30 January 2011
Dash looking happy after getting groomed by iPaw! They offer mobile grooming services in the Metro Manila area. I love how the groomers cut Dash’s hair and how they handled him. Plus, the owners take photos of your doggie, for no extra charge. And, if they have paper, they’ll print the photos for you after. Check out their FB page, they have so many cute client doggies 🙂
Last month, Daddy D and I took Ally out for a walk in High Street. I decided to practice some of my pet photography skills (or lack thereof). It’s too bad Dash wasn’t able to join us. He was busy getting pampered in Alabang. On weekdays, I stay in the area, nearer to my office, and leave Dash with my family. I get extremely sad not seeing him all the time like I used to, but I know it’s better for him because I live alone. He’s happier there, where there are cats to chase, grass to roll in, and people to pamper him. I can’t wait until I get to see him every night again.
ANYWAY! Here are the pictures! It’s honestly still so hard for me to take really good shots of adorable Ally but I think these are some of her best photos yet! If anyone has any tips on how to take pictures of dogs, please, do share them!
Sitting all “ladylike” on the grass.. What a tongue, though!
A little slanty eyed, just like her daddy..
I like to call this move the SNARF-LICK
In Hobbes and Landes yet again.
Oh, look, another Alaskan Malamute! You can tell from the picture though that he’s checking someone else out..
Hehe!
Here’s also a semi-incriminating video.. well.. incriminating and embarassing for Ally. I just love the part where she looks up at him as if to say, “FML.”
Demand grows for animal law expertise, because owners want pets treated as family, not property. I really doubt that “animal law” will get off its feet here in the Philippines anytime soon, even if there was a question in our bar exams about a pet iguana ha ha (yikes, the bar *shudders*). But it’s interesting to see that law schools in the U.S. are holding seminars on the subject!
GREAT NEWS! I got a job at a law firm and I started there earlier this week. Also.. Ally and Dash met last weekend! The bad news is.. DASH WAS INCREDIBLY RUDE! Daddy D wanted to surprise me by not announcing when he’d arrive at our house so Daddy D and Ally bounded in, and ran straight into Dash in a barking frenzy. The little guy is really quite territorial. He still barks sometimes when people come into my room unannounced, and when I’m at the condo he goes nuts when delivery boys arrive. It’s been hard for me to try to train him to stop because my mom and the other people in the house think it’s adorable when he barks. They think it’s really cute that he’s so matapang supposedly, or courageous.
I did what I could and immediately took the dogs outside to more neutral grounds. I did what was recommended in an article I read on the internet (will link it here for reference if I find it again) and asked D to go with me to take the two dogs for a walk. It actually went well while they were walking, but when I eventually took them back inside I noticed:
Dash sniffed Ally all the time and wouldn’t let her sniff him.
Ally looked really stressed most of the time. Her tail rarely left the space between her legs and her tongue was just hanging out the whole time. I tried to give her a doggie massage to let her relax a bit, and Dash responded by nipping me. Hard and deliberately. Seloso!
Dash barked and snapped at Ally whenever he thought she was making herself too comfortable in his little kingdom.
Dash stole Ally’s water, toys and food! And not just the treats that D brought over for Ally. Dash literally SWALLOWED Ally’s kibble. He managed to take about four pieces from Derick and swallowed them all at once.
Haayyyy. Next time I’m really keeping them together on neutral grounds. D really thought that Ally would dominate Dash if they met because she actually has boundless energy and could definitely take Dash in a fight. But it’s always important to understand that the way dogs interact with the world and with each other is really more psychological than physical. I’ll just have to keep trying to teach Dash some good manners. The two will eventually have to learn to tolerate each other. There’s no getting around that.
I’m also learning that the initially shy Dash is really quite territorial and a little ma-pride, not only matapang. I should’ve figured this out when he and Asti, our 7 year old diva Shih Tzu, met. Dash didn’t back down from Asti’s wild barking for one minute and proceeded to just make himself at home. They exchanged a few snaps, too, which I couldn’t believe Dash did considering that Asti qualifies as an overweight giant Shih Tzu. Now, Asti just mostly ignores his existence.
It’s too bad that I don’t have any pictures of Asti on hand. She’s a really beautiful dog and she knows it. The problem is, she HATES cameras, even cellphone cameras that don’t have flash or any lights of any sort. It’s really quite sad because she’s gorgeous even at 7 years old!
Anyway, here’s two pictures from Ally and Dash’s first meeting. These were taken in the evening because we didn’t have much time during the day.
The culprit taking Ally’s food and water..
Maybe if Dash saw this picture of her, he’d be a little more smitten and less crude.
I watched this cry cry but cute Japanese movie the other day and really enjoyed it. Socks is so cute! It’s based on the popular Ten Commandments of Dog Ownership email forward, I believe.
Note: Watch with a box of tissue handy!
For my reference, here’s the ten ‘promises’ from the movie:
1. Listen patiently to what I have to say.
2. Trust me, for I am always on your side.
3. Play with me a lot.
4. Don’t forget that I have feelings too.
5. Let’s never fight.
6. If I don’t obey you, I have a good reason.
7. You have school and friends. But I only have you.
8. Stay my best friend.
9. I’ll only live about 10 years so make every moment together count.
10. Never forget our life together. When my time comes please be by my side.
First off, I’d to say THANK YOU to Ms. Rita Neri for her advice on Dash’s grooming. I will be checking out those products soon! She is the owner of Dash’s gorgeous parents, and I want to do my best so Dash can look as gwapo as his dad 😉
Anyway, we had a quick lunch at Bonifacio High Street, which is probably one of the favorite places to take your dog here in Metro Manila. In fact, I’d say it’s really close to turning into a dog slash kiddie park. On any given weekend there are huge numbers of both running around and tumbling all over the place..
Dash is still very cautious about the world and the last time he didn’t seem to enjoy High Street all that much – his first encounter with a little child, he promptly got so scared he peed himself. This time, we tried to keep him away from the hustle and bustle of the children and other dogs. With the help of lots of water to cool down because it was a very hot day, he was so happy and excited to be walking around that he peed twice and pooped once. (Thankfully, Daddy D cleaned it up very neatly :D)
Plotting how to take over the Fort from the comfort of Daddy D’s lap.
We hung out at Hobbes and Landes, which is the only store in High Street that sells pet goodies and one of the few that lets dogs inside. We enjoyed some frozen yogurt and I beat Daddy D at a digested version of Cranium, while Dash took a nap and actually PEED ON THE FLOOR. How embarrassing! Thank GOD the Hobbes and Landes staff seemed to be very used to doggies having little accidents on the floor. Anyway, as you can see from the picture I met the most gorgeous Alaskan Malamute puppies. YES they’re puppies! And to think, they’re going to get bigger!
What gorgeous creatures. They were asleep when Dash arrived, and when they woke up Dash was a little spooked. I don’t blame him at all, Dash is probably the same size as a malamute’s head! It was funny how he belatedly let out his tiny little “ruff!” bark right after they left. Tapos na ang away, Dash!
This has absolutely no relation to doggies whatsoever but I found one of my favorite paintings on a cake from Marta’s Cakes in Serendra. I’m not a cake person at all, so I can imagine this sitting in my fridge in a sort of exhibition, along with all the (mostly untouched) stuff in there. 😛
My little foot warmer.
(Did you know dogs sleep with their eyes open? Sometimes I think he does it to keep his eye on me, because no matter how deep his sleep is, he’ll get up when I do and follow.)
11 November 2010
Repost from Pup Culture (Fort Bonifacio) on Facebook. And I thought job interviews at law firms were stressful 🙂
I’ll post about Pup Culture one of these days after I go back!
Dashiell the Dog 