Summer turns 9 months!

I can't believe how time flies and how quickly my baby puppy has grown up..

From this [insert baby photo]

to this [insert recent nice photo]

As we celebrate Summer turning 3/4 of a year old, I felt it would be fit for mummy to write about how having her in our lives (or rather at the centre of our lives) has been..

I am thankful for:

Easy toilet training Less than 10 pee accidents and even less poopoos!

Easy and wonderful bedtime habits She enters her playpen on command at 9pm every night and sleeps through till 7am on weekdays and 8 on weekends, alone in the living room, even when she wakes up before she's "allowed" she just stays quiet and entertains herself.

Improving eating habits After a long drawn fight over what she wants to eat (more precisely what she doesn't) which included her pulling a 2 1/2 day hunger strike because she REFUSED to eat her dry kibble, we came to a compromise. I put warm water on her food in the mornings, and boiled chicken with the water in the evenings. She gobbles it up nicely, and I'm thankful because she eats and grows.

invisible boundaries She was a remarkably easy puppy to train, knows not to enter the kitchen or climb up the 3 steps to the family room. Could have been hard because of our "open concept" home, but she's pretty good at recognizing my mental lines =P

Zero destruction To date, no household items or shoes have been destroyed. Phew. She has her fair share of toys and knows what is hers.. She chews and wrecks her Nylabones, plays with her squeakies, swings her rope toys and cuddles and nibbles her stuffed toys. All her toys are well taken care of and so far we've only had to replace her nylon chews.

Healthy chewing habits Summer loves chewing on anything we provide her with for the purpose - nylon chew bones, fish skin chews, compressed vegesticks, pork bones.. It keeps her teeth sparkly and her breath fresh and I'm thankful for that! It also entertains her for hours.

Compliance to being taken care of She comes when called at daily brushing time and lies still till its over, sometimes she falls asleep! She hates having her ears cleaned but allows me to do it and lays real still till its over (she used to rub her ears all over the floor after that, but now she just lays down and we can see her trying to control her urge to do that. haha!). Stands nicely during her shower (rinse-shampoo-rinse-conditioner-rinse) without "shaking" and getting me all wet. Allows groomer to cut her nails and shave her bum without fuss. Eats pills from hand willingly and allows liquid meds to be syringed into her mouth.

Independence While she's pretty sticky and loves bringing her balls to people to play, she can entertain herself for hours in the living room when people are doing their own thing in other parts of the house. Plays with toys, chases ants, people watches and takes her all time favourite naps..

Brave! Everytime a big thunderstorm rolls round, we have a habit of peeking at her if she's alone to see if she's alright. She always just continues chewing, playing, napping, sleeping or whatever she was doing before. Even if its the middle of the night and the lightning and thunder and ripping across the sky.

Leash manners Summer's NOT the best dog on leash, especially when there are canine friends around. She can't help herself but wants so desperately to make friends. However, she doesn't pull with terrible blister-inducing force anymore. Neighbours have stopped to comment that Summer is remarkably well-behaved, even when Rachel (my 8 year old sister) takes her for her afternoon walk around the block.

The golden smile that can light up anyone's day I love when we take Summer out and people stop to pet her. She sits nicely, smiles at them and wiggles her tail and invariably they walk away smiling too! She's also really good at welcoming us home after a long day, and no matter what happens, she always brings a smile to dad's face. =)

I wish she could be better at:

Not jumping on people She gets really excited when meeting other dogs and she loves jumping on them to play. Also bulldozes human guests when welcoming them into the house. This has to stop!

Learn to be reliable off leash I never let her off leash now because the doctor has forbidden her from running. When she does get free, she runs around like a rabid dog until her hips hurt and she has to lie down. If not, theres no way to catch her. Argh!

Difficulties we've faced:

Hip dysplasia We finally let Summer go under anasthesia for detailed xrays of her hips to be taken and she was diagnosed with a pretty bad case of hip dysplasia. Her hips are so badly formed and the sockets so shallow that she is NOT a candidate for reconstructive surgery. We've been instructed by the vet to walk her for 10 mins at a time (no longer) several times a day, and swimming for no more than 30 mins is also allowed. She is understandably bored - all the puppy energy has to go somewhere! - and is becoming a little more stubborn than before when she was well-exercised.

We're keeping her on limited controlled exercise till she turns 14 months (countdown: 5 months!) and following a strict regimen to make sure we build more muscles on those thighs to help support her weak hips. This means she gets 10 min walks 4-5 times a day as well as 30 mins of swimming at least 3 times a week. While the exercise control is boring and frustrating for her, it is even more tiring and frustrating for us! Keeping a 9 month old puppy calm and slow all the time is NOT an easy task! Ferrying a wet dog to and from swimming every other day isn't any fun either..

It really sucks to see your puppy in pain, but now she seems to have more good days than bad. She plays with her toys on the baby mats we've installed for her and makes the most fun out of her days.. She's undergone a course of 4 injections of Cartrophen Vet to help control the degeneration in her joints and her pain, and I keep her on daily glucosamine supplements as well as a homeopathic remedy for her pain. We're hoping to keep her comfy enough to enjoy life and to avoid surgery which we can't afford.

Summer's been for us exactly what her name implies - a ray of sunshine to brighten up our lives! Love ya baby =)

[insert cute photo here]

- Summer's mummy

Hi!

This is Rachel. I take care of Summer when my sister (my sister is Summer's mummy, but I am Summer's jiejie. So weird right) is in school. Well, it has been a long time since they have posted... So I AM TAKING OVER! Summer has got a new toy, called Elly. Elly is an elephant with a squeaker, and Summer looooves it very much.

Can you imagine Summer barking at a soft toy? Yes, she does bark and growl at it, but it's not the first toy she's growled at! A month back, Summer's mummy bought her a brown squeaky bone, and Summer was so excited that she would paw at it and growl and whine in a bid to make it play with her!

I love Summer because she is very obedient (well...when there's no food, dogs, or crazy jumping people nearby). Whenever I return home from school, I bring Summer for a walk around the block. Her hips aren't too good, so her mummy says I cannot walk her for more than 10 minutes at a time. Around the block is just nice. She will pee on the grass during the walk, and sometimes she will poo. I do not really enjoy picking up the poo, but I am working hard to prove that I can take care of a dog. Only if I pass this test (and about ten other tests) will I have a chance of getting my very own dog!

Sometimes I do my homework with Summer around. She has crumpled one of my worksheets (oh no), but at least she did not eat any of my homework. Maybe I should let her? =D Summer likes squeezing herself behind me while I am sitting on the floor by the coffee table. She can't really teach me math or english or anything, but she's so cozy to rest my arm on.

All in all, I really love Summer because she is such a great dog. If I get to get another dog, I would pick golden retriever as one of my top choices of dogs. She is so friendly and fun-loving.

Time to hug summer!

=)

- Rachel

My new football

Hey guys!

Yesterday, Mummy bought me a new football! It's yellow and has black spots all over, and it's waaaaay too big to fit into my mouth! But guess what, Mummy says I would make a good goalie!

You can't score against me, folks. I got it! Prepare for the kick!

Sometimes though, I let Rachel kick off the ball. Mummy says that I have to be fair and give others a chance to kick it. Ok, I guess I have twice the number of legs as my humans, so I will give them twice the chance!

After a while of playing, I lie down to take a breather. These ball matches are pretty tough! They drain all of my energy...

Mummy showed me some really cool shots of me dribbling the ball!

I can even jump to block a shot!

There! See me jump over the ball to slow it down, and a kick and a swerve, avoid Jiejie Rachel, and bounce the ball off the pillar to distract them. Eventually, I am cornered and the ball goes out. Your ball, guys!

I love going places!

I love going places. Did I mention? I love going places!

I can tell when Mummy packs my stuff into a bag. My toys, treats and water bottle. I know I am going somewhere!

Most of the time we have to wait a long time by the road until a kind driver offers to take us. I try to put on my cutest face possible, so that they will think I am a cute small dog! Mummy says that most drivers prefer to take a cute small dog.

This is one of my first times in a cab. Can you see how cute I look?

One time, Mummy decided to bring me to the shop where they have all these things for canines like me! It was too far for me to walk, so I had to sit in this thing which rumbled on forever!

I hate it especially when my butt is rolled over those metal parts of the road. But fortunately my seat had padded newspaper to absorb the shock!

More often than not, I end up outside this big house with a huge gate. And inside it...is water! A whole big giant puddle which I can jump in and get myself wet!

The floor's too deep for me to stand, so I have to swim. What makes the swim worth it is that I get to play with my favourite toy! It has tails, is purple. And guess what? It squeaks! Gosh, I love grabbing it by the tails and swinging it around. There, look up in the picture! I feel really proud, seeing myself retrieving the cool Kong Wubba!

After a few laps, and getting my ear all soaked (eeewww. It feels really squishy, by the way, and itchy!) I get to play in the garden!

Oh! That's my other favourite toy! It smells like a plant, maybe a willow or something, but it's really crunchy and tasty. I am not really allowed to chew on the grass (except when they are not looking), so this is good! It can be swung around too, but right now, I think I've had enough! The swimming made me tired.

I love going to the Singapore Botanical Gardens too. The grass is so inviting, and the scents! Each time Mummy brings me there, it's like a whole new experience. Thousands of dog scents beckon me, and I cannot wait to roll about the grass. I meet many friends there too!

Presenting...Coco the border collie! You must must must read my other entry on our fun time together. And no! You are not seeing double. Yes! It's another golden retriever! She's not much younger than me, and she loves to play, just like me!

Stella still has her baby fur (yuck, I hate that fur, it makes me so sticky!), and she loves nipping! Of course I nip back too, but Mummy says that I should be good. I am a fine young dog. I don't nip at humans! I only nip around my fellow canines!

That's Jay Jay! She's much older than me. Her handler says that she also doesn't "retrieve", as the humans call it. Well, I think we are both equally smart then. Why exchange the ball for food, when we can keep the ball and play with it! Furthermore, the ball won't run out, unlike food!

These are the two places which I have been to the most. I love the big puddle to splash about, and I enjoy running on the big expanse of grass. My humans are starting to trust me more, and are letting me run off leash more often!

Till the next entry, folks! =)

Summer Swimming

Here is a video of her fetching her kong wubba back while swimming! =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYoVRAd7asM

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Summer

Click here to view these pictures larger

Big Day Out!

Today, my Mummy and Gorgor Ben brought me out to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. They said I need to "socialise"... Am I not a real social gal already? Grrrr..

We set out early in the morning, and had to wait for a taxi (I LOVE TAXIS!!!) to take us to this botanics place. As we were walking to the bus stop, it started raining. I hate getting my pretty fur wet and tried to run for cover!

Mummy decided that we should go on - she's always so insistent. By the time we took the taxi and walked in to the new place, all 3 of us were wet.. We found an open grass space easily (cos it was raining and no other poor pup wanted to get wet) and tried to play fetch..

As the rain got heavier, they decided that we should find some shelter or try to find the dog-friendly cafe so that we could all sit down and enjoy some food while waiting for the sky to stop drooling *slurp*

We walked and walked until I was really tired, but couldn't find anywhere, so we headed back to the entrance in the hopes of getting a cab home. On the way we passed a bench under a shelter and Mum (FINALLY) realised that it was past my breakfast time so they decided to feed me first. This was my first meal outside home, but it was no different. They still made me do silly tricks before giving me my kibble...

By the time I was done eating, the rain had lightened up so we set off into the park to find more grass for me to run on.. Before long my lazy humans had parked themselves on their picnic mat and were tossing my ball and Kong Wubba for me to fetch. Why do they think I should run while they relax?

I decided it was more fun to lay on the grass next to their mat and chew grass..

Until....

Coco arrived!!! Coco is a lovely, clever 2 year old Border Collie. I hope I will be as smart and obedient as her when I'm 2. We played together for quite a long while. Her human let her be off-leash, but I had to drag mine along behind me. How unfair! Of course she always ran faster than me!


This is my first time playing with another dog since I left my kennel back where my parents and friends are

After catching my breath from the big chase, we decided it was time to go home... We had to cross the road and wait for a taxi again. All the taxi drivers were avoiding the big wet puppy (I wonder why?), so Mum decided to carry me so that I'd look smaller and cuter.

Finally we got a ride home, and I spent the rest of the day napping to recharge. Mum says I'm much cuter when I'm tired and slow because I listen to her better, but I have to show her that that's not what puppies are for!!!!