Happy Birthday to Eunice!

Lately, the only visitors the dogs had were S' family. And Gelly, my new maid (who is so lovely. Lou was terrified of her for the first two days but by day three he was fine). I wish more people would come by and give them pats on their heads.

It was Eunice's birthday.. and I was oblivious to it. So, to make up for it, I put on party hats on both Kiya and Louie. Just for you, Eunice! I know how much you love dogs. Especially Kiya.


I tried on a beach hat first with the dogs, but it didn't really work out.. (and then I found the party hats)





Kiya tolerated the party hat for a piece of salmon.. and this shot of her looks like one of those candid 'Eh?' photos - I have to put it up.





A better shot. "Happy birthday Eunice!! Come visit me soon" she said.





Louie was also not spared. I gave him a green party hat.. making him look like a unicorn with an.. algae-covered horn. ha ha.





I have no idea why he looks so morose even with a party hat. Sorry, Eunice. He is a party pooper.










One weekend ago, I woke to let the dogs into the bedroom. They got very excited, as they usually do on weekends, knowing it's special (we take them to the park), and Louie got a bit of tissue/paper snorted up his nose. He looks mortified.




And here's another picture of my 'dead dogs'. Kiya happened to lie on the area where there was a bleach mark on the concrete floor. Coupled with the tongue poking out, she looks like she just threw up and passed out, lol!!





A few weeks ago, when I was walking the dogs to the park, two boys, about 12 years old, stopped, stared, and started to laugh. They pointed their fingers at Louie, and laughed, hard. "What a funny dog! Ha ha ha!"

I didn't think it was very nice or polite to *point at somebody/thing and laugh, but I shrugged - they're kids, after all. Louie can look strange.. but he isn't that strange, is he? There are so many whippets in Singapore, and I think greyhounds look even more strange - they are extremely muscular and tall, but with very small heads and skinny legs.

At same angles, yes, Louie does look weird.




But most of the time, he looks just fine.

Kiya's dominance

There is no doubt who the more dominant of dogs in our household is. Sure, S and I are the 'top dogs' - both Kiya and Louie easily submit to us. But between the both of them, Kiya has always been the Queen. Woe betide Louie should he dare piss her off..

That said, Kiya is very patient with Louie. Typical of a four year old, Louie can be truly irritating. E.g. After dinner, Kiya usually curls up next to us on the floor and sleeps. Louie, instead, plays with his toys very animatedly, and all too often, he would 'bounce' the Kong or BusyBuddy Squirrel all over the living room, and it would sometimes bounce off Kiya. He would also leap and jump about within a few centimeters from Kiya's face. Imagine how annoying that is to Kiya!

Still, Kiya can be a real b**ch when it comes to food. Once, when we weren't looking, Kiya silently growled at Louie, baring her fangs. I happened to glance in their direction and realised that Kiya was bullying poor Louie! (warning him not to get close to the treats in the 'Squirrel'). I did not manage to capture her expression (which was shocked us a lot), but here is a close shot:





Louie looking meek.





But of course, when I reprimanded her, Kiya was so contrite she immediately got up, licked her lips, bowed her head, and walked to a corner.


Louie may have a problem with dog aggression, but he sure is being bullied at home sometimes.. S fears for his delicate neck. The next time you meet my dogs, try holding Kiya's and then Louie's neck. You'd understand our fear. It would only take one bite from Kiya...



They sometimes fight for our attention too. If I ignore Kiya to pat Louie, Kiya would almost always roll on her back and try her best to look like a .. I don't know, a cuddly lap dog.





Louie would throw me pitiful expressions, begging for love. (I love Lou's expression here!)





(Here's a random shot of Kiya. She flapped her ears and it rested in a weird way and her fang was showing - she looks like a bat! LOL)





Back to Louie's dog agression problem. He may be dog aggressive, but Louie's a real wimp when it comes to many other things (large dustbins, strangers walking behind him, etc). This is what he did a few days ago when I had with me a large heavy bag -




yeah, he scurried under S' legs.





But he is endearing. I like how Louie sometimes sleeps with his long 'snouty' nose pressed aside.




It doesn't seem to bother him, though it does make me feel uncomfortable.





I'll end off with a few pictures of Kiya begging for belly rubs.

Louie: A police record (and fluff / wool)

It was a routine morning potty walk to the small park at the end of the road when a very exciting thing happened. Person D found it most upsetting, but all I knew was that there was an offleash, very disobedient beagle, which came running in my direction, and that as Person D was struggling to control me and Kiya (she was just straining on the leash with friendly interest and curioisty), I thrashed about as much as I could - and broke free. Scuffles, mad screams from some very stupid women, cuts and scrapes sustained by Person D, bit of a superficial wound on the beagle, sprints around the park - I got a police record. But just a record. No prosecution, and rightly so. I was leashed. The beagle was not. And it ran in MY direction, and did not return to its persons when asked.

This is just for the record. Person D is very, very angry - with me, and with the beagle's persons.

I tried to look angelic for the rest of the day.








That aside, ever since my testes were (surgically) ripped out from me, my testicles have been shrinking. That is not the only side effect. I have been growing fluffy, woolly hair on my thighs and shoulders, and all along my belly. Like this.





Can you see it?





I don't like this woolly hair. My short, smooth hair has always been fuss free, but now when I go for my runs, or lie down on the ground outdoors, I get bits of soil and twigs and dead leaves caught in the fuzz.





Another thing: my tail. Person D loves my tail because she said that she never had a dog with a tail until I came along. She sometimes worry that my tail will get caught in the fan.






These days, it seems like both Persons D and S are gone for long hours in the day. Kiya and I will just sleep in the cool of the kitchen, and we look like dead dogs.




Especially how Kiya sleeps with her tongue sticking out.




But it's time for a run with Person D now!

Bully Sticks - Thank you Sam!

Sam brought with him from the US a bag full of bully sticks after I asked him to help me get some for the dogs. Even packed in a ziplock bag, Kiya could smell it. I don't usually give out treats (that's S' job which he will not willingly relinquish), but I could not resist. Kiya chewed and ate her first bully stick in less than five minutes. Louie? He picked it up, dropped, licked, and sniffed it, but did not venture to chew it. So I took it away. Bully sticks are too precious to be wasted.

I don't know why bully sticks are not sold in local pet shops - yes, they're not just any dog treat. They're, ah, dried bull penis. But for a dog, there is nothing yummier. And, unlike some other dog treats, such as smoked beef leg bone, or rawhide, which are very, very dangerous for your dogs (splintering in stomach, etc), bully sticks are safe. Other dog treats you find in pet shops are nothing more than kibble, to be honest. I think us humans are all suckers for packaging, and if a company packaged kibble in a treat bag, we'll buy it.


So, sometimes Louie ignores the bully stick (gasp!).





But most of the time now, he does chew on it and eat it up.










Louie takes anywhere from ten minutes to more than one hour to work on a bully stick!



Kiya, of course, could not take more than fifteen minutes, at most, on one.




She knows how to use her paws to handle the bully stick.







Our supply of bully sticks is dwindling. Maybe I could do a bulk order, so if you want to be adored by your dogs, let me know.

Raw feeding - My raw-fed dogs are living, healthy proof

This is a post, not so much to record, but to share with and urge other dog (and cat) owners to think twice about the diet you are providing for your pet.



My dogs are raw fed. I used to be insecure with this decision, especially with Moonshine, my first love, my first dog - the very special Dobermann. I remember the first vet visit with Moonshine, and when the vet asked what I was feeding him, I hesitated, "Raw meaty bones."

He threw me a look like as if to say that I was a terrible dog owner who did not know what was best for dogs. "What type of raw meat?"

"Er, chicken, beef, lamb, fish.."

When he asked where I learned about this type of diet for dogs, I blanched. "The internet," I said.


OK. I know there are articles on the internet teaching you that drinking your own pee is beneficial to your health, but raw feeding your dogs (and cats), is NOT to be dismissed. Suffice to say, the (thoroughly ignorant and foolish) vet promptly dissed my raw feeding, and heralded the wonders of a dog kibble called "Science Diet", brought to you by Hill's. He explained that Science Diet is a 'balanced' food for dogs, with all the necessary carbohydrate, protein, and nutrients. I cannot know for sure whether the vet was commissioned by Hill's to recommend their dog food to clients, but I am quite certain he was.

Randomly select one of the many Science Diet dog kibble, say, Science Diet Canine Adult Active Formula. Look at the ingredients list. The ingredients are listed in descending 'order', i.e. the very first listed constitutes the bulk of the food. Almost all the Science Diet kibble lists corn meal as the very first ingredient. Do you know what corn meal is? Do you know what corn is? It is a grain. Only humans are ever known to cultivate and harvest grain. Dogs, like wolves, do NOT eat corn in the wild. They simply don't.

Sure, all animals survive by eating what they can, and if they are fed corn, so be it. But if you love your pet, you would surely want to give the best you can, with what you have. I do not buy grass-fed, free-range, Argentinian beef for my dogs, but I stock up on almost-expired chicken and duck from NTUC, freeze it, and hand it to them, or buy in bulk frozen lamb, beef, fish..


There are numerous articles on the internet on raw feeding your dogs. (Do a quick google search). Though I never had a dog when I was a child, I grew up thinking that dogs eat those small pellets of brown biscuit - kibble. When I first read about raw feeding, and saw pictures of dogs being fed raw meat, I thought it was a joke. No, seriously. I thought it was one of those internet hoaxes. But I did even more research.. and here I am. Here are my dogs.


Still, that is not to say that I am a raw feeding fanatic. I understand that there are circumstances that call for a dog to be fed kibble or home-cooked meals - in kennels and dog shelters, for example, where the sheer number of dogs make raw feeding impossible. Kiya, when she first came to live with us, was on steroid drugs and many other medication. She could not tolerate any raw meaty bones, as I found out the hard way (a lot of diarrhea..). So I fed her kibble mixed with rice (she was malnourished then and I needed her to gain weight). She loved it, of course, but Kiya loves to eat anything - even the skin of a banana (yes). But she soon developed an yeast infection that would not go away - and when she was done with her meds, I switched her to raw - not only did her yeast infection go away magically, she thrived. We never looked back.








I raw feed my dogs, and I no longer feel insecure about this decision. I know there are many dog owners out there who have reservations (to put it lightly) about raw feeding, and while I will not diss your choice for your dogs, I would like to encourage dog and cat owners out there to be more open-minded and resourceful. Don't just take what the corporations provide you - slick advertising, packaging, and 'this is what we have been feeding our dogs for decades!'. Instead, read up on raw feeding, and make an informed decision.


I feed my dogs fish, such as mackerel,

(here is Moonshine enjoying his!)



salmon,

(and I have been feeding Kiya a lot of salmon, watching her enjoy the fish, and sitting back admiring her gleaming, positively gleaming, shimmering, coat - but no photo, so I shall use one of Moonshine)





liver,
(which should only make up 10% of the food you are feeding. Liver is vital to a dog's diet, but too much can also be harmful)





pig's trotters,
(ignore the gaudy blue plastic sheet)








chicken, of course,
(this was early days with Louie when I was trying to teach him to eat on his dinner 'place-mat' cloth!)





(chickens are inexpensive, especially those marked down by the supermarkets when they are about to go bad. Perfect for dogs. I hack the chicken into halves, or quarters, bag them and freeze them. Hand a frozen one to Kiya, or a thawed one to Louie)





lamb,
(Louie handles raw bones very well, so I occasionally buy lamb flap for him)





beef, any cut, though I got a rib-eye for Moonshine,





duck, which Louie is particularly partial to.







The best Christmas gift you can give your dog or cat is to feed raw meaty bones. Your dog/cat will be very happy and healthy.

Happy Christmas!