Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Big Shot...

Meet all the aunties and uncles that went to the Big Shot competition... Unfortunately... Pa didn't go very far... looking at what he is up against... it is not surprising. Many of the contestants have many years more in experience than Pa. Many are also in the creative field.

All Pa does is take pictures of us dogs. How to improve? A farmer's hands are big and clumsy. It is already fantastic that he made it this far. Hopefully he can improve further.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Going for a Run

Pa has decided to go back to exercise... and us along for a run. He rode his 2 wheel contraption that is devilishly fast... we were totally pooped after it...

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

BSL passed in Singapore... But not as bad as we thought.

Our worst nightmares have been passed. AVA has changed and approve new BSL requirements... but it was not as bad as we thought. The new controls basically changed a few things... one is to shift Perro de Presa Canario into the Cat 1 (no imports etc.) All other changes will only take effect with newly licensed dogs.

Cat 2 dogs has this new restrictions to contend with.
  1. All existing and newly licensed Part II dogs must be microchipped
  2. Owners of newly licensed Part II dogs must take up an insurance policy for at least $100,000 coverage against injury to persons and damage to property
  3. Owners of newly licensed Part II dogs must take up a banker’s guarantee for $2000
  4. Newly licensed Part II dogs must undergo obedience training
At least is a compromise of sorts. And obedience training to some extent is necessary. I recall my own experience with trainers that are already afraid of us. That makes it tough. This new law covers all Cat 2 dogs which includes
  1. Bull Terrier
  2. Doberman Pinscher
  3. Rottweiler
  4. German Shepherd Dog with its related breeds such as the Belgian Shepherd Dog and the East European Shepherd Dog
  5. Mastiffs, including the Bull Mastiff, Cane Corso and Dogue De Bordeaux
  6. Crosses of 1 to 5.
So its not exactly a BSL, but still, we do not need to like it. But when we recall how some Singaporeans stupidly train their dogs, it is no wonder this would eventually come about.

Most INTERESTINGLY.... there is a NEW part to this... and this part we fully agree on. It is definitely a very fair addition to the AVA regulation.
Enhanced Control for All dogs
6 Regardless of the breed, any dog that initiates an unprovoked attack and caused injury to a person or animal, will be subjected to one or more of the following control measures, depending on the severity of the bite :
  1. The dog must be leashed and securely muzzled when in a public place
  2. The dog must undergo obedience training
  3. The dog must be microchipped
  4. Premises where the dog is kept must be secured to prevent its escape
  5. The owner must take up an insurance policy for at least $100,000 coverage against injury to persons and damage to property
  6. The owner must take up a banker’s guarantee of $2,000
  7. Any existing banker’s guarantee would be forfeited for non- compliance and the owner must take up a fresh banker’s guarantee of $2,000.
This is music to my ears. It is totally fair and the requirements are there is see. Lets see now... Bruno was bitten by that Golden... I was bitten by that Chihuahua, Schnauzer... Hummm... I'll even complain on Nigel the Maltese...
But seriously... this might have huge impact on our image that we have tried cultivating all this time... People again will think we need this legislation, and other more extreme cases would think this isn't enough especially since Rotties were not pointed out specifically.

And the worst of all is to have nuisance reports submitted to AVA just to get other dog owners into trouble. Let just hope I am wrong.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Stella the Mini "Rottie" Daschund

Say hi to STELLA! Auntie Grace's newest addition to her family! Shes adopted from Hot Dogs and she's only 6 months old! Look how beautiful she is... Auntie Grace has totally fallen for her the first time she saw her... Its hard not to with a black and tan dog!
It was quite funny because some passerby's thought she was our little pup! Not that we mind... but its kinda difficult to have a pup with Bruno. He's missing a few essential parts and dumb to boot.
But as all puppies are, she was very playful and really a very good girl. Easy to train too.
Much to learn she has... but she will learn them. Right now, she is just a happy puppy.
She's happy to be playing with us... but hopefully she will be meeting a whole lot other people as well... Ozzie isn't really the playful type.
Don't worry... Bruno braked from the camera with inches to spare.
Hahaha... we tried to take a picture and thought we had it...
But Bruno decided to photo bomb the effort. Oh well... there is always next time!
Later we moved on to the nearby hawker and had more opportunities to take pictures... but don't tell anyone about putting dogs on chairs. Wakakaka...