We are slacking...

Yeah... will blog more once I'm done stretching... hopefully...

... and yawning..........

New Bed

Mum got someone to customise a big dog bed for stinky Barley sometime back and she was really pleased to finally have a bed that is big enough to fit us both!

In the bed with stinky Barley

Actually I don't like cuddling close to Barley. Look how I tried to push him away.

Safe distance

OOPS I ATE IT!

We decided to come out with a new award, called the 'OOPS I ATE IT' award! Mum made this humble little award featuring a tray full of yummy cookies and with one obvious missing cookie in the middle indicating that somebody 'stole' it! BOL!!!

Okay so here are the rules to this award:

"When accepting this award, you must blog about the food you have stolen when your humans were not watching. If you have never stolen any food, you must have been a really good pup! You can accept this yummy tray of cookies as your reward! Next add the logo of this award to your blog (optional), then nominate at least 5 other furry blogs and let them know by leaving a message on their blogs."

WOO! So let me start off first! Well actually I have not stolen a lot of food, mainly because I'm often too short to reach the table tops. But there was once mum stepped off briefly during her dinner and I managed to jump onto her chair and slurped up almost half a big bowl of hearty clam chowder soup! Mum didn't think I would dare do it because the soup was still quite hot! But she was so wrong!!

Next up is stinky Barley. To record, he'd stolen and eaten:

- banana peels

- a sachet of sugar

- 2 Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls (yes together with the gold foil wrapper and all). But no he's not dead yet.

- some leftovers of a BBQ sambal stingray, mainly those soft bones of the stingray along with some sambal chili paste, and the whole piece of charred banana leaf below it.

Basically when no one is watching, Barley stands up on his hind legs to reach for unwashed dishes at the sink and savor whatever leftovers he finds! So unfair! If only I could do that too!!!!!!

So now lets geddit rolling! We are starting off by nominating more than 5 furry blogs:

1. Aki and Poopie

2. Kess
3. Snoop, Alfie, Rosie and Gabbi
4. Puggy Boo Boo
5. Paco, Milo and Maya
6. Sapphire
7. Cody, Joyce, Lady and Zena

8. Maggie and Mitch

For those of you we didn't nominate, we have not forgotten you! You can pick up this award too! These yummy cookies are going around for all to share! YAY!

Opps I ate it!

I ate it too!

Howling at the Moon?

Hello every pup! This is Barley posting today! Recently my big brother Cocoa has a habit of howling at the full moon (we don't know if it's really full but looks full anyway).

It first happened last month when there was a full moon hanging in the sky. It was almost midnight when mum saw him sitting and staring up intently below the window. He was looking straight up and not moving at all. Mum thought he was staring at some insect but she couldn't find any. After a few seconds, Cocoa HOWLED and HOWLED! It was a long howl! Cocoa had never howled like that when he is at home. Even when there are strangers at the door, he would only give ONE low bark or short howl and that's it. Of course mum rushed forward and looked up at what he was staring, and she saw the bright full moon in the dark sky.

We forgot about it completely until the same thing happened again last night. Weird eh?? Mum jokingly says Cocoa is turning into a werewolf. I myself wasn't at all interested in the moon. Hmm, any of you pups howl at the moon too?

Me? A werewolf??

Tagged!

Yo pups! Sorry we haven't been blogging for the past month due to mum's laziness. Anyway, we have been tagged by Sapphire, and here are the rules:

1) open the folder that has your pet pics in it
2) choose one you haven't posted before
3) tell its story
4) tag 5 friends

And this is what we found:

Barley with mini xmas hat, taken last xmas.

Well we can't decide which 5 friends to tag YET. We'll be back real soon!

The One with Upside-Down Twitching Lips

Pay attention to 30 secs onwards. Tsk tsk tsk.....

Pearly Whites

Hello every pup! Thank you all for all the well wishes. My ear is completely fine now WOOHOO!!!!

I had forgotten to mention that while we were at the vet the other day, the vet commented that I'm one healthy dog as I have a good weight (at 10.4kg), glossy coat and excellent pink skin. And my teeth is great too! All thanks to our barf diet and daily crunching on raw meaty bones!

My pearly whites.

Hmm.. I wonder if I'm too skinny at 10.4kg? Guess I must start begging for more table scraps now on!!

Ear Infection

Yeah we are back, and I am down with a nasty ear infection (in my right ear). Mum just took me to the vet this morning and I have to be on ear drops twice daily for the next 14 days!

Pooooor me....

Mum suspect that it must have been stinky Barley's drool that caused my ear infection because my whole head always gets drenched by his drool whenever we play. Also, the vet didn't seem to find any ear mites during the checkup. It just looked really red and raw inside. Sigh....

Well... Hopefully my ear infection clears up soon. I really hate those ear drops. IT STINGS!!!! :-(

... Hmmm me? What did I do??

When you don't brush your teeth...

"There's food stuck in your teeth! Open up!!"


Pee-es: We are really NOT kissing okay!?!!

Great Pawdicure Tools

Well as most of you know, mum always keep our nails as short as possible because she cringes at the sound of our nails clicking on the floor. Most of the time she will try to file our nails instead of cutting them because we simply hate the nail cutter and occasionally end up bleeding when she cut into our quick!

Even daily walks does not wear down our nails much because 50% of the time we are walking on grass instead of pavements/roads. Mum tried out numerous dog nail filer products available on the market, ranging from the normal dog nail file emery boards to electric nail grinder. Normal emery boards takes forever to file down our nails, it's only good for smoothing out rough edges. The grinder isn't too bad but somehow you have to hold the grinder at a 'correct angle' when filing, else the nail sort of 'trembles' as you file etc.

Recently we learnt a great tip from the Dughallmor Beagles. Their mom file their nails using grip tape (the ones you stick on skate boards to prevent slipping). So our mum decided to try it out too. Our silly mum didn't know where the skate stores in Singapore are located, so she went to the DIY / Self-fix store instead but the store does not sell grip tape for skate boards. Instead the sales person recommended another type of adhesive grip tape from 3M that is also used for anti-slip purposes. Basically it looks and feels like the coarse material on the road, and comes in a roll (see pic below).

3M Grip Tape, available at DIY / Self-fix stores

You will need to cut out a piece of the tape and then stick it on 'something' (like a ruler or a small box etc) and then use it just like an emery board for filing nails. True enough, it works really well filing down my nails! However, it takes a bit more effort to file Barley's thick nails, and black specks of dust comes off from the tape as you file, hence wearing off easily. But it does work better than most dog nail file emery boards you find from the pet stores!

And it was by chance recently that mum discovered yet another great tool. It's a foot/heel scrubber (those meant for hoomans) made of steel (see pic below). Basically it is those very tiny raised steel dots you see that really does the job. Thick nails (like what Barley has) gets filed down amazingly in just seconds! It really works like magic! The best part about it is that it doesn't seem to wear off yet even after using it for a few times!

Foot/heel scrubber, available at all Daiso stores



The Verdict

3M Grip Tape (Rating: 8 / 10)

Pros:-

• File nails easily.
• Works better than most types of dog nail file emery boards.
  

Cons:-

• Costly ($20+).
• Requires much effort when filing thick nails.
• Black dust specks coming off the tape as you file.
• Wears off easily after a few uses.

Foot/Heel Scrubber (Rating: 10 / 10)

Pros:-

• Cheap ($2).
• Tiny raised steel dots file nails very very easily.
  
• Does not seem to wear off even after using it for a few times now.
• Comes with an ergonomic grip handle.
• File thick nails down in just seconds (WOW!).
  

Cons:- None so far!

Thumbs up for the steel foot/heel scrubber! Cheap and good! Mum is guessing those foot/heel scrubbers made of pumice stone could also do the job pretty well, but they may also wear down easily (though we haven't tried it). Maybe you guys out there would like to get your mom to try out and let us know which one works best for you!

So, bye bye to horrible nail cutters and HOORAY to no more bleeding due to cut quicks!!!! WOO!!!!

Play Time

When it comes to play, stinky Barley is always the first to snatch the toy with his mouth. I NEVER catch toys with my mouth because I prefer to chase after it. For that reason, he's always the first to catch hold of the toy, and I'll be chasing behind him, cursing and swearing. Once he's done playing, mum has to make him do a 'sit-stay' before she can really play fetch with me, while the bugger stares with envy.

Fixated on the ball.



Gotcha!



AAHHHHHH FRISBEEEEE!!!



I'll wait for mum to make him do a 'sit-stay'. Hmmpf!

Taking Turns

Umm mmm... chew chew chew.....



... Huh??????



Cocoa: "Can I have the bone pleaseeeeeeee??"
Barley: "But U have been chewing it for the past hour! It's my turn now!"

Pawdicure gone wrong

Mum is ever so diligent in keeping our nails short because she gets irritated whenever she hears us making clicking noises as we walk. She says the noise makes her cringe, like those noises you make when you scratch your nails on a chalk board. So, she makes it a point to trim our nails once every week. And here's what happened...

SHE CUT MY QUICK!!!


Spot the bleeding digit (no compliments for my double chin pls).



OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!!!

Mum insisted that it wasn't entirely her fault because I was moving too much in the first place. HELLO?!! So now it's my fault instead huh?????

Seriously, I demand EXTRA food and treats to recuperate physically, mentally and emotionally. It's certainly not too much to ask for isn't it?? Hmmpf!!!

I'm THREE today!!!

I'm THREE today! Happy Birthday to me!! WOO!! Well, nothing fanciful for our birthdays but with some extra treats and a very very small cupcake!

My humble birthday cake topped with a cookie.

Of course the hoomans didn't let me eat the cake in peace. They had to make me perform some tricks before I get to eat it. So unfair! It's MY birthday isn't it??!!

My neck is straining!!

After the above pic was taken, I tossed the cake up in the air and ate it! Mum's camera was too slow to capture it and within 3 seconds, the cake has gone into my stomach! YUMMY!!!

Are we done? Can I eat the cookie NOW??

That's it! Have a great week ahead guys! AROOOOO!!!!!

Rabbit??

I think I saw a...



RABBIT!!!



Gotcha!!!


Pee-es: No beagles were harmed for this blog entry. BOL!! :-)

Honest Weblog Award

Our cute friend, Chichi has passed us the 'Honest Weblog' award sometime back and here are the rules to this award:

"When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog”. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

Okay, so we are supposed to list at least 10 honest things about ourselves. After some discussion and to be fair, me and stinky Barley decided to list 5 honest things each. Here's me first!

Cocoa

1. I love to curl up and sleep on mum's lap, even if it means her legs are getting numb (I weigh 12kg+).
   
   
   
2. I don't like to eat bananas. Strange eh? I don't know why too but I'll either reject it totally or eat it very slowly as if the banana is somewhat poisonous tastes awful.
   
   
3. I love my stuffed kong more that anything else. I don't mind sharing food with stinky Barley but if he touches my stuffed kong, he'll get it from me. Stuffed kong is like a toy and food all rolled in one. It's my pride and joy.
   
   
4. I get the treats out from my stuffed kong faster than stinky Barley. I bite and throw the kong against the wall/floor to let the treats fall out. Stinky Barley simply lick his kong til the treats get soggy inside.
   
   
5. Before I had my 'snippy', I had a thing going on for small white, female dogs (poodle, maltese etc). Don't ask me why, I can't remember.
   

Barley

1. I prefer to sleep on the cold hard floor instead of my bed because it's cooler!
   
   
2. I always greet my hoomans by holding a toy (any toy I can find lying around) in my mouth.
   
   
3. I ever chewed on the TV remote control one night and managed to switch on the TV! That was like 3am in the morning! Mum was glad that I did not chew on the volume button!
   
   
4. I rarely bark at all, even when there are strangers at the door.
   
   
   
5. I love to chase after the laser beam. I'm always fascinated with the little red dot!
   

So that wrapped up 10 honest things about both of us! Well we are too lazy to forward this award to specifically 7 other blogs, so feel free to pick this up if you want okay? Wooo!!

And yeah, we just want to tell you guys that we are still reading everybody's blogs out there even though we are not leaving much comments around due to time constraints alright! BOL!!!

Hug hug

Hello every pup! Here's Barley posting today! Sorry we have not been blogging actively recently because mum is busy with her work.

So did everyone have a great Valentine's day last week?? I hope you have! Here's a picture of my big brother Cocoa giving me a hug!

Hug hug...

We sure hope to blog more often, so stay tuned!

Ways to irritate a Retriever

Good day everyone! I found some good ways to irritate stinky Barley recently. For what? For fun and laughter of course! Now here's how:

Threaten to get his favorite toy by inching forward slowly.



Bite his face.



Bite his butt.



Bite his leg.



Not letting him sleep on his mat.



Hump him.



Tell him that there's no dinner for him tonight.



Now all that makes my day!

We've been tagged!

We've been tagged by Aki and Poopie to do the fifth file meme! The rules are:

"Open a document or file folder, click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Post the photo and describe it. Then tag 5 other bloggers."

And here's what we found:

This, is a classic picture of stinky Barley and me sharing a toy playing tug of war. Do you see how big his mouth is as compared to mine?? So unfair isn't it??! :-(

Anyway we are supposed to tag 5 other bloggers on this one, but we are not sure who hasn't done it yet (seems like most have done it already). Erm so here it goes:

1. Bee Bee
2. Mino
3. Snoop
4. Kess
5. Honey

Why why why...

When the hoomans get too bored and want to make fun of a dog, they do some of the most humiliating things on us.....

Like this:



I can barely see myself in this...

And where's stinky Barley? Laughing at a corner....

"Muahahahahaha!!!!"

Spot the beagle

When it comes to running at the park, stinky Barley can never catch up with me *proud*. In fact, I can outrun most dogs.. all except whippets and Italian greyhounds (argh!!).

Can you spot me??

Pardon the poor quality of the pic, mum's camera was nearly blown away by the amount of wind I generated when running past her not focusing properly when she took this pic.

Escaped just in time!

Woah!!! That was close!!

What's so funny? My ears? My face?? I didn't think it was funny though. Luckily I'm fast enough to escape stinky Barley's stinky jaws!! Hmmmpff!!!

We are back!

We are back! Mum's been so busy working on her stuffs that she refused hardly has the time to help us blog BOOHOOO!!!

Bored.

So what is mum busy with??

This.



And this.

Yeah, those are handmade necklaces. She's been working with pliers and stuffs and refused to let us go near her because she said we may eat up her beads!!

Anyway, the Chinese New Year is around the corner and mum says she needs to spring clean the house because stinky Barley's hair is all over the place, even on me!!!

Barley's hair on me.

Hmmm.. I wonder if mum is going to spring clean me too?