Sam I am

Sam I am
Sam I am

She is Pecan

She is Pecan
She is Pecan

Hi Shelly

Hi Shelly
Hi Shelly

Oh my Sherman

Oh my Sherman
Oh my Sherman

Sam's Pick - Feed My Paws Treats~

When Auntie Crystle from Feed My Paws dropped us an email asking if we were keen to review her handmade treats, we just couldn't say no!
I mean, who in the right mind would say no to anything edible?!
Not us for sure...
She was really awesome and asked us to pick whatever we wanted. So, we spent the entire evening glancing through the website (drooling while doing so) and pointed at EVERY SINGLE ITEM.
Seeing how greedy we were, Mummy sighed and proceeded to let Auntie Crystle decide what she wants us to try.
Booooooooooo~ Mummy sucks!
As we don't have any allergies and would eat anything that comes our way, Auntie Crystle offered to let us sample some of her bestsellers. (Fret not if you suffer from any food allergies as you can customize your very own treats using ingredients that you can eat!)

And when the treats arrived at home, we could not believe our eyes!
There were so many yummy looking snacks JUST FOR US!!!
*Wriggly dance*
#soimpressed
We were so excited!!!
Just look at how happy ah ma is!
We were really spoilt for choice and almost couldn't decide which to start with!

We hate to say this, but Mummy's homemade treats really really pale in comparison to the Feed My Paws' treats. Not only were they fresh and crunchy, they smelt great (even from a mile away). In fact, Daddy kept hovering around us looking at the animal cookies and reminiscing how much it reminded him of his childhood snacks.
We ended up having to chase him out of the kitchen lest he steals a couple.
#myprecious 

Besides delicious-looking treats, a lot of thought was also given when packing the treats! On top of a resealable packaging, it comes with an 'expiry' date label. This reminder is great for bubble-brains like Mummy. (Shhh...don't tell anyone but half the products in our fridge are either moldy or expired!) Plus, we were really impressed how long these treats could last. Most of them can be refrigerated for up to a month!
We couldn't wait to get started with our tasting!
I quickly got into my 'pray' position and hoped for the best.
It sure felt like eternity before the tasting commence...

Anyway, we started with the Cheesy Chompers. Of course we loved it!!!!
But the best part of this treat had to be the fact that it came in the form of a Hello Kitty head!!!!!
YESH. 
I can finally eat a cat!
#dreamcomestrue
When Mummy said yes, I was over the moon!!!!
Now you see it...
now you don't!
Pecan ah ma is officially a cat-eater!!!!!!!
Just when we thought that eating Hello Kitty will be the best thing we ever did, we moved on to the animal cookies!!!
I got to eat an elephant, a lion (RAWRRRR~~), a zebra and a giraffe!!
There's a safari in Sammy's tummy right now!!!!
How brilliant is that! 
Oh oh ...and it's the first time in our lives that we tasted Carob. Of course, it passed our taste tests and we are officially fans now!
Moving on....

The beef lungs (middle) were extremely crisp and Mummy was really impressed that it looked every bit like the commercially made ones. 
Likewise, the pork jerky and pork & apple cinnamon bones scored full marks on our taste test too.
But we've to admit that the highlight of our night was none other than the....
The size of the mini cupcakes was just perfect for our supper! Hence, me and Pecan ah ma got to chomp one down each!
We couldn't take our eyes off the cupcakes.
"Can please stop taking photos and just let us eat?!"
And off we went...
We loved food and homemade ones even more. While we adore what Mummy usually makes for us, we've to admit that these treats from Feed My Paws were out of the world!!!! It looked great and tasted equally satisfying! Although our little tummies were bulging from all the tasting (we probably ate at least three of each type), Mummy wasn't the least worried as these treats were nutritional and healthy!

Thank you Auntie Crystle and Feed My Paws for giving us the opportunity to do a review!
Hehehehe.. my first review leh~
*Smug face*
That being said, I'm pretty sure Mummy is gonna be a regular customer from now on!! Me and ah ma are already looking through the menu to identify what we want next!!!! 
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Brunch @ W39

Seeing how much Pecan ah ma has improved, Mummy decided to take a leap of faith and bring us out for a brunch appointment!
Off we go!!!
#roadtrip
We were so excited and had no idea where we were heading to!
We used to have to travel far just to find a Sam-welcomed brunch place. But lucky for us, Mummy managed to find a Sam-welcomed cafe in the west!!
It's none other than W39, a pet-friendly Bistro & Bakery! Actually, Mummy is quite familiar with this joint! She has visited this place numerous times for work and has come to realized that although it is a pet-friendly cafe, there ain't always many dogs around. Not only was it relatively close by, it was a perfect place for ah ma!
Besides being the first brunch outing for ah ma since she graduated from training, we even invited a special guest to tag along!
Hee, we were excited just waiting for his arrival!
It was none other than our furry cousin, RUSTY!
Lil' Rust is a Silky Terrier that Daddy's sister adopted from Voices from Animals early this year!
Despite being an ex-breeding dog, he is one of the sweetest canine we've met! 
Well, ah ma isn't exactly a fan of his (but again, there's almost no other dogs that this grumpy old lady likes!). But after a few meetings, they have grown to be able to co-exist! 
As for me, we had a ball wrestling and chasing each other when we meet! (It's a boy thing!)
Anyway, this was Rusty's virgin brunch!!!
It was a public holiday and stupid Mummy forgot to make a reservation!
As a result, we had to laze around and wait for a table. 
In fact, we waited for a good 30 minutes.
We finally got a nice outdoor seat to accommodate our big group!
Settling down comfortably. 
I got to sit with Grandma...
while ah ma sat beside Mummy - so that Mummy could react immediately if we see another pooch.
In addition, Mummy came prepared and gave each of us a yummy neck steak to distract us. 
It was such an awesome idea as we spent the whole brunch working on it! In fact, we even forgot to beg for food from the humans!
#perfectdecoy
As we gnawed away, our parents got to order their own grub from the Brunch menu!
Daddy had the Wagyu Burger, Mummy chose the Hearty Breakfast and our guests ordered Fluffy Pancakes. 
It was a quick but enjoyable brunch! 
And lucky for us, there weren't other dogs around today!
Hence, ah ma did awesome!!!
Hopefully we will be able to go for more weekend brunches in future!!

Mummy's note: The food is really bang for your buck! Besides being delicious, the portions were huge! My favorite had to be the mushrooms from my Hearty Breakfast! It was really well-seasoned! This isn't our first time here and on other occasions, we did try the appetizers. The crab cakes and seared tuna is a must try too! It's weekend brunch gets really crowded too, so it's definitely a good idea to make reservations! While this wasn't Pecan's first brunch outing with us, this was the best experience so far! (We usually end up meeting other dogs while we are dining. -_-) I shall continue to keep a lookout for more quiet, pet-friendly cafes!!
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Pecan's little quirks....

We usually try to keep our blog posts light-hearted and cheery. 
I mean, that's pretty much how our lives are. But occasionally, there will be certain dog-related encounters that pisses Mummy off (but again, a lot of things pisses that lady off.) and get her really upset. One such incident happened during our night walk today and we just felt the need to mention it here....

For those who have met me and Mummy at doggy events (Thanks for saying hi!!!), one of the most common questions I get is: "Where's Pecan ah ma?"
Don't let her cute (PUI~) little face deceive you. 
Unlike me, Pecan ah ma is actually not dog-friendly, at all.
While she is the sweetest little thing to humans (even to annoying kids), she cannot handle the sight of another dog. 
Things weren't easy from the start. Since bringing ah ma home with us, Mummy and Daddy had to deal with the endless little squabbles that happened between us which usually ended with me screaming like a girl. We fought at least once a day for a good whole month. Worse of all, our walks were constantly disrupted by Pecan screaming her lungs off at any other dogs that is in her vicinity. 
(This is the real reason behind our lack of pet-friendly brunches as she just couldn't handle any other canines)
It also took our parents a while to understand her rather subtle triggers. In fact, my parents actually engaged the help of a professional trainer, Kristina from Puppy Colours to work with Pecan ah ma one-on-one.
We focused on identifying her triggers, catching her before her behavior escalate and getting her to focus on Mummy through positive reinforcements (e.g. treats).
Kristina was amazing and really patient with ah ma!
And after three training sessions and a lot of hard work, Pecan ah ma has officially graduated and does not need any more classes!
But that doesn't mean that she is fully sociable and can be placed in a room of dogs. 
Instead, the work continues every single day through our daily walks!
Each walk we have is an opportunity to help ah ma learn. This is one reason why Daddy always gets dragged to go on strolls with us. Mummy will work with Pecan while I trot along with Daddy. While I am usually well-behaved on my own, I have the tendency to react when ah ma does too. Hence, Daddy has to ensure that I am not affected. 
Meanwhile, mummy stays attentive towards the environment and will always make sure that Pecan doesn't over-react when she sees other dogs. 
And trust me, while it was no easy task, we were accomplishing mountains.
Those who have known Pecan from the very first day have complimented us on her vast improvement. 

Despite our hard work, every once in a while, we would meet someone who would ignorantly disrupt our walks by assuming that all dogs are as friendly as theirs. And tonight was such a night.

 We were strolling around our neighborhood as usual when ah ma stopped to poo in a dark grass patch. Due to the lack of light, Mummy couldn't find the doodie she left behind. So she handed Pecan to Daddy and tried to find it. Just when Daddy was holding on to us, we saw a young boy (primary school) running full speed with his Poodle towards us. Being caught off-guard, and with a hand in a poop-bag (it was quite a funny sight though), Mummy had to pull Pecan back and step between Pecan and the other dog while shouting for the boy to not approach. 
Meanwhile, Daddy had his hands full handling me. 
Even though Ah ma exploded into her full bark and attempted to lunge at the dog, Mummy had managed to pull her away in time. Being the kpo me, I had to join in the barking too and started shouting at the Poodle! Our parents ended up having to calm us down while dragging us away. As we walked away, we even heard the boy telling other people that his dog doesn't bite, unlike us. (By now, Mummy was fuming.) To make matters worse, he lingered around and kept made 'barking noises' to irritate us. 
Mummy was so annoyed that she actually told him off.
While Mummy was rather upset, it also got her wondering: why on earth is the kid walking the dog on his own and even so, why isn't he aware about how to approach other dogs??
Firstly, not all dogs are as friendly as yours, so maybe you shouldn't assume that. And even if you want to approach others, do it slowly. Running full speed over is just gonna make things worse! 
Most importantly, when you see another dog with his owner, take a while to observe what the owner's reaction is. If he turns around and walks away, please don't chase. He's just giving his dog the space the dog needs (okay, maybe he's just unfriendly). Move on and your life isn't worse off for not greeting that one dog. 
This incident was rather unnecessary, and how the boy reacted after that didn't help either. He might just be a kid, but still, he needs to know how to handle such situations to protect his own dog. 

Anyway, we would just like to say that we are doing our best to make Pecan a better behaved ah ma. We just need a bit of help from everyone else. 
For a start, if you see us in the streets walking and have a dog with you, please trot away and not approach us. 
But if you do not have a dog with you, feel free to come over and let ah ma kiss you with her stinky mouth~
On the other hand, if it's me alone, please come and say hi! And if I like the furry you enough, I would roll over and let you sniff my wee-wee. 
I do the same for humans too! But please give me a belly rub k?
Meanwhile, give us some time while we continue to work with Pecan ah ma to be more tolerant with other dogs. 
While we do not dream of the day that ah ma can interact freely and happily in a dog run, we are aiming towards her not giving a damn about any other dogs that she encounter on our daily walks.
So wish us all the best and we will keep you updated on how the grumpy old lady is doing!
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Outing to West Coast Park Dog Run!

We typically spend our saturdays swimming. But since we've an exciting pool party tomorrow, Mummy decided to bring us to the WCP dog run instead! 
So we dragged Daddy out to have some outdoor fun with us! (He wasn't too pleased as usual)

When we got there, we were super lucky! It was totally empty!
I swore I could hear Mummy cheering.
Pecan ah ma isn't dog friendly. Hence, our parents had chosen the ungodly hour of 1pm to head to the outdoors, with the hopes that other owners aren't as insane as them and thus, there will be no other dogs. 
Well, in the occasion that there are people as crazy as her, Mummy does have a backup plan! She and Daddy will split up (ie. she'll continue to walk ah ma outside while I enter the park with Daddy). 
Needless to say, she was over the moon to find it empty!
Guess she wasn't the only one...
We were pretty excited too!
We spent a good ten minutes exploring and claiming the vicinity before we got a little bored. 
"What are we gonna do next?"
Mummy always comes prepared (especially since it is a good 15 minutes drive)! 
So, she whipped out one of our favorite Daiso dog toy and got us hyped up for a good game of fetch!
To spice up the game, we had to compete for one toy!
Being a handsome young chap, I was quite confident that ah ma wouldn't be a threat.
But I was caught off guard when I saw her ahead of me multiple times!
Don't know why ah ma has so much energy!
#crazyoldlady #cannotlosetoahma
So I did what I could and ran as if I was chasing after a squirrel...
And of course, the ah ma wasn't my match eventually.
WAHAHHAHAHA
I was grinning from ear to ear when I finally got my jaws on the ball!
Lalalalala~
Told ya I won't lose one~
Anyway, Ah ma didn't really give a 'hoot' about chasing the ball. She just wanted to hop and run around.
So I guess no hard feelings for losing, ya?
Being off-leashed and running around freely is just an amazing feeling and we were both so happy that we just couldn't stop smiling!
(I look like a little vampire dog though~)
Happy ah ma trotting around.
#bunnyears
And I was sprinting around burning off my JRT energy.
#Ihavebunnyearstoo
It's extremely easy to tell when Pecan ah ma is exhausted and happy - when her crazy long tongue starts hanging out.
Unfortunately, I've a relatively short tongue. 
But you can tell that Sammy Loo's in great spirits every time my little ears start flapping as I hop around.
Besides having a huge ass park all to ourselves, we also enjoyed laying down on the cool wet mud!
Actually, the satisfaction of doing the latter comes when our parents let out a sigh of despair.
HAHHAAHAHAHHAAH 
"Want a muddy paw Daddy?"
Of course, the joke was still on us as we had to endure a hosing down after this. But seeing how pissed off Daddy looks - PRICELESS~
We were so pooped out that when it was time to leave, we were actually ready to go! 
What a great outing! Looking forward to more trips to empty dog runs!

Mummy's note: We've heard of friends complaining that their dogs ended up with ticks after visiting this park. It's easy to understand why. Despite it being a warm hot day, there were still a lot of mud puddles around (that the two rascals adored). The environment is really great for these pests. That being said, I wasn't actually too concerned as the two of them are on a regular tick and flea prevention routine. Plus, I do check them thoroughly (and being white, it's not difficult to spot one on them). So, I certainly won't let that deter me for a good afternoon of fun with these two little backsides!


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