Happy Chinese New Year of the Dog!! A tad late, but I still wanted to share with you how these 8 dog accounts on Instagram are celebrating Chinese New Year this year of the dog.
All photos used in this blog post are copyright to their corresponding Instagram accounts respectively. Please do not repost without consent from the original owners of the photos. Thanks!
Each of the featured dog accounts is unique in its own way and so it was interesting putting this together! It wasn’t on purpose, but I’m also glad that I ended up with half of the accounts featuring adopted dogs. #adoptdontabandon :P
So let’s get started!
1. Donna, Singapore Special
Turning 9 years-old in march, adopted at age 3.5 from a local shelter.
You can find me @weliveinaflat
Q How will Donna be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A Donna usually visits our parents’ homes for the reunion dinner and also first day visits. The rest of the time she is sleeping peacefully at home.
Q What’s Donna’s favourite food for Chinese New Year?
A Donna probably thinks anything from the dinner table smells heavenly. However, my mom usually prepares a separate portion of fish and rice for her. That said, Donna doesn’t give up hope and will try to nose around the table (after her dinner) while we are eating our dinner. HAHA.
She also TOTALLY appreciates Chinese New Year treats like the bak kwa (a sweet dried meat product similar to jerky) I bought last year. This year she received a pack of assorted Chinese New Year cookies from @somewhitecookie that she enjoyed.
Q Does Donna dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A To be honest, she is a tad more dressed up this year compared to previous years. Since she does very limited visiting, the only time I bother to have her in accessories is when we were taking photos at Mandarin Gallery’s Dog installation.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos (red packets) too?
A Sure, why not? :P I would totally give ang baos (with treats inside) to dogs if I were visiting their homes during Chinese New Year! To her credit, Donna did give me an angbao that she made at playschool HAHA!
2. Cheesie & Truffle, Long-haired Dachshunds
12 and 7 years old respectively. Cheesie was a rescued puppy mill breeding dog, who was later adopted with the younger Truffle.
You can find Cheesie and Truffle @cheesietrufflehotdogs
Q How will Cheesie & Truffle be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A We usually take them with us for house visits at our relatives’ place. Although they only look forward to meal and treats time, they don’t really care if it’s the Chinese New Year or not. Hahaha.
Q Sounds like we have a pair of foodies here, what’s their favourite food for Chinese New Year?
A They are absolute foodies but we prefer to give them 100% meaty treats. The Veal Meaty Bites from Zeal smell like our bak kwa, totally worth giving it a try. We do also use our dehydrator to dehydrate our own meaty treats, but nothing fancy like a pineapple tart.
Q Do Cheesie & Truffle dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A We sure love to dress up our dogs for any occasion. As we’ll be out the entire day of house visiting during Chinese New Year day 1, we usually put on bandanas for them instead of the full body outfit due to the local hot weather. We run an online bandana store (www.doxieoholic.com), so we definitely DIY bandanas for our dogs.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Definitely! But probably putting treats inside makes them happiest!
3. Mayo & Yakiimo, Chihuahua
Growing puppies past 11 months but still behaving like 2-3 month old babies 🤭
You can find Mayo and Yakiimo @hellopepi
Q How will Mayo and Yakiimo be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A It honestly is just another day for them but with more variety of food and maybe more hustle and bustle. I think what they will like is to go out to explore unknown terrains so we might do that on the day after reunion dinner.
Q They are also foodies, aren’t they? What Chinese New Year treats for dogs will they enjoy this year?
A Our family is very very small. Last year it was just me and Pepi (RIP). He had his own hotpot with abalone and steam fish bought from feedmypaws. This year the twins will have peking duck crepe, honey char siew, pineapple tarts from thesnoringdogbistro and feedmypaws and we will celebrate it at home or at my sister’s. 
However the twins are ordered to diet by the Vet Dr Ling so they will… emm… nibble sparingly (lol) although puppy eyes and cries are really REALLY hard to resist!
Q Pepi was a known for his fashion, will Mayo and Yakiimo follow his footsteps and dress up for CNY?
A I am afraid there just isn’t any classy-looking CNY outfit. They mostly all border on gawdiness and tackiness that one year I dressed Pepi in a red plastic bag and thought he looked better than all the outfits out there. Sorry I still can’t find any nice CNY outfit for the twins.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Well CNY is like sharing and giving. Reunion dinner is like Thanksgiving. So Hong Baos for dogs are a fun thing like an “etc”. The dogs can’t do anything with it if it contains cash but the pet parents can take the cash and buy something the dogs like or treats can be stuffed in it lol
4. Friend from Malaysia:
Happy & Bingo, Poodle-Shihtzu mix & Cocker Spaniel
Happy is rescued from the streets and estimated to be 10-years-old. Bingo is adopted at age 3, he is now 6-years-old.
You can find Happy & Bingo @happybingo_jokerboys
Q How will Happy & Bingo be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A We usually will go back to our hometown with Happy and Bingo. My husband’s hometown is 1.5 hours car journey away. If we need to go back to Johor (my mom’s hometown), Happy and Bingo also must tag along. We feel that CNY is all about reunion & celebrating with family, so we must have them with us during this festival.
There will be a lot of people in the house compared to our usual daily life with only 2 human and 2 dogs. So Happy and Bingo will be very excited to follow everyone around, asking for food, stay or sleeping behind someone while they play mahjong or poker cards. We usually play poker cards on the floor. So Happy and Bingo will be very 搶手 (popular). The humans will love to get Happy and Bingo to stay beside them, or to hug them like pillows. They believe Happy and Bingo will bring luck to them. 🤣🤣
Sometimes Happy and Bingo will create havoc by running through the gambling area, messing up the cards and money. Then everyone will burst in laughter. Lol
Q Do Happy and Bingo enjoy Chinese New Year treats for dogs?
A Happy and Bingo cannot live without treats and food. Hahaha, usually I will bring some treats given by IG friends during Christmas. Luckily Christmas and CNY are usually not far away. So the treats are still safe to eat. I can’t bake, so previously I dehydrated some bak kwa for them. This year I also will do the same bak kwa for them.
Q Do Happy and Bingo dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A OMG I love to shopping for them for CNY outfit. For me, CNY must have at least 1 set new clothes. So I usually will get them dressed up too.
I love to custom make 唐裝 (Tang suits) for them. I will also find matching traditional CNY outfit for hubby & myself.
However, our hometown is usually very hot especially during CNY. So at noon, I will change out their outfits to CNY-themed bandanas only.
Some old people 迷信 (believe in superstitions that) black doggie bring bad luck. Our Happy is not only black, but he has a white patch of hair on his chest too. Some old people really don’t like that. So in order to avoid any negative comments on Happy, I will make sure he is wearing a bandana or dressed up in bright colours like red, yellow or gold.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Yes, I do think they should receive ang pao. Ang pao is a blessing. Giving them an ang pao is like 祝福 (a wish for good fortune) too. But in our family, usually Happy and Bingo only receive ang pao from us, grandparents, and our doggie friends group. Relatives all usually won’t give. Of course if it’s treats in the angpao, that will make them very happy. They actually have no need for money mah. Hehe)
5. Truffle, Maltipoo
Truffle is 3 years old and counting.
You can find Truffle @trufflethetrouble
Q How will Truffle be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A As per Chinese tradition, we will be visiting our relatives and friends and as far as possible, we will bring Truffle along as she is now well accepted by all our relatives and is regarded as part of our family. Truffle herself enjoys going to new places and meeting new people.
Q Is Truffle a foodie who enjoys Chinese New Year treats for dogs?
A Truffle is an avid foodie; she enjoys eating anything and everything! As we humans enjoy CNY goodies and feast during this festive season, I would make sure she receives special treats too.
Last year, I prepared a mini “Pen Cai” for her by adding an abalone and broccoli on top of her normal Primal meal. She loved it so much!
This year, I have already ordered Bark Kwa and also intend to dehydrate some Shishamo fish for her since the Chinese believe that eating fish represents 年年有余 (years of abundance).
Q Does Truffle dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A Yes, I always make sure to dress her up during CNY with festive clothes, as with our kids, as she follows us for visiting.
Last year I ordered a traditional Cheongsam for her, which was tailor-made by one of my favorite tailors in Hong Kong. (IG @missvavahk) She is particularly known for customization of her apparels.
As for accessories, my go-to-shop is Miyabi (IG@magasin.miyabi) as they sell very unique and handmade accessories from Japan.
We would also send Truffle for grooming and spa just before CNY, just like how we get our hair cut and face groomed to usher in the new year. My favourite groomer is Nana Kyl at Dreamy paws (IG dreamy_paws)
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A To the Chinese, angbaos represent tokens of well wishes. Since we treat Truffle as part of our family and therefore we would always love to bless her with good things, we would make a point to bless her with angbaos. However, her angbaos do not contain money but instead, contain treats and showers of kisses by her beloved humans. Through this small token of love, we wish for her eternal joy, health and abundance.
6. Macy, Labrador Retriever
Macy is 9 years old, adopted at age 3.
You can find Macy @macykrazeeelabrador
Q How will Macy be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A Eat, eat, eat! 🐶😋 Macy loves to beg for food from anyone eating!
Q Sounds like we have a foodie here, what’s Macy’s favourite food for Chinese New Year?
A Macy is a serious foodie! She loves bak kwa, steamboat meats & soup, fruits, vegetables. We’ll also make bak kwa cheese cookies for her for CNY.
Q Does Macy dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A Macy gets excited when I take out her accessories! She likes to be dressed up. Macy has a red embroidered dudou she wears for CNY. Last year I bought her a crown as well when we stayed at Conrad Hotel for CNY.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Yes, they are our kids! Macy gets treats in her ang baos, such as a small piggy ear or a doggy biscuit.
7. Little Vivi, Toy Poodle
Little Vivi is turning 6 years old in April 2018.
You can find Vivi @littlevivii
Q How will Vivi be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A We’d usually bring Vivi along for house visits to the relatives’, so I guess this year is pretty much the same. As none of my relatives own pets, the kids are usually fascinated to see Vivi during Chinese New Year! And as for Vivi – being the attention seeker she is, she obviously has a blast with all the new found attention!
Q Is Vivi a foodie who enjoys Chinese New Year treats for dogs?
A Unfortunately Vivi has a very sensitive and weak stomach, hence we only stick to a few specific treats that she really loves and are also gentle on her stomach.
Q How about dressing up for Chinese New Year?
A Not just for CNY! Vivi dresses up and goes to work with me almost everyday, so I’m ashamed to say she actually has much more clothes and dresses than I do! Hahahaha oh but she does has this funny CNY costume I particularly like! ^^
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Of course! Ang baos filled with their favourite treats!!!
8. Coco & Lele, Corgi and Dachshund
Coco is 5 and Lele is 7 years old.
You can find Coco and Lele @corgianddachshund
This interview was conducted before Coco was suddenly struck with IVDD (Intervertebral Disk Disease). Coco is still on the path of recovery, so join me in wishing her all the best for her recovery. I hope she will have a smoother journey for the rest of the year of the dog!
Q How will Coco and Lele be celebrating the year of the dog this CNY?
A We will bring them to the grandparents house and they will be spoilt rotten on that day. Grandpa will feed them non-stop. 😳 Other than that we will most likely be cuddling at home and watching TV.
Q Sounds like we have a couple of foodies here, what are Coco and Lele’s favourite food for Chinese New Year?
A They are definitely foodies. We bought Bak Kwa for them previously, they absolutely loved it. We have not browsed through the goodies this year, I am not sure what to get yet🤔. Well, anyway they eat anything, they have a nickname “the vacuum duo” 😬
Q Do Coco and Lele dress up for Chinese New Year too?
A We may seem to have a lot of costumes but if you have looked carefully, most of them are only props 😂 Seriously we don’t have too many costumes/dresses, especially Coco, I think she owns only 3 dress😜 However, last year Lele did dressed up as a chick because we happen to have a chicky🐥 costume in our house lol. We may buy them a new set of collar and leash. Mom can’t make any accessories because she can’t sew at all bahaha 🤣🤣
Here’s the chicky Lele.
Q In your opinion, should dogs receive ang baos too?
A Lele and Coco are shouting YES! Yes! Yes! Grandparents used to give them $10 ang bao to sponsor their treats for a year, lol. But I think Lele and Coco prefers treats in the ang bao. 😂
Many thanks to the featured accounts for taking the time to write to me as well as to share with me the photos used! I wish you all a smooth and fruitful year of the dog!!
How did your dog celebrate the Year of the Dog?
Tell me about it in the comments below! :)
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Kismet
What’s a Shihtsu-Poodle mix called? A Shihtpoo?
weliveinaflat
I think they try to be nice and call them shihpoo :P