Oops...I Need Pet Sitting

2009-11-08T14:23:00.001+08:00

We know that with the current busy lifestyles of Singaporeans, you're unable to walk your dog. This is where we step in. We are pet owners too (that's my pooch) and therefore understand how to important it is to provide ample exercise for your dog. In addition, we care for your pet and will play with your pets in a safe environment.

We can walk your dog for you or provide doggy day care (includes a walk a day).

For Day Care services, you can drop your pet off before heading off to work and pick them up in the evening.

Prices as follows:

Dog Walking - $8/ half an hour
Dog Day Care - $30/day (min 3 days)

Please note that Dog Day Care is NOT boarding. This is only limited to the Queenstown, Redhill area.

For enquiries or booking of appointment, kindly contact me at smartaleck@rocketmail.com with the header "Dog Walking" or "Dog Day Care".

Many thanks!

Bark translator

2009-07-20T21:53:00.002+08:00

I just read about this bark translator and I think it's way cool!

I want one too so that I can understand my dear Baileys a lot better!! Can someone let me test it and give it a review? Pleeeasee? I promise to take loads of pictures of the gadget and post it on this blog as well as on my personal blog!! I'll also recommend it to all my dog lover friends!!!

Hee :)

Doggy daycare in Canary Wharf

2009-07-19T07:26:00.003+08:00

Hi guys,

As I will be in London for another 3 more weeks, I am available for doggy daycare for the Canary Wharf area from Mondays to Fridays.

Do contact me via email if you would like someone to take care of your dog while you're at work.

Hope to hear from you!

Cheers!

Pug puppies!!

2009-07-16T17:23:00.003+08:00

My bro's friend came to London last night, so we decided to eat out. Was walking along West India Quay (it is still kinda within Canary Wharf) and we saw two really adorable pug puppies!!!

The smaller one was only 13 weeks old and boy were they curious little pugs. They were sniffing everyone who approached them and where happily nipping everyone as well. This is because they were teething so their gums are itchy and one of them actually managed to nip my hand. Really reminds me of Baileys when he was a wee pup.

I love puppies!! They're soooo adorable and sooo active. The owner of the pugs told me that it was their first walk...which explained why they were so excited. I know that dog whisperers like Caeser Millan would say, "Don't get all excited because the energy will transfer to the dogs." bbuuuttt....they were soooo cute!!

Haha...I spent about 5 minutes scratching their ears and bellies before we walked on looking for a good English pub.

Btw, if you are getting a pug, do note that they tend to snore quite loudly because their faces (and hence nasal passage) are kinda compressed. So...if you don't like snoring animals...beware!

Dog wash!

2009-07-14T17:23:00.003+08:00

Remember an earlier post where I mentioned that the pH of a dog is different to a human's? Well, here is a very good article on that.

As I had mentioned, you can neutralise the acidity of human shampoos by diluting it.

Personal experience shows that Head and Shoulders does help with doggy drandruff but a disclaimer: it might work for my dog but not all dogs.

My mum always complains about my dog's smell but I think she's just being fussy because she's not a dog lover. So...stick to the rule of not bathing your dog more than once a week unless absolutely necessary!

Don't let your dog pounce all over you

2009-07-08T16:06:00.002+08:00

My dad is the classic example of what NOT to let your dog do. Pounce all over him when he gets back.

You probably think that its sooo cute that your dog misses you sooo much that he/she pounces all over you when you get home.

Sorry folks. The truth is that your dog is showing its dominance over you. So...as per my earlier post, do not let your dog get away with this behaviour! You need to ensure that your dog does not pounce on you by either stepping lightly on its hind paw or just lift your leg up so that it slides down.

Remember: you're the pack leader, the alpha. Not your dog.

I miss my poochie!!

2009-06-16T20:56:00.002+08:00

As some of you might know, I am currently on an extended holiday in London and am halfway across the world away from my darling Baileys!!

I miss him terribly. He's so soft and cuddly and handsome!!

Ok...enough of this random rant.

Pet sitting services suspended till Aug

2009-05-09T12:55:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone,

As I will be overseas for 2 mths, I will be suspending all pet sitting services till August!

If you would like items from Europe, do check out my spree website, Travel Spree!

Happy Mothers' Day in advance to all mothers!!

How to choose a Maltese

2009-05-01T23:42:00.003+08:00

Went to Pasir Ris Pet Farm today as Chowchow's friend is thinking of getting a maltese.

Fell in love with a Cocker Spaniel puppy as well and you can read about that here.

The breeder is very experienced in breeding malteses and these are the tips that she gave us.

1. The angle of the head from the snout should be as close to 90 degrees as possible
2. The nose has to be large and black
3. The eyes have to be large and round too, as it is the face of a maltese that's important
4. All paws should be as black as possible
5. The head should generally be broad
6. Fur-wise, a maltese that has fluffy fur is easier to maintain than one who's fur is cottony
7. Fur colour doesn't matter. It is the facial expression of the maltese which matters. It should appear 'smiling'

There you go! Good tips if you're intending to get a maltese as a pet. Talking to Chowchow's friend has also reminded me that there are general rules that 1st time dog owners seldom consider. Will blog about that as soon as I find a way to make it concise!

Cheerios! Woof woof.

Suicidal Dog - Bridgestone/ Mercedes Commercial

2009-04-30T13:52:00.001+08:00

So cute!! How come this isn't shown on Singapore TV?

Muggy weather

2009-04-28T20:25:00.002+08:00

The heat these days is disgusting. Bet you've been scoffing down ice drinks or ice-cream. Tempted to give your poochie some too?

What I do is to give Baileys some ice cubes. He's not very fond of them now since he's discovered papaya....but you can try freezing treats in ice cubes! Cools them down, works out their jaws and they think its a treat!

Silly Me

2009-04-23T10:59:00.000+08:00

I know why it seems as if nobody's reading my blog...its because I had accidentally deleted my tracker!! LOL...oops...

Doggy shampoo

2009-04-07T01:05:00.002+08:00

Sometimes, I don't understand why my dog's shampoo is more expensive than mine. I've asked my vet and he said that dogs' skin has a different pH level than humans. Still doesn't explain the cost!! Horse hair shampoo is sooo cheap and its so good that its better for humans than most of the human shampoo out there.

Ok, that's not the point. Back to doggy and cat shampoo. I've checked with the vet and he said that its perfectly fine to bathe your dogs in diluted human shampoo. That's what I've done with Baileys and he smells goooood...... =)

Let me just revel in how cute I think Baileys is.....

2009-04-01T03:20:00.000+08:00

Sleeping after a nice long walk...see...walking your dog helps...especially if you've got a hyperactive pooch.

Boarder alert!!

2009-03-30T13:22:00.003+08:00

My best friend's going overseas for a week and so she's leaving her teacup poodle with me. Ever wondered how tiny a teacup poodle is? Below is a picture of her facing off with Baileys.

That's Princess on the left with more fur than anything else. That's Baileys on the right wondering what this small thing is doing near his bed and the alpha's (that's me) bed. Princess is so tiny, I think I've got to either leave my balcony window closed all the time or put some gauze around the railings to prevent an accident. Wouldn't want it to be raining a dog....ok...joke's not funny.

I normally do not do boarding as you can see from my above perm post. Instead, I do pet day care. Exception in this case is because Princess belongs to my best friend and she can't leave Princess at her parents' place as her other dog there is like a dog with ADHD. Uber hyperactive. Even Baileys can't stand that dog.

Well...let's hope Princess doesn't get lonely and the 2 of them get into some healthy playing relationship!

Alpha dog = YOU!

2009-03-22T18:07:00.002+08:00

I went out with my friend on Thu and we started talking about our dogs and she was telling me that her soon-to-be 1 yr old mongrel, Queenie, was very naughty and attention seeking. When she elaborated on how Queenie was naughty, I immediately knew that Queenie thinks herself as leader of the pack - the alpha. Let me tell you what my friend relayed to me.

Queenie would:
1. jump up on my friend and parents whenever they came home
2. bite and chew on the door whenever the family left the house
3. bit my friend's arm just to get her attention to play with her
4. bark at the whole family when she wants to be fed
5. stands at the top of the stairs and watches the whole family
6. sleeps on the sofa
7. hates taking walks and will attempt to jump into a bush whenever they go out for walks
8. pulls on her leash and walks in front of my friend

Sounds like your dog? Congratulations. You've got a dominant dog and you're below it in their pack hierarchy. Well, all is not lost. Solutions are quite simple but you must follow through and BE FIRM.

You must:
1. stop your dog from pouncing on you by either lifting your knee or stepping on your dog's back paw when they pounch on you
2. disallow your dog from the sofa/bed or any high area. That's only for the alpha - you.
3. shorten the leash so that your dog walks next to you
4. use a choke chain/ push the collar to the back of the ears where its very sensitive
5. ignore the dog when it barks at you for food etc

It is important that ALL family members follow the same rule. Have more serious problems or other solutions? Feel free to drop a comment.

Dogs think with their stomachs

2009-03-19T13:43:00.002+08:00

Not with their heads...hahaha...yes, this is true!! You should've seen the way Baileys eyes my food everytime I eat. He sits next to my helper in the kitchen whenever she's preparing food. There's NOTHING that you can do. Just ignore the fella. He/she may whine and beg and look oh so cute. But remember - human foods contain too much salt/ sugar for them. Their fur may start dropping more than usual or they might get allergic reactions.

Be safe and stick to dog food and treats. Fruits (except grapes) are fine though :)

What's that smell?

2009-03-13T18:01:00.002+08:00

My mum complains almost every single day that my dog stinks. She keeps saying this after his bath: "He just took a bath and why is he still so smelly?"

-__-;;

To me...he just smells like wet dog. When he's dry, its eau de Baileys.

Anyways, just to appease my mum's finer sense of smell, I have sprayed Baileys with my Elizabeth Arden Green Tea (refreshing) and then some of my Bvlgari perfume, which I think smells better on him than on me. Haha...

Btw, I do NOT encourage you to spray human perfume on your pets. It might irritate their skin. However, I do spray the perfume on my hands before rubbing it on Baileys. Another thing that I do is to spray a mist about 20cm away from him. You can get special cologne meant for dogs...but I hate the smell of most of them. Anyway...those were 2 unique incidents. I don't do this all the time.

Doggy dreaming

2009-03-13T13:22:00.002+08:00

Yes, it is normal for dogs to have dreams. I seriously can't tell you what they're dreaming about but its darn cute to watch them while they dream.

Baileys has had nightmares or sometimes, I think he's dreaming that he's out walking around. His paws are moving as if he is walking. Sometimes, he whimpers and snorts or makes small barky sounds.

My friend thinks her pooch fights in her dreams. :)

SOO cute!!!

2009-03-12T01:45:00.002+08:00

Saw this clip on youtube and I found it hilarious that this cat just loves broccoli! My dog loves carrots and he does the exact same thing with his carrots. So cute....

Obedience training - must I?

2009-03-11T12:26:00.003+08:00

Well...the reason why I didn't start my blog with puppy care etc is because most books cover this already and really...you do need to write a book on this. Not bloggable. Unless you like reading long posts. Anyway, let's talk about obedience training! The formal kind where you pay $$$ and your pooch gets a cert at the end of it.

I'm sure many of you would've read advice given from obedience trainers and they all say, "Yes, you should send your dog for training." and if you're a cynic like me, you're probably thinking, "Of course you'll say yes. You're blardy earning $ from this." Well, my fellow cynics or just people who are clueless or undecided, below are a couple of questions that you should ask yourself:

1. Can you afford the time and money?
If you are willing to fork out around $300 (or possibly more if you take public transport) and are able to commit 2-3 hours a week, then go for it! You and your dog will enjoy the time together and its a great place/time to socialise - for both you and your dog.

If you don't have the cash but are willing to commit the time, my advice is to borrow loads of books on how to train your dog and do it EVERYDAY. Join forums, trawl the internet as well so that you find out more from other pet owners and trainers on how to train your dog if the instructions in the book do not work. Well, there's also this site. Feel free to twitter/ comment/ email me!

If you have neither....WHAT WERE YOU THINKING when you got your dog? A dog is not a hamster where you can place it in a cage and let it do whatever it wants in there. If you don't step up and train and prove to your dog that you're its leader, its gonna run the house. By then, you'll REALLY need a trainer and that will cost you around $70/ session.

2. Is this your first dog?
If it is, I highly recommend that you send your dog for obedience training so that you learn all the proper skills and commands. Unless, you're like me who had wanted a dog for over 15 years before actually getting one. I've read so many books and read so many websites that I self-trained my Baileys. Even so, I learn new things from talking to trainers and friends. A trainer friend even commented that I am "brave" for training my dog on my own, especially when he's my first pooch.

Even if this isn't your first dog, did your previous dog show any behavioural problems? For example, they think they're the leader of the pack and they bark/bite visitors? If you answered 'yes'...please go for obedience training. I wrote that on purpose. 'Cos seriously, you're the ones who are being trained on how to handle your dog. Dogs just behave like dogs. You need to understand how their brains work to prevent problems.

Point is this: all dogs and their owners need to go through some form of training. Don't think that just because you can't afford it, you don't train your dog. You do. And training is a daily process. If you already are sending your dog for formal training, your trainer would've told you that you need to practise the commands with your dog often. Its a game for them and if food's at the reward, who wouldn't want to play?

Have fun with your poochies!!

Grooming - what a pain?

2009-03-10T12:24:00.003+08:00

If you're affected by the recession like me (have been retrenched since Nov), you're probably scrimping by not having your dog groomed by a professional groomer unless absolutely necessary.

Even if you are still sending your pooch to its regular grooming session, you still need to upkeep simple stuff like brushing the coat and (most importantly) cutting of the paw fur. Long haired dogs like mine requires the paw fur to be cut around once a week. Question is: how the heck do I get my dog to stay still, not squirm and not try to run away while I'm trying to cut the fur or nails?

Firstly, you MUST MUST MUST start this kind of grooming regime from the start. Puppy/ not puppy, adopted/ not adopted - doesn't matter. YOU need to establish a regime right off. Baileys has seen the brush and shaver so often that he knows what's in store. He likes the brushing but hates the shaver to the core. Nonetheless...he sits down and knows that I'm going to groom him. In other words, you need to train your dog to be used to being groomed by you.

Once that's established, I find that toy or small dogs are easier to groom because they're small and you're able to "squish" them under one arm. But then again, my friend will disagree with me because small dogs tend to squirm and run off a lot easier than medium or large sized dogs.

Nonetheless, try this out - if you have a toy dog, use your non-master armpit to pin it down. For me, I'll be pinning the dog under my left armpit and I'll use my left hand to hold the paw while my right hand uses the shaver to shave the paw fur or to clip the nails. Trick is - be firm. Don't take any nonsense. Hold onto the paw firmly and be quick. I have yet to meet a patient pooch. They'll sit or stand for you to groom but doesn't mean that they love it.

You'll soon find that once your dog is used to the grooming regime, you wouldn't need to pin it under your armpit anymore. Baileys lies on his tummy with his resigned face. He hates the shaver and will try to jerk his back paws whenever the shaver approaches them...but as I mentioned earlier, be firm.

Oh...I keep mentioning shaver and you must be wondering what kind of shaver/ clipper I'm referring to. I did not buy the shaver from a pet shop because those are horribly expensive and seriously, what's the diff? Are they more silent?? I've got no idea. I'd rather spend $60-something on a Phillips shaver from Best Denki/ Courts than spend $90-$100 on a so-called pet shaver. You DO need a shaver for poochie nonetheless. If you want to get one from the pet shop, do feel free to do so. A pet shop assistant once told me that scissors would suffice but I disagree. With all the potential jerking/ squirming etc, scissors will only hurt your dog and even yourself! Hair clippers/ shavers eliminate this problem. I also find the hair clipper effective in shaving off matted fur. :)

In the current economic situation, I'm not going to send Baileys to the groomers this year and I'm doing all the brushing and shaving of matted fur. I try to shave such that he doesn't have patches all over but seriously, I don't think he cares. He's still rolling and jumping around. I detest those groomers who give me and my friend "The Look" whenever they see how much matted fur our dogs have. Its not as if we don't take care of our dogs. I'm sure many owners agree with me that dogs' fur gets highly matted when they lick and scratch themselves.

Dog food

2009-03-09T13:17:00.003+08:00

I often see some friends going to the pet shop every month to just buy a bag of doggy kibbles and they don't get the large ones because its too heavy to carry it home. This makes me wonder why don't they just order and get the pet shop to deliver? Most pet shops earn their bulk of their income from the sale of pet food. Most of them do delivery and they even waive off delivery charges if you are a regular.

Personally, I use the website Hotdog. I've used them for so many years and I can safely say that they give me value for money. In order to keep my dog's food fresh, they were the ones who suggested repacking the food into 6 separate bags!! Talk about excellent service!! They do offer grooming services but they actually send the dogs to another pet shop and I didn't like how my pooch looked after that. Nonetheless, its very fuss free because they pick the dog from your home and will deliver your pooch back to your home once the grooming is done.

Well...this post is about food...so I shall blog about the grooming bit in another entry. Anyway...let's talk about allergies. If you've got a purebred like me, chances are...your dog is more suscepitble to skin allergies. Long floppy ears like my Cocker Spaniel? Ear infection alert. Most of it can actually be traced back to allergens though.

Common allergens for dogs? Corn and wheat. Science Diet uses these 2 in bulk and they don't compensate it by adding oils like flaxseed/ primrose or simple fish oils. Lesson learnt: READ LABELS. Seems like a no brainer but I never really thought about it until my dog (when he was a puppy) had rashes, hairless patches and adding flaxseed to his diet wasn't helping.

Surprisingly, dogs can be allergic to meat too. I know...this sounds absolutely weird. However, according to his vet, my Baileys is allergic to meat. What type? I think all. Haha. Fish is ok though. Nonetheless, I have since put Baileys on the Solid Gold Holistic and his skin has improved tremendously.

During New Year, I gave him a couple slices of beef and the next day...his ear started smelling really bad and he was scratching himself like mad. Yes...dogs can be allergic to meats. No...I'm not gonna make my dog a vegetarian. =P

Anyway, the main point is to be observant and it helps to talk to your pet's vet regularly!

Newsletter - scrapped

2009-03-08T10:56:00.004+08:00

I've decided that I'm doing away with the newsletter because of the lack of response as well as due to the nature of my writing. Perhaps, I will do it when I get more readership. Thus, I will keep the Pet Sitting and Day Care biz part above while I blog about how to take care of your dog etc from my experience with my own pooch and my friends' experiences too.

I don't claim to be an expert but having taken care of my English Cocker Spaniel for 5 years...I have learnt a lot and I'd like to just share that with you. So do keep a look out for new posts and yes, I'm on twitter so feel free to tweet me as well!

Does your dog have bad breath?

2009-02-25T14:52:00.002+08:00

Found this website while surfing through the net and found this product! There's the human version too...of course.

http://www.therabreath.com/family.asp?fam=7

2009-02-05T18:18:00.003+08:00

We're going to publish a free pets newsletter soon. Please give us feedback as to what you would like to see in this newsletter and whether you would like it to be a weekly/ monthly edition to feedback@oopsiwannasay.com.

Your email address and any other details will only be known to us and will not be released to any third party.