Zen Your Pups!

Awesome participants who woke up so early for doga!

On Sunday, The Furry Tales organized Zen Your Pups, our first ever public doga class at Fort Canning! Thanks to everyone who woke up so early to spend precious time bonding with their pooches.  Tanya of InOm Yoga did a fabulous job leading 16 people through various stretches and exercises with their dogs who cooperated impeccably, zen-ning alongside their humans!

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope you did too! Here are some highlights of the event (#ZenYourPups).

Tanya, fellow TFT member/InOm Yoga instructor with her assistant Muddy.

Our dogs socializing before class – Milo and Peaches saying hi.

Olive and Lucy seem interested in Pebbles!

An excited Milo on the mat way before class began!

Super strong warriors!

Using our dogs as a prop to find balance in Warrior 3. Some are more cooperative than others.

Stretching those inner thighs and giving our dogs a good massage! Buibui is enjoying his human’s attention.

Two in particular were very zen-ned out! (Maggie and Cotton)

Humans enjoying their Warrior 1 pose.

Donut looks pretty happy about his massage too!

Towards the end of the class, some of us were verrrry relaxed.

We love the hand-carved rubber stamp of our five dogs that was made by Baisimu and we couldn’t wait to use it for our goodie bags. Baisimu is a store that specializes in hand-carved Chinese seals and customized handmade goods.

                      Customized goodie bags

                           This is my goodie bag!

We also raised S$300 which has been donated to Causes for Animals, an animal welfare charity that offers food and medical aid to street dogs and shelters. Find out more on how you can support them here.

As you can tell, we LOVE doga and are excited to join in the DOGA event hosted by Purina and Causes for Animals. Tanya will be leading the doga portion of the event (yay!), and after that, there will be an adoption drive and other activities. They even offer to pair you up with a dog if you don’t have one yourself. Sign up here and we hope to see you there!

For more event pictures, head to our Facebook page here. And stay tuned for our next Zen Your Pups event! Namastay.

Picnic-ing with Hot Dogs!

The Furry Tales visited a very scenic spot in Bukit Batok for a picnic, otherwise known as Singapore’s Little Guilin. It was a perfect day – slightly overcast weather, yummy food, beautiful view and our (hot) dogs ran their hearts out!

A beautiful day for a picnic!

Cooling off in the water after playing hard!

Our dogs also got to test out some really cool stuff from Tiny Krew, a retailer and distributor of premium pet products. For one, they got their own hand-crafted tipi tent (which they had to share). Besides outdoor fun, the tipi can be used as a cozy den area for indoor sleeping (and we could also see it being used as a play area for children and other small animals!).

Sharing is caring. We all like to cozy up. (Growler Goods tipi from Tiny Krew)

Before getting wild and dirty, the dogs modeled their new collars, leashes and poo bags! They loved showing off their fashionable and chi-chi side almost as much as the humans enjoyed shopping for them.

Snazzy collars, matching leashes and stylish poop bag holders!

What we like about the Waggo collars and leashes is the fact that they are made from recycled plastic bottles! That’s pretty cool, right? And their fun prints really make our dogs look good. The stylish eco-friendly Business Buddy (haha) poop bag holders also come in many prints, which made choosing one for each dog a challenge – we want them all!

Doesn’t Muddy look dapper in polka dots?

Little Guilin is a great place for us to bring our dogs because there is plenty of space for them to run around in, and we humans had shady trees to relax under. Some water-loving dogs (ahemmm Kafka and Lucy…) jumped into the brown water to swim, without permission, we might add!

Lucy is ready to take herself for a walk, complete with her Business Buddy poop bag holder!

While the rest of our dogs had a little dip of their paws in the pond, Kafka and Lucy went for a real swim!

We all had an amazing time, we will be back for sure! (Parking is easy at the HDB flats along Bukit Batok St 52.) The dogs were conked out for the rest of the day after their showers, along with the humans.

Oh, and we teamed up with Tiny Krew to bring you an attractive 25% discount off all their Jax & Bones, Waggo and Growler Goods products for the month of July (quote “TFT25” at checkout). We think Tiny Krew’s toys and accessories make great presents for fellow dog-owners or as a special treat for our own pooches, so get shopping! (See further terms and conditions below.)

Here are some more pictures of our outing.

Muddy got muddy by rolling in the wet grass!

Kafka and Lulu chilling under a tree.

Having the time of their lives! Ah, young love…

It was peaceful once the dogs got tired.

And a video to sum up the dogs’ cool runnnings!

Terms and Conditions of “TFT25” code:
1. No minimum purchase required.
2. Discount will be applied at checkout.
3. Not valid with other promotions and sale items.
4. Valid storewide except the following brands: ohpopdog, AGnix, Smart Pet Care.
5. Not valid on the following bundles: Starter Kits, Adopted Charity Packs.
6. Valid until 31 July 2015.

Our 10 Favorites of #TFTsleepingdog

Congrats to @Adventuresofdoodles, @Baxtercockerspaniel and @Hachimonster.onyxbaby for winning our hearts on the Instagram competition #TFTsleepingdog!

@adventuresofdoodles: New superhero – Upside Down Dog!

@hachimonster.onyxbaby: Coffee can’t fix this kind of tired…

@baxtercockerspaniel “At last I understand why mama got a second dog!”

Here are another 7 pictures which deserve special mention! We had plenty of chuckles and laughs every day as you shared your silly dogs, and we were amazed by how creative some dogs were in getting their zzz’s.

@notyournerd

@itscharliethecavoodle

@theroyaltail

@abventuresinwittyland

@oscar_coco

@somewhitecookie

@furkies

Thanks so much @littleyarnfriends for sponsoring the adorable amigurumis!

Corgi Amigurumis by @littleyarnfriends

 

Little Yarn Friends

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting and crocheting small stuffed animals.

Rachel from Little Yarn Friends recently sponsored 3 cute little corgi keychains as giveaways for our #TFTsleepingdog Instagram contest. Thank you, Rachel!

Corgi prizes for our TFT contest winners

Rachel is a self-taught crochet-amigurumi artist. She started making her first few amigurumis with the help of crochet books. Now she transforms simple balls of yarn to cute little yarn friends! We love love love her adorable crochet dog series. She’s made corgis, schnauzers, labrador retrievers, malteses and more.  If there is a particular dog breed you want made into a keychain or brooch and don’t see it on her store, you can always e-mail her and she might be able to do it. They make great gifts too!

Labrador retrievers.

Schnauzer and Kitty.

Head over to http://www.littleyarnfriends.com or e-mail Rachel at littleyarnfriends@gmail.com to check out all her adorable designs.

Photo credit: Little Yarn Friends

Princess Lucy’s Fan Pack by Rao Canine

Rao Canine online store has another great offer for you this week. They’ve put together a pink package for Princess Lucy’s fans.

A true princess.

Lucy’s favourite colour is pink black and white, but Lucy’s mama loves pink so Rao Canine put together a basket of pink treats and toys for her.

I be blend right in with my pink ears!

Save $9.30 when you buy this Pretty in Pink bundle! What’s in the bundle:

• Wellness Petite Treats Chicken, Cherries & Spearmint, $7.90

These bite-sized soft treats are the perfect size for use as training rewards. Although it is meant for small dogs, it’s also great for big dogs because they are able to quickly eat it during training. It comes in 4 tasty flavours and even the humans want to eat it. The soft treats can be broken into half if you are worried about giving your little one too many.

• Real Meat All Natural Venison Jerky Treats, $9.50

Real Meat All Natural Jerky Treats are made from 95% meat. Sourced from the finest free range grass fed meats with no added hormones or antibiotics, Real Meat is a healthy choice for your dog.

• Cloudstar Buddy Biscuits Soft & Chewy Sweet Potato, $15.50

For dogs that love to eat their veggies, Cloudstar has a soft & chewy sweet potato treat. We love soft treats because they don’t crumble as much and they can be broken into smaller pieces.

• KONG ZoomGroom, $13.00

ZoomGroom is a fantastic brush that can be use for daily grooming or while shampooing your doggie. To be honest, the dogs don’t care about the hair that it picks up like a magnet. All they are in for is the therapeutic massage the rubber bristles give them when you brush them.

• Safemade: SafeChew Gimme Octopus, $12.50

Safemade toys is a great way to keep your dogs entertained. You can stuff treats in it and let your puppy chew it or toss it like a ball. It is also oven and freezer safe which means you can bake the snacks right in the toy. You can also fill it with fruit and yoghurt to make a cool snack on a hot day.

• Petz Route Strawberry toy with rattle, $6.00

Lucy’s absolute favourite is the pink strawberry. Throughout the photo taking, her mouth kept creeping nearer the strawberry and sometimes nibbled on it like a baby’s pacifier. Instead of a squeaker, this toy comes with a rattle.

• KONG Dodo, $19.90

The KONG Dodo is there because Lucy loves stuffed toys and it is so darned cute.

The total value of this bundle is $84.30 but for a limited time, you can get it at only $75.00 (savings of $9.30)! This offer is valid till the end of July!

Pet Eats! Fruity Pupsicles

The scorching weather lately has us all huffing and puffing, craving ice cold treats and sending some of us to colder regions for vacation. If we’re hot in sunny Singapore, imagine how our furry babies must feel. So we’ve experimented with a few fruity pupsicles for our pooches to cool off with. Let us know if you have other cold treats recipes to share!

You’ll also find the  in this month’s issue of Pets Magazine Singapore! Thank you Pets Magazine for featuring TFT again!

Blueberry and banana yoghurt pupsicles

 

      

 

#PetsPicnicParty2015

The Furry Tales were invited to be a part of this year’s Pets Magazine event – the Pets Picnic Party 2015! Despite the initially rainy weather and thereafter humid and muggy air, turnout was good and spirits were high. Dogs and humans got up close and personal on their picnic mats, with plenty of cold drinks and snacks going around.

Great turnout for this years #petspicnicparty2015

Tanya and calm assistant Muddy did a 15-minute Doga demonstration to introduce a few simple poses and massages we could do with our dogs. They did an awesome job!

Muddy showing off the twist on stage very well!

Erm, Olive tried, she really did!

(If you are interested in trying out doga, TFT are holding an introductory class on 28 June at Fort Canning Park! See end of post for further details.)

Olive and Muddy really enjoyed all the other dogs there, greeting old friends and meeting new ones. At an event like this, there is a lot of socialization going on and we were pleasantly surprised by how everyone got along despite the cozy spaces (the humans too)!

Cory, Cole, Olive and Muddy say hi. Cory might be feeling left out…he is after all shorter, and whiter…haha!

It was also sweet Twinkle’s barkday and we got to celebrate with some delicious Barkery cake!

Channel News Asia also covered the event: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/starterkit/servlet/fragment?id=1897458&view=embed

Thanks Pets Magazine for organising such a great pets picnic party! Looking forward to next year’s!

Here are some more shots from our event, credits go to Muddy’s dad, Michele (thanks!).

Tanya and Muddy being interviewed by Dawn Tan from Channel News Asia.

Lady-Mae and Oreo in the back, hoping for treats.

Olive is camera shy!

Muddy’s favorite massage.

ZEN YOUR PUP!

For those of you interested in trying out doga with your dogs but don’t know where to start, TFT are holding an introductory class on 28 June, 8am, at Fort Canning Park!

Tanya of InOm (and also Muddy’s mama) will be conducting the class and the rest of The Furry Tales will also be there, so come and join us! We are collecting a minimum donation of $10, which will be passed on to a shelter of our choice. Class will be limited to 15 participants.

SIGN UP HERE by 21 June. Hope to see you there!

Lucy a.k.a. Toy Monster enjoys 10% off ShopYbf

Contributed by Sisi Soh
Lucy is a toy monster. She has a big box full of toys and still, I can’t crinkle a packet of anything or bring home a plastic bag without her thinking it’s a new toy for her. If I bring her along with me when I tutor preschoolers at their homes, I have to get the children to hide their stuffed animals because Lucy goes right for them. Every night, Lucy sits by my bed or the sofa and waits for me to ask what she wants. Once I do, she rushes out to her toy box and picks out something to bring to me to play with her.

Mama? Play? NOW?

Lucky for her, Christmas came really early this year! She received a parcel in the mail and in it were some really cool surprises from ShopYbf. She received the cutest doggy iPad  (iPaw), a rockstar guitar and a cute polka dot fishbone. We also got a tin of Sunday Pets Free Ranger Happy Lamb dog food and a yummy BURP chew stick. Thank you so much! The house was filled with the “wonderful” sounds of squeaking all day long that day.

She loved all of them but the iPaw was the biggest hit. She hasn’t seen much of her friends this week so she was busy face-timing them. We also enjoyed working side by side on the couch together. Her on her iPaw and me on my iPad.

Lucy replying to her 1079 emails!

ShopYbf (which stands for “Your Best Friend”) is a Singapore-based online store, selling good quality and affordable merchandize not just for our pets, but for us owners as well. We love their customizable tote bags which we can’t wait to receive.

Just for our TFT readers, ShopYbf is giving a cool 10% off their products up til 31 July 2015. So go to www.shopybf.com and quote “TFT10” to enjoy it. Do note that the discount code won’t be applicable to food/treats or promotional items on the store.

Mine, all mine!

Muddy’s Diet: Holistic Select Grain Free Dog Food! ($10 coupon inside)

Contributed by Tanya Rongkavilit
Muddy has gone through two massive 11.8kg bags of Holistic Select GRAIN FREE Adult & Puppy Health Salmon and Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe (kibble). I’ll first go through the quantitative aspects this food then Muddy will give his qualitative review later on.

Holistic Select believes that total body health begins with the digestive health. Their pet recipes contain a Unique Digestive Health Support System (digestive enzymes and digestive botanicals as well as pre- and probiotics), in addition to vegetables, fruits, proteins, whole grains and omega fatty acids. The main ingredients include: salmon, anchovy & sardine meal, potatoes, peas, dried ground potatoes, canola oil, menhaden fish meal, tomato pomace, flaxseed, pea fibre and pumpkin.

Salmon is the main protein source, which is supported by anchovy and sardine meal. This kibble recipe uses potatoes and peas (instead of grain filler) and canola oil provides omega 3 fatty acids (instead of  animal fat).  It has been scientifically proven that this balance of fish and potato is ideal for treating dogs with sensitive stomachs. (Source: Best Puppy Food Brands)

Muddy with his favorite kibble

We have seen two major improvements in Muddy after switching to Holistic Select Grain Free. Firstly, he has always had a sensitive stomach. The slightest change in diet or even just one wrong treat could trigger a massive diarrhea session. On average, Muddy gets diarrhea about once a month and we’ve always had to be on alert when it came to what he ate and what other people gave him. Surprisingly, since he started on Holistic Select Grain Free, we have not had a single diarrhea incident. His stool is now always solid and dark in color.

My old food used to make me poop too much!

The other noticeable improvement is his eagerness to eat his kibble. Muddy is a picky dog when it comes to kibble. We always had to mix it with either cooked food or canned food. But with Holistic Select Grain Free, he eats them as is and really enjoys it. That gives us such comfort!

We have also seen other good things that have come out from switching to this kibble. His skin and fur is really healthy now and Muddy has been receiving compliments all over town. It’s shiny, soft and silky.

My fur is so shiny I can be in a hair commercial!

He also used to fart like an old man and now it has stopped completely (sorry to embarrass you, Muddy, but it’s useful information)! Another observation is how he doesn’t stink even after two weeks of not showering! Not that I usually wait that long in between baths, but sometimes I do forget because I decide to shower him according to how he smells.

The only thing to keep an eye on is that we think Muddy has gained a bit of weight – perhaps because it’s grain free and his body is able to absorb more of the nutrients present. We are still adjusting the amount to find the perfect balance. But all in all we are super duper happy with Holistic Select Grain Free and won’t be changing anytime soon!

It spells Muddy right? Cos its for me?

I’ll just eat the M for Muddy

You can order Holistic Select GRAIN FREE Adult & Puppy Health Salmon and Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe from Rao Canine. From now till End of June, get $10 off each large bag of Holistic Select Dog Food  and $5 off each small bag of Holistic Select Dog Food ordered from Rao Canine. Use coupon code muddy10 for large bags and muddy5 for small bags.