Pudding was pregnant once two years ago but she lost all her seven pups within hours of them being born.
Pudding is a really nice shade of brown and we had wanted to mate her with a black haired dog of the same breed. One of our family friends had a beautiful black labrador named Romeo and we let Romeo and Pudding get acquainted.
I remember my mom calling and telling me she was pregnant. We were all ecstatic, especially my brother, he's the most attached to her. However, he was studying in New Zealand at the time and I was here in Australia, my mom was helping Pudding with the birth. To get information on how to assist your dog with birth, click here. Anyhow, Pudding started to give birth at 3 in the morning and would not let my mom near her and started getting aggressive. She gave birth to the pups but, according to the doctor due to her being unable to tear the amniotic sack off, we lost all the seven puppies. Mom said Pudding was very quiet and volatile for a period following the incident. We were all immensly dissapointed and the doctor said that since it was a possibility that it could happen again, it was better to get her neutered. She hasn't met Romeo since.
However, since we've had her neutered, she has been more calm and less agressive.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Pudding’s typical diet
Breakfast (after a 20-30 minute 7am walk) - 2 raw eggs with milk and a piece of meat. Nothing cooked
Snacks - raw bones, a piece of meat, biscuits or bread and veggies.
Dinner- depending on her behavior for day: a variety of what we as a family have for dinner; Pedigree Dog food; or meat with rice and vegetables.
Nighttime snack/desert - She loves bananas and mangoes, she actually loves her fruit. Once everyone is done with dinner, she looks up at mom longingly knowing a banana is coming to her. Her ears perk up as soon as mom goes to the fruit basket and she saunters over to get her bite. She particularly likes the small bananas, they few times we’ve tried giving her the bigger ones she looks at us unimpressed.
When she was a puppy, she loved playing and chewing on crushed ice, which is good for tartar control on her teeth. She would hear the refrigerator grumble is the crushed ice came rushing out and would scramble to beg for some to play with.
Food she likes includes any kind of meat and bones, bananas, carrot peels, custard, cakes and pastries. Since she has grown up with eating our home cooked Indian food, she loves her spices and laps up spicy food. As you can tell form her pictures, she isn’t very fussed about her food. She likes pretty much anything except for cucumbers.
Snacks - raw bones, a piece of meat, biscuits or bread and veggies.
Dinner- depending on her behavior for day: a variety of what we as a family have for dinner; Pedigree Dog food; or meat with rice and vegetables.
Nighttime snack/desert - She loves bananas and mangoes, she actually loves her fruit. Once everyone is done with dinner, she looks up at mom longingly knowing a banana is coming to her. Her ears perk up as soon as mom goes to the fruit basket and she saunters over to get her bite. She particularly likes the small bananas, they few times we’ve tried giving her the bigger ones she looks at us unimpressed.
When she was a puppy, she loved playing and chewing on crushed ice, which is good for tartar control on her teeth. She would hear the refrigerator grumble is the crushed ice came rushing out and would scramble to beg for some to play with.
Food she likes includes any kind of meat and bones, bananas, carrot peels, custard, cakes and pastries. Since she has grown up with eating our home cooked Indian food, she loves her spices and laps up spicy food. As you can tell form her pictures, she isn’t very fussed about her food. She likes pretty much anything except for cucumbers.
Chasing cars and other memories
We've had many crazy experiences with Pudding, especially while travelling. She has scared us and other random people so many times by just running off by herself. One of the most dangerous bad habits a dog can have is chasing cars and Pudding has had her share of near misses on the streets. One time I was walking Pudding before my dad left for work in his car and happened to wave out to me. Pudding noticed, pulled away form me and started chasing the car; she ran out of the gate and into the traffic filled streets of Airport road outside our home in India. That’s bad traffic! and I stopped chasing after a while. My dad had to stop, get her in the car and bring her back home.
Dad wasn’t as observant the next time and didn’t notice she was following him along those same streets. She chased him for a while and I waited outside the house for 20 minutes before she showed up alone and panting, yet happy to see I was waiting there for her. Thats only the beginning!
When she doesn't get her way, she lets us know - but apparently everything can be solved with a new toy or bone. When friends and family come to visit, they bring gifts for Pudding and not me, which isn’t fun but she has a blast with them. Her favorite toy was a squeaky ball which also freshens her breath. She would chew on it constantly driving everyone at home insane.
I remember one time I was returning home from the airport with mom, after being away for months and I get the usual hugs and oh you’ve lost weight and this that. Once we return home, even though she left pudding 5 minutes ago and she’s all oohing –ahhing over her.. so yes, I am a tad bit jealous of my adorable 6 year old pet! It isn’t just my parents who adore her more - my friends come home and fuss over and play with her as well obsessing over her beautiful eyes, which by the way are gorgeous.
I remember my little nieces pretending to be hurt, and crying so Pudding would come huddle over them and lick them and they would shriek with joy over outsmarting her. Their shrieks further excited Pudding, who at 3 times their size had a tail that would hit them and they, taken aback every time, would have a giggling fit.
A funny thing about her is that she's absolutely terrified of firecrackers! As soon as hears them bursting away, her tail slides between her legs and she hunches, limping toward my bathroom. This is because my bedroom is in the lowest part of the house and she likes the cold bathroom tiles. She won't come back up, even to eat, until the firecrackers have ceased.
Dad wasn’t as observant the next time and didn’t notice she was following him along those same streets. She chased him for a while and I waited outside the house for 20 minutes before she showed up alone and panting, yet happy to see I was waiting there for her. Thats only the beginning!
When she doesn't get her way, she lets us know - but apparently everything can be solved with a new toy or bone. When friends and family come to visit, they bring gifts for Pudding and not me, which isn’t fun but she has a blast with them. Her favorite toy was a squeaky ball which also freshens her breath. She would chew on it constantly driving everyone at home insane.
I remember one time I was returning home from the airport with mom, after being away for months and I get the usual hugs and oh you’ve lost weight and this that. Once we return home, even though she left pudding 5 minutes ago and she’s all oohing –ahhing over her.. so yes, I am a tad bit jealous of my adorable 6 year old pet! It isn’t just my parents who adore her more - my friends come home and fuss over and play with her as well obsessing over her beautiful eyes, which by the way are gorgeous.
I remember my little nieces pretending to be hurt, and crying so Pudding would come huddle over them and lick them and they would shriek with joy over outsmarting her. Their shrieks further excited Pudding, who at 3 times their size had a tail that would hit them and they, taken aback every time, would have a giggling fit.
A funny thing about her is that she's absolutely terrified of firecrackers! As soon as hears them bursting away, her tail slides between her legs and she hunches, limping toward my bathroom. This is because my bedroom is in the lowest part of the house and she likes the cold bathroom tiles. She won't come back up, even to eat, until the firecrackers have ceased.
My pudding. You don’t know her but she’s quite an extraordinary animal. She’s brave, relentless, stubborn, moody, optimistic, and very real. What you see is definitely what you get. Pudding is far from perfect though, I know and I’ll be the first to admit so. She’s moody, she’s lazy and she’s bites but she’s also so loving and fun. She also gets emotional and like other dogs, can sense and experience sadness. I won’t go into the “chicken soup” stories about my dog being there for me when I was down and so on but she was a big help to have around.
She was also my walking partner as she was the only one who could keep up with me, that was once I got her out. It’s funny how we trick her into going for a walk. She’s a clever little dog and loves rides in the car more than a walk. She also knows that once we’ve picked up our bags and jiggle the car keys, were going for a ride. She herself then, grabs her leash, wagging her tail furiously, begs us to take her for a joyride. So we trick her, struggle to put the leash over her wriggling body and literally drag her past the car for a walk. Once that has been accomplished, and she’s outside, she starts loving it, bouncing around happily, sniffing along, although it doesn’t usually last more than 20 minutes.
It was interesting watching her while we walked, that is when she wasn’t pulling and tugging me all over the place. After she has calmed down and is walking calmly beside me, I notice how observant she is. Dogs are always very keenly aware of their surroundings. They smell and taste everything they find along the way. Their ears perk at the slightest sound. Their eyes are constantly scanning the surrounding watching for any thing that moves. As enjoyable as it was walking with her, it was equally frustrating as once she was done she refused to budge. You see, Pudding is a very smart and observant dog and knows her way home for miles as we have walked around the whole neighborhood. She knows she has nothing to lose and she can very well find her own way home. So she stays put in the direction of home, tugging me in that direction. she becomes my master. She does the same thing when confronted by the stray dogs in the neighborhood so when were out for a walk she tries to pull me to take me another route but sometimes we she’s forced to confront them, ego and pride come in and I can see her pretending not to be scared, her hairs standing up and her tail stiff, growling at the other dogs till we’re passed them. Then she happily leads me home.
She was also my walking partner as she was the only one who could keep up with me, that was once I got her out. It’s funny how we trick her into going for a walk. She’s a clever little dog and loves rides in the car more than a walk. She also knows that once we’ve picked up our bags and jiggle the car keys, were going for a ride. She herself then, grabs her leash, wagging her tail furiously, begs us to take her for a joyride. So we trick her, struggle to put the leash over her wriggling body and literally drag her past the car for a walk. Once that has been accomplished, and she’s outside, she starts loving it, bouncing around happily, sniffing along, although it doesn’t usually last more than 20 minutes.
It was interesting watching her while we walked, that is when she wasn’t pulling and tugging me all over the place. After she has calmed down and is walking calmly beside me, I notice how observant she is. Dogs are always very keenly aware of their surroundings. They smell and taste everything they find along the way. Their ears perk at the slightest sound. Their eyes are constantly scanning the surrounding watching for any thing that moves. As enjoyable as it was walking with her, it was equally frustrating as once she was done she refused to budge. You see, Pudding is a very smart and observant dog and knows her way home for miles as we have walked around the whole neighborhood. She knows she has nothing to lose and she can very well find her own way home. So she stays put in the direction of home, tugging me in that direction. she becomes my master. She does the same thing when confronted by the stray dogs in the neighborhood so when were out for a walk she tries to pull me to take me another route but sometimes we she’s forced to confront them, ego and pride come in and I can see her pretending not to be scared, her hairs standing up and her tail stiff, growling at the other dogs till we’re passed them. Then she happily leads me home.
Pudding became a part of our family when she was a month old, on November 10th 2001. My brother and I had gone to pick her out and we were so excited. Like most kids, we’d wanted a dog for as long as we could remember and we were finally choosing our own puppy. I still remember the ride to the house form where we were going to pick her up. 3 of us were going there in my brothers bright red mini Pajero, him and his friend, sean up in front and me, sitting in the back.
The puppies were just 2 weeks old then and we could choose any from 9 puppies. There were all small and walking over each other in a small confined area. Me and my brother both wanted different puppies but we eventually settled on Pudding. She seemed to be the most fun of the lot – how wrong were we? They say that a baby becomes the opposite of what it primarily was, once it grows up. This is definitely true in Pudding’s case because she is now lazy and overweight. Labradors tend to be especially if they’re not walked enough – and she’s stubborn. I have to admit for the longest time I hated the name. I always said, if the poor thing could speak, say any one thing, she would ask us to change her name. My brother is one of those sentimental types though and he wanted it to remain as it was in her birth certificate. So Pudding it was.
The puppies were just 2 weeks old then and we could choose any from 9 puppies. There were all small and walking over each other in a small confined area. Me and my brother both wanted different puppies but we eventually settled on Pudding. She seemed to be the most fun of the lot – how wrong were we? They say that a baby becomes the opposite of what it primarily was, once it grows up. This is definitely true in Pudding’s case because she is now lazy and overweight. Labradors tend to be especially if they’re not walked enough – and she’s stubborn. I have to admit for the longest time I hated the name. I always said, if the poor thing could speak, say any one thing, she would ask us to change her name. My brother is one of those sentimental types though and he wanted it to remain as it was in her birth certificate. So Pudding it was.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
I wish I could love like a dog, unconditionally. Pudding won't notice if I'm wearing brand new Prada shoes or my age old jammies. She doesn't give a hoot about how much money I make, whether I drive a Maserati or a Bug. Whether I'm Christian or Muslim, black or white, Democrat or Republican. She doesn’t care if I live in a condo or the basement in my parents house. Maybe I have thunder thighs or a badonkadonk butt or maybe I’m blessed with a body like Beyonce - Pudding doesn’t care – as long as I have food in my cabinet and I’m good to open a can.
Theres other things I love about Pudding - She wouldn’t complain if my hair was in her face…I wake up with her hair in mine, and her tongue licking my face vigourously almost every morning. And I love it. I'd love to work and play like a dog, with total dedication, purpose and concentration. I love to watch how focused she remains on that airborne frisbee, or ball. Dogs aren't mulling over their walk tomorrow, their meal tonight or their nap in 10 minutes. They live in the moment.
She trusts that we will provide for her needs. She knows when its her meal times - and if her bowl is empty, she'll look up at us, rub up against my mom, whine, and then she’ll go back to sleep until food appears. She doesn’t pace the floor worrying about when the food will come and if it will be enough or if it’s meeting her nutritional needs. Not a worry in the world.
Where else would you get the unexplainable joy of walking through the door everyday and be greeted with uninhibited elation that is comparable or equivalent to winning the powerball/lottery. Everyday. Walk her, feed her, love her, She’s so content with so little and gives so much joy, loyalty and love in return.
I’ve realized there are a lot of things I love about her. . I love my pet, Im not an obessessive owner and though making a blog on my dog may negate my point completely, I have realised how much more I do miss her than I thought.
Welcome
This is a blog on my dog Pudding. I love my dog however I have to start by explaining why I decided to make a blog on my beautiful 5 year old Labrador. The reason for this blog is a school assessment! We were told to make a special interest net publication and for weeks I struggled with a topic. As I am away from home, and most of my interests lie there, I found it difficult to pick something that would interest me and that I could further explore to make the blog interesting for other viewers. In the end, looking through some of my old pictures I found some pictures of Pudding and decided she was what I missed a lot about home, apart from my family, friends and food. Unfortunately I don't have any vidoeos' but i plan on continuing the blog and adding more about Pudding, including some baby pictures and videos.
I will also be adding information about Labradors, including breeding, eating, and grooming habits as well as other useful information for pet owners.
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