Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Our Westie Toto's MUST HAVE Pt. 1

Disclaimer : I am not writing these to give out advices, just sharing some tips that we used on our own dog!
1) Petlifz Oral Gel : This is a gel form apply on the teeth direct, helps to remove plague and it has successfully lighten some of the stain on his teeth. It is so good I want to get the HUMAN's version!

2) Opticlear Eye wash : His eyes were infected a month ago, and keep having these yellowish discharge and YQ patiently washes with this Eyewash and warm wet cloth for a week till Toto recover. And now if we see Toto pawing his eye, we try to wash it out.

3) Epi-Optic ear wash : Saviour for his SMELLY ear. When his ear smell, his whole head SMELL! Why do we go pay $$$ when we can easily do it ourselves! It is easy but usually YQ will do all that, I always scare that I will hurt Toto!

4) Pet Dental : Yeah we brush him! Oh sometime Toto's mouth stink with this rotten fishy smell, we realised it is the smell of BLOOD. And usually it happen during teeth period. We were frantically searching online regarding this, and almost wants to bring him to a Vet dentist. But now we know better to let him OVER CHEW, usually if we see him chewing frantically, we will remove his chew toy and let him play with a ICE to help numb the pain, and also remove the bloody fishy smell. Simple solution but well who knows huh ...

5) Bragg Organic Apple cider Vinegar : We use this to prevent fleas and ticks' infestation and also to neutralised Toto smelly peepee! He has been drinking this since the day we bring him into our home. And, usually we add it to the first bowl of Toto daily water! It has ALOT more 'benefits', read it up; from ehow.com and earthclinic.com. Please do your own research and read up more, if you want to feed your dog.


6) Organic Flaxseed meal : Initially we have wanted to get "Seameal Powder with Flaxseed Meal" but it is EXPENSIVE, and flaxseed meal is one of the main ingredient in that supplement for dog! PLUS Flaxseed meal is usually one of the ingredient in dog food kibbles, so we think there is nothing wrong to ADD more to his kibbles to increase his fibre intake so that Toto POOP better and help with his anal gland problem! We add 1 or 2 tsp to his kibbles daily. Getting a HUMAN grade flaxseed is so much cheaper, WTH!?

8) Organic Greek Yogurt : Why Greek? Non added sugar, all natural. We hope that this can improve his digestion system, so he can POOP better!! Healthy Hard POOP is very important because it will help express out his anal gland sac naturally. AND that really SMELL bad,  it SMELL like dead fish in the butt ....

From wiki: Dog feces are normally firm, and the anal glands usually empty when the dog defecates, lubricating the anal opening in the process. When the dog's stools are soft they may not exert enough pressure on the glands, which then may fail to empty. This may cause discomfort as the full anal gland pushes on the anus. The glands can be emptied by the dog's keeper, or more typically by a groomer or veterinarian, by squeezing the gland so the contents are released through the small openings on either side of the anus. Discomfort is evidenced by the dog dragging its posterior on the ground, licking or biting at the anus, sitting uncomfortably, having difficulty sitting or standing, or chasing its tail.

8) Mar stripping knife, pumice stone and a comb - The three MOST USED grooming tools for Toto! Oh and also with my BIG FAT THUMB! I wonder when YQ is bringing him to a Professional, I just trimmed Toto's ear too! One 2 hr session of handstripping will cost us USD75.00!! But we won't know how PROFESSIONAL is the groomer until we take the risk! We are so paranoid that we will bring him IN a Westie and Out he come as a Schnauzer!

There are MORE EQUIPMENT that we own but I will post them up again :), or maybe I can also post up some useless stuffs that we brought by no chance to use!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Awesome, Gucci Dog bag!

Do you think YQ will buy me one of this, hahaha ~
But then I won't have the strength to carry this, it will end up on YQ's shoulder ...

@ Lewisville Railroad Park 2010102 with a Pom

After the scratched incident, Toto is NOW really very careful and choosy about who he plays with. He refused to play with Dogs that are too grouchy, fierce or dogs who growl/bark at him! You can see he will try try to play with different dogs, and if he like ONE of them, Toto will be stuck to that particular dog the WHOLE night. And if NOT, we will see him roaming around the whole night very restless! Oh plus sometime is OTHER dogs who do not want to play with Toto too! Hahaha, we do not know how dogs 'chooses' who to play with and who not to! So weird!

So we will be very thankful, if there is ONE such dog every night that can tired him out! And tonight there is one Pomeranian that wants to play with Toto!

It is very funny watching them play, the owner of the POM is laughing so hard and commenting that she hasn't laugh so hard for so long, and that is the first time she see her POM plays like that. Toto is really a very nice play buddy, he is very gentle BUT he loves to win haha!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

A usual Saturday for TOto

We brought TOto to Petsupplies Plus to check out a HUGE turtle, a replacement for his USD2.50 Target Turtle that he LOVE so much, and we are so scared that when that turtle is damage to a point of beyond repair, what will happen to TOto hahaha. We have to find a HUGE turtle with a HUGE head for him to HUMP and bite on!

And then we are off to Allen Village of course, and there is an event for dogs so he met quite a number of Kiddos and doggies too ~

The kiddos here are 'taught' how to

1) Ask for Permission, with 'PLEASE'.
2) Approach dogs, lowering the face and allowing the doggies to sniff the hand before petting them gently.
3) AND most importantly they are taught to say 'THANK YOU'.
See how big he has grown, he should be about 15lb++!

P/S: TOto now knows that we are going out without him if he is NOT harnessed or leashed! So when we tell him that we are going out, he will not rush towards the door anymore ...

Thursday, August 26, 2010

YOU cannot SEE meeee ...

The NAUGHTIEST time of the day is when TOto try to wake us up in the morning and we DON'T WANT to, and he will be up to NO GOOD in that few minutes we do not want to wake up!

SO WEIRD RIGHT!!

If Toto wants to he can wreak havoc the WHOLE night away while we are sleeping but he doesn't, it is always that 5-10minutes when he tries to wake us but we REFUSED to budge, and you know he is being naughty somewhere!!

And how do we know TOto knows that he is doing something he is NOT ALLOW!?

HAhahahaha, we will wake up and call out to him,
'Toto toto where are you?'
(He is train to run to us wherever he is to SHOW face to let us know where he is, and he will do that when usually we cannot see him! Or if he is naughty and do not want to come to us and we will hide ourselves and call out to him!)

And when he is UP TO NO GOOD, he will BECOME VERY STILL, hoping we cannot SEE HIM! And there is a few time we cannot FIND HIM! Hahahha ...

Once he is biting on on of the TV cable and hiding behind our airbed that is parallel to the wall. I saw him seated behind the TV console just out of the gated area, and looking at me. AND HE STOP MOVING ...
(If not he will start running to us! We have learn not to 'shout' or be fierce shouting his 'Name'. Because it might instill fear and next time you call out his name, he will associate it with something BAD!)

The other time which is more obvious is when he crawl UNDER the sofa and was biting at the wood underneath thus creating alot of NOISE. And when YQ calls out to him, HE STOP biting and stop MOVING! Hahahaha so funny lo! Hahaha, YQ still calls for quite long until YQ head go underneath (let Toto know that he is BEING FOUND already) and call out to Toto before Toto is willing to back-crawl and crawl out.

'A'HA GOT CAUGHT on the SPOT hahahahaha ~

And after all the Hoooooo and the haaaaa in the morning, when we are all awake! He goes to sleeeeeeeep ...
Dogs, they are actually VERY clever. They are NOT stupid, it is just whether they respect you enough to do what you want him to do or they just BLATANTLY choose to IGNORE YOU and just do whatever they want to! And Toto always try to test his limit with US!! His ORNERY side is still VERY OBVIOUS ...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Oppsie, Toto n his NUGI ...

Toto did something that he hadn't done in a LONG LONG LONG while, he pooped and Peed on the carpet yesterday night!! YQ caught him on the spot, and scolded him so loud, I thought he is KILLING my dog! Hahaha, I have to JUMP out of bed ...

And we know it is really NOT all TOto fault, know why!?

Because the NUGI aka his toilet, is VERY DIRTY! I had saw that earlier and forgotten to inform YQ to clean it. Poor Toto, he must have felt very bad, very 无奈! Because we guess after his poop, he came and lick my eye, HE NEVER do that AT NIGHT, and I was wondering WHY!?

After YQ clear up his shit, he still goes sniffing at one area of the carpet, to let YQ knows that 'Gee Dad, I pee here too!!', haha another round of scolding for Toto!! Poor thing le, inform dad still Kana scolding ...

And how we know TOTO knows it is at fault? Because THIS MORNING, TOto actually COME and wake YQ up BEFORE his business!! Hahahahaha ~ It like telling YQ , see I KNOW I should pooped and peed at NUGI, and he did it 'ZHUN ZHUN' (accurately) without the POOP falling out of place!!

SO WEIRD right! (Toto usually POOPED before coming in to wake us up!)

Toto is a HYGIENE freak with regards to his NUGI area, if the NUGI gets too smelly or too FULL, he won't use it until we change him a new one! This is his habit since VERY VERY young, hahahaha ~

Me and YQ always says to him,' NEED to be so clean or NOT!'

Monday, August 23, 2010

Toto and his sleeping habits!

Toto will SLEEP more in the afternoon and then roaming around in the middle of the night! Hahaha STUPID dog! But well it works for me because I don't want to spend the whole day playing with him! And for the first half of the day he will sleep next to the front door. And by about 3-4pm, he will jump up on the sofa and sleep beside me! He will usually wake about 5plus or when YQ comes back!

Hahaha I tell YQ throughout the whole day me and TOto lives our own SEPARATE life, and only when YQ is back, TOto will FAKE a loving relationship with ME!

Anyway, Toto is always sleeping and dreaming.

And the most exaggerated experience I had was ...

TOto was sleeping at the entrance to kitchen, and suddenly he barked till he woke up and ran towards the front door and started BARKING at the door! I thought what happen and peep through the door peephole! No one ... I try to convince him, tell him it is OK, there is no one!

He is NOT convince so I have to OPEN the door and SHOW him; "There, no one outside"!!!
And the situation is really like what you see in cartoon, he sat BEHIND me only popping out his head by my leg. Then when I see left and right of the corridor, you can see his head also swerve left and right. Then I shut the door, he happily go back to sleep again!

Hahaha don't know what kinda of monster he dreamt of looming outside our corridor!!

Anyway Dogs do dream, and TOto dream ALOT! Sometime his dream is SO EXCITING his 4paws and tails are MOVING as well!! Sometime, 4 paws, tail and BARKING or GROWLING! Hahaha, his dreams are always very exciting, but these moments are very instantaneous and only for that few seconds. Very rarely can I take it on video!



And finally , and in a VERY NICE posture, I got a video of him sleep barking. (Maybe he secretly knows I am taking his video!!)


TOto Halloween Costume, a Giant Furball of Pumkin, but too bad the size is a tad too small so we got to return that!! But so cute right hahaha~

Toto new toy, this gator (we named him 'AH DE') has 16 squeakor inside, So Toto every bite there will be a squeak.
VERY NOISY TOY!
TOto sleeping in the bright afternoon, so bright, so he hide his eye in 'kaka' tail!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

What we 'Hate' about TOto

TOto is not ALL angel ok!
Let's make a list why we sometime is so angry with him, but then again the anger can subside like in 3seconds ...

1) When we catch him biting cables, a bad habit he got infected when I was away in June! We will take out the cable and tempt him to bite, and when he try to do it we will say 'NO' firmly, and pass him other toy and start to 'Praise' him happily to let him know toy is OK.

It is very hard to 'CATCH' him on the SPOT! He usually do that kinda of 'PROHIBITTED' stuffs when we are sleeping in, in the morning or when he is ALONE at home. And maybe he is toooooo tired he tried doing it after we brought him back from dogpark just yesterday, and I am in the kitchen washing up, while YQ is bathing. Of course CAUGHT RED MOUTHED! Of course I 'Scolded' him and after YQ is out , I complain to YQ again!! Hahaha, me and YQ always have to 'ACT' and be very 'animated' about the whole 'complaining' ...

Remedy by Toto, he will bring other toys (nearest) to you, and pushing the toy to your leg. Hahaha I was asking YQ, wah 'kana' scolding still dare to play ar!?

YQ's interpretation:' NO TOTO is asking you, crab crab can bite right!!'

Dogs ~

2) You need to WALK them or bring them out EVERYDAY so that they can sleep throughout the night! If not they will try to be a NINJA in your living room! And in the END, I cannot sleep because I keep hearing noises outside!!

If Toto is properly walked and his energy wasted, he will happily be crated and sleeping in it! SO we can sleep through the night too!

3) We are consider VERY lucky @ about 4months old TOto is already housebroken, which took us about 2months ... (LONG TWO MONTHS!)Although he got the IDEA of having to Pee and Poop at Nugi in about less than one month after we bring him home, but there are alway ALOT of 'Puppy' accidents here and there. We realised that thou they get the idea, but puppies still cannot control their bladder, thus the 'accidents' and not that they 'don't know'.

4) Toto needs lots of grooming, althou it is not obvious from his wild wild look!! But then; his toes needs to be clipped, ears need to be clean and plucked, feet pad and eye fur need to be trimmed and plus we handstripped him. So all these takes ALOT of time! And he had to be comb very often!

I see a CJ7, Brussel Griffon!

I think Brussel griffons are those very RARE type of dogs that you seldom see on the street, and I get to see one in REAL life last weekend. Their fur are SOFT like hair and they are very soft and sweet nature!! And one of the more famous Brussels Griffon would be from 'As good as it gets'!

I never thought that I get to see this in real life, and the one I get to see is really really very pretty. And the lady was so shocked that I can recognise the dog and NAME IT OUT. She mentions not many people can recognise the breed! So ODD huh!

And The reason is because I always find this particular breed of dog, looks like CJ7 in Stephen Chow movie! Don't ask me why, that is just my impression! But this breed looks very princessy, like some pampered 小姐! NOT hardy like our Toto!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hiding his face to SLeEp!

Got so bright OR NOT!?
What is he hiding from, hahahaha ....

A tale of Mari and her 3 puppies!

Based on a TRUE STORY!

This video has been circulating in my facebook with different people re-sharing the videos; VERY TOUCHING! Why is all the BRAVE and LOYAL dogs in JAPAN!? ERmmmm, then Hachi now Mari? But this is remake into a movie in 2007!

Just before we know of this movie, we did discuss that if we are to have another dog, Shiba Inu is one of our choice for a 2nd dog! Oh one of the other choice will be a Norwich Terrier (very rare)! Ok, out of topic, I guess not many people can experience the magic relationship between a Dog and a Human Being.

Very touching, a sure cry trailer ...

Credit to Redstarcafe.wordpress.com :
This 2007 Japanese movie is based on the story of a real family that was caught in the 2004 Niigata earthquake. The basic plot involves a family consisting of a father, grandfather, and a son and daughter; the mother died some years before. They live in a rural town. On their way home one day, the kids stumble upon an abandoned shiba inu puppy, and the little girl falls in love with her. At first, they avoid taking care of her and keep her far from home because their father is afraid of dogs.

Eventually, things work out and the dog is accepted into their home. Some time later, the pup, Mari, has grown into an adult and has three puppies of her own.

The the quake hits; the son is safe at school, the father survives the quake in town, but the daughter and grandfather are trapped under their collapsed home. Mari eventually runs off and finds some Jietai (Self-Defense Force, or Japanese military) rescue workers, who rescue the girl and her grandfather, but the dogs have to stay behind in the abandoned village.


Mari and Her Puppies

Three puppies were born on the day of an earthquake.

On the fateful morning of October 23, 2004, a dog named Mari gave birth to three puppies in Yamakoshi Village, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

That evening, a severe earthquake struck Niigata and devastated the village, causing almost all of its homes to collapse, including the one where Mari lived.

During the quake the newborn puppies were jolted away from their mother, and since their eyes were still closed, they could not find their way back to her side. Also, because she was bound by a leash, Mari could not reach her babies. She tried repeatedly to pull free from the leash, but to no avail. Then, several tremors occurred and Mari tried even harder to break free until her neck began to bleed. Suddenly, another strong aftershock struck, Mari struggled with all her might, and the collar suddenly came loose. Next she quickly picked up her puppies, moved them to a safe place, and without taking a rest ran toward the ruins that were once her house.

Three qualities define a true shiba inu: Kan’i, Ryosei and Soboku.

Kan’i is translated as “spirited boldness” and means “well-balanced, courageous and self-confident”.

Ryosei (“good nature”) refers to the loyal and obedient character of the shiba and to her strong senses which make her an ideal home guardian.

Soboku refers to the natural beauty of the soul, meaning that a shiba is unaffected,cheerful and spontaneous.

Courageous rescue of the grandfather

The grandfather of Mari’s family was home alone that day.

He lived on the second floor, but suffered from a neurological disorder that made it impossible for him to stand on his feet or climb the stairs unassisted.

After the earthquake, the old man was immobilized as he had been trapped beneath a wardrobe. Aftershocks and the total darkness resulting from a power outage pushed him into desperately thinking that death might be around the corner.

Just then, Mari appeared in his room on the second floor and looked at him with encouraging eyes. The grandfather had been slipping into unconsciousness, but when he saw Mari he regained awareness although he was still immobilized. Mari then licked him to give him encouragement and went downstairs several times to check on her pups before quickly returning to the man’s room. She ran back and forth many times even though her paws had been injured by the sharp-edged glass and pieces of porcelain that lay all over the floor. Each trip gave her new wounds, but Mari managed to kindle new hope in the grandfather’s heart, and looking at Mari he thought “I must live on. I cannot give up.”

Finally, he pushed at the wardrobe with all his strength, it gave way and he managed to free himself. Then with Mari’s encouragement, the grandfather spent two hours climbing down the stairs – a feat he had previously been unable to accomplish without help. Upon reaching the ground floor, he was happy to find that the three puppies were safe and sound.

A sad parting and further ordeals

After the October 23, 2004 earthquake Yamakoshi Village was in a state of total destruction and isolation as all local roads had been cut off. And with a continuous series of aftershocks increasing the danger of landslides, on October 25 all the villagers were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby accommodation center.

Under these circumstances, the grandfather was forced to leave Mari behind, for in times of disaster saving human lives is the main concern. He left all of his pet food for his beloved dog, prayed that she and her pups would be safe and took off her collar. Then, with no other options, as he boarded the helicopter to leave behind the one who had saved his life, he said with guilt and sadness, “I’m very sorry, Mari,” and felt heart-broken as Mari howled in deep sorrow.

As time passed and her supply of rations ran out, Mari had to search for food in her abandoned village, suffering many ordeals as she tried to protect her little puppies. All the while the grandfather thought of her constantly, and with anxiety over the continuing tremors fell ill and had to be hospitalized.

Then two weeks after the evacuation, the villagers were allowed to return to Yamakoshi to see their homes. Among the returnees was the man’s son, who immediately began to search for Mari. Upon finding her, he noticed that she was much thinner, and she hesitated for an instant after hearing her name but then dashed toward him. He held her close in his arms for a long time.

Mari had not had enough food for herself, but she fed her babies milk and took care of them as well as she could. In contrast to their skinny mother, the three puppies looked chubby and healthy as they slept sweetly on the porch. The son was delighted to see the little pups growing up in good health.

Before Yamakoshi Village was reconstructed, the villagers remained in temporary housing in a neighboring city. Being in charge of advertising affairs for the village committee, the son was a busy man so he placed Mari and her puppies in the care of another family. When the grandfather was still in the hospital, Mari’s caretaker took her to visit him.Thus, after undergoing countless trials, Mari and the old man were finally reunited. Mari was very happy to see the man, who was recuperating and said with quivering lips and tears filling his eyes, “Thank you for saving my life.”

Then in April 2005 the grandfather was discharged from the hospital and began living with his son and Mari in an apartment. By that time Mari’s three puppies had been adopted by other families and were growing up healthily in their new homes. Today, the grandfather and his family are still living in the apartment but look forward to returning soon to Yamakoshi Village.

Fireworks for Mari

Mari’s touching story, which illustrates the mutual trust and love between humans and animals that helps them through ordeals, has frequently been reported in the news media and has also been adapted as an illustrated storybook – Mari of Yamakoshi Village and Her Three Pups. The book has received a huge response in Japan and serves as a great inspiration for disaster victims. The company that published the volume is contributing part of its sales revenues to the reconstruction and relief funds for areas affected by the October 2004 earthquake, and distributes the book free of charge to children in Yamakoshi Village and its thirteen neighboring cities.

On August 2, 2005, the villagers held a fireworks celebration in their city of refuge just as they do in their home town each year, and this year event was entitled “Fireworks for Mari.” While participating in the festivity they wished that Yamakoshi Village could be recovered as quickly as possible. Amid the dazzling light and smoke of the fireworks, Mari’s radiant smile seemed to fill the night sky, bringing hope and encouragement to the spectators.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Neutering Why?

FOr Yanyan or anyone who don't know ...

Actually before coming to USA, I also don't realise that neutering a dog actually does MORE good than not. It sounds cruel but then the 'facts' are we Human wants to live in harmony with our Dogbuddies, so more or less we have to 'sacrifice' them for everyone of us.

Being a 'responsible' dog parents here meant 'Spaying' (for female dogs) or 'Neutering' (for male dogs) when they are about 6months old or older for the BIGGER dogs; because they mature later. But 6months are the 'recommended' age. Best; before the dogs reaches sexual maturity ...

The advantages noted is as far as I can remember :

  • Reduce sexual tension thus reduce the chances of your dogs running away because he 'smell' a bitch in heat.
  • Reduce Aggression in a dog, VERY IMPORTATNT!
  • Prevent territorial urination marking at home or ANYWHERE! This is CRUCIAL to US, haha we don't want him to keep urinating everywhere IN THE HOUSE!
  • And then neutering also prevents the embarassing habit of always trying to 'HUMP' other dogs or Humans! (VERY EMBARASSING to the owner, and this habit is the hardest to break!)
  • Plus alot of Daycare or Dogs permitted area only allowed Neutered dogs.
From : Y2SPAY.org
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS TO THE DOG?

There are several health benefits to neutering. One of the most important concerns the prostate gland, which under the influence of testosterone will gradually enlarge over the course of the dog's life. In age, it is likely to become uncomfortable, possibly being large enough to interfere w/defecation. The prostate under the influence of testosterone is also predisposed to infection which is almost impossible to clear up without neutering. Neutering causes the prostate to shrink into insignificance thus preventing both prostatitis as well as the uncomfortable benign hyperplasia (enlargement) that occurs with aging. It is often erroneously held that neutering prevents prostate cancer but this is not true.

Other health benefits of neutering include the prevention of certain types of hernias and tumors of the testicles and anus. Excessive preputial discharge is also reduced by neutering.

WHAT BEHAVIORAL CHANGES CAN BE EXPECTED AFTER NEUTER?

The only behavior changes that are observed after neutering relate to behaviors influenced by male hormones. Playfulness, friendliness, and socialization with humans are not changed. The behaviors that change are far less desirable. The interest in roaming is eliminated in 90 percent of neutered dogs. Aggressive behavior against other male dogs is eliminated in 60 percent of neutered dogs. Urine marking is eliminated in 50 percent of neutered male dogs. Inappropriate mounting is eliminated in 70 percent of neutered dogs.

Of course there are other health benefits, but since the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, there is no choice but to SACRIFICE TOto le. It was a small sacrafice for the WHOLE family, TOto will understand. We will bring him out more often because they aren't any undesirable habit of him that we will be embarassed of! And more people will LUV~ him!

So if we don't intend to breed him, that is a small price to pay for Toto own happiness as well!

PLUS it is in HIS contract clause from his Purchas Contract! Kekeke, yah we have to 'KACHA' him!!
Understand?

Monday, August 16, 2010

TOto now, TOto then ...

He used to be able to sleep comfortably under the glovebox, now it seems abit tight. My feet and Toto has to squeeze abit for space!! He used to be able to sleep with FULL STRETCH!! Hahaha, only 4 short months, he has grown so much! Even his face is SO HUGE now!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

His wound ...

Today Toto went Dogpark, he is very not himself. We guess he is still very traumatised by the incident yesterday so when a big dog approached, he don't really want to play with it!! And he is more careful and ran less, very PICKY about the dogs he want to play with, so...

CONCLUSION, DOGS do have memories!!

Hahaha, he look so pitiful in the picture, nah he is JUST TIRED!!
He is such a good poser huh!
Me and 豆豆!
His dog-daddy say he heartpain seeing his dog got hurt while playing!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Toto is SCRATCHED!

We have brought TOto to Lewisville dogpark consecutively for 3days and he enjoyed himself very much! But ...

Pretty Sunflower growing at the Perimeter of the Park ...

Yesterday there is a dog who play so rough with Toto, and after being 'shove' for the 3rd time and rolled, TOto let out a LOUD YELP! In other people's point of view, Toto must be a weakling who cannot be rough played and played PUNK by Yelping ...

But we knew something must be wrong, and TOto must be IN PAIN. After that TOto jumped up the bench and just want us to 'sayang' and cuddle him.

After going back, YQ did a thorough check, and indeed there is a wound about 7cm long!! And the fur around that area is STRIP OFF! That is VERY ROUGH play! But still TOto didn't become aggressive and BARK or GROWL, we are still proud of him. But we know he damn DU LAN tat dog, and don't want to play le, hahaha ~

Sleeping like a human being, with MY mini Pillow!!
RA photo of his Recovered Stitches >> read more!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Full Video of Toto daily Wipe OUT!

Initially when we just got him, we were worried that we cannot give him his bath daily and yet we want a clean and healthy dog to LIVE together with so that he can sit on the sofa, snuggle on the floor, sleep on the bed together with us. (NOPE HE DOESN'T SLEEP with us but when we just rested on the bed, he usually 'TRY' to snuggle there with us.) AND I ABSOLUTELY cannot accept, grass, soil, dirt and shit!

PLUS Westie are famous of their skin allergy, so the DOG GENE itself cannot accept daily washes which would DRYOUT their already DRY skin!

So we decided very early on in our life with TOto we would WIPE him clean EVERYTIME he goes out. So if he goes out twice a day, he recieved 2wipes. And we would verbally tell him to accept it because he wants to go out for his walk! And slowly over time, he has gotten use to all the fuss after we got back from his walk.

And NOW he knows to stop and wait at the door for us to prepare him for his wipe, and he will walk to the kitchen. No matter how hungry or thirsty, he KNOW he has to wait for the wipe before he can eat or drink!!

And sometime he will forget and head for the water, and suddenly he HIMSELF would pull the brake and walk right into the kitchen sit and wait out!

So ANYONE who tell me my DOG is DIRTY!
Will GET 2 TIGHT SLAP from me! (YQ say some stupid pple might get offended so I cannot say it that way even thou pple who understand me noes i am just kidding, but there are still alot of stupid pple out there!) Because TOto is cleaner than ALOT of kiddos om the playground playing in the SAND!

For 1ONE, DOGS doesn't SWEAT, so their skin doesn't get sweaty, dirty like HUMAN. So when they smell it is the HAIR and HAIR only. And Westie has a 'HARD' COAT, so dirt SLIDES off!

And like HUMAN head, if the weather is BAD and warm, the head will have a SMELL too. SO that is the famous DOGGY smell, but when the weather is cooling, they will have a dog smell, just like HUMAN who have our HUMAN smell!

When you say my DOG is SMELLY, smell YOURSELF!
Disclaimer: I am talking about TOto and TOto only!



And we believe that is ONE of the reason why TOto don't have discoloured EYE and FEET, which alot of dogs have!

Monday, August 9, 2010

AKC certified and Post Op pictures ...

Toto is AKC certified as a pure breed.
This certification is really NO POINT, hahaha. Damn Boliao, but just incase YQ wants to bring TOto for some kinda of compeition!?

Haha, I DOUBT!
Oh and some Before and After pictures of the Wound and Stitches!
Kinda of 'RA' here, so READ ON if you want!

Update on Toto's stitches

Updated a video @ Lewisville Railroad Dog Park on a Sunday!.

Toto's stitches is healing very well! It was so much easier than I thought it would be! We OVER READ ourselves online, and there is TOO MUCH HORROR stories!! Hahaha, it was easy peasy!

I guess there isn't any difficult part about the whole ordeal. The first and second day, Toto is very drowsy but on the 2nd day he got better and can feed by himself in the evening. He didn't eat on the first day of Operation, he didn't even drink. But we kept wetting his mouth with water. By the fourth day, his wound is already caking very nicely and the swelling has gone off. And on the 5th day we brought him down for his evening walk. On Sunday, 7th day, we already wanted to bring him in to remove the stitches haha ~

Actually by the 3rd day he is already back to SQUARE one being himself. There were some slight licking of his wound but he is not overly OBSESSED with the stitches that is there. He is still very paranoid about that area for the first few days but I guess even if the 'external' wound is recovering, maybe it will still feel BRUISED!

OK, so if anyone is reading about neutering experience, it is not as HORRIBLE as it seems to be! And seriously, TOto only worn the Donut for the first 2 days and ONLY at times when I cannot supervised him; like when I am cooking. And I thought he has to wear it 24-7 for 10 days!! Hahaha ...

Maybe we are just lucky ...
But we are glad!

Toto on his Saturday Evening walk after his Neutering Operation!


Thursday, August 5, 2010

Toto and his stitches

He is performing better than we expected.
He is not affected by his wound and stitches much but maybe it is not the 'time' yet. But his wound is healing nicely and drying out already! Usually it is when it start to dry up that is when the itching starts? Hahaha, if not we can return the donut! That piece of JUNK is about USD30plus! WTF, my travel pillow is NOT THAT expensive lor! Really killer, just an extra piece of velcro!? Shitty ...

Anyway his apetite is back to normal, and he can jump and run already! It is easier than I thought!! And I keep thinking the wound would tear or bleed, or it might be infected, or Toto might keep wanting to bite or lick the wound. We allow him to sometime lick lick it but he is usually not affected by it.

Hopefully everything continues to go well, and we can go kia kia le.

Toto sleeping in his usual favourite position with his prisoner of Toys next to it!
Toto still goes to that area to sleep when YQ goes to work, and for the whole of the day he will be damn sleepy and lethargic UNTIL YQ comes back home.
SO ODD ...

He seldom disturbs me to play or entertain him, but there will be the 'Knock, Knock', I want to go patio moment but very little disturbance. But as yet I have to give him more attention because of the wound, once that heal nicely, I will have an even easier job :)

@ 6mth old!

@6mths old.

He is fully toilet trained. He now pee and pooped less! Usually he will do it once in the morning before 7.30am and once usually after his breakfast and DURING YQ's breakfast!! Then in the evening once before and once after food. But once in a while he will have ALOT of poops!! We wonder why!? We are using less Pee pad too! Maybe once in the day and then will PEE Off in the evening walk!

He can do some simple command. We didn't teach him any more NEW command after BEG. But now we improvised the command in his daily activities. Example, sit and wait at door before going out. Sit and down for wipe out. Not that TOto cannot learn any more, but we are just simply LAZY hahaha! But he can do alot of Catch Stunt!!

TOto commuicate with us, in his own unique way, and with his non argumentative nature, he seldom BARK to get what he wants.

We realised to let us know he wants to go walk walk. He will go first to the Patio door, and when we open it, he wont go out to the patio. Then he will go over to the Bedroom door, and later go over to the changing room, and lastly to the laundry room. Now we know, Patio door means he want to go out; Bedroom door means he want us TO CHANGE! And lastly go get his LEASH which is in the Laundry room!!

This few days he will just sit STARING at the front door, and I have to ask him to wait for Daddy to come home!!

Another great command he learnt is 'GIVE ME' and he will drop whatever in his mouth to us! That is especially useful when he is eating RABBIT POOP or that PLASTIC BOTTLE CAP!

But he is very naughty in the morning ESPECIALLY if we refused to wake up after he try to wake us. And we will catch him trying to Bite Cables or Sofa or Basket!! And he usually DO Naughty stuffs when he wants us to wake up and we refused, and you know he is doing NAUGHTY thing in the living room!

He can also remember his toys names like 'Crab crab', 'Ka ka', 'Monkey', 'Gecko' etc. But he is VERY LAZY and when you ask for something usually he goes get the most convenient toy that is nearby but if we do not want to play he also no choice but to get it.

During his evening walk, YQ has taught the command 'HEEL', once command given, Toto will walk one round behind YQ turn and wait beside YQ. He also will 'SLOW' down when the command is given! But then when there is a dog or rabbit nearby, Toto will go GA GA!! hahahaha ~

If we didn't help TOto wear his harness, he knows ONLY ME AN YQ is going out without him. And he will not be as excited and will sit and watch us leave without any 'commotions'. MAYBE he is happier when we leave without him because he will have ALOT of 'GAMES' plan out!

Conclusion : TOto is NOT the perfect dog but then he is already SO MUCH better than all of the puppies that I have had in the past! And he does CHEW alot too, we have alot of CHEWED and damage CABLES! Stupid dogs keeping chewing up our Electronic cables, but luckily these are cheap to replace. He also chewed up HOLES in the wall, which luckily is also mendable. He also chewed up a plastic basket which is used to keep his toys. We try to keep alot of stuffs aways from him but sometimes due to our own carelessness, he still gotten his PAW on them! So sometimes we blame ourselves for the mistake we make!

Not the purrrfect puppies but Toto is a dog, like kids these are the CONS that comes along with owning one of them! Hopefully when TOto is older he get wiser too ...

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

@ 6mths and Neutered

We finally bring him in to Ka cha (Neutering Op), we have prep him by contantly 'counselling' him! Hahaha, but we do not know whether he get it or not!! The photos here will are classified as NSFW (Not suitable for work) and VERY RA!
After the run the night before he was too tired to eat but luckily he still manage to eat some at about 11.55pm!! In the morning, he is waiting for YQ to give him his breakfast. I think Toto must wonder how come we don't give him food and drink for so long!! (Not allow to eat the night before.)

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lewisville Railroad Dog Park on a Sunday!



Trying to shake off my Jetlag, I finally struggle enough energy to bring Toto to his favorite Dog Park!!
Hahaha, this is how they say 'Yo yo yo, HALLO!'
Exchanging Butt Info!
Can spot the busybody Toto???
And all the Beans standing around, so weird huh! I guess I earn ALOT of $$$ if I were to open a BAR COUNTER right in the middle of a dog park!!
Nice skyline ...
Nah Toto don't drink SO MUCH water, but then other dogs DO! Hahaha, dogs just come to any water counter, so the ULTIMATELY friendly TOto always like OTHER dogs drink HIS water!! And he always LEFT with NO MORE water to drink, that is why we have to bring a LARGE bottle!

Me getting BORED!!
YQ has to keep a vigilant EYE on TOto because we being 'RESPONSIBLE' dogparent, we have to pick up his SHIT!

Toto right behind KPO-ing again!
There is one incident, so funny. Toto went off to park himself right next to a lady. I call out to him as usual. Me and YQ can see his reaction; so funny. He abit shock to see that I am right OPposite of where he is sitting. He can still look up at that lady, I think he PARK himself WRONGLY! (Explain: Usually, when we call out to him, he just run over. His reaction was; Toto looking at me, then back at the lady next to him shows that he thought that, that pair of legs was mine.)
It was a good run, and by the time he reached home, he was SO DEAD tired!