Mon chien est gras

While mon garcon (my boy) is facing his exams this week, moi needs to finish my essai le francais by tomorrow. Le examen is at the end of March. No idea how I'm gonna pass that ....hahaha...

Mugshots

As long as there is rain and a hole outside my garden, my boy will look like this every night.

Photo on 25 Feb 2009 at almost 7 months

Crash Course - Day 1

If only he was behaving like an A-star student....


Instead, he was looking like the reluctant boy who didn't want to go to school this morning...


He had 2 sessions under the rod by the headmaster (dad) while I was at work. Then, I did the last session after work. Poor boy....

Photo on 30 November 2008 and 24 February 2009

Exam Fever

This Sunday will be Ruki's last training class. *gulp*

He (I) will be assessed on how well he does on heeling, sit, stand, down, sit-stay, down-stay, recall and general temperament. So, every morning and night this week he (I) will have to do his (my) revision.

Does he have a worried look on his face?

Photo taken on 22 February 2009 (at almost 7 months)

Lazy Sundays

After dog training classes and cool shower, this is Ruki on a typical Sunday afternoon at my house.



Here he is basking on the wet carpet which I am drying from last night's muddy episode.


Photo on 22 February 2009 (at 6.5 months)

Look what the rain brought in....

It was raining cats and dogs outside. We were having dinner. I caught a glimpse of Ruki from the kitchen window playing in the rain. That silly boy loves water. After a while, he came to the dinner table soaked to the skin and ran off. We continued dinner. In minutes, he dashes into the room again. This time looking like this!!



Together with him, a trail of muddy water from the front door right to the kitchen. I guess he thought we weren't giving him the level of attention the first time.

Ever since Ruki decided to dig his little hole in the garden, he has dragged a lot more dirt into the house. When it rains, the hole fills up with muddy water. He loves it. I don't.

Thank God it's Friday!

This reminds me that I really need to use my bath tub a bit more often. So far, I've only used it once since moving in. I wonder how my boy would react once the finds out that square thing in the bathroom can be filled with water.


Photo on 11 January 2009 (at 6 months)

Proud mama

So after some consecutive postings of Ruki's naughty but cute antics, I show you what Ruki is REALLY GOOD at. Sitting patiently beside his bowl before his command to eat. Those are the precious moments when he's sitting and not fidgeting. So, that's the time, I get to wipe his face, paws, clean his ears and wear his collar in the mornings. It's a calming ritual :D

I saw this poster at the Paramount LRT station about two missing dogs from SS1 since Dec 10. They have a website. Poor dog. Poor owner. Apparently, one of them (Creamie) was found by a family in Damansara Jaya (near KDU). Wow, that was one long track away from home.

The dog still missing goes by the name of Arjun.



missing since Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 2pm
and sighted around SS24, SS25 Taman Megah PJ & SS26 Taman Mayang PJ
If found please contact:
Ramin 012-2172721 ramin@hotmail.com
Chan 012-2183698 Teh 012-6121833
Reward For Return

So sad. I would be devasted if Ruki went missing. Already traumatized enough when he was 2 months old and went missing. We found him sleeping in between some pots of plants in the garden oblivious that the whole world was calling out for him!!

Photo on 14 February 2009 (at 6 months)

Angel....NOT

I left work at 10am today as I was working from home before an 11'oclock meeting. By 9.30, the boy was restless. Racing in and out the house. Bit a plastic flower pot to crumbs. Running around my study table. Then, CRASH!!!. His leg got caught in the the tangle of wires from my notebooks. My Thinkpad came crashing down on the floor from the table. OMG!! OMG!!! The LCD screen went haywire. OMG!! Just on Monday, my colleague's notebook screen cracked....flashed back awful memories about of my Treo's nose diving to its death.

Thank my lucky stars that the screen didn't crack!! I re-booted and the screen returned to normal. At the same time, Ruki ran into the house again. This time with muddy paws!!!

RUKIII!!! RUKIIIII!!!! *lecture* *lecture*

Photo on 3 January 2009 (almost 5 months)

Who is the boss?

Haruki peed in the house this morning. :(

Is he marking is territory?
well, he does make sures he occupies prime location...areas that he can be in-the-thick of the action even while he sleeping. Like sleeping at doorways to make sure no one goes out without him knowing!



First thing I do when I get out of bed is to open the front door to let him out to pee. Usually, both of us just end up standing at the door staring outside. I think Ruki thinks if he goes out, he'll miss his breakfast. Some days, he goes out first as he can no longer hold it in ... like today. After his big poo-poo session, he rushed in with the did-I-miss-anything look in his face. The next thing I knew, he peed on the floor...then continued to pee around my carpet. Horrors! He controlled his pee to make a full circle round my carpet. Interesting.

I guess trying to take over my study territory now!

So, it got me to research on territory marking.

First, is your dog neutered? NO, I didn't want to consider to cut his manhood that early. *gulp*
Second, do you have any other dogs in the house? No
If not, have other dogs been visiting your house? Not for a month now.

Who is the “Alpha” in your pack? Most humans will say that they are the Alpha in the pack and they truly believe that they are. Sometimes without realizing it, the human has let the dog gain the upper hand or paw. You may have done so without realizing it. If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, you may be guilty.

Does your dog sleep in your bed? No, just next to the bed. He only jumps in if I oversleep.
Is your dog allowed on the furniture? With you? Or anytime he wants to? Ruki controls most of the furniture in the house.
Do you give your dog attention immediately when he demands it? *Guilty* I resist until I can no longer. He's a very persistent boy.
When you both go through a doorway, who goes first? I allow him to go out first.

A lot of times, humans can love their dog too much. They will elevate their dog to the same status that they are, and before you know it, your dog is controls the house. He sleeps and sits wherever he wants, he orders attention from you whenever he feels like it, and he marks territory in the house sending a signal to you that “this” is HIS. Clearly, he needs to be cut back down to size. If this is the case, do the following to take back control of your house. *gulp*

When he gets on the furniture, put him OFF the furniture, ensuring that you also tell him “OFF “as you put him on the floor.
Do not allow him back in the bed, and tell him OFF as you put him back on the floor.
When he nudges your hand for attention, tell him NO and move your hand away
Do not allow your dog to walk through the door first. Put a leash on him and hold him back as you begin to walk through the door. The “WAIT” command (which I am covering later this week) is very useful here.

For a while, keep a four to six foot non-retractable leash on your dog while he is in the house. Make the dog stay in the room where you are. Do not allow him free run of the house. This is a privilege that he has lost, and it is a privilege he can have back once he figures out that he doesn’t make the rules, YOU DO.

I would also suggest that when you are away from home, put your dog in a crate or a confined area. The message you are sending is:

This is MY house and you will respect MY house or you will not be able to enjoy the comforts of MY house!
By leaving the leash on your dog, you are also sending him a message: I control everything in MY house, even you.

I guess I need to show him who's the real boss!! This is my house, Ruki, MY HOUSE

So, I guess the real question to ask in this situation, who is in charge in YOUR house? errr...*me*?

This last thing may sound kind of silly. Do not let your dog see you when you clean up his marked spots. If he sees you or any human down on your knees cleaning his messes, what kind of message are you sending to him?

oh, I was cleaning the floor as he's biting on the towel.*lecture* *lecture* I had to leash him in the other room before the mopping started. He loves mops. :D

Photo on 2 February 2009 (almost 6 months)

Leaping Lizards!

Ruki has been recently develop a habit of perching on the kitchen counter top to see what I'm doing. Yikes!

Photos on 30 November 2008(almost 4 months)

Good Housekeeping

Sundays are usually the time I get to clean the house. It's nice to spend weekends puttering around the house. I've gone to "total vacuuming" because of Ruki's fascination on moving brooms. At first, he was scared of the sound of vacuuming and stays a good distance away. It was great to have a few moments of peaceful cleaning. But since last week, he has summed his courage to approach the machine. So now, I have to vacuum with him hanging about a feet away barking at the vacuum broom.

Ruki has become too big to swing him about on the mop head while mopping. Moreover, my once-lush mop head is losing its "hair" as the boy hijacks it whenever possible. So, he has to be leashed when I mop now.



This Sunday, I had a small tea party at my place.


Ruki was in his best behaviour under our feet...well, apart from the occasional toe-licking. :D


Photos on 15 February 2009 (at 6 months)

Invasion of the Haruki kind

Nowadays, my personal space is reduced to 6 x 4 feet carpet in my study and bed. These areas are my sanctuary (except for the occasional invasions). The rest of the house and garden is his territory.


Ruki has taken over my couches....which are now (permanently) covered with sheets, so that he can enjoy his dog naps there.


Even my carpet from Turkey have succumbed....to become his personal indoor grassland. My comfy throw pillow is now his humping mate.


The things I give up for my boy.

Photos on 14 February 2009 (at 6 months)

Dogs, dogs and more dogs....

Awww...this is Ruki with the "older woman", Arwen at day care. Over CNY, Arwen returned to her "biological" parents for good. For a while, I was so worried that Ruki will be lonely or worse, pine for his old friend. Luckily, he didn't show any signs of missing Arwen in the following days at day care. Thank goodness for his short memory.

Otherwise, I would have almost gotten him this gal mongrel (mixed labrador). So cute and brown too!



maybe, re-live my early Ruki days....oh, those good old days...



Soon, I came to my senses and bought a dog calendar instead!



But, it doesn't stop me from thinking about my next dream dog. A chocolate brown lab.

Photo of Haruki on 21 September 2008 (at 6 weeks)

Driving me crazy (with cuteness)

Mornings are usually a rush. Thankfully, nowadays I have a good wake-up call mechanism. The alarm rings, Ruki will be nudging my toes with his cold nose at the far edge of my bed. Most of the time, I'll try to catch my last winks....well, until Ruki comes pouncing by the side of the bed ready to jump in! Gone are the days of sleeping in. On weekends, I usually have to get up and continue my sleep at my desk...hahaha..



He simply loves being in the driver's seat. I think if his legs could reach the pedals, he would love to drive me to his day care centre a.k.a. grandma's house.

Photo on 22 December 2008 (at almost 5 months)

Haruki's Report Card - Feb 2009

Answers to: Haruki and Ruki, unless distracted by food or play
Height: 20 inches
Weight: 23 kg
Meals: 200 grams dried kibbles twice daily excl. mid-day bones and treats
Favourite pastimes: Dipping in water pool
Favourite toy: Any moving objects and plastic flower pots
Loves: Drinking water, eating and getting wet
Fears: Vacuum cleaner but has recently taken to barking at it instead of running away
Discovery of the month: Apples and humping

Excellent: sit, stay-before-meal time, licking his bowl clean
Good: Stand, heel and playing fetch
To improve: Down, recall, sit-stay, down-stay

Photo on 30 November 2008 (at almost 4 months)

How not to walk the dog

A rare occassion of coming home at 6 p.m.. meant i got the chance walk Ruki today. :D

After the usual struggles of getting his leash on, we began our trip down my road....somewhat dignified walk apart from the occassional forward jerks when he sniffed something interesting.

A couple of houses down, I noticed that he was breathing unusually heavy. *remembers instructor saying if collar put on wrongly, dog can choke and DIE!!* So, i stopped to loosen it. The next thing I know, the collar came off and Ruki bolted off!!! He ran like someone escaping from prison...well, except he stopped at spots to sniff and gobble whatever he could.

OK, I didn't panic (cause he bolted off outside twice before). One learns a lot from experience....and develop a series of questions for next course of action.

First, do you have your leash?
If NO, run back home IMMEDIATELY and get your leash. You then need your car to catch up him as you are neither a sprinter or marathon runner.

LESSON 1 - You can't catch dog with your bare hands. You can't walk home holding your dog's collar. Very UNCOOL. (I had to drag my dog back home by his collar once. Luckily, a man cycling with his dog on tow saved me from total embarassment. He had him chasing his bike + dog all the way home. Phew!)

If you have your leash and am confident without your standby car to bundle him in, continue to follow him. But, you need to stay CALM at all times...ACT NORMAL ....or else your neighbours will think you are some kind of MAD dog-woman!

Lesson 2 - The more you call and run after him, the faster he runs away from you.
Lesson 3 - No amount of dog treats is tastier than yummy roadside poo!

As in prior prison breaks, he ran-and-sniffed all the way down my road in a matter of seconds. Calling him is futile coz he was too busy sniffing to hear me. In total trance. Then, I saw a lady with two dogs at the end of the road. I thought "Oh good, i bet Ruki will stop and take a look/sniff and play." Chance to leash him there.

As I got nearer...OH MY GOD .... that BIG black dog ahead was a ROTTWEILER!!

*panic*

The skinny-woman-with-two-dogs frozed.
Silly Ruki runs over to "play". Get down on back to expose his belly!
Rott starts jumping and ready to pounch on him.
Ruki yelps once.
NOooo....my silly boy rolls back up and goes to approach the Rott again!

*shouts* *screams* NOOOOO!!!!

Finally, Ruki got the message this dog is not for play-play.

Luckily, skinny woman managed to yank the dog away. Finally, after more stern calling *NOOOOOOOO* *COME HEREEEE* ....I managed to get Ruki back on his leash.

He got a EARFUL from me. *lecture* *lecture* all the way home.

Skinny woman came out again later with her poodle. I apologised. Learnt that her Rot is 2 years old. I must say she was MIGHTY STRONG....to be able to pull the adult Rot away. eerr...I can't even hold down my 6-mth old skinny lab. :D


Who in the right mind would want to walk 2 dogs together. *rant* *rant* She was walking a ROTT and a toy poodle!! Silly woman. She must be thinking the same about me though...who in the right mind walks her dog without a leash!!! Silly me. LOL

Photo on 25 Jan 2009 (at almost 6 months)