Dog & You Archives - Page 8 of 10

Category: Dog & You Page 8 of 10

Singapore – Are protests becoming the trend in Singapore, as this tiny island continues to grow its population so that any protest held can actually have the potential of visually becoming a true mass spectacle? Hot on the heels of bloggers staging protest against the government’s website licensing rules, a local rescued mongrel dog has just staged the country’s first unlicensed mongrel dog protest in her very own home.

Her cause? The right to sleep with her head on the floor… or maybe she was lobbying for a pillow… who can know what goes on in a dog’s mind?

Her owners, Mr & Mrs P, are adamant that the protest is not a result of dog abuse.

“We just upgraded her bed over the weekend,” Mrs P said in an exclusive interview with herself on her blog – weliveinaflat.wordpress.com, “Her bed is now 120 x 60 cm, so much more space to spread out compared to when it was just 65 x 65 cm! She is not like all these other 17 dogs that need bigger beds.”

Picture: Donna the local mongrel on the 65 x 65 cm cushion that her owners claim is a dog bed.

Picture: Donna the local mongrel on her new 120 x 60 cm baby cot mattress that her owners claim is a dog bed.

Mrs P had written on her blog in a previous article that the old bed was too small for the dog and the dog was often observed sleeping on the bed with the head hanging off it on the floor. The couple decided it was time to change the bed when the dog ate something bad and vomited over the bed.

When questioned if the dog may be protesting against not having a dedicated dog bed and instead having to put up with human furniture masquerading as dog beds, the couple explained that the dog preferred human furniture especially the forbidden firm foam sofa in the living room.

“Dedicated dog beds are also very expensive,” said Mrs P, “They can run up to hundreds of dollars in the local pet shops for medium to big dogs. The Ikea cushions cost us under $10, and even the cheapest baby cot mattress cost us $20. Of course, it’s the more sensible choice. The bed is easily replaceable when the dog gets sick and vomits all over the bed. Also, we now have a layer of mattress protector for the new bed. So fingers crossed, we may not even throw the bed away the next time if she vomits on the bed again. Choy! Choy! Choy!”

Despite the publicised dog protest on Mrs P’s dog blog, Mr P was keen to suggest that the unlicensed dog protest was a non-event.

“Give her big bed she still half on the ground,” he commented in a Whatsapp message from work, labeling the dog’s actions as “stupid” and a manifestation of her low intellectual capability to understand the proper usage of the bed. The couple has shared on their dog blog, what can only be described as a picture to publicly shame the dog while it was sleeping.

Picture: Donna the local mongrel shamed for bad sleeping habits, a subterfuge for the country’s first unlicensed dog protest activity?

The blog post itself sent conflicting messages with pictures that featured the dog sleeping in awkward postures in a gloomy cell-like environment but also dreamy pictures of the dog in peaceful slumber or otherwise seemingly not unhappy even on her old 65 x 65 cm bed.

Picture: Donna the local mongrel in dreamy slumber in what looks like a highly manipulated photographic image of the dog taken during its protest.

Donna the local mongrel is currently at risk of being investigated by local authorities for what is being publicised by this news report as the first unlicensed protest carried out by a dog locally.

In Singapore, unlicensed protests are restricted to be held at the Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park only. The actual event still needs to be registered with the authorities beforehand. Un-named imaginary lawyers advised that if convicted, the dog’s owners Mr & Mrs P may be liable to send the dog to counseling in two areas – (1) positive dog training for proper sleeping habits and (2) counseling for the dog so the dog understands that it does not have citizen rights to protest, being a local mongrel with no Pink identification card.

When advised of the possible punishments, Mrs P said that she would not mind if the authorities send them for free positive dog training in any area and Mr P said that counseling for the dog may not help the dog to understand anything at the end of the day because she is already “stupid”.

Both said they are glad that the possible punishments did not include community service for the dog, such as clearing other dogs’ poop around the neighbourhood.

“It would be an absolute horror if she starts eating dog poop on top of all the leaves and flowers that made her vomit on her bed in the first place!” said Mrs P.

Postnote: This is a companion article to Bored Dog Gets New Chill Out Pad. I originally submitted for the photo challenge. But the writing challenge seems fun, so I decided to repost in newspaper article format again for Daily Prompt: Ripped Into The Headline. I must be too free. Hah! Time to take dog out to pee. Bye~

This dog wants a kitten

By weliveinaflat

On May 15, 2013

In Dog & You

Quite sometime back, I saw this documentary on TV – I love you, mummy. It basically documents an American family’s adoption of a child from China.

Now this was not a puppy or a shelter dog but an 8-year-old human child. Although she was abandoned as a baby, she had grown to view the Chinese foster family she lived with as her own. The foster mother was her mother and not the new adopted American mother. The foster siblings her real siblings and not her new siblings from her adopted family. Was it hard for the Chinese foster family to give up the child? I do not know the machinery of China’s fostering programs. But the Chinese foster family was on board for a reason I find hard to argue with. They explained that the international adoption was her best chance in life. She was born with clubfoot and dropped wrists and they feared she would have a hard time as an adult if she had stayed in China.

The documentary was emotionally hard to watch.

Puppies adopted and then returned to the shelter again when they are in their “terrible twos” may cry, may retreat into a corner as they struggle with their new circumstances. The child may be adopted by new parents but at the same time, wouldn’t she feel a conflicting sense of abandonment? What complex emotions does an 8-year-old child feel?

She struggled and she cried. She was the alien in a new country living among people who look not at all like her and who don’t speak her language. She can keep crying about how terrible she feels but no one can comfort her back in the language she understands.

It must have been difficult for the adoptive parents as well, taking a strange child (no matter how much they wanted her) who did not want them, who wanted to go home and who can’t communicate to them when she is hurting physically.

But as it is with life, people adjust when they are forced to it, no matter how difficult the circumstances. They make do. They adapt. And so the adopted child learnt to get along with the other children in the family and also a different set of expectations from her new parents. She learnt English. She gradually forgot her mother tongue.

The manifestations of love by man is manifold. Giving up a child with the hope that the child may have a chance at a better life even knowing that it would be very difficult for the child. Taking in a reluctant child that protests against being taken in and refuses to acknowledge you as family. Learning to be comfortable with and care for a strange new family that you have been forced into and had to depend on in order to survive.

The responsibility one takes on and the endurance and commitment the family, including the child, needed to put in to making the adoption work is perhaps hard to conceive unless one finds oneself in their shoes. Love alone is not enough. Now somebody tell this irrepressible dog please! :P

See also, 10 Cats of Instagram adopted as Kittens!

Julius and Walter @juliusandwalter were kittens found cowering in the drain without momma.

Come :) Follow weliveinaflat.com on
Instagram @weliveinaflat | Facebook donna.weliveinaflat | Youtube Mutt Vlog

If I don’t focus on the walk, the dog won’t too

By weliveinaflat

On May 14, 2013

In Dog & You

The pictures are real, taken in our flat or on a recent walk.
The words are fairy-tale.

Now, where shall we begin? Oh yes…

Three people walk into a bar that we went past during our walk today. Three men in striped shirts. We saw them in the doorway, against the patterned mirrors, stamping their feet as they made their way in.

One of them, nearly tripping over the curled corner of the oriental patterned rug, bumped into the umbrellas by the doorway and sent them scattering.

The clatter got the attention of the people in the bar, who turned to look at the man at the entrance. He smiled apologetically, embarrassed at the unexpected attention. He noted the ladies who seemed to have some unspoken colour code in their dress.

They soon returned to their conversation.

The three men seated themselves at a table by the window. They placed their orders. He turned to look out the window. The scene outside was overcast and dull.

Suddenly, the man who never paid attention to bright colours missed the cheer of his former girlfriend in frills and floral prints.

But all he saw out the window was a nondescript woman walking an equally ordinary-looking mongrel. And both were looking distracted.

He sighed. No use thinking about the ex.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

She was contemplating patterns. And light and shadow. Probably an influence by Lens and Pens by Sally. And so she snapped some equally nondescript images of the path she and the dog were on. Patterns that perhaps got repeated in other cities in other countries. The pattern of foliage silhouettes on concrete, the repeated twists of the fence, the weave of leaves in and out of it.

The pattern of the tiled path, its brick borders and the drain covers that make up the very fabric of this corner of existence.

And the columns of the sheltered walkway, as they lined themselves until the end of the path. A regular pattern of columns that unfortunately gave dogs plenty of opportunities to discover and enjoy, and cats to hide behind as they continued their way down the path.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The woman stopped and fiddled with her phone for a while. The dog sat as she squatted unglamourously by the side of the path, pointing her phone at something. But then the dog nosed into her viewfinder perhaps. She looked surprised and stunned. It took a few seconds before she suddenly made for the dog’s muzzle, prised it opened and looked into its maw. The man has never seen that happen with anyone before but it was obvious that it was not the first time she did that.

“What are you looking at?”

The man turned back to his two friends.

“Nothing,” he said, “Ah, the drinks are here.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

She was contemplating macro, until the dog ate the subject.

Oh well, the shots aren’t really macro-macro anyway. And the experiment ended rather unfortunately for the Cupid’s Shaving Brush. She thought she would try again some time later in the week. Guess cupid will have to shave another day.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“*Ahem*, is this seat taken?”

The three man looked up to see a young man, unshaven, blinking down at them.

“Do you mind if we share a table? Every other table is full.”

“Sure,” his friend replied, although he sounded a bit unsure.

The man could have sworn that he saw the slight flicker of luminescent wings as the young man sat down among them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Outside, the wind grew strong as it danced roughly around the trees and the bushes along the empty path. But nobody noticed.

Note: The first and last image are photos taken of the prints in the flat. Copyright of the actual design and prints belong to Samantha Hahn and Wun Ying.
Note2: I was thinking of a movie title as I wrote this.

This dog doesn’t want to be kissed!

By weliveinaflat

On May 12, 2013

In Dog & You

When we were still thinking about getting a dog, my aunt who has three dogs in her house put one in my arms just to see how I would like getting licked by a dog. Dogs do that, she pointed out, can you handle it?

Some people love kisses from dogs. Some think it’s gross when you think about where the dog has been nosing around on walks, and of course some people have dogs that eat poop. (Apparently that’s one of my aunt’s dogs – -!!) And if you kept up with all sorts of doggy news, perhaps you have already read or heard about the Japanese researchers who braved the jaws of 66 dogs and 81 humans to collect dental plaque for study under the microscope in 2011 and published March 2012.

The results? Both dogs and humans carry bacteria in their mouths that can transfer to each other through kissing/licking.

What are some of these bacteria we are talking about?

“Typically puppy kisses are fine, but if your pooch is a scavenger, then a canine lick on the lips could jeopardize your health,” Dr. Oz tells PEOPLEPets.com. “The half-eaten hot dog your dog found on the street – or the feces he was nibbling on – could be loaded with germs and bacteria such as toxocara, salmonella, giardia, hookworm, tapeworm and many others, putting your family’s health at risk.” – peoplepets.com

The risk? Gum disease leading to possible infection and decay of the gums, jaw bone and loss of teeth in severe instances if left untreated. – dailymail

Now, time for the truth.

I don’t like dog slobber on my face but my dog likes it.

Today’s daily prompt wants to know what love is. Not being a romcom screenwriter, I didn’t think I can even start to define love :P but like any true daily prompter (haha~), even as I say this my fingers ran away tapping…

Love can be sublime.
Love can be passionate.
Love can be quiet.
Love can be loud.
Love can confuse.
Love can liberate.

Love can make someone accepting.
Love can make someone selfish.
Love can make someone die.
Love can make someone live.

Love can be all sorts of things.
Yet love is only one word – 爱.

But I do believe that if you care for something.
Love can bring you joy.
Love can make you tentative.
Love can make you cry.

Caring for something can manifest itself in lots of ways. A dog displays its love instinctively, jumping up on people and slobbering them in drool is an exuberant way of showing love. A human, a female human in this case, displays its care in a more complex manner. I don’t like it but I accept that you like it. So given your feedback, this logical female human being has gone to the great oracle that is Google looking for reasonable justification why either my dog or I should get her or my way when we are at odds with one another.

Yes, I’m sorry but that’s basically what all that drivel above is about. : P

But seriously, of the many manifestations of love, the ones I feel I need to treasure the most – Empathy, Acceptance and Magnanimity. Big words. A challenge, yes, to fulfill. But today I’m in the mood to ask myself, wouldn’t that be a good way to live?

It is easy to care and make allowances for a cute pet. It is perhaps less so with human beings, isn’t it? The expectations we have of people around us and the expectations we have on our animals, on other people’s animals exist on different levels. A lot of times, we only see the actions, we don’t see the cause. We don’t see why they do it, and we don’t see why they don’t do it. We are not enabled to empathise because we only saw a part of the whole picture that make up someone’s life. We don’t understand and in fact, we are not expected to be understanding. We are merely strangers, passerbys, acquaintances. And yet, we are sometimes keen to judge. We are. I am.

Empathy, Acceptance and Magnanimity.
To do that perhaps one needs to have an active interest in things,
to seek to understand why things are the way they are,
to allow for opposing views even when one feels defensive,
to agree to disagree.

Tough things when one is governed by strong emotions for causes one is passionate about.

But yes, this blog revolves around a dog that can’t care less really. One more leaf we can take out of the dog’s book about not taking life too seriously. And so I would like to end not on a moody note.

And so in this battle of dog vs human, to kiss or not to kiss, I proclaim the human wins. : ) The current tally is 1:1. Equilibrium is restored.

We rarely present our faces close enough for Donna to lick us there. Over time, she has started to give us gentle kisses on our hands, arms, knees, calves and sometimes even the soles of our feet. (This dog is persistently loving.) Though, she still tries to launch a sneak attack, jumping to give a quick lick on our faces that end up bumping our teeth, our noses instead. -____- Sometimes I wonder about all the potentially cancer-causing stuff I slather on my face everyday that she could possibly ingest. :P

We give lots of hugs and petting to our dog but no, no kisses on the face for us and for this smart Shiba Inu as well ;)

“chu” is “kiss” in Japanese!

References:
– abstract of the study
– http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/kissing-dogs-lead-gum-disease-study-article-1.1189444
– http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2216061/Kissing-dog-cause-gum-disease-pet-owners-warned.html
– http://www.wholelifepetsblog.com/2012/10/18/dog-kisses-spread-bacteria/

I am a dog nail clipping person! Rawrrr!

By weliveinaflat

On May 11, 2013

In Dog & You

Note: If you don’t want to read my long-winded drivel on nail clipping, I do still urge you to scroll right down and check out the reference links on dog nail clippers, how to use them, how to get a dog to relax during nail clipping and more about the dog’s paws in general. You can ignore this if you don’t have a dog or if you are NOT a dog idiot. ;)

Today is turning out to be a pawsome day! Donna-nonna’s got her nails trimmed!

Just a little bit… … maybe about 1 to 2 millimeters a nail… … and I might have missed out some nails. But I hasten to assure you that it was a big deal…. (ok, it’s a big deal just for us :P) Because… well, we are dog idiots right?

We took Donna to be groomed once and another time just for nail cutting, at two different shops. Her reaction the minute we stepped into both shops were the same — abject tail-tucked-between-legs-trembling-I-am-such-a-poor-thing-please-save-me fear. :(

The first shop, let’s just say I got the impression that the lady was a little fierce for my liking. If the dog is already scared, being fierce will just make it more scared right? But to be fair, she was scolding another dog that was being groomed and not Donna. But still, that just made me uncomfortable.

The second shop was better because the guy behind the counter was involved with dog rescue activities, so he spent time talking to me and making me feel more confident that they know mongrels. Of course I could see what the two ladies were doing to the nervously grinning, lip-licking dog behind the glass and at no point was she actually hurt by the nail cutting. We all can’t help it that she was just a dog that is naturally nervous about anything out of the normal! I understand. The only problem was Donna went home and her toenails were still clicking on the floor. Did she just get a nail cut that cost around $14? Because they look the same!

So anyway, toenails grow. So Mr P came home one day with a nail guillotine and between the two of us, we tried to cut Donna’s nails. I had read that we should cut at a 45-deg angle so as not to touch the dog’s quick. So one of us held the worried dog and fed it treats while the other tried to cut the nail. Unfortunately, we did cut into the quick for one of the nails. Donna gave a someone’s-murdering-me yelp and struggled like a thousand demon dogs. Of course she refused any more treats. And that was that. Our part-time domestic help who was home with us that day kindly advised the devious duo who were murdering the dog to take it back to a grooming shop instead. They have professional equipment that will hold the dog in place for the groomer to do his job. Ok.

So toenails grew again and very soon Donna’s clicking became more pronounced than ever. I was due to take her to grooming today but on the spur of the moment I decided to try cutting her nails, on my own. Oh yes, if at first you don’t succeed try, try again. And yes, I understand a dog is not a plastic toy. They feel fear and pain.

But you see, I have been trying to counter-condition Donna to view the nail guillotine in a positive light in the last few weeks. Every time I feed her a treat, the nail guillotine is in front of her, right beside her. Sometimes I get her to put her paw on the nail guillotine for a treat. Sometimes, I hold her paw and tap the nail guillotine on it. Sometimes she was worried but amenable. Sometimes, she grew suspicious and pulled her paw away.

At this point, I don’t want to take her to some grooming shop where there is a potential of her getting scared again and undoing my efforts in the last few weeks. I can’t be certain the groomer will be the kind that will make the “Good girl!”, “Good job!” big fuss that will bolster the scared dog’s confidence when she gets a nail cut. Maybe I am just getting ahead of myself to think I can do this. Hmmm…. please feel free to take me down a peg or two.

Anyway, today as usual, she was just sitting there and looking away. So I took her paw and held the nail guillotine real close. She gave a token, minimal resistance but continued sitting. I compressed the handles of the nail guillotine against the edge of her nail pretending to cut but not actually cutting. Perhaps she flinched a little but I ignored that and made a fuss and fed her lots of tiny little treats. As long as she is still taking the treats, she is ok. We know for our dog, she is quick to refuse treats when at the vet and the groomer. In this case, she was being brave. More treats! Then I held her paw firmly and cut a little sliver of her nail and made a fuss over her again. We took it slow. She could pull her paw away when she was uncomfortable. We can wait awhile. No treats while waiting. We try again. Little shavings of nail at a time. A couple of treats every time we clip or pretend clip a nail. See, there’s no pain, is there? After a while, she was able to stand having her paw in my hand a longer time. More treats.

I don’t know how to judge where the quick of her nail is. But at this point, all I wanted was to relieve the impact of the long nails clicking on the floor on her joints. So I thought I’d just lift a paw and let her put it back down to test. As long as the nails are not hitting the floor when she puts her paw down, that’s enough for me. I did try to make her go to her bed and trot back to me. At a faster speed, there is still some clicking. By then she lost patience and had her fill of treats already so she stayed on her bed the second time I sent her there to test her nails out.

That’s fine. That’s enough for today. : ) I am feeling supremely bubbly.

My dog, not so much.

Not when she is told to “leave it” with the small jar of treats beside her. We demolished it from more than half-full to one-third full for the nail-cutting. Oh yes, she gets more of it after the photo. :P

Oh yes, one more good thing. I discovered the Snapseed app today via Heidi from Savvydesign <–click to see her beautiful set of running horse pictures. Donna on the left, is what would have come out of my usual slapdash Photoshop skills and Donna on the right is from Snapseed. OK fine, I still cheated and adjusted the levels in Photoshop again after that, simply because its kind of hard to judge the amount of brightness on my handphone vs on my laptop monitor. I felt the compulsive need to equalise for my laptop monitor. I didn’t like Instagram after Facebook bought it. So awesome to find a replacement. Yes, minutiae, minutiae.

Looking for a new photo app? Get the Snapseed app. The degree of control in it is way more than whatever barely-used photo apps I have in my phone. I recommend. (Not that I’m the authority, I’m not. :P ~)

References
– Learn more about canine feet http://www.canismajor.com/dog/feet.html
– This video helped inform my approach to Donna – How to train your dog to relax for nail clipping
– This page talks about the different nail trimmers, how to position them when clipping nails and how to judge when you are near the quick.
– This page talks about the process including the filing and what to do if you did cut too deep and the dog starts to bleed.

Donna has standards when it comes to picking up sticks

By weliveinaflat

On April 29, 2013

In Dog & You

I remember there was a blog post I commented on some time back. Writer was writing about dogs that like to pick up sticks on walks. I replied that Donna doesn’t seem to have the propensity to do that, at the same time I was thinking that was just as well since there is always the potential of not so cute injuries resulting with dogs playing with sticks. Here’s another post at Team Unruly on Sticks – Not fun anymore.

Days later, I learnt that Donna did not have a disdain for sticks. It was just that her highness was more selective about the sticks she deigned to pick up. We were running down the stairs as her leash suddenly jerked taut. I turned my head back to find my dog with a stick of half-eaten satay in her mouth. @_@

In case you are not familiar with satay, it’s basically a yummy dish comprising of meat barbecued on stick/bamboo skewer and eaten with a spicy peanut dip.

Our dog doesn’t realise it, but she just gave a different spin on satay as a street food. But no, you are to leave it, Donna.

Leave it.

Here she is with a safer, soft toy in her mouth.

Cosying up the bare walls of our flat

By weliveinaflat

On April 27, 2013

In Dog & You

This blog is titled “we live in a flat”, so finally a post about the flat!

We moved in only a year ago, and most of our efforts were more on making the space work with functional pieces that are aesthetically pleasing, rather than decor for decor’s sake. We didn’t get an interior designer in order to save cost. It turned out the fengshui master we hired to placate our superstitious parents had his own opinions when it came to our interior decor. So yes, you could call him the interior designer :P

For instance, Mr Fengshui Master said for the bedroom that we needed to have two horses running towards the balcony door and yet, at the same time their legs must be on the ground. @_@ I don’t believe anyone manufactures running horse figurines that have their four feet planted to the ground, if you know what I mean. The search continued. We installed two picture ledges in preparation for the miracle running horses. In the end, I gave up and did up two running horses on the laptop, printed and framed it. One framed picture looked lonely, so I have another of our wedding photo next to it. We further personalised the room with our initials and that’s about it for the room decor. It’s a comfortable room, with its clean lines and calming colours.

The living room is Donna’s main area of activity. This room has not escaped Mr Fengshui Master’s dictate either.

This is the wall where you should place your TV. This is where all the wealth will flow, he said, you need to put some form of vessel here with a small mouth to collect the wealth.

You know Mr Fengshui Master was using his eyes when he said that. The TV point is right there on that wall. But you know what, it’s almost thoughtful of Mr Fengshui Master to do that. We have a friend who had to relocate his TV point from one wall to another just because his Fengshui Master said so while intimating this would ensure a baby in the near future versus no baby if he did not do so.

And since the black TV is stark against the white of the wall and the furniture, we decided to follow the picture wall trend/fad/whatever you call it. Only, we are slowly growing it. There isn’t really a specific theme or colour scheme for the pictures, besides the consistent use of black frames. Just a random collection of print, wallpaper sample, postcard and photos we collected as we move along with life. Eventually I would like to incorporate our travel photos in there.

The latest addition is Donna’s picture, with some Donna pin badges from the shelter sale. The frames resting on the TV console helped to hide the electrical extension points and cords placed directly behind them :D

Turn left and we are at the entrance of the flat. You needed a clock or a mirror here (the wall facing the front door), something with reflective glass, Mr Fengshui Master informed us. A clock at the entrance wasn’t useful for us, so we elected to clad half the wall in mirrors. A set of three vertical mirrors were bought from Ikea. They were an affordable solution. After some experimentation, we hung those mirrors upside down so that the etched image casts a floral shadow on the adjacent wall when reflecting the spotlight. I love the effect. It’s my own little light garden canopy just before I step into the heart of the flat. :)

Some dogs watch TV, not Donna

By weliveinaflat

On April 21, 2013

In Dog & You

The rain kept us in the house for the day. Mr P got an Yiruma playlist playing on our TV as we bustled in the kitchen making a simple lunch for ourselves. Our dog was, of course, at her usual spot by the child gate snoozing, ready to blink awake at any prospect of food. Yup, she did well despite her general fear of thunder.

It was all very calm and domestic really, like the gentle, repetitive, easy on the ear music that is Yiruma. I wonder if the music makes our dog calmer too.

Yesterday night was movie night. We rented Argo. Our dog was never interested in the TV, preferring to snooze at times on the floor and then on her bed and then back on the floor again. Yes, repetitive like Yiruma.

Argo was a good choice for a cheap, stay at home movie night. There was no stunning visual effects that demanded the need to catch it in a theatre, 3D or not. It was a interesting film, although not as exciting as a full-on action flick. In a way it plays like a repetitive Yiruma tune – the Canadian ambassador’s house, the hotel, the Canadian embassador’s house again. It took a bit of repetitive detail to chisel away the rough edges to fine-tune the suspense that builds into the final play for freedom at the airport. I thought it worked. I didn’t fall asleep. I stayed engaged the whole way.

I never learnt to play the piano so I wouldn’t exactly appreciate the technicalities involved in an Yiruma piece. It was nice, easy listening and unlike Argo, it did gently lull me into a quiet afternoon nap as the rain pattered on with it in the background.

The weekend passes by too fast.

Quiet evening on the balcony

By weliveinaflat

On April 19, 2013

In Dog & You

The balcony takes up a sizeable chunk of our floor area (you can’t believe how small our bedroom is!), and we don’t spent enough time on it.

This was one of the few nights we actually just sat around on the balcony for a couple of hours doing nothing.

I’ve read that dogs see things the way humans do. I wonder if the dog comprehends the dense suburban landscape that she is looking at.

Presently she got tired of sniffing around and settled down for a spot of grooming. Looking a little too plump and round, my dear girl!

One of the rare times I caught her looking at the camera phone. She always looked away.

Ready for bedtime. She positions herself right in the middle of the balcony between Mr P and I. She is always good at placing herself in a centre location between us, so that she can keep an eye on each of us.

I wonder how she can lie with her front leg tucked beneath her body like that and not feel cramp.