Should I cage Brandie and the pups?

December 23, 2012

With the family arriving tomorrow morning, the question still remains.  What to do with Brandie and her pups?  How would she react with lots of people in my house. She's not used to it.

That morning I went to Cartimar in Pasay and looked for an affordable and folding cage for Brandie. I didn't find one that fits my requirement.  Either, it costs a fortune or too small.  I decided against the cage.

I went to our family home and looked for some leftover wire fence. I was planning to put Brandie and her pups in my workshop and block the entrance with the wire fence.  They are already used to this area. They hide and sleep there. I  just don't know how would they react to the wire fence.

Side story:  While waiting for the jeepney, I saw a white female dog on the other side of the street trying to cross towards my side.  She has just given birth based on her swollen and sagging chest/stomach.  She reminded me of Brandie.  After a few minutes, she still couldn't cross it.  I decided to help her.  I walked to the other side and stopped the ongoing traffic so the mom dog could cross.  Then she looked at me as if thanking me, and then walk northwards.  Maybe that's where her pups are.  :)

At home, I measured and cut to size the wire fence in my Workshop entrance and installed it.  Then I put Brandie and her pups in it.  It was a riot! Chaos! The pups were crying and Brandie was trying to jump the fence! They wanted to be free again.  Walking, running, sleeping in the carport and the balconies like what they have accustomed to doing.

They love my workshop.  They like hiding there, sleeping there.  What they don't like is being fenced in there. 

I conceded.  This was not gonna work. I let them out.

I thought of putting the pups in the kiddie pool/laundry area, where I bath Brandie and her pups.  That too, didn't work.  The pups were wailing  as if they were being slaughtered!

I decided that, with the 5 pups it was status quo; with Brandie, I would just put her on a leash in the farthest corner of the gate.  That way, the pups could still get to her, and she could still see us, and not feel being caged in.  

Brandie is "free" dog.  She's used to having a collar, and on a leash during her daily walks.  But being caged is not her cup of tea.

I was praying.  Hope everything would go smoothly tomorrow.

Rehoming Marius and Hachi (Part 1)

December 22, 2012

The whole family would be spending Christmas 2012 in my place.  First time I'm hosting the annual event, solo.  Problem is Brandie.  Her pups are so lovable, and the kids would surely love them.  Dunno about Brandie. How would she react?  Would she be the protective Mom?

The pups are almost 2 months now.  I decided to re-home Marius and Hachi to my neighbors.

The first night was heart breaking.  Both pups were crying the whole night.  Their 3 remaining siblings with me could hear them.  And they would cry, too.  They were all crying in unison.  As if calling each other.  Reminds me of that scene in 101 Dalmatians. Brandy, though not howling or crying, was also uneasy that evening.

I hardly slept that night.  It was as if I gave away my babies and I could  hear them crying and calling for me, "Dad!  Dad! Where are you? We wanna go home!"

The next day, I decided to take them back.  I'll just re-home them again after the holidays.  My family would be complete, as well as my 4-legged family.  :)

Hachi catching up on sleep after a restless night with my neighbor.

Marius giving me that  "Dad, how could you?" look.

Of leopard and zebra prints....

June 12, 2013

Of  leopard and zebra prints.... dogs and cute puppies.... These are a few of my favorite .... :)

Again, another "similarity" of Kabang with Brandie and the pups.  :D 

 

Pups-in-the-box

December 20-22, 2012

Playground - dog pup version

The pups have already enough space to play and roam around:  carport, courtyard, porch, workshop, courtyard stairs, front balcony and back balcony.  However, these bundles of joy and energy seem to be always wanting more and new things to explore.  Sometimes they find it themselves.

One time, I just came home from the grocery.  The items are in a box as I live in a no-plastic area.  The empty box, I put in the porch.  Then I heard their puppy noises.  I peeked by the window.  And there they were.  Playing with the box.  Climbing on it.  Then nipping at the siblings who wanted to climb on top of the box.  They were having a good time.  And it's a good exercise for them.

In their 2 months stay with me prior to their re-homing, the pups have played and destroyed about 10 boxes.  Some, I had to dispose of as they were already stinking of dog odor.

These boxes seem to be the their version of slide-seesaw-swing in a children's playground.  :D

December 21, 2012

Where in the world is Marius?

One morning, I was in the carport and was playing with the pups.  There were only 4 of them.  I counted.   Sasha... Diego... Amber... Hachi.  Where in the world is Marius?

None of the pups recognized their names yet so calling for Marius would be useless.  I looked around.  And I was laughing when I finally realized where he was hiding.  He was well camouflaged and blended in his surroundings.   He was at the back balcony, infront of the black monoblock chair, just peeking from the bottom of the balcony railing, and looking straight at me.

This pup must have been secretly laughing at me while I was looking for him.  Sneaky, sneaky.  :D

Brandie and Kabang: The Askal Survivors

June 11, 2013

Brandie and Kabang:  The Askal Survivors

Kabang, the aspin who saved the lives of two kids, and the lost a snout in the process has come home a hero.  Kabang reminds me of Brandie.  Both are survivors.

Brandie was abandoned by her original owners and she learned to survive on her own, roaming the village streets, and feeding on food scraps from the residents.

Brandie, like Kabang, gave birth to 6 pups.  Unfortunately for Kabang, only 1 pup survived.  In Brandie's case, all 5 of her pups remained and were rehomed to dog-friendly households.  Her 6th pup that was dognapped (which looked like the spotted pup of Kabang), hopefully survived as well.  The pups are now as tall as Brandie.

Like Kabang, Brandie is now a very happy dog.  Behave but excited seeing me in the morning and coming home from work, and during our nightly walks.  She is also very behave when guests come over and she sometimes play with them.  Like Kabang in her videos and pictures, Brandie loves playing as well.  With her pups re-homed, I take their place in some roughhousing play with Brandie.  We would chase each other at the carport, porch, up to the front and back balconies.  She's at it for only  few minutes as she seems to sense that I am also very busy.  She would then stop and then climb on her platform and rest.

Kabang has already gained weight and looks very healthy.  The same with Brandie.  Even the neighbors, tricycle drivers, village guards notice it.  Hindi na raw sya losyang. :D

Kabang likes being around with people.  I am starting to let Brandie be accustomed to the presence of a big crowd by bringing her with me to watch the nightly basketball and volleyball games in our village sportsfest.

Brandie's future is secured now.  I worry about Kabang's future for I heard that she would be brought home to her original owner, Rudy Bunggal.  Rudy who is a known dog meat eater and a drunkafrd has been shown to a be an irrespensible and abusive man.

Kabang's future now with Rudy Bunggal is almost uncertain. His wife and kids have already left Rudy for they could no longer bear his abuses. He is unfit to be a husband and father. He is very unfit to be a pet owner. JR, the only offspring of Kabang that survived suffered at Rudy Bunggal's hands. His wife who left him has already taken JR in to be saved from Rudy. Rudy, for the sake of Kabang, should give her up. Dr Anton Lim should be adopt Kabang.

December 21, 2012
Brandie and pups did the yuckiest thing!  Ewwweeeeee!

The pups have been eating solid food now.  I've been giving them milky porridge at the garage.  Brandie takes her meal in the courtyard stairs.

The pups could smell that Mama's meal is tastier and more delicious as it contains table scraps.  The pups would try to climb up the steps to have a taste of Mama's food.

It was a sight watching them on their hind legs and trying to claw their way up while making some puppy barks.

 

When Brandies climbs down from the stairs, the pups would lick her snout to get a taste of the meal she's just had.

I started to introduce new taste to the pups.  Sometimes I would add dunuguan (pork blood stew) sans the meat to the rice.  They would have a feast day and devoured it in just seconds.  

When the pups learned to climb the courtyard stairs and roam around and play in my house's back and front balconies, they were able to get to Brandie's bowl.  I then became more careful of what I am feeding Brandie with.

 

 

Many times, I would feed Brandie on the concrete benches at the back balcony beside the BBQ and wash counters.  And the pups would be at Brandie's heels.  Waiting for some grains to fall.

 

 

At times, I would use a blender to puree some table scraps (meat, bones, veggies)  and then use a sieve to make sure that no splinters or sharp bones would get in their dog bowls.  This is such a treat for them.  It's like Thanksgiving for them.  :)

One time, Brandie came down after a meal at the back balcony and I noticed Sasha jumping infront of Brandie.  She was bumping Brandie's mouth with hers repeatedly.  The her other 4 siblings followed her lead.  All 5 bundle of fur are now jumping and bumping Brandie's mouth with theirs.  I was amazed.  I know I've seen that behavior before....  Think... think.... think.... Then it hit me!  Wolves!  Been watching Animal Planet and other National Geographic and Discovery Channels shows.  And I've seen wolves and other wild dogs/pups doing this to their parents who came home after a hunt to bring them food.  After a few seconds, it happened.  Brandie regurgitated the food she just ate.  And the 5 pups and Brandie shared the thrown up food.  Whoa!  The pups were having a field day.

What is most surprising is that Brandie is a first time mom.  Her pups grew inside my house perimeter.  There was nothing to mimic or get this behavior from.  It was just pure instinct.  I know Brandie was an abandoned dog who used her instincts to survive.  It seems that her pups are very instinctive as well.  Seems like a good sign.  These pups would survive when I re-home them.

Going back to the regurgitation behavior.... Yuck!  Ewweeeee!  :D