Never a dull mealtime

We've changed Daisy's diet to see if her 'allergy' is chicken related. Although she eats everything--and I mean everything!--her favorite remains chicken. If she smells chicken on a customer's dish, she'll sit beside the customer's chair and chatter to him/her in the strangest voice, as if to say, "Please, feed a poor starving child." In one case, I saw her actually get up on the bench-like chair, right beside the customer, desperately hoping to get a handout. And this was RIGHT after she had finished her own supper!

Yesterday, Tai's chicken was ready before Daisy's pork. When I put his bowl down for him, he looked at it for a moment as he always does. He's never been one for diving right in. Daisy clearly wasn't impressed with his lack of enthusiasm for his supper and gave him a vicious-sounding snarl and bark. It was the funniest thing, but he sure got the message and immediately started in on his meal.

Mealtime is always interesting around here.

Daisy is growing like a weed

Maow has a bad back, so Tai and Daisy are helping out with a little 8-paw massage. Daisy is now 6.7 kg (14 lbs) as of Mar 14.

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This is the splash pool that we will use in the hot weather. Naturally, Daisy wanted to give it a test drive before pool season officially begins.

It's summer

The days are really heating up as we enter summer in this part of the world. The forecast for the coming week is hot, hot, hot. 38C (100F) everyday.

Daisy is now 5 mos old and fully three-quarters the size of Tai. You can see from the first pic that the sofa cushion isn't going to be able to hold her much longer. But she really does love it up there.

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Sunflower fields

We recently took our pair to a nearby sunflower field. Like us, a few others were there taking photos. But it was so hot, we couldn't stay long. Just long enough to take a couple hundred pics!

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Daisy at 16 weeks

Well, Daisy has reached the ripe old age of 4 months old, but it feels like she's been with us forever. Such a sweetheart. And her bond with Tai grows stronger as the days and weeks pass. If she growls or barks for any reason, Tai comes running.

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Tai and Daisy love to nap on the sofa we have in the restaurant. And as you can see, Daisy likes to sleep at the top of the back cushion. Unfortunately, it won't be long before she's too big. The cushions can barely hold her weight as it is.

Daisy at 13 weeks

Daisy is now 13 weeks old and at her last visit to the vet she weighed in at just a hair over 4 kg (almost 9 lbs). Her potty training is finally moving in the right direction (a nice change). She sleeps through the night, which of course allows us a better sleep, although she's always been a good sleeper. And we're delighted to report that she's not a snorer, though I suppose that could change as she gets older. She's learned how to climb stairs but is still too frightened to come down on her own.

She generally loves to go for walks, except for the pre-bedtime outing. She makes a little cry and growl, clearly voicing her discontent. She just wants to go to bed.

Daisy has no interest in puppy chow any longer, so we're feeding her basically the same food as we give Tai, though we add a few extra goodies to her bowl that we know Tai won't touch. But they are funny at meal time--about halfway through their meal, they go and check out each other's bowl. And often go ahead and finish off whatever is there.

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Daisy at 11 weeks

Daisy is eating like the little monster that she is. Unlike Tai, she is impatient at meal times, and she certainly lets us know it. And also unlike Tai, she eats almost everything--meats, fish, rice, fruit, veggies. We haven't tried commercial dog foods yet but will do that in due course.

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Daisy is already going out on our daily walks with Tai. She does pretty much the entire distance with apparent ease. Mind you, when she gets home, she immediately goes to sleep on the sofa (but then again, so do I).

Daisy and Tai like to play hard. She is forever trying to bite at his cheeks, and he responds by tackling her and mock-biting her belly and legs. But at night, when Tai is tired and ready for bed, he doesn't tolerate her rambunctiousness. A growl or a snap quickly puts her in her place.

Hmm, do you think she's trying to tell me something?

Christmas in Thailand 2008

Thailand is a Buddhist country, so Christmas Day was just another work day here. As a result, we did very little to celebrate the day... except to dress Tai and Daisy in their 'Mr & Mrs Santa' jackets. Daisy goes everywhere Tai goes, so it was fun to see the two of them running around in a blaze of red.

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And... here are our kids playing in the garden.

Daisy at 9 weeks

At the tender age of 9 weeks, our little Daisy has carved out a spot in the hearts of our family and our customers. Strangely, though, when Thai customers first meet Daisy, they don't ask "What's her name?" or "How old is she?" Instead, they ask "How much did she cost?" To Thai people, the value of something you own determines where you sit on the "social status ladder." As I say, strange!

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Tai is quickly becoming Daisy's friend and playmate. Daisy chases him everywhere like a little shadow, and when they play, she wants to bite at his jowls. They play tug-of-war with the rope chew toys, and compete for control of the crushed plastic water bottle that is their favorite toy at the moment. It's kind of like watching a hockey game, with this plastic bottle skidding across the floor and these two characters vying for control. Tai will steal it from Daisy; but a moment later, she'll steal it back. It's obvious that he's being careful with her when they play, not being too rough considering her diminutive size.

Daisy is learning to respond to her name. When called, she comes at a run. She's very much a people-person (people-dog?), demanding attention from everyone. Tai, on the other hand, will check out each customer who comes in, but then will go back to whatever he was doing. Just one of many differences in their personalities.

Daisy has an incredible appetite. She eats till her belly is bulging, then wants to dive into Tai's bowl. And, it seems, she'll eat anything. Not the fussy, picky eater that Tai is.

Here are more pics...

Introducing Daisy - part 2

Daisy has been with us for nearly a week, and has completely taken over the household. Here are more pics...

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Introducing Daisy

What a delight it is to introduce Daisy, Tai's new little sister, born on Oct 22, 2008, in central Thailand. This adorable little girl joined our family at the tender age of only 7 weeks. And what a bundle of energy! She bounces around like she's made of rubber.

We selected Daisy from a breeder in central Thailand, a four-hour drive from our home in the northeast. It wasn't easy making a choice from so many bright faces, all wanting attention, all wanting a new home. If only we could have taken them all. The drive back home was largely uneventful because both Tai and Daisy slept almost the entire way.

This little girl certainly has a healthy set of vocal chords. When she's hungry, she can scream loud enough to set your teeth on edge. You'd think she was being tortured. But set her bowl in front of her and it's like the world is going to end in 5 minutes. She attacks her food with gusto! We're going to try to give her a varied diet, not the fussy, limited diet Tai prefers. We've already learned that Daisy will dive into Tai's dinner bowl if she's not kept under control. (Tai is not impressed.) Thankfully she's destined not to be a picky eater.

At this point, Daisy has been with us only a few days, and Tai isn't quite sure what to make of all this. He turns a cold shoulder to her most of the time, and has even growled at her. But at night, he sleeps beside her. In rare moments, we've seen Tai playing with her a little bit. Hopefully his jealousy will subside soon and they will be inseparable.

We're not used to having such a tiny one under foot, so she'll have to stay on a leash for a while till she's a bit bigger and isn't so likely to get herself into trouble. After all, a restaurant can be a dangerous place. (No, she's not allowed in the kitchen.)

And so, what introduction would be complete without pics, so here are more...

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Tai celebrates 5 years

That's right. October 1st is Tai's big day. 5 years old. In his honour, we put up a few balloons in the restaurant along with a sign announcing this special occasion. In his usual style, he took it all with grace.

An injury

We're not sure how it happened, but a couple of weeks ago, Tai had this cut or scrape on his lip. We can't figure out if it is from sniffing along the ground or from sticking his face into long grass or shrubs. At first it was quite raw and open. Slowly it has turned more white-ish as it heals. I hope the hair grows back in so that it isn't a permanent mark. It doesn't seem to bother him much, although he does lick it more now than usual. Luckily, it doesn't interfere with his play. He still loves to play tug-of-war and to chase after his toys.

Tai gets new clothes

We recently attended a pet expo in Bangkok. Our friend there had a booth to sell all manner of clothes and doggy goodies. She delighted in giving Tai a variety of shirts and hats. Yes, hats. I don't like hats on dogs. In fact, I don't like clothes on dogs. I do admit that a shirt can help Tai stay warm in winter, but beyond that I'm not a doggy fashion aficionado.

Here's Tai in his schoolboy hat. Or is he pretending to be Sherlocke Holmes?

Tai at the beach

After more than two years, we were able to make a getaway to the beach. Believe me, this vacation was long overdue. When we lived in Bangkok, we used to get away quite often. But now that we are 7 hours from the nearest beach... well, that kinda speaks for itself.

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This was actually Tai's first real beach experience. In the past, we had someone we could leave him with. Our favorite holiday spot at the time didn't allow pets. But now that we have no one to puppy-sit for us, we had to do extra research into hotels/resorts that accept these special members of the family.

We certainly hit on a wonderful place. In fact, the Villa Bali Resort had everything we needed and wanted... 1. they accept pets; 2. they have a pool; 3. they have easy beach access (right across the road); and 4. they have free WiFi. (Tai didn't care for this last one. He's not a slave to internet and email like someone who shall remain nameless.)

We spent each day in the shade of large trees on the long, wide beach or under an umbrella by the pool. This is low season, so the entire town area is very much deserted. Just a few tourists. In fact, the four-lane road that separates the resort from the beach was incredibly quiet, even in the middle of the day. It felt like we had the whole beach entirely to ourselves. Just the way I like it.

Tai thoroughly enjoyed playing on the beach and in the sea. His injured foot didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. He played himself to exhaustion, then enjoyed a nap, and started all over again. The only thing that seemed to bother him was the taste of seawater, but he quickly learned to cope with that.

We were delighted that Tai ate his suppers heartily every evening, just like at home. I mention this because in the past whenever we took him away on vacations, he would go for days without touching his food. Not this time. This time, he ate like a little pig!!




Check out this video of us thoroughly enjoying the beach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a88AgTgf2J8

Here's the link for the resort: http://www.villa-bali.net/

New Signs at Boston-T

We had a new sign made for Boston-T Cafe and had the old one mounted on wheels so that we could have a sign at eye level. We're pleased with the results.

Click the photo to see it full size.

And here's a pic looking in to the restaurant from the street.