Mother took me to Sentosa island a couple of weeks back! It wasn’t really the first time I’ve seen the sea (we went to East Coast park ages ago for the first sheltie gathering I attended).

I quite like frolicking in the water! The bubbly surf moves! So enticingly! Out into the sea, then back onto the shore, out again, then back. I was hoping I could grab me some of that but all I got was a mouthful of salt water. Tasty!

Mother was so not prepared to go to a beach. She didn’t bring towels or anything, so I had to air dry my butt. We walked through crowds dripping! So unglam Mother. 

There was this one boy who was walking behind us that kept making stupid irritating “woof woof” noises like it’s a rabid dog. *rolls eyes* Mother got quite annoyed so she sat me down on the side of the path and as they walked by, she made me bark loudly! ROAWWRRRRR (or something like that *ahem*) The boy jumped and his father quickly turned to him and said “hurry up, walk faster”. TEE HEE HEE. Mother and I had a good chuckle. Don’t think just because I look like Lassie you can make fun of ME. 

 This is my stylo shot. I told Mother to take it. She couldn’t stop rolling her eyes at my vanity. I looked hot! And I was wearing a new collar and leash! Of course I want to capture my astounding handsomeness against a backdrop of blue sky, turquoise sea and sandy beach!

Ma! Look! Pretty girlies over there! Sentosa is great. All these young teenage girls come up to me and coo and say how cute and handsome I look and they pat me and make such a big fuss! While Mother stands there hands on her hips, rolling her eyes trying hard to not make it obvious that she is jealous she doesn’t have teenage boys fawning over her. I can’t help it if I’m gorgeous, Mother.

Thank you for coming to my pawty and for all the fabulous gifts! I love them! Hope you all had a great time! Mother says I might have to make do with just her, Father and a cupcake for my 2nd birthday because she’s completely knackered from the pawty. I don’t know what she’s complaining about when I was the one going around making sure everyone had a great time!

See you all again soon!

If you want to see pictures of the pawty, they are available here and here (thanks to Pirate!).

I’m having a barkday pawty to celebrate my first birthday! YOU’RE INVITED! Let me know if you and your human are coming ok? Mother needs to give the numbers to the food people so all humans and dogs get something to eat and drink!

It will be held on 22nd March 2009 (Sunday) at 4pm held at K9 Kulture (Turf City)!

Woohoo! I want to now be called RAMBO! (Though it will be very confusing for Mother whose favourite mouse is called Rambo) I received my first BATTLE WOUND! On my neck too! So hot. So macho. I’ll have a sexy scar to show off to the ladies this weekend at the dog run!

Remember that crazy little jack russell terrier hanging off me in the video I posted not long ago? The sister of the brother I was annoying? Yes, well, she actually BIT ME! 2 weeks ago! YES! I KNOW! HOW COOL IS THAT! What? Not cool? Why is everyone like Mother!! She also thinks it’s not cool. She thinks I’m nuts too for the following reasons (I quote):

1. “You didn’t yelp or whine or anything! You just took it silently?!? You? Drama queen of the year? The dog that tripped over his own feet while being chased by a husky and screamed bloody murder and made me think you broke your leg when all you got was a tiny scratch!??”

2. “How can you continue to hound the brother and hang around the sister the whole time they were at the dog run?? I remember that day – you didn’t want to leave their table until they had left! Why would you want to be near the dog that just bit you??”

3. “You crazy little mutt! You even played with the JRT that bit you last week!! Don’t tell me you can’t remember the scent of the one that attacked you? Is this like some sort of canine Stockholm syndrome where you love the dog that attacked you??”

Mother doesn’t actually blame the JRT for biting me, because she says I deserve it for annoying the crap out of the JRT’s brother. It’s not a deep wound anyway. My collar got in the way and she thinks only two fangs punctured my neck. We went to the vet and he shaved off a bit of fur there (I told him not too much because I still want to look super handsome) and gave me an antibiotic jab that made me woozy and lethargic. I missed the sheltie gathering because of that (and the rain)!

I’m all better now if you were wondering. It’s healed nicely and Mother thinks there actually won’t be a scar. DANG IT!

OH YES!! Did I tell you? I was trying to push the boundaries and test the water last weekend! Being my naughty rebellious adolescent self, I was on Mother’s couch in her room doing my cute digging thing and amusing her while she watched me with her camera in hand. Then!! Guess what I did!! GUESS!!

I LIFTED MY LEG AND PEED ON THE COUCH AND THE COUCH PILLOW!! Teeheeheeheehee. Boy it was hilarious! I was looking right at Mother when I did it! You should have seen Mother’s face! Her jaw dropped and her eyes were wide like saucers! Then of course, she gathered her wits and before the last trickle of pee left my body, she said Bad Boy! picked me up and dumped me in my time out area. I was given a 45 minute time out!! But you know, between you and me, it was well worth it!! Heehee. SSSSHHH!!!!

Mother is not pleased with me. She says my adolescent craziness is driving her up the wall. This weekend I have completely regressed in the area of paying her attention in the dog run – she said “You know boy, this weekend it’s like mummy didn’t exist to you! I could have gone home, watched a movie and returned to pick you up from the dog run and you wouldn’t have noticed I was gone!” Which is.. er.. probably true. 
When Mother called out “Romeo come!” this weekend, all I did was turn my head to her, then I’d turn the other way and find something interesting to sniff. It wasn’t like she was 60 feet away either, more like 6 feet. I think I hear Mother sobbing away and ranting on a forum now. I really can’t control meself you know! Mother read somewhere that ”every ‘trained’ behavior will constantly be deteriorating and will need to be ‘refreshed’”. How very frustrating that must be for Mother! She’s got to live with this until I’m 1 and a half years old at least! She is hoping her Control Unleashed DVD arrives soon so she can get a better visual on how to put Leslie McDevitt’s techniques to use (uh-oh for me?) and hopefully be able to better manage me. I think the most important thing for Mother to understand and remember always is that we all have our bad days!!

My rude teen behaviour continues. Mother took some short videos of what I was doing to other dogs (tho’ they don’t fully capture the extent of it!) – particularly one Jack Russell Terrier and a mixed breed. The JRT had a sister who was fiesty! She would come in aid of her (bigger sized) brother (at whom I was barking, and nipping and annoying) and clamp down on the fur on my back (Mother thought this very funny because she said it’s like a taste of my own medicine). The mixed breed actually (surprisingly to Mother) benefited from my nagginess and persistence. This dog was originally dog shy and didn’t like it when dogs came close to it. But, Romeo comes to save the day! The black dog must have eventually realised I meant no harm and we had a bit of a game on the grass.

I found this story online – written by Suzanne Clothier, a well known and respected dog trainer in the US. It’s called “He Just Wants To Say ‘Hi!‘”. I hope many of your mums and dads will read this and understand that sometimes it’s not you that is aggressive (or that sometimes it’s you just being really rude!). Mother recognises and understands my teenage behaviour and always tells the owners whose dog I am harassing and is snapping at me, that it’s because I am rude and it’s ok that the dog is doing that. She’s right you know, sometimes I do deserve a good snarl and a quick snap. I’m a wild and unruly young boy!

For those of you with mums and dads interested in understanding basic canine behaviour, here’s a pictorial guide from the American SPCA. It’s very simplistic, but at least mums and dads out there will start to realise that we communicate via body language and hopefully they will start observing and noticing our signals! Funny how we don’t have this here. There’s a lack of information and too many ignorant people!

We were at the West Coast dog run again on Saturday and Sunday and the weekend before that!! Mother’s been complaining that she’s not getting any sleep because she has to wake up super early on both days on the weekend to take me there. Suck it up Mother! Father was like “Why are we celebrating Valentine’s Day in field of poop?”

We FINALLY met Chow Chow!! He’s a handsome lion looking one! We didn’t play much. I think I’m a bit of a girl because I don’t play macho like Chow Chow does! We also met Yuki, a Japanese spitz that is (surprise surprise!) born one day before me AND she came from the same pet store! We were probably neighbours there and didn’t know it!

Last Sunday I was picked up by an ah pek. A middle aged man came into the park with 2 dogs. One he unleashed, the other he tied to a tree. Mother was near the middle of the dog run (she’s doing this thing where she ignores me now because she thinks if she stops watching my back, that will make ME watch HER back. Hmm.) and I was near the gates. This man stopped to pet me (and I’m nice so I let him). Next thing I knew he lifted me up under my arms and carried me 2 meters away before putting me down again. He didn’t even support my ass! By this time I could hear Mother screaming “PUT HIM DOWN A**HOLE! WHO THE F*** SAID YOU CAN CARRY MY DOG!” I could see the steam coming out of her red face from where I was. She was MAD. So was I! What the heck! Don’t you know how to carry a dog, damnit? You support his rear end! I don’t care if you carry your dogs that way (Mother saw him carry his dog that way then sort of threw him onto the ground and was commenting to Grandpa that’s so wrong when next thing she knew, I WAS BEING HOISTED!).  You don’t carry ME that way ok! Mother marched up to him and yelled at him and told him if he touched me again she will bash his head in. She said he had no right to pick me up, and I was minding my own business and it wasn’t like I was blocking the gate – the stupid man wasn’t even on his way out! She then yelled that even SHE doesn’t carry me the way he did (she really doesn’t. She gave everyone in the house a lesson on carrying me) so he had NO DAMN RIGHT to do that.  You go Mother! The dumbass just stood there and said “okok” in a slighty cheena way with a sheepish smile on his ugly mug.

Mother is very protective and territorial. She’s cool with people petting me and all, but carrying and carrying IMPROPERLY, she cannot tolerate. There was no reason for it in this case. She won’t carry another dog unless she knows the owner wouldn’t mind, and she will only carry puppies never adult dogs. Mother was telling Grandpa she thinks she’s gaining some sort of reputation at the dog run because she’s yelled at people and would yell at dogs (usually huskies) to get them to back off when they posture over me and I’m clearly overwhelmed. But she says she doesn’t care, and I don’t too, so long as I’m kept safe!

That man is weird anyway. He kept one dog on a leash the WHOLE time, tied to a tree! And whenever other dogs ran towards it, he would yell at his own dog. And he kept holding the dog’s leash so tight. Grandpa says that he must think his dog is aggressive and is afraid it will bite the other dogs. Mother says, well, then don’t bring it to the dog run! But she says it’s unlike the dog is aggressive just really wants to meet other dogs and that the holding back isn’t helping but making him more aroused and excited. Oh well, sucks to be him.

Last night we went for our usual walk but bumped into a caucasian girl (she looks about 7 years old) and her brother (who looks like he might be 5 but behaves like he’s 2). They were out looking for the (ick) cat, a black and white thing that apparently hasn’t been home in 2 days. They mustn’t love the cat very much because they stopped searching and came running to me saying “Ooh! COLLIE! I love Collies!” Who the heck is a Collie?? I’m not a Collie darnit! I’m a SHETLAND SHEEPDOG. Get your facts right, girl! Still, she petted me and the boy started screaming in a happy hysterical way, which made my body drop into a playbow. For some reason, I wanted to play with that hyperactive screaming PJ clad boy.

Minutes later tho’, a small black shadow came hurtling down the pavement towards me. It was a french bulldog. The kids’ dog, Frankie. Frankie the Frenchie. I like French bulldogs. They can look quite cute (a little more so than their English cousins), but this one, Frankie, had little life or intelligence (to me) behind his beady black eyes. The kids got him in November and haven’t been able to toilet train him. DOH. C’mon Frankie, how hard is it to pee and poop in just one place? Frankie also lacked social skills. That one chased me around trying to get his head under my belly to sniff my sausage and eggs. What the?? Lay off buddy! We just met! Go easy! I didn’t want to scare the dude so I just ran around Mother in circles causing us to get entangled (oh yes, the girl went to get his halter and leash sometime during our meeting). It really amazes me when I know “Drop It” better than a human child. Mother kept telling the boy who was holding on to the leash to let go because we were so entangled and I was clearly not enjoying the face to face tango Frankie and I were doing. Except, that vapid boy just held on! When Mother says Drop It, YOU DROP THE LEASH you stupid child! Also, did I mention that the father of the children was standing there the whole time talking on his mobile?

I think Mother is too tolerant of kids because after that episode she continued to stand there and wait while the girl ran home to get Frankie’s treats to show Mother what Frankie eats (or actually doesn’t eat, according to her). Well, I sure helped him. I took everything she had! Then she asked about the clicker Mother was holding and asked if she could try clicking too. I wanted to scream “NO MOTHER! NOOooooo!!” but it was too late. She handed the thing to her and explained how to use it. Thankfully, the girl isn’t too daft. She clicked once as I sat and got my treat, but then clicked again and Mother scrambled to stuff something in my mouth. I really should have seen this coming. No, MOTHER should have seen this coming – the BOY now wants to click too! “Ooh! Can I click? Can I click? Can I click?” OVER AND OVER while Mother tries to calm me down (coz you’d expect that when I heard that I went abit nuts). Such an annoying child. I also don’t know what was going through Mother’s mind when she HANDED THE CLICKER TO HIM. Oh my dog, kill me now. No prizes for guessing that the peabrain boy happily clicked away while Mother hurried to pop treats into my mouth. I could see Mother got a bit annoyed with him (it was about time!) and she took the clicker back. Except, again, should have seen this coming, the boy kept saying “can I try again? can I try again?” NO YOU MAY NOT YOU CRAZY KID! Wait, what? Mother no! You hold it while he clicks? Are you sure? Ok ok. Fine”. One final click from the jumping screaming monkey while Mother held the clicker and she said “We’ll let you know if we see your cat. BYE NOW.” and left. 

We went home, me slightly flustered, Mother slight guilty (for putting me through kinder-hell). So we trained and she played games with me, like this one in the video where I have to use my super nose to find which hand holds the treats!

So we were at the West Coast dog run today and it was very crowded with lots of dogs, and alot of small/medium sized ones. Then this German Shepherd comes in with an Indian guy and his lady friend unmuzzled. Mother told the guy that a GS needs to be muzzled in public, but the guy was defensive and a little rude. Mother thought him very irresponsible and inconsiderate. She also thought him very stupid because he kept asking “Why? Is my dog biting your dog?”. What? Wait until I get bitten before you put a muzzle on? What good will that do? Mother would be too busy whacking the GS with any thing on hand and then going after your damn balls. Dumbass.

Look. I love German Shepherds. Mother loves them too. She would want one if she had the space. She doesn’t wholly agree with the muzzling laws because she knows that every dog is different even if from the same breed. But they are there because of certain traits in the breed and data collected of attacks over years and jurisdictions – they are there basically because history has shown that there is a higher tendency of attacks from such dogs. How the attacks happened is unknown but they happened, which shows a greater potential from a particular breed. Sure, there are some great GS out there. Uncle Kab’s GSs are terrific. They are amazingly well trained but even Uncle Kab agrees that GS owners are doing a disservice to the breed and other such breed owners by flouting the laws and deliberately being inconsiderate to others.

Mother says she’s cool if the GS is unmuzzled but leashed, like on walks, because the owner still has control over the dog. But she’s not cool with a GS running off leash without a muzzle because the owner may have no control over the dog at all. She doesn’t know the dog but more importantly she doesn’t know the   owner, she doesn’t know if the dog is well trained or socialised – just like all other dogs in the dog run. BUT the difference here is that the other dogs in the dog run are breeds which haven’t shown a propensity to attack. While Mother knows all dogs can bite and she’s always on the look out, she’s not going to discount the GS and statistics. Better to be safe than sorry. She doesn’t need an additional thing to worry about. With so many small dogs in the dog run, the GS could easily kill any one of them. Not just me! (ever heard of prey drive? resource guarding (he had a ball)?) Yes, the GS may be super sweet and docile and won’t hurt a fly. That’s great, but it’s still against the law not to muzzle your dog in public isn’t it? Why can’t the guy just muzzle his dog and let him play with us? Oh wait. The GS lady owner said it was inhumane. Pfft. What nonsense. A muzzle is like a leash. It’s not inhumane unless you never take it off. Some dogs have been conditioned to LOVE their muzzle because muzzle = going out. The GS can still have a good time. While dogs have been known to be able to inflict a bite through the muzzle, those tend to be less serious since the dog can’t get it’s jaws wide enough to get a good grip.

Mother has heard too many stories of dogs being attacked (poor Nigel) to take this sort of thing lightly. She’s always watching the dogs in the run and noting which I should stay away from (today was a black mixed medium sized dog that showed signs of dog-dog aggression) and she won’t hesitate to step in to protect me because a single bite can mean death to me (eeps!) or a permanent injury that I may never heal from. Prevention is better than cure, especially where here, there is a possibility that there many be no cure, unless someone finds a way to revive the dead. She wasn’t just doing it for me anyway. She wouldn’t want any dog owner to have to suffer the consequences of an attack. She knows it will be too painful. She herself worries constantly when we’re with other dogs, coz you just never know!

Furthermore, if the GS DOES attack any dog or person, it’s just going to add to the number of GS attacks and the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority may find it necessary to impose the same strict and expensive rules that it is planning for rottweilers. Why would any GS owner want that? Why not minimize the risks, put other people at ease about the breed and prevent further bad rep to the breed? 

Mother says if they didn’t want to muzzle the dog but want the dog to run free and play ball or whatever in a wide open field (who wouldn’t want that for their dog?), go to the dog run very early or very late where there is no one else in the place. That way you can do what you want without being inconsiderate to other people. That’s what Mother would do if she got one because she knows that while she may know her dog, others don’t and will worry. Mother was at WCDR once on a weekday afternoon and we had a good run alone then a pitbull terrier came in – another breed that must be muzzled, but it wasn’t. The owner let the dog loose near the gates, but he saw that I was made to sit next to Mother while Mother eyed him like a hawk and he very courteously leashed his dog as they walked past us to the far side of the dog run. No, the pit bull terrier wasn’t muzzled, but the owner was responsible and considerate. He went when he thought no one else will be there (except Mother who took leave from work that Friday afternoon) and he leashed his dog (and hence could control it) as he walked past us. Mother didn’t tell him to muzzle his dog because we left (we were about to go anyway) and he had the place all to himself.

Grandpa snapped pics of the dude and his GS and on the way out (the GS and couple didn’t stay much longer after Mother approached them – they played a few games of fetch), the GS guy also snapped a picture of Mother. Mother and Grandpa wanted to ask him if he wanted them to pose for the picture because really, they didn’t do anything wrong (and Mother really is the type who would stand up for what she thinks is right, she’s got quite the big mouth and thick skin and she really doesn’t care what people think so long as I am kept safe). They just told the guy what the law says (and what was conveniently printed on the board outside the gates of the park). Ignorance of the law is no defence. Mother says she’d do it again if it’s called for.

Wowee! I’ve just added a new treat to my TOP 10 FAVOURITES list! STEAMED CHICKEN! Mother wanted a healthy alternative to the other high value treats and decided to go cheap and picked up some raw chicken (she wanted roasted meats but no one could tell her what seasoning went into it and she didn’t want to take any chances!) which she steamed just before we went for our walk!

I LOVE IT! I’m getting more today apparently. Mother’s been trying to get me to focus more on her so she said she needed something that’ll get my attention (oh boy oh boy!) but which was healthy (she keeps saying I’m fat!). She also went out and bought 2 15 feet long leashes for distance work. We only used one yesterday. She’d at random places, stop and ask me to look at her. Then when she saw dogs in the distance, she would do the same, then wait until they got closer and asked me to look at her again! I know she’s pretty (coughs) but really, there’s just so much of her I can take! She also did the same thing with barking dogs behind gates. We’d go closer and she’d stop and make me watch her. She gets very happy when I staaaaarreee at her.

She trained “come” outdoors where there was some distraction (traffic, a couple of people walking). She said I did good when I bounded to her. Then she trained sitting at a distance from a stand stay using the same 15ft leash. And also standing at a distance from a sit stay, except every time she asks me to stand, 15 ft away, I tend to take one or 2 steps forward too! She’s not liking that! She says she’s going to increase the distance tonight. Then on Sunday, we’re going to take it to the Botanical Gardens – a place with even more distractions! She’s hoping to get a couple of strangers (esp kids) to feed me some treats! I already love children, Mother, but if you want them to feed me, SURE!

Last Saturday morning Mother took me to the Animal Resort! FINALLY! It was bright and sunny and Father drove us to the place. Uncle K was there training his German Shepherd. Mother wanted to go say Hi, but then saw that the GS pup was being trained to attack the training helper’s arm (looked like fun!) and decided against it! She was afraid I’d get mauled. PFFFTT. Please. First of all, Uncle K’s dogs are super well trained AND I can hold my own, thank you very much! So instead, she took me around to meet rabbits, peacocks, goats, cranes, geese (scary!) and a HUGE prehistoric looking bird that is as tall as a short man with a beak as long as a leg! It snapped its beak and I jumped. Father says it reminds him of Mr Burns from the Simpsons.

Sunday was dreary. It rained and rained. When it let up in the afternoon, Mother took me to walk around the neighbourhood. I met my rough collie friend and his ‘brother’ Sparky again! Sparky is so barky. Hurhur. No class on Sunday because there was some agility trials that day. Saturday saw me losing focus. Well, not really, I was totally focussed! Just not on Mother and training, but on Muffy the mongrel from Thailand! Muffy doesn’t really like other dogs and snapped at me when I tried to make my Casanova move which got me abit rattled so I ended up yelling at her in frustration. Pfft. You’ve not experienced anything until you’ve experienced The Romeo! Mother’s also getting increasing pissed off with the trainer coz he keeps pressuring her to put that prong collar on me. Mother’s just about ready to box his ears.

We had another Sheltie gathering yesterday morning! At Bishan Dog Run. Not many turned up – just Cuddles, babies Reyla and Ruthie,  Buddy, Prince, Meteor and Shadow the Border Collie. I had great fun being the big brother to Reyla and Ruthie! I think they like me. We were chasing each other (they were chasing me more!) all over the place! A corgi mix that was from the SPCA scared the babies quite a bit, so Mother said I should play with them to get them over the bad experience. I hope they are ok – it was their first Sheltie gathering!

An interesting thing happened tho – I witnessed my first dog fight! Sort of. Prince, Meteor and Shadow were barking at each other as they dragged Auntie J towards the dog run. When they were let loose in the dog run, Shadow attacked Meteor!! Prince tried to intervene and save his buddy too. Auntie J quickly and firmly got hold of Shadow (respect mah authoritah!) then Cuddles papa tried to grab hold of Meteor but he got bitten in the hand by Shadow! He says he’s ok tho’. Shadow finally dropped poor Meteor who yelped painfully and ran off to a corner to hide. I’m sure he had puncture marks under that thick coat of his. EVERYONE at the dog run was looking at us! Shadow is a very dominant dog! Barking and posturing the whole time! Auntie J had to keep him on a tight leash. I didn’t like that he bullied Meteor so I ran up to Shadow and started barking at him! He’s a bad boy! Mother then put her arms on her hips and yelled at me to stop being a hero! She and Auntie J said be careful or I’ll be bitten too! Mother shooed me away to play with the baby girls instead. Pfft. I want to be a superhero not a babysitter!

Prince spent most of his time at the dog run barking at Shadow while Meteor was hiding behind a tree or hanging back in the corner. If anyone went near him, he’d yelp! Poor Meteor. Apparently they fight alot at home too and Meteor always gets picked on but Prince always saves him. I think there’s a power struggle in that doggy household. Both Prince and Shadow are very dominant males.

Went for obedience training too. The trainer wanted Mother to use a prong collar on me, what the trainer called a “training collar”, but Mother told him no. She said she didn’t want to use it on me and the trainer said ok, but added that it’s not as painful as it looks and that Mother will really see a difference. Mother doesn’t think so, and she doesn’t think I need it! She was given the collar yesterday and she tried it on her thigh. She didn’t think it hurt but thought it was unnecessary to use physical discomfort when a simple No associated with a bad feeling will do!

She also said to me that I am very obedient already – I always listen to her and she doesn’t have to yank and drag me all over the place. She doesn’t expect me to be friggin’ Lassie, thank god! She’s seen other dogs who have been using this collar since day 1 of obedience training and their owners still have to pull and drag and they don’t listen to them at all.

Mother isn’t convinced that it really works and she thinks that there are other more effective methods. She believes that she would rather I listen to her because I want to (and I do) and in any case, she’s doing agility (the trainer wanted her to use it for pre-agility classes too) not to join competitions or for fame and glory on her part but for me to have some fun! Using a prong collar would make it NOT fun and unpleasant, so what’s the point? She promised me that she will never use a prong, choke or electric collar on me ever.

And to prove Mother right, I performed way better than my classmates yesterday! Hah! Suck it people! We were made to stand our front legs on a short stool and move our backlegs only and go around the stool (like the hands of a clock!). I could do anti-clockwise better!