Motheeeerrr…. I don’t want to study anymore!! I’m tired! Look how hard I concentrate!

 Really. It is against the law to make a dog work this hard. 

*pouts*

Mother and Father are back! After leaving me to fend the wild (ok, maybe not so wild) by meself for 12 days, they have finally come home! They went off to the UK and to some places in Scotland and England.

Mother said they visited a lovely couple with FOUR SHELTIES! Hmpf. I feel betrayed. Mother gushed about this handsome male called Quito and how Bouba’s so focussed and how Lizzie has got a herding streak and how Luna’s so sweet. HMPF. I think she didn’t miss me at all! She spent some hours with the Fleurdemai shelties playing with them and patting them, while I sit pining away, waiting for them, jumping up and running out at every little sound outside. HMPF. I’ll show her! I’ll ignore her today!

Mother said also that they drove around the countryside alot. This might explain why all the toys she brought back were livestock. She got me a rubber pig that oinks, a lamb fleece pull toy and a squawking fowl (Mother says alot of this end up as road kill) amongst others. She said she thought pets kingdom at Harrod’s rocked! And that there were soooo many things there! She wanted to buy more stuff but Father said there was no more space in the luggage. Bah. Bring bigger bags, people!

When Mother came home and I was chewing and licking her hands, I almost cracked my teeth on a rock. She’s now got this sparkly bling thing on her hand. Mother very excited told me that Father “proposed”. I don’t know what he “proposed” tho’, coz she didn’t say anything after that. Weird. *shrugs*

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)!

Mother loves to read and sometimes she can get quite obsessive. Since she’s got me, she has been trying to devour as many books as possible (this was especially so when I was a pup because she wanted to set the right foundation, up till about 6 months old then she toned down abit). She’s collected a number of books and she’s still adding to that library of hers! She’s not read all of them but is slowly going through each book, one page at a time (with highlighters and post-it flags on hand). I think this is why Mother prefers too eat in in the office – so she can read! She’s also got some DVDs, not many, but I think that will be a growing number too. They have all helped in shaping her relationship with me and her understanding of me and dogs in general, some way or other! Mother gets most of her books from Amazon or Cleanrun. A few from the local bookstores (but they don’t carry many dog books!). She’d like to shop on Dogwise (and spend her entire salary there) but they don’t except Singapore credit cards! She actually reads the reviews and recommendations there then buy them elsewhere! Silly them! She might use that Citibank-DHL service soon to buy from Dogwise soon.

BOOKS

1. Canine Body Language – Brenda Aloff
2. Aggression in Dogs – Brenda Aloff
3. Shaping the Wolf Within Your Dog – Nathan B. Childs
4. Learning Games – Kay Laurence
5. Dogspeak – Matthew Hoffman
6. The Power of Positive Training – Pat Miller
7. A Dog Who’s Always Welcome – Lorie Long
8. The Dog’s Mind – Dr Bruce Fogle
9. The Dog Listener – Jan Fennell
10. How To Be Your Dog’s Best Friend – The Monks of New Skete
11. Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats – Dr Pitcairn
12. 101 Dog Tricks – Kyra Sundance and Chalcy
13. Click to Calm – Emma Parsons
14. The Other End of the Leash – Patricia McConnell
15. For the Love of a Dog – Patricia McConnell
16. Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook - Eldridge, Carlson, Carlson, Griffin & Adelman
17. How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With – Clarice Rutherford & David Neil
18. Dog Training (old book – published 1984) – Ernest Hart (out of print)
19. Excel-erated Learning – Pamela Reid
20. Scaredy Dog! – Ali Brown
21. The Cautious Canine – Patricia McConnell
22. Why Does My Dog Act That Way? – Stanley Coren
23. How to Speak Dog – Stanley Coren
24. How Dogs Think – Stanley Coren
25. Shetland Sheepdogs (old book – published 1990) – Beverly Pisano
26. How to Train Your Shetland Sheepdog – Palika
27. Clicking with your Dog – Peggy Tillman
28. The ABCs of Positive Training – Miriam Fields-Babineau
29. On Talking Terms with Dogs (Calming Signals) – Turid Rugaas
30. Control Unleashed – Leslie McDevitt (currently reading!)
31. After You Get Your Puppy – Ian Dunbar
32. Good Little Dog Book – Ian Dunbar
33. Raw Meaty Bones – Tom Lonsdale
34. First Aid for the Active Dog – Sid Gustafson (shipped! on its way!)

DVDS

1. The Language of Dogs (Understanding Canine Body Language and Other Communication Signals) – Sarah Kalnajs
2. Am I Safe? (The Art & Science of Canine Behaviour Assessments) – Sarah Kalnajs
3. Really Reliable Recall – Leslie Nelson
4. The Dog Whisperer (Season 1) – Cesar Millan
5. Fighting Dominance in a Dog Whispering World – Jean Donaldson & Ian Dunbar
6. Control Unleashed (Foundation Seminar) - Leslie McDevitt (already shipped! yay!)
7. Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months – Ed Frawley (Leerburg)
8. The How of Bow Wow – Virginia Broitman & Sherri Lippman (bought & downloaded from Internet)
9. How to Massage Your Dog – Maria Duthie (shipped! arriving soon!)

“To buy” list:

• Clicker Train Your Own Assistance Dog DVD Set – I think Mother is getting lazier and lazier!
• ABCs of Behaviour Shaping DVD – More training Mother?!
• Tracking DVD - Oh great. Now I must use my nose?? 

Mother is shopping for me again because she wants to get something for my first birthday and she found some doggy stuff and showed them to me for my opinion:

SNIF Tag

What the? This thing monitors your heart rate and can tell your mum if you’re sleeping, running, walking, etc in real time! Can you say “Big Brother”?? I’m not sure why Mother would want this when she’s got that webcam of hers to spy on me and make sure I do my homework anyway.

I’ll pass!

My portrait

Ok, THIS I don’t mind! I’d love to have my handsome self immortalized on canvas! There are some great painty artists and digital artists out there! I’m sure Mother won’t mind doing one of me for each of my birthday then hang them all over the house! Afterall, I’m so gosh darn goodlooking and she loves looking at me! She always makes me Watch her anyway. It’s about time we switched places!

Here are some great places to do doggy portraits!

1. Decopaw - Digital art; kinda funky, clean designs
2. Rainbow Dog – Hand painted; abit Andy Warhol-ish, looks good for short haired dogs, but not sure if it will capture my amazing coat
3. Pop Dog Press - Digital art; more Andy Warhol-ish than the one above, very pop art-ish. Mother likes but says she could probably do the pic herself and get it printed on canvas here. Ignore Mother. She has all these big crazy dreams.
4. Painted Pet Menegerie – Hand painted; pretty with attention to detail, so my fur will surely be captured at its best!
5. Kayann Works – Hand painted; cartoony and whimsical!
6. Painty Pets - Hand painted; cute paintings, but how good the painting turns out seems to depend alot on the picture it’s based on
7. Michi Design - Hand painted; one of Mother’s favourites! Realistic and captures the dog’s expressions
8. Kathy Weller – Hand painted; so cute and adorable! Just like the watercolour pictures you’d find in children’s books. Mother loves this one too

Dog Camera

I told Mother that I want this! It’s so cool! At least now I can take pictures of her instead of her always taking pictures of me! I know I know, I love having my picture taken, but c’mon, 492 pictures on average a day??

I found out recently that I am an adopted child. No wonder I look so different and don’t stand on two legs! Mother says all dogs are adopted – adopted from their furry mums, usually when we are mere pups.

Mother says I was born in Melbourne, Australia and that she doesn’t know who my real parents are. She tried to find out from the pet store where she saw me, sitting behind the glass, looking all cute and forlorn, but to no avail. The pet store has been, to date, extremely unhelpful. The only clue Mother has is on the vaccination card that she was given the day she took me home.

The vaccination card named a man, with a Chinese surname and had the name and address of a veterinary practice in Sunshine, Victoria in Aussieland. After numerous calls to the pet store, Mother managed to get out from a stupid employee that this named man is an agent from whom the pet store buys dogs, and specifically most of their shelties. Mother has since done a company search of the pet store and has the home address of the owner. She’s not sure whether she should write to the owner formally (bypassing his idiot staff) to request that he assist her in finding my parents or hunt down the agent herself. A quick search of the “yellow pages” of Australia produced only a handful of people with the same surname as the named man in the Sunshine and surrounding Ardeer area in Victoria, Australia. Mother thinks that the agent must live near the vet and that he must go to the same vet all the time to vaccinate the pups he buys for the pet stores. I’m not sure, but I think when Mother goes to Australia, she will make a trip to Sunshine/Ardeer and visit the vet and try to find the agent. She’s worried about where I might have come from having seen a video on puppy mills.

Puppy mills are factories producing pups. They are either unregulated or escape/evade being regulated, depending on where these mills are located.  In comparison to slave quarters of yore, puppy mills look alot worse. They are probably more comparable to medieval dungeons. What could you expect from people who don’t treat the dogs as living breathing creatures but as objects that can bring them economic gain? Why should they care that the dogs, my fellow brethren, can feel pain and sadness so long as they can be sold and profit can be earned?

Well, they don’t. Dogs are kept as breeding machines in filthy and deplorable conditions. Living in tight cramped cages (some having developed mental disorders from being in a tiny cage with no stimulation throughout their lives), with their waste as their bedding and bugs as their constant companions, these dogs have one purpose only – to breed – to manufacture pups. If they are ill, injured or have a broken leg, it doesn’t matter, they aren’t taken to the vet – it’s too costly! why add to the overheads! – so long as they can hump or receive humping, that’s all that matters. It’s ok if they are scabby and covered with mites and matted hair if they can still breed! If they are dying, in severe pain, again, euthanize? Why? It’s expensive! Plus, what if the unresponsive dog survives? It can still be sold! Don’t throw away a product if it’s faults can be hidden! That makes no commercial sense!

Money is all that matters to the owners and operators of puppy mills. The consequences of such an operation doesn’t just affect the dogs, the MACHINES, that spend their life in the factory. The pups suffer too, having little contact with their parents and growing up without the necessary learning it should have gotten from the mother, or getting diseases and other genetic defects that could plague them for the rest of their lives begotten from such ill considered breeding. Even if you don’t care about the dogs (shame on you), the people who end up with such pups also suffer along with the poor animal. Vet bills, supplements, extra training, behavioural issues that need to be dealt with (if the pup survives that long). Not to mention the feeling of loss when your pup dies days after you get it.

Puppy mill people try to mitigate their losses by auctioning off dogs/pups that can’t serve their purpose any longer or don’t look like they’ll make it much longer or if they have “overruns” and “surplus” or if they want more breeding stock. There are videos on the internet of such auctions. The dogs are treated like things, like an armoire or table. It’s horrible. AGENTS buy from such auctions. Mother wonders if I came from an auction or a puppy mill.

A lot of people don’t know where their dogs come from. Even pet stores don’t always know. We could be indirectly funding the abuse and torture of the poor doggies in puppy mills.

Mother says if she discovers that I came from one, she will expose it and she will rescue my parents and find good homes for them (or convince Father to let her keep them). Mother says she feels incredibly guilty for having probably funded this horrible industry but she will do what she can to bring it to light if she discovers I’m from one. She actually wanted to give up the search for my parents at one point, but then she thought ignoring the niggling feeling I’m from a puppy mill would be as good as shoving a poor dog into a tiny cage herself. She told me she might hire a private investigator to find out more but the PI must be an animal lover too.

Mother wanted me to tell everyone that puppy mills aren’t just found in the US. There are puppy mills in Europe and Australia too, where most dogs in Singapore pet stores are from. Heck, I think some of the dogs in those farms we drive by when we go to the dog run at Pasir Ris probably have the same deplorable standards for their dogs. They aren’t afterall regulated by the same regulations that apply to pet stores because they are classified as farms. They probably aren’t as large scale as the ones overseas, but in their own way, they are like puppy mills right in our own backyard.

Chow Chow tagged me! I have to go open a document or file folder, click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Then I have to post the photo and describe it. AND tag 5 other bloggers *rubs paws in glee*.

This was what I found. A big coincidence that it was also a picture of a dog (not me tho’ sadly! I love to talk about myself - I would describe myself as handsome, suave, debonair, handsome, and did I say handsome already?).

This picture was taken on 2nd of April 1963 (Mother took a picture of a picture). It’s of Susie, a little dog that was owned by my Grandma’s mum and her mum’s sisters. Back then my Grandma’s family owned one of those shophouses in Chinatown.

The story goes that one night when everyone was asleep, a fire broke out somewhere in the house. No one knew, no one woke. But little Susie did! She barked the house down – jumped on my Grandma’s aunt and did all she could to wake her. Great grandaunt got up and roused the whole house and all were saved. If not for her, someone could have gotten trapped in the fire and tragedy could have struck. Susie was well loved by all in Grandma’s family.

This little pup is an inspiration to me. I hope that if something like this happens, I’ll know to wake Mother up too! Altho’, given that I’ve been snoring through her coughing fits and blowdrying of her hair in the mornings, I will suggest installing a fire detector, just in case. Hee!

TAG! You’re it! You guys (listed below) gotta show me a pic! Remember open a document or file folder, click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Post the photo and describe what it is then tag 5 unsuspecting people to do the same!

1. Taylor
2. Kayla
3. Ichigo
4. Tammie
5. Ax

The thing my Mother indulges in the most is shopping online (right now she’s looking for stuff for my birthday party which she is planning – MARCH 22 (Sunday) people! Jot that down in your diaries!).

I asked Mother where she buys stuff from me and she gave me a little list:

1. Trixie + Peanut
2. The Puppy Shop
3. Amazon
4. Coastal Pet Supplies on Amazon.com
5. KV Vet Supply on Amazon.com
6. SitStay – This one only accepts US credit cards but Mother did a wire money transfer through the bank.
7. Haute Hound
8. 2 Hounds Design
9. Clean Run – Alot of agility related stuff
10. Ralph Lauren (Pets) – Mother bought me polo tees so I will look like Father. Sigh.

I think Mother plans on adding more to the list. Stay tuned??