Rufflesblogs: My First BarkPost! How to Train Your Human

...*Stretches*...Oh, hey there. N told me our blog is up and runnin'. She's been naggin' me to come introduce myself (again), so here I am. For my first BarkPost, I thought I'd do one for all my doggy peeps out there. See, there are lots of places for humans to talk with each other and exchange the 411 on everything dawg. But theres nowhere for us canine folks to have a pow-wow about hoomans. So after many hours of hard work, sweat, blood and tears (I accept payment in treaties N #notkidding), I present to you...

How to Train Your Human

1. Look at Me

Okay guys this is an important one to start with. Hungry for dinner? Bored silly at home? Want a treatie? If you wanna get your human to do what you want, first you gotta get them to look at ya. To do this, use The Stare. No half assed looks here! The stare has gotta be strong, and you wanna make sure you are near and sittin' up so your human knows you mean bizniz. Now humans can be a lil slow. So you need to keep staring until it works. If that doesn't work, you my friend might be stuck with a really slow human. Aright, aright, so if that happens, don't sweat. Use The Paw. One paw on your human's leg should get their attention. Mix it up with The Stare, or A Whine, and you should be set. 

2. Get Me Food/Play With Me/Let's Go Out

Once your human looks at ya, he should know you want something. So get up and walk over to what you want 'em to get. If its food, plop yourself in front of the fridge. If you wanna play, go ahead and get your toy. If you are going catshit crazy in the house, go to where your harness is. If you wanna level up, use The Point; look at whatcha want, then look at your human, and look bac'addit again.

3. Gimme That, Now!

Look, sometimes a dog don't got the time to do all that. If theres a new meaty treatie, or a new ball ball, I NEED IT NOW!! (Ops, got carried away heh). So whine away. The louder the better. If your human is annoying you by carrying you; whine, struggle, put your head in your human's armpit. Ehfurrything goes. 

5. I Don't Like This, Stahppp it!

One word. Sigh, groan, walk away. Ok so, I hate it when N brushes my teefies (don't get me started). And she's sneaky so she usually does it when I'm half asleep. So I let her do it, but I don't make it easy. I sigh, I give a big groan, and since I can't walk away, I move my mouth and tongue around as much as I can. Don't make it easy for them pawchamps. I'm pretty darn sure I've saved myself long teef brushin' time because of this.

So thats it for my first barkpost. Fellow canines, I hoped its helped you in training your hoomans. If you have any questions or human behaviors you can't solve, drop me a line- I'll be happy to dish out advice! (Donations to the Ruffie Fund are accepted in treaties).

Movin' Out,
Capt'n Ruff

Post 2013 Reflections

So its been 3 years since I created my first blog. Honestly speaking I wouldn't have gotten back into it if not for the pending arrival of Theo. Looking back on our old blogposts, here's what I've noticed about how Ruffles has changed in the years since.

1. His personality has developed. Note I use the word developed and not matured hehe. I would say from around the time I got Ruffles to around when he was say 2.5 years old he was a typical puppy- babyish and oblivious. At 4 years old, he now communicates very clearly with us. If he wants anything, he'll let us know. If he's not happy about something, he protests. If he's annoyed, he lets out a big sigh. He loves us, but also likes his own space.  Its almost like he's saying to us, "I'm an adult now, take me seriously!" . He still relies on us for his needs, but in a way I also rely on him for comfort and strength. 

2. He has developed an obsession for tennis balls. I don't remember him ever liking them back in Australia, but here its his favorite toy. We have a tennis court in our apartment and Ruffles loves to regularly sniff in the garden for balls out of court. He also has a partner in crime in our security guard, who gives him a new ball each week. 

Ruffles and his tennis balls

3. He's settled into routine. When I first came back, I thought of a new place to bring him each week. Every other day it was the park, or a playdate with his friend, or the beach. It is perhaps more a reflection on myself that I feel ok leaving his daily routine to a nice game of fetch in the garden, a short walk in the morning and the occasional playdate. 

Favorite resting spot

4. His skin/diet issues have calmed down. Itching and scratching were a huge stress point for me when we first arrived back in Singapore. I tried everything- different kibble, DIY raw diets, DIY commercial raw diets, you name it, I tried it. After months and months of trials and stomach upsets, I finally put him on a cooked diet with a canine nutritionist. And we have not looked back. He still itches and scratches, and gets the occasional ear infection, but it is not near as bad as it was before. 

All grown up

I have to say, while I loved Ruff as a puppy, I enjoy him more as an adult. Things feel settled now, and I like it. Of course, thats about to all change in the next few months. As to how I'm feeling about the impending changes- well that's a post for another day :). 

Cheers,

N

Old Blog Flashback- 22 April 2013

Note from N: This is the second post from our old 2013 blog recap. 

What's up peeps!

Well its been almost a week since the family returned from Japan. I've been trying to get N to update my blog but she's just been sooooo lazy and groggy all the time. I think she soaked too long in the hot spring waters there hehe.

Anyway I'm real happy everyone is home! 9 days without 'em was pretty boring. N showed me some pictures of the pink trees and tall mountains she saw; 'parently  the family decided to go to Japan because you can only see pink trees this time of the year.

Here's another reason they went to Japan! Nice fresh beef with lots of fat in it *slurps*. N stuffed her face silly with these! She had Waygu beef sukiyaki, Waygu beef shabu shabu, grilled  Hida beef, grilled Hida sukiyaki beef, braised Hida beef..."sigh".

I was feeling pretty down after hearing about the beef. Why do I always miss out on the good stuff?? N told me to cheer up because she got me a surprise pressie!

Oh oh oh, what could it be? Its chunky...it's brown....its soft....it....smells like a toy?

"..............."

N says she missed me so much in Japan she bought herself a toy doggy to remind her of me. Okay...I guess that's kinda sweet...

WAIT is that a pink bow I see?? Excuse me I am not a girl!!

Sheesh. Humans. "rolls eyes".

Sniff youse later,
Ruff

Old Blog Flashback- 14 May 2013

Note from N: This is actually our second attempt at blogging, the first being when Ruffles was just over a year old in 2013. I've managed to find some of our old posts and thought it would be fun to include them here. 

Hi Guys!

I'm back! Sorry for not saying hi for so long. N had some sad stuff happen around her so she hasn't been in the mood to help me blog for a long time. She's feeling better now though and promised she'd help me out more! 

The weather in Singapore has been real hot the past few weeks. If you know anything about me, I'm an ice-cream-not-warm-milk, winter-not-summer, tile-not-carpet kinda dog. I can't stand the heat! So on Saturday N took me to Mr Groomers to get my hair cut short. I've been hearin' some meanie comments like I look like a rodent *glares at Brother Teo* but as long as I'm no longer hot n stuffy, everything's cool with me =).

Before

After

Psst I got this nasty burn after my trip to the groomers. N was real upset when she found it. It was so ouchie but after N put some medicine on it I felt much better :). 

My ouchie. Looks gross! 

This arvo an exciting package came for N. Guess what was inside?! A brand new Monkey toy! Oh I love him already! He's so soft and his legs are sooo long, and he loves to do squeakies too! 

Later on N brought down my other toy, Mr Elephantie for playtime. She said I was ignoring him.

Duh! I am not ignoring Mr Elephantie! It's just I am busy playing with my new toy and it would be rude to walk away. 

N decided to test me. She put Mr Elephantie and Maurey (think that's what I will call him from now on) side by side...

...then she made me do a stay far away

... And then she let me go! So of course I went for....

...Maurey! What? We haven't finished playing! 

N did it again and I went n got...

Maurey again hehe. Hey it's not that I don't love Mr Elephantie, I just need more time to *ahem* get acquainted with Maurey! 

Til next time!

3 Happy Wuffs,

Ruff

Shop Til You Drop- Playpen

So its around 2 months till I travel to New Zealand to pick up Button, which gives me a good amount of time to get all the things I might need for a brand new puppy. The shopaholic in me wants to source the cheapest items I can get from Singapore and New Zealand, so its been a many hours of online surfing and planning for the past couple of days.

Dog Playpen

This is the number one item on my to-get list. Ruffles was born and raised in Australia, and he came back with me to Singapore when he was eight months old. In retrospect the best thing I bought for him when he was a puppy was a playpen. It made toilet training a breeze, taught him boundaries and gave him a place to feel calm and secure. I actually brought his playpen back to Singapore, but its been a good 4 years and it has since rusted beyond use.

Option 1:
8 panel wire playpen from www.crazydeal.co.nz.
Price: $62 + $10 shipping (SGD/NZD)

This is almost identical to the playpen Ruffles had.

Baby Ruffles and his playpen

Pros: I can get it shipped straight to the address I'm living in Auckland. A hard wire playpen is probably the most secure option, especially for a puppy. Its breathable, easy for me to enter and access and it can withstand puppy chewing/destruction.

Cons: Portability. I will still need the playpen when we return to Singapore, and lugging a 10kg item back isn't easy. I'm also worried about the playpen scratching the wooden floors of our apartment.

Option 2:
Petsfit 8 panel soft crate from amazon.co.uk
Price: ~$90 (52 pounds)

My friend has kindly agreed to bring this back for me should I decide to get it.

Pros: This weighs only 4 kg and folds into a carry-on bag, which makes traveling with it a breeze. The top and bottom of the playpen are securely fastened with zips as opposed to velcro. The cloth base also provides a barrier between the playpen and the flooring in case of any toilet accidents.

Cons: Durability. I am not sure how the soft crate will stand up to a young, teething puppy. Unlike a wire or plastic crate, I cannot take apart the panels to repurpose them as barriers (e.g. for staircases and balconies) 

Option 3:
Plastic playpen from qoo10.sg or carousell.sg
Price: $65- $80

Pros: All the benefits of a wire crate, without the worry of floor scratching.

Cons: Weight. I estimate it to be around 10kgs and I would have to carry this from Singapore to Auckland and back.

So, which one would you choose? Let me know in the comments below.

Signing off,
N

Introduction

The Crew

Ruffles: Four year old brown cavoodle, living life to the full one tennis ball at a time. Head Vice-head honcho of the Teo household. Responsibilities include food and toy quality control, security detail and guest welcome.

Button: 2 day old red and white parti Havanese. Baby Teo. Awaiting promotion to second in command upon arrival in February, 2017.

N: Twenty-nine year old human female. Head honcho of the Teo household Responsible for food and toy acquisition. Other roles include dog walking, poop picking, hairdressing and health inspection.

Other in-house members: Daddy Teo, Mommy Teo, Brother Teo and J Teo.

"Hi everyone! My name is N and I'm the chief blogger here at rufflesandbutton. I'll be documenting the process of bringing Button, our new family member back from New Zealand in January of 2017. For six weeks, Button and I will stay in Auckland with our relatives, checking out puppy preschool, parks, cafes and what not. We will then travel 10 hours by plane home. Follow us for the ins and outs of a life with two doggies in Singapore!'