Photos of Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer's seminar

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Cesar Millan LIVE in Singapore Seminar

I am looking forward to meet the world renown Mexican-born American dog trainer Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer tomorrow night. Cesar will be in Singapore this weekend 2 & 3 June at Marina Bay Sands to deliver his LIVE Seminar. I booked my seat online on 5th May 2012.

The reason I am attending the seminar not so much to learn about dog training but more to meet the guy and learn the way he conducts his seminar. I am familiar and very much agree with his training philosophy, that dogs require strong 'pack leadership' from their owners, in the form of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order). "Calm assertive" is also what I preach. Cesar is widely known for using his trademark verbal cue a tsch sounds. It's funny because in the last few years I've had clients making the tsch sounds in my presence and the dog totally ignores the owner. I've had to explain to them the tsch sounds isn't some kind of magic word or cue. Many of us would use words such "NO!" or "AHH AHH" (my preference). On it's own, words have no meaning to the dog. You have to follow through with a correction at a level that would deter the dog. In time the dog forms an association of the verbal cue with the unpleasant consequence and he learns to refrain from the negative behavior when the cue is given.

 

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Pet Projects

Okay, just in case you are wondering why I haven't blogged since November last year - first, the Christmas festivities in December and then Chinese New Year in January. The usual parties, meeting up with friends and Chinese New Year visits. After that I undertook a number of Doggie Projects - A Pet Care Talk at NUSS, a "How to Train Your Dog" TV program by Ngee Ann Poly's  Mass Communication students and earlier this month shooting an episode of "Xiaxue's Guide To Life" on Dog Training. These have kept me really busy.

NUSS workshop

The Pet Talk at NUSS was a bit of a challenge, mainly because they don't allow dogs on their clubhouse. I mean how are you going to interest your audience without a dog? It can potentially be boring. And then I did my presentation with Powerpoint for the first time where in the past I have given talks mostly utilizing whiteboard and transparencies. You see, a lot of my IT knowledge are self taught. Fortunately I found someone, a poly graduate who is an animal lover and passionate about animal behavior to help me with the Powerpoint Slides as well as take care of running it during my talk. In the absence of a dog, I decided to play the part of a dog for the purpose of demonstration and audience participation.

Everything worked out fine. I also managed to secure sponsorship of goodie bags from Royal Canin - dog products, food, treat, toy and souvenir. Participants were very happy as the free gifts were worth more than the fee they paid for the talk. Registration exceeded the targeted 20. Everybody had a good laugh with me acting as a canine for participants to practice training on. The talk ended right on time.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic TV project - Alpha Dog

For this project I brought along Rolo, a parti color labradoodle. Rolo is a really people-friendly dog, not overly attention seeking. Students of Mass Communication are involved in the different aspect of TV production - Producer, Floor Manager, Cameraman, Host, Control Room and Post Production. They all adored him. The most difficult role must be that of the host. She was a bit nervous and had difficulty remembering her lines. Slides show :
https://youtu.be/-cxiGDwhxYA

Xiaxue's Guide To Life (http://clicknetwork.tv/guidetolife) 

Early this month I did a video shoot with Wendy Cheng, Singapore Blogger Queen better known by her pseudonym Xiaxue, a celebrity blogger who posts about her life, fashion and local issues. Her blog, which attracts about 50,000 readers per day, has won prestigious blog awards and earned her sponsorship deals, as well as stints as a columnist and TV show host. However, she is a contentious figure in the Singaporean blogosphere, with some of her offensive posts sparking national controversies.

Shooting an episode of  "Xiaxue's Guide To Life" at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. "Xiaxue's Guide To Life" is an online tv program of Clicknetwork.tv which is owned by TV celebrity Irene Ang. It was supposed to be titled The Dog Whisperer. In this episode Wendy (Xiaxue) learns how to train a dog and teaches some simple tricks. I am very comfortable in front of a camera but I wasn't sure what it would be like working with Wendy. I have a certain impression of Wendy having read some of her blog posts. I must say I don't approve of her frequent use of the "fxxx" word and her overly cosmetic look but that doesn't mean I condemn her. It's just the way I feel and I don't pass judgement. It was a pleasant meeting I must say and she wasn't crude like I thought she would be and with no airs. Best of all, no "f" word was uttered!

 

 

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Two Dogs Dining

 This is hilarious!!!

A visit to the railway tracks

Following an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore last year, railway operations at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ceased from 1 July 2011. KTM's (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) southern terminus will be relocated to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint. Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was also called Keppel Road Railway Station or Singapore Railway Station.

Tanjong Pagar railway station was completed on 3 May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi. I have lived in Clementi the last 30 years and I wonder if Clementi Road was named after him. The four marble statues at the exterior of the building represents the four pillars of the Malayan and Singapore economy - Agriculture, Commerce, Transport and Industry, with the initials FMSR (Federated Malay States Railways). 

The past month, particularly on weekends I've seen Singaporeans from all walks of life hiking along the Railway tracks. Groups of people were seen along the tracks at Stagmont Ring, near Hillview, Rail Mall and Bukit Timah Station near King Albert Park. Many articles have appeared on the newspaper and blogs, with many calling on the government to conserve the railway line. A group -“We support the Green Corridor”was formed by conservationists and nature experts to promote awareness in this respect. The stretches of lush greenery with it's fauna and flora provides a invaluable recreational space within our concrete jungle. The retention of the structures could serve as a reminder of our historical link with Malaysia.

I have missed the train so to speak but I told myself to at least join the bandwagon to experience the railway tracks and blog about it. What better way to have such an outing than to have canine companions. Two weeks ago I made the long overdue trip to the Bukit Timah Station. It is heart warming to see three generation families among the crowd of shutter bugs, nature lover and others there just out of inquisitiveness.

Three generation family

Bukit Timah Station

The doggies stole the show.

Stranded tsunami dog rescued in Japan

Another story that will touch your heart. A canine survivor of the Japan Tsunami. A dog stranded at sea for three weeks being rescued by Japanese coast guard and American rescue team. The dog was found about a mile off shore among a huge pile of floating debris in the north of Japan, Katsunuma prefacture.

Japan Tsunami Dog

The recent tsunami on March 11, 2011 in Japan claimed the lives of thousands of people. Animals were not spared. A news team found a wet, muddied and seemingly shivering dog in the Arahama area of Sendai, Japan. The dog ran toward the cameraman to investigate when they approach. After that he returned to an injured fellow canine, lying among the debris caused by the earthquake and tsunami. It's another amazing animal story. We have all heard stories of dogs coming to the aid of humans in distress. Here we have a dog standing guard over his injured pal. This act of empathy by one dog to another of their own kind is really touching.




Translation:
We are in Arahama area. Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

He has a collar. He must be someone's pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.

Where?

Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.

The dog is protecting him.

Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

I can't watch this. This is a very difficult to watch.

Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

Yes! Yes! He is alive.

He looks to be weakened. We need to them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

Oh good. He's getting up.

It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It's just amazing that they survived through this all.

According to the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Facebook page, both dogs were rescued and are doing well.

Monkeys business

          

I spotted a family of Macaques Monkeys at Hua Guan Avenue recently. As monkeys do, family members preening each other. Besides the business of preening each other adults mate rather freely.  I recall from my visits to Botanic Garden as a child witnessing with some degree of embarassment the mating of these primates. They are totally uninhibited nor disturbed by the presence of other monkey families or humans in the park.

There are a few popular places that Singaporean Chinese visited during Chinese New Year in the 50's and 60's; Botanic Gardens is one of them. You can buy peanuts form hawkers at the entrance to feed the monkeys. As the years goes by the monkey population increased and became aggressive. In the 70's they had to be culled after a number of reported attacks on visitors, reducing the population to a very small number.

In the year 1971 two monkeys were found dying on the roadside outside the Botanic Gardens in Tyersall Avenue. The monkey are believe to have been fed with poisoned bananas. This was most likely the work of an individual with a grudge against the animal because the authorities would not have used poison to eliminate them. I remember news reports of pallet gun being used.

Credit: National Archive of Singapore - PICAS

Kung Fu bear

We've seen the cartoon movie Kung Fu Panda. Now in real life an incredible Kung Fu bear named Kumo (Cloud) from a Japanese Zoo. Cute. Enjoy! Jacky Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen watch out!

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

A Vet Joke

I received this from a friends. A good one... I mean both the friend and the Joke  : )

A Dead Duck & a Fat Bill
A woman brought a very limp duck to a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away." 
The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?".
"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," replied the vet.
"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever.  As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.  A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room. The vet
looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."
    
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill.
"$150!" she cried.
"$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"    
The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab-Report and the Cat-Scan, it's now $150.

Doggie Parkour - "Barkour"

In the recent President's Star Charity, Mediacorp celebrities like Gurmit Singh (picture), Daren Tan, Adam Chen and Paul Foster showed off their gravity-defying stunts of leaps and  vaults along with Parkour performance team Ashton Movements. So what is "Parkour"?

From howstuffworks.com

Parkour is an international discipline, sport and hobby that is best described as the art of forward motion in spite of obstacles, or to put it simply: the art of movement. Parkour's chief aim is never to move backward but instead to overcome obstacles fluidly, with strength, originality and speed. The number of possible movements is endless, but here are the basics:

	Cat Leap This move consists of running and leaping from a take off point. Before leaping, the traceur spots where his hands will grab hold of the wall. He launches from the take-off point at a 45-degree angle. As he approaches, he moves his body into landing position that appears as if he's almost sitting in mid air. With legs bent to absorb shock, the traceur makes impact and grabs hold of the ledge while his feet grip the wall. From there, the traceur bends his knees for the power to push up and climb over the ledge.
	Roll Landing from a jump, when the traceur is traveling forward, he lands and bends his knees to absorb the impact. As he does this, he uses the forward momentum to go into a roll over his shoulder to transfer the shock of the landing. He places his hands on one side of his head to ensure minimal impact between his shoulder and the ground and, in the meantime, protects his head. The momentum of the jump enables him to land, roll and continue moving so that he is back on in his feet and in a running position. He does all of this in one fluid movement.
	Precision Jump The traceur balances on the edge of a wall, rail or roof, and spots his landing point. After sizing up the distance, he leans toward his landing point while bending the knees. As he jumps, his arms go up and he straightens his body. As he approaches the landing point, the traceur brings his legs forward to make contact while his descending arms provide necessary counterbalance. Upon landing, he bends his knees to slow down and makes a precise jump from point to point.
	Kong Vault Traceurs use this move to propel themselves over a wall when running toward it. The traceur jumps with a good amount of space between him and the wall, and stretches toward it, planting his hands. By this time, he has made his legs parallel to the ground. As his legs catch up with the rest of his body, he uses his arms to catapult him forward. Before landing, the traceur makes sure his posture is correct and spots where he'll finish the move with either a roll (if executing from height) or will carry on running (if the move is executed at a low level).
	Speed Vault This move allows traceurs to launch over a wall without compromising speed. As the traceur approaches the wall, he lays one hand down and leans sideways as he jumps. His hand briefly touches the wall to keep himself stable, he completes the jump and continues running without any break in momentum.

 

Whilst Parkour is a human endeavour., train a dog in Parkour and you have "Barkour" haha. Most of us would be familiar with Dog Agility - doggie obstacle course. But compared to Parkour, Agility would be child's play. Parkour is an extreme sports that is physically demanding as you can see.

TreT, a 33 pound, 4 year old American Staffordshire Terrier wonder dog from Ukraine is a hit at YouTube doing the doggie version of Parkour, attracting over 480,000 views.