If dogs are carnivorous, why do I like carrots?

It's strange but true. I love carrots...and apples...and guava...and the list goes on and on for almost all types of fruits and vegetables...

In fact, one of my favourite sounds at home is the sound of the cutting board. Wherever I am at home, I will quickly patter over to the kitchen when I hear mum cutting up stuff on the board. Because I know that I have to sit before being fed, I will sit and look at mum eagerly, hoping that I'll get a reward for my patience. Sometimes, she'll say "No, Not for you." But if I am lucky...she'll walk out of the kitchen with a goody for me. She makes me sit again. I'm not sure what her obsession with "Sit" is, but hey, I'll even do pawstands if I get to eat! I try not to look at the juicy carrot whilst mum tests out my willpower with the "Wait" command.

Happiness is when she says "OK". I'll trot into the dining room with my prized carrot and settle down to enjoy the fruits of my labour. Hey, all that sitting and waiting is hard work.

It doesn't take long before I chomp it all away. It's the same with apples. Run into the kitchen when I hear mum at work. Sit patiently.

Sit again in the dining room, with a tortured look, staring mournfully at the apple which is just a few steps away...
Finally, after what seems like eternity, I get to chomp on the sweet, sweet apple. Bliss!

P.S. Does anyone have an answer why dogs like to eat fruits and vegetables and carrots?

Squirrel in the Tree!

Dogs Not Allowed in Bali

My humans came across this sign at at Made's Warung in Bali. They thought it was funny. I didn't!

Bali is an island in Indonesia. Bali is the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music. For more information on the island, check out Wikepedia.

My mum has also posted on her recent holiday there. So, if you are interested in what to do and where to eat in Bali, check out her posts on Bali.

Exercise Tip - Running With a Bike

Remember my earlier post on the Dog Whisperer in May? Well, I thought I'll share with you an exercise tip from Cesar Millan which my humans have tried out on me. If you've watched the Dog Whisperer series, you'll see that a recurring them e in rehabilitating dogs is exercise. As the daily walk is paramount, Cesar introduces some tools such as skates and bicyles (for the human, not the dog) to add intensity and variety to the walk with the dog.

We tried out the bicyle tip so that I could get a good run during our weekend walks. In Malaysia, there are very few parks which allows dogs. Certainly, there are no dedicated dog parks where we can run freely. So, my humans decided to give this a go. Mum, who is on foot, gets the leash first as we get the "poo and pee" business out the way. Towards the end of the walk, dad, who is on the bike takes over.

Initially, my humas were apprehensive as they weren't sure how I would react to the bike. So, they found a quiet road to test it out. I admit, I didn't take to it like duck to water at first. I tried to go as far as possible from the wheels. But, after a couple of times, I got used to it and began to enjoy the run. I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it as my neighbours were quite amused (and impressed) at the sight of dad on the bike and me running beside him. I guess they don't see many beagles doing that.

The only problem with this is that poor mum has to walk back home by herself as dad & I speed off. But, she doesn't mind coz she loves me :-)

I Finally Met Benjy In Doggie-Person!

Remember Benjy?

Finally, mum & dad took me along to visit Benjy. He now looks like this... I can't believe how much he has grown over a few weeks. He is lankier now and with his new physique, has lost the beagle resemblance.

Benjy is an extrovert. Like most puppies, he is really playful & energetic, mischievous and persistent. He kept wanting to play and loved jumping over me. I didn't quite like the jumping part...

He's also going through the bitey stage. The Fongs have lost a couple of slippers to Benjy (including one half of Crocs sandal). Aahh...yes...I devoured a few in my younger days. So, my humans brought over some toys to keep Benjy occupied and to teach him what is bite-able (toy) and non-bite-able (sandals and humans). He loves the rope toy (which puppy doesn't?), especially when someone plays tug-of-war with him.

Here, Benjy shares bonding time with Pei Der. Look at Benjy's mischievous grin. Isn't he adorable?

Then, when he was tired out from all that play, dad taught Pei Yee how to clean Benjy's ears. Benjy was really good and didn't put up any fuss during ear-cleaning time. He got a biscuit reward after that. My humans are very impressed with Pei Yee. Despite this being her first time having a dog, she is a natural with Benjy. We're also happy to report that she has been very responsible in taking care of Benjy. Well done Pei Yee! Keep up the good work!

Just Some Clocks for Smart Dogs by Oorvi

My beagle buddy River introduced his pal, Oorvi on his blog today. Oorvi and human, Mercury have created Oorvi's playground, specially for all doggies. Notice the clock on my blog? That's Oorvi's! Click on the doggie icon and it'll change. Isn't it awesome pawsome?

Thanks to River for introducing Oorvi and double thanks to Oorvi and Mercury for sharing the playground with all doggies.

Dog Olympics - In The News

Wow! More excitement today. Turns out that mum and me were photographed by a daily newspaper, The Star's, photographer covering the Dog Olympics last Sunday. So, we're in the news again! (The last time we were in the news was when the Star published our post called "To BEagle or not to Beagle").

We weren't even aware that we were photographed. As I mentioned in my last post, there were amateur and professional photographers every where you turned. Out of over 500 dogs that turned up during the event, we were one of the 9 photographs that the Star published. What an honour! If you're interested in an excerpt of the article, check out the on-line Star article. Unfortunately, they only published 3 photographs on the on-line version and we're not in it...

But, we scanned the photograph to post on my blog. Here it is. And the funny thing is... it's a picture of mum taking a picture of me! Hah! Hah!