Stress affects dogs too...

From the desk of Kess' mama:

Kess has been suffering from stress-related ailments. Our beagle went to boarding for a week as both J and I were away for work. When she came back, she had no appetite and refused to eat her breakfast. which if you've been following this blog, will know it's unusual for this greedy beagle. In all her 9 years +, the only other time she refused to eat was after her surgery when we spayed her. Even after drinking water, she would vomit. It took 3-4 days after her return before she was back to normal. When we were in Malaysia, she had gone to boarding before and there were no issues. I suspect she's not fully recovered from the move or from being crated! She feels insecure because she's out of her comfort zone as clearly evidenced by her tucked down tail. Usually, her tail will be up in the air like a wavy flag.

Recently, we had to board her for 1 night at a nearby boarding place. When she came back, she had a runny tummy. In fact, when we woke up this morning, she discovered she had a poop accident in the house...we spent quite some time cleaning up her trail of runny poop! Usually, Kess is very good with regards to controlling her bowel until we take her out in the morning once we wake up. On hindsight, there were a few other times when she had a runny tummy, after a stress trigger event.

We've decided to hire a full-time helper to provide more stability for Kess. Hopefully, things will improve once we get full-time help and she won't need to go for boarding when we travel. It'll also give us flexibility to go out without worrying about her separation anxiety.

Cat attack

The phrase "Fighting like cats and dogs" has new meaning for this beagle. My humans and I were walking back home after our long evening walk yesterday. We took a short cut home and saw a stray cat sitting in the middle of the pavement. Now, we were just minding our own business, walking by the side to pass this cat. I was very well behaved and did not even try to sniff at the cat.

As we were passing by, the cat suddenly lunged at us, hissing and swiping its claws. We immediately retreated. I was terrified! My human quickly grabbed a fallen palm leaf on the ground and using that as a "shield", managed to get the cat to move to the side. We then quickly walked pass, with my humans keeping an eye out to make sure the cat did not come after us. Once we were safely away from the cat, my humans examined me and found that my ear was bleeding. The cat had managed to swipe my ear. Luckily my humans had a pack of wet wipes in their doggie bag, so they did their best to clean up the blood and stop the bleeding. When we got home, they used some mild antiseptic solution to clean it further. Thankfully, my rabies jab is up to date...Anyway, here I am recovering from the unprovoked attack. The wound didn't look so bad after the blood was wiped off.


This morning, my human recounted the story of the cat attack to some of the regular dog-walkers during our walk. It turns out that this nasty cat has tried to attack other dogs that have walked past as well. Looks like we have to be more careful if we encounter the cat again.

Cats and this beagle just don't get along. I got swiped on my cheek by a cat before when I was on border patrol. However, that was perhaps understandable since it was a confrontational situation. This time, it was totally unprovoked. I think I'm going to stay clear of cats from now on...

Separation anxiety

Beagles are pack animals. We don't like being alone. Now back home in Malaysia, I didn't like being left home alone. I've climbed over 7-foot fences, killed plants and dug the garden when left in the garden. During the rainy season, when left indoors, I would scratch the grill, shoe cabinet, shred paper bags....you get the picture...

My humans used to accept it in their stride. Sure, they got frustrated from time to time. But they knew that it's part and parcel of having a dog. Then of course, my humans had a network of family and friends whom they could rely on to keep an eye on me. We had the best neighbors, Aunty C and family absolutely adored me and I was equally at home at their place as I was at my own. Aunty C would usually bring me over to her place when my humans went out. If my humans had to travel, I would usually go over to gramps homes on both sides of the family.

Now that we're in Hong Kong, away from family and neighbours, my humans are faced with the predicament of having to deal with this beagle's separation anxiety. The first few times they went out, they put me in my crate, with a special bone treat. They even left the radio on so that there would be sounds at home. When they came home, they would find this beagle in a state of anxiety, wet from water spillage from the water bottle on the crate door because I had been "bouncing" my crate, as if I was trying to move the crate closer to the door. Looks like I never did adjust to being in a crate.
Because we live in a rented apartment, they don't dare to let me roam freely in the house due to fear of damage to the property. What they've resorted to doing now is getting in helpers cum dog-sitters when they want to go out. So each time they go out, they always have to watch the time coz they have to be home by a certain time. They've also tried a doggie day care once when they ouldn't get someone to come in. But they know that this beagle is more comfortable at home. It's been pretty challenging for my humans as it means they can't be spontaneous. They are now considering a full time helper, which is very common in HK so that there will be someone home with me whenever they go out. The trade off is loss of privacy. It's a real dilemma and they're still trying to find the best solution for our family.

A Beagle's First Outing in Sai Kung

My last trip to the vet doesn't count as a proper outing. So, this beagle was quite excited to actually go on a proper outing. We live on HK island - highly populated and densely built up. On my first outing, my humans and I went over to the mainland, past Kowloon, to a beautiful place called Sai Kung, a country park in the New Territories, about an hour's drive from HK island.


Since we don't have a car yet, my humans hired a van to take us there. As always, this beagle loves a car ride and took in the city sights, which gradually changed to countryside as we travelled away from the island.


The main purpose of our trip to Sai Kung was actually to visit a dog boarding place there. Since my humans had to travel for work, they had to find a place for me to stay when they are away. Now, there are boarding places on HK island, but most of them require the dogs to be in a kennel of some sort. But at DBDogsDayz in Sai Kung, the dogs are allowed to roam free in a home environment, with a back garden (which is a real treat in HK) and indoor air conditioned room to chill out in. The owner, Andrew requires a pre-boarding visit to ensure that the dogs can adjust to living with other dogs, which my humans thought was a good idea.

On the day of our visit, DBDogsDayz was at full capacity. Initially, I was a little apprehensive entering into the garden with a pack of 20 canines - large and small. But, after the customary butt sniffing, I finally settled down in a corner, whilst my humans chatted with Andrew. All went well with the pack.



After the visit, we headed into Sai Kung town. My humans had a dim sum brunch at a seafood restaurant by the pier, whilst this beagle sat patiently by the table (In Malaysia, it is rare for restaurants to allow dogs. In HK, some restaurants allow dogs at their outdoor seating area).


I tell you the seafood doesn't get any fresher than this.


After a very delicious lunch (unfortunately, there were no dim sum treats for this beagle, although my human did give me a liver treat for sitting so patiently), we took a walk by the pier and checked out the vendors selling fresh seafood from their boats.


All in all, it was a pretty good outing indeed, as can be seen by my happy face.


Note from Kess' Mama: Whilst it has been challenging adjusting to living in such a busy city, it really is lovely to be able to go to the country side with Kess and take her openly to a town or a pier. In Malaysia, we would not have been able to do so because dogs just wouldn't have been allowed. At the Sai Kung pier, people were walking their dogs, enjoying time together on a weekend. It's such a treat for us to be able to experience this with Kess.

A taxi ride and a visit to the vet...already???

First, the ride...
This beagle had my first taxi ride in Hong Kong yesterday. Now, in Malaysia, dogs are not allowed in taxis. Not so in HK. Animals are allowed in taxis with a surcharge payment of 5 HKD (around 60 US cents). I suppose in a country where most of its residents rely on public transportation, it makes sense that taxis carry canine passengers as well. However, not all taxi drivers like to carry canine passengers as mum and I found out when we tried to hail a taxi. Although the taxis had the "For Hire" sign, some did not stop for us. However, the fourth taxi driver that did not stop for us was a really nice chap. Mum and him were happily chatting about the plant on his dashboard in the limited Malaysian cantonese that mum could speak.

Meanwhile, I wasn't pleased that mum didn't allow me to get on the seat. She said that it's not our car and other passengers may not appreciate sitting on dog fur. So, she made me sit on the floor. Naturally, I tried to get onto the seat. So mum gave me the sit command and as reward for good behavior, I got to eat doggie treats. So that kept me happy throughout the journey.

Then, the vet...
Which brings me to the purpose of this beagle's taxi ride in the first place. My humans decided that a visit to the vet is required due to a couple of pee incidents. The first happened whilst I was staying with gramps before I joined my humans. Gramps had given me a wonderful bath that evening and this beagle was so comfortable that I fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, gramps discovered that I had wet my bed during sleep. The second incident happened in HK. I was sitting in the kitchen watching my humans eat dinner. When I got up, my humans discovered a small pee puddle where I was sitting.

Their conclusion - possible case of incontinence. After all, this beagle is 9 years old. So, that's how we ended up visiting the vet at the HK SPCA. My vet, Dr. Laurie is a very nice German gentleman and immediately put me to ease. Mum told him that I did not like going on the steel table so he examined me on the floor instead. He gave me a clean bill of health on the physical examination. Then he went away to test my urine sample. Fortunately, it was clear too. No case of infection. So, he concluded as my humans did that it was urinary incontinence. He said it was a common issue among female dogs that were spayed when young. So, I'm now on Propalin syrup which mum injects into my food twice a day. I 'm supposed to take it for two weeks to see if that helps me. Chances are I may have to take it for life. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is loose stool. So my humans have been monitoring me to see if I need to "go". They are getting a lot better at reading my body language. When they see me pacing around, they now know that I need to pee/poo.

By the way, thanks for the suggestions and prayers about our situation. My humans is seriously considering gettting a patch of real grass in a box to put on our balcony. They now have to do some research on where to source for that in Hong Kong. Until then, my humans will have to take me down often to relieve myself. Meanwhile they are relying on Urine Off to get rid of the pee odor when I do have accidents (which apart from the Typhoon 3 incident, has been kept to a minimal).

Hits and misses

It's Kess' fourth day in HK. It's great having her here with us. She is adjusting well in most respects. She enjoys meeting new canine and human friends on our walks. She loves going on the lift to go down for a walk. The staff at our apartment love her. She'll perform tricks for treats for them and all parties benefit! Those are our hits...

And now for the misses...from house to apartment. Back home, we used to leave the door open for her to go to the garden to pee. But we can't do that anymore coz we don't have a garden! So, our biggest miss is Kess having pee accidents in the apartment. On her first day, she had 2 accidents. We learnt from that and adjusted our pee walks. In a day, we take her downstairs 7 times. First thing in the morning, after breakfast (which is also her long walk), mid-morning, mid-afternoon,evening (second long walk), after dinner and before bed time. The schedule worked fine for 2 days, until typhoon 3 signal hit HK today. Strong winds and showers put a halt to our pee schedule. I did take her out around noon despite the wind and rain but she was more interested to sniff than pee. After a small branch falls from a tree, I decided to head back before a bigger branch fell! Well, lo and behold, pee accident no. 3 happened in the apartment, followed by pee acccident no. 4 an hour later.

I had followed some tips on the internet about soaking some pee and transferring that to a section in the back room where we had laid newspapers where we had intended for her indoor pee place. Somehow, it's just not working...Sigh...Maybe I just need to keep at it. I'm frustrated and I'm sure she's confused too... We welcome any suggestions to help Kess live happily in our apartment.

The beagle has landed

From the desk of Kess' mama:

The long-awaited call came at midnight, "Kess has arrived. She's fine. We'll have her delivered to your home in an hour's time."

Finally, the beagle has landed. She survived the journey fairly well, with the exception of a little tantrum spell where she tore a rug we had put in her crate for her comfort.

The first thing we did when we were reunited was to take her for a walk. The pet relocation agent had let her out to stretch her legs and pee after she arrived at the airport but she needed a little reward for being such a good traveller. Here is a picture journal of her first 18 hours in Hong Kong:

Kess'first ride on the lift. She enjoyed checking out her reflection in the mirror.


Enjoying a liver treat (courtesy of Evie) after her journey


After checking out every nook and corner of our new home, Kess does what she usually does - groom herself. That's how we know she's totally settled down.


This morning, after breakfast, Kess checks out the Hong Kong city view from our balcony.



Kess' first experience with the muzzle, due to the cases of dog poisoining on Bowen Road...As expected she did not like it at all. In the end, we took it off because she was unable to pant in this nylon muzzle. In this balmy summer weather, we will have to look for another option. We've seen other dogs with a plastic muzzle with breathing holes. We'll have to look for that in the pet shops here. Meanwhile, we just have to be super vigilant during our walks.


Walking on Bowen Road trail, a lovely green oasis in the midst of tall Hong Kong skyscrapers.


A happy beagle after her walk!


Time for a snooze...


As Cesar Millan says, dogs really do live in the moment!