Since You Are Babysitting My Dog...

Dear sister,

First of all, thank you very, very, very much for willing to lend a helping hand. Good Samaritans don’t come easily these days. Hehe. :p

Anyway, I’m really grateful that you offer to take in Braxton for the weekend. To make things easier, I am typing out a few areas of concern for your reference, hopefully this will minimize your headache (Braxton is naughty but that’s because she is such a baby at heart! … and mind… uh, and body too =.=)

Areas of concern:
1. Food
Simply feed her with her biscuits twice a day (morning and evening). But I understand that with grandma around, she is bound to eat rice and chicken (and unwanted washed char siew and unknown stuff. -_-). That’s fine, just keep the rice/chicken ratio to 2.5:1. Just please remember to add water to the rice because when it’s dry, the rice is very sticky and she finds it difficult to eat.

You can also add the biscuits to the rice and chicken for her. Please remember and remind grandma not to feed her with human food/scrapes other than her white rice and plain chicken. No vege kuah or meat kuah please. Or else I will have a hard time later.

As it is, she’s already not eating much of her biscuits already since she’s tasted “Bill Jack”, it’s saltier, and thus tastier. Zzz. And please, no fruits, no cold stuff, no uncooked stuff.

2. Noise pollution
She makes noise when she’s caged up too long and is bored, obviously, what more there are always activities around her. So if you are around, as much as you can, do free her, she may be hyper at the beginning and goes crazy, but after awhile she’ll quiet down. I hope.

I also noticed that by 7am, she will make hell of noise because she thinks that’s the time everyone should be up -_-. But I don’t see any problem since that’s the time grandma and the maid wake up too right? But maybe then she’ll need supervision.

As much as you can, don’t tie her or cage her up too much, that is the reason she becomes cuckoo.

3. Discipline
Don’t let her jump on anyone. Simply use your leg to push-kick her away, you can use more force (just please don’t hurt or kill her T_T) to scare her a bit. If she becomes uncontrollable along the way, always show her you are the alpha bitch (HAHAHAHA!) and lock her up in the cage or leash her up.

We also usually use rolled up newspaper to chase her down, just be careful not to hit so hard til she slips her disc (the backside bones), but must be hard enough also so that she remembers the pain and that you are not playing with her (and that you are the alpha bitch :x)

4. Her safety
As much as she is the naughty one and usually the guilty one, her safety is also important. Our Kelana Inn is a high traffic place, so remember to keep an eye on her in case she runs out of the house because sometimes when the maid or us go out of the house, we normally leave the gate wide open, and trust me, Braxton is an excellent ninja girl – she moves without sound and is super fast.

Remember the time when puppy Polly dashed out of the house and almost got knocked down by a car at night? That is my nightmare til this day ~_~

Also, she hasn’t completed all her 3 vaccines yet. So please do not bring her out for walks or she’ll be exposed to the danger of infections and die omg please don’t kill her yet T____T

5. Your safety
Also keep an eye on her whenever grandma(s) is around. The last thing I want is to be told she trips our dear senior citizens over and thus will be deported to Korea or Vietnam or China.

6. Bitch Fight
I did some research and found out that yes, male dogs fight, but after they are settled with who’s the boss, they will then live happily ever after together.

But not with bitches.

They fight for every/no reason at all apparently; when they fight, they really fight, as in fight-till-you-die fight, and there’s no ending. So never, ever keep Polly and Braxton in the same place without supervision. Polly is older and she’s never really mingled with other dogs, so naturally she’s snobbish with Braxton. And Braxton, well, let’s just say she’s plain ignorant because her mental strength is not developed yet, haha. SO again, never, ever keep Polly and Braxton in the same place without supervision. In this case, let Polly have the upperhand, and Braxton to submit to her... just keep them away from each other lah! zzz

7. Poo and Pee
I would say Braxton is house trained but she loves to test my patience by shitting and peeing everywhere. Now usually her “orh” time is in the morning during her breakfast, and in the evening during her dinner time.

So before letting her out, set her breakfast and water at the porch, and let her eat and do her business there. Alternatively, also consider putting her food inside her cage and then let her out to poo. The tiny risk is she might shit inside the cage. And step all over it! Yeay.

Please also set newspaper out there and try to educate her to pee there. Back at home, I put newspaper at the corner of the kitchen and usually she knows how to go there to pee and poo. Until she thinks otherwise is funny, that is.

8. Fresh Water
This is utterly important. I have brought along her water bowl, so you may tell the maid to keep the bowl filled and put it inside her cage. Do not put the bowl alongside Polly’s because they will fight.

Also do not put them together during meal times.

Anyway, water will be passed out every 45 minutes; hence it is important they have access to fresh water at all times. Or else her pee will smell like soy sauce. Serious!

9. Your safety (2)
For your own good, do not give in to her every whim and will or your weekend will be a living hell, say starting from 7am. Let her know she’s gotta be quiet and calm before getting what she wants. By the way, she is getting to the concept of “sit” now, so please practice the sit command with her.

When you get up, or reach home, you do not need to attend to her first thing. Settle your stuff and when you’re ready then only get to her (do not let her out if she’s barking and jumping crazy).

10. Happy Together
When she’s bored, she bites. So you either give her her plastic drumstick to play with, or play fetch with her with the drumstick (remember to shout fetch every time you throw). She enjoys it! Only remember to praise her every time she runs back and ACTUALLY gives you the drumstick (sometimes she’d run to you with the toy and just before reaching you/just as you say “good girl”, she’d de-tour and run away with the toy x_x)

If you are feeling guilty for not paying enough attention to her/being fierce to her, then just flip her around and give her tummy rubs. That’s usually erm, what I’ll do. Heh.

Uh, I think that’s all lah. Not too difficult right? Since you’ve saved me $54 for 3 nights of boarding @ the vet, Jason says he will belanja you makan! :D Yay! Food! So see you when I get back and hopefully, Braxton (and you) will be in one piece!

Ta!

Question

Why do people label a stray/abandoned cat generally as “domestic short hair” and not simply a stray or a pariah? Domestic. It has such nice ring to it.

Then again why do people label a stray/abandoned dog as “mongrel”, “stray”, and “pariah” and not just simply a domestic short hair/long hair/no hair/whatever?!

Noun 1.
mongrel - derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin; an inferior dog or one of mixed breed.

Noun 2.
pariah - derived from a Tamil word first used in English in 1613, to refer to the lowest level of the traditional Indian caste system; in English, it is used to mean “a social outcast”; it can be used for anyone also known as Untouchables, very low in society.

pariah dog - ownerless half-wild (?) mongrel dog common around Asia.

Bias much?