Strange Weather in The Tropics!

My people and I live in Malaysia. It's a little country wedged between Singapore and Thailand located right on the equator (ensuring year long tropical weather) and well outside the Pacific Ring of Fire (natural disasters are few and far in between!). So you can imagine my surprise when I was outside, taking my usual mid-afternoon snooze, when it began to ice! No, not rain. Ice.

Attack of ice by invisible assailants

It was so terrifying! I couldn't see who was throwing the ice at me, so I was whimpering and running back and forth trying to find any shelter to get away from those cold and worse, WET stones. It took the people long enough before they finally realized I was in distress. (Honestly, I feel like an unwanted step-child in this family!)

I don't understand why, but they went absolutely MAD when they saw the ice. Mad like it was walk time! They were oohing and aahing and pointing; absolutely barking mad. I on the other hand, was very relieved to be inside. I was so shaken by the experience I couldn't even move from my spot for a while!

Grandmama was the only one sensible enough to stay inside with me!

Anyway, it meant some inside time without a yucky bath! Score! I made full use of my time inside by catching up with some television.

Perhaps one day I can be inside the TV too.

Half an hour later, the weather cleared up and it became scorching hot instead! The people were all in arms about global warming, although they had silly grins plastered all over their faces. They said it was like seeing snow in Malaysia! I wonder what snow is. If it's wet, I don't want anything to do with it!

Lots of Licks,

Summer

An Unfortunate Incident

It all started at the field where the Mommas usually take me for a little run and to train my recall. Around that area is a pack of dogs who we assume belong to the mechanics that have a shop opposite the field. These dogs are left to run about outside, completely untrained without any supervision.

Like most dogs, they're all bark but they've never tried to come close to us. Yesterday however, we saw one of them barking after a guy on a bicycle. He kept looking back, and wasn't paying attention so he skidded on a particularly sandy bit of the road. After he fell, the dog sort of scuffed at him and walked away!

The girl didn't seem like a bad sort. She came to the field and started staring at me, scoffing at my recalls and sits. When Momma-1 wasn't paying attention I zipped off after her just to show her I had a mind of my own too. She didn't think too much of that, and hide herself in the tall grasses. Momma-1 and I didn't give her much thought after that, but a few minutes later this very unpleasant man came brandishing 2 large planks of wood and shouting threatening words at the her! He even started throwing beer bottles at the poor girl, because the best way to get a dog to come to you is by brandishing large weapons and throwing glass bottles at it, naturally.

This is a picture that Momma-1 hastily took of the man. Sorry for the obviously horrid quality, she only had her phone with her and she was quite terrified that he would spot her trying to take the picture!

Momma-1 was horrified, but she didn't know what to do. She had half a mind to give him a good telling off but he wasn't alone and she was unarmed. Of course, she forgot that she was totting me about! I would've given him a good piece of my teeth if he tried to harm her.

Fortunately for the girl, she quickly ran off and the bumbling arsehole never got to her. The man walked back to his friends and began laughing about it. It was most uncomfortable and frightening so Momma-1 cut training short and quickly brought me home. We were on the look out for her on the way back, we didn't see her anywhere. Hopefully she's safe and the brute didn't think to harm her in any way.

It's really sad that the girl is paying for what is essentially his fault (assuming he's the one who owns her). It's very frustrating that the laws here don't protect the weak and voiceless. We wish we could report his ass all the way to jail! A rather unpleasant end to what would otherwise be an uneventful day.

If you were in our shoes, what would you have done?

Attempting to Train the Wild out of Me

Hi there! Before Summer comes back, I would just love to thank Wild Dingo, Honey, and Frankie and Beryl's mama for all the useful advise about her nipping habits. I loved the water gun idea! I don't think Summer would be too keen on that though. =P We're going to try everything we can, and hopefully it will help reduce (and dare I hope, eliminate!) the problem. We'll keep you updated on her nipping progress! Oops, here she comes. Don't tell her I said anything.

Momma-1

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I hope Momma-1 hasn't been talking bad about me in front of you guys! Just so everyone knows, I wasn't always a wild child. I used to be an extremely submissive and scared girl! When Momma-1 just got me, she took me to classes because she thought it was a good opportunity to socialize me and get me used to strangers and new environments. It was a whole lot of fun. I got to go for so many car rides, open strange pee-mail, meet other dogs, meet new people! Well, the new people part wasn't that fantastic. I made sure they knew when they were coming too close to me! I merely tolerated it because everything else was so wonderful.

Momma-1 took me for what they call the Canine Social Adaptability Test. It's obedience classes for house pets (without all the strict real obedience stuff!). And I passed with flying colours! Even the portion involving strangers. Not once did I attempt to bark, lunge or bite said stranger. I could tell Momma-1 was very proud of me then. I even dabbled in a little bit of agility and the trainers said I was a natural. Talk about stating the obvious. My natural athleticism is what allows me to perform my escapes!

After Momma-1 went to her own training school aka University, there was no one to take me to classes anymore. There's only one training centre nearby, and that's about an hour away from home. Only Momma-1 was free to take me all the way there!

But since Momma-1 has been back for Summer Holidays (A holiday named after me! How important am I. =D), she decided to do some training with me again!

Mysterious. I wonder what's going on at the other side?

TADA! The Mommas are taking extra measures so I don't run off into the sunset.

The Mommas were VERY impressed by my sit-stay and down-stay. I thought I'd cooperate. Just goes to show I can be good if I want to.

"Are you leaving me here forever? =("

And at the end of a long day, all I want to do is crawl into my crate and have a good night's sleep.

Lots of licks,

Summer

My First Blog Award!

My new blog friend Honey the Great Dane has awarded me with this stylish blogger award!

It's such an honour and so exciting as it is the first award I have ever received! So I'd like to thank Momma-1 for believing in my acting and picking me from the other broods at the SPCA, Momma-2 for keeping me company when Momma-1 wasn't around, the occasional-papa for taking me for fast jogs even though you don't really like touching me, and grandmama for always buying me livers and never forgetting to prepare my dinner!

Accepting the award means I have to share 7 facts about myself. This is one of those times where I feel like I have so many things to share and yet I don't know what to say. But I'll try my best and hopefully you guys will know me a little better after this exposé.

Fact #1: I used to sport a different name

At the SPCA, I used to be called Nidia! An exotic name, I know. But Momma-1 thought a new home required a new name and after some experimenting, she settled with Summer. And I rather like being named after such a well loved season (despite the fact that there's no actual Summer here in Malaysia!).

Momma-1 picking me up as 'Nidia' at the SPCA

Fact #2: I am addicted to zooming

Hi, my name is Summer, and I'm a zoomaholic. I'll do it in the morning, in the evening, after baths, before attending to business... I find that zoomies help move things along, if you know what I mean. Momma-1 has even found a way to instigate zoomies! When I'm really wired up, such as before going out, she'll throw one of my toys at me. I'll chase it and before I know it, I'm zooming up and down the lawn with the toy in my mouth! The Mommas say I go super fast, and one day I'm going to barrel into somebody and sweep them clean off their feet!

Fact #3: I am a nipper

No amount of correcting, redirecting, ignoring, growling, show of dominance (you name it, the Mommas have tried it) will stop me from taking a good nip! In fact, most of the time when they correct me, I take it as a signal to nip again. Over time I have let off on the Mommas, but I have redirected my energy to occasional-papa and grandmama. This is because I KNOW I can absolutely get away with it when it comes to them! Momma-1 says this habit makes me extremely unlikeable, but it just feels so good! And although I'm not picky, I am very partial to heels. I guess I just appreciate a good pair of heels.

Fact #4: I hate water

With an absolute passion. After a rain, I would walk AROUND puddles if I can. And I make an icky face when I accidentally walk into a puddle. I absolutely dread baths, naturally. I always make sad face when either Mommas take me to the bathroom, but they has hearts of steel and they doesn't care! And there was this time when Momma-1 thought it would be nice to take me to the beach. THE BEACH! The sand was fine, in fact there were lots of things to smell. But the waves! Those terrifying beasts that pretend to run away then quickly swoop in to try and eat me! *shudders* Momma-1 tried to coax me into the water but I was absolutely having none of that! Thank God she decided to just let me be, otherwise the wave creatures would have had me for dinner. I don't know why they didn't swallow her though. She must taste pretty bad. =s

Fact #5: I don't like touching icky things with my paws

The Mommas find it strange, but I wouldn't touch anything slimy with my paws! And by that I mean my knuckle bones. Most doggies would lie down, hold the bone so it wouldn't run away, and tuck into a nice hour long chew. Not me! If it tries to give me the slip, I don't mind waddling around after it. Better than dirtying my delicate paws!

It's just how I roll!

Fact #6: I am an escape artist, but I wouldn't run out an open gate

Oh the heartbreak I've apparently caused the Mommas for constantly trying to break free! I've climbed under, climbed over, and even jumped across the fence to get to them pesky cats! Once I even tried digging my way through, although I realized the flaw in that plan pretty quickly. And it isn't just fences I conquer. I've even gotten out of my crate. Yes, my crate! But despite all my attempts to get to the other side of the fence, I'm not so keen of wide open gates. Most of the time I just sit and stare when the Mommas and occasional-papa open the gate to park their cars. Momma-1 attributes it to her making me to sit nicely and calmly before I go out for walks, but the truth is I just prefer a challenge! But I decided to keep my muzzle shut. Just give her this one, you know?

Fact #7: I was an apartment doggie for a week

It's true! For a whole week, I stayed with Momma-1 in her apartment when she was doing her internship. She wanted me over because I was having a test soon and she thought me ill prepared. Seeing as she was having loads of free time during her internship, she wanted me over. I guess it was kind of nice living with Momma-1, but the truth was the new environment was a bit... Smaller then what I was used to. There was no earth to sniff, no plants to uproot. In all honesty, I even missed the cats! If you tell anyone, I'll deny it.

But she still had to go out on 'field assignments', and she decided to crate me while she wasn't around. Now, I am perfectly crate trained. I love my crate, it's my pad and I love snuggling into my pillow. But the new environment was driving me crazy, so I used my gift to escape the crate! (And no, I didn't destroy it. I unlatched the door, like a proper lady-dog.) After that I thought I'd do something nice for Momma-1 (despite the fact that she left me by myself!) and redecorate her room a little. I chewed off the corner of her bed frame, moved her pillows around a little; I even pulled out some of the stuffing in her duvet ala Mr. Moo! I don't think she was very appreciative of my efforts though.

I am proud to say that although I've been am an outdoors doggie, I only had ONE accident, and that was in the living room. =D You had no idea how relieved I was come the end of the week and I saw my wonderful yard and garden again! Of course, I had to celebrate with a few victory zooms.

And that's 7 things you now know about me! I'm still new to blogging, so hopefully this gives you an idea of the kind of female-dog that I am. =p

Now passing on this award is tricky, as I don't know a whole lot of people. Here's to hoping that I can make new fur-friends through this!

Tales and Tails

Jet's Furkid Palace

It's a Dog's Life

Wild Dingo

Greyhounds CAN Sit

The 4-legged Wiums

Just spreading the love!

Lots of Licks,

Summer

Casualty of War

Alas! One of my escape plans have failed. =( The failed trick lead to a series of unfortunate events starting with me falling heavily off the fence. My bones are all intact but the impact brought the Mommas out which lead to them finding out the flaw in their prison design! A very unfortunate outcome indeed. No cat chasing, no glorious adventure, and another round of fence work. BAH!

The frustration was enough to make me turn on one of my best friends, Mr. Moo.

I'm sorry Mr. Moo! =(

This unfortunate incident has resulted in Mr. Moo losing his squeaker for good. Momma-1 said she couldn't find it amidst the wreckage. It was the most regrettable part. The squeaker was what charmed me in the first place!

The blob circled in red is me, reeling in the horror

of my actions after I've come back to my doggy senses.

Momma-1 managed to fix him up somewhat. But he'll never be the same without his squeaker. And yet he still finds it in him to put on a brave face and smile for the camera.

His other ear and horn were lost in a... Er... Previous altercation.

But isn't that what friends are for?! Besides, I'm sure he's still good for another violent hustle or 10. Momma-1 is doing a fairly decent job of pushing his stuffing back into place.

And it fells so good to get everything out of my teeth. Now I can lie down and work on my tan a little. A girl needs her TLC! Can't always be work work work now can I?

Taking a breather before I plan my next big escape!

Lots of Licks,

Summer

Next 'Got Milk' Ambassadress?

Watch out world! I'll soon be famous and fabulous (fabulousser actually) when I send in these gorgeous profiles of me sporting a milk moustache. I'll be the next face of the 'Got Milk?' campaign!

A straight angled profile complete with props!

And the side profile. Shows off my fabulous cheekbones.

Just so we're clear, I'm not getting out of my crate for less than 5 different kinds of doggie biscuits, organic chicken and beef liver, and AT LEAST 4 different chew toys in my trailer.

Lots of licks,

Summer.

Holiday Weight & Fence Update

What with Christmas, New Year, and Chinese New Year all falling so close to each other, the Mommas say I've been putting on weight. Not only that, Momma-1 is going back to training school (she calls it 'university') soon and is showering me with my favourite foods!

Like ice-cream....

Cookies...

And knuckle bones! Mmm....

It's purely for dental purposes. Really!

But I think calling me fat is rather unfounded. I do try to get in some yoga time in between snacks. Or during snacks.

My best pose; Downward facing dog.

In other news, the Mommas have made another attempt to shackle my brilliant gift. Parents just don't understand! They have moved the pots away from the spot where I always try to climb over and they raised the height using the old fence. Their theory is that I only try to go over from that side because that is where I see the cats... LAUGHABLE! I'm a rebellious teenager on a mission. We'll see how long that one holds up.

Lots of licks,

Summer

More Fireworks

A second round of fireworks are keeping me up again! The Mommas say it's another New Year celebration for a different group of Chinese people. They are the 'Hokkien' people. The story is that there was a war going on, and the people had to spend the real Chinese New Year hiding in a sugar cane plantation! So after the war was over, they came out and celebrated Chinese New Year 9 days after the actual celebration. Well, that's the Mommas version. They aren't too reliable. All I know is lots of sugar cane and fireworks are involved.

Thank goodness for the crate. You can't drag me out when the fireworks go off, even if you dangle a chicken liver in front of me!

Hiding under Momma-2's chair when the madness starts again!

Lots of Licks,
Summer

Success!

I have achieved success. Let it be known, that I, Summer, have conquered the wired securing not 24 hours upon its completion! It was most unexpected, let me tell you. Instead of squeezing through the opening below.... I climbed OVER it! Ingenious, I know. Thank you, thank you, I live off applauses!

All my handiwork! I used it as leverage while I haul myself over with my amazing

upper-doggie-body strength

Now don't judge, I don't do it because I hate my home. I quite like it actually. It's those cats. Peh! I'm helping the neighbours with pest control. Quite frankly, I deserve a treat for my effort.

But the success was very short lived. Puppy, my neighbour/sister alerted Momma-2. What a snitch! Momma-2 said she was calling for me over the fence, but in all honesty I didn't hear her! My on-again off-again deafness must be acting up.

Imagine my surprise when I saw her at the neighbours! "Oh, what are you doing here? What a pleasant surprise" said I non-chalantly. She greeted me pleasantly enough although she was carrying me rather uncomfortably on the way back home and she muttered some not too pleasant things.

So I'm back to square one. Tied up again. Will they never understand I am doing this for the good of mankind?!

Feeling tired after the adventure. And trying to look repentant! Two birds with one stone.

Lots of licks,

Summer

P/s Momma-1 said she wants to say a word or two! Keep it short, momma.

I am at my wits end. I'll remove the pots, and if she still manages to get into her mischief then I really don't know what to do anymore. I'd love for her to be an inside dog, and she will be once I can call a place my own but it's not my house and therefore not my rules. I've even tried forbidding her from touching the fence, but I honestly think she forgets everything, even who she is, when she sees a cat! It is most disappointing to see how quickly she overcomes the fence after so much work putting it up.

Securing the Yard is Hard Work

It's no secret that I, Summer, am a renegade escape artiste. Many a times the mommas have tried to "retain" me within the small confined space of the yard. But I'm no lap dog. I need to explore. Taste the air of freedom! Smell the crumbs on the other side! Chase the cats and then turn tail when they start hissing at me!

Yet the people never learn. Momma-1 came back with a huge roll of wire. HAH! Like that would stop me. She says it's a metal securing, so there's no way I can chew through that one. But you can bet that I will try. Oh how I will try.

What's left of the old securing

It was a two day job, as Momma-1 had to haul loads of pots, tear down the old fence, secure the new wire fence which from her grunts and her moans is a lot harder then it looks, and finally haul the pots back.

The new securing is up!

I did what I could, by making sure the pots were thoroughly sniffed for evidence.

"Hmm... What do we have here?"

"Smells like homemade fertilizer... *sniff* With a hint of cat poop!"

But don't rest on your laurels just yet, cats. I'll be back!

But first a nap.

Lots Of Licks,

Summer

CNY is Here!

For the past couple of days, the Mommas have been very very busy. They were running around shoving things into the oven and dragging out delicious smelling cookies. Of course, I was armed with my exceptionally sharp palate in order to make sure they were edible.

A load of peanut cookies

But it wasn't all rainbows and cookies. They took to putting up some red dangly stuff on the ceiling, to which I protested loudly at first, but soon learned they were harmless so I let it go. A girl's gotta pick her battles! Then they put these red little paper envelopes called 'ang pows' on what used to be the Christmas tree. To top it all off, they gave the house a thorough cleaning, and SOMEHOW decided that I needed a thorough cleaning too! Ugh.

Turns out, they were getting ready for Chinese New Year! The Mommas get all teary eyed and nostalgic, because Momma-1 brought me home around CNY last year. I was greeted to my new home by loads of crackers and fireworks. This year was no different! Fireworks and loud booming noises galore during Chinese New Year Eve. The Mommas were relived I'm not the barky type when the noise pollution began. I just run into my crate and cower in there until it all stops! The Mommas just laugh at me when I do that. They can be so mean!

Momma-1 insisted that I did my level best to look festive too. She picked off a pretty little ornament and tucked it into my collar. I thought it was a nice new toy, because it swishes about and is so much fun to jump around and catch! It's like an endless game of fetch, except I don't have to give back the ball. The Mommas began to worry that I'd chew it into oblivion so they took it off after a while. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted.

Despite the fact that this time of the year is noisy, hot, and my walks have become shorter and more erratic because everyone is out most of the time, I'm still very fond of this holiday. The sound of fireworks brings me back to the day I began to share my life with my human pack.

Greeting Momma-2 at the door

And the cookies of course! Seeing as there's no such thing as free cookies in this household, I had to do a few sit stays (which occasionally melt into a down) and an assortment of tricks to get my cookies' worth. I'm practically a street performer, with what they make me do. I should take to the streets with a sign that says "Will play dead for liver treats".

Waiting patiently for my peanut cookie and a piece of egg tart

It's practically begging, really! I have a three stage step to getting what you want through begging. First the 'pretty please', followed by the 'if I could just lick it', topping it off with 'OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE!!!'. Here's a blurry illustration of the progression. Works like a charm (most of the time)!

I was even nice enough to share my bounty with Puppy, my neighbour/sister.

Yes, she is a big doggie now but she was a puppy once!

Her tale is a bit of a damper to tell, so I'll keep this story for another day. For now, we feast and indulge in the abundance of leftovers during this prosperous time of the year.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Nice to Smell You!

Hello! This is Summer reporting for doody. At this point in time, I'm an 18 month old girl, with a brindled coat, finished with a white vest and matching socks.


My people don't know what I am a mix of (they seem content with a greyhound, saluki, and border collie mix), but what they do know is that I'm inquisitive, have lots of energy, and forever nose deep in some mischief or other.

Does this look like a face of a wild child to you?

Momma-1 rescued me from the shelter where I was living for a while with a TON of other doggies when I was 6 months old. I was quite a big doggie by then, and quite frankly I wasn't the friendliest of pooches. I was wary, I didn't like new people, and I haven't changed much since then. But Momma-1 was pretty persistent and I warmed up to her after a few days! She said it's the reason she picked me. She was afraid I wouldn't ever get taken out of that shelter because nobody really likes a shy dog! Such a silly Momma, so easily fooled. When she took me to Momma-2's house, I became an absolute tyrant!

Momma-1 is still studying, so I live with Momma-2 for now. At first, I was allowed the whole backyard and porch for myself, but I have a fabulous nose for nooks and crannies and found a way to nudge to the neighbour's house where I can nudge into OTHER neighbour's houses!!! Oh the adventures I had. The thrill of the escapades! Oh, they tried to 'reinforce' the fences, but I wasn't having any of that! No one can contain me, Escapist Extrodinaire!

But people didn't like me landscaping their garden(we artist's are so misunderstood!), and Momma-2 was terrified that people would try to hurt me upon seeing a strange dog languishing in their garden. On top of that, I'm particularly wary of strangers. I'm not going to wag my tail at every Tom, Dick and Harry! I'm not aggressive, but people here seem to think that every dog bigger than a chihuahua is armed and dangerous!

In any case, I've been confined to the old ball and leash, doomed to romp in the yard only under very strict supervision. BAH! And they wonder why I'm a ruffian who can't control herself when she's excited. Momma-1 really wants me to be an inside doggie, and I don't particularly hate the idea either, but Momma-2 is a little old fashioned when it comes to doggies in the house. HOWEVER, slowly but surely, I think my stellar personality is making her change her mind. Momma-2 often sneaks me in, and Momma-1 does let me go in for short periods of time after I've taken a bath. A small matter of time before I conquer THAT domain.

Momma-1 makes up for me being holed up all the time by taking me for long jogs and hikes! Now those are a real treat.



She's really trying to make me into a perfect doggy, and I do try my best to please her sometimes. But I am a strong-willed dog and I certainly have a mind of my own. Hmm... Does that make me part Terrier then?

Lots of Licks,
Summer.