Happy Merdeka!

Whoops, flag's the wrong way round

Everyone should respect the flag

How NOT to pose with the flag. Was attempting a

Rolling Stone-esque cover here...

Happy 52nd Birthday Malaysia!

My Toys

My toys and me

I am a very easily impressed dog, it doesn't take much to catch my attention and I'm pretty happy playing with anything, be it an old straw, bits of string, dried leaves, insects, shoes (my guilty pleasure), newspapers or anything I pick up from my walks. However, my humans insist on buying things that they classify as "Vicky's" (it took me a while but I now realise No! isn't my name afterall!) and the least I can do is show interest in these toys.

My very first toy - shaped like a cat!

The green chew toy was my very first toy. My human got it for me 3 days after bringing me home. I guess she thought I should redirect my energy from slippers to this toy. It is soft, plush, shaped like a cat and when stretched end to end, it is almost as tall me. It is great for playing tug of war with and still remains one of my favourite worldly belongings (worth noting that I do not have many belongings).

My bone which seems to have gone missing now...

Not long after that my humans realised that I've been chewing on hard surfaces, which probably led them to buy me this bone. They say it is good for my teeth as it is suppose to have some teeth cleaning magic, I can't be sure if that works but I really like this one. I especially like chewing the bone while I dangle it off the edge of the bench. This is me living life dangerously. Unfortunately I was a bit too keen on the bone and wore it out 2 weeks after I got it. Apparently the bone was made for the occasional chewer and I guess I am classifed under tough chewer.

New drumstick shaped bone which smells like chicken flavoured Twisties

Which led to a switcheroo my human did - my old bone has been replaced by this new one which is shaped like a drumstick. I was told that it will take a while to get through this one, and boy are they right. It is much heavier and smells slightly of chicken flavoured crisps. I find this a bit harder to chew on as the shape doesn't lend itself well to my paws, it is a bit more difficult to get the right grip. The regular shaped bone toy works better for this as it gives better grip between the paws. It took me a while to get used to, but with the absence of my old bone, I've been taking a good care of this one.

Lastly, 2 balls (1 blue and the other orange) have recently made an appearance. They are awfully bouncy and I tend to bounce with them. I can't seem to resist chasing them (must be the dog in me) but my humans do not leave these balls out for me to play with. Something about the balls needing to be higher value toys to be used for this game they call Fetch. Don't quite get the concept, they throw the ball which I promptly chase after and catch. Then they do something strange here....they try to entice me over to them using the other ball. This confuses me a little, I only have one mouth and it isn't big enough to hold TWO balls - though that doesn't stop me from trying. When I release the ball, they pet me on the head and throw it again! Why would they do that? Why take it from me only to throw it out again? I just don't humans...

All the money and time spent on my toys and I am actually perfectly contented to play with bits of twigs found in the garden or on my walks. But the humans seem to enjoy playing with these toys so I guess I best keep them entertained!

Lollypop

Due to popular demand, I've put a video of me together. It has me and my all time favourite snack during a hot afternoon, a big ice cube! Afternoons are best spent calorie free!

Have a Lollypoptastic weekend folks!

New Toys!

My new chew toy - drumstick for the tough chewers

(some reckoned my old bone was getting to be a choking hazard)

Sorry for the lack of updates in the recent days, I have been a bit occupied with some new toys which my human bought for me last week. I suspect this was to make her feel better about leaving me for 2 days! Whilst the other humans were around, without my human, I don't have a hide 'n seek partner and this game gets a bit old when you play by yourself. Mum usually just looks at me funny when I hide under the drain cover, she doesn't even come looking for me! Although I'm beginning to think that is too good a hiding place, so she may not even know I was there!

Bouncing blue tennis ball, there is an orange one as well,

but I can only really chase after 1 ball at any one time!

(notice the blue candy floss like trail left by my chewing...)

I haven't the time now, but I am a dog with a social conscience, so I will dutifully review these new toys and the social impact they have had with my interaction with the humans for all dogs and/or humans looking to get these toys.

Life Is...

6 week Progress Report

Hi-dy-ho!

I know, I know...blog updates in the last week or so have been at a slower rate. Life is busy for a dog like me. So many things to do and needy humans to pacify.

Anyways, much has progressed in the last 6 weeks:

Collar

I was given a collar 5 days into my new home and some thought it was too big for me. Well, 6 weeks on and they have had to move the collar up a notch! Whilst some will attribute this to a fat neck I see this as a growth spurt. Unfortunately, there is now less slack on the collar, so what was once my portable chew toy (I used to chew on the slack) AND collar...there is now just a singular use for it. Its' sole purpose now is to allow my humans to hold me back when I'm about to give some serious barking to someone outside the house.

The other dog

I've gotten used to this "other" dog that I suspect my humans have around the house. She only ever shows up near the sliding doors and used to annoy me by following my every movement. But she is quite a looker and we have come to an agreement to tolerate each other.

Ooh...other dog. I know you are inside, I can see you!

Does anyone else see this other dog in the door?

Getting inside the house

The biggest progress in the last 6 weeks has to be this. I'm now allowed inside the house. Ever so slightly though. I started by sitting on my humans' lap when they are there and spending a good half an hour with them - getting them used to the notion of me being indoors. In the last couple of days, I've struck up the courage to enter the house and lie just by the side of the door (easy access out if someone doesn't agree!). They seem amenable to this arrangement...by this rate, I should be indoors and sleeping in their rooms in 3 months! *keeping my paws crossed*

This is me on the mission to get my humans used to me being indoors

Success!

The Curious Case of Dopey Ears

Much was said about my dopey right ear when I first arrived at my humans' a month and a bit ago. There were speculations on why my ear was the way it was. Some thought that there wasn't a chance it would stand up again, others thought I look cuter this way, some prefer to have both my ears to stand up but overall it added a certain character to the way I look. Everybody had an opnion, either way, I didn't care very much about it as that is just who I am.

Me, 4 weeks ago

One afternoon 2 weeks ago, my right ear suddenly decided that it had enough and stood up. I can't explain it (I am a dog remember?) but there was much hoo-ha over this development. The world did look different with both ears erect and I got used to the range of movements I can make with them both.

Me, 2 weeks ago

2 days ago, I notice my left ear getting progressively floppy when I ran around the garden. I didn't give it much thought but yesterday afternoon my left ear decided that it was too tired and as sudden as my right ear starting to stand erect, the left has decided to flop. Over the last day, this ear has been doing a relay of sorts, it stands up for a few hours, flops for a few hours than the whole cycle repeats itself.

Me, this morning, practising to be a lap dog

My humans have been making a big deal out of this, but it is still life as usual for me. Who knows what both ears will decide to do next! I've regained some sort of notoriety with my magic ears, but I have to admit, this is a certainly a curious case of dopey ears!

Life Is...

...waiting all morning for that 40 minute walk

A Day in my Paws

I don't think humans fully appreciate how busy a dog can get each day. They only remember the fun part: napping, eating, playing...but my life involves much more than that! The house would fall apart if I only do those 3 things all day. Quick run down on my typical day.

5:30am - Getting the garden ready for my humans. (see I am even awake before them!) I group my toys together in the garden and sit by the door waiting for them to wake up. Sometimes they need a bit of a push (wouldn't want them to be late for work), so I may bark a little to wake them up.

6:15am - The first human comes downstairs and opens the door followed quickly by the other 2. They usually look a bit groggy so I try to make the experience fun for them by jumping at them. This sometimes illicit a response. If I get none, then I know I have my work cut out for me so I need to work extra hard by running into the house to quicken their pulse a little. That usually works. Everybody should start their morning with a jump, it puts you in the right mood to start the day.

6:30am - The 2 humans get in the car for work. I do my bit to bid them farewell by sitting at the porch. I make sure that the gates close properly before attending to the other human.

7am - Join mum for her daily chi-kong exercise. This seems to involve a lot of hand movements which looks a bit boring. I try to brighten it up by running between her legs.

7:15am - My human wakes up and plays with me for a bit. We get my leash on and I start on my morning jog with her.

8am - Back from the jog, my human goes through my paws and legs to pick out any red ants that have hitched a ride with me. I have a run around the garden while she cleans up my poop. I try to tell her that we should leave the poos where they are as it is good for the garden but it has fallen on deaf ears. Sigh...nobody takes you seriously if you have a tail.

8:15am (yes there are a few poops to clean up!) - My human feeds me. She is a bit slow at this, so I do my Sit and Stay until she tells me my food is ready. It normally takes a while for me to finish my meal, I feel it is rude to leave my human hanging, so I try to keep her entertain. When she tires out and goes in the house, I finish my meal. They forget how thoughtful I am.

Waiting patiently for my breakfast

9am -12pm - The early start in the morning starts to catch up with me and I start to feel very tired, so I nap for a while after a quick patrol around the house. The morning are filled mostly with napping and patrolling. If the weather permits, I do a bit of gardening (see 1st point in this entry)

12pm - 1pm - My human sits with me and we go through the morning events. This mainly involves her picking up and undoing all my attempts to decorate the garden.

Relaxing by the kitchen spending time with my human

1pm - 5pm - More napping, barking at random things (see my entry here). I also spend some time cleaning my teeth by chewing my bone. Everybody likes to have pearly white teeth and I am no exception. Being cute actually takes some work!

Cleaning my teeth

5pm - 6:45pm - Follow the humans who are pottering around the garden. More poop cleaning done and I follow them around while they water the garden. I need to make sure the job is done properly - this is the one thing I can't help with so the least I can do is inspect.

6:45pm - 7:30 pm - Follow my human on her walk around the neighbourhood. I need to make sure she is exercising properly...all day spent sat in front of the PC isn't good for one's health.

7:30pm - 7:45pm - We run around the garden playing catch and I do some tricks to entertain her.

7:45pm - Dinner time!

Scoffing down my dinner

8pm - Sit next to the dining area making sure my humans finish their meal.

8:30pm - 10pm - Quality time with my other human. She tells me about her day at work and I tell her about mine. She should have someone to talk to about work - best get the daily stress off your chest.

11pm - My humans come say good night to me. Finally some quality alone time to ponder on things I have done today and making up my to do list for tomorrow.

12am - 5am - Making sure nobody or anything for that matter stands outside the house. I scare them away with my ferocious bark - normally works. But nothing much happens during this time, so I normally sleep in preparation for another busy day tomorrow.

Shower

Being cute actually takes a bit of work

My humans reckoned I was starting to smell on Saturday. Actually, they have been dropping hints all of last week. I think it just proves my animal magnetism when they cuddle me with me smelling the way I do. I don't know what the fuss is, I think I smell great. It isn't easy to rid yourself of that artificial shampoo smell. I had to work hard at it by playing in the drain, rolling myself in mud and on the grass. I don't think they fully appreciate all the work that goes into making myself smell the way I do. And what do they do after all those hours I put in? They give me a bath. =( The longest time I have gone without a bath was 1 week and that was only because I wasn't allowed a bath as I was vaccinated. I smelt the best as I ever did during the last day of that week.

Why are you undoing all my hard work?

I guess the shampoo doesn't taste too bad...

Life Is...

...a long series of play and rest