Sniffs on the weather and Donny in between ...

Hello there furry and fur-less readers,

We've been having very hot spells lately coupled with sporadic truly ferocious thunderstorms! One major branch of the trees in Dog Woods broke the other day after a rather violent rainy episode. The Chief said the weather changes is due to 'El Nino'.

If you asked this TOP DOG, El Nino is really quite a moody fellow swinging from sweltering hot to pouringly wet with hardly any respite in between ... look at the aftermath of one major storm, it broke one of the trees' branches which damaged part of the fence. :P

While our Donny boy - who's doing very nicely health wise has developed a nasty habit of picking fights with whomever he deems to bully for the day! :P

To maintain harmony within the Pack, the Chief has taken to leashing Donny every time she takes us ALL on walk about Dog Woods. Dragging him away whenever another fight is about to erupt ...

Interestingly, Donny boy for some reason has somehow acquired a squeak for his bark lately. It did make the Chief wonder whether he's developed some kind of sore throat after the Tick Fever ... but oddly enough, he's back to normal German Shepherd deep barking self whenever he picks fights with either one of us Dog WOods Pack.

Honestly we thinks, he's merely being dogg-edly scheming. His squeakiness is merely a ploy to attract more of Chief's attention to himself while reserving his positively growl-y barks to initimidate us lot - esp. the Fur Kids since he thinks they are easier to pick on!

We gots some pictures of Donny boy and Tubby fighting the other day. It was all legs, paws and snarly faces - really all quite unnerving to watch, unless one's into that kind of thing ...

Dog Wood's Strategy to keeping cool in the tropics ...

Hello there!

As you are well aware furry readers, our fur coats can never been taken off. For some reason our fur coat comes without an undo zipper - or button ... Of course, in cold days, there's really no reason to complain about warmness of fur coats and all, but in Dog Woods where it is hot and humid - even more so in the last couple of weeks, not being able to take off our fur coats have caused a great deal of heat-y huffing and puffing amongst the lot of us.

I suppose we could simply shave it all off ... but the Chief's said she'd like the idea running about fur-less and having people mistake us as odd looking spotted pigs ...

So, when fur coat zippers disappear, improvise! That's what we Dog Woods Pack have done. To keep cool :-

a) Stay in the sheltered area - under tres, shrubs or where there's cool cool cement walls and floors.

b) Drink lots of water - and make sure your hooman gives your fresh cool water often.

c) Dig holes in garden. That may be initially sweaty business but the benefits of having nice cool hole in the groud to lie on/in far outwears the heat-y efforts.

d) If hole fills up after rain, you'd have yourself a cool muddy pool to wallow in on hot days. The additional benefits of digging many holes in the grounds of Dog Woods ...

... also, don't underestimate the cool-ness of a muddy face pack. Them Fur Kids think its the next best thing to ice lollies ...

Proud muddy face Fur Kids ...

e) If hole in ground doesn't fit all canines of various sizes and colour of your home, the alternative is to lie in/on cool grassy shrubs. That's equally nice and cool ... just be careful about the itch thereafter. Some canines are simply more susceptable to grassy shrubs (like Snoopy) than others ... be also prepared to get an earful from your human about doggedly squishing their nice green flowering plants... We recommend 'convenient canine deaf-ness' in this instance.

f) If all that still gives you the warm-ies. Ask your human for a nice long cool shower ... :)

The thing about the Weather

Hello!

It's Thursday with Snoopy this week.

Let me tell you a thing or two about the weather in our neck of the woods. While it may be the envy of some (who's presently experiencing cold, wet weather), the level of humidity of the tropics is not only giving us heat prone canines a hard time but also the for some pups who've got sensitive-r skin than others (like yours truly), it's a real pain!

Damp-ness and canine skin folds are rich breeding ground for pesky itch, somefin about yeast ...?

I once had long velvety ears as a wee pup but that sadly have been a thing of the past. To date, I've had more tests, pokes, prods and jabs from the V-E-T than all Dog Woods Pack put together. He's since concluded, apart from the yeast infection, I also have a certain allergy to the Grass! How terrible ... when that's the nicest thing to roll about in!

The Chief too has tried her best to get my ears back to what it once was. She's tied my ears up (like a wabbit I looked!) when I had my meals, she even got me special tall food bowls, changed my diet, got me special shampoos, powders ... I won't say her efforts were not in vain, the other angry red itchy folds around my body have since healed but sadly, not my ears. *Boo Hoo!*


What the Chief's not tried yet is change the weather at Dog Woods ... making it less humid. That would mean keeping me in the air-conditioned rooms indoors 24/7 and I don't think I like that at all ! I love running around out doors unleashed, wrestling with Tuffy, lolling about with the Fur Kids way too much!

Beautiful long velvety ears or Freedom? I'd choose Freedom any time!! I've accepted the fact that I'll never be SHOW DOG material ... but I sure am a Happy Basset!



Arf! I blink-ed!

Sweltering ... :P

Heat terrible. Swelteringly humid. Terrible combination - hot and humid.

Top Dog wilting. Unable to shed thick fur coat ... can't find blasted zipper! *Grrrrr*

Embrassed to admit, constantly craving cold showers!

Will happily sit under showering hose and savour the sweet cool relief.

(BIG CHIEF couldn't be more pleased!).

So clean now, my loyal pack and I squeak whenever we trot!

If you heard us squeaking about, you'd think Dog Woods is made up of a squadron of mice instead of magnificiently Brave Proud canines!
Must acclimatize! Our egos are at stake!