We live in a flat - Page 8 of 75 - Many Adults, 1 Boy & 1 Dog's Montessori Life in a Singapore flat

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Pet Expo 2018 is coming again! The upcoming Pet Expo opens its doors to visitors 06-08 April, Singapore Expo Hall 7, 11am – 8 pm daily.

For the new dog owner whom this may be unfamiliar, the Pet Expo is an annual pet fair and Singapore’s largest according to the Pet Expo site here. Typically, the fair comprises a mix of:

Dog show, obedience competition and grooming competition organised by the SKC (Singapore Kennel Club)
Entertaining games and demonstrations
Educational talks and sharing
Puppies for adoption
Sale of pet merchandise
And did I mention, you can bring your dog along even thought it’s indoor? :P It’s probably one of the few air-conditioned event venues you can bring your dog to in the year!

My top tips for conquering Pet Expo 2018!! LOL :P

Looking for some entertainment? Plan your visit using the programme guide!
If activities outside of retail therapy is what you’re interested in, you need to look at the programme guide so you can plan to be there when most of the activities that interest you are happening!
If retail therapy is exactly your thing, and you are going there looking for discounts, plan and do your research well in advance!
Check out the exhibitor list when it’s available so you don’t make a wasted trip. Check out the floor plan so you will not miss the booth you are looking for because of the overwhelming crowd. That happened to me. #truestoryDid I succumb to pressure from seemingly cheap deals before? Yes, I did. Only to realise after I got home and googled that the dog food I bought is actually food I wouldn’t have bought with or without a discount. HAH!

How do I choose my dog food nowadays? Check out my thoughts here on dry food, dehydrated food and freeze-dried food.
Follow your favourite merchants on their social media to get first hand news of their offers/activities at Pet Expo (I’m sure you’re already doing this anyway. Here’s a pre-Pet Expo 2018 activity that’s occurring before the actual event!
1. $100 Loyal.D hamper giveaway (closing date 2 April 2018)
Jio your friends to go!
For a lot of people, going to the Pet Expo is a social event. You bring your dog, you meet up and you mingle. And if you are going shopping for dog, it really helps to have an extra pair of hands to tend to the dogs!

Cookie’s mom helping to keep an eye on Donna while I went to the food tent to get human food at a different event :P

If you’re interested, read about our previous experiences at Pet Expo below! :)

— The post below is published 27 March 2017 —

I thought I would do a rundown of the Pet Expo event in Singapore from 2014 to date starting from most recent. As I was typing this, I realised even though I missed attending it in 2016, the Pet Expo pretty much shaped some of my thoughts and interests as a new, not so savvy dog owner in the earlier years when I did attend! :P

So here goes!

2017 – Pet Expo

Pet Expo 2017 News from erm, everywhere, including Mutt Vlog! LOL
Watch the video on Youtube

Pet Expo haul video – Sheena Chan
Photos on Instagram #petexposg | #petexposg2017
Pet Expo Day 1 – J the Alaskan Klee Kai
Paw Stars at Pet Expo this weekend – The Straits Times

2017 – Pet Expo Media Event

Donna and I were invited to their media event at Canopy recently. Check out snippets of the event in our video here!

Watch the video on Youtube

2016 – Pet Expo

More than 10,000 people and 5,000 pets visited the Pet Expo on the first day of the event. This was a record, according to the Straits Times.

I think this was also the year when friends I know started to evaluate their purchases there more closely. Was what they were buying at the Pet Expo value for money, if you were to count in the entrance fee as part of the cost? The free health talks that I attended in 2015 were also ticketed in 2016.

2015 – Pet Expo

This was the second year I would attend the Pet Expo. If you know me well-enough, you’ll know I’m pretty goal-oriented. Per my modus operandi, I surveyed the Pet Expo program and decided the day and time based on the session I would most like to attend. This time round, it was a health talk on allergies.

There was a series of health talks that were free to public at the Pet Expo in 2015. Donna and I came late but were lucky the talk started late too!! :P The talk we were attending was on pet allergies by Dr Simon Quek of the Mount Pleasant vet group.

It was a really great talk that introduced me to the different allergy tests and Dr Quek was very candid about how most of them weren’t very accurate. You can read my original post on what I learnt on allergies through my conversations with Dr Quek and also Dr Joanna Paul from Australia here on my post – How to test if your dog is allergic to chicken and other food.

Pet Expo Singapore 2015, singapore dog-friendly events

Dr Quek speaking about his topic of choice – pet allergies at the Singapore Pet Expo in 2015

I think it was also in 2015 if I’m not wrong, the Singapore Specials Club decided to have a largest Singapore Specials meet up at the Pet Expo. I was sad to miss that since it was on a different day.

2014 – Pet Expo

By the time Pet Expo 2014 rolled around, we had Donna with us for slightly more than a year already. She had become pretty good being off-leash, and I was feeling confident and decided to bring her to get a taste of doggy agility at the workshop at the Pet Expo.

This was the main reason we went to the Pet Expo that year. I have always found crowds overwhelming, and as someone new to the scene, I didn’t really know what to look out for. So we didn’t really check out the stalls much. :P You can read more about Donna’s experience on my blog post – Our first dog agility experience!

agility trial workshop at pet expo 2013, singapore dog-friendly events

Donna jump, jump, jump at Pet Expo 2014

I must say it was interesting for me to revisit those feelings and thoughts 3 years after writing them. #whyiblog ;)

And like I said at the start of the post, attending various events at the Pet Expo contributed to the shaping some of my thoughts and interests as a new, not so savvy dog owner in the earlier years when I did attend! :P

Hello, chit chat!

So that’s my round-up of Pet Expo through the years. Are you planning to visit the Pet Expo this year? Let me know what you are keen to check out there and the activities that most interest you this year OR in previous years in the comments below or on Facebook! ;)

Pet Expo Singapore 2017, dog-friendly events

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8 #CatsofInstagram Adopted as Kittens + Emma Watson Plays with Kittens :P

By weliveinaflat

On March 19, 2017

In Adoption

Kittens and puppies on Instagram, you can’t get more cuteness than them. In January, I asked the Singapore Cat accounts of Instagram to share with me their cats’ adoption and rescue stories.

#AdoptDontAbandon – Cat edition

The following Singapore Cats of Instagram were adopted or rescued when they were tiny kittens. And I can’t help sharing them on my blog with you. So here goes:

1. Born under a motorcycle – Harriet the Cat

Harriet – See more of her @maxmontyharriet

Her human says, Harriet’s story starts with this black cat that I met under their block of flats. I named it Muthu (a male Indian name), and soon discovered my error when it became clear Muthu was pregnant.

Our Last Goodbye to Milo Border Collie at Tengoku Pet Cremation

By weliveinaflat

On March 15, 2017

In Dog & You

Sometimes, death comes unexpectedly. And amidst the grief, the family still has to find out what to do or prepare for a pet cremation. I hope we all have friends to help and guide us along the way if and when that happens. #touchwood

But I’m recording this as a reference for those who need.

On Monday, a dog named Milo passed away. Milo belonged to a friend of ours. So we went and saw him off at the Pet Cremation Service – Tengoku.

Tengoku pet cremation

Dog Dancing Winners at Crufts 2017-2018

By weliveinaflat

On March 12, 2017

In Training

Updated 9 March 2018 – Crufts is here again! If Crufts is unfamiliar to you, it is the world’s largest dog show, held annually in March in the UK.

Instagram Stories snippets of various dog dancing routines at Crufts 2017. Find me on instagram @weliveinaflat :P

There’s dog agility, flyball competitions and of course, my favourite part of the show – Freestyle Heelwork to Music – or dog dancing, at least that’s just how I describe it to people. :P But, nothing beats seeing it. So here are the winners!!

All videos shared are from Crufts Youtube channel here. I don’t own the rights to them, but I just wanted to share my interest in it with you.

Winning Dog Dancing Routines at Crufts 2018 Freestyle Heelwork to Music Competition

This is Lucy Creek with her dog Skiffle King. They are the UK winner of Crufts 2018 Freestyle Heelwork to Music Competition.

Lucy Creek and Skiffle King (UK)

The International Category has taken place already. You can see it as part of the Day 3 livestream here. Lucy and Skiffle King placed third in the International Category with the same routine.

In second place was Sandra Roth and Lizzy. Sandra was described has having ballet background by the commentator. Her dog Lizzy is 8 years old.

Sandra Roth and Lizzy Vom Ettikogarten (Germany)

And Japan’s Lucie Plevova and her dog Power Jump Aibara came in first at the International Freestyle Heelwork To Music Competition at Crufts 2018. They were also last year’s champion. Here is their performance video.

Lucie Plevova and Power Jump Aibara (Japan)

Not to be missed, this absolutely magical performance by veteran Mary Ray in 2017. Mary retires this year and her final performance at Crufts can be viewed here.

If you would like to see more of Lucy Creek, Lucie Plevova and other talented dog trainers, I’ve got the 2017 winning videos below.

tiger looi angry dog singapore special mongrel dog adoption

Dog Adoption Series: Tiger Looi the “Angry” Mongrel

By weliveinaflat

On February 26, 2017

In Dog & You

The Dog Adoption Series is a series of interviews with Singapore mongrel dog owners, to highlight the joys and the issues that they face when they adopt a mongrel dog.

Tiger Looi the “Angry” Mongrel

I first discovered Tiger Looi on Facebook when I saw her “Angry” videos. I was an instant fan. And I am not the only one.

Tiger’s facebook page has more than 10,000 likes! (As of 26 Feb 2017) So I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who found it entertaining watching her interactions with her mom, Siewyuen.

See this video on facebook

nekojam singapore freeze dried raw dog food

Easy raw dog food review – Primal, Northwest, Stewart & more freeze-dried brands

By weliveinaflat

On February 11, 2017

In Shopping

In 2015, I wrote an introduction to Commercial Raw Dog Food. At that time, there were limited brands of commercial freeze dried dog food – only 2. It has been slightly more than a year and a half, and the good news is we have more choices today than before! Let’s take a look at five freeze dried commercial raw dog food brands that you can find on the shelves today! :)

The five brands are Stella & Chewy’s, Northwest Naturals, Stewart Raw Naturals, Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets and K9 Natural.

Here’s Donna’s review of them :P

Now that you’ve seen Donna’s review, we’ll go on to the human’s review of the food. ;) In this post, we will review the food along the following themes:

Budget-wise
What is the Cost per day? How long does each pack last?
Quality-nutrition
What is the quality of the ingredients that go into the bag
Food safety
Which brand has recalled their food before? What food safety programs have they put in place to protect our pets and family members?

“A Dog’s Purpose” movie investigation results

By weliveinaflat

On January 19, 2017

In Behaviour

Update: As you may have seen from various new sources, results from the investigation of a panicky dog being pushed into churning water on the film set of “A Dog’s Purpose” are out.

An independent animal-cruelty expert found that preventative safety measures were in place to protect the dog, Hercules, American Humane said…

“The decisions by the individual or individuals who captured and deliberately edited the footage, and then waited longer than 15 months to release the manipulated video only days before the movie’s premiere, raise serious questions about their motives and ethics,” American Humane said Friday.

The video was deliberately edited for the purpose of misleading the public and stoking outrage. In fact, the two scenes shown in the edited video were filmed at different times,” the group said in reporting the findings.
– globalnews.ca

Taking a step back from the motives and ethics of the the people who released the video, am I less horrified now that I learn that preventative safety measures were in place?

Artistry Cafe’s Dog-friendly Outdoor Area is pretty Iconic

By weliveinaflat

On January 8, 2017

In Explore

After an early morning jaunt about the Singapore Sports Hub ( photos here ), we headed to Artistry Cafe for brunch.

This is my ah gong’s stadium, Singapore Sports Hub. Original video here.

Our pet taxi driver was surprised that Artistry Cafe opens as early as 9am. That works really well for those who like to head out early with their dogs on a weekend!

Best dog harness for road and water safety

By weliveinaflat

On January 5, 2017

In Health, Shopping

I’m going to talk about 2 safety harnesses for dogs today. The Sleepypod Clickit Sport Untility dog harness and the Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat. Because safety is important, and it hit me really hard when we got into an accident right before New Years eve.