Training with Para4Pets Collar & Leash and KONG Toys

Contributed by Vivien Chin
For this post, we have a sweet deal for you. Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases, from now till the end of April! Quote “The Furry Tales” when you make your purchase with Para4Pets by Edna and to apply the discount.

Last weekend, The Furry Tales were at the Pet Expo. We had a great time meeting old friends and making new ones. Kafka entered the Obedience Trial at the Intermediate level. Unfortunately, he did not do so well. He seemed to be under the weather and got rather distracted in the ring. He was looking for Lucy his girlfriend. Dum dum dum…. we have to have that “talk” soon. We didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but at least he looked good! Thank you Para4Pets by Edna for the beautiful collar and leash so that he can look handsome! And thank you to KONG Singapore for his training toys so that he can be happy!

Kafka looking dapper in his Para4Pets collar and leash.

Are you ready? Forward…

Taking the first step forward!

Kafka doing heelwork.

Kafka following closely.

I be the tallest boy in class! Kafka in the sit-stay exercise.

Behind the scenes practice: gimme the ball!

Para4Pets makes bespoke paracord collars and leashes for your furry ones. Kafka had a set sponsored by Para4Pets. The leash was thin and light which is great for training. When you are in the Novice and higher classes, your dog is to heel off the lead. Having a light leash makes the transition from heeling with leash to heeling without leash easier. A thin lead is hard on your hands if you have to bring a 43kg dog around on his regular walks. I suggest ordering a thicker one for that purpose. It’s not advisable to let your dog drag a leash with a loop handle. Serious injury can occur if its leg gets caught in the loop while it’s running. You may order one without a loop handle if you would like to let your dog drag his leash around during training.

For a limited time, Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases! It’s a great bargain! Make your order now!

Para4Pets leash. Looks good on Kafka!

Apart from the collar and leash, we were fortunate to also have our toys sponsored. Toys are a great way to reward your dog for good work done. Some dogs love to chase, and fetch and tug. Kafka’s favourite toy is a ball with a rope attached to it. Amongst his toys, he has a KONG Funster ball in X-Small size. He likes a ball that is not too big and fits nicely in his mouth. The X-Small KONG Funsters ball is 2.5″ while the small size is 4″. Four inches is a little too big for training. You want something that can be easy grasped in one hand.

KONG Funsters Ball.

Kong Tugger Knot

Kafka focusing on the “shoulder”.

Watch my “shoulder”.

One way to teach focused heeling in an obedience routine is to place a toy at your “shoulder”, (a nicer term for armpit). This teaches them to look up and not downward.

Wait for it…. wait for it…

The KONG Funster Ball is not just an ordinary ball. It is a fabric ball with a rope attached to it. The rope is rather important. It allows you to throw the ball farther, manipulate the ball, tug at the ball and turn it into a game of tug. Balls without ropes have the potential to get lodge in the dog’s throat. With the rope, you are able to, god forbid, pull the ball out when it gets stuck in your dog’s mouth. This happens, especially, with large, high-drive, dogs and tennis balls. You don’t have to worry so much if the ball is large and your dog is the sort who doesn’t have a sense of urgency.

Enjoying his reward after some work.

Kafka and his KONG Funsters Ball.

Other than a ball, Kafka loves his tug toys. The KONG Tugger Knot is soft yet tough enough even for a German Shepherd. It is made of knotted rope covered by a plush toy exterior. It comes in small, medium and large sizes. The medium sized KONG Frog Tugger Knot was just right for Kafka. It’s big enough for him to clamp his deadly fangs down on and small enough for his mama to manipulate. Large sized Tugger Knots are great just for fun but the smaller sizes are better for training.

Kafka tugging on his KONG Tugger Knots.

NOM NOM NOM!

After placing the toy at your “shoulder”, you can start moving it away so that your dog does not depend too much on the toy for its focal point. I held the toy in my right hand and whenever he looked up to my “shoulder” aka armpit, I rewarded him with the KONG Tugger Knot. In the photo below, I was petting Kafka’s chin with my left hand because he looked so cute.

Kafka must still look up even when the toy is in my other hand.

You have to be fit to keep up with a German Shepherd. I was tired out just playing tug with him.

Kafka the land shark!

Kafka giving me a workout.

In the obedience trials, your hand should not be disturbing the dog. Conventionally, your hand is placed at your side or on the left side of your tummy. The toy was in my right hand, sometimes by my side and sometimes behind me. Kafka still had too look up or at my left hand.

 

The last exercise of the training sessions are the sit-stays and down-stays. That’s best taught when your dog is not bursting with excitement. They need self-control and patience during those exercises.

Lucy tries her hand (or mouth) at training Kafka too. She’s doing quite well, I must admit.

Kaffy, heel!

I be walking my dog.

Check out our future post for an upcoming deal for KONG toys!

A big thank you to our fantastic sponsors:

Para4Pets by Edna for the beautiful collar and leash,

KONG Singapore for the fun toys, and

Omgoing for the super comfy and awesome yoga tights.

People We DON’T Want to Meet at the Dog Park

Dog parks are supposed to be a whole lot of fun because our dogs get to run offleash safely in an enclosed area with their friends. But more often than not, going to dog parks is a pain. Some people have had their dogs traumatized or ruined by going to the dog park because people don’t know how to behave. Yes, people. Why?

1. Rude dogs with no manners
Just like there is an unspoken form of etiquette when one person greets another (stand one person’s width apart, say hello or shake hands), it is the same for dogs. Dogs shouldn’t be allowed to charge up to another dog that has just entered the park. But most of the time, that’s what happens. Many acts of aggression or mobbing happen at the gate – mounting behaviors, staring down the entering dog, fights. It is up to us owners to help our dogs make polite introductions and not let them embarrass us.

No mounting, Lucy!

Mounting is rude, but kissing is acceptable.

Step in if you see your dog is uncomfortable with being mounted or chased, and call your dog back if you see that they are displaying undesirable behaviors like snarling at other dogs and staring them down, or playing too roughly (we know some people believe in letting dogs sort it out themselves, and while this is okay to a certain extent, we like to intervene before a fight breaks out – after all, we are our dogs’ protectors and we don’t want them to feel that they need to fend for themselves (i.e. bite) because we are not looking out for them).

2. Case of the missing poo bags
It is good manners to pick up after your dog. Nobody likes to step on poo. It is also bad for our dogs – they roll in, step on and play on the grass that the gross poo is left on.

Beau: Mind your own business.

Muddy: Please clean up after me!

3. Dogs with zero recall
It’s nice to go to a dog park and befriend like-minded people who may or may not share your dog-crazy personality traits. It’s even better if you don’t have to worry your dog is up to no good, or worse still, the victim of another dog that is up to no good. One of the ways to ensure this is to have your dog learn to come when called. Dogs, just like kids, get over-excited and fights can break out – that’s normal. However, it would be great if everyone’s dogs have a reliable recall so that owners can intervene when they get too rowdy and not have to chase them all around the park to stop them from fighting.  Before bringing our dogs to the dog park, let’s all make sure the dogs come when called so we can focus on the latest gossip.

We’re coming!

Lucy! When I say “come”, you better come! Understand?

4. The AWOL owner
Some dogs actually do come when called, but the problem is that their owners are not around to recall them!When Lucy was a puppy and visited the dog park for the first time, a much bigger dog tried to mount her and the offending dog’s owner was nowhere to be found. Sisi had to push the other dog away and rescue Lucy. Be a responsible owner and look out for what your dog is getting up to!

Are our mamas coming or what? Who’s gonna lead us over the jumps?

We think our mamas..they forgotted us.

5. The scary lady
At kindergartens, there will always be those parents that make a big deal over their kid getting scratched during play time, or worse, smacked by another kid in a squabble over a toy. It’s the same with dog owners, we think. Sometimes its inevitable that your dog might get into a tiff with another, or be “collateral damage” in a dog fight. As long as there is no serious harm done, it’s great when fellow dog owners are understanding about things and don’t push blame to others. We really don’t like to encounter the scary lady type that pick their dog up and walk off in a huff, muttering “How dare your dog bully my dog!”

How dare that lady blame Olive for her dog digging! WE ARE LEAVING!

 

What a Furrific Party!

A few weeks ago, one of The Furry Tales’ best pals, Lady-Mae, got spooked by fireworks at Sentosa and broke free from her collar (and gave her mama a fractured rib in her panic). She was missing for four long days. We almost thought we’d lost her for good. Thankfully, she was found, and in one piece!

To celebrate her reunion with her friends, we threw a party! (Hey, any excuse for one, right?)

Steamboat for the humans.

Our guest of honor, Lady-Mae, with her mama, Charissa.

Hats – check! Pupcakes – check!

Online doggie treats store, FURRIFIC, generously sponsored eight porkie cakes for our party!

Almost looks too good to give to the dogs.

The porkie cakes smelled so delicious (and looked really yummy even for the huamans), the dogs could barely contain themselves while we snapped photos. Who could blame them when we found out what was in them – fresh minced pork, potato, carrot, french beans, rosemary, goji berry, parmesan cheese and parsley! Sounds better than our own steamboat food for humans.

If you smile, you get some yummy pupcakes!

Our dogs LOVE the pupcakes! We tried to get them to eat daintily so there would be no mess, but it must have been too tasty because all of them gobbled them up in one to two bites. Even fussy eaters wolfed it down. For the entire evening thereafter, they took turns hanging around the balcony, sniffing the table and floor, hoping for any remnant crumbs. Guess we’ll just have to find another reason to throw a party again soon!

Please mama, now?

Leto couldn’t wait. She snatched the whole cupcake from her mama.

Gone in two seconds.

Lulu with her mama, Vivien.

Olive waits for her mama to say “okay!”

Junior and Hyper share a porkie cake

Thank you, Furrific, for feeding our dogs with your awesome porkie cakes! We’ll be sure to get cakes from you the next time we throw a TFT & friends party.

*If you would like to make any orders with them, visit http://www.furrific-sg.com/ and type in “TFT5” in their coupon box for a 5% discount off any item!

Special thanks also to Barkery and the many aunties and uncles at the Bukit Merah/Tiong Bahru markets who were so glad to hear about Lady-Mae’s return that they gave Charissa some treats and provided vegetables for our steamboat! Unexpected generosity really makes the heart sing.

Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun. (L-R: Olive, Junior, Leto, Hyper, Lulu, Lucy and the guest of honor (who should have been in the middle), LADY-MAE.)

Hidden Gem: Tiong Bahru Park

The Furry Tales and friends!

Tiong Bahru Park is a recreational park between Henderson, Tiong Bahru and Lower Delta Roads in Singapore. Beside the park is Gan Eng Seng Secondary School, and the school shares its enclosed field with the public when the children are not having their P.E. lessons. The Furry Tales and friends sometimes come here on weekday mornings when it is not so crowded.

The dogs usually have the entire soccer (P.E.) to play around in.

Olive resting in the shade.

On the weekends, different groups play soccer and touch rugby here, so The Furry Tales prefer not to go during weekends.

Dogs taking a break from the sun.

Hyper and his ball.

And the best thing about coming to Tiong Bahru Park is the abundance of cafes in Tiong Bahru to enjoy a coffee and cake at after the romp in the sun!

Demanding pups at Tiong Bahru Bakery.

Lulu’s Instant Slimming (a.k.a. Grooming by Awesome Pawsome)

Contributed by Vivien Chin
Recently, Lulu had been getting comments on her disappearing waistline. She’s been described as fluffy, big-boned, generously proportioned, full-bodied, etc. Being a “fluffeh” dog makes Lulu sluggish. Being “fluffeh” also makes her drool. On a hot day, Lulu assumes her other identity: Droo-Lu. Her drool beard can reach a staggering 12 inches to the ground. This makes everybody squeal and run from her. It also makes her mama highly embarrassed.

Lulu is looking a little “big-boned” here.

Concerned about her image and how hot it must feel for Lulu, her mama decided to do something about it. She called in Awesome Pawsome‘s Ian Wong, the miracle man for instant weight loss. His other job is a pet groomer. Ian does his magic at your home. He and his assistant, Pauline, were very professional. They set up on the balcony and got to business straight away.

Tails are wagging, pets are bragging!

Off with the fur!

It’s getting breezy behind.

Ian and Pauline were gentle with Lulu, although it does help a lot that her mama conditioned her to being held by her muzzle. Usually, Lulu hates getting her nails clipped. Ian was able to do it so smoothly and quickly that Lulu hardly noticed it.

Oh no! I be a Chinese Crested Dog now!

Magician Ian and his beautiful assistant transformed Lulu the Great Pyrenees mix into Lulu the Chinese Crested Dog.

No, dis be not awkward at all. Carry on scrubbing me there.

Lulu had her nails clipped, ears cleaned, and fur shaved down to about half a centimetre, by request of her mama, and a good scrub down. Usually, it would take 15 minutes just to get her coat completely soaped. After the shave, it took less than 5 minutes to soap, scrub and wash. No kidding!

Lulu Liberated.

No more drool!

After her haircut, Lulu has a bounce in her step and she doesn’t drool as much. She must feel really good to shed that thick coat of fur. Rolling in the sand does not cause her mama’s blood pressure to be elevated anymore.

Fan-tastic Lulu.

Lulu’s haircut is so fabulous that it has inspired many dress designs. Notice the lush head of hair, clean close-shaved body of the model below, and the flowing fluffy tail resembles Lulu’s hairstyle?

Dress inspired by Lulu’s haircut.

If this kind of fashion is your thing, you can get this outfit at Etsy. The designer has an “interesting” selection. But hey, we can’t control who gets inspired by us.

The fluffy train is obviously inspired by Lulu’s tail.

Brides have also asked for Lulu wedding dresses. If you like this Lulu-inspired wedding dress, you may purchase it here at aliexpress.com.

Even famous people are also going for the Lulu Look.

Celebrity Charlotte Dawson wants to look like Lulu.

Ian did a fantastic job with Lulu and we were very happy with the results. If you need instant slimming or just regular pet grooming for your doggy, call Ian at 91171087. You may also visit his Awesome Pawsome website to get more details.

Housework is so Much Fun!

Don’t you just “love” it that growing up possibly means living on your own and doing your own laundry, sweeping the floor and cooking? The Furry Tales mamas are very lucky in this regard. All four of us have live-in helpers! FREE too! They also don’t talk back or have off days.

1. Cooking

Sometimes when we’re feeling lazy, we get the dogs to whip up a meal for us. Their specialities are ‘a la dog fur’ and anything ‘con drool’. They’re also quite professional in that they wear uniforms without us making them.

Oh no. I think mama forgot to buy salt.

2. Making the bed

With the husbands at work, making up the bed can be tiresome. I mean, who’s really gonna see an unmade bed but you right? The dogs are always quick to offer their services though, so that we’re always guest-ready at home.

We’re almost done making the bed!

Just need to tuck this bit in and I’m done!

3. Doing the laundry

The Furry Tales moms HATE  laundry. Dirty clothes seem to pile up so quickly. We complain about it in our group chat everyday. Again, we’re so lucky that our live-in helpers are so good at it.

I don’t think my dog, or my turtle.. or my octopus need washing.

4. Folding the laundry

Housework never ends! Even after you get the laundry washed, you have to hang them to dry and then fold them. Our dogs are so efficient! They even warm our fresh laundry for us!

Bras don’t need to be folded but we warm them for you!

I think your laundry be warm in another one hour mama..zz….

5. Cleaning the dirty dishes

Oh how we hate washing dishes! Especially after cooking 3 chinese dishes plus soup for the entire household. We’re quite kind, and don’t include this chore in our helpers’ to-do list but some of our dogs insist anyway. They definitely get the leftover food and oil off dirty plates better than dishwashers do. Who likes having to scrape off bits of dried food right?

Mama, I be help you early to lick your plate?

I don’t just do the dishes. I clean tables too!

6. Cleaning the floor

If there’s one thing we hate more than laundry, its cleaning the floors. Having dogs means there’s constantly dog fur and saliva to clean up. Thankfully, the sweeping and wiping that gets done in between vacuums help so much!

Ma! Do I need to sweep behind the TV too?

Olive really working very hard to mop up her spills!

7. Relaxing

Housework always ends with putting your feet up and relaxing after a long day. And who knows best how to do that? You guessed it, The Furry Tales.

I’m too tired to fetch myself a drink. Mama, can you?

That was the last load of laundry to do right, mama? I be so tired.

I already washed the dishes ma! Can’t I just relax for awhile?