Nicknames

In response to Joey's post about cutesy names, I would like to correct the misconception that I only have cute nicknames.

I have other unglam nicknames too, which my M likes to bestow on me, whenever the situation is appropriate.

Let's start on the cute ones, besides 'E-ba-dy', she also calls me :
1) herbie-baby (totally acceptable)
2) herbie-oh (no meaning, but it's ok)
3) herbie-bie-bie-bie (like an echo of my last syllable)

some neutral names:
1) herbie-vore (as opposed to, carnivore, coz I eat veggies as well)

then comes the not so good ones :
1) stupid dog
2) diarrhoea dog
3) smelly butt (when I got poo stuck to my butt fur)
4) ugly butt/ head (depending on which part of my body is the hotspot on)
5) crumpled face (when I wake up and my muzzle is sort of crooked from sleeping)
6) greedy pig
7) oi dog

You can see that the bad names outweigh the good ones.

Oh, and my M and Aunty G once gave me a chinese name too. I am Tan Shi Man. It started with Aunty G saying that slow is my middle name, but my M said Food should be my middle name instead. So, it's Tan Food Slow, with Tan being my M's surname, Food = Shi, and Man = slow.

You know, there's a pretty HK actress called She Shi Man. I know, the pronunciation is a bit differenct, but at least the spelling is the same! :P

Tommy's Nose

I'm getting worried about Tommy's nose. I already suspected his sense if smell is a bit koyak when he went after me wrongly during the fight. And just a few days before, he landed on his nose when he jumped off the table (ouch!). I think he lost his footing. Now the skin around his nose is a bit raw.

And to add to the injury, yesterday when the uncles were playing ball in the field, my M kicked the ball and it accidently hit Tommy on.... guess where... the NOSE again! I wonder if he will get his sense of smell back.

Dog Fight

I got into a fight yesterday.

And I sort of started it.

But Aunty G says it's not my fault.

Like I've said previously, the only time I get into fights is to protect my food, or if strange, big, male dogs hump me. Yesterday a GR came to the park, I don't think I have seen him before but Uncle Henry says that dog comes very rarely.

Well, that GR kept trying to hump me. I was like 'Excuse me, I don't know you, we're not friends, get off my back.' Apparently both the dog and the owner do not understand what I meant. My M told the owner that I don't like being humped by strange male dogs, but I don't know if the comment registered in her mind.

Anyway, I was getting quite pissed, and when the owner tried pushed a stick behind me (apparently to keep me and her dog away), I freaked out. I mean, her dog humping me, and the owner with a stick brushing the back of my head. I turned around and growled. All these happened so fast, and it was only a few seconds before that my M warned her that I don't seem happy.

Of course the other GR did not like being growled at so we fought. The GR's owner and daughter were so stunned that they just stood there, while my M and the other uncles tried to separate the fight. My M even shouted to the owner to "Grab your dog!". Luckily my M managed to grab the GR, while Uncle J held on to me.

Unluckily, my MM, who was on the other side of the fence, in his hurry to run out to stop the fight, forgot that Tommy was with him. Tommy dashed out of the opened gate and went straight for the GR just as we were separated. However, all the humans shouted at him 'No Tommy!'. Maybe Tommy thought that the 'No' means he got the wrong dog, so that blur sotong turned around and tried to bite me instead. Luckily, Uncle M grabbed him before any more damage was done.

Tommy, you are such a blur sotong! How could you have mistaken me for the enemy! Ya, we're both brown and GRs.... but still, you could have recognised my scent right? Do you need to get your nose checked?

Anyway, after all the hoo ha, none of the dogs were injured, but poor Aunty G got a bruised thumb from Tommy. She said that Tommy did not really mean to bite in the fight, coz he controlled his bite. If he had not, she would be bleeding and not bruised.

But... an even poorer Uncle J got bitten. There were 2 extra holes on his hand, and he was bleeding. I don't think I was the one who bit him. The Uncles and Auntys asked if he knew who bit him, and Uncle J deduced that it could be the other dog. Coz he was holding on to the scruff of my neck, I could not be able to reach behind and bite his hand, and Tommy only joined the fight later. Poor Uncle J, and to think he just got bitten by Chewie on Tuesday. Chewie, after his operation, was feeling anxious and disoriented, so he bit Uncle J when Uncle J tried to push him back into the cage at the Hospital. Poor Uncle J, to be bitten twice in a week.

The other owner seems to think it's my fault for starting the fight but luckily Aunty G came to my defence and said it's because her dog humped me first, which is a show of dominance which a lot of dogs do not like. That owner did not think her dog was humping me, she thought it was trying to play so Aunty G and my M corrected her misconception. I think the owner thinks that we're 'bullying' her dog since she's new, but that's not the case. Everyone could see that her dog was dominant, and she was not able to control it well.

Luckily, the other Aunties told my M not to scold me for the fight since it was not my fault. Uncle M even commented that I am getting braver because I'm starting to stand up for my rights.

I hope there will be no more fights. It seems that everytime there is a dog fight, the humans get injured instead. Maybe they should start wearing body armour to the park.

Yawn... where's the sun?

Someone tell me, why do I have to suffer when it's not my problem at all? I don't know why my M has been bringing me to my morning toilet break at the unearthly hour of 6:30am today (and monday too). I don't mind the toilet break, or the walk to the park, but I definitely MIND the jog that goes with it.

My M has been complaining that she has not gone to the gym for some time and is starting to slack in the exercise department. I think it's more likely she's starting to sag at the tummy department. All the Christmas and New Year goodies HAVE to go somewhere right? But, that's not MY problem. Why make me jog with her in the morning? I hate jogging! I'm not the one putting on weight here, in fact, I lost 2kg over the past months.

Speaking of me losing weight, my M suspects that her parents had been secretly feeding me more than I deserve when we were staying with them and now her suspicions are confirmed. I'm only supposed to have breakfast and dinner, and not much snacks in between. But after I moved to the new house, I lost weight even tho my diet 'supposedly' remained the same. So therefore, the extra kilos must be due to the extra biscuits that my M's parents had been sneaking me while she was at work.

But that is besides the point. The point is, I'm already a svelte 23kg. I can't lose anymore weight or I'll look anorexic! Unless.... my M pumps up my food supply, then I won't mind the extra exercise. Hiak hiak hiak...

(M: Fat hope.... GRs aren't supposed to get too fat anyway, bad for your hips. ANyway, it wasn't that much of a work out. Only 20 min of walk/jog. And I'm already a slow jogger, but that dog actually LAGS behind me! Talk about being slow. *roll eyes* )


Yawn... I need my beauty sleep

Get well soon Chewie

I heard from my M that Chewie is now in Hospital. He's got a fractured leg and just underwent an operation today. I heard from the aunties and uncles that he will need to recuperate for at least a month. He'll be isolated and not allowed to move much so that his bone can heal.

Get well soon Chewie! I'll even let you hump me when you're well!

'Studio' Shots

My M recently dug out some photos she took of me and my friends over the last few months in her 'studio'.

This is Mocha. Bear with me, our relation is a bit lengthy. Mocha is my M's sister-in-law's bf's dog. Sounds complicated enough? She is a 1 yr old American Cocker Spanial, and who just pee-ed on the 'backdrop' about 10 minutes this shot was taken.

Who pee-ed? Me?


Me and Mocha. It was not easy getting this shot. That firsky girl keeps moving around! I have to maintain my pose for a long time before we can get a decent shot. Actually, even in this shot, you can see that is is moving away.... AGAIN!

Freeze!


I personally like this shot of Tommy very much. He looks so happy, like some advert dog!

Smile!


The 'Family' Photo. Jack and Joey kept being mistaken for being Scuba's sons, despite the fact that they are of a different breed, AND older than Scuba.

Spot the family resemblance?

And me... Mr Cool Dawg

Yo, I'm Cool, Man

Hot Sunday

Is it me, or is the weather especially hot today? My M was complaining that she was sweating even tho the air-condition was switched on at 26'C.

Me? I have trouble keeping myself cool too.

Totally unglam


Belly cool...


I am soooo glad humans invented air conditioning.

Name Analysis

My M saw this website that does name analysis for dogs.

This is what mine said:
"You have an intelligent, self-sufficiant responsible pet who may appear aloof. Your pet is certainly never dull. You may find this animal has a dualistic nature being very communicative one minute and sullen the next. This animal loves a challenge, takes direction well and will definitely be the 'leader of the pack'. Your pet is sweet and loving, enjoys being stroked, and definitely prefers luxury to a spartan life. This animal has a pleasant disposition and enjoys the company of pets of the opposite sex. Your pet is excitable and hyperactive and may experience nervous disorders if not given the freedom to release this nervous energy."

My M says "Phish!"

Let's dissect this statement piece by piece.

"You have an intelligent, self-sufficiant responsible pet who may appear aloof."
I agree with the intelligent part (M: I don't) and I am self sufficient. Food is enough to keep me happy and I don't need a lot of other things. I am definitely not aloof. I've got the friendiest faces around.

"Your pet is certainly never dull. You may find this animal has a dualistic nature being very communicative one minute and sullen the next"
I'm seldom sullen, maybe bored, but not sullen. And if I'm such a dull dog, I won't have things to say in my blog, right?

This animal loves a challenge, takes direction well and will definitely be the 'leader of the pack'.
No no no no.... I'm not a leader. I don't like to lead. My motto is 'make friends, not war'. Leaders like to fight, I don't. And I don't like challenges. Just give me my food. Don't hide it in balls, wrap it in paper or cover it up. I don't like wrecking my brain.

Your pet is sweet and loving, enjoys being stroked, and definitely prefers luxury to a spartan life.
Yup... I can agree to the sweet and loving part, although I don't show my love so openly. I don't go around asking for kisses or hugs, although I do get jealous when my M or MM pays too much attention to another dog. I'm used to a spartan life, but I can get used to luxury too. heh heh heh...

This animal has a pleasant disposition and enjoys the company of pets of the opposite sex.
I definitely have a pleasant disposition, but I also like the company of pets of both sexes. I even like cats... before I got attacked by one.

Your pet is excitable and hyperactive and may experience nervous disorders if not given the freedom to release this nervous energy.
My M says this part is complete bull sh*t. I am defintely not nervous, or hyperactive or excitable. Oh well, maybe excitable when it's feeding time, but other than that, I'm a cool dog. My M calls me a pig. So definitely not hyperactive for me.

oink... do we look alike?


So the conclusion is.... this name analysis thing doesn't work. Let me know if your analysis is correct.

Yummy yummy

The prayers worked! I've got a special dinner last night. It was almost the same as what my M and MM were eating. I had grilled fish with fresh oregano, broccoli stems (coz the humans ate the florets), pan fried pork in olive oil with garlic and plain pasta.

My Valentine's day dinner


The humans had the fish as well, but with lemon too, and my M finally tried the duck pasta she always wanted to make, which she modified a little from Uncle Chubby's website. Of course, her pictures doesn't look as nice as his... hiak hiak hiak

The Human's Valentine's day dinner


And that's me, looking very serious. The food was so nice that I tried to beg for more when my M and MM were having their dinner.

Do Not Disturb


When are we having Valentine's again?

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's the V-day again. My M's gonna cook for MM tonight. I wonder if I will have something nice as well.

*prays very hard*

C'mon everyone! Work with me here! Everyone pray for good food tonight!

The King is Back!

As in... the King of Fruits.

Rafv's mummy went back to Japan so Rafv's daddy decided to eat some durians in her absence. Last night, he and Uncle M went to buy durians back for supper. Of course, the most of us dogs tried to beg for some, even Tommy. Initially, Aunty W did not want Tommy to have any coz he's been having a bad tummy recently, but on seeing his pitiable look, she gave him a bit.

To tell the truth, I've been secretly teaching Tommy how to beg. Well, I said most of us were begging, except for Rafv. I think he's more like his mummy, a Japanese dog, coz he did not like the durians. He had a disgusted expression the whole night, and even tried to run away when Aunty V tried to feed him durian. You should see him, running and hiding with Aunty V holding a durian seed following behind him.

Rafv, you don't know what you're missing! Durians are the best!

All hail the king!

How embarrassing!

Something embarrassing happened to me at the park yesterday. My M just gave me a bath before bringing me to the dog run, so that I can run and air myself dry. After all that running, I wanted to take a rest so my M made me rest on top of a low platform instead of the grass as she did not want me to get dirty so soon after a bath.

Well, that's not too bad, lying there on the platform, letting the gentle breeze dry me up.... until... my M decided to let me listen to the recording of me snoring. One thing I do not like, are sounds coming out from phones. I don't understand how come there are voices or music coming out from that small boxy thing.

Ah... the cool evening wind...


Notice how I was resting right on the edge of the platform? Well, I forgot about that. In order to get away from the phone, I tried to lie down.... and flipped right over the edge!

Arrghhhh!!!


Luckily, my M managed to grab my front paws, so I ended up on my bum instead of flat on my back. However, she also managed to laugh at me... very loudly.... and for a very long time. I tell you, she is sadistic! Laughing at my misfortune! Aunty V was there and she covered my ears up so that I don't have to listen to my M's laughter, but it was no use.

And if that's not bad enough, my M went around telling everyone how I almost fell off the platform. For the rest of the night, she called me 'Dog who fell off', and even made up a tune about it. Why do humans always like to make fun of us?

(M: You should have seen his face. His eyes widened in shock when he flipped over, and after that, he looked totally disgruntled. I think he knew he made an embarrassment of himself. )

The day when my nightmare almost came true

Yesterday almost became the worst day of my life. My M and MM had to go out and so they left me at Aunty V & Aunty S's Doggie Day Care. Well, coz I've been having a bad tummy the day before, Aunty V gave Aunty S some instrutions on my care : No treats and to bring extra bottle of water on the walk in case i've got wet poo stuck to my butt fur.

I had no idea what the humans had planned for me and i thought it's gonna be another lovely day at Aunty V's place with lots and lots of treats. Imagine my disappointment when the minutes ticked by and there were no food. Aunty S did not even feed me anything although I kept following her into the kitchen.

Then night came.... still no treats. By then treats aren't important anymore. Where's my DINNER?!!? My stomach's growling, there's no dinner. I pleaded with my eyes and followed them around but no one took my hint. Or rather, they did but they ignored me. What's wrong with everyone? Don't they love me anymore?!

It was only until 10pm, that Aunty S asked Aunty V if my M has cooked dinner for me, and only at that moment Aunty V remembered that amidst all the instructions she gave Aunty S, she forgot to tell Aunty S that my M will not be cooking my dinner, so I'll be sharing dinner with Scuba. By then Scuba had eaten and gone to bed, and poor me, still dinnerless.

Luckily Scuba's dinner are all precooked, so Aunty S finally fed me my dinner. It was the worst day at Aunty V's house. Can you imagine? No treats AND dinner as well. It's almost a nightmare coming true.

When am I getting fed?

I won't do it again....

I've been a bad dog this morning. Not really baaaad bad, but bad enough to get punished.

You know, with my superb acting skills, I've gotten our immediate neighbours on my side, especially the old granny. She'll feed me everytime she sees me coz she likes me... yeah... and her grand-daughters all like me too. However, My M is worried about what she's feeding me coz although she gives me bread usually, sometimes the granny also gives me biscuits with sweet fillings and even once, braised duck! Because the granny was so old and nice, my M can't seem to tell her not to feed me so much, and also because granny and me co-ordinate very well. Granny will suddenly just whip out her food and give it to me and I'll gobble up in an instance, before my M can even finish her sentence.

This morning, when I went out for my morning toilet break, I saw that granny's door was open, and she was standing by the window. Of course, being the good neighbour, I went to her door to greet her, and as expected, she fed me. That was not the bad part. When we came up after my toilet break, I saw one of the grand-daughter inside the house. Of course, I put on my cutest face and hoped for another bite. That was not the bad part too.

The bad part is, when my M opened our door as asked me to come in, I was still acting and did not listen to her. One thing about me is, food clouds my judgement. My M started calling in a harsh tone to 'get in' but I still stood there. I vaguely heard some noises but I was too engrossed in my role. I finally realised that my M was really mad when she dragged me in... opps... too late for me. One thing about my M is that if she gives a command, she expects it to be obeyed. She will repeat the command 2-3 times more and if I still do not listen, it's punishment time.

That's me after being punished... looking sad and contrite. I was trying to make myself really small.

Oops, I did it again


As usual, my M had time to grab a few photos of me grovelling.

I'm sorry....


I hope my M will forgive me. As punishment, she initially wanted to with-hold my breakfast. But decided to take pity on me when she left for work because I still looked very sorry, so she gave me a milk chew.

Will you forgive me.... pleassssse!


I won't do it again... I promise!!

(M: I highly doubt he will never do it again. He'll remember for a while, then when he sees food again, he'll totally forget that he was once punished for not listening to commands.)

Good Things are for Sharing

My M recently took this photo over the CNY period. All my friends were at my house coz the humans were playing cards til very late. Jack & Joey were out the whole day so by midnight, they were nodding off. Even Joey can't keep his eyes open, but he couldn't get his forty winks coz the humans were making a din over the card game, slapping the table or crying out suddenly.

So in the end, my M took out my bed so that J&J can lie comfortably. I tell you, they are such pampered dogs that the don't want to sleep on the hard floor, unlike me. I sleep anywhere, the world is my bed.

So there we were, the 3 of us, on my bed. Comfy huh? Joey has settled down and Jack's eyes were closing. Me? I was a little petrified with Big Boss so close behind me.

ZzzZzzzZz....

Project Holy Innocents

This is an overdue post. Remember I said that I would be going for a pet education programme on 27 Jan? Before I start, I gotta give credits to Uncle Lam for taking nice photos of me. My M took her camera, but decided she can't handle me, the students AND the camera at the same time, so she asked Uncle Lam to help take photos with his camera. Uncle Lam was like the designated cameraman for the day.

I love body massages!


We were given a booth at the school, so Uncle J got some stuff from Animals Lovers League to sell to help raise funds for the shelter. We've got to thank all the nice and kind students who bought the calendars, pins etc with their pocket money. I'm sure all the dogs at the shelter will be very grateful to you!

Our booth...


By the way, see the wooden stand on the right? The wind blew and it fell right next to me. Almost gave me a heart attack man!

Besides me, there were other dogs as well. Aunty S (Not the other AUnty S who always feed me) brought Ewan and Aunty HL brought Leica and Zuiko. My M and Aunty S always said that Ewan and me are quite alike in character, we're both old and greedy and stupid. But I object! I am not as old as Ewan... he's ancient! I think he's 10 or what, and I'm not stupid! I subscribe to the philosophy "Act blur, think smart". Plus, Ewan is anti-social towards dogs, while I am a social butterfly.

Cranky Ewan getting a tummy rub


Ever played 'Where's Wally?'... now the new version, 'Where's Leica?'


Zuiko getting a walk to work off those calories


And this is Ghoulis (I hope I spelt it correctly), one of the teacher's adopted dog. He's a 6 mth old mongrel, and very playful. He kept trying to play with me, and I of course obliged. But we were stopped coz the students were more engrossed in our play than Uncle K's talk on responsible ownership.

Ghoulis having his ear scratched


The talk was held inside the AVA room, which was thankfully air-conditioned. I sneaked in as soon as the door opened to enjoy the cool air. I'm too used to my creature comforts.

Bum rub!


I think we spent about 3.5 hours there, and I was so tired with the weather, the students and running after pieces of steamed chicken, courtesy of Aunty HL, who prepared treats for the students to give us.

Falling asleep soon...


Overall, it was an enjoyable morning. Lots of food, attention, and followed by a nice afternoon nap. It's a dog's life!

Center of attraction!


When can we do something like this again?

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Rafv lied. I just confirmed, he's definitely GAY! And he was still insisting he's straight the last time I asked him.

He has been trying to hump me for the last few days, continuously! At first he pretends (as usual) to play with me, but in actual fact, he's just trying to get into a good position to hump me!

Rafv: Do you want to play?


And that is him, having his wicked way with me. All the humans just watched and took photos while my modesty was being outraged. It was almost like a freakshow!

Someone call the police!


Rafv won't even let me go after I escaped to my bed in the room. He just followed me in and made himself comfortable. And I don't know who passed the wedding couple stand to my M to place in front of us. Rafv and I are NOT married!

Wipe that grin off your face!


Well, one good thing is that after that, Uncle C smacked Rafv's bottom for humping me. Serves him right! But the humans said that it's coz Uncle C lost at cards, so he's taking it out on Rafv. Oh weel, at least Rafv did not bother me for the rest of the night.

And where was Tommy during all of these? He fainted of hunger, coz his Daddy was too busy playing cards to feed him. Luckily my M cooked him some beef so he will not die of starvation. And his mummy later came to bring him home for dinner.

Weak from hunger


For the last time Rafv, you're not my type! There's no happiness in forced relationships! Let me goooooo.......

Updates... on my Birthday....

My M finally got settled down over this busy holiday period to upload my photos. Well, to start the ball rolling, it was my Birthday yesterday. I am now officially 6! I know, some may be asking, 'but aren't you already 6? It's on your blog since 3 months ago that you're a 6 year old GR?'. Well, my M said she rounded off my age, coz she can't keep track of 5 yrs and 9 mths, or 10 mths, or 11 mths. So to make things easy, she just said 6. But as of today, I am really 6 years and 1 day old!

My day was full of food, my perfect day! Too bad Aunty S AND Aunty V both told my M that I've already had dinner, or I could have eaten 2 dinners again. So now, yesterday's dinner will become today's dinner... make sense?

Back to my party, Aunty G baked me 2 cakes yesterday. Alas, none of them was 25kg, not even combined. But it's alright. They may not look very nice, but they sure were delicious! The bigger tray is beef and cheese bake, and the smaller tray is apple cake.

My 2 cakes... since I'm 6, shouldn't I have 6 cakes instead? hmm..


Of course, the usual birthday song was sung. Everyone kept saying I looked very happy with my cakes. Of course I looked happy! I thought I was going to have them all! But I don't mind sharing with my friends as well of course.

OOhh... are they all MINE?


As usual, the birthday dog gets the first lick.

lick lick lick


And then it was cut up and shared among my friends.

I want that large piece please


Instead of begging for food, this time I got them served to me.

Sitting on my throne, enjoying my food


And finally... no birthday is complete without a photo with the presents. I don't understand why they must always make me pose with the presents before I can open them up.

When can I open them?


On a side note, Aunty G told me her present for me got eaten up by Chewie. Apparently Chewie ran away from Aunty V's house and Aunty G had to use MY present to entice Chewie to come back. On the account that Aunty G baked my cakes for free, I have decided to graciously forgive Chewie.