Pink and Undecided: dog lover

The Body Shop Indonesia: Fight Animal Cruelty With Your Pet

Yellow, everybody!! Happy Friday! I hope things are looking up for everybody since weekend is just hours away :)

So, I have mentioned before that any other facial wash other than Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash breaks my skin. But then it hit me: I HAVEN'T REVIEWED THIS ITEM PROPERLY.

So today's the day! Behold, my all time fave facial wash:

Photo courtesy of www.thebodyshop-usa.com

This is the only facial wash (by far - and believe me I've tried plenty) that has successfully cleans my face without breaking it. Which is quite an achievement because normally whenever I jump to bottle #2, whichever product I use will start causing problems. I am almost down with bottle #2 now and will soon purchase #3.

So if your facial skin condition is anything like mine: combination skin (oily only on the T area (forehead and nose)), easily breaks (especially during PMS), and can only tolerate gel-based products; then you should definitely try this product.

And what's more important about The Body Shop is the fact that they never test their products on animals. They strive to be green. As a dog person myself, this definitely makes my purchase decisions easier, knowing that no animal was harmed during the creation of whatever it is I put on my face. I don't know about you, but for me, this is a big deal.

I mean come on. If The Body Shop can do it, I'm sure other cosmetic companies should be able to do it too! The question is whether they want to spend extra on this very important issue or not... Right? So when I heard from #Pink that The Body Shop is working to get lots of signature to petition against animal testing, I am obviously right on board.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

1/ Go to The Body Shop Indonesia fan page and LIKE it: https://www.facebook.com/TheBodyShopIndonesia

2/ And then click this link: http://bit.ly/1asKhhn which will direct you to this page with Jerome's silly face and my name (Pauline ya, not #Undecided hahaha) on it:

Don't forget to click PILIH (which simply means VOTE in English) because it only counts when you do.

3/ Once you clicked on VOTE / PILIH, you will be directed to a page where you'll need to enter your full name and email address and then you'll need to click on the checkboxes which shows your agreement to sign the petition.This also makes you eligible to win an IDR100k worth of voucher from The Body Shop.

By voting you'll help:

1/ Petition against animal testing.

2/ Help Jerome win this Pet Photo Competition. And I mean, look at that silly face, don't you think he deserves to win just by being that cute? Hahahaha...

3/ Help ME win an IDR 1.000.000 worth of voucher from The Body Shop!!!

Such good causes, don't you think *wink*

So please, VOTE VOTE VOTE (one Facebook account gets to only vote once, but please spread the news)!

Oh before I forget, a shout out to my fellow blogger May (http://sanguines.wordpress.com). Thank you so much for voting, babe!!!

Thank you so much my dear readers, I know you'll vote because you love me, right?

RIGHT?! *stare*

Hahahahahaha...

xo,

#Undecided

4:25:00 PM
2 Comments

Kalista's Progress

#germanshepherdsonline

Hi Everybody. #Undecided here! I hope everybody is having a good Monday. Mine is surprisingly pretty good so far despite the fact that I've been having some mild vertigo attacks (damn it, it's back) due to the prolonged sleep deprivation LOL. I guess when you've been having so much fun, mild vertigo attack is nothing :D

Anyway, as promised, I'm writing a quick entry to update y'all about how Kalista and her training goes.

Miss Kalista

Originally we wanted to enlist her on her 1st obedience test this September, but apparently the test will be held on early Sep which means she won't be 12 months old by then (yes, it is mandatory that a German Shepherd is 12 months old before they can take the test). Kalista's birthday is on Sep 18th, so it means more boring basic training for her FHL hahaha...

Anyway, this video is taken on July 14th 2013 - only around a month after the previous video I posted here was taken. And as you can see, Kalista has finally managed to follow Miss Jenny around obediently and takes orders OFF LEASH, I'm so proud of my baby girl!!!

On a lighter note, I also have an update about our dog walk. As you know, a while back when our dogs resided in my mom's house, we would take them for a walk around our block every single night. I miss those days really. But the good news is that we're finally restarting the routine. For now twice a week, you know, on weekends, but we'll see if we can keep this up and make it a daily routine like before. And the cherry on top: we got hubby's friends who just got themselves a German Shepherd (see the story here) to join the weekly walks!!

Our goal, well beside the obvious of walking our dogs (plus to get girls' phone numbers - pardon our friends, they're young hahahahaha), is also to show people that big breeds (especially German Shepherds) are NOT scary. And the obvious choice to be our little club's mascot is Jerome, which albeit his looks (some say he looks scary LOL), is the nicest loveliest dog there is.

Scary really?! This face!? LOL I don't think so!

And one more picture of him, just because :D

Jerome - my handsome boy - at 10 months old

Again, this is an open invitation. If you want to walk your dogs with us, just drop me an email and I will hook you up.

Let's go!!

Kalista, Jerome, #Undecided and Hubby with our step daughter Giza :D

4:37:00 PM
2 Comments

#Undecided's Pride and Joy no, this entry is NOT about babies LOL

#germanshepherdsonline

Helloooooo everyone! #Undecided here... trying to write as much as I possibly can while #Pink is away on yet another holiday with her fam bam. LOL. You know how she worries about abandoning this blog for 2 weeks and since she only has 1 scheduled post, I - the dutiful co-writer of this blog *ahem* - will put aside my laziness and write. LOL. Let's see how long I can stretch this one, k? :)

Anyway, I hope I don't bore you with my non-beauty-related posts, because #Undecided is no girly #Pink and I have non of that stuff on my repertoire. Sorry :p

So, since I don't have much time to write today (will tell you why on my next entry!), this one is going to be an easy one...

If you know me quite well, you would have guessed by just reading the title that this post is all about.... you know it, my dogs! :D

I'm just going to update you with what they've been up to. But first thing first, enjoy the photos below!

#Jerome

This is baby Jerome before he came to us - probably around 4 months old.

This is Jerome on the first day we got him. Still so small, right...

Jerome - 3 days with us - his first off leash walk *proud*

Do you see the socks he's wearing? LOL. He scratched his paw pads because before he came to Surabaya, he only walked on grass in his kennel in Trawas... I guess the paved street and Surabaya's hot temperature shocked his delicate pads so the vet suggested the socks...

A few months in... This time he's modelling for my sis' fiancee LOL

This one I just had to post here because look at him sulking! This is after I scolded him for nibbling on the car's dusting broom! Naughty naughty!

OK, ready for how he looks today?!

Here goes!

So handsome! I know I know I'm biased... LOL. He's 9 months old now and his front paws are up to my chest when he's standing on his hind legs! He's gonna be huge when he stops growing LOL.

Side view

And one more, just because hahahaha...

# Kalista

This is baby Kalista - probably around 4 months old. Sorry for the crappy photo - this is actually a screen grab from a video hubby recorded when we first met her in Trawas.

I just realized that we don't have a photo of her homecoming day. I'm pretty sure hubby snapped lots of them, but then his Blackberry acted out and deleted all his files! So... these are the photos of her before we got her her training.

On some park near my mom's house

In her old cage - look at how she sits on the photo. Super sloppy LOL. She doesn't sit like that anymore now thanks to her training.

This is Kalista and her trainer today. Look how proper she sits :)

Up close to her face (with Ocha on the background)

This photo is taken quite recently and I literally LOL'ed when hubby sent it to me with a note: "look at how cheeky your dog is now slapping Alpha (the Siberian Husky) on the face". LOL LOL. But she's being playful that one. Ears back, tail down. No aggression. But poor Alpha getting bitch-slapped hahahahaha.

# Inez

Another screen grab from Kalista's video - I just noticed re-watching it that Miz Inez is also there! LOL.

According to hubby, of all 3 German Shepherds that we have, Inez is the one with the perfect stance. She's hubby's personal favorite. Her only flaw is her flat forehead LOL.

This is Inez' latest photo. Yes, even though she's the oldest of all three she's also the smallest in size. We're currently trying to bulk her up a bit with special diet from the vet.

OK, judging from the amount of photos, you should know by now that Inez is my least favorite. LOL. But hey, it's only because I am super attached to Kalista (even though hubby is her person, and NOT me *sigh*); and Jerome had me at hello (now who wouldn't - look at that adorable silly face of his LOL). Besides, Inez is not the kind of dog you cuddle with. She could care less about being a pet. She is the ultimate working dog. Give her a task and she'll ace it. Her favorite task right now is collecting empty bottles and whatnots and pile them up on "her office" (a corner which she always brings her findings to). LOL.

What they're up to right now?

Jerome, Inez, Kalista, and Miss Jenny

Well, Kalista is working on her agility training with her trainer Miss Jenny. And by September we'll enlist her on her 1st obedience test (Begleithunde Examination). Here's a video of one of her training sessions. Enjoy :)

As for Jerome, well, we're working on him getting into shape because (it pains me to say this, really) he was too fat -__- *sigh*. It's all my mom and sister's fault because they kept on shoving food his way because according to them: Jerome was always hungry. Well hello!!! He's a big dog. He would down whatever food they wave at his face. Just like his human (me!), gluttony is definitely his sin LOL.

But the good news is he's already so much skinnier and FINALLY managed to jump into the car by himself!!! *proud mama*. Why am I so proud one might ask? Well because the old-fat Jerome would just placed his front paws on the trunk and then plead with his eyes for hubby to haul his giant ass in. LOL. He has also finally mastered the instruction "catch". We would throw a stick up in the air and he would jump and catch the stick. He's getting so good and never misses any catch now (seriously my heart swells with pride typing this LOL). We're now working on "fetch". Will post a video soon!

Oh yeah, the good news is: PERKIN has now acknowledged long-haired German Shepherds in their dog shows, so Jerome can also compete!! Once he's in good shape we'll start working on his training and eventually we will want him to win some awards! *aim high - fingers crossed - LOL* Yes, it's not always fun and games for our dogs. We expect them to be winners too :)

As for hubby's fave: Miz Inez, (just like Jerome) we're also prepping her to join her first dog show. Maybe also in September. I will surely post photos and video!

Thanks for reading, guys.

#Undecided signing out!

Oh wait, one more photo of my pride and joy!

Jerome, Inez & Kalista

6:27:00 PM
4 Comments

#Undecided's Story: Kalista and SDTC and all things in between

agility

Hi everybody.

Missed me? I know you do *grin*

Anyway, I started writing this entry on 10 May 2013 (yes, almost a month ago LOL), but finally just finished it today. Well, like I said… baby steps… Hehehe...

As you know (been repeating this a lot on my entries, I'm such a broken record, sorry :p), I'm a dog person, so this entry is about an issue that is close to my heart. With this hopefully I can move you in some ways to treat dogs better, so then I'll know that I've done my part, albeit little but it's still something, right... :)

So please read it through to the end and let me know what you think, okay! Pretty please :)

Here goes!

So yesterday was a public holiday here in Indonesia and obviously the lazy me was ecstatic about sleeping in the whole day, BUT since I am also a responsible dog owner, I decided to spend the day with Kalista.

Kalista and I

I haven’t had the time to write about this, but we had to send our dogs (Kalista first, but then Jerome and Inez followed, but that's a story for another time) to a “boarding school” because one of my mom’s maids hit Kalista with a broomstick and caused her to bark nonstop at the slightest sight of her. Yes, this story has stupidity and ignorance on that maid’s behalf all over it. No, I am not being racist, judgmental or anything, as a matter of fact, she’s NOT a Moslem and my sister did catch her in action (and luckily that one time managed to stop her before the broomstick hit home).

And FYI, that incident happened when everybody was in the house (yes, some nerve, right!!). If she dared hitting her with her employers around, I can only imagine what else she would do during the day when nobody was home.

My sis called me and I rushed home (I was on the way back to my apartment after a night out with #Pink but we quickly took a detour). I called her out on her action and told her that if she dared raising a hand at one of our dogs once again, I would kick her out of the house so fast it wouldn’t matter what my mom said (it is quite difficult to find good house maids these days and my mom tends to hold on to the ones she has). Yes, I was that pissed.

However, the damage was done. We tried patching things up between Kalista and the maid, but she wasn’t having it. In short, Kalista wasn’t happy. She wouldn’t touch her food if it was given by the maid. She lost weight. Kept barking during the night and we were at a point when we just had to get her out of the house for her own sake. Had she live with hubby and I, this stupid story would have ended differently I’m sure *sigh*.

So the search for her new home started and after several phone calls we managed to find SURABAYA DOG TRAINING CENTER (SDTC) in Kenjeran (its location is near our apartment – so it’s super convenient for us to visit her as much as we want to). After a quick browse and a meeting with the owner (the lovely Miss Jenny), we decided to keep her there.

Jenny - the owner of SDTC with the agility field in the background

It wasn’t an easy transition for Kalista. She was super clingy to hubby (very normal since he was the only person she trusted at that time) and was terrified of other dogs (she even refused to play with the 2 Golden Retriever puppies there – avoided them with all her might).

Charlie - one of the two Golden Rets which Kalista avoided.
Funny how a 7-month-old German Shepherd was scared of two adorable 3-month-old puppies, right.

But I noticed how quickly the 2 kennel boys there got her attention. I always knew that Kalista sees people right through them. And she was always more attracted to men. Hmph. LOL... I remember how during her homecoming ride she refused only my friend's A’s touch – she knew that A was the only person in that car whom is not a dog person LOL.

Now almost a month after that day, Kalista is one happy dog. We visit her regularly and are following her progress closely. She gained weight, aces her obedience and agility materials, being social with the other 20 something dogs there (she’s bff with a male Rottweiler named Brino), only barks to alert the kennel boys when someone’s at the gate, and we couldn’t be more proud of her!! Our once skittish dog is her old self no more. I am forever indebted to Miss Jenny for what she’s done for my dog.

Brino - Kalista's BFF

This brings me to basically the reason as to why I’m writing this entry. If you think that abuse, abandonment, ignorance and neglect only happen to mutts and mongrels, well you can’t be more wrong. Kalista – albeit what happened to her for a small period of time – is one of the lucky ones. I cannot say the same to the other pure breeds (yes, pure breeds!!) dogs there and I would like to share some of their stories with you.

Goldie - look at that face *swoon*

Goldie is a one handsome Golden Retriever. He was one of Jenny’s trained agility dogs before he was abandoned by his owner in his old house. Deep in debt towards his neighbors, the owner ran away leaving Goldie unattended. One of the neighbors said that they should just sell Goldie and split the money amongst themselves. Jenny got wind of the news and decided to take Goldie in before he was placed in the wrong hands. He’s now one of the residents in SDTC.

Rambo is another Golden Retriever living in SDTC. His owner left him there after purchasing another dog, saying that she can only house one dog. Yes, I also wonder why she purchased the new dog knowing that she already had one in the first place!! The owner – however – insists that Rambo is to remain in SDTC saying she would pay for his accommodation fee. But when she pays, she only pays little by little and currently has a substantial amount of debt to SDTC. Rambo got ill a few weeks ago and had to spend 18 days in a clinic (he’s now well, thank God), and not even once did she visit him to see how he was doing. Some owner, right…

Alpha and Cheryl are two of the 4 Siberian Huskies in SDTC. Two different owners, same abandonment case. They simply didn’t want them anymore and left them in SDTC.

Alpha

Cheryl and her newborn pups

They are only a few of the 20-something dogs that are now SDTC’s responsibility. Jenny is doing whatever in her power to keep them safe, healthy, well-fed and loved, but she is only one person. You guys are more than welcomed to come and visit (scheduled visits, okay, just contact me if you want to drop by and share some love towards our four-legged friends), and a helping hand (yes, even though to just play with them) is always appreciated.

Now let’s ponder for a little while. Dogs are living beings. They are not just some products to trade. They’re not disposable once you find them no longer cute. They’re not to be discarded once you find them problematic. Once you decided to buy or adopt a dog, you’re in this 10-15 years long relationship. So please, do not buy them just because they’re cute. Do not get a dog just because… but get a dog if you are sure that you can be responsible for them.

No, I’m not talking only about financial responsibility, even though that’s also majorly important. You also need to realize that you cannot just drop food in their bowls daily, you also need to train and get them the exercise they need (yes, dogs need daily walks no matter how big your yard is); their regular vet care (vaccinations, etc.); and last but not least: your time and affection.

If you cannot be that responsible person, please please please, do not buy or adopt a dog or you’ll end up being the very reason as to why they’re unhappy and unhealthy.

Please... There are way too many abandoned dogs... You can help their case by not adding to the statistics... If you just want to play with them, just visit local shelters. Lend a helping hand... as much as you can...

I’m gonna leave you with two things: first a link to a youtube video if you want to know more about what SDTC is all about. And finally, a quote that gets me every single time:

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”

"You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion"... Think about it.

#Undecided, Jerome, and Inez.

5:41:00 PM
0 Comments

#Undecided's Hero

Cesar Millan

Hello everybody! How's Friday treating you? Kindly I hope, LOL. My day isn't all pretty (I had a persistent tummy ache thanks to this spicy egg and tofu dish I had last night) which is why I need to distract myself with happy thoughts and here I am, writing... sharing with you my latest happy thought.

As you know, I am a dog person. I love dogs. I always have and always will. But I guess growing up with them didn't necessarily teach me how to properly treat them. Sure I tend to them, play with them, give them lots (yes, LOTS!!) of affection, but that was it. I thought that was enough. My dogs always seemed happy anyways. Sure they chew on stuff, bark some, jump on you, hump your leg, pull on their leashes, but that's what dogs do... right?

Well I thought so... until I saw my first episode of Dog Whisperer on NatGeo.

My understanding of dogs was instantly scattered *dramatic alert LOL*. Apparently everything I did to and for my dogs wasn't all correct. I started watching the show religiously - and I got my hubby hooked as well. It's safe to say that Cesar Millan is our new hero. I was honestly amazed of how good he is with dogs, even with dogs he has never met before...

We started practicing his theories on our own dogs - with surprising results. Apparently they are doable! And NOT to my surprise, our dogs responded better to hubby. Yep, he's my very own Dog Whisperer. LOL. It's a joy watching him "at work" doing his magic with our pack, and it has become my obsession to share him with others (the talent ya, not the person. I don't share husband, sorry!! LOL).

The opportunity presented itself in the form of a handsome 6-month-old Siberian Husky name Bolt.

Bolt - recent photo

Bolt - a few months ago *cue: awwwwww*

Bolt before he met hubby was a typical dog which had - quoting Cesar Millan - no rules, no boundaries, no limitations. Yes, with his adorable face, he pretty much got away with everything. He even managed to nip and bite his humans here and there. Quoting Fanny (my friend - his owner), "It feels like I'm in an abusive household - LOL - I have bruises all over my thighs, cuts on my knee, and scratches on my hands." She was finally at a point where she needed someone's help because she just couldn't manage him anymore. Especially with a baby on the way (yes, she's 5 months preggo), and the fact that Bolt is growing fast and he will eventually become bigger and stronger than he is today.

So it was one Saturday afternoon. Hubby and I with our two German Shepherd (Jerome and Kalista) drove to her house. We got there and were greeted by Bolt barking his lungs off. We immediately spotted that he wasn't aggressive - he was just territorial and unsure about how to react to a situation, especially with 2 new dogs on his turf (which is a very typical case for dogs which live alone and have no social skill). It took hubby around 5 minutes or so wrestling with his leash (while Jerome and Kalista sitting quietly with me - completely ignoring whatever Bolt was doing - which is exactly what stable dogs would do) and Bolt immediately calmed down.

We took everyone off for a walk and after one round hubby was confident to walk Bolt off leash (I'm sure it was because Jerome was there - he's such a good role model, that dog, I love him to bits LOL). We ran into two neighbor's dogs (another German Shepherd and Siberian Husky - coincidence?!) and everything was a-OK. Bolt never bolted (yes, pun intended LOL), but he did strayed and ventured into a vegetation by himself and got himself dirty but he came back when we called out to him (never, I repeat, never chase a straying dog because he will only run faster thinking that you're playing with him. Just stay calm, squat down and call their name with some whistling and clapping - that is the trick!)

Bolt trying to dominate Jerome - and no, it is NOT okay when a dog does this to another dog. He's not being playful, he's being dominant (look at his ears and tail). We need to stop this behavior before this escalates into a fight.

We tackled several of Bolt's issues that day and showed Fanny and Harry (Fanny's husband) how to handle him. They have managed (by themselves) to walk Bolt without him pulling on the leash. Harry did it first and then jokingly made a bet that Fanny would never be able to walk him successfully that day, but hubby was like "challenge accepted!!" and got her to do so after 2 or 3 attempts *proud moment LOL - Harry so owes us money!!*. They managed to get him to walk into his kennel (without force or being lured by treat), and to wait patiently in front of an open door.

Harry took this pic. He said that it was one memorable moment that Bolt could sit politely with a stranger LOL.

The next morning, I got the best news: Harry and Fanny had a good morning with Bolt. Their biggest achievement - see for yourselves:

Bolt - sleeping in front of an open door - without trying to barge in - yep, a first for them!!

And one more - read the caption, please!! *smug* LOL

We felt it was appropriate for Bolt to be introduced to our whole pack - and I am proud to report that it went smoothly. Enjoy the photos!

from left to right: Denzel - Jerome - Hubby - Bolt - Kalista - Fanny - Alvon - my brother Henry (Gloria is not in the picture because we suspect that she's preggo so she needed to stay inside)

Bolt and his two mentors

Alvon sniffing on Bolt's rear. Yes, this is how dogs meet. It's normal. Don't worry and try to separate them when your dogs do this.

We had one incident when Bolt jumped and tried to nip Alvon when Alvon tried to drink from his bowl. A new challenge for us to tackle. By the end of the day, Bolt only let Kalista pass (well not really, Kalista sashayed her way in and Bolt was speechless LOL), so it's a point to work on - which we will.

Kalista and Bolt's bowl LOL

I wonder where Jerome was...

nap time

I've been getting rave reports from Fanny. Bolt is on his way to be a balanced dog. Was it magic? Nope. It was just a bunch of people trying to do what's best for our dogs. How? By being their good pack leader and treating them as dogs - just the way they are meant to be treated - and not humanizing them.

Was I proud of hubby? Very! He's my new hero!! LOL.

Hubby and Kalista

Our next project? Personally, I would like to keep helping Baby Boy be a good pack leader. I'm sure he will - he's on his way to be!! Just look at how good he is with Jerome and Kalista!