Sembawang Dog Run....Away

Did today mark the official opening of Sembawang Dog Run?

Was wondering why the Powers that Be would open a huge dog run right in the heart of a HDB estate-  thought they were finally starting to accept dogs, when I realized that... it was in a serene little park separating a huge landed housing estate, and the sea. Ha. Knew it was too good to be true!

So since the sun at 11AM was pretty unforgiving, I thought I'd cab down to SDR because Jacko and Kanon were partaking in the festivities, and perhaps the presence of friends would distract mr. Paws from the presence of sun (yes he hates the sun). Xuanyi didn't join because he was baking croissants!

UNFORTUNATELY THOUGH..Pringles began exhibiting "gate obsession" behaviour, frequently trying to escape from the dog run. Terribly uncharacteristic of him. When Jackomama (or mummy.. I can't tell) pointed out that he was missing Xuanyi, it hit me that this was his first time so far away from home, without Xuanyi > : (

We ended up leashing Jacko and Pringles together.. because everytime Pringles dragged Jacko to the exit, Jacko would return to his mummies. So much for loyalty, Pringlepaws! I is disappoints, you little ingrate. No more gourmet treats for you!

Overall though, the dog run was fairly decent..... but not really the large expanse of space we were looking for! But given that it's like.. $10 away from where we live, I suppose it will do :)

Review: Dr. Dennis - Mount Pleasant... Mount Okay?

Pringles visited the vet today! Got him vaccinated for Heartworm and ... Distemper? And Dr. Dennis said his size was "acceptable" even though there was "SPARE". When he said "SPARE", he gripped both sides of Pringles (like a kid’s sippy cup), and gave a good shake. And Pringles didn't even move. Yes there is that much loose skin around Mr. Paws. Time to lose weight, Pringles...

Had always been iffy about visiting Mount Pleasant, primarily because they've a reputation for being expensive and unreliable. If internet opinion is to be believed, the staff are unfeeling, possibly to the point of being rude, and the place is bogged down by processes.

HOWEVER, a series of unfortunate events culminated in us returning for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Dennis Choi.. who just happens to come with good reviews. Luckily, we weren’t disappointed:

Our appointment was made for noon on a Saturday “because Dr. Dennis doesn’t work Saturday afternoons”.. fair enough. Unfortunately, there was a crazy jam that resulted in us being 20 minutes late. Luckily, the receptionist still booked us in, and we managed to see the vet at around one (yes. 20 minutes of waiting).

Dr. Dennis was knowledgeable, but neither pompous nor brusque. In fact, he gave us a very detailed explanation of why Pringles has a persistent tear mark that drugs may not necessarily eliminate. We felt comfortable around him – he was mild-mannered, but confident in his diagnosis of the dog. The administration of the vaccination was also professional and quick. I’ve heard horror stories of dogs being painfully prodded by inexperienced vets.

Dare I say we’ve found a “go-to” vet for Pringles? I hope so! If you’re looking for a fair-weather vet, I would say Dr. Dennis ticks all the boxes. Don’t let the Mount Pleasant name put you off, as he really is quite experienced. I think, when looking for a vet, look for a particular vet, as lousy vets at good vet surgeries aren’t going to be much help. They may just look forward to helping you incur exorbitant vet fees instead.

Finally, referencing the above point about Mount Pleasant having uncaring admin staff - I must say that I found the good folk at All Pets to be friendlier...and at least they bothered to get Pringles' birthday right (17 Feb'12). The good folk of Mount Pleasant took my scribbled "2 years and 6 months" of age literally, and registered his birthday as 23 February 2012. Of course I don't think this tiny administrative error is going to result in misdiagnosis of my pet, but... my pet is very important to me, and by extension, his birthday is very important to me. Couldn't they at least put that field down on the registration form? Otherwise, I guess they were okay!

Unfortunately, I’m still on the look-out for a vet which will treat him well if he ever needs to be hospitalized. I understand (via internet reviews, of course) that people with dogs in critical condition may not be allowed to spend the night with their pets? While I understand the need for order to be maintained, I’m not sure having a dying animal spend the night together with other dying animals baying away may help. I do foresee myself wanting to be with my dying animal when the time comes. But I digress, and I have no answer to this at the moment. However, I will be keeping an eye out for a vet that answers the question more ideally than Mount Pleasant presently does.

United we fall

Here comes part 2 of the nightmare – Post-Less than Stellar Experience at Mount Pleasant, Pringleman brought Pringles to United Vet. We'd previously visited them in a desperate bid to revive kitty. Dr Chang Siew Yee was efficient, offered resuscitation, but didn't push it. Given that their published charges were affordable, we left with a positive impression. Here, we thought, was a lady whom we could rely on in times of great emotional vulnerability - someone who could guide us towards making rational decisions (i.e., don't try to revive a dead cat).

This time around though, it was a highly inexperienced Dr. Pearlyn Ting (google her. No seriously. Google her. She’s the one with the uninspiring background) who was on duty.

Upon being informed of the circumstances of his condition (that he had gotten diarrhea after drinking water at Mount Pleasant, and that the diarrhea had lasted about 4 days), to do blood tests for pancreatitis, and also upsold Pringleman a "pet wellness programme" which included myriad blood tests which all (surprise surprise) revealed pringles to be a very healthy young dog. Then she tried to sell Pringleman "Diarrhea Diet" by Science Diet despite him saying that Pringles rarely gets diarrhea........  Thankfully, he managed to say no.

Really. Pringles is two, he exercises regularly, and he eats well. Was it really required to test him for PANCREATITIS? REALLY? REALLY?? While Pringleman was under no legal obligation to accept those tests, he was sufficiently stressed about Pringles' condition to say yes to everything the vet said... so we really can't blame the vet entirely for this entire issue. The onus is on the pet owner to veto suggestions they are uncomfortable with. However, even as someone in marketing, whose KPI is to drive sales volumes, I feel that the line must be drawn at taking advantage of emotionally weak individuals. 

The final bill was $500. $500. That's the price of a semi-luxe weekend break in HCMC or Manila. $500. 

Incidentally, I found out about this just after calculating how much I had spent that day, on buying designer shoes… I had spent $575. When Pringleman revealed this astounding figure to me over the phone, I swear I saw 80% of my holiday shopping disappear in a puff of smoke. $500 is crazy for a case of uncomplicated diarrhea in a young dog.

While this may have been a case of the vet trying to err on the side of caution.. how would you feel if I brought a previously healthy human teenager (aged 14) in to the doctor for persistent diarrhea (3-4 days), and the doctor decided to test him for...pancreatitis? You would probably be up in arms. 

BUT a doctor for humans probably wouldn’t have made that mistake anyway. Because of the rigorous training provided. I once saw a comment by a forum participant, stating that Vets are the people who couldn’t make it into med school, but decided to become vets instead, to continue to earn the same income as doctors! But judging by Dr Pearlyn Ting’s qualifications, I cannot help but wonder if she is one of those.

Vets treat a wide range of animals, with varying internal systems.. shouldn’t the conditions for entry and graduation be as strict, if not more stringent?

The unfortunate truth about pet services is.. pets can't talk, and hence marketers and business owners are all to happy to fill in the blanks for them. There really needs to be more regulation, or at least education, for the sake of pet owners. Why don't human food regulations apply to these animals?

Citing the very "diarrhea diet" that dear Dr. Pearlyn Ting recommended, I found two matching products on Science Diet's website:

Hill's® Prescription Diet®
i/d® Canine Gastrointestinal Health (8.5lbs, USD28.99) ($3.41/lb)

Ingredients

Brewers Rice, Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Protein Concentrate, Pork Fat, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, Whole Grain Oats, Dried Beet Pulp, Brown Rice, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Dicalcium Phosphate, Oat Fiber, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors, Dried Apples, Dried Broccoli, Dried Carrots, Dried Cranberries, Dried Peas.

and

Hill's® Science Diet®

Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin (30lbs, USD45.99) ($1.53/lb)

Ingredients

Brewers Rice, Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Protein Concentrate, Pork Fat, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, Whole Grain Oats, Dried Beet Pulp, Brown Rice, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Dicalcium Phosphate, Oat Fiber, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors, Dried Apples, Dried Broccoli, Dried Carrots, Dried Cranberries, Dried Peas.

Oh wow.... did they just .. sell the SAME product at DOUBLE the price? Believe Hill’s Pet Nutrition has the perfect answer for this. Off their website....

What is the difference between Prescription Diet® and Science Diet® brand pet foods?

Prescription Diet® brand pet foods are formulated to address specific medical conditions that can develop in pets. Science Diet® brand pet foods are formulated to meet the needs of healthy pets during various life stages. Prescription Diet foods are available through your pet's veterinarian, while Science Diet foods are available through your veterinarian and at pet specialty stores, feed stores and some pet grooming facilities. We do not make Science Diet products that serve as substitutions for Prescription Diet products.

Yup. You got that right, everyone. People with sick pets are easier to fleece, than people with healthy ones. Not sure what the last line was about though.. because the Science Diet item certainly looked like the Prescription Diet one. Maybe it just had the same ingredients in different concentrations. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Anyway it’s a 2.5 star dog food. Quite relieved Pringleman didn’t cave and get it..

Mount Not So Pleasant

About 1 week back, we brought Doggy to Mount Pleasant (Jln Gelenggang) to fetch a friend who was donating blood. And as dogs are wont to do in a place with a water source, all three of them consumed water... and got diarrhea after.

While some may think it presumptuous of us to blame it on Mount Pleasant, we did our due diligence on this - the three dogs had just happened to all visit the same doggy cafe the night before, so we'd checked with all our contemporaries to see if anyone was down with diarrhea too. Nada. The next thing they all had in common - was a trip to Mount Pleasant.

The most proactive of us brought her dog back to Mount Pleasant immediately after the onset of diarrhea, and the "boss" (this was how his minion kindly referred to him) waived all consultation charges, and she was only billed for medicine.

Over the next few days, I journeyed overseas, and Doggy failed to recover - in fact, he began regurgitating all his food. Poor baby! So Pringleman brought him to Mount Pleasant alone, where the receptionist declared, upon seeing him, that:

A, They had done a check on the water, and there was "no bacteria", and it was not the cause of diarrhea
B. Consultation fees would not be waived for our dog

Well Mt. Pleasant's infamous for being expensive, so fearing a very high bill, Pringleman drove straight on to a different vet, but I was just shocked at the lack of professionalism encountered. I even called the clinic to clarify, because it just sounded so unbelievable and illogical. Putting it in point form below so it is easy to reference the points above.

A.

• They made the comment without sampling Pringles' poop - how would they know that the bacteria in his poop did not match ANY bacteria in the water? At the very least, a Fecalysis and treatment should have been rendered, with the agreement that if there was NO match between the water and his poop, then we would have to foot the bill! Hello - people enter hospitals expecting to recover, not emerge half dead.
• Water ALWAYS has bacteria - that is why contact lens wearers are advised to DRY THEIR HANDS before putting in contact lenses. Wet things ALWAYS, ALWAYS have bacteria. That's why an M&M dropped behind a sofa for the past 3 months is probably safer than a piece of meat dropped on a hawker center table just 5 seconds ago (time to review your 5 second rule, everyone). Based on ignorance of this alone, the receptionist was not qualified to make this statement.
• Receptionist. Hello receptionist! I believe you're not a qualified vet. I trust and respect you for doling out our pets' meds, and keying their information in correctly, but unfortunately I don't trust your medical judgement...

B

• Hello - why waive it for one dog, but not the rest? Especially even after being informed of the situation? Water has ALOT of bacteria. Even if Doggy 1's diarrhea reaction was not in response to a given bacteria in the water, how could she have known that OUR doggy had not suffered from the water?

I was highly disappointed when I confirmed statements A and B to be true, after calling two personnel at the clinic to clarify. What rights did the receptionist have, to declare that our dog's situation was not the result of the water at her workplace? What an imbecile. And the best part was - she did not even check with authority before issuing her statement and turning Pringleman away. I'm pretty sure her job description didn't include making medical judgement - totally overstepped the line there.

As I was overseas, I left Pringleman's mobile number, and Dr. Dennis returned the call the following day, kindly apologizing for his staff, and offering us a complimentary consultation. Not bad..  I suppose.

Update - 23 Aug 2014 - we went for the complimentary consult! And it was okay! I think we should be engaging Dr. Dennis as our annual vet going forward. Hope all goes well!

Doggy Treat! Lamb Biscotti with Black Pepper and Herbs

Charlotte : Aaah! It’s gay porn!!
Miranda : What was your first clue?
Charlotte : You said we were watching an independent film! I brought biscotti!

- Sex and the City

It all started when I found minced-lamb at the local butcher. Ha, who am I kidding. It was the local expat butcher... and it was wayyy too expensive. But I'm really at my wit's end - this product is unavailable even at Marketplace. I draw the line at braving cranky public transport, and Little India crowds just for a dog's homecooked lamb luxury.

Pringleman (the creative culinaire in our relationship) mentioned he wanted to bake biscotti last night, and his method was pretty unorthodox: "I've seen this on TV before! Damn easy one!! Just throw in flour and bake!! *tosses cooked meat in blender, then mixes in flour*". I stood aside for the first ten minutes, gleefully waiting for him to fail. But the flour and meat were really expensive, and I couldn't bear to see it go to waste! Hence I quickly adapted Smitten Kitchen's Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti recipe (below). The good part about biscotti is.. it's supposed to be hard and crunchy - there's no specific texture (i.e., a macaron's brittle exterior and marshmallowy interior). No matter how you mess up, simply bake for every long time on low heat to dry it out --

Makes 5 to 6 dozen biscotti. 
Dry Ingredients (Mix all these together)
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns (freshly ground)
4 cups pea/rye/barley flour plus additional for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt  - omit salt for doggy!

Wet Ingredients 
1/2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
4 oz Minced Meat (we used lamb)
Spices

Others
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

The Egg Mixture (beat all of these together)
3 regular (in Singapore context) eggs
3/4 cup whole milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180c

Make your meat mixture

1. Cook the minced meat  (i.e., put it on a pan and flip until it turns dark) 
2. Blend in a food processor with dog-friendly spices until it looks somewhat like pâté

Make the biscotti dough

1. Mix the meat into the dry ingredients together, then the cheese, then the butter
2. Mix the egg mixture in bit by bit until you get a consistently sticky batter
3. Shape these into logs
4. Brush the tops with remaining egg yolk, and pepper with pepper :b

Bake the Biscotti

1. Bake the logs for about 20 minutes, remove from oven
2. When you can touch the biscotti with your bare hands, slice the biscotti with a serrated knife. Thin slices end up crunchier
3. Bake at 150c for the next 15 minutes - take the cookies out halfway to flip them over and rotate the tray

Cool and store in an air-tight jar for up to two weeks!

Notes

• Pringleman didn't grind the peppercorns! D: He just tossed them in. How blasphemous. But this gave the biscotti much more flavor at the end
• Spices - We used parsley and turmeric
• We used a drizzling of olive oil instead of butter.. because I forgot to buy butter
• We didn't use cheese this time, but I expect it to taste much better with cheese
• I've decreased the egg and milk requirement from the original, because my batter for cheese biscotti ended up being wayyy too wet

Do try the recipe! Don't be put off by the double baking - It's really not daunting at all, even for first time bakers - oh and there's also lotsa joy in checking on the treats while they're baking too :) It's an exercise in patience for Mr. Paws :) He really enjoyed following us around!

Yeeees we could've bought his treats.. but the truth is.. I'm a Serial Nibbler. When preparing Pringles' food, I'm not above filching a choice piece of human-grade liver. Baking treats enables me to safely share his food :)

Use other types of flour if you can. It's healthier for you as well!

Serious faced baby^^

Bucket List, Doggy Style

How would you define whether your dog's having a good time? :p Somebody once told me that you can't want what you don't know about. Meaning Pringles can't desire to roam the great green fields in France/London/Canada (anywhere where dogs are treasured...and CAN be off-leash legally), and inhale some of that first-world country air. Also means Pringles can't desire to eat Biscotti, but can desire some of that tender, steamed white chicken.

Nonetheless, I do have a rather frivolous dream of getting a job somewhere temperate, clean and green, and be able to house him in a landed house, and to run with him in great fields of grass and flowers blooming in the brisk country air, like in any Jane Austen movie. But given that Pringles isn't my dog, I don't think that's very possible... :(

Found this bucket list for dogs though.. Let's see how he measures up, shall we? :)

50 things every dog should do before it dies

1. Flop down in front of a morning fire
Ooh how did the listmaker guess that my greatest dream now, is to be able to take Mr. Paws overseas to enjoy the joys of winter..

2. Go for a swim in the sea

3. Go mad in the snow
Working towards it mr. paws!!

4. Dig up a flower bed 
No, pls, no.

5. Do the 'Beethoven' shake and soak everyone around you

Everytime at the pool
6. Have your own spot on the sofa

7. Accompany your owner on a run/cycle ride
Doesn't like to run :(

8. Attend a family picnic

9. Help your owner bag a date
Many, many dates :)

10. Cheer your owner up when they are down
au contraire, he ignores us > : (

11. Visit a different continent
Working towards it :<

12. Roll around in a really stinky, muddy puddle
thank goodness, no.

13. Ruin a pair or slippers or shoes
that's how he got chased away from his first home!

14. Sleep in your owners bed

15. Wake your owner with a big wet sloppy kiss

16. Chase a cat during a dream

17. Learn the word for 'sit' in another language

18. Join in a football game in the park

19. Meet a famous dog

20. Try your paws at dancing

21. Convince your owner you can howl English words

22. Get filthy within 30 minutes of a bath
Pringleman dropped Levain on him!

23. Howl along with your favourite song

24. Ride in an open top car

25. Learn to skateboard

26. Have a personalised Christmas stocking

27. Show the postman who's boss

28. Be a ring bearer at a wedding

29. Try to follow a squirrel up a tree

30. Go to work with your owner

31. Have your own social media page
@pringlepaws!!

32. Bound through a forest

33. Have a personalised kennel

34. Go on a boat and get your sea legs

35. Play frisbee on the beach

36. Receive your own birthday card

37. Steal someone's lunch when they're not looking

38. Watch an entire episode of 'The Washing Machine'

39. Eat doggy ice cream

40. Create a diversion and steal another dog's dinner

41. Rug a doggy marathon

42. Receive a doggy birthday cake

43. Rip the stuffing out of a pillow or cushion

44. Unwrap birthday presents

45. Watch Lassie on TV

46. Be in a family portrait

47. Have a stand off with your own reflection

48. Have a favourite local pub

49. Star in a YouTube video

50. Sleep in a boutique dog hotel

Modified: Jamie Oliver Meatballs

Easter's almost upon us, and I've been feeling the need to feel like a domestic goddie. In addition to a lunch for the mister (still a WIP), I wanted something cute and special for Pringlepaws (something along the lines of dog treats shaped like Easter eggs, and complete with icing), but he obviously can't eat chocolate... and what on earth is carob? Can totally imagine the fine folks at NTUC pointing me to the carrots if I should ask. In addition, the doggy recipes I've read tend to be painfully plain - these recipes constantly assume that the dog will consume EVERY MORSEL of their plain peanut butter/chicken stock/bacon recipes. Hello, not true. And they don't even look healthy.

So.. enter a modification of Jamie Oliver's meatballs! I've changed it a little to make it more dog friendly.. by removing the mustard. And YAY my brother (the food critic) said it was tasty! And he ate the doggy one > : )

Ingredients (should make 24 meatballs?)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary A handful of fresh Italian parsley
12 Jacob's cream crackers (Trusty old Khong Guan did the job for me..)
2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard turmeric (Cancer prevention anyone?)
500 g quality minced beef, higher-welfare pork, or a mixture of the two
1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
1 heaped tablespoon dried rosemary
1 large free-range egg (oops no eggs at home - The egg is meant to bind the ingredients together.. Used a tbsp of Parmesan cheese and a tiny bit of honey instead)
sea salt - none for Pringles!
freshly ground black pepper

How To

1. Crush the crackers and chop the fresh parsley
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl using your hands
3. Pop it into the oven at 200 deg c, for about 15 minutes? Or until you hear sizzling (Jamie's recipe said to fry it using olive oil.. but I'm not a fan of washing up. So I baked!)
4. Got leftovers? I tossed in a pinch of Bacon Salt and the meatballs tasted even better! These will be for Pringles' humans ^^

Beyond Meatballs

Like I said.. I intended to bake him some Easter eggs, tastefully presented in a ferrero rocher tray......unfortunately, I followed a recipe by a doggy site for dog friendly yoghurt icing that hardens. And it obviously didn't work, and the icing went all over the place :( No more doggy recipes for me going forward.. haha.

The idea here was something like Moroccan Beef with Mint-Yoghurt icing. 

By the way, I visited LemonZest yesterday- it was their annual stock-take sale, and all manner of  colourful, functional cookware were on sale! With very shaky self-control, I made it out of the sale with 2 very reasonable silicon spatulas, and 3 even more reasonable baking trays/moulds... Yes I'm in denial mode here. I had to stop myself from getting the fruit-infuser bottle, potato masher... and a very well-made dog-bone baking tray, because my mom would probably flip. My colleague tried to convince me that by sectioning off one end of the bone, I could make it look phallic, and the dog-bone tray would have one more function.......sounded like a sure-fire way to get my mom to ban me from leaving the house...ever. They do have tons of doggy bakeware though - I saw many non-stick trays with bone molds, going at 50% off ($10?)! Oh and my colleagues left with their arms full too - I've signed up for their mailers, hopefully next year's sale will be as good :b LemonZest can be found at Chip Bee gardens (where all the Da Paolo restaurants are), or at Pasarbella.

LemonZest at Holland V (credits to their website for this photo)