My (Kiddo) Agility Trial!

Mummy and Daddy woke up early one Saturday and brought me to the K9 Park at Nex! Waking up early is a challenge for lazy mummy and sammy (especially on a weekend), but to beat the notorious horrid parking at the mall, we had no choice but to reach there around 10.30am. Lucky for us, there were still some parking lots and no other dogs at the Dog Run, which means it's all mine! (Well, at least for the half hour I was there)

We decided to try out the course to put my rusty agility skills to practise (I attended a introductory agility class in NYC when I was a year old).

First stop:  The Dog walk

This was a piece of cake, but I certainly needed some motivation. Of course, Mummy was well prepared as usual and brought one of my latex squeaky toy!

Attempt number 1 was perfect!

After a few tries, I was loving the run up the dog walk!

By the end of about five tries, I got kinda bored and decided to go on strike by standing put on the top, before sitting down eventually.

Seeing that I had enough of this obstacle, we moved on to the tunnel!

This was easy and I went through it effortlessly on the first try.

Boring~~ NEXT!

We did the invisible tunnel (which properly isn't a legit obstacle) and I wasn't too thrilled about it. 

Totally no challenge..

*Yawn*

To spice things up a little, we decided to try the Hurdles!

We started small by doing the simplest and lowest hurdle. 

Easy breezy~

Seeing that I needed something more challenging, we moved on the tire jump. 

This was a little tough and it took me a few attempts, lots of encouragement and a fair amount of treats to conquer it. 

And of course, sporty me managed to master it.

The last obstacle we attempted was a higher hurdle!

This was serious fun! 

But as usual, there is nothing that I can't do.. so off I went!

Featuring the shot-of-the-day!

(I look like a fox!)

Featuring the almost-shot...

Dang, this would have been a perfect shot!

Boo Daddy.. lousy photographer. -_-

After attempting the above obstacles, I decided to call it quits by hiding under the bench. 

Boy was I hot and tired. 

While this little kiddish agility trial session was fun, I doubt I'll be back again. I mean parking might be challenging and the K9 park wasn't sheltered at all (no trees). I was lucky that I was there alone, hence had the whole space to myself. But I could certainly imagine the chaos if there were many dogs here. So nay~ grassy dog runs are definitely what I prefer. 

Well, at least I'm glad my agility skills are well registered in my muscle memory. 

Sigh.. I'm just too sporty. *Grinz*

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Shhhh.. Hear Doggy!

(Yet) Another awesome perk of Mummy's internship (besides my free exposure on pets magazine) is that she is able to get her hands on new innovative toys! 

So, on one lovely evening, Mummy came home with a grin. She came up to me and told me that she bought me a new toy! Of course, from the corner of my eye, I could see Daddy giving the "not again" face.

Too bad for you, Daddy and goooooood for me!

I was pretty excited to see what Mummy got for me.

Presenting the surprise - a Hear Doggy! squeaky stuffy!

I was uber excited about the starfish stuffy and could not wait to sink my teeth in it!

I was 100% focused on my new mission in life - attack the starfish while it cries squeaks for mercy, kill the squeaker and remove all its stuffing!!

RAWR...

 Before I could even begin, I felt that there was something different about this squeaky toy. 

In the past, each time Mummy squeezes the toy to squeak it, Daddy would throw an annoyed and disapproving look, clearly irritated with the high pitch noise. 

But this time round, no matter how many times Mummy squeezed the toy (I swear she did it at least a hundred times, okay, I exaggerate, maybe 20 times), Daddy, who was working at the dining table, barely flinch, not to mention turn back with an irritated look. 

This was when I discovered what's so unique about this toy - it's squeaker can only be heard by dogs, not humans.

*In awe*

And that means that I can kill this toy day and night and no one, yes, NO ONE is gonna stop me. 

Life is gooooood... 

*Evil grinz*

So here goes...

Once I started, I never looked back. 

I'm sorry Mr Starfish, no humans are gonna come to your rescue.

Die! Starfish! Die!

This is seriously the best thing ever. 

No one interrupted my mission and I spent a good twenty minutes playing fetch and trying to kill Mr. Starfish. 

On the downside, Mr Starfish was quite well made and my mission to tear him apart kinda failed (for now). I was quite exhausted by the end.

Nonetheless, I was pretty pleased.

Thanks for the great toy, Mummy!!

Mummy's note: Okay, just a disclaimer, Sam's Daddy isn't that awful a person as he is made up to be on the blog. He's just... a little grumpy. *Grinz* 

*Remembering that he does pay the bills* I mean he's awesome, the best husband and dog Daddy EVER!

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All in a day's work...

I'm officially a grown up. 

Why? 

Cos' after 3+ years off leeching of a rather grumpy ill-fated sweet daddy, I finally earned my own keep. *Ka-ching ka-ching* 

Mummy's colleague found me a PAID modeling gig - I got to film a promotional video for a soon-to-launch condo! While the video won't be aired on TV, it will be on facebook and youtube! 

Good enough, good enough. 

My parents were more excited about the gig than I was! In fact, mummy ordered daddy to take leave for the day to accompany me. LOL

After enduring a horrid bath and an equally bad thorough brushing the night before, we set out for the shoot on a lovely sunny morning! 

It was a looooong drive and I had no idea why the hell I was when we arrived.

Mummy initially thought that it was going to be an indoor shoot in the showroom or something like that, hence she was a little startled when she realised that the shoot was taking place at Sengkang riverside park. I could see mummy panicking for a moment.

Mummy's note: For a moment, I was quite worried that they might request an off-leash shoot. Then, halilujah liao. -_- Yes, this piece of shit cutie is HORRID off-leash. I swear I was 'praying pretty hard' that that wasn't required.

As we arrived way ahead of schedule, my parents decided to use the free time to let me explore the park and just breathe in the lovely fresh air. 

As gorgeous as the day seemed, it was actually a tad bit warm for my liking. After a short while, we decided to hide under some pavillion. Awesome mummy prefreezed my bottle last night and as a result, I was able to have refreshing brain-freeze water to cool me down.

Mummy is da best!

Of course, I spent a little while practising my killer smile.

(Which came in extremely handy!)

The setup was really simple, just two human actors (one was mediacorp actor Zen Chong), a director, a camera man and two helpers. Of course, not forgetting the dashing dog model. (ME!!!)

And to mummy's huge relief, all I needed to do was walk well on a leash. That's all, or so she thought (we will get there later).

In addition, well-prepared mummy brought one of my squeeky toys along and that totally helped. 

I'm generally food-oriented, but can be ultra play-oriented at times. I was so excited that I actually rejected my favourite treat. Lucky mummy brought along a toy to grab my full attention.

Hee, how's my acting?! 

Convincing?

After approximately ten minutes of filming (approximately 6-7 takes with varying actions), the human actors left to prepare for the next scene (which didn't require me).  That was when the director made a special request and asked mummy if they could film a running shot of me. 

Haaa...

And guess what, something miraculous happened. Mummy took a uber huge leap of faith and said yes! Before I could get over the shock and the confidence mummy had in me, off went the hook and I was off-leash~

In case you are wondering, professional Sammy Loo did not run off. I stayed put and focused on the squeeky toy mummy was holding.

And I was the best dog I could ever be for the next ten minutes - before I gave up in exhaustion and sat down refusing to move. By then, the director and camera man were satisfied with the takes and I was off work!

As mummy wanted to concentrate in making me the best dog model as possible (and probably be on-the-go just in case I bolt), she didn't actually take a lot of behind-the-scenes shot and did not manage to capture any off-leash shots. 

I was initially scheduled for a two hour slot of filming, but talented little me had it done within 30 minutes! 

But I was absolutely pooped by then.

Sigh, didn't realise that working was so tiring. 

Guess that's it for now. I'm gonna take my time to recuperate before finding my next job.

Meanwhile, if you want me paw-autograph, just drop me an email k?

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Sam's Night Out - Paw Pet-radise

After the Dash, we headed to a Sam-Welcomed cafe - the Paw Pet-radise Cafe!

This newly opened cafe caters specially to pet owners and their four-legged kids, which means, I got to run free (and wild) in an enclosed open space! *Wriggly dance*

The staff is really welcoming and it was pretty obvious that this place was opened by pet lovers for pet  lovers! Even though they were kept busy running and cleaning after us, they did their jobs with huge smiles and even gave us a welcome pat each! Kudos for that! 

I absolutely love the attention dogs are showered with here! 

The decor of the cafe is kept simple and minimalistic - just ikea-ish tables and chairs and a nice open space in the middle for us to roam around! While I really appreciated the fact that they had a double gate to ensure that rascals, like myself (grinz), wouldn't dash out of the door, it was placed too close to the actual entrance and that made it a little difficult to get in and out. 

While the space for dogs is big and comfortable, we realised that there isn't many tables available. In addition, a lot of the patrons were here to linger and often stayed beyond dinner. Since the cafe doesn't take reservations on weekends, it's probably a good idea to swing by earlier as we saw a couple of groups waiting for quite a while before they could be seated. But again, how not to hang around (and not leave) when this place is opened till 2am on weekends! Yes, that means late night fun!!!!! 

The human menu is really simple, and thus, a little limited. But why should I care when there's a daily special for Sam's kind!!!! Hahaha... I decided on the meatballs while mummy and daddy ordered their own food. 

While the adults took their time to decide on what they wanted, I saw a photo opportunity and sat my butt comfortably on a dog seat and posed. 

Don't know if my luck sucked or what, I got photobomb-ed. again. 

Boo~

I was sitting around, basking in joy at the awesome space while waiting for my dinner!

Before long, my dinner was served - Yummy meatballs!!

I put on my best begging face....

but got outsmart by a resident Goldie who simply rested his snout on mummy's lap. 

-_-

Boo~

And yes, mummy gave him one whole meatball! 

STUPID MUMMY!

I just wanted to eat, but as usual, I had to pose for photos.

#lifesux

The meatballs seriously smelt great and mummy couldn't resist trying and there goes another half of a meatball.

I HATE YOU!!!!

The rest of the meatballs were history within the next 30 seconds. They were that good, lip-smacking good. 

okay, life is slightly better now.

Eventually, the adults' food came - Daddy ordered Chicken chops while Mummy had the Ham & Mushroom in white sauce pasta. They also ordered some seaweed chicken and onion rings to share. 

While the adults sat around and chatted for the next couple of hours, I had my own adventure roaming around and making friends!

Needless to say, my parents brought home yet another dead tired dog that day.

Mummy's note: The food was pretty decent, though not terribly memorable. (Oops) The mister's chicken chop was slightly undercooked but this was quickly rectified and they even gave us some fries as they felt bad about it. It was also disappointing that they were out of desserts that evening. On a good note, the milk tea was very nice, rather bubbly-tea-ish. Between the four of us, we must have had almost 8 glasses! All in all, the meal was pretty good! Even though the cafe got really crowded at one point of time, we were lucky that all the owners had a good handle of their dogs and there was not a single squabble among the canines. Plus, we love that it's opened to wee hours! Certainly a great place to hangout and just sit back and indulge in "dog-watching" therapy! 

So yes, we were definitely be back again!

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Dash...

Mummy's mentor at work, Uncle Bryan, mentioned about a group of hash enthusiasts who organizes monthly hashes at different parts of Singapore. There will be a pre-laid trail that is set by one or two volunteers (aka Hares) who have recced and marked out the route prior to the actual hash. What's unique about this group of hashers is that it is canine-friendly, hence the name "Dash"! This awesome group welcomes dog lovers and their pets to join them on the first saturday of the month (rain or shine). Each route will last no more than an hour and is suitable for participants of all fitness level. Oh, and to celebrate the completion of each hash, there will be booze (*wriggly dance*), drinks and food at the end point! Dang, that's life!

Mummy was super excited to hear about it and couldn't wait to join. I was pretty keen too! Of course, Daddy was giving mummy the "Do I have to go too?" face. Not surprisingly, Daddy DID join us in the end. 

Haha.. sucker~

So, on a lovely saturday afternoon, we drove to a ulu location near Seletar Camp and got ready for our adventure. 

There was a quick briefing session for the participants (furry or not).

Non-members (humans) are required to pay $15 (non-drinkers) and $20 (Beer drinkers) while Sam's kind runs for free. 

Ho ho ho...

 There were dogs of all sizes and shapes. Interestingly, with a couple of others, I was considered one of the smallest dogs. The biggest was an Irish Wolfhound (which I mistook for a pony on first glance) that was probably 10231023193times my size. This dog made another great dane look tiny! And nope, while he is a sweetheart, I wasn't too keen to say hi. 

Mummy's gross note: The balls of the irish wolfhound are bigger than Sam's face. That's how big this dog is! No wonder the little rascal was scared shit abit wary.

Waiting for the "Let's Go" signal!

I was patiently waiting for the dash to commence. Honestly, it was a huge challenge trying to contain my excitement!

As usual, trigger happy mummy couldn't stop taking photos.

And that was when, I got photobombed. 

-_-

Introducing my companions for the day!

Snowy - the Golden Retriever, Cory - the Schnauzer, Mario - the Shih Tzu-King Charles-mix and Jäger - the Malamute-Husky Mix!

What a group huh!

Off we go! 

Dogs are welcomed to go off-leash. But with my track record, that wasn't gonna happen. 

Oh well, I'll make do! 

While we were able to follow the crowd in front mindlessly, we got left behind eventually. That was when we realized the importance of the signs the hares used to mark the route. A quick way to remember is by the acronym "CPF" - Chalk, Paper and Flour. There will be either one of these three items placed every 50 metres to help trace the trail. Interesting isn't it? 

Besides the hike, mummy and the rest had quite some fun identifying the markers! 

Anyway, we walked and walked and walked....

Hiked on an unfinished flyover.....

Stopped for many water breaks ...

Got carried over rocky paths at a construction site...

Walked alone and in a pack....

Before finally reaching the end point! 

We were actually the first to arrive as we took a short cut since we got left far behind! So while the humans sat around and chatted, the rest of us got down to even more play! 

The rest of the group came in over the next hour and that was when the party began! 

"Bring in the booze!!"

Unfortunately for me, before I could get my paws on the bottle of beer, we left for dinner. 

Boo-hoo~

Nonetheless, it was a great experience and we had alot of fun exploring the undiscovered part of Singapore! Needless to say, we are looking forward for the August Dash! And yes, Daddy is a convert too!

Each new route will be revealed a week prior to the actual Dash, so do check out their websites for updates!

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Architecture For Sam...

Mummy discovered a website, Architecture for Dogs and fell head over heels with the many pieces of functional (or not) furniture designed by world class architects and designers. This community of dog-lovers selflessly shares their stylish designs with the world by uploading their blueprints, together with instructional videos, to encourage canine lovers everywhere around the globe to get down and start building these pieces for their dogs at home! Even better is the fact that many of the designs are breed-specific, depending on the dog the designers owns.

And with a stroke of luck, Torafu Architects designed for Jack Russell Terriers, like myself! 

*Wriggly dance*

Introducing the Wanmock!

(Source: Architecture for Dogs)

Here's how the blueprint looks like. There are actually two ways to assemble a Wanmock and mummy chose the hassle-free option where all pieces are cut to precision and all that is needed during assembly is to slot them together. Yes, in case you are wondering, not a single nail was needed, let alone a drill! 

(Source: Architecture for Dogs)

Unfortunately for us, we didn't have a garage of cutting tools and wood planks lying around the house as many households in the states do. Mummy wanted it so badly and was desperate enough to even consider buying the kit that's available online for USD235. But lucky for Daddy, mummy found a cheaper (in fact, free) alternative - my resourceful GrandDaddy! (Hip hip hooray!)

My awesome Granddaddy got the pieces we needed cut for free and even added a protective layer of paint (which mummy wasn't fond of initially as she had wanted the plywood colour, but the darker brown is growing on us!). 

Kudos to GrandDaddy!

I can't wait to start building my very own designer bed!

We were impressed by how nicely cut the pieces are, not to mention they are of good quality!

We recruited the engineer for help - Daddy.

With the aid of his iPad and the instructional video on the website, we got cracking.

Assembling was easy breezy and within minutes, my brand new bed was built!

Mummy quickly grabbed a decent looking shirt (Go HEATS! Go LEBRON!) as my bed. 

Oh oh, the kit even included a cute wooden bone to go with the bed! 

How thoughtful.

Okay, as aesthetically pleasing as the bed seemed, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing around. It could be that I'm a little heavier than the bed is designed for or that the dri-fit shirt mummy's using isn't a good fit. So it took me a tad bit to get used to the Wanmock.

After a few minutes, I started warming up to the Wanmock and gosh, it is actually pretty comfortable!

For a moment, I thought I was chilling by the beach on my Wanmock. 

Sucks that when I opened my eyes, all I saw was mummy.

#lifesux

Posing with my very own wooden bone!

On a side note, this bed makes me look Fatttttttt...

T_T

What a huge belly I've. 

Enjoying life like a king. 

Mummy decided to spice things up a little by changing to a cotton tee shirt. As the material was less stretchy, it stayed taut and was way more comfortable.

But unfortunately for me, mummy still plans on wearing these shirts. Hence, my Wanmock is currently topless and mummy is set to go on a mission to purchase THE SHIRT for me. 

Looking forward to seeing that!

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