Dog Day Afternoon (Walk)

Occasionally, in the afternoon around 3pm, I will bring Max and Jon for a short car ride to a quiet place nearby for a short walk. It can be hot at this hour, and when they return home, they will be panting frantically. Max, being so unfit, pants easily. Jon has strong stamina. He was brought up in the wild before he was rescued.

The 2 boys upon returning home

Max is recovering, and Jon seems to be more relaxed

Smart Max...putting in his head in to get the air from the fan

Testing Max's level of sleep

I was eating some chicken and there were a a few cartilege that I wanted to let Max have. As he was sleeping, I wanted to see how deep his sleep was. I placed the food in a container and placed it on his lower leg. He only flinched after I moved the container twice toward to upper part of his body. Even after he woke up, he just looked at it before deciding whether it is worth it to get up to eat the food.

The day Max made me worry

There was once when I noticed Max slightly moving his head up and down. I thought of the worse for him. Is there something wrong with his head? Did he eat something? Seconds later, I saw a little pebble falling off from his mouth. Alright...he is nibbling on a small pebble. He picked it up again and I can see that his mouth is just slightly moving too.
Now, Max will pick up a pebble to nibble on when he is in the mood.

Unique design at the rump

While Jon and Max were having their meal - with their backs facing me - I noticed that Max's rump has two identical designs on each side. It is like two eyes. In comparison, Jon's is normal, maybe just a little spot on both sides.

Max's Encounter With Rescued Dogs

My dogs rarely have the opportunity to socialise with other dogs. They do get the chance to see stray dogs on the roads; and domesticated dogs in houses, while we go for walks, but not to the point of close proximity.
There were two occasions when I brought back stray dogs for temporary shelter. As expected, Jon had snubbed them, but Max was ever curious and eager to make friends. It was ironic that these two dogs were female, and not yet spayed. However, Max was already neutered. So, the only attraction he had of these two dogs were purely of "friendship" basis.
The puppy in the first video had just been brought in on the day I found her. Before I picked her up, she was seen to be friendly to other adult dogs, but was chased away by the alpha male. So, the nervousness she is displaying in the video is not of her fear of Max. It's more of the anxiety of being in a new environment. The entrance of the cage being blocked by Max did not help in alleviating her fear, as she was seeking to come out. Max just stood there watching her pace along the width of the cage.

Wonder what is the unspoken language between a curious dog and a fearful dog.

I always tease Max that no matter how many dogs I keep here, he will always be the at the lowest of the pecking order. He is just so naive, gentle - albeit mischievous - accommodating, curious and friendly.
In the second video, it also features a female puppy. She was a playful dog. She was already well-socialised with other dogs on the streets. See how she dominates Max? Max remained submissive until the girl gave him three consecutive play-bites on the neck. He just couldn't take it anymore and confronted her. There is always a limit to what one can tolerate, I guess.

"I am a gentlemen, so you can do whatever you want to me"

Dogs cooling themselves with different methods

This is the second time I had offered Max and Jon dry ice for them to play with. Jon still avoided it, while Max had no hesitation in cooling his tongue during this hot weather.
Jon, well, preferred a rub and pat on the head to keep himself cool.

Bird needing privacy in the toilet

I had finished dinner at an Indian coffeeshop, and wanted to relieve myself before going home. I chanced upon this bird which had just entered the toilet.

It showed no panic at all as I slowly approached it. It was like it was waiting for me to leave before it could use the facility.

Anyhow, I used the other toilet, and while inside, I heard some Bangladeshi workers shooing it away.



Dogs' odd eating habits

I realise that whenever a dog is having a delicious meal of meat / bone that is mixed with rice, it will take the piece of meat / bone away from the food source, walk a few feet, and finish off that food.


If there are more than one piece, the dog will repeat this process. It is not like they are resting on their chest to slowly take in the food. Instead, they are still standing - and that don't seem to be a relaxing way to eat a meal. One of my dogs - Jon - was rescued from the streets when he was two. He is now 6 years old, and he eats at the same spot without leaving his food unattended.


Max, on the other hand, was two months old when I found him. He is now two years old, and is so domesticated that he has not learnt how to growl and display biting behaviours. The following three videos highlights Max' eating behaviour, and his fear of Jon when the latter is wandering near his food container after he had finished his own meal. In case you are not aware, Jon is the alpha male, and will bully Max if I dont't intervene.

Max had taken a liver into the cage. Food is unattended, and Jon is lurking near it.

Max is afraid to continue eating his own meal, but still takes the risk. That's because I am behind telling Jon not to do anything funny.

Max is more interested in eating the crumbs that have fallen through the base of the cage, than to eat the main meal.

How My Dogs React When It's Bathing Time

Most dogs hate to be bathed. Have you ever called your dog over -  with hose in hand - and it comes over to you? For me, I would have to put a leash around my dogs, and practically drag them over.

Max hates to be bathed. After pulling him over to the bathing spot and taking off the leash, the most of the hard work of bathing goes to keeping him from running away. On the few occasions when he  manages to escape, I had to chase him around to get him back. However, Jon does not loath bathing as much as Max. I still have to drag him over, but once he is already wet with water, he will stand stand still till the session is over.

If you own more than one dog, you might realise that the other dog/s will simply disappear from sight while you are attending to the one on hand. I always bath one dog for that day, and bath the other one the next day. So I can imagine the relief felt by either Jon or Max when they realise that they need not be bathed after witnessing the first bathing session. "Phew, Master forgot about me".

Max's first physical socialization encounter with dogs

I had always believed that Max never had an opportunity to socialise with other dogs, humans and environment when he was a puppy before I found him. He was merely 2 months old when I took him in. I guess he was separated from his mother at a very early stage of his life. At home here, he had to be taught a painful lesson on social hierarchy manners by Jon. Max does not know how to differentiate between hostile and friendly dogs. He will readily approach dogs which fiercely bark at us from their houses. Dog behaviorists say that a senior dog in the household would be the role model for the newly arrived younger dog, but this theory does not apply to Max and Jon. Jon is anti-social to all dogs. Over time, he has tolerated Max's presence, but will never play or interact with him. In effect, Max has not learnt anything about the canine world from Jon.

A month ago, I temporarily brought in a puppy home, which was one of six puppies born to Teri - a Wire-Haired Terrier. Being a male, this puppy was very dominant. I figured it would be enjoyable for him - and educational to Max - if they interacted with each other. It took less than ten minutes for them to warm up to each other. Initially, Max had no idea of how to begin, but the hyperactive puppy made the ice-breaking process easier.

It did not take much time for these two dogs to playfight.  The duration of sessions were not short. That is because the puppy had all the energy in him. There were occasions that Max avoided the puppy because he was exhausted.

The puppy was with us for one week until someone adopted him. On the first night when he was gone, Max was depressed and listless. For three days, he would come into the house and sniff at the cage, as if hoping the puppy would appear.

Nevertheless, it was an important event for Max, as it was his first physical contact with a dog.