Puggy & Me

It's been on my mind for quite a while. All the time, I was wondering if I should further his training after he completed his basic obedience. I always felt that it's a waste to go further without going for trials.

But now I feel that I should continue training with him. I've no intention to join SKC trials at the moment but it's something we both enjoy doing together. I enjoy the teamwork & rapport we've built up over the past few weeks. It'll be lesson 7 this Sunday. How fast time flies. We're almost to the end of the course already.

Anyway, when I came back home at the end of my 3 days trip to BKK, I got a shock seeing him. Somehow, he managed to develop a belly while I was away. Probably due to my mom over feeding him & the lack of exercise.

He's doing pretty good despite not training for almost a week. He still can't stand on command & he can't heel after recall without a prompt (which is to take a step back, tugging on the leash with my right leg in the process). I'm not training him today coz I just showered him. Maybe 1 last time tomorrow before Sun's class.

I'll be busy on Sat, having to work half day & the stupid compulsory D&D in the evening. Actually wanted to bring Ton Ton for grooming on Sat after work. Then, I remembered I have to attend the D&D. So I thought, Sunday should be fine. Then, I remembered I'm going to the SKC Dog Show after class. Looks like Ton Ton has to wait yet again.

I'm Back!

Our flight was slightly delayed yesterday. The plane was just landing at 8.40 pm when our original timing for take off was 8.50 pm. We waited a while more I guess for them to unload the previous luggage & load ours up. We finally landed in Sg at 12.30 am. It was 1 am by the time we cleared customs, buy DF alcohol & collected our luggage. Jeff was hungry so we headed to BK. Their broiler machine broke down & we were left with only 2 choices: chicken or fish burger. Bummer. Boarded a taxi at 1.30 am & reached home at 2 am.

I was so tired I just dumped the luggage in our computer room, showered, dried my hair & fell into bed at 3 am. Woke up at 6 am this morning to go to work. I felt like a walking zombie. I managed to claim pm off today so here I am at home. I'm gonna go nap for a while then unpack.

Will share what we did in BKK & upload the pictures another day. Jeff took the camera to work today to show his colleagues the photos taken. We exchanged S$800 & spent half the amount on day 1. We exchanged another S$200 on day 2. When we left BKK airport, we were left with $300 baht. Terrifying right?

Then for the 1st time, we actually maxed out our alcohol limit. We usually buy 2 bottles of hard liquor & that's it. This time, we got 2 bottles of choya (don't understand why it's hard liquor), 2 bottles of ice wine, a 2 can set of irish cream ale & a 3 pack stout for my dad. I'm broke. Very very broke. Going to Batam with my colleagues on 8th Nov. I wanna save up & go somewhere further. Australia? Haha. I just continue dreaming.

Terminal 1, Changi Airport

It's 6 am now & here I am again, tapping in on the free internet. This time, I'm at Terminal 1, unlike my trip to HK/TP where we departed from Terminal 2. We slept at 1+ am & had to drag ourselves out of bed at 4 am. Boarded the taxi at 4.30 am & we took a 20 mins ride to the airport.

Had breakfast of nasi lemak & Jeff ordered an extra coffee, bread & egg set at the staff canteen. We still have 30 mins to kill before boarding starts.

Ton Ton seemed to sense that we're going to be away. Coz he got kinda depressed when he saw us packing. But I promised him lots of goodies when we get back. This morning, he even wanted to follow us out the door. Aww... Puggy is his usual irritating self, making lots of noise, thinking it's time to go training. Everytime I leave on a trip, I feel that I can't bear to part with the boys & I worry for their health since I'm not around to monitor them.

Oh well, I better be logging off now. Update again if I get internet access. Free 1 that is. :P

Deja Vu

Everytime I come down with URTI, I'll get this very weird feeling. Then, everytime I get URTI, there'll be a raining period which only increases my feeling of deja vu. I can't describe the feeling. Usually, the feeling will stay with me for another week or so after I've recovered. When the feeling goes, so does the rainy period. It's the same again this time. Sg has been raining quite frequently for the past 1 week. It's not a bad feeling, just a feeling of familiarity.

Anyway, I found out what's lacking in my packing. Bras! Had I not noticed it, I will be bra-less in BKK. Hahaha! I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm not granted Tuesday leave. So it means that I have to go to work in less than 5 hrs after reaching home. I better remember to nap on the flight back.

It's 11.30 pm now. Just finished packing. Also let Ton Ton try his old size 3 clothes. He still can wear it. Puggy can wear it too but it's a bit tight. So I think size 3.5 will be just nice if they have it. Wang Wang should be able to wear size 2. I brought along a sample shirt for size comparison.

I hope I can get some sleep tonight. Ok, gotta go shower & rest liao. It'll be a super long day tomorrow. Catch up again when I get back. Maybe I can use the free internet at the terminal again like I did on the HK/TP trip. :P

It's Almost Friday!

Woo... last day of work before flying to BKK. I'm excited! I'm trying to pack but my brain's stuck & there're lots of things that can't be prepared till tomorrow. Gosh! I'm looking through my booking documents & realised that we're to depart at 7.10 am. All along I thought it's 8+ am. That means reaching the airport at 5 am & leaving at 4+ am. Since there's no food on board, we'll most likely have breakfast at the airport while waiting to board.

I've packed for each of us:

2 t-shirts (if we need anymore, we'll just buy there)
1 pair of berms
1 pair of jeans
1 set of t-shirt & shorts (for sleeping)
1 towel
1st aid bag
Toiletries

I'm bringing a bag we bought in HK & a bag we bought in KL (which Robert & Enrica have too :P) & a Alcon (medical brand) bag given to me on nurses' day. These 3 bags will be empty for transporting our shopping back. The clothes will be packed into a luggage we borrowed from my IL's to be checked in.

What I need to prepare tomorrow is the umbrella which I need to bring to work in case it rains, passport, spilt the Thai Baht & remove unnecessary items from my wallet. I'm charging my camera now. Then probably will bring HP charger to BKK. I can't think of what else to bring. Please remind me if you think I left anything out. :X I think I won't bring any pads along. I just hope it doesn't come during the trip but then I have the medicine to stop it. :P

Staying Late Again

Looking at today's surgery list yesterday, I already knew that I needed to stay back. So I brought extra rice for lunch today. I left at almost 9 pm & alighted the taxi at 9.40 pm. There was a long queue at the taxi stand & it was raining so I didn't walk out to the main road. No choice but to wait.

So now I finally had dinner & showered. I'm so tired. Tomorrow's another day at work. I put in my request for claiming time tomorrow. I hope I get it. If I do, I'll get to go home at 12 pm. Then I can pack for the BKK trip. I can hardly believe that I'm leaving on Sat.

Unfortunately, the surgery list for Fri is quite long too. I'll be super shagged if I had to stay back & leave at 5 am the next day. Then I'll be even more shagged to come back to Sg at 1 am next Tues & leave at 6 am for work the same day.

Time to get to my recent addiction: Professor Layton & the Curious Village on DS. Then it's time to go to bed when my hair dries. & then, it's back to work at 6 am again tomorrow. Zzz...

Fail! Fail! Fail!

Disappointment +++. Brought Puggy down for training just now. Training was so-so. He didn't do very well but he wasn't all that terrible either. We were waiting for the lift at my void deck. Just before the lift door opened, I saw that there was a Malay family inside. Immediately, I gave him the sit command as it isn't nice for Puggy to touch them.

When the lift door opened, the boy saw Puggy & ran towards Puggy & jumped on the spot, making a "stomp" sound. Puggy immediately broke his sit & wanted to dash for the boy. I was keeping him on an ultra short leash lah so he couldn't move too much from the spot either. The parents scolded the boy for disturbing him.

That's what we're training for right? Not to break the command without my approval. What's the point if he can do it at the training grounds but not in real practical life?

會有那麼一天

I've known the existence of this song for a long time. But I was reminded of it today as I was tidying the room. Jeff compiled a lot of songs in a thumb drive & I just played it on the player in our room. Usually I don't listen to his songs but I didn't have anything to listen to. Although the song is about JJ's grandfather & grandmother, but when I listened to the chorus, I felt it's like my dogs' song to me & I'm reminded once again how short their time is with me. I hate these kind of songs... They make me sad...

我要離去別再哭泣
不要傷心請你相信我
要等待我的愛
陪你永不離開
因為會有那麼一天
我們牽著手在草原聽
鳥兒歌唱的聲音
聽我說聲我愛你

Yes!

Ton Ton finally recovered from his diarrhea! He's been passing firm stools for 2 days straight already! I also bathed him & scrubbed his backside very clean just now. We'll be missing lesson 6 so we'll bring Ton Ton on lesson 7 if Jeff's not working or pm shift. Speaking of which, he managed to exchange his morning shift to pm shift today with a colleague. That's 5 lessons in a row that he's been attending with me. What a miracle!

Then I need to schedule a grooming for Ton Ton before I bring him to class. He's a ball of fur right now. I wonder if people can even recognize him as a schnauzer. We'll be away from Sat to Mon & I've requested for Tues to Thurs AL. If I'm granted any of the days, I'll be able to bring Ton Ton for grooming & have a pedicure while waiting. :P

Right now, I have Wang Wang sitting in my lap as I type away coz he's terrified of thunder. My dad's busy in the kitchen & my mom's busy cleaning the floor so he came to me. I'll go do some tidying & cleaning up in my bedroom after this.

The lessons are getting tougher. We have to do stand, stand-stay & recall this week. Of course, not forgetting to practice the auto-sit, sit-stay, down & down-stay exercise. His recall is not too bad & he got it on the 2nd time without me reeling in the leash. Greedy pig can do anything as long as you have a treat in hand. His auto-sit is still less than perfect. He'll sit. But the problem is, he'll sit either directly in front of me or he'll take extra steps & sit ahead of me on the left. He's just not sitting beside & slightly behind me.

Actually wanted to walk over to BPP to buy chicken liver for them. But it started raining heavily. Guess I'll just buy it on the way home from work tomorrow. Ok! I better go do my tidying up so I can shower & play DS. :P A great way to end a Sunday. Oh, I want to start on the project of painting my service balcony. Maybe I can do it when Jeff's away at the conference & surprise him when he gets back. I better take some before & after pictures!

Super Sick, Sick, Sick!

It's been a long time since I felt this sick. Taking the cough syrup given by the GP made me sleep the whole day yesterday. I feel like I'm sleeping my life away. My body aches like mad. My mucous & phlegm is greenish. Eeek! I thought you're not supposed to get flu or at least won't get the full blown flu if you've been immunized against it. But looks like the virus managed to break through the flu vaccination I had in June.

I didn't manage to train Puggy anymore. I think we'll "throw face" tomorrow when we go for class. If he actually manage to perform, he must be 1 hell of a genius. Speaking of dogs, I gotta shower them today. Sobz. Ton Ton's butt area is very dirty from his diarrhea & Puggy, although just showered last Sat already started having BO on Tues. Now it's already Sat & he stinks.

I'm so looking forward to my BKK trip next weekend. I'm so excited! I just hope we have a safe trip. I always have morbid thoughts when it comes to taking plane. Like plane crash etc. I'm gonna go compile a list of things & their SG price so I roughly know how much to bargain for. Hehe. Will it be too much if I bargain for half of SG's price? :X

My menses is late. Probably due to my illness. Before I got sick, I had all the signs. Cramps, pimples & I'm definitely not preggy. :P I just hope it won't come during my trip. It sucks! But then, I always get this kind of luck. I had it during my TP/HK trip too & had to take meds to stop it.

We're thinking of changing S$800. Jeff's going back for conference from 10th to 14th Nov so even if there's left over money, he can bring it back to use. Ok, I go do my research liao. Ciao!

Quiz From Enrica's Blog Again

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6.55 am, handphone alarm. Actually wanted to go work but too sick to do so.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Wall E in JB.

4. What is your favorite TV show? I seldom watch TV. But I enjoy TVB dramas, TW variety shows & English TV series.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I normally don't take breakfast.

6. What is your middle name? SH. (Gd idea to just put initials, Enrica!)

7. What food do you dislike? Onions, garlic, capsicum, bitter gourd unless you can hide it into the food like my MIL's chilli.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? None. My most recent 1 was bought at leasxt a yr ago.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Fiat Doblo too!

10. Favorite sandwich? Don't know. Depends on the filling.

11. What characteristic do you despise? People who talk bad about others behind their back.

12: Favorite item of clothing. Halters but my flabby arms prevents me from wearing them.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Then I'll go everywhere.

14. Are you an organized person? Not really.

15: Where would you retire to? Wherever my dogs are. I think that'll be heaven provided I can get in lah.

16: What was your most recent memorable birthday? No memorable lah. I got bad memory. I can't remember liao. Only that last yr Jeff got me a diamond heart shaped pendant.

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Take my medicine & watch MMPR on youtube.

18. Furthest place you are sending this? I'm not sending it man.

19. Person you expect to send it back first? Nobody.

20. When is your birthday? 28th Dec.

21. What is your shoe size? Size 8.

22. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? Jeff who called to ask me what pizza flavour I want. (There goes my diet!)

23. How many Pets? 3 dogs also.

24 Any new and exciting news? Nope. My life's pretty boring.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A nurse. But nothing is ever what you expect it to be...

26. How are you today? Sick, sick & more sick.

27: Favorite flower? Baby's breath.

28. What are you listening to right now? Nothing. But if my radio is on, it'll be on 97.2 FM.

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? 25th Oct, my BKK trip.

30. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza.

31. Do you wish on stars? When I was much younger. Now I don't believe in it.

32. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Pink or blue. My fav colours.

35. Favorite soft drink: I prefer those without gas.

36. Favorite restaurant? Anywhere with nice food.

37. Hair color? Black.

38. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie Dolls. I make Ken & Barbie get married. :P

39. Summer or Winter? Winter definitely! I like Autumn too.

41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Both please!

42. Coffee or tea? Tea. I don't drink coffee.

43. Do you want your friends answer? Except that nobody will answer.

44. When was the last time you cried? Just yesterday when I was reading the dog care book & came to the part about saying goodbye & euthanasia.

45. What is under your bed? Dirt. Haha. Puggy & Ton Ton if they're sleeping with me.

46. What did you do last night? Slept early.

47. What are you afraid of? Losing everything I have.

48. Salty or sweet? Depends on what it is.

49. How many keys on your key ring? 1 only. It opens my mail box, gate & main door.

50. How many years at your current job? 5 mths.

51. Favorite day of the week? Weekends.

52. Do you make friends easily? No. I'm not good at talking & people usually are uncomfortable around me.

53. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yup. It's fun!

Feeling Worse Now

My head feels heavy, my sore throat turned into a cough with runny nose & I get giddy on & off. I feel even worse than before. I think it sucks. I took another 2 days of MC. I think I'll surely be questioned when I go back to work on Mon. I think I don't need to expect good appraisal next year.

Jeff told me just this morning that he was asked by his ADON (Asst. Director of Nursing) to get a Bachelor's degree as he wanted to send Jeff for Master's in 2011. He can't go for the sponsored Master's unless he has a Bachelor's & if he missed the sponsorship for 2011, he has to wait another 2 years. At the same time, he'll need to do his Advanced Diploma next year. He's being groomed to be an APN (Advance Practice Nurse) which is on par with ADON rank wise & APN can prescribe certain medications like a Dr.

I'm happy for him becoz I know I won't be the 1 to climb high in career. I simply don't have the desire to do so. I like caring for my dogs more than I like working as a nurse. So I guess you can say I'm in the wrong line. But I'm not cut out for dog grooming or training & neither am I for doggy business. So dog related things will always be only a hobby for me. I'm the traditional oba-san. Haha.

If he really does become an APN, I'll probably quit my job & do part time. By then, I'll probably have children of our own & the extra time will grant me more time with the dogs & kids. If he doesn't, then we'll just have to continue as we are now. But I have faith in him. He's such a good nurse & he's naturally like that. He's my complete opposite.

Puggy Fine, Ton Ton Not, Me Not

Woke up yesterday morning with fever & very bad sore throat. The sore throat started on Tues afternoon actually. But as I was busy at work, scrubbing 1 case after another, I didn't have chance to take even a sip of water throughout the whole day. So I thought the sore throat was becoz of the lack of water. By the time we finally finished our list of cases, it was already 8+ pm. We still had to clean & clear the instruments & clean the operating theatre for next morning's list. It was already 8.45 pm when I left my work place. I took a cab coz we can claim cab fare after working for 12 hrs. (Coz I started work at 8 am mah.)

Got home feeling super shagged. Quickly showered, drank a few cups of cold water & slept. Since I'm not feeling well, I went to see GP & was given 2 days MC. Why am I awake so early in the morning? Coz I've been LSing the whole night. I think I woke up to go toilet at least 5 times. :( Don't know if it's stomach flu or not since I'm having sore throat at the same time. Luckily I have MC for today too.

As for Ton Ton, he hasn't had any more episodes of diarrhea but then I already fasted him for 24 hrs. So it'll take a while for him to pass out the boiled chicken I gave him yesterday. Since he didn't pass out loose stools, I didn't feed him the charcoal pill anymore. I just continued the yogurt. Oh, & I made a 1L soya yogurt yesterday. So I guess all of us will be on yogurt diet.

Puggy leh, he's ok. But everytime he sees me in downstairs clothing (proper shorts & tshirt), he'll start whinning, barking, jumping around, basically making a lot of noise. Becoz, that's what I always wear when I bring him for training. He must be crazy. Who likes to go for training? But then, he's been doing quite ok so the number of times I have to tug on the choke chain has significantly reduced, making training more enjoyable.

Argh... my throat hurts like mad. :( Jeff's working morning this Sunday. So I have to attend training with Puggy alone. My work place also called & ask if I can attend a talk on Sun 8 am to 12 noon. So I checked with Chris if I can attend his afternoon class. But turns out that there's no afternoon class. He offered to train us alone at 4.30 pm but I turned him down. 1 on 1 wor... We'll get all the attention & anything I do wrongly will be easily picked up by him. But I never liked troubling people so I turned down the talk instead. I think sister will be unhappy about it. Hey, work has never been my top priority so who cares? I just don't know how to answer her if she asks me about it though.

Puggy's Fine But Ton Ton Isn't

Actually wanted to bring Ton Ton into the room to sleep with us last night. We already switched off the lights & was about to lie down when we heard what sounded like farting. Jeff & I looked at each other & I asked him, "Did you hear that?". LOL. Immediately, I jumped out of bed to switch the lights back on. We could smell it before we even saw the watery stools splattered all over my floor rug & tiles. Gosh!

The smell lingered even after the shit was cleaned up. I even sprayed perfume over the area. Then we let Ton Ton sleep in my parents' room coz his pee tray is there. Also my dad wakes up around 3 am so if there's shit, he can help clean it up. I didn't want him to sleep in the living room coz he may jump onto the sofa & shit on the fabric which will be impossible to clean. I fed him quarter tablet of charcoal pill.

So he didn't get any dinner tonight. I got Jeff to buy yogurt for him & instructed my mom to boil chicken breast meat for him tomorrow. If I didn't have to do OT till almost 9 pm, I would have bought soya milk & make my own yogurt. He had total 4 episodes of LS today. He's still active so I'm not so worried. If he still doesn't decrease his LS episodes tomorrow, we may have to make another trip to TJV. What's going on man? 1 after another.

Puggy's Fine For Now

Jeff took E-leave today to bring Puggy to TJV. Dr Heng thinks that it's not a fit but a syncope (fainting spell). Did a panel of blood tests & the bill came up to $200+. Blood tests came back normal, except for his HB which is borderline low. So Dr Heng suggested pork & chicken liver everyday for 1 mth to boost it up. He might have the syncope from the low HB but none of the tests show why he's having low HB - he's negative for heartworm, lyme disease, liver function ok.

We were very frank & told her we brought him for training despite training in the morning at class already. She thinks that the syncope is unlikely to be brought on by the training coz we were training for less than 20 mins with breaks in between. Also, it was in the night & he had plenty of water to drink during the breaks so it couldn't be heatstroke too. She said to rest him a few days before commencing training again. If it were to happen again, to give him chest compression by pressing in on both sides of the ribcage & chest massage on the left side. She said it'll stimulate him to breathe.

I'm still gonna watch out for fits coz it's a given that Pugs are prone to fits & it's a genetic problem very common in Pugs which usually shows itself at about 2 to 3 yrs of age. Dr Heng says it's unlikely he has encephalitis coz he doesn't mix with strays where viral transmission is rampant. Besides, his temperature is normal.

Or... if you believe in supernatural... In the beginning stages of training, I used to bring him up to the very top deck of the multistorey carpark so you can see the sky lah. There's this particular corner that he refuses to go near. He rather risks being choked than to go over. Subsequently, someone smashed huge pieces of glass there so I moved 1 deck down. This deck has ceiling lah.

I've been training at this deck since lesson 2. All was well until last Sat. I won't say that I'm psychic but I do feel things & I've learnt never to ignore the feelings. I was training halfway when I felt this increasing discomfort, a feeling of fear. There's nobody there & the only sounds are the sounds of people playing at the basketball court nearby. I was alone at that time coz Jeff was at work. There was 1 point I swear that someone or something's behind me. I know they say never to turn around. But it was an instinct reaction, 1 that I didn't think through. Of course, I didn't see anything. But I got very very scared & I quickly ended the training prematurely.

The next evening, I went back but I brought along an amulet. This time I felt much better. Then yesterday, as Jeff was coming along, I didn't bring the amulet. Although I believe that there're ghosts/spirits, I don't really believe that what happened to Puggy was becoz of them or becoz I angered them by bringing the amulet to ward them off. Yet, a part of me will always wonder.

I'll always remember the tsunami dream I had a week before it actually happened. I'll always remember the oppressive feeling at my SIL's place, where I felt that I couldn't breathe. (We actually wanted to play MJ but becoz of that, I urged Jeff to go home.) After leaving her place, I felt much better. I was to find out later that they had set up a lot of feng shui points in the house & should I have played MJ with them, I would have lost badly. I guess we can never explain these things yet we can't deny their existance. It's scary.

Ton Ton's depressed today coz we allowed Puggy to sleep with us last night while he was shut out from our room. (Coz they'll be sure to fight whole night if both of them are together.) I hardly slept last night & was very tired today. So I think I'll retire early today & bring Ton Ton in to sleep to boost up his spirits a little.

I hope whatever happened to Puggy never happen again. Love love, Ton Ton & Puggy, my 2 naughty boys.

I'm Scared...

Woke up at 8 am knowing that I have a long day ahead. I drove the van over & cleaned it up a bit. When we brought Puggy downstairs, it was already 9 am. 1st we drove to YT to top up fuel & went for the car wash. There was a queue at the car wash & by the time we left, it was already 9.50 am. So we were slightly later than usual at Pet Movers. Intended to have the burger before class but we reached at 10.20 am.

Maybe it was becoz we reached late & didn't have time for Puggy to roam around a bit. He was quite distracted & difficult to handle even before entering the tent. During class, he did very badly compared to previous weeks. He refused to Down & Chris had to handle him personally.

After class, we had our burger & left for my IL's place after dropping Puggy at home. Went to the temple at CCK to pray & then to Lot 1 to walk walk. I nearly couldn't recognize it. So many changes since the time we moved away! We then went to Jurong to walk walk before having dinner at 6 pm.

Decided to train Puggy again this evening coz I refused to believe that he can't master Down. Initially, he got scared when seeing my hand signal for down & would back off & attempt to run off. So I switched back to sweeping the front legs with "Down" command minus the hand signal. After 2 or 3 times, he could down with the hand signal already. Subsequently, he was able to Down very well, although his auto sit still isn't very good. He'll sit alright, but he'll always move ahead to sit so he can see my face. I have to keep correcting him.

Towards the end of the training, just as we were about to leave, something terrifying happened. It was funny in the beginning but I began to have doubts due to my nursing background. I wanted to make Puggy sit still while I brush him so I kept the upward tension. It wasn't very tight coz I only made the line taut but not choking. When I brushed him, he started moving around & he sat on his water bowl. I tried to push him away so he wouldn't sit on it. What happened next was very fast. He suddenly fell onto the floor as if he fainted & tumbled onto his back into the mini drain that carparks used to drain water. He looked as if he was struggling to get out from the groove. At the same time, his urine shot out. He soon recovered & got out from the drain as if nothing happened.

Initially, we thought he fell down becoz he got a shock from sitting on the bowl & having the upward tension. But as we were leaving the carpark, I started to feel scared. I had borrowed a book on Pugs & has been reading it. It says that Pugs are 1 of the breeds prone to seizure (aka fits). It was the way he fell that made me very worried. He really looked like he fainted. He was standing 1 second & falling onto his side the next second. I've personally seen humans throwing fits & it looked quite similar. I'm so scared now... Was it something I did? Did I stress him too much? Maybe I shouldn't have brought him for training today...

I want to send him to the vet tomorrow. But they're already closed for the day & I can't contact them. They don't open till 12 pm tomorrow. If I don't go, they're closed on Tues. So what if we visit the vet? It's a 1 off incident & I may be asked to observe for further episodes & to return if it happened again. There's no cure for seizures according to the book. Puggy, please be ok...

Messed Up Agenda

I just finished bathing Puggy & it's 12.25 pm already. I still got Wang Wang left to bathe. Looks like my pedicure has flown out the window again. It's raining now so I guess car wash is also out. What's left is the eyebrow threading. Hopefully the shop is still there. Without realizing it, I've moved away from YT to my new place for 5 mths already. Wow, time flies!

Hope to tidy up the van a little. It's in a mess since I no longer take care of it. Depend on the man? Forget it! Ok, I go bathe Wang Wang now. I'll do it chop chop & shower myself before fetching Jeff & squeeze in eyebrow threading in between. Argh... tight schedule.

Going for pedi alone is boring leh. When you free, Enrica?

My Agenda For The Day

I feel so guilty that I've neglected Ton Ton for the past few weeks as I keep bringing Puggy for training. So I got up early today to send Jeff to work, drove back home & brought Ton Ton to the park downstairs for a walk. It didn't go too well coz on our 2nd round of the park, he started kicking his right hind leg. Immediately, I knew what was going on. True enough, when I inspected his right hind paw, I discovered a lot of ants. So I picked them off 1 by 1 while amused passerbys wonder what the hell I was doing.

After that, he got kinda depressed & refused to walk anymore. He kept wanting me to carry him which I didn't. I finally managed to get him to walk back home after a few tugs. So here we are at home. I'll be showering Ton Ton 1st. After that, I'll bring Puggy for training & bathe him after that. (He's howling away now as I type. :S) Then, it'll be ME time.

I wonder what time the pedi place in BPP opens. Hopefully it's 11 am coz I gotta pick Jeff up at 3 pm. If I'm done by 1 pm, then at least I still have time to go YT for eyebrow threading. Maybe send the van for washing too. :P

Ok, Puggy's howling again. Better quickly shower Ton Ton & then bring him for his training. Actually, his howl is quite nice. Haha. None of my other dogs howl. My mom says he does it on & off sometimes. Too bad I can't record it down coz he'll stop when he senses me near.

Training Fatigue?

Just came back from bringing Puggy for training after a rest day yesterday. I was saying that he didn't do well on Wed's training & that he refused to auto sit when he could do it previously. He could do it again today. Like before, he has no problem with his sit-stay at leash length. He's gets it when he's supposed to Down & he's beginning to get the idea that he's not supposed to get up until I Heel him. Is this training fatigue? Maybe I'm suffering from it as well. I get very impatient when he refuses to perform & lose my cool. The rest day has been good for us both it seems.

Share some funny things with you. Puggy's fawn right? The only places that are black are his face & his ears right? Ever since he started training, his butt (the area under his assh*le) has turned blackish from sitting on the dirty carpark floor which doesn't come off completely no matter how much I scrub. Then, we're supposed to make him go in a Down position, step on the choke chain & stand up. This is to teach him not to get out from the Down position until we Heel him. I think he's trying to be funny. Guess what he did? I stepped on the choke chain right? My foot's very close to his head right? He rested his head on top of my shoe. *Peng*

Everyday at the end of the training, I'll brush him with Ton Ton's slicker brush. Yes, I sacrificed it! Looks like I gotta buy a new 1 for him from BKK. Say, today I brush a mountain of fur out. The next day, I still brush the same amount out. So does the next day, the next next day. It's a wonder that he's not turning bald from the horrendous amount that he's shedding.

Speaking of shopping for doggy items at BKK, I know I'm pretty stingy with them when it comes to collars, leashes, bowls, brushes etc. :X I'm planning to buy these at BKK only becoz it's potentially much cheaper. I'm so cheapo. :X

Diet & Dog Misery

I'm soooooooo hungry...... I haven't kept to the diet at all. :X Received the Herbal Life stock yesterday (my work place did a mass order & got the powder at a much cheaper price) so got to try & keep to the strict diet starting today. Why is dieting so miserable? Why can't dieting be enjoyable? Sobz.

Then must try to drink 3L of water. It's 3 pm & I've only drank 1.6L. Gosh... Then I keep wanting to go toilet every 30 mins. My water bill will increase becoz I keep flushing the toilet man!

Puggy's very disappointing today. He was able to auto sit just 2 days ago. Today, he can't do it at all. I have to keep using correction on him before he sits. I feel so dejected. He was doing so well. So why is he getting worse? His sit stay is good. Sigh... I really feel very lousy. It's like the efforts I put in have gone down the drain.

BKK Itinerary

It's giving me a headache planning our routes for our BKK trip. This task somehow always seem to fall on me. I planned our itinerary for our HK/TP trip also. We didn't follow it 100% but it did serve well as a guide.

I solved the problem of locations but I can't seem to solve the transport problem. We can purchase a 1 day pass for BTS but to make full use of it, I'll have to squeeze all the places that requires BTS transport on the same day which isn't too feasible.

Day 1: Chatuchak & Suan Lum Night Bazaar

We'll reach Asia Hotel at around 9+ am. I think we probably won't be able to check in until much later (2 pm maybe?). So we'll leave our luggage at the hotel reception & head straight to Chatuchak. Guide books & internet searches are telling me to go before 9 am to avoid the crowd & heat but I think we don't have much of a choice. When we're done, we'll head back to the hotel for check in & maybe rest a while. Suan Lum starts at 3 pm but depending on how tired we are, we may just aim to reach there around 5 pm. That ends our day 1.

Day 2/3: Half Day Tour (Package), Various Shopping Malls

There'll be a half day tour on day 2 & since it's our 1st time there, we decided to go ahead with it. We'll need to pay THB100 per pax. Then depending on how much time we spend on a shopping mall, we may spill over to day 3 to complete visiting all of them. MBK, Siam Paragon, WTC, Erawan. I hope to choose 1 more accessible temple to visit. I'm also still deciding whether to go to Chinatown or not since we'll need to take cab or tuk tuk from Hua Lamphong MRT Station.

Should I buy the 1 day pass for Day 1, 2 or 3? I'm leaning more towards Day 1 coz the 2 places are far away & definitely needs BTS transport. The various shopping malls are quite near Asia Hotel though it'll all probably add up to quite a few kilometres of walking from 1 destination to another.

Sigh... got a long day tomorrow. Better go rest now. Puggy's doing ok when Jeff's not around. He breaks all the rules when Jeff's in sight. Terrible. Gives me headache. No eyes to see. I go sleep.

BKK Trip

I was stalking Elaine's blog (:P) when I read about her BKK trip. That's when I realised that I'm going in less than 3 week's time & I haven't even planned our itinerary! It's our 1st time to BKK & I have absolutely no idea where to go & what to do. I know nothing except for MBK & Chatuchak. We chose Asia Hotel as recommended by my colleague who says that it is in a very convenient location for shopping & there's a BTS station just beside the hotel. She warned us that the hotel is quite old but there's no point getting a high end hotel & having to pay much more since we're gonna be out most of the time.

Our F&E package includes a half day tour which is on day 2. Becoz we booked our flight for early morning departure & last flight back to Sg, we have 2.5 days left on our own. We're taking Jetstar so should be Terminal 3 right? What should I expect when taking budget airline? Heard that there's no food, no drink & no entertainment. Is it true?

I did some research already & I found Chatuchak's map. So I hope it won't be too difficult to find my way around. Oh, Enrica, can you sell us any tripod that you don't want? This way we can take pictures of ourselves in the airport & hotel. Hehe.

Sunday Dilemma

I find myself looking forward to each Sunday. At the same time, I dread the Monday that's looming ahead. It means 5.5 more days of long, stressful & tedious work days to go before the next lesson.

This week, we have to practice sit-stay & down. Chris said that this is 1 of the most difficult lesson of all. With the correction he taught us, Puggy was able to auto sit during class even without me giving the command. He did pretty well for his sit-stay as well probably due to the fact that he always have to sit-stay for his food. I think the most difficult to achieve will be the down. I must work hard not to miss any training during the weekdays. But sometimes I get lazy especially when I have to do OT & I just don't feel like moving after 12 hrs at work.

Training Puggy makes me feel proud & happy whenever he learns what is expected of him. That's what makes all the hard work worth while. From an extremely naughty & unlovable dog, he's now tamer & more enjoyable to have around. So Piggy, what are you waiting for?

Bonding With Puggy

Got back home at almost 5 pm, shagged. My initial plan was to bring Puggy straight for training so I can bathe him & be done with it. But I was just too tired & lethargic so I took a nap. Set the alarm for 7 pm but I couldn't drag myself out of bed. I allowed myself another half an hour & proceeded with training. He's doing slightly better today, sitting on command & I didn't have to push him down.

There's another thing that got me very happy. Puggy has always refused to drink when he's outside. Chris told me to rub water on his lips last lesson on & off & to do it during training. He also told me to bring a syringe to class tomorrow. But I didn't bring water for him the entire week. I decided to try it today & brought along a syringe. At 1st, he fought me like crazy. I had to hold the scruff of his neck with 1 hand, use the syringe to pry open his mouth & squirting in the water at the same time with the other. I did it a few times & it got easier & easier. Finally, he started licking the syringe as I squirt water in without me holding on to him. That's when I know he's ready to drink on his own. True enough, he drank from the cup directly when I offered it to him.

Another thing is, he learnt that "Okay!" is a signal to end the training. I usually halt & put him in a sit position before releasing him. I can really see him jump up & started walking with a spring in his step towards the water cup.

I find that our relationship has improved since we started training together. He'll sit at my feet & lie down if he's tired enough. I'm able to stroke him without him trying to bite me anymore. He also kept wanting to kiss me. We have bonded more & it's thanks to the training.

Bathed him when we got home coz he's starting to stink & it's embarrassing to go to class with BO. :P I still feel very tired so I guess I'll retire for the night. Goodnight!

Something To Look Forward To

Joining Obedience Training has given me something to look forward to every Sunday. I have no regrets spending that $300. Hehe. Perhaps like Enrica said, I might just feel so lost on Sundays when we complete the course. Time seems to fly by so fast. It's the 3rd lesson this week already. 6 more lessons to go before the exam. I wonder if I should let him go further. But I feel it's a waste if we train him to such high level without sending him for competition. Send him for competition also very stressed 1. *Sweats*

It's Friday & nope, Puggy hasn't mastered auto sit yet. Chris told me not to expect too much from him & that he'll teach us how to make him do it this coming Sun. I feel so extra. Every week without fail, I'll surely call Chris once. So embarrassing! I wonder if he gets as many calls from the rest of the class as well. 1st week was becoz I dragged Puggy till his paws bled & I wanted to check if it's ok to continue training the next day. Then that same week, I called him again becoz Puggy refused to go towards the distraction we set him up for. I called him yesterday becoz I wanted to know if it's ok that Puggy still can't master auto sit.

I just feel very lazy to bring Puggy for training everyday after work coz I'm just so tired. Luckily I've been able to resist the temptation of not bringing him for training mostly. Last week we missed 1 day becoz of his bleeding paws. This week was becoz I had to do OT on Tues & reached home very late. I'll probably train Puggy 1st thing when I get home from work tomorrow & then shower him. My weekends are burnt!

Jeff won't be going with me for training this Sun coz he's working morning shift. I'll be on my own. But that also means I can loiter around after class coz we don't have to rush him to work. Ok, I better go train him now. The faster I'm done, the faster I can come home to rest. & I have to cook wanton mee for Jeff later.

Kinda excited whenever I think of our upcoming trips. We'll be leaving for BKK this coming 25th & back on 27th. Then we'll be joining my colleagues to Batam for 1 day shopping trip on 8th Nov. I'm also looking at Bintan Club Med for next year but the price is extremely steep at $500+ per pax for 3 days 2 nights stay. We'll see how it goes. Any other good but cheaper beach resorts? Ideas welcomed!

Poor Progression

Puggy's not doing so well on the sit when halting homework. I said he caught on what's expected of him very fast during the heeling homework for the 1st week. I've trained him for 2 days & he still can't auto sit when I stop walking. He sits about 50% of the time when I give the command without me pushing him down. I'm so scared that by the end of the week, he still won't be able to auto sit.

Anyway, I tried using the choke chain on Ton Ton at home since the tiles are very smooth & unlikely to cause abrasions. The moment he sees the chain, he went to hide under the chair. Fine, I dragged him out, put it on him & started walking away. He struggled with me & even went into a down position. Still I continued walking like we were taught. What happened next is either going to make you laugh or cry. He got so scared that his shit dropped out onto the floor. Is that a conclusion that he's not suitable for choke chain training?