We Get Wet and Muddy for GDAB!

Lulu, Lucy and Muddy support #guidedogsday !

On the last Wednesday of April every year, people around the world unite to celebrate to the importance of guide dogs in our society. To pay tribute to the efforts gone into assisting the blind or visually impaired, as well as the people who train them, the Guide Dogs Association of the Blind (GDAB) in Singapore organized the “GDAB Dog Challenge” event to raise awareness and funds.

Tanya happy with her goodie bag and er…yellow wrist tag!

The GDAB event last Saturday was at Bishan Park, and while we were almost doubtful the event would continue due to bad weather, people were happy to walk around with umbrellas, meeting fellow dog owners, collecting their goodie bags and enjoying the free drinks and ice-cream cones provided (hey, anything for freebies right?). The dogs also mingled while waiting for the drizzle to come to a halt. With live music, it made for good and happy vibes all round despite the gloomy weather.

My mama didn’t tell me to come in costume, or I would have been competition for you!

Lulu begs her mama for the treats she knows are in the bag.

Free ice-cream!

The rain finally stopped and the 1km dog walk and obstacle route could begin!

And we’re off…!

Muddy with his lucky parents, Michele and Tanya.

Our dogs enjoyed themselves – it was like a massive pack walk with fun and games along the way, with dog obstacles set up mid way. Lucy does agility training so she was happy to show off how easily she could jump over hurdles and run through the tunnel.

A wet and muddy Lucy comes out the tunnel.

Lucy thinks hurdles are too easy peasy.

Muddy hasn’t done agility before, but seemed to enjoy it so his mama is considering bringing him up to speed with it.

Muddy can’t lose out to a girl.

Everyone really enjoying the obstacle course despite the wet grass and mud!

Queuing for the next obstacle.

Apart from the dog walk, participants also got to pick up some tips from SuperNova Academy‘s dog instructor, Shanice, on how to cultivate proper dog etiquettes. There was also a look-a-like contest where owner and dog dressed alike.

These cowboys won the lookalike contest.

There were also canine massages being offered by PawsFurLife, a photo taking booth and another contest going on. We heard that Onyx (below) loved his massage. He certainly looks like he is!

Onyx enjoying his massage by Pawsfurlife. Photo credit: @hachimonster.onyxbaby (follow them on Instagram for more pictures of the two cuties, Onyx (Schnauzer) and Hachiko (Japanese Spitz)).

We didn’t get to try the massages or participate in the contest, but got stuck at the photo booth instead because of the cute cat and bird we saw sitting there.

While waiting for our turn at the photobooth, we met a little birdie!

And the cutest grumpy cat.

The Furry Tales had a great time meeting friends (old and new), raising awareness for guide dogs and left with awesome goodie bags (which included vouchers for SuperNova Academy training programs, a discount voucher for a swim at Sunny Heights, a personalized digital pet tag that’s to be mailed to us and treats). Thanks for the invite, GDAB!

Thanks for the great event with an even greater purpose!

GDAB’s programs include those for orientation and mobility, psychological support and counseling, Eye Live Independent (occupational therapy), and others. They have helped close to 100 vision impaired clients since being established in 2006! And this year, one of their initiatives is to start training guide dogs locally instead of importing them, which will lower costs and hopefully increase the availability of guide dogs (and shorten the waiting time) to those who need them.

So how can we get involved in supporting GDAB and help empower the blind or vision impaired so they can lead a normal and productive life? We can DONATE to help fund their programs, or VOLUNTEER (print or web design, photograph/videograph, help out with events and general admin duties).

For more information and donations please visit http://www.guidedogs.org.sg or email at admin@guidedogs.org.sg or call 6423 0217. Thank you!

Can I be a guide dog too?

Does Your Dog Sleep Around?

Our dogs do! They can sleep anywhere and in all sorts of strange positions, and we’ve managed to capture some of them just for laughs. And because they are sooo adorable!

Lucy: Wake me up when you’re ready to give me some of your dinner…

Kafka: I need some space. It’s been a ruff day.

Muddy: I’ll just get off the couch after 30 winks…zzz.

We’d love to feature some of your dogs too – tag us on Instagram @thefurrytales if you want us to feature your pooch’s funny sleeping positions (#TFTsleepingdog). We have adorable prizes for three winners (one a week) from Little Yarn Friends, which crochets amigurumi, or the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals. We’re in love with their handmade cute little dogs! Here’s a sample of their work – can you identify which breed each amigurumi is?

In the meantime, here are more pictures of our dogs sleeping around.

Lucy: I tried to get Twinkle to wake up to play, but she wouldn’t. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

Olive: I really gotta stop going to those Ladies’ Nights!

 

 

Leto: I’m in the mood for…sleep!

Lucy: I was so tired I rolled down the pillow head first!

Olive & Muddy check out Bubbly Petz

Last weekend, Olive and Muddy made a date to head down to the Bubbly Petz Grand Opening.

Where are the bubbles? We don’t see any!

They liked the sound of an eco-ethical (cruelty-free and recyclable or biodegradable products) pet store and cage-free, restraint-free and open-concept pet grooming studio, which is what Bubbly Petz is. Helmed by Desmond Chan and Suar Shi Min, Bubbly Petz advocates humane handling techniques of animals and the need to improve animal welfare standards in Singapore.

One of the talks we attended was by trainer Kristina Setiabudy, entitled “Life Skills for Enjoyable Grooming”, whereby we learnt how to use clicker training to desensitize dogs to having their paws handled or targeting our hand to get them into a the desired position instead of manhandling or manipulating their body. Once the treats were brought out, Muddy and Olive got interested in the learning 🙂

Muddy volunteered so he could earn some treats from Kristina while Olive cheered him on!

What impressed us is the passion of Bubbly Petz to educate pet owners on making informed choices for their animals and the environment, and the care that goes into choosing the planet-friendly products they sell – these include biodegradable poop bags and plant-based or organic foods. The Furry Tales can’t comment on the grooming services yet, but be sure that we will be following up on this next! Olive and Muddy have already requested to go back.

Congrats, Bubbly Petz, on your grand opening! (Back L-R: Desmond, Tanya, Vicky, Shi Min. Front L-R: Muddy, Olive)

Bubbly Petz is located at 266 Joo Chiat Road Singapore 427520. Tel: 63486872 or 96563786 (Desmond). They also do house calls – where grooming is done in the comfort of your own home.

YAY Tanya and Muddy won 3rd place in the lucky draw! Muddy can’t wait to try out the vegan treats and tea-tree oil shampoo!

Pets Magazine Feature: DOGA!

The Furry Tales are privileged to be featured in the latest issue of Pets Magazine for Doga!

Sisi showing us how to cuddle Lucy in Butterfly stretch

Lord of the Dance (Variation) – Vicky using Olive as a balance prop to get deeper into the pose

Gate Pose stretches both big and small dogs, and also the humans! (The apparel from OMgoing make us look gooood.)

ead-to-Knee Forward Bend is great to release our hamstrings, and also for Kafka to benefit from Vivien’s calm energy.

The awesome yoga clothes were sponsored by OMgoing, an online store which sells fun and durable yoga and gym wear from overseas brands. They have kindly offered all our readers a 5% discount off their apparel until the end of May (quote: TFT5). Time to go shopping!

Due to space constraints in the magazine, not all the poses have an accompanying picture. Over the next few days/weeks, we will be posting up more pictures for each pose, so stay tuned! We hope you will give doga a shot with your pooch and let us know how it goes.

These days, when Olive sees the yoga mat being unrolled, she jumps onto it straight away and sits there waiting to see if she will get massaged or stretched! In this short clip, she decides that Boat Pose isn’t challenging enough and provides more resistance for Vicky to strengthen her core.

Lady-Mae the Therapy Dog

One of The Furry Tales’ friend, Lady-Mae, has been a therapy dog since September 2014 and she’s loving it! We spoke to Charissa, Lady-Mae’s human, about the work they do together at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Lady’s first visit to IMH.

What’s the program under which Lady-Mae volunteers?
Lady-Mae and I have been serving with a group of Singapore Specials (streets dogs of Singapore) at IMH called Rock Sanctuary. Its mission is to promote Singapore Specials as dogs that are able to give back to society as therapy dogs.

What’s a session like and how often do you visit?
Lady-Mae and the group visit IMH once a month. The group is divided into two – one for the adult wards and the one for the children’s ward. Lady-Mae visits with the children who are institutionalized there.

A typical therapy session is about 2 hours and, depending on the number of children and dogs, the ratio is usually 1:1 (one dog for each child) or 2:1 (two dogs to one child). We believe in allowing the children to choose their dog and vice versa. The level and type of interaction also depends on the child.

Some kids like just having the dog sit next to them, while others prefer to really get into it – play fetch, get the dog to do tricks, etc. Others just want a dog to hug, pet, massage or cuddle.

Charissa and Lady-Mae with the other volunteers at Sunrise Wing.

What do you and Lady-Mae love most about these sessions?
Bringing your dog to be a therapy dog is extremely humbling and rewarding. I remember our first visit and Lady-Mae picked a boy who had low IQ and his desire was to be able to train a dog. I showed him the steps to teaching a dog to do basic commands (eg. Sit-Stay) and how to reward the dog when it does what it was suppose to do. The boy was extremely delighted and so proud of himself that when his parents came to visit, he showed them over and over again. It was very heartwarming for me because Lady-Mae was thoroughly enjoying herself. She was excited to work with him, she was playful and would obey all the commands he gave to her with great precision. That was the first time I saw my dog’s eyes light up and I saw how happy she was to work with very little reward.

What’s not so great?
While you might end your session on a very happy note, sometimes you might leave your therapy session feeling helpless. On our second visit, Lady-Mae chose a teenager to interact with. In the middle of the session, Lady-Mae decided it was time for a break and just sat at the girl’s feet. That gave me an opportunity to talk to the teen. She shared with me her troubles and why she had to be institutionalized.

Can you share a bit of what the journey has been like?
Like everything in life, becoming a good therapy dog is a journey. When Lady-Mae first started this, she was still rather shy and would approach strangers with some hesitation. She can now take me to the respective wards within the hospital, she is happy, excited and eager to meet the children. I can tell that Lady-Mae knows what is expected of her and she jumps right to work. Today, because of therapy work, Lady-Mae is less shy of strangers. When I recently lost Lady-Mae and found her, we were sitting at the vet. In spite of her recent trauma and her wounds, she got up and approached every stranger that walked into her vet’s office. No one would have guessed that I had just found my dog and that she was in distress for four days.

Any advise for newbies?
Like most people, I had some myths about what a therapy dog should be. I always thought that a therapy dog had to be very friendly to everyone. It had to be able to interact with anyone or it had to be a very confident dog. As I interacted with people who have therapy dogs and read books about it, I learnt that therapy dogs come in an array of personalities, although there are some basic requirements which are listed further down below.

One of the things that I used to tell people was that since Lady-Mae is not very eager with adult strangers, how can she be a therapy dog? A volunteer at Dog Therapy Singapore explained to me that there are some patients who don’t want a dog to come to close, while others want to really have a very excitable dog to interact with them.

Don’t expect your dog to be able to be great at doing its job at the first therapy session. Like us humans, dogs too learn on the job. The more they do it, the better they get. It’s also because both the handler and the dog knows what is expected of them.

In one of the books that I read, the advice given is not to overstretch oneself. Doing therapy work is tiring for both the handler and the dog. My advice is to volunteer once a month and allow yourself the rest of the month to enrich your dog’s life. Start easy. Manage your expectations of what your dog can do. Even if your dog is able to do an array of tricks, don’t expect it to perform them all at therapy. Instead, observe your dog, take its cue on how fast or slow it wishes to learn. Most of all, enjoy the experience together!

If you wish to be part of a dog therapy program, be prepared to set aside time and commitment. Some programs will require you to commit to a specific number of therapy sessions within a certain period of time. It’s a commitment which will require you to make time for it. Be prepared to have your dog’s temperament assessed as well. Some key behaviors that are sought after are:
1)  The dog should be calm, meaning it should not get overly excited at anything that interests it.
2)  In a situation where the dog is afraid, it should avoid, move away and have full confidence that its handler has complete control of any situation. The dog should never react by growling, mouthing or a bite.
3)  The dog should be well socialized with men, women and children from all age groups.
4)  The dog should be well socialized with other dogs. (Although, there is a dog I know who is not very well socialized with dogs but it is a great therapy dog. If you have such a dog, please make it known. The dog therapy organizations can work with you.)

Every therapy session is varied and different. My advice would be to keep an open mind and allow your dog to choose who it wants to interact with. You never know who you can encourage that day.

One word of caution, it is important for the handler not to get too involved in the problems during therapy. Offering a listening ear is sufficient. It is also important to adhere to the boundaries that is set for each therapy venue. It’s not only for you safety but also the safety of the dogs.

Lady-Mae and I will also begin volunteering with Therapy Dogs Singapore soon. Taking Lady-Mae to work once a month has given her purpose and drive, and it has made her a more confident dog. Whenever she sees me packing up my bag for a therapy session, Lady-Mae is ready to go. She’ll sit and wait at the door, ready to bring a smile to a child even if it’s for 2 hours.

At IMH, ready to rock and roll!

Through this activity, we’ve bonded on a much deeper level and I have learnt so much about connecting with my fellow humankind through my dog.

If you wish to volunteer, you may contact:
Rock Sanctuary
Email: rocksanctuary2013@gmail.com

Therapy Dogs Singapore
http://tdspore.wix.com/tdspore

Healing Paws (SOSD)
If your dog was adopted from Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD), you may volunteer with their own therapy dog programme called Healing Paws. For more information, visit their website at http://sosd.org.sg/community-outreach/healing-paws/

Singapore’s 1st International Guide Dog Day!!

International Guide Dog Day (IGDD) is dedicated to celebrating guide dogs all over the world, to recognize the importance of guide dogs within our society, being a shield, companion and eyes of their blind or vision-impaired handlers.

Singapore will be having its first IGDD on 25 April 2015! Organized by Guide Dogs Association of the Blind (GDAB), the GDAB Dogs Challenge will be a 1km fun run with dog obstacles along the way, such as hurdles and weave poles.

Fun hurdles course.

GDAB are looking to raise S$100,000 which will be used for the training of the blind and vision-impaired as well as funding their guide dog programs. GDAB announced this year that it will start training guide dogs locally, instead of bringing them in from overseas. There are now a total of six guide dogs in Singapore and GDAB targets to train two each year.

Sign up today to support the vision impaired community and our canine heroes! You can register at: http://www.lightrunners.com/guidedogday/ or contact Josh at (+65) 6339-7900 for more information.  You stand a chance to win a pet hotel package for your furry VIP, which includes 5 swimming sessions + 1 daycare trial + temperament test at Sunny Heights.

All registrants will be entitled to a goodie bag worth S$70 which contains a personalized digital dog tag, swimming session vouchers, a dog obedience training voucher and various dog treats!

Some members of The Furry Tales will be there with their mamas and would love to meet new friends. Come say hi if you are around! We love this initiative because the awareness for guide dogs and their handlers in Singapore really needs to be increased. Recently in the local news, a man threw tools at guide dog Nice and reportedly caused it to be fearful of strangers. Guide dog Esme with handler Ms. Chiu also appears in the news regularly about getting rejected from shopping malls and stores because of Esme, even though guide dogs are legally allowed in most public places.

Hope to see you there!

Date and time: 25 April 2015, 4-7pm
Venue: Bishan – Ang Mo Kio Park / Pond Gardens, Activity Lawn 1
Cost: S$38

A Date at Sin Lee Foods

Hipsters Lucy, Cotton and Lady-Mae hanging out in front of Sin Lee.

Sin Lee Foods has been around for a few months now and we were all dying to try it. According to Sin Lee’s owner, the cafe used to be a store selling prawn noodles and now they’ve just kept the signboard, name and old school charm. We loved it.

Cotton and Lucy: we love it too, nice view from up here!

We went on a Sunday morning and were pleased to find it reasonably crowded without being packed like sardines. We sat in their alfresco area which was extremely comfortable because of the shade and powerful fans provided.

First thing we did was order the much-talked-about salted egg sweet potato fries topped with curry leaves. To our disappointment at first, they had run out of sweet potatoes so they replaced it with criss cut fries. Once we tasted it, we were so happy. It was SO addictive. Three of us shared one dish. We recommend that you order one to yourself and not share.

Salted egg criss cut fries.

We also ordered waffles with coconut gelato, spam fries as well as the Mackermore (spanish mackerel with roasted corn and lap cheong). The spam fries were good although we much preferred the salted egg fries. The waffles weren’t fabulous but we quite liked the gelato. If you prefer a healthier option, Charissa said the mackerel dish was very good. Their dishes are not cheap and we had a few hits and misses, but the salted egg fries, Papa Palheta coffee, yummy gelato, friendly staff and big powerful fans made up for it.

Spam chips.

Waffles with coconut gelato and chocolate sauce.

Sin Lee Foods is great for dogs because their alfresco area is shady and cool. The dogs are kept relatively comfortable and the wait staff are friendly to them. They even allowed Cotton and Lucy to share a romantic drink together on their bar tables. We hope Kafka does not read this.

That coffee hit the spot. We can go now, mamas!

Overall, we enjoyed our brunch there and will definitely go back with our dogs to try the other dishes on their menu.

Maggie and Charissa.

It’s a date!

Sin Lee Foods is at Blk 4 Jalan Bukit Swee Ho, #01-164, Singapore 162004. Opening hours: 10am-9pm (Tues-Sun), closed Mon except PH. It is located at the void deck of a HDB block and can be a bit difficult to find, so if you don’t live around the area, the closest landmark is probably the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).

Doggie Wisdom

Our dogs teach us a lot about life and friends. Here are some of the things we have learnt.

1. Friends who play together stay together.

Olive and Beau playing tug of war.

2. Life is like a game of chess. Make every move count.

Chess pieces: spot Lucy, Olive, Leto, Lulu and Lady Mae??

3. Sink or swim, we’re in this together.

Three black dogs frolic in a muddy lake!

4. Save water, shower together.

L-R: Kafka, Lulu, Leto, Lucy, Muddy and Olive.

5. Friends don’t let friends do stupid things alone.

Leto, Lucy, Olive and Lulu doing their part for pink October breast cancer awareness month.

6. Friends hold out the olive branch first.

Here. A big branch. You be my girlfriend again, Lucy?

7. Friends help carry each other’s load.

Backpack gang.

8. Friends take the time to smell the roses together.

Or a giant flower.

9. Friends love you in sickness and in health.

Getting through the hazy period in Singapore together.

10. Friends say good things behind your back.

The gang spend some quality time together.

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter time! For some, it is a holy week. For others, it is a time for feasts and parties. For The Furry Tales, it is a time where our dogs model ridiculous bunny ears. We love it.

Olive pretends not to know us.

Bunny love is in the air.

Do I even get to open these eggs?

Mama says I can hold it

 

Happy Easter to all!

Give the Dog a Bowl!

Contributed by Sisi Soh
Do you have a long-eared dog? If you do, you’ll know what a pain it is to have their ears get into their water bowls and drip water everywhere.

Are you also tired of your dog looking like this every meal time?

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that it’s dinner time, mama.

I am! Lucy is raw fed so I have to be extra particular about hygiene and cleanliness. So when she eats, she has to wear this furry headband to keep her ears away from her face. She hates it and so do I. It also makes me feel bad asking people to feed her when I am away because of this extra step of having to put it on and clean her face after.

Petiscount came to our rescue and gave us a bowl meant for long-eared dogs. It is 19 x 12cm and can hold about 500ml of water. It is ferplast, non toxic, hygienically safe and environmentally friendly. It is also anti-slip and super easy to wash.

Lucy and her new bowl

The first time Lucy ate from it, I was so happy. Her ears went plop over each side of the bowl, not touching the food at all. Thank you, Petiscount! =)

Lucy’s ears don’t touch the inside of the bowl.

No mess!

If you would like to order a bowl too, head to Petiscount’s Facebook page or e-mail them your order at petiscount@gmail.com

They are also on carousel@petiscount. Stay tuned for their upcoming website.

Their usual price is S$7.90 but if you quote “TFT”, you can get it for $6.90. Only for the month of April. I’m not sure about Lucy, but I definitely love it!