Renewing my vows to Shiro

Today I am going to renew my vows to Shiro.

Over this year, our relationship has changed.

We started out in such a purely loving way. I could never wait to go home to see him and he would welcome me with his wagging tail and high-pitched puppy bark. I would teach him to sit and he would do everything for a small little bite of snack.

In between a lot happened. We moved together to a new place and started staying with new people - friends of mine but strangers to him.

One of his owners started working away from home most of the time. I got busier with work too.

Shiro was going through his teenaged years I think. Going through a cycle of being rebellious - being fascinated at new things - developing an adult bark - learning more things.

Our relationship was tried - stress - from our own lives, from circumstances, from others.

I grew cranky. I was stricter. I disciplined him hard.

Until a point when I just had to ask myself, "How did things turn out this way?"

He is my companion, not a watchdog.
He is my best friend, not a follow-dog.
I brought him into my family, I should give him love.

Be it to teach him, to discipline him - it should be out of love.
And not to meet others' expectations.

I know this might sound weird.

Quoted from a friend, "If you don't stand up for your dog, who will?"

I think I have lost myself for a while there and I have not been there for Shiro. Physically yes, but emotionally, no.

I lost track of my role in Shiro's life.
More over teaching him, leading him and taking care of him - to love him.

Here, I renew my vows and strive to build a stronger relationship with my dear Shiro.

Shiro 1st Bday

Guess what! Shiro turns 1 today!

My ball of love just turned one and I cannot feel prouder of him. And his excessive barking. And his flying furballs. And his overpowering jumps.

Everything, eburizhing.

So to celebrate this joyful day I gave him a giant piece of present - a gigantic lamb chop :)

So big that it could not fit into his bowl so I had to cut it up~

Although it is his birthday - patience training must go on - placed the tempting chunk of meat in front of him but no! He Must Wait For My Command.

Looking at Rachel.

Looking at me. . . oh, actually at the meat.

And then he walloped everything!

Happy Birthday dear Shiro,

you have brought so much joy into my life.

And that is all that I could ever ask for :)

A short update on myself: I got new hair :)

Family album

Let me show you some fmily portraits.

#1 So tiny (vertically, sadly not horizontally) that I can fit with space to spare into one teeny picture.

#2 This is me going out of my room with a new bag - fringed and given my Melsuemanda for my birthday.

#3 These are my greeeeeeeeeen eyes and near the door knob is the Shiro doll SerLey made for Xmas!

Okay time for some realy family portrait where the subject is not me alone.

#4 Everyday is a struggle where play mimicks fight and the other way around.

#5 This, again, can be a show of affection or rebellion. A much-too passionate kiss perhaps.

#6 Shiro leaves a piece of him everywhere round me. A hair - even on my office seat. A lick - all over my necklace. A scratch mark - from way back when.

#7 The naughtiest dog in the world (this could be the initiation of a wrestle) or the manja-est dog in the world (this could also be the initiation of a major clinging closely to you session)?

#8 So it turned out to be a manja session. HE loves lurking around all over you and for you to snuggle him . . . and make you go all 'AWWWWWW'. . .

#9 . . . and then the lying close to you keeping you warm acting all cottonball-y. . .

#10 . . . showering you with attention and affection like how he has no other in the world. . .

#11 . . . only to bring you back to reality by acting mischievious, forcing you to pin him down!

#12 Time we spend together is usually eventful (tiring).

#13 And why do I still love him like mad? Look how short he is hahaha.

I have a soft spot for those lacking in this department.

Magical world

Ever since owning a dog, I feel like Harryanne Potter.

I buy things like:-

Pork Trotters

Pig Ears

Lamb Bone

. . as snacks for him.

Reminiscence of ingredients used to make potions.

And at the back of my Muggle-looking house, there is a Poo Kingdom. A tree lined valley with loadsa Shiro poo.

Magic tricks like transformation. See, now you see a dog . . .

. . . and voila, a cotton ball.

Mystical creatures swarm the land - behold the red-eyed albino 'werefox'.

It is magic here all the time with Shiro.

Hope you guys enjoyed this little magical tour with Shiro!

My doggy report card

Sue Li: It is hard work having a puppy and teaching it to become a dog.

I have always wanted a dog - since forever - and have been given pet fish/turtles/rabbits as bribes from parents. So naturally I answered:

Me: As long as I love it, I think all the hard work will be worth it.

Oh boy was dear Sue Li right.

I set eyes on baby Shiro one fateful day in August. It was love at first sight as he scurried timidly between Ray's legs. So small, so vulnerable and so adorable. I remember thinking that I would love him and teach him with all my heart.

Eversince that day, Shiro and us have gone through some pretty amazing milestones.

#1 Making him feel comfortable and secure enough to sleep alone in the living area

Endurance: 2-3 nights of non-stop crying and yapping and barking.

Method: Hardened our hearts and went out to reassure him a few times in the middle of the night.

#2 Making him feel brave enough to roam around the area he was allowed at

Endurance: Shiro sticking to our feet 24/7 and crying whenever we left to the toilet etc

Method: Repetitive reassurance and bringing him all over the place

#3 Training him to go toilet on paper

Endurance: An average of 7-8 poo/pee cleaning every day

Method: As soon as the accident happened, we would say a stern 'NO' in his face and place him on the paper where he was supposed to do his business. After a few weeks, he got it and started doing it on paper. For a period of time, whenever he did it at the right place, we would reward him with snacks.

#4 Teaching him to sit/lie down/give hand

Endurance: Shiro being trying to nab the snack out of our hands before doing the trick

Method: Just using snack he likes and really giving it to him only when he performs the trick

#5 Conquering his fear of the outside world

Endurance: Shiro did not like going outside at all. He would try to run home as soon as we walk as far as the end of the driveway.

Method: Going further bit by bit. Luring him with snacks and standing in front of him whenever he backed away from certain objects (as if you are protecting him).

#6 Training him to do his business outside

Endurance: Since he was already doing it on paper, there wasn't much problem. More like a transition, but there were times when he got confused and just did it near the door.

Method: Bringing him out whenever he did it on paper. Bringing him out first day in the morning, after every meal and before bedtime - waiting with a snack - until he did his business. It was epic during winter!


#7 Making him feel more comfortable with water during showertime

Endurance: A struggling and agitated Shiro when wet

Method: Just have to hold him and distract him until he gets used to it. Oh and also to blowdryers.

#8 Stopping him from nipping/biting

Endurance: A 2-month long period where Shiro tried biting and niping people's hands and all other object

Method: A firm 'NO' whenever he did it and avoiding putting anything that can be bitten on the floor. Held his muzzle and repeatedly said no until he relaxed and stopped struggling. Gave him his chewtoy whenever he started finding bite targets.

#9 Taught him to do other hand/rollover/find his bowl/ stay and wait while his food is served

Endurance: Patience.

Method: Again, snack and being really firm with rewarding.

I am quite proud of my baby but there are a few major behavioral problems with him that I have yet to solve despite trying hard over the last few months! Everyone tells me that he is just a puppy, so it is alright but I really don't want to slack and make these problems grow!

#1 Walking on leash

Problem: Shiro jumps and jumps ecstaticly whenever we take out the leash. He doesn't sit or stay to allow you to put on the leash in peace. Once he is outside, he drags, pulls, storms forward and doesn't respons to his name at all!

Methods used: Making him sit whenever he drags. Give him slight pull whenever he drags. Calling his name. Distracting him with his fav toy. Luring him with dog biscuit.

Current status: Still drags like mad. Whenever he drags, I will stop and he will stop to look back at me/sit down with back facing me.

#2 Excessive territory marking

Problem: He does it to every single tree/pole along the street even until he has no pee for marking anything! He drags extra forcefully to get to the tree. I heard that this is not a good sign.

Methods used: Forbid him. Distract him whenever we approach some tree/pole.

Current status: Still the same.

#3 Eating everything on the floor

Problem: He never used to be like this but right now, whatever we dropped onto the floor and he finds on the floor, he will eat it. And he runs away when we catch him doing that. Everything - human food, rocks, leaves, plastic material.

Methods used: Removing the item from his mouth (I have removed some disgusting stuff from there) and firmly telling him 'NO'. Giving his muzzle a smack (smacking his body doesn't help, his coat cushions him from all external trauma).

Current status: Just removed a piece of rock (and a minute later, a string) from this mouth after chasing him around the living room.

# 4 Barking

Problem: He used to be really quiet and never barked. Until he hit 7 months old, he started barking at every noise from outside - not in his cutesy bark - but a now loud bark.

Methods used: Telling him 'NO' when he does so. Holding his muzzle until he calms down and does not struggle.

Current status: He will bark again as soon as the next second :(

So how true was what Sue Li said.

With my co-trainer being far away in Alice Springs right now, me energy is being sapped at a rapid rate by this little bundle of terror.

I have almost exhausted the internet for information and have youtubed a few nights away just for this! Does anyone know what to do?

And while I type all these out, Little Mr Terror is doing this.

Sigh. Although what Sue Li said was very true, cannot be more true; I think my reply was just as true as it turns out to be. And I bet all dog owners can relate to that :)

This just in:

Achievement #10 Getting Shiro to fetch without the initiation of a deadly tug of war

Endurance: Tugging his fetch target from him everytime he brought it back for us

Method: Giving him a snack whenever he brought back his toy. The snack makes him drop his toy and we give him his reward only when he places the toy in our hands.

Fluffy-ended Sausage

How I wish I were Shiro.

With his daily occupation being cuteness and jobscope covering eating and sleeping and playing and being cute.

Most importantly, how I wish I were Shiro. To be instantly slim once dressed up.

. . . so uncute!

I spent the next 30 minutes mocking Shiro for looking like a fluffy-ended sausage while it struggled/scratched trying to get outta his new doggy sweater.

For once, Shiro was looking uncute. That's getting back at it for being all cute and angelic in front of strangers and barking/biting us at home!

Jells Park with Shiro

Parks will not seem the same once you get yourself a puppy.

You begin thinking of things like, "I wonder if they allow puppies on leash here?" and "What other dogs will there be?" instead of the usual, "I have to run the hell out of 45 minutes to burn that crappy pizza off" or "Let's go carnivorous-BBQing in the park!"

Jells Park is located about 10 minutes away from Clayton. We love bringing Shiro there for walks because the place is huge and because lotsa other dog owners love it there you always get to see many different dogs - big, small, furry, groomed-blad, fat, skinny, shy, over-friendly.

There is also a lake which looks amazing on a good day with the ducks playing around and kids running around.

Because Shiro still is a fidget-ty puppy that cannot seem to walk calmly beside us, we figured out the best strategy would be to tire it out by running alongside him, drain its energy before training him to walk properly with snacks!

The running task was assigned to . . . ? Astro Boy! Er, . . I mean Me, the Astro Boy for the day! I so want to watch the Astro Boy movie. So much so that I have been wearing my Astro Boy jumper all over the place! Gone were the days when the others mocked me for being an otaku wearing my Astro Boy jumper. Right here right now is when Astro Boy is hip and cool again. See my jumper :-D

Shiro loves the grassy areas. Or maybe all dogs love grassy areas. One observation. While the adult dogs walk properly right beside their owners (through years of training I suppose), young puppies are always seen tugging onto their leash, forcing themselves onto the grassy areas while their owners are walking on the pathway.

And don't be fooled by the blue skies and seemingly bright sun. It was very windy. Proof?

Shiro's fur - wind blowing towards the west!

. . And now the air is still.

The park is certainly more fun with a puppy. Shiro being a confusing dog, attracts not only attention but funny questions. Some memorable ones include:

1) Kid asking Mum, "Mummy, is that a dog? It's a Teddy Bear!"

2) Woman asking, "How does his hair stand like that?"

3) Kid saying, "Woah, a snow fox!"

4) Housemate saying, "Here kitty kitty kitty."

Here is the director of the aptly titled 'Shiro: Cloverfield' video below. Enjoy :-)

Before you comment anything about the video: Hey, Cloverfield is about the end of the world okay! You think people can still logically think of the orientation of the camera and hold their hands still for a good quality video???? Come on!!