Da Superdog.

Tada~

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Meh! Just put me down and let me go back to sleep, will ya?

That’s better.

I like the sunshine and all, but I love my bed.

Night…

We’ve been trimming his hair bit by bit. We comb him every day – probably missed a day or two here and there, but it’s still pretty much a daily thing.

It got to a point where his furcoat was so thick he looks like he just gained a kilo or two overnight and the time it took to blow-dry his hair after bathing grew from a field sport into a marathon. And it was at that very moment we decided he’s had enough, and we’ve had enough too, of his thick coat. Zoe booked him in for a full clip at The Pet Pad in Newstead.

And here are some ‘after’ photos we took when we got home. Enjoy!

PS: To the wonderful staff at The Pet Pad, thank you so much for your brilliant service and for looking after Alfie!

And to celebrate his 13th-week birthday, he decided to give me a back massage.

But really he was only sitting on my back.

In order to persuade me, the “technician” directed me to launch the Run prompt, the Command prompt, the Event Viewer and even cross-check the CLSID saying it’s a globally unique ID for my computer. It was quite obvious everything he said is heavily scripted. Figure this out – he didn’t know what Microsoft Security Essential was, he asked me to look for a “big Start button” on the lower left of my keyboard, and perhaps more so importantly, he never verified my PC details or Windows version or antivirus software I have running on my PC.

My suspicion grew stronger when he directed me to the Ammyy Admin website by using the Run prompt (wha??!!) and asked me to download the remote connection software. I played along while I continue to read up their website, hoping to find some information about possible scams.

I was mentally exhausted and I just wanted to get away from the computer and go swimming. I asked if we could do this the next day, same time. He wasn’t happy. “Can’t you just spare some time sir? It’s not going to take more than 15-20 minutes sir.”

Just as I granted them access to my PC remotely, I saw the official warning on Ammyy Admin website regarding cases of malicious use of their software. I bet they must have seen that too. As I tried moving my mouse cursor to disconnect the remote connection, the senior supervisor took over the call. The Indian lady said, “So you see sir, there is a lot of error messages generated by your computer…”. And then she hid the Ammyy Admin control panel.

That’s it. I held down the power button, forced my PC to shutdown and hung up on them. They called back 30 seconds later – I didn’t pick up. And then another 30 seconds later, they called again – I put Alfie on the phone and he’s not even interested in entertaining them. I believe that was the last of it as I rushed out for a swim before the pool closes.

So there you go. My little experience with phone scam. Will have to comb through my PC tonight to make sure it’s okay. It’s on its last legs anyway. And when it finally comes to a halt, I’m switching to Mac.

So Alfie chewed through the zipper of his old crate, and we spent all day and night looking for his new crate. Turns out the best offer is by a small wholesale business tucked away in the backyard of a Queenslander in Moorooka.

He’s coping well with the new environment and we made it fun giving him lots of treats every time he goes into the crate. He did cry a bit yesterday when confined to the crate but eventually fell asleep. The good thing about his new crate is that it has curtains to every side, which can be let down when we want to cut out distractions or rolled up when he wants to watch what’s happening around him.

Here’s Alfie playing camouflage in his new crate.

His latest effort is to try to dig his way out of his new crate. And he’s disappointed he’s not getting anywhere after all those hard work digging about. Wonder how long this crate is going to last him…

Within hours of the last post going live, what we feared most happened. He chewed through the second zipper, which means the top of the crate can no longer be secured and he will have free access to practice his jumping skills. Like we’re going to let that happen. Ya. Ya right.

Teething puppies tend to destroy things that, well, cross their paths.

Alfie is no exception, but I do think he takes things to the next level at times. Extremely excited at times to the point where he needs to be restrained – which by the way he’s too small for the sit restrain, so instead I hold him down on the floor, half-hugging him.

Anyway, pictured to the left is one of Alfie’s favorite plush. Though to be honest, it took him almost a week to work out what to do with this toy other than to rest his head on it.

For the past few days he’s been biting and tearing it apart to create his own cluster of clouds with the plush’s white nylon stuffings. To say he gets excited with extracting the ‘clouds’ out of the plush is a mere understatement. He prefers that over treats in my hands! Well, unless he’s hungry. Or perhaps he just wants some alone time playing with his plush.

On the right here is victim no.2 – the zipper of his cozy little sleeping crate. Late last night, after yet another shower, Alfie seems to have worked out a plan on how he can jump out of his crate…

Actually, never mind that, because this morning, while impatiently waiting for his breakfast to be served, he’s managed to leap out of his crate by leveraging off the stack of plush toys and towel he strategically piled and positioned inside. Cheeky. He must have been watching Prison Break when we were sound asleep!

Oh well, looks like mummy and daddy will have to go crate shopping for Alfie this weekend…

Having to deworm the little one on Easter Saturday, towards the end of his ninth week, meant sleepless days and nights for us as he gets really uncomfortable and edgy. We admitted him to the Animal Emergency Centre at Woolloongabba at 7.45pm on Sunday after observing his lack of appetite for food and water for more than 24 hours as well as rising body temperature. The only food item he’s interested in is his chicken bite treats – thank God there’s still something we can feed him!

$160 for after hours consultation. Then slap on a 15% public holiday surcharge. Ouch!

Day 7 | Thursday, 5 Apr 2012

So to recap, Alfie pooed in his bed and we gave him a bath at 1.30am to make sure he can go back to sleep comfortably and also not stain the new set of bedding and plush. Seems like he knew he did something wrong so he was unusually quiet in the morning too. He must have been very stressed out as we put him straight onto the crate training regime after a day of attending to and playing with him. He’s probably thinking, “Daddy and Mummy don’t like anymore…”.

Alfie took a little longer to finish his breakfast and it wasn’t until almost an hour after brekkie that he went to the toilet. Still stressed? Most probably.

It’s getting late and we’re worried he might poo his bed again, so we placed him in the play pen and put a big throw over the top to make him feel more secured in it – he never liked it when we put him in the play pen. When we got home he’s all quiet and calm inside the pen, so that trick seems to have worked.

Took him out for a walk in the common area after work and he seems to enjoy running about and exploring the complex. Met Angie and Jason from the unit opposite. They have a little girl pup at 6 months old, so when Alfie gets a bit older we might get them to play together. They seem to have a pretty good play pen setup too, so that’s something we might be able to pick an idea or two from for Alfie.

Dinner served at 6.30pm and we managed to get him to pee shortly after meal before we dashed off to puppy training program at the Carina State School in Carindale. It’s a 6-week program, every Monday, 7.15pm to 8.15pm, and it’s $195 for the entire course. We’ve heard plenty of good feedback about puppy training programs in general, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity for us to learn as new puppy parents and also to encourage Alfie to socialize with other human and puppies. Two things we love about this particular program/provider – they advocate crate training and confinement, and they’re cheap. The pet store recommended us to train with TLC, but they charge $260 for an 8-week program. The $60 we save means more toys and food for Alfie, so it’s a win-win.

The drive to Carindale was, let’s say, rather happening. Alfie farted in the car halfway through the journey. We thought he poo’ed in his crate (again). I instantly had a bad headache and stiff neck from all the rushing and increasing stress level. But boy it’s a huge relief when I let him out his crate for the training, inspected it, and to find a very clean bed. Phew!

How about the training, you ask? He’s totally chilled out throughout the training, even when other pups are barking their lungs off the surface of the planet. We learned how to get him to sit and drop, as well as a bulk of other advices, tips, and suggestions for confinement, crate training, socializing the puppy in everyday life and etc. Not bad for a first lesson. Not bad at all.

Day 5 | Tuesday, 3 Apr 2012

I managed to drag myself out of bed pretty much on the dot at 1.00am and 5.30am to give Alfie his toilet breaks. Crate training is working well so far but we’re still a bit worried that he might poo his bed again. He did try to engage play after peeing but I didn’t give in to his innocent eyes and put him straight back into the crate. Not that he liked that of course, but that’s part of training as well. Plus, I really need sleep.

Anyway, he managed to finish most of his breakfast, drank lots of water, pee’ed, and poo’ed. All done in about one-and-a-half hour. Got him ready for his first vet visit – collar on, a little cuddle, into the crate, into the car, and off we went. He’s still a bit uneasy in the car, but considerably better than last night when we were on our way to puppy training.

No surprise he got a lot of attention when I let him out of his crate at the vet. Advice from an old lady at the vet – get Alfie a little clock and put it inside or near his crate. Apparently the ticking sound is very similar to the sound of heartbeats, and that makes him more at ease in the crate. Advice taken!

Alfie was remarkably calm and brave throughout the vet check. Yup, even when he had a thermometer up his bum hole! He earned lots of treat in there, and when he got a little too excited he took a few quick steps back and almost slipped off the examination table. Good thing I had my hand on the leash and Zoe was just standing right there to catch him from falling to the ground. A bit shaken, but not too bad.

Met a huge pitbull on the way out. Alfie, being 50 times smaller than the giant, curled up in my arms and extended his claws to get a better grip on my shirt. Poor Alfie!

Small drama later in the afternoon where he developed hiccups and started dozing off abnormally – similar to fainting. As I rushed home from the airport, Zoe had to rush him to the vet before they close for the day (hallelujah to 6.45pm closing time!!). Turns out he’s having a small fever and a pretty full tummy. The senior nurse suggested feeding him some wet food to help him poo – if he doesn’t, he’ll need to be hospitalized. Luckily the can of Optimum chicken chunks worked miraculously and as soon as I got home he’s done a big pile of poop. Not exactly the kind of welcome home gift for me, but as long as he feels better it’s all good.

So there we go, 2 visits to the vet on Day 5. I’ve got a puppy, who thinks he’s anything but a dog, with constipation. Boy oh boy!