrier Kip did the same thing in front of the Dishwasher! Last night he stood in front of it and growled and barked at it.
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