Wednesday 27 April 2011

How to care for your Pekingese dog

            Rearing a Pekingese dog may come with its own set of problems. I have a 6-year-old Pekingese mixed breed. A Pekingese puppy may be cute to the extreme that you would willingly fish out cash from your pockets the minute you saw it. But always keep in mind that a puppy requires care and training, so think thoroughly before buying one.


This is my dog, Odee. He looks sad, doesn't he? A Pekingese can be very expressive with its eyes.
          

              Due to the Pekingese's eyeballs that are a little too big for its sockets, they may pop out.This happened to my dog when he was just a puppy. He accidentally poked his eye on the edge of the door and one of his eyeballs popped out. That was a scary moment and my sister and I were screaming our lungs out.If you happen to meet with this " eye-popping " incident with your dog, immediately bring it to see a vet. If you ignore it for too long or maybe try to push it into the eye socket yourself, the dog might go blind in one eye   ( let's just hope there is no such case as two eyeballs popping out at the same time ). Fortunately for our dog, his eyeball slowly went back into the eye socket on its own a few minutes after arriving to see the vet.If your dog's eye did not go back into its original place on its own, the vet would have to sew the eye shut for a few days.


         A Pekingese dog requires brushing, and lots of it. A dog of this breed has a thick coat and if not brushed regularly,its fur might get matted and tangled. This type of dog also sheds a lot, so be prepared to sweep your floors. If you don't want the extra housework, try the puppy cut on your dog.


         This breed of dogs are also prone to backaches. So don't let it jump on or off high places and don't play with it too roughly. My dog had several occasions in which it had backaches due to its habit of jumping on and off the sitting room table.


One of his favorite spots...on the stairs!!
          

             Some Pekingese dogs, like mine, have skin problems and allergies. My dog is allergic to chicken based food or chicken meat. Before we knew what his allergy was, we used to feed him chicken, and after eating them, my dog would go into some kind of itching frenzy. He would scratch and constantly begged for us to scratch for him as well. So, try to know which kind of food suits your dog best. WARNING : Do not feed your dog chocolates, citrus fruits and nuts, especially dark chocolate, which may result in death.


This is a pure breed Pekingese.

         Clean you dog's ears regularly with a cotton bud or tissue. You can also buy an ear-cleaner liquid at the pet shop. The area beneath the eyes is often wet due to the dog's shallow-set eyes and needs to be cleaned everyday.A Pekingese dog may also be a picky eater, so bear with it. My dog has gastric problems too, and sometimes he may vomit.


         Having short snouts can pose various problems to the Pekingese. These dogs snort and snore. Keep your dog calm and cool because if a Pekingese gets too excited, it might encounter breathing difficulties. Sometimes, my dog can even choke on a tiny bit of dog food. If choking happens, pat the back of its neck. Bring your dog for walks as Pekingese dogs need exercise but these dogs tire easily so they're not suitable for long runs. Also keep in mind that these dogs can become overheated due to their thick coats. They're prone to heat strokes. Provide plenty of water for your dog. Pekingese dogs drink a lot of water.

Monday 25 April 2011

I've been traveling....

       

        My dream is to be able to travel the world with loved ones and never ever having to worry about the money. But of course, who doesn't? I've traveled in my lifetime but my destinations are only confined within Asia. I'm considered to be lucky though. When I was just a kid, probably 11 years old, I remember just chatting with my friend in class and I happened to mention about my passport. My friend was fascinated by the idea of me having a passport and she started telling a few of my classmates about it. They were so excited and were like," Wow!! You have a passport?" I realized from that day onwards that there were not many in my class like me fortunate enough to go traveling.Some of them had not even set foot outside of the state. But of course, situations like these only happen in rural schools, which I happened to attend during my primary years.

          
Krabi, Thailand
       

Whale-watching in Australia.Unfortunately,we only got to see it's back.


Koala Bear in Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth, Australia.

      There's nothing like the feeling of arriving in airports and knowing that you're about to fly to a foreign place, meeting different people, tasting unfamiliar food, and the best thing about being on a holiday is the non-existence of worries and stress. I've been to Singapore, Thailand, Korea, China, Australia, Vietnam and the most recent, Indonesia. 



Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
        

          I visited Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam last year in December 2010. I've never seen that many motorbikes on the road all at once in my lifetime. It seemed impossible to cross the road in their country because there were just too many motorbikes on the road ,and surprisingly the number of bikes didn't cease no matter what the time was. Foreigners like me often make the mistake of thinking that the best way to cross a busy street in Vietnam is to run quickly across it. This way would probably get you creamed. Trust me. One rule that I've learned there is to cross the street slowly, giving the motorbike drivers enough time to judge your position so they can pass on either side.They won't stop or even slow down, but they will try to avoid hitting you, something that they are experts in. 


Street market in Ho Chi Minh
            

         Who would have thought that a relaxing stroll through the street market in Vietnam would turn out to be far from the word "relaxing"? Even in the market, nobody can escape the motorbike riders. Even in the market! Every few seconds or minutes of walking in the market, I hear honking behind me and I would have to jump to a corner avoiding being hit by the bike (the street was really narrow). Other than the motorbike problem and the annoying tour guide who couldn't stop showing off his Michael Jackson moves, the trip was an enjoyable one.


          There was one funny episode that happened when we visited Chinatown in Vietnam. My grandmother, my sister, my cousins and I were desperate for the toilet after the long trip, so the tour guide pinpointed the way. We finally found the toilet and nearing the place, our noses were assaulted by the foul smell of urine. My cousin went in first and I followed behind her. Suddenly, without warning, she turned back the way she had come and I was just wondering what made her change her mind when suddenly I saw a woman pull down her own pants and urinated in the open, on the floor. I think there was even human faeces on the toilet floor. The other women were pouring water on the floor and I knew that it was common for them to "do their business" in the open although there was still one more toilet cubicle unoccupied. I shot out of the toilet the minute I saw literally butt-naked women. We ended up leaving Chinatown immediately.


Yogyakarta, Indonesia
 
We reached the highest point!!  The Great Wall of China


            

Sunday 17 April 2011

American Idol Addict

           

        I absolutely love to watch American Idol. I started watching Idol since Season 8. Well, it was not that long ago, actually. Season 10 this year was amazing. The contestants are all so very talented. America is having a hard time voting this year. My favorite this year is Paul Mcdonald. See that handsome young man in the pictures on top? Yeah, that's him. Unfortunately, for some sort of odd reason ( like Pia Toscano ), he was voted off. Top 8? That was way too soon. It wasn't because he was not talented or anything. He has a unique quality of voice and style. And fashion too.

        I don't know if it was because of the number of amazingly good contestants this year or something, but those that really stood out this year (and the cute ones)were surprisingly voted off very early in the stages, to list a few Casey (but he was saved by the judges), Pia and Paul. I honestly hoped Pia and Paul would be in the top 2. And another strange thing is, those that were in the Bottom 3 way more times than the ones voted off managed to still stay in the show. Stefano Langone was in the bottom 3 for the third time in the last four weeks and he still survived. On the other hand, Pia was in the bottom 3 for the first time and she was immediately eliminated. Paul the second time and he was eliminated too. Stefano was a wildcard choice by the judges. It's amazing how he's still holding on. I actually thought that Jun Gamboa has a better voice than Stefano. I feel deeply unsatisfied with this season's choices but  there are a few good ones left, like Casey Abrams, James Durbin and others.


P/S : This is just my opinion. =)