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Many Adults, 1 Boy & 1 Dog's Montessori Life in a Singapore flat

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Author: weliveinaflat Page 23 of 31

Let’s go for a drive to Cafe Melba

I was down with influenza with mild fever over the weekend. Doctor ordered bed rest and prescription drugs that knocked me out for more than a day. Mr P was mostly out of the house as his cousin was getting married that day.

As you can imagine, the dog spent a couple of boring days waiting by the door for me to rise up from the dead.

Yup, a very bored dog.

I felt better today so we went to a pet-friendly cafe for brunch.

She had a bowl of water, snatched bits of scrambled egg that I accidentally dropped on the floor and got petted a lot by three little girls. They had a great time shaking her paw and giving her treats. That got her quite happy… the treats, not the paw shaking with little girls. Haha~ She kept looking at me with shining eyes, so I gave the little girls quite a bit of treats to give her.

She hates the iPhone flashlight. Took me a while to figure out to turn it off for the app I was using.

Can my dog’s brown eyes turn green?

People with multiple dogs in the household may have experienced doggy jealousy.

Yes! Dogs do get jealous according to this 2008 Time article that references a Dec. 10 study published in the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. When a pair of dogs were asked to perform an action but only one dog was rewarded, the unrewarded dog could possibly feel emotion that screams “Not Fair”.

To reveal Fido’s green-eyed monster, Range and three other scientists at the University of Vienna put together pairs of domestic dogs, each accompanied by an experimenter. Both dogs in each pair were given commands to place their paws in the experimenter’s hands, and when they obeyed, they were given a reward — a piece of bread or sausage. But when one dog wasn’t given a reward for obeying, and the other dog in the room was, the unrewarded dog would refuse to respond to the repeated commands. The scientists measured the dogs’ responses by how many times they had to prompt the unrewarded dog before it obeyed.

The dogs’ reactions to the unfair distribution of rewards is called “inequity aversion” — when an animal acts to stop perceived inequalities within its social group — and it’s a defining characteristic of social, or cooperative, species. “They wanted the same reward for the same work,” says Paul Morris, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Portsmouth who specializes in animal behavior. Morris is quick to explain that the study’s results aren’t anthropomorphic: “I’m not saying that dog jealousy is precisely like human jealousy.” Instead, he says, the dogs likely experienced a primitive form of envy. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865847,00.html#ixzz2U82fJyQZ

We are not a multiple dog household. (In fact, the Housing Development Board (HDB) rules does not allow more than one dog per household.) But sometimes, I wonder if our dog gets jealous, for example when I feel too hungry and decide to feed myself first before I feed her. Does she think “not fair”? I do know that she does come right up to the table and produce lots of sniff, sniff, sniff, sniffing before she snorts her disgust at my ignoring her and concentrating on my food. Then she turns and plonks herself on the floor, her back facing me almost as if she was mortally insulted. (Ok, that’s probably me attributing imaginary emotions to her :P)

Anyway, here’s a green water lily pond since I can’t show you Donna’s eyes turning green. Not just yet.

Note: Dogs’ eye can flash green in the dark when they reflect light.

Masked canine stalks local park

Dogear6 wrote a post on Escaping in the City where she shared some amazing topiaries she found at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I enjoyed that, so I thought I share some pictures of Donna in one of Singapore’s biggest parks.

We visit it pretty often since we live around 1/2 hrs walk from it. The 62 hectare Bishan Park has been renovated last year and fairly suits the “escaping in the city” theme with its “naturalised” landscaping. Don’t tell the other dogs but this park now sports some pretty awesome landscape rocks, cross river stone paths, low walls and other relief that makes doggy parkour a pretty fun game to explore here.

Donna has started to respond to “up-up” and to climb up on rocks, park stools and public structures about 50-80% of the time. And you know what? Doggy parkour is a great skill for your dog if you love to take doggy pictures. Haha!


Masked canine contemplates swooping down Recycle Hill. These ragged rock steps that we stand on were made from the remains of an old canal which was removed to make way for a  “naturalised” river, which basically means man-made. :P And we are enjoying the new river plains landscaping because now we can see some bird like herons and other water birds visiting, they who used to look down their long beaks at the old canal! :P

But really, the masked canine much prefers chilling out on her rock in the cool shade over here in the secluded water lily ponds.


And after all that jumping and running, there are sun deck loungers along the footpaths that one can lounge on and rest, if only the weather wasn’t so glaringly hot!

But if it’s so fun here? Where are the other dogs? Well, back in the fenced dog run of the park where we left them!

The last time we arranged to meet up with Dou Dou and her humans before we attempt to drive to the Nat Geo Free Pet Shop event together was a Saturday. We agreed to meet at the dog run but Donna was reluctant to approach once we were near to the vicinity of the dog run, having spied a large golden retriever. Perhaps it triggered memories of her bad experiences in the dog park. So instead, we met Doudou a distance away from the dog run.

I was keen to see if Donna has become fearful of the dog run in general, so after that day we continued to visit the park. The pleasure of consistently training Donna to walk beside me manifested itself then. We were finally able to walk the half hour to the park without having to stop more than a couple of times. When she was less good at walking by my side, we never did make it to the park much since time usually ran out and we had to turn back to go home.

On the few occasions we were there, Donna was able to walk back and forth in front of the dog run without the original resistance that she had displayed. She did not try to avoid the dog run like the last time. When led to the perimeter fence of the dog run, she sniffed intently despite the big dogs in the fenced enclosure. It is interesting how specific a dog’s reaction can be. Donna has encountered bigger dogs at other places without apprehension. It seems like only when the dog run and its vicinity is visited by big dogs that she displays the fear that had her tail tucked tightly between her legs. She has showed improvement. Her tail positions vary from half-mast to down but not curled tightly in between her legs. I did not observe any yawning or lip licking so if there was any fear, perhaps it was mild.

But really, once we left to explore the rest of the park and were some distance away from the dog run, her tail sprang to life!

So yes, this park is great for doggy parkour.


Source: wildsingapore

As for the dog run, I would be cautious. If we were to go in there again, I would make sure we move to a far corner to avoid dogs that charge in at the entrance. Otherwise, we’ve met some friendly people there and we didn’t have much trouble with the dogs yet, once they finished charging in of course. :P


If you are interested, Dr Sophia Yin has a great poster on Dog Park Etiquette that can be downloaded for free as well as tips how to train a dog to prevent him from being part of any unhappy situation that may escalate in a dog park in the dog park. Southslope.org has a nice Dog Park Etiquette Poster with lots of useful tips for adults and for parents with children on how we can help make the dog park an enjoyable place for all humans and dogs and also what to do, if a fight breaks out.

Not so much bitter-sweet, more frustration I think…

Donna has a new toy. It was a gift she won at the Subaru booth at the Nat Geo Adopt a Free Dog event. I said gift, rather than prize because she didn’t really win it. She had to sit on the challenge mat for a full minute and she couldn’t stay that long! Not with all the excitement going on about her. But the judge told us to collect  at the prize table anyway. So yes, I would say it was a gift. Haha. Donna doesn’t know to feel bitter sweet about it. :P

A toy is a toy and the toy is mine! Anything soft is to be chewed, even pull-string mechanized toy cars that move!

Now if only my black rat of a dog will make cookie monster noises when she does that!

What do you mean “leave it”?

Stop telling me to “take it” and “leave it”. I don’t want it anymore! There!

Are you happy now? *probably muttering to oneself… if a dog can mutter, that is.*

Yup, I have a talent for frustrating the dog. :D

Weekly iPhoneography: Seeing myVillage in black and white

Today, the iPhone is a mysterious man that offers to sharpen your sense of sight and dull everything else, your taste, your hearing, your ability to touch and to smell. Right away, wouldn’t your world start to seem one dimensional?

What is food without scent and taste to colour it?

But hang on a minute, with sharpened sight, you start to notice details that you may have decided not to notice when you were dealing with all your senses at once.


You see light and shadow, pattern and movement. Little things that once escaped notice because they were insignificant, or in odd corners. Or because they helped form the part of the whole impression of a place, rather than demand your central attention. These little details enrich without calling attention to themselves.

But no, life is incomplete without all the senses at play. And even as you revel in your newly achieved clarity, your dulled senses start to return as the hypnotic iPhone runs out of battery. Slowly, you smell the Peking Duck and hear the buzz of chatter in the background. Sweet relief.

iPhoneography Monday
App: Gorillacam, Snapseed

Black and white photos can be so emotive even with its limited palette. It shows up the interplay of light and the dark in spaces, makes more pronounced the profile of people and things, removes the clutter that is colour and creates a moment of stillness that makes me anticipate the future that follows.

Pictures taken at myVillage, a little mall that we were visiting for porridge and some light dim sum.

To a dog, hands are for play

Loves to tug


… violently.

Loves to fetch

… but doesn’t always bring it back.

Loves a tummy rub…


… she loves you back.

Rustic Colbar is Dog Friendly

Colbar

Anyway, some years back, the three of us decided to escape to this “jungle hideout” for a long lunch because the bosses were not in office. Hah!

Colbar dog friendly

Colbar is a random kopitiam-esque eatery that serves the following menu:

Colbar Menu – courtesy of Cavin Teo

Colbar Menu – courtesy of Cavin Teo

We ate simple fare that was more expensive than average. We talked about politics and race. We lapsed into companionable silence and generally hung out. That was 2010. We have walked different paths since then.

What the Colbar lacks in food and service it more than makes up for in ambiance though. Sitting amid the lush foliage with cicadas chirping in the background, Colbar is a wonderful rustic escape and a great stopover if you are in the Alexandra Road area.

Read untourtistsingapore’s longer review here.

Location:
9A Whitchurch Road
Wessex Estate
Open: Tues to Sun, 11am – 10pm (closed on Mondays)

Parking:
There is free parking along the road and in the Wessex Estate parking lot.


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No, Donna doesn’t wanna come

Much as we love our dog… she can sometimes have her four feet planted too firmly on the ground. Particularly when she smells tuna in the kitchen. But my dear, I can be stubborn too. The tuna went into the fridge to be dished out the next day instead.

Dogs in the city need to be adaptable and independent, especially if they are re-homed with families with working adults. We’re slowly working with Donna to get used to be alone in preparation for the day I find a job. Our dog survived 8 hours alone at home yesterday. That is the longest yet, with no accidents! We’re so proud of her.

Every picture is a memory

I scrolled through my iPhone camera roll of thousands of crappy pictures and found a slew of memories I had forgotten. Most of them are random, repetitious and nonsensical when you look at them again months or years later. Then I found a set of pictures with a common thread in them.

Taro Gomi’s Daily Doodle Calendar was a birthday gift from my friend. I worked on it daily until August 2011. That was when we got really busy with work, the wedding and the new flat. On 17 May 2012, I was still grumbling about the many defects about the place, how we were kept awake by bright as day lightning flashes at night, the howling wind and worrying about leaking doors and windows. But I digress. Needless to say, the doodle that day was bleah~

But I was happy too. After endless tarrying with non-contactable contractors, we finally got 90% of our storage up that week. Yes the toilet cabinet was still missing doors but the relief of finally having storage brushes all that away!

Looking back at the previous posts and photos of every leaf of hand-drawn doodle captured into my phone brings back a linear trail of memories that is rather heartwarming. An event for every single day of the month, captured in the same silly format, crystalising a particular thought, a point in my own personal history. Together, it all becomes such a great gift that I still enjoy looking at two years later, even if they were memories largely captured in crappy pictures! :P

To think I would find a copy of this calendar in a garage sale far away from home on this make believe weekend road trip that Daily Prompt has cooked up! Wahahahahaha~

Anyway, here’s a small selection of doodles from my own copy of the calendar:



Jan 24: That’s my mom in the wheelchair. She fractured her knee.
Feb 19: I watched 127 hours.
Apr 19: Parliament is dissolved today.
Apr 24: Random boxing potato heads. Maybe I was watching Hajime no Ippo.
Apr 29: My girlfriend and I were holidaying in Australia when it happened.
May 08: The election results were only announced at 3am.

Daily Prompt: Memories for Sale

Page 23 of 31

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