Rashes

*scratch* scratch* scratch*

Oh no... I am having rashes again. This time, it is a bit more serious than before. I am always allergic to grass. especially if it is a bit damp. As you guys know, I love going to dog run to play fetch, or to roll over my ball in the grass. HC tried to protect my skin as much as possible by letting me wear a tee. But there are certain parts that the tee can't cover such as lower belly, head and legs. (Dun tell me to wear boots... HC bought for me before, but my legs go all over the place when I wore them, in the end, I refused to walk/run when I am made to wear them).













OOps.... R(A) shots

Lost Dogs

Tommy almost had an adopted brother a few days ago. His parents found a beagle wandering on the road but decided against bringing him home as he was quite barky. Instead, they left him with the kindly security guards at a nearby condo. I heard they took good care of the beagle and cleaned up his wounds too.

That got me thinking, "why are there so many lost dogs?" Did they dashed out of the house in their excitement and forgot the way home? Me, I was given TWO opportunities to be a lost dog too.

Opportunity 1 : I was still living with HC's family at that time. And one day, a plumber came by to fix some stuff. Jack was as usual locked behind closed door cos he bites. But, since I am the friendlier one, HC's family allows me to roam free. And, boy, was I excited! I kept going over to see what the plumber was doing, and he in turn, kept saying hello to me. What HC's family didnt realised (oh couldn't be bothered, I don't really know) was that the main door was wide open. But I wasn't interested in going out cos the plumber guy looks more interesting. Suddenly, my keen sense of hearing told me that HC is on the way home. Happily, I went out to the corridor to greet her and gave her my widest smile....
Smiling face..












she looked so shocked to see me! Later, I heard her scolding the other humans for leaving the door open. From then onwards, I was made to wear a collar with tag at home. damn....


Opportunity 2 : We had just moved into our own apartment. On the first day, Jack and myself were quite nervous and kept following HC around. At night, one of HC's friend came over to pass her some stuff. Usually, we won't stepped out of any home without HC's permission. But when HC's friend was going home, he said to me: "Joey, wanna follow me?" I thought he meant he will send me back to the old home and dashed out to the road. (HC : luckily, this is a private road, otherwise I cannot imagine the consequence). HC's friend panicked and started chasing me. The more he chased me, the more panicky I became and ran further away from him. (HC : from my 3rd floor window, it is rather comical to see Joey running, and my friend chasing him on the private road, back and forth many many times. Also, friend was screaming Joey's name hysterically with arms waving).
Luckily, I heard HC calling me, and ran back to her open arms. By then, HC's poor friend almost collapsed from the running.

I must always remind myself never never to run away from home. God knows what will happen if I lost HC? Will I find a owner who will neglect me after the novelty wears off? Will I get fed properly? Will I get to go to the field to play ball to my heart's content every day? Worse, what if I get sent to SPCA and they put me to sleep!!!!!

Duck for Supper, anyone?

Many a times, while HC is at work, I usually switched on the laptop to blog or surf the internet to gain more knowledge. As I am fed barf meals, I read up as much as I can about this type of feeding. I remembered that it was modelled after some wolf diet. In fact, I am always fascinated by how the wolf hunt and eat their prey. Sometimes, I wish I can do the same instead of being fed slaughtered meat from the market.

And my chance came (well, almost) this evening....

It was a wet evening and HC decided to walk us at Park 1 instead of going dog run. During the walk, she will alternate leashing one of us, so that we can have some freedom to roam. (Not that we will roam far as we are more worried of losing HC...hehe)

At one point, Jack was leashed and he was trying to poo (he takes a long time to poo cos he is forever constipated). Suddenly, I sensed something else near me and looked around. There she was, all wet and rolly-polly shaped - DUCK! From the corner of my eye, I noticed that HC was preoccupied with watching Jack poo-poo. Quickening my pace, I ran towards the duck, at the same time, trying hard not to growl so as not to attract HC's attention. Alas, I was almost one feet away from the delicious duck when HC shouted, "Joey, No, Come back". Dammit.... reluctantly, I make a U-turn and walked dejected with my head down.
Sigh.........
(HC - Stupid Duck is still ignorant that she almost became Joey's supper)

One good thing came out of it though, HC praised me for being such a good boy in responding quickly to her recall. When we got back home, she gave us freshly dried lamb tendons to chew. Yummy... it is really really tasty. But I really wished I had the duck instead as it was almost 3/4 of my size, whereas the tendon is only paw-sized.

Edited by Joey on 22nd March 2006 : Oh no.. duck imports banned in Singapore! I should have eaten that fat one at the park. Maybe I will discuss with HC tonight if we can go there again.

Weekend

Herbie had blogged about Sat's trip to Japanese Restaurant so I shall not say more, except that the food is not only expensive, but delayed as well. They took the order at 8.45 p.m but HC only got hers served at 10p.m. I think she almost fainted from hunger.

Anyway, I didnt get to sleep soundly until 2a.m. and was dead tired. I thought I could sleep late, but HC woke up at 6a.m. and decided not to sleep and woke us all up to go Sentosa for a swim. Oh my.... I was practically dragged out of the house with the swimming costume on my back. Once I reached there, I was totally awaken by the glorious sun and the clear blue waters. I swam till my hearts content as I have not been swimming for months!


















In the evening, we didnt go to the park cos it was raining and ground was wet. Instead. HC bought some famous curry fish head to Auntie V's place. We poor dogs don't get to eat any because Auntie V said it is spicy. (But we won't mind though)As compensation, she gave us some dog biscuits. Jack & I, nicknamed Pirahnas, of course gobbled up the biscuits. Auntie V, however, insisted on Scuba doing some tricks like 'Speak'. However, by the time Scuba decide to 'speak' (he, the daydreamer), Jack almost stole his biscuits. Snigger....

Rare Moments

Jack is a loner, he does not like the company of other dogs nor does he plays with them. Although sometimes, he will play fight and/or tug with me (lots of growling and barking involved). But usually he is happy to be left alone to chew his nylabones.

The other day, the humans were resting and watching videos after a heavy dinner at Herbie's home. Lolo was leashed up as she habitually pees wherever she likes. Jack who usually ignored Lolo, suddenly shown an interest in her and started playing. However, he is very gentle and quiet when he plays with her, whereas with me, he will growl and snap at me. So unfair....

Pictures below : Lolo is the female JRT that was leashed up.

Gee... your hair smells terrific














Biting each others neck...













hahahaha... dun bit my stomach.. itchy..














what are you doing, Lolo?













As you can all see, Lolo is the dominant one in this game...power woman.... (jealous)

Heartless

That's what Grandpa called us today...

HC was on medical leave and brought us to Grandpa's place so that she can see a doctor and buy our BARF meals. When we reached the gate, Grandpa was just leaving the house. However, when he saw us, he was very happy and decided not to leave home yet. We followed him to our favorite place - Kitchen, and ate a slice of bread each. Immediately after we ate, we ran away to find toys to play. Grandpa keep calling us as he wanted to pet us before leaving, and we ignored. He than said we are heartless cos we ignored him once the food is gone. He left the house dejected.

Watch Dog

Jack's self appointed job is to be a good watch dog. He is so good that he thinks he need to protect ALL homes, even if he is only visiting (such as Scuba's, Tommy's and Herbie's). But he really take his job too seriously sometimes. The other day, we were in our usual 'exclusive' area of the dog run. Usually, dog owners hang around the common area. But HC likes to bring us to the exclusive area so that I can play with my ball in peace (read: no fights), and no dog irritates Jack.

As I was saying, we were in the 'exclusive' area, and Jack as usual was sitting by the gate. One couple came in the dog run with their husky. I think the female owner was worried the husky gets bullied by more boisterous dogs and wanted to come into the exclusive area cos only Jack & myself were there. (She must be thinking : only 2 small harmless dogs inside, what is there to worry?) When she came near the gate, she said a cheery "Hello" to Jack. Immediately, Jack growled very loudly as if to warn her to stay away. The girl was shocked and said..'Wah.. so fierce' and walked away!

Good job, Jack! At least I get to play in peace. Don't really enjoy huskies cos they always pawed me or stared at me too intently (like Rafv, Chilli and Chewie).
grrrrrrr.......
(HC : I am sure that huskies don't mean any harm to Joey, they are just being cheeky and wanted to disturb him)

I am also very pissed last night at Herbie. I was happily rolling over the ball on the grass, and Herbie, the big clumsy one, was playing with Jaffe and almost stepped on me. I was so angry I chased the both of them away.

(HC & Jack : Snigger.....)

Bones Feeding

This post is for ignorant humans like Uncle J. (hehehe)

There are basically two types of bones in BARF terms.
RMBs - Has both meat and EDIBLE bones. They are usually smaller and softer and takes only a few mins to consume.
Recreational bones - harder bones that are meant to carry the weight of the animal such as lamb leg (aka tulang). THis type of bones is good to remove tartar and develop stronger and whiter teeth. I usually gnaw on it for 1.5 hrs and will leave the hollow bones after that cos it gets a bit tasteless when there is no more meat and marrow left. For greedier dogs like Jack, they can go on non stop gnawing for hours but it is no good cos it may wear down their teeth too much. In fact, Jack has a chipped tooth on his left molar cos he tried too hard to break down the bone.

Why did I say Uncle J ignorant? the story goes like this,
One day, HC was holding Lolo the 2 yr old female JRT, and realised that she has alot of tartar and plague on her teeth. HC than offered to get tulang for her.
A few days later, Uncle J was happily saying that he left the tulang to LOLO before he leaves for work. HC and the rest of the humans were horrified as dogs need to be supervised when feeding bones. They painted all sort of horror stories such as Uncle J finding Lolo's dead corpse (from choking to death) in the garden when he returns home. I can see from Uncle J's expression that he was pretty worried and can't wait to go home to check on Lolo(hehehe)

After that, Uncle J reported that Lolo is fine and she left a small piece of bone behind and it was already infested by ants by the time he went back to clear it. Thank goodness Lolo is still alive.

Bones

As you all know, Jack & I are fed on BARF meals. Even our treats are as natural as possible - dried organs and meat that HC does herself. Sometimes, she gets lazy and buy commercial ones, but they are always 100% natural.
Even though I loved what I am fed, sometimes, I just look at kibbles or commerical treats and drool! oh boy, I cannot understand why HC wants us on a NATURAL diet. After all, she eats junk food ALL the time.

Ever since Scuba's episode with oxtail, our lives had changed a little.

1. Oxtail
I was fed once but HC stopped buying as she saw that most of these were not very big and not enough meat around the bones (she read somewhere that more meats on the bones is desired so that it 'cushioned' the bones into the stomach). After Scuba's episode, she resolved NEVER to feed oxtail. Poor me.

2. Bigger RMB (Raw meaty bones)
Now, HC fed us bigger pieces of RMBs. I dislike it cos it takes too long to eat and I got to chew till ny jaws hurt.And, i cannot gobbled up!

3. Taking turns to eat
Jack and I are no longer fed together. Jack will eat first while I look in through the door and whined. By feeding us individually, HC now has less time to spare in the morning, and had been late for work since. (hiak hiak hiak)

Untouchable? Not really..

Remember my last post about Jack and his fear of being carried?
I have said that sometimes he will allow his godma to carry. Here's the picture:

Ok.. let you carry since you are my godma, but can U release me soon?? (Scared look)
















I guess he is ok with godma because she was looking after him for 3 days when HC went for a family holiday after adopting Jack for a month. In fact, I heard he was very well taken care of. He was carried to hawker centres, and even gets to sit on a chair when the humans were eating (with HC, we dun get the chance to sit on chairs.) And, the best thing is, when Jack pooed on a carpet, they didnt scold him. In fact, they blamed themselves for overfeeding him with treats!! hahaha...

But I heard that when he came back, he was worried that HC and family will leave him again. When HC brought out a leash, he started shaking very badly. And, when offleashed, he immediately dashed home. Insecure dog....

A grinning Jack

Scuba in hospital

Poor Scubs is in hospital!
For the last two days, Scuba was not feeling well, and vomitted whenever he eats. HC wondered if it was because he ate the toad! Finally, today, Scuba's mummy decided to bring him to see the vet. It was found out that the oxtail that he ate 2 days ago was stuck somewhere in his stomach. Vet tried to push the oxtail (I think through the anus.. ouch), but not successful. So in the end, Scuba had to go through a surgery. Poor Scuba. I think HC is gonna go visit him later in the hospital.

Scuba's mummy said that he probably gobbled down his oxtail as he is worried that Chewie (who is boarding there to nurse his broken leg) will snatched his food. Sigh.... HC just reminded us never to gobble down food (which I sometimes forgets), else we will end up like Scuba.

Speedy recovery, Scubs! Hope to see you at the park soon.

Intelligent Toys

I meant toys to teach dogs how to be intelligent, not toys that are intelligent.

When I was younger, HC constantly search for new & interesting toys in order to get me off chewing the wall (I managed to chew 3-4 patches of the wall). One such toy was the intellibone.
It says : "The IntelliBone helps develop eye-paw coordination skills as they learn to remove the squeaker rings from the plush bone.The dog will use its mouth and paws to maneuver the bone and gradually learn how to remove the rings. By successfully removing the rings from the bone, your pet's innate "stalk and conquer the prey" instincts will be satisfied"














With that kind of description, HC happily paid almost $30 for it, thinking that it will entertain me and make me more intelligent.

From the instructions on the box, HC tried to show me how to take off the squeaky rings. But I decided to do things the faster and easier way. Ignoring her, I hold the bone in my mouth and started to shake it violently so that the rings dropped out. See, mission accomplished in faster time!
(HC : I was hoping Joey will slowly take out the rings like the collie in the picture.... )

After a short while, I get quite bored with the Intellibone and decided that chewing wall is more fun.

Beware of Dog

Some aunties have mentioned before that Jack should wear a tee shirt that says - "Beware of Dog" cos he bites.
Jack's adoption story can be found here.

As we were saying, Jack is a fear biter. He bites when he feels cornered. He is also a domineering dog - if he don't get his way, he bites / barked / pulled your pants / skirt.

My human granddad was bitten quite badly with blood oozing out from his thumb. I cannot believe Jack did it cos grandad was only patting him.

HC's niece was bitten (small wound) on face cos she tried to carry him (mind you, at that time, she is staying with Jack, so should be considered FAMILY. How can Jack bite her?). The only successful people who have carried him are his human godma (when Jack is in good mood), and Auntie Sam who carried him up the car (she did it very fast and jack was caught offguard).

A garang guni man was bitten on his leg when he is carrying an old T.V. out of my granny's place (To Jack - he thinks the man is stealing the T.V.).

HC was bitten a few times (no blood though) when she tried to train him.

Others who tried to touch him were nipped / growled at, but luckily nothing serious.

Anyway, this is ancient history as Jack has been properly trained by HC over the last 6 years. In fact, Jack had went through basic and advance obedience, agility. But HC said that Jack's advance level is not quite as good as those we see in Dog Show Competition. And, for sure, he will fail when it comes to the part when the Judge supposed to touch the dog.

Sometimes, strangers are very weird. Without asking HC, they will try to pat Jack from behind. Luckily, Jack is better behaved nowadays, and on good days, he even asks for pats from people he knows.

P.S. He has not bitten someone for quite a while. Nowadays, he only nipped as warning. But I dread the day he bite cos his mood is a bit unpredictable. Please pardon him as old age promotes crankiness.

(HC : For those humans who have the misfortune to adopt a bitting dog, please do not despair. It takes time to train and build up the respect between dog and handler.)

Big Dogs

HC and her group of dog owners usually have dinner together every night, and many a times, strangers and stall owners will asked if the dogs bite (pointing to the bigger ones), and the replies are usually "big ones don't bite, the small ones (Jack) do". hehehe .. I will post another day why Jack bites.

Sometimes, I don't understand why strangers are so scared of big dogs. In fact, the barky ones are usually the small dogs, JRTs being one of the culprits. Fortunately, I don't bark except when it comes to ball playing and guarding the house. (Edited to include : barking and chasing chickens, cats)

And, believe it or not, the bigger dogs in my group gives way to me.
Tommy, our resident paikia (bad boy) who readily get into fights, usually let me have my way. Even if the ball is in his mouth, he will let me take it without much complaints. And when he sees me, he will lick or smell me very gently as if I am a fragile toy. I got to admit once at my house, he was very manja with HC, and Igot jealous, jumped up and nipped on his cheek. He merely yelped, and tried to hide his big head onto HC's lap.
Another of our 'bad' boy - Rafv.. He, who likes to put small dogs in his mouth, is also very nice to me. He will usually come to lick and offered his paw. But I hate it, cos he always use his paw to push my head or bum. HC always laughed when she saw it! Irritating!!! But I am so glad he does not like me enough to put in his mouth!! hahahaha
Herbie - nothing much to say cos he is alright with ALL dogs (except big strange male humper).
Scuba - medium size, he looks scary but he never retaliates when another dog bite/scold him. Once, during Xmas, I was at his place, and realised that some presents under the Xmas tree contain treats. I decided to guard it, and when Scuba comes near, I actually scolded and nipped him in the cheek. Actually, I know it is bad manners cos the presents belongs to him.

I am very ball (and food) possessive, HC is very careful when I meet new dogs. She will usually play ball with me in an enclosed area, as she does not want me to get into a fight. The last time I had a fight was with another JRT. Actually, I know I can win the fight, but HC came to call me off, and I listened to her and turn away. The JRT saw the opportunity and bite my leg and refused to let go. The silly owner actually went to pull her JRT, and end up my leg is being pulled as well ( long scratch marks after that). Out of desperation, HC pinched the JRT on the neck. After the fight, I had to be sent to the clinic and had swollen leg for a couple of days. (HC : it is a dilemna for dog owners, if you don't stop your dog, one or the other may be hurt badly. But if you do, your dog may end up like Joey)

Muzzled Dogs
In Singapore, category B dogs have to be muzzled. However, many of these dog owners do not at all. I know some of them are very gentle and friendly (like my GSD friend - Stallion), but if HC sees strange dogs, she won't let me go sniff cos not every dog is properly socialised. You can read more about poor Jaffe's incident. (HC : alot of owners must think I am snobbish, but I am doing for my dog's own good)
A few years ago, when the dog run was not so strict in enforcing the muzzling rule, a few GSDs frequently come to the park. I was playing ball, and HC asked the owners if the GSDs are ok cos she saw the GSDs looking interested in my ball. The owners said their GSDs are alright and not possessive. So, HC believed them and started throwing balls for us to retrieve. Even though GSDs are bigger, I managed to outrun them as I am smaller and can turn corners faster (mmm... sound like a car, don't I). A while later, one of the GSD got fed up and started barking at me. Moments later, 3 other GSDs surrounded me and started barking at me too. Of course, I barked back as I was really angry. HC and the other owners panicked as I was surrounded by 4 GSDs, and quickly ran over and scolded all of us in a very harsh voice. Luckily, no harm was done. (HC : this Joey sometimes really try to push his luck).

So should you see me playing in an enclosed area, please do not think I am snobbish. hiak hiak hiak. I am friendly with dogs - don't bite or bully them for no reason, but I don't enjoy playing with dogs as much as balls. Maybe it is from my growing up years with an aloof dog like Jack.

Animal Kingdom

Where I lived, there are many different kind of animals.

Snakes
I have heard sightings of snakes around our estate. Once, the cleaner saw two huge snakes (not sure if it is python cos HC refused to let me go to say hi). The police were called, and I heard 4-5 gunshots. I think the policemen need to improve his aiming skills, what a waste of bullets.
Since the incident, HC is very careful when she lets me go offleash to play ball. If I ventured further to the 'forest', she will call me back.

Roosters & family
There used to be an entire clan of roosters, mother hens and little chicks. HC complained that the mother hens seems to be giving birth very often as there were always tiny chicks every few months. The clan were very lucky cos they are not cooped up the entire day. I heard free range chickens are tasty.....mmmmm.....

HC keeps complaining about them cos
1. some neigbours throw rice, biscuits, bread all over the floor to feed them
2. Bird Flu (after all, the government did say that birds are supposed to be cooped up)
3. Stupid chickens keep jumping up on cars and motorbikes, and their claws scratch HC's then new car.
4. The Roosters keep crowing ALL day. I thought they are supposed to only crow at first sight of light? Are they stupid or what?

I liked the clan cos I loved chasing them. And when I am chasing, I give a low growl as if I wanna eat them. I specially loved to chase the fatter mother hen cos she will shriek and attempt to run /fly away.. heehehe (actually, i only love to chase, if I had really wanted to eat, I would have killed them long ago). However, one fine day, the Rooster cannot take it anymore and wanted to challenge me. Unfortunately, HC dragged me away. However, this particular Rooster still remembers me, and a few times, he actually ran to where I am and wanted to poke me with his sharp bead. I am very sure he is targetting me, cos he totally ignored Jack. HC panicked and quickly pulled us away.. and bloody rooster actually followed a good distance.

Anyway, the clan was almost wiped out recently cos there were a few complaints. Now, only two Roosters are left. Guess it is to stop them from breeding.
p.s. Realised that the roosters are not so stupid after all. Cos HC saw the two roosters waiting by one of the neighbour's door during feeding time. And when the lady comes out with a bowl of rice, they will start following her.

Cats
There are about 6-7 cats in the estate. They are quite alright except for one silly fat cat, who actually climbed up to our 3rd storey apartment and sat outside the door. Jack smelled her and was barking nonstop. He hates (and also scared of) cats. If the cat is right infront of him, he will actually shrieked hysterically. Alot of uncles and aunties have heard it, and they were amused that Jack is so scared of cats, and not of bigger dogs. However, if he thinks the cat is defenceless, he will try to bite it. That's what happened to Pepper, scuba's feline sibling, when Auntie S carried Pepper. Jack thought Pepper cannot defend himself, and actually jumped up and wanted to bite pepper's leg. Auntie S released Pepper and Jack ran away screaming ... hiak hiak hiak.. he deserved it!
oops.... side tracked too much ...
Anyway, I loved one of the cats here. She is very beautiful and elegant. A few times, she actually came out of her house when she heard me playing ball in the field. She will sit and just looked at me playing. Once, I decided to stop playing and go over to say hi. HC expected her to hiss and swipe her claws at me. But surprise, surprise, we actually said hi by putting our nose together. But of course, sometimes, the terrier blood in me will decide to chase her to the forest.

The sad news is that I have not seen her for a long while. The last time I saw, was her photo on a Lost Advertisement by the lamp post. I wonder if it was because I chased her to the forest and she got lost????

Cutesy Name

Why do humans like to change our names to something cutesy? I mean, look here, we are mature males (my group of friends are mostly males), and I usually cringed when I hear cute-cute names on them. For example:
Joey (that's me) - jojo, joey-baby, joey-sweetie, joey-kun
Scuba - Scoop-scoop, Scupi
Tommy - bunny (rofl, tommy is a bunny???)
Rafv - Raf-fi-fi, lala (rofl even harder)
Herbie - e-bi-bi, e-ba-dy (hiak hiak)
by the way, I realised Jaffe has a different surname from his humans parents (Fun-Graham).. cos I hear his mummy called him .. Jaffe-YEO.. all the time!

Jack, hasn't got alot of cute names except for Jack-Kun, which is not quite cute, simply because, well...... he is just NOT cute! hiak hiak hiak

Open House

This morning, HC drove me to Mandai Training Village. However, I am surprised to see so many new dogs and humans today. HC than told me that it is an 'Open House' for SCDF Volunteer Search & Rescue Dogs. Meaning, that SCDF is doing a recruitment drive for new volunteer dogs.

Not long after we stepped in, I was tied by the side with other dogs and the humans all left to see demo. I patiently sit and wait ... however, the humans only came back after an hour! Not only I had to endure the heat, but alot of new dogs were also barking non stop. I am having a migraine! I can't blame the new dogs as they are not familiar with this place.. and it is scary to be left alone. I tried to tell them it is useless to bark and to save their energy, but they didnt heed my advice.

And then I saw a familiar face - Alfie, another female JRT who frequents Bishan Dog Run. She is happy to see me and started lying belly up to 'seduce' me... but I am too tired and having a migraine to be interested.

After the demo, I saw the new dogs went for their test. I think they were tested on their play drive. Some are not able to show their play drive, perhaps, too distracted by new environment. HC told me that it is better to have dogs with HIGH play drive and focus, cos in a disastrous area, there will be alot of distractions.

I overhead the Captain telling the new dogs handlers that he will inform them of the result within a few days. Good Luck to all of them!

On the way home, HC received an 'emergency' call. Seems like Alfie's mummy ran out of petrol and the car stalled.. hehehe.. she must have used up all her petrol cos she got lost on the way to Mandai. HC than drove to a petrol kiosk to get petrol, than help Alfie's mummy to fill it up. I was relieved when everything is over, and HC drove me home. Quick... having a migraine .. I need to sleeeeppppp....

Jack is on medical leave

Just when we all were worrying about Chewie's condition (the humans, for some reason were very angry and I heard lots of swearing and cursing), Jack had to go on medical leave and add to HC's worries.

Yesterday, we were napping the entire day while HC is at work. When she got back home, we were as usual very happy and bouncing about. It was then that I realised that Jack is not using his front right leg. Within half hour, we were whisked off to the vet.

After some checking by the vet, it was suspected that his arthritis is acting up, and he was given a shot of cartrophven. I can see the vet looking through Jack's medical records which is a few pages long (hehehe). The bad news is that barely six months ago, Jack had the same limping problem. HC now has to monitor to see if the limping/aching comes more frequently, and if it did, an X-ray and alternative treatment may be needed.

Let's pray for Jack's and Chewie's speedy recovery.

Name Analysis

Herbie got his name analysed. So here's mine...

Joey:
You have a strong, independent, adventurous pet who is filled with wanderlust.
Not quite true that I am independent. One of my weakness in SAR is that I always look to HC for guidance, and gets a bit unsure if she is not around. And I definitely am not filled with wanderlust, even off leash, I usually will turn around and make sure HC is nearby
Your pet has a highly developed sixth sense, especially when it comes to home and family. This animal is very tenacious and intensely loyal. Your pet is certainly never dull.
True true. I may be friendly to people, but once they stepped near my home, I will bark like crazy.
You may find this animal has a dualistic nature being very communicative one minute and sullen the next. Your pet is obedient, learns quickly, and can be a bit standoffish.
True too. I can be sullen when I had too much sleep and not enough play time. Yes, I am obedient, learns quickly if I want to, and am standoffish towards some dogs. You won't see me playing much with dogs in general. Must have learnt it from Jack.

Here's Jack's analysis:
You have a strong, independent, adventurous pet who is filled with wanderlust. Your pet has a real need for adventure and has very little fear, so keep an eye on this one!
(ROFL) Jack is never adventurous. He is such a homebody that after awhile in the park, he will be sitting by the door to go home! No fear??? ROFL... you have not seen the way he scream when Pepper the cat comes near. But I must say Jack is very independent, sometimes, offleash, he will wander a bit further away.

This is a curious, loving pet who's a real 'people' animal. Your pet may appear slow at first, but always manages to get his/her catch. This animal is also very protective of home and family.
AGAIN, ROFL.. Jack is a 'people' animal??? I am sure alot of aunties and uncles had heard him growled at them before. Just the other day, he almost nipped Uncle C when he, being his usual irritating self, tried to disturb him with Scuba's tail. hehehe.
oh but.. Jack is very very protective of home and family. He actually bit a garang guni man who came into the house before.

Ermmm... conclusion, I don't think the name analysis work

Neighbour

As you are know, we lived in a tiny shoebox-sized apartment. We have been lucky in the sense that we lived in a mostly quiet neighbourhood (except for a few foreign workers in the next block, but they were generally well behaved except for a few hysterical laughter and 'faked' vomitting every morning...).
****** Joey, you shouldn't be writing this..... Please note that the following post is deleted to avoid spoiling good neighbourly relations in case we got 'found' out! ********** Edited by HC, 31st March 2006*********

Why Jack is no longer FAT

Most of you may not have seen how fat Jack used to be. Well, he is now 4.1kg and he used to be about 7 to 8 kg! I have pictures to show for it..

Doesn't he look like a pig?













Another fat picture with his CHH cousin - Willy

Side note : this CHH has been humping me since I was a puppy. Damn disgusting boy..










So, why the drastic drop in weight for Jack? That's because he started limping after an agility session. HC sent him to our regular vet, and from x-ray, he was diagnosed as having arthritis and spondylsis (degenerative spine) as well. However, HC thinks it might be more than that, and sent him for a second opinion. Thank god she did, cos the vet did a 'drawer' test (whereby Jack was on GA cos the vet did a painful test by moving hs two joints like a drawer)and diagnosed that Jack had torn his ligament. HC then decided to opt for surgery as prolong injury may aggravate his arthritis condition.

Picture of Jack with a cast leg on day 2 of surgery. See the dried blood stain above the cast?













Jack sleeping on HC's huge bean bag.













Jack happily chewing the rawhide despite the cast.













Day 3, where he is well enough to move a little bit. But he was not allowed to move much and was confined to a small room for the next THREE months (OMG.. I dun think I can take confinement for more than 3 hours!)














Jack finding a good position to sleep due to the cast



























Jack finally healed after a three long months of inactivity. What was worse was that he needs to go on a diet. He was given half portion of kibbles (we weren't on raw food at that tme).To make up for his hunger, he was given steamed vegetables instead.

So now, Jack needs to maintain his weight as there is a higher chance of him to tear his ligament if he puts on any weight(even on the good leg). And no agility for him !

A leaner and happier Jack

We are not MBT

To the ignorant humans out there, Jack & I are not a MBT (mini bull terrier). Worse still, is that someone asks if Jack is a "mini" pit bull??? I mean, pit bulls are gorgeous dogs but we definitely different in terms of looks and size!(in fact, HC loved their look and would have got 1 if not for the fact that they are banned)

Picture of a gorgeous pit bull


Do you seriously think Jack looks like one? But I have to admit, he sometimes behave like one cos he is anti-social, and does not like the company of other dogs.














And the MBT story is one that we hear ALLLLL the time, especially if Scuba is next to us. Many a times, we walked pass humans and I can hear them saying.. "that is the father (pointing to Scuba) and the two sons (pointing to us)".

"Family" picture

I'd rather be with you.

I think dogs are the most loyal living thing in this world. Much more compared to humans. Much as we love going out to park to romp, we rather stay at home to be with our human companion.

This is what we do when our human companion is not with us at the park.

Herbie's M and MM went out to have dinner at a fancy restaurant, and didn't want to bring him along. Look at how sad Herbie is...

Piranha & the stinko house

Jack and I have a new nickname - Piranhas. It has got to do with our feeding fenzy.
Everytime the humans are eating.. we will hang around the table. Any food that drops onto the floor will not remain there for more than 5 seconds. Not only that, I will start to shiver with excitement when I think the humans are going to feed me. And, in my excitment, I will just grab whatever food is in their fingers. Many a times, the humans got their fingers nipped. Now, Uncle C and Uncle M are starting to realise it and will throw the food for me to catch. I am proud to say that I have never missed and no food has ever dropped onto the floor.

During this CNY period, we get fed alot. SO much so that Jack (or maybe it is me... I dunno) keep farting, and oh boy, the whole house stinks!

Domestic Fights

I have heard alot of humans said that I got good temperament. But I realised that they usually say.. 'oh.. Joey got a good temperament, for a JRT'. Initially I don't understand, but as time goes by, indeed I saw alot of JRTs barking their heads off in public, initating fights and so on. I even read that JRTs think they are a big dog.
For me, I don't quite care about picking fights with other dogs, neither do I bark for no reason in public. So, I guess that is why some people think I have good temperament. However, I doubt HC will agree today.
Here's what happened, HC gave us kangaroo treats hidden in towels before she leaves for work. As I am more intelligent (hiak hiak hiak) than Jack, my towel were tied in two tight knots. Jack's was only tied once, and LOOSELY as well.
HC went out, and we were greedily trying to untie the knots. Within 1 minute, I managed to untie both knots and gobbled up the treats. Than, I turned my attention to Jack and realised he is still struggling with his knots.. (how stupid can he be!). From experience, a little barking from me will allow me to successful snatch the treats from him. But today, he refused, and we started to fight. We stopped for a min, and fought again. Within a few mins, I saw HC came back, and I happily ran to greet her, than turned my attention back to Jack and we fought again. I thought HC will come and help me, but instead, she slapped my muzzle, and scolded me. Than she called Jack to her, and Jack very 'manja-ly' (if that's such a word).. walked to her with the stupid treats still in the mouth. She than carried Jack to a private corner to let him eat. As she walked out to go to work, she turned back and slapped me again for fighting.
(HC: Usually, I could hear Joey bullying Jack from downstairs, and it usually last for a few seconds as I knew that Jack will give in. But today's fight was longer and louder than usual, and i had to go up and discipline the greedy Joey. He is forever bullying Jack when it comes to food and toys)


Jack always gave the manja look in front of HC. Here's a shot of him that Auntie S took when he was looking up at HC adoringly. Humph...act cute!

Bad smell

Recently, HC has been busying cleaning the house for the coming CNY. Dun know why she bother since no one visits us anyway.
Besides cleaning the house, she also bought some new plants, and I see her admiring them daily.
However, for the last two days there is a weird smell. It smelled almost like dried pee. HC confronted us, but we denied, of course.
Finally, I realised the source of the smell. It came from the Narcissus. It is extremely smelly now cos the flowers are blooming. Yeah, they are beautiful.. but smelly. Reminds me of some beautiful bitch in the park, but oh boy, do they smell! Guess their mummy and daddy never shower them properly.

Here it is.. the beautiful yet smelly flowers!



















Oh.. I must say thanks to Auntie W. She bought me a new bunny recently cos she said she felt sorry that Tommy 'salivated' over my previous one. This new bunny is a nice cream color, and it still has its eyes intact. Jack and I can't wait to tear the eyes apart! But HC said she will only give us the new one on CNY eve. Damn.. such a long wait!

New and old bunny ... as you can see, the old bunny has no eyes!

Funny noises at night

It was almost 12 midnight, and all of us were zzzzzzzz......
Than we heard funny noises that goes...'kor kor kor kor...'
At first, HC thought it was me dreaming cos I always have weird dreams. Sometimes, I make noises that sounded exactly like the above, even funnier is that sometimes my legs will be moving as if i am running.
Than, HC realised it wasn't me, as I was by then wide awake beside her. We than realised it was Tommy who was making the funny noises. And, the noise gets louder and louder, until HC got worried and started to call out to Tommy. Immediately, the noise stops.
Wonder what was Tommy dreaming about? Dad & Mom whereabouts? Frisbee? Balls? or maybe dreaming of fighting with Rafv AND buddy.. hehe

Jack & Tommy

Tommy is here for a 3D2N holiday. He is so used to coming over that he does not have any anxiety attack, unlike Jack and I when we go over to other auntie's place.
Anyway... HC commented that Tommy already know his routine here. We will get to eat first, and Tommy will usually wait near the kirchen entrance. When we are done, he will automatically walks into kitchen and we have to get out so that HC can give him his dinner. Same goes for bedtime.... when Tommy heard HC asking us to go pee, he knows it is bedtime, and immediately go to HC's bedside to sleep.

And the most amazing thing is, Tommy was lying very close to jack's bed (HC carried Jack up her bed so tommy can use Jack's bed). Jack decided that he does not want to sleep on human's bed, and jumped onto his own bed despite the fact the tommy is sooo close. In the end, Jack even sleep with his bum touching tommy's front leg. This is so amazing as jack hates other dogs to touch him.

here's the evidence... both are sleeping so peacefully near each other. Before that, Tommy does not even dare to go 1metre near Jack














We're friends now....














Actually, a few weeks before, I already noticed Jack liking Tommy. Once, at Herbie's place, Jack even put his two front paws on tommy's back (from the side, not humping position). Tommy usually gets angry or move away when other dogs do that, but when jack does that to him, Tommy only looks a bit worried. hehehe.... our "PaiKia" such a good boy in front of Jack.

Search & Rescue

I mentioned in my profile that I am a volunteer of SCDF's Search & Rescue Dog Unit right? By this February, it would have been 3 years since I started doing this. Despite that, I still love volunteering cos I got rewarded with a special rugby ball. This ball is very very precious to me, as I only get to play with it twice a month!

I got my basic certification last year, and was given a Certificate and a SCDF Dog Vest. Alas, the vest is too big for me as SCDF did not think they would have a small rescue dog. So, I can only wear this vest to take a picture. For real rescue work, I still have to rely on my cheap DAISO vest.

Me in my hard-earned Vest.














Today, we had to find the victim hidden underground. There were so many openings, and the scent were everywhere.. and I had to find the spot with the strongest scent within mins. Officer later said we all did a good job as we only barked where his scent is the strongest (victim had crawled underground from one end, but we barked at the other end where the wind direction ends)

I can smell the victim.. but exactly where is him?
Time is ticking.. I must find him fast!














Scent is a bit faint... don't think this is the right place!















Here?















Yes.... this is the spot!! (barking incessantly now)














Stallion and me waiting for the next exercise to begin



















On the way home, I wonder what Jack is up to alone at home. I know HC gave him some treats in the treat ball (HC : Jack never gets to play the treat ball cos Joey is always guarding it. Today's a good time to let Jack play with the treat ball) ... or maybe Jack is sobbing at home cos he is alone? hiak hiak hiak

I imagine him sleeping on the hard floor by the door waiting for us!

Jack played with a ball!

I can't believe it!
As you are know, Jack is a boring dog. Even in good weather, he would just sit at the park and watched others play. Errm... actually is to watch 'out' for other dogs in case they come too near.
Than today, we were again stuck at home due to the horried weather, and Jack was so bored that he took my lighted ball and played with it!

Caught in the act!




























Later on, he play dead on my bed

Makeover

It was a boring week cos we are stuck at home due to the rainy season.
HC has nothing better to do and decided to give me a makeover using two twenty cents coins and double sided tape. She said she wanted me to look like a real JRT! What does it really mean? I don't know, all I know was that I felt weird with heavy ears.. and I cannot even hear that well after the makeover.

Me before makeover





















After makeover. Do I look like a typical JRT now?

Holiday Fun

HC was on leave since 29th Dec till 2nd Jan, and boy.. her plan for us sounded really fun.
On day 1, HC decided not to bring us to the usual dog run to meet with my regular friends. Instead, we went to Sentosa in the late evening after a Japanese dinner (HC had the dinner, not us). By the time we reached Sentosa, it was pretty dark, and there was loud music from the nearby pub which makes me almost gone deaf! Also, it was so dark that I didn't know that there were nets surrounding the pub. A couple of times, I bumped onto the nets and HC and friends just laughed! IDIOTIC!

The weather was very bad after that, and it rained almost every evening. It was so boring that when Scuba invited me for a walk on Sunday night (almost 9 p.m.), I agreed immediately. Tommy was there too! We wanted to walk to Bishan park from Scuba's place, but it rained halfway. The mummies & daddies felt so bad that they decided that they will try to wake up early the next day to bring us to Sentosa.

Jack at Sentosa searching for pieces of chicken bones

Indeed, Jack managed to find some chicken bones and was happily munching it when Auntie V alerted HC. Oh my.... Jack got punished quite severely, and was made to sit in the sea! After he got out of the sea, he was again made to sit stay at the beach. Poor Jack.. I can see him shivering from the cold!





Jack almost fell asleep while being punished to sit near HC



















I love swimming!













Darn... water gets into my eye













Brrrrrrr... the water is indeed freezing













Trying to bury my ball













Tommy eyeing at my ball, as usual













The waves were too strong, and Tommy offered to retrieve the ball for me