Pets

Took these along the way to Komala's a East Coast Park for some delicious Masala Thosai. I am totally behind these notices to pet owners to pick up after their pets. I do. I bring along small plastic bags whenever Tiger goes out. You can be eco-friendly by using those plastic bags the supermarket provides when you buy fruits. 

And Tiger has a new teddy! My gift to him to for being such an angel.

And here is Super. He was so cute. I put in a toilet roll for him to play about. Instead, he decided to put his head into it to sleep. Hedgehogs are nocturnal and they try to avoid the light. His sister Sonic is a grumpy fella who edges him out of the hut all the time, so here he is, fast asleep.

SKC Obedience Trials

Being the ambitious mom to Tiger is not a new thing to me. So here we are on the 24th April, entering the trials for the second time in hopes of going home with a trophy. This time round, it's being held at a pavilion at Hougang St 61 instead of Singapore Expo. Every year, the trials are booked last minute at Expo when some event backs out. This will enable SKC, a non-profit organization, to get better rates. This year, no slots were available and they had so much difficulty getting a venue. Some of us donated $ to help them out. I think dogs are really underdogs in Singapore, where no one gives a damn about animal rights, much less all these obedience trials. Hopefully, in time to come, dog owners will pay more attention to training their pets so that they have a better relationship with them, and so that they won't be pests to neighbours all around with incessant barking.

Anyway, here we are at noon, squinting and panting in the heat respectively, warming up, literally without aircon.

 We're next in line for the Pre-Novice category, where the exercises are done with leash. We did well for this one. Tiger was fantastic! I know I looked pensive and stern.  The sternness was deliberate so that Tiger would be able to sense the seriousness of the moment.

 Here's the Novice category, where exercises are done off-leash. Tiger is earnestly following my Heel command. He was really tired out by the heat and could barely sit. Every time we stopped, he went down on all fours. Sad to say, we didn't make it for this one.

Trials over. Now we can relax with this toy poodle...Camfry. He is such a baby. I only held him for 30 sec before he started whining for his daddy.

 Yayyyy...results are out and Tiger came in THIRD PLACE for pre-novice. That's one position up from last year. But I'm really pleased cos this time round we were so ill-prepared for it, and the environment sucked. It was hot, echo-ey and too open with pedestrians walking about, dogs yelping, BBQ smoke, rain etc.

 Prizes included a pack of dog food which I know picky Tiger wouldn't touch.

 So proud of my baby! Note the bling bling leash we bought him. Perfect for a glam dog like him!

 Last pic and its home sweet home.

Tiger Cutie

Still basking in my win, this time with Tiger.  Poor dog, yeah. I realize he's male but it's so entertaining putting all assortments of girly things on him...tiara, flowers, hairclips etc.

The really cute part about him is how he complies and obeys with the nonsense I bestow upon his doggy self. See how tortured he looks. Often, he will freeze like a statue and refuse to move until I remove the offending object.

Sorry Tiger...mommy will buy you your favourite pandan cake as compensation.

Apparently, I've been told that Tiger looks like me! I don't know if it's much of a compliment that I look like a dog, but well, I agree he does have my eyes. haha.

Humphf..eyelash falling off liaoz...

Yummy Sunday

Went to a really fun birthday party today. Here's the pretty host on the left. The other lady baked these delicious cupcakes with Mickey on them in every little girl's favourite colours!

Our gracious host even had a caricaturist on-site to draw us. Here's one of me looking cross-eyed!

Tiger got invited too. He's a very well-known dog, haha!! Unfortunately, I had to answer a lot of questions from very many people about his reproductive organs. 

Questions from little girls: "Does that mean he wants to pee? What is that red thing here? Where does the pee come from? What is that black thing below? Har, you mean that's the whole thing?? Then where does the poo poo come from?".

Then the ladies:"Does that mean he is feeling horny? Eeeewww, his pee thing is popping out again!"

It was a delicate task trying to explain that Tiger's pee pee makes random appearances involuntarily. His penis has a life of its own and he doesn't have absolute control over it. (haha kinda sounds like some men). It doesn't mean ANYTHING! Nope, he is not about to hump your leg or the nearest bitch!

Then here's me with my primary school best friend at Junction 8's CNY decoration after dinner, sucking in my tummy after slurping up Sharks Fin Soup in Casserole from  Crystal Jade. My friend here says it contains collagen and is not nutritionally-deficient (as I thought).

Dogs Should Have Fun Too

Recently I read Xiaxue's blog post about giving her Pumpkin away to an expat family. She only had the dog for a year and was fed up with cleaning pee. The poor dog stays in the playpen most of the time and only gets to roam free for a few hours a day in the house. And as expected, she doesn't get walked. No wonder Pumpkin doesn't love Xiaxue! It is virtually a prisoner, no matter how many toys, good food or hair clips she gets. It's like house arrest. Some dogs get chained up the whole day and pet owners think that's all right. They are not aware that SPCA considers that animal cruelty and that they are committing an offence by doing so. 

Just look at how much fun the can have sloshing in the snow and meeting other dogs. That should be how it is. Xiaxue gives the excuse that her dog gets fleas and ticks from going to grass patches on walks. My dog has been walking twice a day on grass patches and he haven't had more than 20 ticks in his entire 5 years! I'm not saying that getting ticks isn't a problem. But there are ways to resolve tick issues. Such as adding garlic to the dog's diet, wearing flea collars/powders. Most importantly, a healthy dog doesn't many ticks. Good food is very important. Tiger gets Primal BARF diet. It's raw meat, bones and organic vegetables minced together in the form of frozen nuggets. It's not cheap, but Tiger has become very muscular and sports a sheen on his white coat. He never falls ill except for the occasional gastric upset. (The vet attributes that to his irregular meal times, much like his mommy's. )

So if you're kinda lonely and need companionship, don't get a dog unless you're committed to take care of it for  15 to 20 years. That means regular walks, play time, good food, visits to the vets, grooming, heart guard tablets, obedience training, bath time, regular brushing of its coat and teeth, toys and snacks, and lots and lots of LOVE. It's like having a baby that will never grow up. As a puppy, he may chew your Chanel bag or Armani sunglasses and ruin your favourite boots. Tiger chewed up the corners of my coffee table, TV console and the skirting around the house too. Then the milk teeth drop off (sometimes on the floor you discover a tiny white tooth.) Then peace prevails, life returns to normal, and you may replace the furniture. Now he roams about my house freely and behaves himself.

In return for everything you give, a dog offers you what another human being cannot: his unyielding loyalty, and unconditional love for the rest of his life. 

To you, he may be just a dog. But to him, you're everything.

Dumbbell

Yesterday Tiger went to school and shi fu Mr Patrick Wong decided that Tiger had to upgrade his dumbbell from

to this

As you can see, he has a crestfallen look on his face as he thinks it's training time again!  It's like "Oh oh...this can't be happening at home. "

My poor doggy is carrying a dumbbell the same size as a retriever's. We had to train Tiger to "fetch" and "hold" the dumbbell and it is quite cruel cos in order to train him to "fetch" it, we put his ear against his metal choke chain collar. If he lurches forward and bites the dumbbell, nothing happens. If he refuses at command, we have to pinch his ear against the collar and oh my, he SQUEALS like it's the end of the world. Every time that happens, I swear my heart aches more than his ear. Thankfully, Tiger is a smart boy. He learns fast and is very obedient, so I don't have to feel like a monster every Sunday.

I think he enjoys going to school though. Even before we leave the house, he gets so excited seeing us lug his school bag out of the storeroom. When he is training with me, he has this serious, laboured look on his face. But when I say "OK", he leaps for joy and runs off to find his friends. Tiger's really mischievous cos he will go round the class and make new friends, sniffing their butts and trying to kiss them. Some dogs aren't accustomed to being 'French-kissed' by another dog and they yelp to get Tiger off their backs. Maybe their owners don't kiss them enough. I can't survive one day NOT kissing Tiger or sniffing in his fragrant doggy scent. It makes me happy!

In case you're curious, he sleeps with me on my bed nightly with his head on my arm until his fur gets us both warm and sweaty; that's when he looks for cooler pastures on the ground. I think I'm not alone in this dog-in-the-bed thingy. A recent report says that a third of American dog owners allow their dogs to sleep with them. A lot of people think it's dirty and disgusting, but I think the benefits outweigh the cons. I've woken up in the middle of the night feeling frozen from the aircon and turned over to the hubby for some warmth, only to find him just as cold as me. That's when Tiger comes into the picture! I'd actually get up, search for him on his little pet bed and lug him into bed with me, feeling so snug as his warmth spreads over to me. It's almost like heaven. Incidentally chiengora (dog fur wool) is great for keeping warm. I've got a whole box of Tiger's fur collected so that I can make my very own dog hair scarf!

Silky the Balloon Dog

This is Tiger's birthday present from us! He has an interesting relationship with the balloon that I've nicknamed Silky. He's terrified when Silky the balloon chases him, curious (he sniffs Silky's nose and butt like a normal dog) and jealous when Silky 'eats' from his bowl, or when I 'pet' Silky.

Unfortunately Silky has run out of steam (or is that helium) and is half her former self, literally!

Tiger Video

This is one i took of Tiger past midnight in my pool...He's so cute!

Tiger and Sebastian Hair Product

Tiger endorsing Sebastian Hair Clay, which I have just used on his mane. haha poor dog

Tiger and SKC Show

I'm proud to announce that Tiger participated in the Singapore Kennel Club Obedience Trials and won 4th placement in the Pre Novice class. He passed the Novice class. Would have gotten 5th if there was a trophy for that.

We started the day really early about 7am. Tiger was obviously distracted in the new place at Singapore Expo and I was so worried. He kept turning his head at every noise and sniffing the floor. I sized up the competition and most dogs looked better prepared than Tiger. He only started preparing in December whereas his classmates had been training at advanced levels already.

At the Pre Novice, I was so nervous. It was the first time for both of us and I didn't know what to expect. Tiger was wonderful however. It seemed he knew that I needed him to be at his best. He gave me his full attention and did so well for the Recall exercise by plonking himself directly in front of me. The judge was very happy with him it seemed.

At Novice, Tiger did relatively well. Until I stepped on his foot during the heelwork. Ouch...sorry Tiger. Otherwise he could have been 4th. Sigh!

Anyway, to say the least, I'm so proud of dear dear Tiger. He's made me so happy as his mommy.

Meet Sonic the Hedgehog

This is Super the baby hedgehog at 45 days old. His girlfriend is Sonic (name courtesy of Nintendo)...and together they are Super Sonic! haha corny! 

Anyway, compared to his girlfriend/sister, he's really introverted, nervous and quite cranky. He has no qualms about pricking your fingers if he doesn't quite like you. Most of the time he prefers to lounge in his little makeshift house/cardboard container. (For the record, I'm buying a proper one when I find time to do so...OK?)

Today, I found a small green worm on a vegetable I was about to saute. Heard that worm protein was good for their development, so I offered it to both of them. They declined and of course, I couldn't just leave the wriggling thingy in their tank, so I took it out again.

I proceeded to kitchen with the worm precariously hanging on my toothpick, trying to make up my mind whether to drown it or just throw it, and at the same time, worrying about the worm making its way along the toothpick towards my finger. Then suddenly, the worm sort of had a long plunging fall to my kitchen floor. To my horror and utmost disgust, Tiger my doggy, being his friendly furry self, decided to give it a lick. It disappeared. I looked at my empty toothpick, the floor and Tiger. Then it dawned on me...TIGER HAD EATEN A WORM!!! Yukkks!!!! I was so totally grossed out I can't even begin to describe how horrible it was.

My baby cute adorable sweet Tiger just ate a worm! He's not gonna kiss me for a long long time!

My very own white Tiger

This is Tiger the westie. He has the mysterious ability to worm his way into just about anyone's heart.