On Hiatus

Like all TV series, the time has come for me to go on hiatus. It isn't that I am suffering from writer's block. I'm not trying to create some kind suspense by going on a 6 months hiatus nor is this blog about to be cancelled (though I really do wish some of the series never come back from hiatus!).

The reason why this blog will be on hiatus for the next 6 months is because, well, my human won't be around to translate my thoughts. As much as I have to say, I can't type very well and my human has been my helping me in that department and she will be away for 6 months.

Not to worry, 6 months is a very short period, I've been with my humans for 5 months and it seems just like yesterday when they brought me back.

So I will be living the carefree life of Bukit Jelutong's resident chirpy dog during this hiatus. Who knows, maybe I'll spend the next 6 months building up my tricks portfolio. Try not to miss me too much.

I leave you with pictures taken of my latest trick...PAW (handshake).

Here is my paw, now give me my treat!

Why are we still at this trick? I should be getting my treat NOW!

So I'll see you folks in 6 months! (which incidentally is the gestation period of a howler monkey!)

Activity Toy!

So my humans thought it was time I got given an activity toy. Something which they have read so much about. These toys reportedly keep dogs interested. "How?" you may ask.

Well, what do dogs like best in the world?

Aside from smelly blankets, shoes and socks.

FOOD of course!

So these activity toys dispenses food when the dog plays with the toy "correctly". You can think of it like a food dispensing Sudoku puzzle for dogs. I bet you are looking at your Sudoku puzzle book now wishing that it gives out ice cream sundae!

I thought my humans were being very sneaky about this. I overheard them saying that this toy should hopefully stop my random barking by directing my energy to getting the food out. Now they should know me better than that, I have a mind like a steel trap, once I focus on something I don't give up so easily...

Well, it turns out that they do know me better than I know myself. Cause I pretty much locked in on this toy. Only after I realised there was food in it of course (everybody knows I don't work for free).

Overall, I'd give this toy 2 thumbs up! hmm...or rather a high five (since I do not have thumbs!)

That's my nose in the picture, I was getting a tad impatient to get my teeth on this wundertoy

You are suppose to chew the toy such that the food passes through at the gap

Like so. (see the treat peaking out of the other end of the toy?)

So what do I do with it once I've got all the food out?

I guess I might as well rest my lil' brain

My Crib

There is MTV Cribs and Pimp My Ride. Since I can't really pimp up my 4 legs (which *is* my ride) I guess I can do the next best thing and show you round my Crib.

Since my last post on my crib, my human has moved it to just outside the dining room where they spend most of their time. Like they always say in real estate speak: All that matters is location, location, location and my crib trumps in the location stake!

Being by the dining room means I get to keep a close eye on my humans. It is also cooler there as that area gets more wind and to top it all up, I get fed a few steps from there (almost like room service!)

Now, to show you round my crib:

This is my humble abode

Since my humans bought it from a pet shop,

I'm sure lots of other dogs out there have a similar crib to mine.

So I just had to personalise my crib by adding some personal touches...

I chewed the entrance so now my crib is totally unique!

I've just finished eating in this picture - another plus point is I get room service!

My crib comes with a sunroof - I guess I can pimp it out afterall!

This is me peeking through the sunroof just to illustrate how cool it is!

I can also climb onto my crib, it is pretty sturdy!

But the best thing I like to do in my crib?

It is to sleep in it after my morning walk and breakfast

Help!

It has been raining an awful lot lately which means I am only getting one walk a day in the mornings as the afternoons are just a wash out. This leaves me feeling somewhat restless through the evening and night as I have this excess energy that I can't seem to get rid of. So whilst I've been a good dog by not chewing on my humans' shoes lately, I have reverted back to my old self. I steadied myself on the shelf and took the right half of a pink flip flop out. Which kinda flipped dad out (I have to say that the pink flip flops weren't his!).

My human then devised a shoe garland for me, which her uncle swears by. Apparently it cured Vicky 2.0 (I am Vicky 3.0) of her shoe chewing habit.

I thought it was brill to begin with, like a portable chew toy that I carry with me wherever I go...but, it isn't feeling too great right now and it shows!

Yay! Portable chew toy!

Why won't this pink thing leave me alone?

This isn't so fun anymore...

Can you take this off now?

Life Is...

Chew-a-holic?

Remember that toy from my last review? Well me and that toy have been through thick and thin, I had it when my right ear was still droopy, I abandoned it for a ring toy briefly but realised that nothing can ever replace my drumstick and just when I thought things were going great, my humans have decided to decommission this toy as they think the plastic bits are now hazardous to me. The collage below is of me and my toy through the times, there is only the rounded bit left now and I have to say farewell to it...

Over the period of 5 months, I have gone through 4 chew toys and this current one is on its last legs. This has confounded my humans somewhat as the toys they have gotten me are marketed for the tough chewers. I guess this makes me super tough?

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My Best Buddy and Me

People often say a dog is a man's best friend. But no one ever says anything about a man being a dog's best buddy...I wonder why.

My best buddy is a guy who wears a pair of shoes with the tastiest shoe laces! (He left it out one day and I couldn't help myself...I normally go for the shoes but this was the one time where I've found the shoe laces more appealing). I can hear his car coming a mile away and usually take up position at the front of the gate to greet him when he arrives.

What calls for such a reception?

Well, the first thing he does when he gets in is to play with me! I like to play jumping games and he is the one person who doesn't seem to mind it. We run around the garden a few times and I often bring a selection of toys to him to choose from. I've also got him trained to bring my toy to me when he wants to play. He is easier to train than my humans...

I guess we are kindred spirits...I mean his legs are just as hairy as mine!

My best buddy and me

A Little Place to Call My Own

My humans are a funny bunch, when they first got me they had this wild idea of crate training me and proceeded to buy a crate for me. It was going to be my refuge, a place to call my own, a place for me to retire to when I am tired...

But what they failed to appreciate is: why would I settle for a dinky little crate when I could potentially be an inside dog? I mean all the exciting things happen INSIDE the house and where did they put my crate? Just outside the kitchen. 'Nuff said.

I still sometimes lie inside the crate as they seem to get really excited when I do that.

I look big and imposing when the picture is taken from this angle!

Smiley me!

I really look at home here don't I?

Contemplative look...

I still prefer being indoors though!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Remember that 1950s movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers? No? Me neither, but the name somehow struck a chord with me and I have now been labelled a Bra Snatcher. My humans often leave their clothes hanging from the clothing line in the backyard and well, when I am left to my own devices I start to wander around the garden looking for things that look misplaced.

Clothes hanging from the wash line fascinate me! I can spend ages watching them dance around in the breeze. In fact, it is only of my Top 5 things to do around the house (that sounds like a potential blog entry, Vicky's Top 5). I used to (and sometimes still do) pull my towel from the clothes line and wrap myself up in it. It drives my human crazy, but hey, it is MY towel and I have no problems with it rolling around in dirt! She really should lighten up sometimes, pffft..you'd think my name is No by the way she goes around brandying that word!

I have recently decided that I need more of a challenge, any dachshund can pull a towel or trousers from the clothes line, but it would take a really agile dog to reach those socks and yes...bras. And that is what has been keeping me occupied in the last few weeks, too busy to update my blog even, I've been jumping at the clothes line and ripping apart socks and bras.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of my handiwork as every time a discovery is made, my human insists on lots of shouting and arm waving which gets me really excited which leads me to running around the garden looking for my toys to play.

Special Announcement: (my human insist I do this here)

Sorry Aunt 1, I didn't mean to chew and swallow your sandal strap. I won't do it ever again.

Princess Leia

A few weeks back, I woke up from deep slumber and pottered over to my human, who then proceeded to point and laugh at me. As I sat down pondering over this, she brought mum over and the two of them started sniggering at me. I couldn't for the life of me make out what was so funny until I caught my own reflection on the door. Now, as my human didn't have her camera with her, nobody could document this and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there is 1 less embarrassing photo of me floating about. (You never know when these photos will come back to haunt you, I might consider running for president one day and it would be a shame for the Republicans to bring out photos like these to diminish my chances of running the Oval office - if you think there is no chance of a dog getting there, my response is: If Sarah Palin had a shot at it, I think I deserve one too!).

Over the weekend, my human and my other human got together and decided to stage the photo. There was nothing I could do what with my lack of opposable thumbs and their promise of long walks and round things (I like long walks and round things). And so, with great regret, I let them have their way with me and this was the result:

I look like Princess Leia....

...on a bad hair day

As if 1 shot wasn't enough, they went on to take several...

They fulfilled their promise of long walks and round things and I got a bonus of 1 white thing (I like white things...) for being such a good sport. I guess it wasn't such a bad deal, and I suppose people always appreciate leaders with a good sense of humour!

Look at that white thing!

If that is what I get for getting my ears pinned back, by God, I'll wear them like this ALL the time!

Life Is...

Life Is...

Have you...

The Secret is Out...

Dogs are smart! Well ok, maybe not Ivy League type of smart but this article says we have a winning personality (I have this innate ability to only hear what I want to hear, selective hearing as some call it).

It cements what I have known all along, us dogs are the bees' knees (anybody knows where this expression comes from? Why are bees' knees worthy of this phrase?) and as suggested by the article, I am mighty good at following a pointed finger, there is usually food at the end of it!

When one has such a winning personality, everybody wants to be in your company and I have to wisely choose how to divide my time equally between all my humans. Some are a bit shy to show how much they really want to spend time with me, but I am *very* intuitive and shower them with licks and kisses. This ability to read humans forms part of my razor sharp mind - able to zone in on a problem and focus....Oooooohhhh...dragonfly in the garden!!!!

The Apprentice

Today was a busy day for me, dad was doing woodwork in the garden and mum was pottering around the garden. Obviously, as keeper of the garden, I had to supervise both of them. I am no expert in either of the fields which is why I thought it would be prudent to start as an apprentice (since there have been talk of me earning my keep).

Now who would you rather see? These two elderly men or me?

First up, woodwork. I think dad was trying to build a shelf of sorts and there was an awful lot of sawing. Something which I can't help with given my lack of opposable thumbs. Having four legs is great at times, but they do not lend themselves well to operating a saw.

Getting hold of the measuring tape for Dad

Trying to reach the toolbox

Inspecting quality of Dad's craftmanship

Being told that I am no longer welcome at this apprenticeship (damn my four legs!)

Next up, gardening. I thought this would be something I would be good at as I spend a lot of time in the garden making sure everything is in order. While mum was busy inspecting her passionfruit plant, I thought I would give some TLC to the lime tree in the garden. This tree I know very well as I sometime pick its fruits for a little refresher during those hot afternoons.

Well, Hello! Are your fruits ripe for picking today?

hmmm...quite a few seemed to have fallen in the pot...

This seems about right

Mum wasn't very happy about me picking the fruits for her, she must have been jealous of my ability of pick the juiciest of the fruits. But no worries, I know how some people must feel when a newcomer does a better job at something compared to them.

I thought I would give plumbing a shot. I was told that this is the one skill that will travel well. I mean until the influx of Polish workers, UK was suffering from a shortage of plumbers...and I've always enjoyed travelling. Though I don't actually have a builder's bum...

Is this where you think the problem is coming from?

Oooohhh....*sharp intake of breath*...this is going to cost you!

I see what the problem is, the joint-thingymajingy is loose. You will need a whatchamacalit to fix that.

Lucky for you, I am small enough to reach that...

I really thought I was making headway on that plumbing problem but my human got me out and covered that opening with a brick. Which means I can no longer get in there to work my magic. These humans keep talking about me earning my keep, but whenever I try to lend a helping hand around the garden, they stop me in my tracks. They don't seem to appreciate all that I do around the house...

Who Can Keep Up With My Ears?

Well, it is official...my ears are slightly wacky. My humans and I were getting used to having my slightly unconventional ears (which appear to have a mind of their own) and were resigned to my droopy left ear when out of the blue on Friday evening, my left ear started showing signs of life. It began ever so slightly, with it attempting to stand whilst out on my Friday evening walk. It came right down after dinner and none of us thought very much of it.

However, come the weekend, the ear was back in full force. It isn't very clear from the picture below and please excuse my unfocused eyes (I got woken up from my morning nap) but both my ears are now firmly up!

I seem a bit grumpy in this picture, but I assure you I am anything but!

One of my humans has even considered calling me Astro (after the satellite provider in Malaysia) as my twichy ears somewhat resembles a satellite dish).

This is me moments later attempting to lick the camera!

It is as easy as ABC

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