Abby is TWO!

Abby turned 2 today...DIY-ed a "cake" with her favourite foods and treats.
May you stay happy and healthy always....Happy Birthday sweetie!

Health Checks

Brought the 2 pooches for their long overdue health checks and blood tests. Dr Tan informed that recent studies on presence of antibodies in dogs' bodies via blood tests are unreliable. He recommended to vaccinate Abby (as she had missed her annual booster) and to do blood tests on livers and kidneys for both.

Dr Tan had trouble finding Abby's vein and had to prod for a while before finally locating one to withdraw a vial of blood. She remained sweet and co-operative throughout the entire procedure (good gal) with hardly a whimper. And when it was Uno's turn, boy, I have never seen him struggle or whine so much before! In the end, I was charged more for him as he was deemed "more difficult" to manage (faintz).

Thankfully, both received a clean bill of health, including their livers and kidneys.

Abby emo-ing after her jab:

Steve See

Heard from Mei Ling this morning about Steve's sudden demise, I was shocked as he looked young and healthy. He had passed on after a soccer game on Sunday, leaving behind his wife and 11-year old son.

I knew him when he was still a BM, and met him just this year when I was facilitating the 4DMF Project. He was a nice and friendly chap, and his premature demise is such a pity. It also serves as a reminder on how transient and unpredictable life can be.

RIP Steve!

Facebook Dino

When I started the Facebook account for Uno and Abby, it was really just for connecting with other Westies owners. Never did I expect the number of "friends" to grow to hundreds and keeping tabs on the few familiar ones became more difficult. So I created a group "SGWesties Club" and added names of familiar folks into the group, thinking that it works like a folder and will make retrievals much easier.

Then I saw the group grew from just 6 names to more than 20 names and received requests to be included in the group...hmmmm, is something wrong? After checking around, I realised that "group" in Facebook does not work like a folder...I've actually set up a Facebook group for Westies owners and I'm the sole administrator! Oh gosh, I decided to close the group and messaged all members to clarify my intent.

Hiaz...this is so embarassing.

SGWesties X'mas Party 2010

The SGWesties X'mas Party was held earlier this year, had fun catching up with both humans and pooches.

Abby all ready for the X'mas Party at K9 Cafe:

Project Weight Gain

For the past 6-8 weeks, Uno's and Abby's weight is very much like the stock market...up one week, down the next week despite being fed the same amount of food every meal
The problem is I don't know what is their ideal weight At 6.4kg and 5.5kg respectively, both Uno and Abby eat and sleep well, are active and the fat layer around their rib cages seems ok... Still trying to push for a little more weight gain so gonna increase their food intake a little more...

Halloween 2010

Dressed up Uno for Halloween:

Oops, where's my broom?


Do u like my new cloak:


Harlow Spidey:




Meet my new sidekick:

SGWesties: Gathering at Robertson Walk

Lovely weather - no sun, light breeze
Great company - small talk, chats about our furbabes
Here are some photos taken when we met up on 25 Sep 2010 at Robertson Walk:

Lost weight, but not me

Uno and Abby has lost about 400g each since I last weighed them about 6 weeks ago. Other than this, both are very much the same as before... playful, alert and energetic, poo/pee same as before. Their rib cages are also not jutting out, although I felt that the fat layer covering the ribs could be a little thicker the problem is I do not know what is their ideal weight hence can only rely on the "feel rib cage" method to determine if they are over- or under-weight...

In the meanwhile, I had increased their food amount. Will review again when they regained some weight...fingers crossed

Yeeks! Break outs!

Uno seems to be breaking out quite often since July. Most were small bumps but I had a rude shock over the weekend when I found 1 that was the size of a 20-cents coin! It had scabbed over pretty nicely by Sunday and of all accidents, the teeth of the grooming comb got under the scab and I almost yank off the entire scab...Thank goodness there was no damage done

Pudding: Jan 2008 - 14 Jul 2010

Pudding passed away suddenly this afternoon. She was fine last evening when I covered the cage for the night. This morning, she was lying at the bottom of the cage unlike other days when she will be perching on the branch next to Buddy. She was conscious and alert but unable to feed. She became weaker progressively and at around 4pm, she was gone. There was no sign of illness at all, everything just happened so suddenly. I place her body inside a little box and buried it near the river behind my house.

Thanks Pudding, for bringing joy to the family. Good-bye Pudding, we will miss you.

Uno turns 2! Happy Birthday!

Uno turns 2 today ... happy birthday sweetheart!

I am 2!



















Mommie made this yummy cake for me:

Abby's new look

Raw Eggs

Thankfully, Uno and Abby are taking raw eggs pretty well since I started feeding them 2 weeks back.

Abby would take hers any style while Uno seems to prefer it mixed with his lamb mince. The first time I served it neat with a pinch of seameal, he sniffed for a long while before eating it. And then he puked out a mouthful and licked it back before I could clean up the mess! Gross!

Good Night! Sleep Tight!

Doggie beds are so costly, so decided to DIY...cheap and customised :)

Here is Abby on her new bed:


And this is Uno on his:


Results are quite good :)

Lambie Yum!

After weeks in my freezer, finally got to feed the lamb to Uno and Abby. They sure enjoyed their dinner even though it was served simply with grated carrots. Their poo was darker and firmer compared to times when fed chicken, otherwise all seemed pretty normal.

Next item to try: raw egg!

Noticed that Uno's new hair growth around his muzzle is considerably whiter. Could it be due to the seameal supplement that I started giving around the same time as changing their diet to raw? Or has the new diet improved the new hair growth?

BARF Upgrade

Time flies! Both had been on raw chicken for 6 weeks, so far so good barring the liver scare. Uno seems to prefer his chicken liver lightly steamed while Abby is fine with either version :)

They have also taken pretty well to pork. 2 nights ago, fed them boiled meaty pork ribs with brocolli and carrots. Both bowls were polished till they gleamed :good:

Just bought some lamb and left in the freezer. WIll be trying that out next weekend. Been to a couple of wet markets but just can't seem to find green tripe...

The BARF Journey Continues...

It's been several weeks since Uno and Abby started on BARF dinners. Apart from Uno who had developed several spots on his rump and upper thigh over last week, both had generally been ok with the food. I am also more or less accustomed to the food preparation routine each evening...reminded me of the times when preparing meals for Bryan and Eric when they were babies :)

Still monitoring Uno's condition...hope it is a case of detox and nothing too serious (fingers crossed)

Eeekk! Red Spots!

Alamak! Found 5 red spots on Uno's back :(
Unsure if due to detoxification or the rock melon I gave last night...juz when I thought everything is going well...

SGWesties Club at the Botanic Gardens

1st gathering for 2010! Lovely weather, good company and great surroundings! The pooches had a fantastic time catching up with one another and trekking around:

BARF and Poo

Both had been on BARF dinners for the past 2 nights and their poo volume had decreased so dramatically! Uno's poo had also firmed up :) Think will stick to this diet for a while before exploring other meats.

The morning after BARF...

Both had SO LITTLE poo this morning... Uno's poo was a little soft while Abby's poo was in pellet form :) But otherwise, both were fine. I am taking this really slowly, worried that their tummies/skin will revolt. Let's see how they'll respond to their next BARF meal this Sat...

First BARF Dinner

Whipped up a simple meal of minced raw chicken fillet and steamed-mashed pumpkin garnished with chicken wing tips for Uno and Abby ...wasn't as difficult as I had thought. And whatever doubts/reservations I had re the dish vanished as I watched them wolfed down their dinner :)

BARF Scare

Uno finally got to taste raw food yesterday when he shared a chicken carcass with Abby. Both were chowing down happily until Uno suddenly choked. He must have gobbled a piece without biting properly and for a good 5 minutes, he was pacing around, coughing and sputtering. Then he suddenly stood on his hind legs and fell backwards onto the floor! I almost wanted to send him to the hospital :(
Offered him some water and stroked his throat area gently, hoping that whatever that was stuck would be eased down his gullet. Else, I would have to gag him to vomit it out! Thankfully, he was back to his normal self shortly after. Observed him for the remaining of yesterday, all seemed ok except that his stools were a little soft...

First taste of raw food

FINALLY! Managed to feed 2 raw wing tips to Abby She seemed well so far :)
Uno, you'll be next...

Moved On

After a week of struggle, Adrian has finally moved to the other world. I was bathing Uno when the news came, glad that I had something to keep my mind occupied. Whatever it is, he has made his decision to move on and I pray that he is in a happier place now.

Trip to the beach

Uno and Abby finally got to see the sea! Both were initially terrified of the waves but were soon running around happily on the beach. It was fun seeing both of them at play and leaving paw prints in the sand, but cleaning them thereafter was a big headache :(