Dashing Through the Snow...

This is my second Christmas but I didn't get to spend my first Christmas with my human cause she was away. My other humans made up for it last Christmas by treating me extra special. However good that feels, I'm happy that I am able to spend Christmas this year with my WHOLE pack rather than 75% of the pack. Afterall this season is meant to be spent with all your loved ones.

I have a new favourite sleeping spot in the house...it is in the corner of the TV room. Now, I'm normally not allowed in there as my claws do a lot of damage to the wooden floors. But my humans spend quite a bit of time in there and it sucks not being able to lie in there with them. So they laid out a mat for me at the corner so that I can keep an eye on them when they are watching TV (you so can't take your eyes off them, as you never can tell what they will get up to when I'm not watching) without having to walk on the wooden floor. I was quite happy with my mat from Ikea until they brought this back with them one day....

A cow patterned bed! (Note: No cows were injured in the making of this bed)

This is officially my favourite sleeping spot in the house!

I spend time thinking about the future in it... 

It may be a tad small but I like snug places

And it is really comfortable to sleep in

And just when I thought that was it, they gave me a new collar. There wasn't anything really wrong with my old collar, I mean I really liked it. It has this long slack which I use to spend my free time chewing on but for some reason my humans thought that wasn't good for me. So they got me a new quick snap collar which doesn't have any slack! So there goes my portable chew toy...but I think it makes me look kind of smart. While the old red collar makes me more outstanding, this new collar delivers understated cool.

My new quick snap collar that comes with a little bell

Christmas really did come early for me! The rest of the humans from the wider pack are coming over this Saturday and I can't wait to see them!


Here's wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!

Rudolph wannabe but without the red nose.
My ears do look smaller though!

Where Do Puppies Come From?

There comes a time in every dog's life where the question: "Where do I come from?" is asked. While some dogs may bury their head (as ostriches) do and ignore their origins, I feel that in order to move forward with your life you have to understand where you've come from.

Hiding from your past won't do you any favours

So I have taken the tentative steps to discover where I've come from. I know humans have the whole stork story down to a pat but that's clearly ridiculous. I mean storks don't even have hands, how would they pack the babies into the slings? pffft...

I've heard that dogs/puppies are sold in shops but one look at me and one would know that I'm not classy (read: pure bred) enough to be displayed in a shop window. So I obviously didn't come home in a Selfridges bag (that and I don't think Selfridges sells dogs!). 

You mean this isn't what I came home in?

Nope, given my breed, or rather lack of, I probably arrived home in a nondescript box like the one below:

I tried out one of these boxes on for size to see how comfortable a dog would be in transit. It was what real estate agents would call: a charming studio benefiting from original features with a rustic feel (read: small poky cardboard box).

Property comes with high ceilings...

With room for entertainment (if your guests are tiny)

Skylight offers delightful views of the surroundings

As it turns out I didn't come home in a cardboard box either. Nope, my humans brought me home in a nondescript basket after they picked me up from PAWS. I lived in PAWS for 2 months where I was cared for by staff from PAWS and a group of volunteers. I was a sickly pup when my humans adopted me. I had a dopey ear, slight limp and a very bad cough as is shown in the video below.

While my limp and my cough may be deemed as drawbacks in a place where cute, healthy puppies have the best chance of adoption, the folks at PAWS took excellent care of me. They vaccinated me and made sure that I had a roof over my head and kibbles to eat when nobody wanted me. And a good thing too that they never gave up on me. Otherwise I would never have met my humans who somehow found the dopey ear and slight limp endearing (score!!).


Unfortunately, not all dogs from PAWS make it out to the real world. PAWS are reliant on funds from the public which sadly isn't enough to provide the care needed to all the strays that come through their door each day so some strays have to be put down. And that is the sad reality of great dogs who never had a chance to fulfill their potential.


If you are looking for a new furry family addition, please make PAWS or any of your local animal shelters your first port of call. There are countless dogs and cats out there looking for a family and the way I see it, I've made as much a difference to my humans lives as they have to mine. 

First picture ever taken of me by my human. This was when we were at the "getting to know you" stage in PAWS. I imagine this is what speed-dating feels like.

PAWS Animal Welfare Society
(ROS registration Number: 4040/87)
Pilmoor Estate,
Subang Airport Road,
47200 Subang, Selangor,
Malaysia.
Tel: +60 (0)3 7846 1087
EMail : shelter_manager@paws.org.my
Opening Times:
Monday – Friday: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Saturday – Sunday: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Wednesdays: CLOSED

Maintaining My Figure

During my recent visit to the vet, my humans (who were concerned about the weight I've put on, especially around my chest) asked if my weight gain is within the realms of normality. After checking my teeth...

...and my general health, I'm glad to say that my doctor, Uncle Dom, gave me a clean bill of health and even said that I have the ideal dog body condition as shown in the image below from the Iams website! So, in case you are a bit slow, this means that I have the equivalent of a 36-24-36 body type in a human. I can smell pageants Dog Shows and Blue Ribbons in the horizon!

Obviously maintaining this body is no mean feat and I, like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow before me, have yoga to thank. I practise yoga multiple times each day. It is all part of my balance lifestyle and I like to think that it is us dogs who gave humans the inspiration for some of the yoga poses. Why else would they name the pose below the Downward Facing Dog?

And this is how it should be done.

And another picture, this time a full body shot so that you can appreciate the intricacies of this pose.

There are a few other poses which haven't made it into the yoga books for humans. Frankly I don't blame you lot, humans can hardly be called graceful creatures and some of these poses might prove to be too difficult for your dangly limbs. I've included a sample of some of the yoga poses I do on a daily basis, to help you attain the figure of your dreams.

 Pose 1: The Head Prop 

Pose 2: Ooh That Feels Good 

Pose 3: Downward Facing Head Prop (a variation of the Head Prop, not for the faint hearted)

It has taken me a year and a half to perfect these poses, so don't feel disheartened if they do not come to you easy. Remember that yoga should be practised as part of a healthy lifestyle which includes a balance diet, proper hydration and a calm mind.

Return of the Cat

When my humans first brought me home, I was given a green cat as a chew toy. That was the first of many chew toys and while bones may come and go, my green cat was my constant companion. So you can imagine my devastation when they threw it out some months ago as it was allegedly going to pieces. (I say allegedly because I don't seem to recall having a problem with it! But I guess my humans found that looking at the insides of the green cat was too much for them. Incidentally, the insides aren't green...go figure!)

My green cat and me during happier times

I never got a soft toy after that. I was deemed to be a big girl and by that extension I should have outgrown my love for soft toys. But there are lonely nights and evenings when I think back of the time I've spent with my green cat fondly.

This is an example of one such time. This is me looking wistfully into the middle distance.

My humans have tried looking for a new green cat for me, but all the pet shops in town don't seem to stock it any longer. One of my humans went to the Hartz website and my green cat seems to have disappeared off their list of toys! I was resigned to never having a green cat replacement until Aunty One found a Red Cat at a pet shop in 1 Utama!

Red Cat is almost like my Green Cat except that it is smaller and I guess if Darth Maul had a cat, it would look like this. They share an uncanny resemblance, colour-wise.

Darth Maul and his pet Red Cat

It was great having a soft toy back in my life again. There are some games that you can play with soft toys where a chew bone just won't cut it. It really did feel like a hole has been filled in my life. That is until Red Cat started making strange noises. It just seem very unnatural (to me anyway) that an inanimate object should make a sound if its head is pressed too hard. Red Cat seems to protest in a squeaking manner whenever my humans or me press on its head a bit too hard. I can't quite shake off the feeling that Red Cat has been possessed by Darth Maul.

My humans seem to think it fun to press on Red Cat's head but it scares me somewhat when it protests loudly by squeaking. So I try to steer clear from Red Cat when I think it is unhappy. The only safe zone to chew on Red Cat is on its tail...it doesn't seem to mind me doing that, so I've been sticking to the safe zone.

Often times I wonder what Green Cat would make of my new relationship with Red Cat. I am sure he would understand and he would want me to be happy with this new toy. And I do wish at times that Red Cat would be more like Green Cat, the strong silent type. All the squeaking makes me a bit wary, it feels as though there is a mouse trapped inside Red Cat. I suppose I really should give Red Cat a chance and aim to start putting together a new set of fun memories with it.

Me and Red Cat relaxing by the dining area

Red Cat needs the protection from my humans. They love pressing on its head, so even while I sleep, I need to have a protective paw over it.

I wonder what Green Cat would say if he can see us now...

I mean, Green Cat would want me to be happy...

Chewing on Red Cat's safe zone

Thank you Aunty One for getting Red Cat for me. I'm sure we will have many happy memories together!

Money...that is what I want

Inspired by the previous post...

Supply & Demand

I suppose it is about time I jump on the bandwagon of fellow academics applying economics to real life situation. The examples cited in Freakanomics obviously do not apply to me (I'm a dog, names of trailer trash kids, sumo wrestling and abortion rates do not measure up high in my day-to-day worries). However, I've begun to realise that I can apply simple economic fundamentals in my everyday life. It is about time people (and dogs) appreciate how basic economic theory applies to dogs.

First up, Supply and Demand.

This is the very basic of economic theory, the 101 of economics, the "No" and "Sit" equivalent to dogs. This theory is used to determine the price of a goods in a free market. I did a quick search on Wikipedia which gave this definition:

Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers, and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity.

All very well and good but what does this have to with me you ask? Well, in my world I apply this theory *all* the time. I think we can pretty much agree that nothing in life comes free, you have to work (i.e. give something) to get what you want. In the human world, the currency of choice is money. In my world, the currency of choice is cute-ness. It is that certain je ne sais quoi which we dogs have mastered over time and what I use this to wrap my humans round my paws.

One can't be too obvious when manipulating humans this way, which is why we lead humans to believe that they have trained us little "tricks". It gives them this sense of accomplishment and you would be surprised by what they are willing to give you to listen to them! (This has got to be every advertisers dream! Creating meaningless need! Us dogs have successfully created a need for humans to see their dogs perform pointless tricks! I mean is a "roll over" really that life changing?)

Back to supply and demand...as with most dogs, I get my dinner in the form of kibbles. Everyday, without fail, my humans get my dish out and fill it with kibbles. Seeing as we live in a dog-eat-dog world (dogs don't really eat dogs do they?) these kibbles do not come free.

Kibbles = "Sit" + "Stay"

**I'm not sure if my humans paid for my kibbles using "Sit" and "Stay" though I doubt it, they keep talking about my relatively high upkeep!**

This is me and my kibbles

As a bonus, I sometimes get treats which can take the form of guava, apple, carrots, chicken (very high value) and various dog treats from the pet shop. Now these treats have a higher value as they are given in smaller quantities and are not dished out every day. As such, my humans expect more in exchange of these treats. Which means that supply of treats are restricted compared to my kibbles.

Treats = "Sit" + "Stay" + "Paw" + "Other Paw" + "Down" + "Bark" + "Kiss" + "Fetch" + "Roll"

As you can see, I have to roll out my full repertoire of tricks to get my treats. This means that my treats have a higher value compared to my kibbles. And the reason they are higher in value is because of the scarcity, they don't dish this out everyday!

Doing a "Down" for my treat

So how are the prices determined in the first place? Like everything else, the value placed on an item is the value someone is willing to pay and receive for it. So I don't actually get my kibbles until I perform my "Sit" and "Stay" and the same goes for my treats. When my humans feel like I have done enough, I get my tricks. Of course this is very one sided as I am prepared to do anything (and I mean anything) to get my treats - not so much for kibbles though.

Enjoying some downtime with the fruits of my labour

Which is why my humans understand why I don't perform *any* of these tricks when I know I won't get anything in return. I mean really...nothing in life comes free does it?

A break from my hiatus

It has been 4 months and my human is still away. I've been up to lots and for those of you who have missed me, I thought I'd do this update on video!