some videos of chewie

was particularly bored in the office today, so was browsing thru my phone and found these cool videos of chewie. even until now, i still can't get over how smart she is!



sitting-up. i don't wan to use the word 'beg', coz this trick is NOT to beg. just to make her look oh-so-cute!



play dead. she's so good at this!



for a dog who loves food so much, it's amazing that she understands the word 'wait' and can really sit there patiently until my cue for her to eat!

gosh, i miss her so much, it hurts! :'(

read also:
1) a more obedient pup?
2) chewie at 4 months +

chewie @ home...

taking a respite from posting abt bento, here are some updates on chewie. it's been more than a month since she went to her new home and last week, her new owner, NL e-mailed me some photo n video updates...

snoozing in the laundry room... she seems thinner,
but maybe it could only be the angle the pic was taken...

chewie & max in their lepak place, the laundry room,
waiting for the gals to come out and play...

after bath... she still hates the hairdryer! can hear NL hollering at her in the background! haha...
NL: "...bathing her (very challenging), especially blow drying her... notty lar, run here and there... haha... she's totally opposite of max... max enjoy the blow drying..."



out for walks... the one thing she's been deprived of up until now. but she's still so stuck-up... dun really like to make friends with other dogs. *sigh*



NL: "...SupER HYPER!! especially i bring them for walks... usually i bring them walk walk at night... if i walk during evening scared chewie and max bite other kids in the park... scary lar, chewie act so big boss to other doggies... scare the kids..."

gosh, i miss her soooooo much! even now, when i walk into the kitchen, i'd half expect chewie to be sitting in her cage there, looking expectantly at me with those puppy brown eyes of hers... *sob*

but it's good to see that she's settling in so well, and she's still the hyper, naughty and 'siao' doggie that she is! so tho' a part of me ached at parting with her, i can be rest assured that i've made the right choice and giving her up means giving her a better and healthier life. *sob*

goodbye, my baby

after much deep and long deliberations, i've finally arrived to a decision... i'm giving up chewie *sob*

ever since i started working, she's been living a very pitiful life. as i'm often working late, coming home only after 8 or later, i don't really have much time for her. normally i'll just let her out long enough for me to feed her and clean her cage. only occasionally will i run her go thru her tricks. and no walks AT ALL!

that's y i feel i'm being so cruel, letting her sit in the cage the whole day long. everyday when i come back from work, she'll be sitting in her cage, looking at me with her big brown kesian eyes, trying to be patient but still can't help whimpering at me, going hungry when i come home late from practice or wherever that i need to go...

and now my job requires me to be outstation frequently... nearly every week! just her boarding fees is enough to burn a hole in my pockets. and i read somewhere that actually, boarding is very stressful for pets, tho' i think chewie is getting a hang of it, coz by now she knows all the gals at the pet boarding place. and she's such a ppl-friendly doggie!

actually i've been toying with this thot for some time now... but was so reluctant to part with her! she's such a smart and easy to train dog... and so lovable too! *sob*

but i finally contacted my friend to tell him that i'm giving chewie up for adoption. he's the guy who gave me niji last time and i remembered him mentioning that if ever chewie has babies next time, he'll want one puppy. that's y i contacted him. but he din reply my sms! apa lar! so i msn his sis, and she asked me some basic questions as well as chewie's pic. then she sent out an e-mail to all her dog-lover friends and within minutes, we have an enquiry!

anyway, to cut the long story short, chewie will be staying in kepong from tonight onwards. and i heard she'll have a new doggie friend too! a schnauzer... hopefully they'll take to each other! actually, chewie is not really a doggie-friendly dog. she seems to like humans more than her fellow doggies! i dunno y... when she went to obedience school, she's had many contacts with dogs of different breeds, sizes and temperaments. and STILL, she's very hostile towards them! *sigh* just hope she'll accept her new schnauzer friend.

but most importantly, hope she'll settle in quickly to her new home and her new owners! that is what i'm most concerned about. coz according to the pet boarders, she'll have diarrhoea the first day in boarding, even tho' her appetite never failed. and yes, i'm GIVING HER UP, not selling her. many friends, and even the mother, asked y don't i sell her. but how can i? she's my baby! i'm not gonna sell my baby! i just hope for her to have a good loving home, and that she'll live a happy and healthy life. then i'm satisfied.

*sigh* sure gonna miss her! :'(

yikes! who is this???

ok, i know 3 consecutive doggie posts is a tad too much, but look what i did to chewie!!!

in her harness at the groomers, waiting for me
to pick her up. no, that's NOT the doggie gym, ok?

yep, i had all her fur shaved off! hehehe... no, it's not for fun, ok? she's been shedding really badly recently and it's longer than the usual shedding period for dogs. plus, her shed-off fur is accompanied by some white flakes, like dandruff, and the skin in her paws were reddish. so i brought her to the doctor for a check-up and it turned out she has a fungal infection on her skin, thus the shedding. so the doctor prescribed some medicine and asked to see her again after she finishes her medication.

sitting prettily for the camera, even tho' looking like a boy-dog!

she looks like a basset hound now, dun cha think? hehe... actually, the doctor didn't ask for her to be shaved. but her fur is flying around the house like nobody's bizz! and they tend to roll up into fur balls when there's wind, like tumbleweeds! the house is like a scene from those cowboy movies. so i dragged her to the groomer's to have her shaved from head to toe!

long legs, long body and long ears... only thing short is the tail!

bored... when is all these clicking gonna stop?

then the groomer said that she may feel a little sad/depressed at first, at the loss of her fur. so it'll be better to get her some clothes so that she won't feel so bare. so i bought her 3 doggie t-shirts... for RM80!!! *&*@^#(%$#@@#!

posing in her new snoopy t

hmm... ok, looks comfy enough in clothes

a red stitch t

...and a blue sleeveless mickey t

but less than 24 hrs later, her NEW snoopy t was shredded! see the right side of the t below? she was in her car crate on her way to obedience school when she got bored (only a 10 minutes car journey!!!). so she entertained herself by biting at the hemp of her t, shredding it to pieces... hmp! useless pup!! @^#*&@A$&*^@$!!!

a more obedient pup?

ok, so chewie passed her puppy basic obedience level last week... with 75%! woo-hoo! she was just so good that day, i cooked a whole big bowl of rice topped with a generous helping of doggie food for her dinner!

now she's starting her pre-novice level. hopefully she'll pass with grades just as good (if not better) as the basic level. i forgot to ask the bf to take pictures of us during the test last week, but here are some from her first pre-novice class on sunday. will take more pics at her graduation day for basic obedience.

"chewie, are u ready?" <-- first command at beginning of every task. this is the ready position, sitting nicely on the left

heel work, walking nicely on a loose leash at the left side.
"so many smells, so little time!" she can't seem to keep her nose off the ground!

sit-stay. at the "stay" command, she must not move from her position!

but that doesn't prevent her from checking out the rest of her classmates!

at the end of the class, i'm the one with the disheveled hair!

chewie's 1st balik kampung trip...

for the cny celebration recently, i decided against leaving chewie in pet boarding here in kl coz i would be gone for more than a week. so i told the parents that i would be bringing her home with me. of course, they were not too happy, but what can they do, rite? hehe...

well, from past experiences of transporting chewie in the car, we figured it'd be better to get a car crate for her 1st trip home to m'ca. i would be driving back alone, so i can't be keep an eye on the road, shouting at her to stop jumping here and there, trying to prevent her from chewing on the car mat, stop her from barking at the various ever-present squeaks and clattering sounds in my car, holding her and trying to keep her from tumbling under the car seat every time i turn a corner, ALL AT THE SAME TIME! so we found this not too expensive car crate that's perfect for her, and she seems to be very willing in going into it! and after a few car trips in it, she seems to be getting the hang of things. she'll be asleep in no time and hardly make any sound! so maybe we can plan more trips with her in the future...

the pet voyaguer 400...

but bringing a dog on trips is like mobilizing an army! her stuff is like triple mine! that's y when i go back for a short trip, i just deposit her at the boarding place. they have everything there and i just need to bring her food. easy peasy! but bringing her back to m'ca is another different story. i need to bring her car crate, cage, food, supplement, doggie treats, chew toys, shampoo, ear drip, water bottle, etc.

anyway, when we got home, of course i got an earful from the parents, esp the father, abt what a big responsibility it is, how troublesome keeping a dog is bla bla bla... but then, the father is the one who played with her the most! hahaha...

dad trying the 'leave it' command with chewie

when night came, i told the father that i'm worried chewie will be bitten by mosquitoes, coz my house is like swarming with mosquitoes and we put chewie outside on the porch. and when dogs are bitten by a certain type of mosquito, they ran the risk of getting heartworm. even tho' i give her heartguard (medicine) every month, i'm still worried. so the father went to get the wire extension to plug in the electric mosquito repellent for her! haha... this is the first time i see a dog with electric mosquito repellent!

see the red dot at the side of the cage? that's the electric mosquito repellent

on the first few days, chewie was really shy. even when i left her cage open to let her run loose around the house compound, she still sat at the front door, looking at me and waiting for me to come out and play with her. only when i'm outside would she dare to venture and explore around the other parts of the house.


but after that, she got used to the place and would be running around happily. she does seem happier with the vast compound for her to run abt. but she'll always go back to lie in her cage on her own, even with the cage door open. i think her cage is like a 'safe heaven' for her, where she feels safest and most comfy.

and i think cny will be her fav time from now on, coz she would have lots of kids to run around with. and the kids simply love her! at the end of the day, she's always tired and worn out and would sleep peacefully throughout the night. even when the mother open the front door in the morning, chewie would be sleeping soundly like a baby, oblivious of the bell sounds from mom's morning gongyo. usually she's very alert to every little sound!

but after a few days, all the excitement subsided, all the kids went home, all the firecrackers died down and life went back to normal... hehe...

napping on a boring afternoon... *yawn*

insight II...

u know the persons in charge of the obedience school means business when they have revision classes in preparation for the dogs' exam!

chewie's first day at school

out of 3 new students (should be 5, but 2 din turn up due to the bad weather), chewie is the A1 star student! i think this should be how parents feel when their kids' kindergarten's teachers tell them that their kids did great in school! hahaha...

turns out, chewie's penchant for food is every dog trainer's dream come true! she responds well since the very first task (recall with the 'come' command). well, actually a bit too well! she even responds to other dogs' names! *sigh*

the other 2 new enrollments were poodles. one was too shy and uptight, as if stoned. wouldn't do anything... the other poodle dun respond well to food inducement.

and it helps that chewie already has some ground work... she sits and comes easily. and is really a pleasure to train! and the trainers were all so keen for her to advance to higher levels, encouraging me to start getting her to love chasing balls and jumping. would be great for agility training later on. the main trainer even tried some of the moves in the pre-novice level with her and she did it beautifully! so proud! *beam*

but she's not very social with other dogs... or rather, she doesn't know how to play nicely with other dogs. maybe lack of interaction. hopefully by enrolling her in the obedience school, she'll be able to learn some social skills in the process.

too bad, i was too busy to remember to take any photos... will see if i'll have the chance to take during next week's lesson.

chewie at 4 months +

she's such a clever girl! i never cease to be amazed at how she understands the things i teach her after only a few times... like i've mentioned here before, she learnt to 'sit' pretty fast. that's the first and most basic command any dog should know, 'sit'.




next came 'down'. she did this fairly easily too... like a natural!



then out of a fit of fancy, i taught her to do 'hand-hand', coz it's just so cute! :P



then, from a book, i learnt that it's important to teach our dogs to leave something. say suddenly our pills or some poisonous things fell on the floor, then it'll be good for a dog to know that she is not to touch it. so i taught her to 'leave it'. here's she keeping a close eye on the cookie and waiting (im)patiently for me to give her the ok cue. cute hor?

but this needs more work, coz she's such a thief! whenever i take a step back, she'll grab the goodie and gobble it up in no time! *sigh*

next, i decided to make her 'sit' before i open the cage to let her out. this will teach her a bit of manners and not jump up and down excitedly waiting to come out... this is done easily coz she already knows the 'sit' command.


and then there's this habit of hers that i really want to break. since she found out where i keep her doggie biscuits, the store room has been her favourite room. whenever i open the store room door, she'll rush in excitedly and jump on all the savoury-smelling treats i keep in a plastic bag on the floor, tail wagging frantically. so i thot to myself, this just can't do. i don't want to have to keep fighting her off every time i go in to get her food or treats. so i decided to teach her to sit outside the room patiently while i go inside to get her food. here, she's 'cheating' by putting her front paws in... hehehe...
this needs working too... coz she can't stand to wait too long while i'm inside this heavenly place, with my back turned towards her, dunno doing what! so when she hears the first spoonful of dog biscuits hitting her bowl, she'll be a little wriggling machine, rushing in to join the fun! i'll have to chase her out a few times before i can finish ladling her food... *sigh*


and since she arrived, whenever i want her to go back to her cage, i'll wave some goodies at the top opening of her cage and say 'chewie, cage'. she'll rush in thru the side opening, i'll close the door and she gets her reward! now i don't need to hover the treat on top of her cage... i'll just point to her cage, say 'cage' and she'll jump in happily, waiting for me to close the door and dish out the reward!




and as an addition, i'll make her 'sit' first before getting any reward. so now after jumping in, she'll sit quietly for her reward without having to be told!



and here's her latest trick, which took me completely by surprise. i only taught it to her sporadically and only like on 2 occasions, coz she din seem to like it much. so i thot maybe she won't learn it. but that day, while going thru her drills, i thot to try this command, just to see if she knows it. and she did! she knows to 'roll'! i'm so proud of her!



so now, i've enrolled her into a puppy obedience school. hopefully she'll a good canine citizen and maybe pass her canine good citizen test later on!

too soon, maybe?

now i'm thinking, maybe we bought chewie too soon... at first the our intention is to get a doggie AFTER i move into our new condo. i was very excited to be able to keep a doggie again, coz i really miss my niji dearly. that's y we've been going into every pet shop we see, just to look at their selection of doggies in the window.

but then the bf saw this cocker spaniel (who will later become chewie) with the same birth date as him and then and there he decided he wants her! so i asked him to call one of the housemates to ask if i can keep the doggie in our apartment and the good soul agreed... so we excitedly bought chewie, along with all her accessories and dog food etc and brought her home.

well, luckily i'm working from home, so i can clean up after her and give her lots of play time to help burn off her energy. that way, she won't be so bored in her cage the whole day long. but now i'm having second thoughts. staying with housemates mean the house is not mine (obviously). so i need to keep a constant watch over the little bugger, to make sure she dun chew other ppl's shoe, floor mat etc. and during the night when the housemates are home, i need to make sure she dun run into their room. so i have to multitask: one hand cleaning out her cage, one hand entertain her with her chew toy to distract her. but sometimes she'll just bolt away and make for the rooms! that's when we can hear bloodcurdling screams from the housemates! hehe...

also, having other ppl in the house means they'll sometimes feed her the doggie food i keep handy in a small container nearby for training purposes. not that i'm against anyone feeding her, but incorrect method and indiscriminate feeding will only confuse and disrupt her training.

and now, one of the housemate's mom is here for 2 whole weeks... so i can't let chewie out too often, only long enough for me to clean her cage. so kesian, terperap in the cage for such long hours! but bo-pien... can tell from the housemate's mom's face that she dun quite like it. of course lar, everyday only know how to poo and pee and make noise. and when let loose, she'll go ard sniffing and licking ppl. and i keep her in the dry kitchen area, so it's quite inconvenient for her mom to cook. so of course dun like lar! but how wor? takkan keep her outside on the balcony? she'll get wet when it rains... and takkan keep her outside in the wet kitchen area? she'll keep the whole block awake with her barking... *sigh*

dunno how now... been complaining to the bf abt this. but what can he do also? *double sigh*

my new baby!

dear all, meet chewie! she's american mixed english cocker spaniel... only abt 3 months old. and she's the bf's little sister! coz she shares the same birthday as him. but hey, how come i'm the one who has to clean up after her??? but she's so adorable. and so clever too! spent one night here and oredi she knows where i keep her doggie biscuit! and she oredi knows her name, as well as 'sit', just after a few times i taught it to her! and she comes when i say "chewie, come!" but i think that's mainly because i have treats in my hand! next will try to get her to understand 'stand', 'hand-hand', 'down', 'look at me' etc. according to the vet, u can practically bribe a dog to do almost anything! hehe...

all the bf said was: "not even belong to us 24 hrs, oredi spent my RM500+ on doggie stuff and vet check-up!" hehe... siapa suruh it's his sister wor?

and since she's still so young, she poos and pees like 100 times a day! also, she's shedding now... changing her baby coat, i think. i'm so busy!!!

but so happy the housemates let me keep her! i know they dun really like the idea of keeping a dog in the apartment, coz they're smelly and dirty and bite things... but they know how much i yearn for it, so they agreed! cool huh? *happy*