2 weeks with us

My ex-colleague's puppy of 8 months has just passed away last week. His puppy was at the vet for it's regular checkup and he was still fine, nothing was detected until a week later. I can imagine how he feels during this period of time. It passed away due to a internal tick infection. Not sure what is the actual cause of it but it sure sound serious. Hope his current dog can slowly make his sorrows subside.

Here are some updates on Yu Dan.

Have been training Yu Dan 15-20 minutes almost everyday. It is good to start at young age. At his age of 2 months and 2 weeks, he has learn how to sit, hands, down and wait for "OK" sign before he is allowed to consume his meals. Sometimes he just spaced out and ignored commands when you said it but execute it after a few seconds. Sometimes he ignored you completely. HAHA!

Good thing is that he does not bark when we are sleeping anymore as well as when we are away. He was given tough training! Totally ignored by us, not giving him any affection when he barks. :)

Talking about meals, Yu Dan is a fanatic when it comes to food. He will ignore what you are saying or if you are even looking at him. His eyes are just glued to the bowl you are holding while he runs and hops around but he only gets his food if he calms down. He also likes to gulp his food down within seconds like it's his last meal which is not good! Gulping of food will make their stomach bloated due to lots of air intakes that will cause indigestion which may lead to vomiting and gastric problems. Guess I would need to invest in a bowl that makes them eat slower.

For today's meals (before I get Yu Dan a new eating bowl tomorrow), I gave a slight push on Yu Dan to get him away from the bowl after every 2-3 mouths to stop him from gulping. Procedure, push - wait - OK. Four to five times in the process to slow his eating instead of him finishing his food in 3-5 seconds.

Bowls with special designs that have "compartments" can make dogs have their meals slower by obstructing them instead of having a plain bowl that allows their mouth to access the whole bowl.

I have also taught him how to stay outside places where I do not want him to be especially the kitchen. Kitchen is definitely out of bounds for him as it is dangerous for him to be there - knives, hot cooking oil/water etc when we are cooking. But sometimes he could not control himself cause he knows that his food are kept in the kitchen and he got the perception that when we enter the kitchen, there is a possibility of us preparing his food. He would tend to try his luck, stepping in bit by bit while we are not looking and quickly move back if we were to noticed and caught him in action.

Last Wednesday was Yu Dan's first bath after we brought him home. He was so skinny with his furs all damped. He was scared too! Have to distract him with treats during the bathing process.

Some pictures over the weekend.

What a weekend...

The weekend was tiring and hectic. Have been sleeping as late as 9am and getting up as early as 12pm ever since Yu Dan arrived. Mainly clearing his poo poo and to monitor him. He has been quite a wreckage for starters. Chewing of pee pads, peeing and pooing out of the tray, whining/crying/barking etc.

Yu Dan is very intelligent, he's more of a poodle side I would say as Maltipoo may have character of  either a maltese or poodle as they are crossbred. Poodles are said to be world's second most intelligent breed.

On the first day, he got to know his name. Well, still depends whether you are doing the things he likes, if not he can ignore you for all he wants. Guess he doesn't like to be disciplined.

Second day, he learns how to sit but he only sits if you have his food on your hand. Will take time to train him to do without the food.

On the third day, he is 80% pee tray trained. The other 20% was due to him having leaks, unable to get to the pee tray in time and also, stepping on his own poo and walks around leaving his paw print all over the floor within his zone. Have to figure out how to get him not to step on his on poo on the tray.

The third night was crazy. Yu Dan has been whining and crying when we went to bed. He went on and on from 9am till 2pm. Kudos to him... We couldn't go to him as it will make him think that whining/crying/barking is alright. Have to let him have the perception that it doesn't work that way. He has to be good and nice to have affection given to him. Till now he did not bark anymore, lets hope it stays this way.

Yu Dan's Home Sweet Home!

Finally the day has come! We have been missing him so much from the time we bought him and during his quarantine period after his second jab and microchipping.

Before meeting up with Joan's parents, I have made an appointment with a vet near Sixth Avenue, Namly Animal Clinic for a health check to ensure that Yu Dan's is of good condition.

Had lunch at Ikea and got Yu Dan a puppy soft toy, I thought it would be a good companion for Yu Dan. Now Yu Dan have lots of toys for him to counter his separation anxiety.

Not setting the kennel as our first priority, we dropped by Pet Movers Megamart to get Yu Dan's outdoor drinking bottle cause it is the cheapest from all the pet stores and online shops I have visited. Also purchased 3 fences from there as I think it is better to expand Yu Dan's playground if not it the play pen would be very tight for Yu Dan to run about if I squeeze in the pee tray, upgrading his play pen from 1 room to 2 room! One for play/sleep, the other for his toilet. :)

Yu dan was such a good boy during the car ride to the vet. There were 3 large dogs at the vet's clinic, I think they didn't even notice Yu Dan at all, tiny little guy relaxing comfortably on Joan's arms like a baby. Haha!

Anyway, Yu Dan's health is good, so said the vet. She said Yu Dan has no health problem or skin issues but has a wee bit of dandruff!!! Added on, it is common for puppies that are purchased from kennels due to the environment and care given. We just need to use anti-dandruff shampoo for him to solve the problem. Hopefully it helps...

Also bought Heartgard at the clinic for Yu Dan. It helps to prevent heart worm especially when he is a puppy with low immunity.

Some information to share about heartgard for those who have not been using this.

What is heartworm disease?

Heartworm disease in dogs (dirofilariasis) is a serious and potentially fatal disease. Heartworms spend their adult lives in the right side of the heart and the large blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs. The adult worms block the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs, liver, and kidneys.

How do dogs get heartworms?

Heartworms are transmitted from one dog to another by mosquitoes, which pick up tiny immature heartworms, called microfilariae, when they bite an infected dog. Larvae develop and are then transmitted to another dog when that dog is bitten by the infected mosquito. 

Can my dog “get” heartworm disease directly from an infected dog?

No, the way dogs become infected is via a bite from a mosquito that is carrying heartworm larvae.

For full information, go to Heartgard .



Time to bring Yu Dan home!

Entered the house and left Yu Dan on the floor. I wanted him to start peeing first which he actually did the moment we put him down on the floor. Guess he really has kept his pee in throughout the whole journey. The reason for me by putting him on the floor was to collect his pee for the pee tray instead of putting him right in the play pen whereby he would just wet the whole pen.

I guess it works! Yu Dan been doing all his peeing (3 times) on the pee tray but not pooing at the pee tray (2 times) which I need to teach him to. He just poo right outside the entrance of his play pen, on the floor, beside the pee tray. There will be lots of opportunities to do so as puppies usually poo right after their meal, I read that they also do it when they just awake up. Just need to catch them in action to correct them!

Yu Dan is very playful, enjoying his toy and short moments with us. The kennel owner said that we must not play with puppies when we bring them home, if not they will clinch onto us to minimize their separation anxiety. Also, in the future, it will be harder for us to leave his sight, whining and crying non-stop. But still, I let him run around the house for a start, few minutes, I count that as exploring his new home! :)

Need to learn and train Yu Dan as soon as possible. Hope I can do it!





Moments of Yu Dan on his first day!

Setting up the Play Pen

Received all the products this morning.

The owners really came down and delivered the stuffs themselves. Young lovely couple who praises our house's interior when I opened the door, saying it's cozy. I was half awake at that time, with the praises, I kept smiling with my sleepy eyes which are hardly open and I nearly forgot to close the door after they said goodbye. HAH!

I requested for TimberWolf kibbles sample pack as an additional request upon placing the order but they told me TimberWolf does not have any sample packs or they don't have them at the moment over the phone/email. My memory is starting to fail me.

Upon the delivery, they have given me lots of other kibbles sample packs. Some of the brands that I actually wanted to get for Yu Dan to try during the later part.

Starting from the left : Barking Heads "Chicken& Salmon" (Blue) and "Adult Chicken" (Yellow), Addiction "Wild Kangaroo & Apple" (Brown) and "Salmon Bleu" (Silver-blue), Wellness "Just for Puppies" (Yellow) and "Small Breed" (Purple).

Brands I wanted to get for Yu Dan but still contemplating on which:

• Addiction
• Wellness
• Timberwolf
• Taste of the Wild

Nevertheless, I'm happy to have the Wellness and Addiction sample packs!

Fixed up the play pen and the carrier. I miscalculated the measurement. Didn't foresee that the tray of the play pen is much smaller than the play pen size. Now I couldn't put in my pee tray inside the play pen. If I rotate the orientation of the pee tray, Yu Dan will have a very small space to sleep. So I'm going to be using pee pads for a start then slowly get him to do his business in the toilet, on the pee tray...I hope it works.

Yu Dan's resting place to be.

1 more week!!!!!!!

Online pet shop / 2nd time to Pasir Ris Farmway

Disappointed, all the stuffs that I have ordered 3-4 days ago from 2 online pet shops did not arrive today as told/requested.

First online shop told me that his driver will liaise with me over the weekend to arrange the delivery, if he doesn't, it is on the common understanding, that it will be delivered on Monday morning which is today. So I waited...and waited...

Called the owner at 12.45pm and check with him and he thought his driver had called me over the weekend and have arranged the delivery timing at 3pm. No the driver didn't. If the driver doesn't send the stuffs tomorrow, the owners will send it themselves. Hmm, not bad.

The second online shop did not reply my online purchase until this morning at 9am, sending a purchase information email to me. I was pondering if the email means they are ready to deliver so I waited too. Till 12.45pm, right after I called the first online shop.

Gave them a call, 2 lines, spamming my way through...no answer...

So I ignored the whole delivering thingy and left home with Joan and her mom to the kennel. Gotta visit Yu Dan before he goes for his second jab and micro-chipping followed by quarantine for 1 week.

He grew a tag bigger than the last time we saw him. Guess puppies really grew fast haha. This time, Yu Dan is much more playful. The previous time, we disturbed him from sleeping during our visit and he was quite restless or kind of too tamed when we were hugging him. This time he didn't yelp at all, which we missed him doing so from the first visit. The sound of puppies yelping is so cute! Yelp Yelp!

Headed to the pet movers warehouse nearby, at the end of the street, then to Daiso at Bukit Panjang Plaza to get some of the things which I have not purchase before dinner with Joan's parents.


Items bought for the day.

1. 2 toys and a rope
2. Collar and leash
3. Treats
4. Ear cleaning solution
5. Water bottle
6. Nail file
7. Shampoo
8. Odour remover
9. Wet wipes
10. Food bowl
11. Hand Sanitizer

After the kennel visit, the second online pet shop called and informed me that they will be sending the items tomorrow morning, means I am getting all the items on the same day! I'm so excited for the arrival of the online purchased stuffs and setting up the play pen! ;)

New Camera! Snap Snap Snap!

Purchased a camera from Courts using our house warming gift vouchers.

We do not own any camera at the moment therefore we figured getting one for our Australia trip coming July as well as for Yu Dan moments.

Will have to look for someone who can take care of Yu Dan while we are away when the time comes.

Meanwhile, gonna be time taxing to figure out the camera's functions...

Samsung Galaxy Camera

                                        

Going to pay Yu Dan a visit at kennel tomorrow after the arrival of the online stuffs which I have purchased for him, unless they screwed up the delivery schedule.

Oh...9 more days to go! :)

Online Shopping!

Have been browsing online pet shops for the past few days. Hoping to get everything ready upon Yu Dan's arrival.

Things that I have purchased online.

Play pen

I do not want caging at the base of the cage/play pen which most usually have them. it's also tough to look for one which has a better design concept at a reasonable price. Went to a few pet shops and seen cages and play pen which are smaller with normal design(just pieces of metals) that costs the same or more than this play pen. It blends to our house interior too. (I hope...)

Ritchell Easy Cleaning Pet Circle (Green) - 90cm x 62 cm x (H)60cm - $188

Pee Tray

Gonna get the Nugi Pee Tray. It is much better than Yogi Pee Tray due to Yogi have 2 side ears that fastens the tray which leads to a huge probability that dogs will keep biting the ears after reading up reviews from people who bought yogi which I am afraid that Yu Dan might just do the same. Nugi doesn't have the side ears but the dimension is much bigger. Thankfully the play pen is big enough for the Nugi, most of the play pens and cages are only able to use the smaller pee tray which is the Yogi.

Nugi Pee Tray -  55cm x 49cm x (H)3.5cm, $40.50 (one website sells $39.50)

Yogi Pee Tray - 54cm x 44cm x (H)3.5cm, $35.10

Carrier

We wanted to get a bag instead of a carrier (too bulky and uncomfortable) for Yu Dan as it would be more convenient for us to bring him around especially since he is too young to walk on his own outside cause he would be vulnerable to viruses and such but we couldn't grab hold of a better one in terms of functionality/design/size/way to carry.

Much better bags would cost around $200-$300 like Sleepypod which is gonna be fairly hard on our pockets.

Getting a carrier first while we look out for more suitable ones.

Dogit® Voyageur Dog Carrier - 48.3cm x 32.6cm x 28cm, $35

Still lacking but no rush:

• Shampoo
• Brush
• Nail file/ clipper
• Ear cleaner powder & solution
• Forceps
• Round tipped scissors (for cutting fur around the paws)
• Doggy toothpaste / infant toothbrush / dental fresh
• Water bottle (indoor and outdoor)
• Odor Removal (can be substitute with vinegar with water but smell would be unbearable)
• Heartgard to prevent heart worms and mosquitoes viruses
• Kibbles & treats

What else did I missed? Hmm...

12 days left and counting!!! :)