public declaration

I hate harsh dog training.

I hate dog agility.

I hate cat show.

I hate dog show.

I hate this grooming method call “stripping”.

I hate people who dye their dog’s hair.

I hate people who dress their dog (besides protecting from cold or harsh weather).

I hate people who put shoes on dog (even sled dogs who run miles and miles on very cold ice do not wear shoes)!

Of course I also hate people who use prong, spray, electric or any hurtful collars that is not natural on dog.

What are the common things on the above activities/action?  They are all created by man.  Man’s standard of what is best for their pets or more likely having their pride stroked or blown up when they won.  If only the victimised cats and dogs could speak I’m sure they will load their owner with a mouthful of  f-language and spit on them.

what?! flood?!

I was told by R that it had been raining and again this morning by C but I didnt know that the rain is that bad!  If you have a moment, please pray for the homeless stray cats and dogs (also the rats in the drain) that they have a place to keep dry and be protected by the flood.  Please also keep comcat care givers in mind, some of them are elderly folks.

I also heard that Metta Cat is flooded.  If you have time over the weekend, do give them a hand.  It must be nasty in there, I hope that no cats and dogs are injured or contacted with any virus that are floated out from the sewage.

sweet kitty looking for home

Kitty is estimated to be two months old and recently rescued by a family who has a dog and cant keep her.  If you would like to adopt Kitty and keep her 100% indoor and fenced up windows and gate.  Kindly email to Jonathan Tan at rocketfuel168@yahoo.com

letting God do the rest

I am not sure how many would agree with me but life is as such that no matter how good you are, you will never pleased everyone.  From being a mom to being a daughter to being a good worker, no way you would ever please every single one. 

I first heard this quoation from one of my HR lecturer.  It had remain firm and dear to my heart for many years.  So if someone try to make you miserable today after you had worked so hard thinking you had appease everyone, dont be despair, you are only answerable to yourself.  As long as you had done your best let God do the rest.

Another thing I found to be very true in conjunction to the above is a quotation from Proverb (my favorite book from the Bible) is that you could plan a battle but only God gives the victory. 

I was once quoted by my an ex-boss with regards to my sudden drop of rating by another boss (which I hated his constant whining) which was ridiculous to me.  She told me dont keep dwelling on my previous rating, it could be my then boss likes me better.  Ouch! That was hurting.  So I applied the above ” you cant please everyone” and lick my own wound by “the battle belongs to God”. 

I’ve done all my best in all my life ever since I am a mom and am still trying to be one to my two daughters giving them the best, attending good school, making sure they dont deprive of anything… but still… I cant stop them for making bad choices in life.  Of course that part my daughter have to deal with God herself but my point is, as long as I’ve done my best God will determine when will be the time for victory.

Of course I am hurt that things dont turn out as desired but it also help me to better cope that this is not a perfect world, I shouldnt be seeking for perfection.  As long as I’ve done my best, I should leave it to God to do the rest.

maisie, a young rare classic tabby looking for home

This is Maisie, she is a classic tabby that is rarely seen in Singapore (only found in mostly imported kitty or pedigree).  She is estimated to be less than a year old.  Very friendly to human and am sure if properly introduced, she’ll get along with other cats.  She had been sterilised and ready to be rehome.

She needs to be kept 100% indoor with fenced up windows or gate, if you are interested in adopting her, please drop a note on the comment box.  Thank you.

it’s time we step up to positive reinforcement dog training

Well like some of you dog lovers out there, I am a fan of Cesar Milan but I am a bigger fan of Victoria Stilwell or if you could relate better the t.v. show “It’s me or the dog” hostess which ceased screening for a long time in Singapore.

The approach of the two trainers are very different.  Cesar is all about being a clam and assertive leader and Victoria is more on positive reinforcement.  If you think the later is a softy and your stubborn dogs would never adhere to that approach, may I say you are still very ill informed in dog training.  I saw from her episodes that she too could clam down very stubborn and aggressive dogs instantly.  It’s really the matter of mastering the skill of rewarding positive behaviour and the timing has to be spot on.  I personally feel that it’s a more humane way of training our best friend (and not because I am a woman).  Like our kids, we reward positive behaviour without frightening the day light out of them like during my time between me and my dad.  Just in case you still not sure what the hell I am yakking, Victoria’s approached is when your dog did something correctly (or the way you want it to behave) you reward the dog immediately with treats or using treats to sort of “bribe” your dog into doing something that you wanted her to do.  And when your dog get the cue, you add a name to that action.  In due time, you will reduce the treats and only reward with praises.

I didnt buy this year’s A$D calendar because one of the dog uses a prong collar in one of the calendar shot and I daringly told one of the volunteer in A$D that I didnt buy it because I dont agree that the shelter uses a prong collar on the dog.  My reply from her was it’s better than having the dog killed.  At that moment (which I was very new to dog training, (though I still dont think one should use a prong collar)) I thought there were some truth in it.  But now?  No way.  It’s not the dog, it’s the trainer if you dare me to say.  Ya, the bully trainer!

In one of the “Its me or the dog – USA” episode, one of the rescue shelter owner uses an electric collar on her rescue Weimaraner because she can’t control him from barking and fighting with one of the other Weimaraner.  Every time when the dog barks, she will use her remote control to shock the dog.  When Victoria was conducting the interview, her big eyes gone even bigger in shock!  Later in the “confrontation” scene, she told the owner that she wants all the prong collars and electric collars to be thrown into the bin.  She said she knows some people would say if you use it correctly it wont hurt but she said no matter how, it’ll still hurt if not how would the prong collar work!  She later show them a lot of time people will try the prong on their arm and feel that it’s not too bad but she ask the two owners to use it on their throat (as throat skin is thinner than our arm) and give a light jerk.  Than they realised it does hurt and there were some deep impression left on the male owner’s neck.  For that I have to say “bravo” to her.  She even makes owner go into a crate and ask them how they feel being lock up in the crate over a long period of time.  This is from me, if you uses a choke collar, may I suggest you put it on and get someone to give you a jerk and see how it feels like for your poor dog.

A lot of time, we are like monkey see, monkey do without thinking twice how our dogs feel.  When our friend tell us this trainer is good, we jump the ship.  And we never think that our dog has different needs than our friend’s dog.  I also really hope if you are looking for a trainer, do interview him or her before signing up, ask if you could sit in a session to observe first.  Harsh training is so very old school (which I know still commonly practises in SG).  I really urge owner to read up more and invest time in looking for a trainer who practices positive reinforcement than harsh training.  Your dogs like your children or even yourself have feelings too.  Who like to live in constant fear?  Respect is earned after all and you like a boss who rewards better than throw their weight around.

And dont forget, treat your dog like dog, not human, he or she might not understand your language at all.  If smelling another dog’s ass is the way of greeting, dont tell her she embarrass you with a strong jerk on her collar!

eating less meat

This is a very interesting site, The Bucher’s Cat that was built by British Vegetarian Society to promote to young veggie.

J did once blog in her blog saying it’s so much easier to be a vegan back in the US and I have to say the same for the UK.  Almost all restaurant in the UK carry a good varieties of vegetarian menu (and not your last-minute-whisk-and-taste-aweful type).

Actually I really, wish I could be a full time vegetarian but to borrow a quote from the Bible, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” sets the perfect setting for me.  I am too weak to resist!  But thanks to Singapore Vegetarian Society, they are very kind in comforting me by quoting eating less meat is a way of helping too.  Strangely, whenever I am fasting (no meat on weekdays) I cope perfectly fine and very strong will in sticking to plan but whenever I am not fasting it’s really hard… 

However I still try to eat less meat whenever I could and I really hope Quorn be on sale in SG.  They taste so, so much better than all the mock stuffs on sale in the wet market.  I have not eaten beef for a while now and I try my best to resist it so when I first sank my teeth into their burger, I swear to you that is the most humane burger I ever tasted.