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)

Heading back to Bidadari again latr tody to photograph Pringles, and two of his GoldieSpitz friends - Jacko and Kuro.

Been looking at dog photographers' portfolios all morning.

Excited :)

P.S. Pringles turns two next week. Our lovely golden boy.

Guilty: Stealing Pringles' stuff since July'13

Have I ever shared that I enjoy using Pringles' belongings and supplies? Mr Chen is at times horrified, and on good days, he is simply bemused. Guess it just didn't add up in his handsome little head - his allegedly high maintenance girlfriend wolfing down lowly dog food and using the dog's comb. Anyway..stuff I've stolen and certify good for human consumption!

His Shampoo
Ingredients: Purified water, extra-mild renewable coconut-based cleanser, aloe vera, xanthan gum, olive oil squalene (preservative). All ingredients are natural, 100% biodegradable, and gentle.

We knew we didn't want a sick old dog as a result of ill-suited products. Hence when we got Pringles, I got him Earthbath Oatmeal Shampoo - it is soap-free, and pretty much everything free. But it still leaves him smelling and feeling clean. Hence when I ran out of shampoo at Mr. Chen's place, I filched some of Pringles' Earthbath Oatmeal Shampoo...At $24.90 a bottle, it is really not cheap,

His Dinner
Pringles eats a lovely mix of homemade stir-fried minced beef and liver with vegetables, combined with Kibbles and drizzled with top grade Olive Oil. Can I say that I've been guilty of stealing it when I'm hungry? The first time Mr. Chen's mom caught me at her kitchen counter, mouth full and hand reaching into his food container, she stared for a few seconds, before her eyes just glided over me as if I weren't there, the same way you would a late-night rat or cockroach you would rather not catch. For comparison, she usually makes small talk with me.

Even Mr. Chen is horrified by what he deems to be my preference for dog food, especially when there is fresh human cuisine on the table. There have been times where his brows have crinkled in distaste/disgust/ sheer confusion, and he has forced the human food into my hands instead.

Well what can I say? I just enjoy Pringles' food so much better - it's healthy, and retains all the natural flavour of its ingredients. For the record, the ingredients generally come from Cold Storage's meat section, and is definitely safe for human consumption.

And now.. his comb
That $2 comb from Daiso is probably our best discovery ever. Pringles loves it; it's less scratchy than the furminator, and it also removes all his deadhair. I've tried it, and my hair has never felt smoother.

Our First Time at Little Black Paws! - Thomson V Two

Golden Retrievers are so difficult to groom! They've got lovely long, fluffy coats, but there's really just one way of grooming them. Unlike poms and poodles, you can't really shape their cuts. They're just feathery and boring. And neat. Either that, or they're shaved/given a puppy cut. Hence much as I would like to extend my appreciation for overpriced Japanese haircuts to Pringles (HELLO SOPRA GINZA), one decided to go with a decently priced local player for his second grooming session - Little Black Paws!

So we deposited Mr. Pringlepaws behind her doggy gate, and set off for a coffee at habitat :) Unfortunately, Habitat was uncharacterisitcally full that day, and we soon found ourselves edged out of our beloved little Habitat by the overcrowded atmosphere and 45 minute wait time, and back where we started - at Little Black Paws. Thankfully, they do leave a table and two chairs right outside their grooming area, where we settled ourelves with a coke to wait. Pringles was just on the other side of the glass looking at us :) The long wait enabled me to make several observations that will probably ensure that I return next CNY (Pringles' fur, you must understand, is quite short, hence he doesn't really need the trimming.... and his human friends do have the other essentials like nail clipping/anal gland expressing down to almost an art.

Things I loved about Little Black Paws

• If you're one of those anal owners who get paranoid over grooming places where you can't look inside, well this one's trimming area is exposed :)
• The waiting area isn't a cage, it's a fenced up area with the proprietress. This was very important to us and our 20kg baby... since he was caged at his first grooming session.
• It was CLEAN.  As someone who was once caught on video telling someone else to "clean between the tiles" of a bathroom, it is clear that I am discerning and have high expectations of cleanliness when I'm not the one doing the cleaning. Little Black Paws is still new, and I did see the groomers meticulously sweeping up the fluffy fur when they were done with the trimming. The dry and wet area is also separate, which is more than I can say for some other grooming places.
• A pretty skilled groomer - I must admit that I asked for a light trimming because I feel like this is the most difficult. The groomer must make the dog's natural hair look cute, and Pringles' fur is quite coarse. So I figured I wanted to get the most bang for my buck by asking them to make him look cute while keeping his length - no hiding behind puppy cuts! But I am impressed - alot of the weight is gone, but all his volume remains. Maybe should get him to cut my hair next time...
• The groomer isn't exactly loquacious, and the proprietress may be brisk (but that may be more the result of choice of words than anything), but they had a genuine love for dogs, and were generous with their advice. On a related note, our first visit to Little Black Paws was sans Pringles - we were having a post-dinner walk, and we dropped in just for the aircon (yes we are guilty). We ended up having a chat, where she talked so much about Great Life dog food, pitching it against other dog foods she'd encountered, we just felt compelled to buy something; anything from her. (Yes anything except the dog food, because the two brothers need to do independent research and get additional opinions before committing to a dog food. Pringles is more meticulously loved than some babies I know.) X's second visit was to purchase Great Life, and our third visit was Pringles' grooming session. And what does this teach you? To only sell things you're passionate about - the ROI can be so high.... 
• No surcharge for CNY! THANK YOU LBP. Much better than the stupid nail place near my house who wanted to charge me 50% more (i.e., $18/nail) for nail art.
• And on a more comforting note, the place did not smell like synthetic flowers.

Other place we liked but didn't do in the end!

• Sopra Ginza - a Japanese import - they do SUCH lovely cuts of animals! But at such a premium, I wasn't going to pay them to do it on a boring golden retriever.
• Stormville - this guy apparently rescues dogs. It's near Sun Ray cafe, but they are fully booked for 2014. For the record, I called in late dec/early jan. Seriously. How many dogs are they grooming??

And.. the ones that were just meh...

• k9 kulture - this one was professional and large, but we didn't return simply because I do try to support small, local businesses because they tend to be more passionate. Oh and also, it appeared less clean than LBP. Heh.
• Marine Pet Image - This one's a "meh" ONLY BECAUSE they returned pringles to us looking like a sweet little boy. A saccharine stench smacks you in the face once you enter the shop, and dyed poodles run around amok, yapping. If life were a comic, then little speech bubbles bearing the names of synthetic chemical compounds would be floating around the frame. Think "Paraben", "Sodium Laureth Sulfate", "Fragrance". And in a bad way. They do claim to be certified groomers, but I realize he is a golden retriever......... so it doesn't matter. Plus I did not like how they caged Pringles up. Okay for small dogs I guess, but I think you can do cheaper, or just go all the way and live it up at Sopra Ginza :) Go big, or go home!

Bidadari

There is a certain calm that comes from being surrounded by a vast expanse of green, dotted by ancient looking trees, each gnarled in a different manner from its neighbours. Maybe it's the conditioning that comes from having watched too many movies featuring an afterlife, or maybe it's just human to feel an unearthly calm in the presence of (largely) unmanicured fields.

Anyway, Sunday, 19 January was another windy, unsunny, and dry day. Probably the tenth or eleventh in this unseasonably dry spell that Singapore has been experiencing. And after too many posts from a fellow Goldie member at Bidadari park + reading about the photos that a Russian mom took of her sons, I cajoled the mister into bringing Pringles there for a romp.

And it was worth it :) Mr Lazybones didn't run much, but he had a great time sniffing the flowers anyway!

Christmas at the Tans!

Christmas is all about caring and giving, and this year, we were incredibly blessed to have the newly minted Tan family open their home up to us! Including Pringles, that is. Okay that sounded like a charity, but hey, I needed a Christmassy way to start! :)

Happy Christmas, Pringlepaws!

XL had us over, together with TK and her toy poodle (Knuckles). Guess it was a good chance for us to catch up, and for XL (Mrs. Tan) and her Mister (Mr. Tan) to experience having a dog at home, and to just get a feel of whether a dog would fit in their lifestyles! 

More specifically, Mr. and Mrs. Tan have a collection of about a hundred (??!!!) toy robots (Mecha?) and half-naked schoolgirls sitting around the house, either poised for battle, or tantalizingly positioned to titillate The Old, The Lonely, and the Forever Alone. So yes, it would be pretty disastrous to have a dog ingest a silicone boob or a spikey robot head. Would post a photo here, but it's a private art collection. ;)

While Pringles expressed little interest in cartoon heads for dessert, I must say that it wouldn't be a good idea to leave him at home with the Japanese schoolgirls and their mecha boyfriends. If you've got such tiny bits lying within easy reach of your dog, it's better to restrict doggy's access to it when you aren't home :)

Amazingly, Pringles was such a little gentleman, strategically positioning himself in the middle of their home (as if to say "I belong here now"), did not shed (despite making the floor at home look like a hair salon), and kept smiling (he's usually SUCH A GROUCH AT HOME). Ooh, and he didn't chew on toys or cross boundaries.

Of course the Tans fell in love with him, and are now contemplating seeking a similar furry friend to elevate their lives.

Pringles: This is home now.

Anyhow, before Knuckie and his entourage arrived, we tried doing a boundary exercise of sorts. XL rolled open the great sliding doors separating the bedroom from the living area, revealing The Mother of All Mirrors - I swear, it was like 8 panels long. Floor to ceiling. Any girl would be proud. Pringles though, found his first experience with a mirror most interesting, and all but tried to scramble to make friends with his reflection. Yes. Tried.

Trainer Chen (Pringles' Owner/Manfriend/Alpha) would say "NO", and pushed him away at the muzzle with a vehement "SH" sound every time he tried to cross the line. Worked pretty well! We managed a room tour quite easily with the bewildered Golden Boy looking at his sympathizing reflection. Trainer Chen uses this technique everytime he wants Pringles to stop something. Very much like Cesar Millan. And interestingly, it works pretty well. Of course, constant reinforcement is important, as is being in a "calm, assertive state".

On Calm, Assertive States
If you're facing the same issue at home, perhaps it would be wise to consider if you're really feeling calm and assertive. Dogs, after all, are masters at reading nuanced body language (they communicate using it, after all), and will be able to see through your false sense of security immediately. I used to have the same issue with Pringlepaws. In fact, I still do. Sometimes, when I correct him half-heartedly, it just doesn't work, and simply undermines my dominant position. Takes some cognitive realignment of my mind to get him to listen.... and i guess in the long run.. makes me more assertive. 20 years from now, I will cross my dominatrix-heeled legs, reminisce about my time with Pringles, nod sagely, and say "Yes, this was the dog who got me started."

Okay kidding.

Things got a little challenging though, when Knuckles arrived.

Knuckles is TK's red toy poodle, and by her own description, a little Prince accustomed to reigning over the household. He didn't really like the idea of Pringles, and of course he sprinted into the bedroom, and of course Pringles followed because every dog loves someone who plays hard to get.. At which point, we just rolled the great doors shut.. and then started taking photos with the adorable little fur ball (he weighs just 5kg that little cutie pie!), and watching Trainer Chen attempt to dominate him into not entering the room.

Wasn't so easy though! Poodles are generally smarter than goldies. Heck they're smarter than two year olds, which just means that they could do with a little bit more training... and can be a little more thoughtful. Meaning we told Knuckles not to go into the room, but he would constantly try to get in. .... ..... that little boundary tester.

Anyhow, it was a great catch up for XL, TK and I! Its been 7 great years of friendship, and even though we're all in such different jobs/lives/ situations now, we still remain about as tight as peas in a pod. Well.. almost. And while some of our long married counterparts swaddle babies and discuss nappie rash, here we are, raising fur children....we are ..one of many female abominations of society. With willing wombs but unwilling hearts hahahahaha (well except for XL).

Till next Christmas! I cannot wait to go back to the lovely Tan home :) Mr. Tan's an architect by training, and he has fully reimagined his 4-room (or 3-room?), and converted it into a spacious little walk-up in a mature suburb in Singapore.