The one that didn't get away

Something really stunk in the garden. I thought it might been from my much neglected dog-poo duties...but this morning, the smell was distinctly un-shitty. It was something dead and rotting. Yeeeww!!

I thought it was a dead frog...a possible mishap with Ruki while jumping with his frog mates the previous night. After a closer look, I discovered that it was a rat...a baby rat. YEEEEWWWW..... I think its insides were still intact. Luckily....but... YEEEWWWW!!!

Since I had to rush for my morning meeting, we left it there. Hopefully, the sun will dry it out. Maybe, some stupid cat will come by and eat it up. Not such luck. When I came home, it was still there. Luckily, the stink was all gone. So, it was disposed off in a double-layered plastic. GROSS!!

I wonder when it died. I supposed mon chien killed it. Good boy!! but, did you kill it last night and then you came into the house, nudged me with your nose and nibbled on my leg?? YEEEWWWW.....GROSS......

or did you kill it in the morning when I let you outside and went back to bed for a few extra winks? Maybe not...since it was already stinking when I found it in the morning, it must have died much earlier. Did you sniff around the corspe and then nibbled my toes from my bedside? YEEWWW....

And so, today...the bed sheets went to wash and Ruki had his teeth brushed thoroughly!

Photo on 22 March 2009

My boy and the avocado

I can be sure mon chien will be up to some sort of mischief everyday. Tonight, he decides to perch up the dining table to snatch my avocado which I left there to ripen. My(now)dearly departed lunch of the week. Instinctively, I shouted "GIVE IT TO ME!!"....that of course triggers him to dash out the front door like lightning... with my avocado locked tight in his jaws. He settles on the grass to check out his latest find. He rolls in on the grass and sniffs at it. Ok, for a moment, I thought I could salvage my lunch...since it's protected by layer of skin. Then, maybe not....when mon chien rolls it to parched patch of grass. Parched by dog pee, that is. Then, definitely not...he may have poo-ed around there too. yeew!

As a growing expert on dog psychology, I've learnt not to excite him by chasing after him for it or insisting him to hand it back to me. Doing so will only reinforce how valuable the item he has with him. And so, I decided to patient. I imagined that he'll get bored with it soon enough...like he does for every tea towel he snitches from the kitchen counter. Different story when he stuck his nose in my work bag and found my Tag Heuer watch. I think he almost swallowed it ...coz he was running a top speed with my watch in his mouth! That fateful night....I hoped my neighbours did not see me running after him and shouting like a mad woman. *embarrassed*

Back to the avocado. So, I decided to perfectly stay calm this time. I came back to my study to continue what I was doing. A few minutes later, I heard a few faint plunk on the floor...like a stone being dropped on tile. So, I peered out the window. Lo and behold, it turned out to be the sound of an avocado seed!!

My boy licked the whole fruit down to a shiny seed. I wonder whether he eat the skin. It's too dark to check the garden to confirm. Now, he's playing with the seed like a ball in the living room.

So today, Haruki had his first avocado. Sometimes, I wonder whether I should be mad. Most of the time, I'm tickled by his antics. Well, my Tag Heuer went into a coma after the ordeal. Still hadn't the time to get it fixed. On a brighter note... at least mon chien didn't swallow it and I didn't have to recover it from his poo, Marley's style.

It was a hot day

Mon chien spent most of the day sleeping (till almost 6 p.m.). Then, we went for a walk. Since he was well-behaved today, he got to go in the tub after his walk. He simply loved it!



After he got out and rolled himself dry on the carpet, he decided to go into the tub again for another dip. :D

Photo on 18 April 09

Doga

Hey look! aawwww....




I tried this once. Mon chien was clamouring over me. I think he was excited to see me on the floor with him. I think I'll try it again sometime soon. Practice more with him until he's gets used to the idea.

Source: New York Times

Guess who's going for training

Last night, mon chien stayed over at day care coz he thought it was a good idea (NOT)to take a dip in his pool just as I was trying to get him into the car. He was too wet to get into my car to go home.

So, tonight he's back home and has been ultra clingy the whole night. He came nudging me every 5 minutes to get me to follow him. When I ignored him, he'll nudge even harder to the point of barking at you. Then, when I finally relent to his pleas, he'd make sure that I follow him wherever he wants to go. Like sometimes to the garden...he'll sit on the grass and do his thing. I'm left standing on the driveway not knowing what I'm I suppose to do. He just wants me to stand around.

I feel like he's training me now to take his instructions. OMG, this so describes my situation:

You’re lying on the couch reading a book and your dog wakes up from a nap and decides that it’s time to play. She gets her ball, comes over to you, and then drops it right in your lap. You ignore her and just keep on reading. After a second of confused silence, she nudges your hand with her nose and then lets out a bark. Then when you look over at her, she assumes the "play-bow" position - elbows at the floor, but in the air, and tail wagging. You return to your book and she barks again, and when there is no response, she barks again. This time, she keeps up the barking. After a minute or so of this, you sigh and put the book down. You finally pick up the ball, and take her outside to play fetch. She then immediately stops barking.

In order for her to be honorable of your respect, she must also respect you, too. Something that many warm-hearted souls struggle to come to terms with is that dog ownership is not about equality. It’s really about you being in charge, and her being the pet. Dogs are not children. They are most comfortable and best-behaved when they know that you are the boss. A dog has to respect your leadership in order to be happy, well-adjusted, and a well-behaved pet.

In the situation above, the dog wasn't showing any respect. She wasn’t welcoming her owner to play, she was harassing her owner to play. And even worse, the bad behavior was being reinforced by the owner by giving in to the behavior. This has taught her that if she wants something, she has to bark – and she has to keepdoing it until her goal is achieved.

Photo on 30 November 2008

Call for duty

While I'm away on vacation, mon chien will be with full day care and hopefully practice to stand watch at home sometime. I will miss him!!!

Photo on 28 March 2009