Lightning's with the Big Boys Now!

You heard it here first!!!  We have successfully introduced Lightning into the main dog cage, and it only took a few hours!

Look at the cutesy baby.. looking rather small compared to the bigger dogs.  No, they are not shunning him to one corner.. they're just looking expectantly at the front door, waiting for me to open it.

We started by just dumping him into the cage and letting Hunter do whatever he feels like doing to Lightning.. this included dousing Lightning's head is saliva and peeing on his face.. not once.. but TWICE!  

But once Hunter realized that we didn't care, he mainly left Lightning alone.  

How did Lightning take it?  Well, he was truly excited, jumping all over the other dogs and trying to lick their faces.. although seriously, all he could reach were their mouths.. so he pretty much french kissed them.. aww.. didn't know my baby was so French!

Get me outta here!

 Just look at how happy he is!  Although at this moment, it looks like he's trying to jump out of the cage to save his own life :)

He's mixing in well with the group.. very lovable.. although really fierce about his food!  No one gets in between him and his doggie kibbles!  He still stays in the cage at night though.. there's a hole in the gate that he can slip through so we'll wait til he's bigger before we let him out at night with the rest of the dogs.

Lightning's Growing Up

Sorry guys, it's been awhile since I updated this blog.. been busy traveling.. but now I'm back.. and boy has Lightning grown in the one week that I was away!

We moved his daily location from the Laundry area to the Dryer area.. as there's bigger space and it's much cooler during the day.. and he's got plenty of things to play with.. such as chewing the legs of the table!  Yes.. ever the biter.. this one got itchy teeth!

As you can see, we still chain him up during the day (sad) but we're worried that he'll get loose and run out of the house.. as the first thing he does off the leash is run towards the front gate!  Luckily he's getting bigger and soon we don't have to worry about this issue.

We let him out at night now to run with the other dogs and bond.. Hunter still has issues with that.. and they get lotsa exercise chasing each other round and round the house.  Lightning tripped once and hurt his foot.. but he was up and about 5 minutes later!  Bless his soul.. 

He's so friendly and so mischievous... Love the way he cocks his head to the side when he catches you looking at him!

Still trying to train this little guy, but he's just too hyper!  At least he knows to sit for his food.. and to Hi-Five when you ask for it! hahaha .. 

Til next time...

Lightning - Food Connosieur

Lightning is the fussiest food eater I know... but boy does he know what's best!

You want to serve me WHAT?!?!?!

 He doesn't like to drink milk (surprising as my other dogs drool over their morning milk), doesn't really enjoy his Lamb n Rice puppy food.. even though we soaked it in some milk to soften it.. and even soften with water...

My mum started to worry because he was skinny (whereas my other dogs were FAT puppies!) and is now on a mission to fatten him up.. although I did warn her that the previous owner had cautioned not to make them too obese!

We had porridge with mince pork yesterday for lunch, and I fed the leftovers (one big bowl) to Lightning... his first taste of human food... and boy did he gobble that up fast!  He started eating and didn't stop until his bowl was empty!

Last night we had leftover lamb rack from The Junk (Delicious) and took home the bones as treats for the dog.. we gave one to Lightning and had him busy the rest of the night while he figures out that it's not a tasty toy!  Flinging it around everywhere!  One time, he flung it out of reach and panic..  so cute!

I'm guessing No Veggies for him though...

Lightning made a friend!!!

As you all know, we're in the process of introducing Lightning and Hunter... Hunter the male Ego-Alpha-Dog.. ahh.. what do we do with him?  He's just too loveable.

Well guess what?  We had a little play interaction between Lightning and Hunter over the weekend... after of course, making sure that Hunter will not kill Lightning.

It was a success.. not only did Lightning survive.. look how happy he is with Hunter!  He's positively giddy with excitement!  And look how proud Hunter is .. standing over his new baby brother!

Okay, so maybe it's not all smooth riding all the way.. Hunter refuses to let Lightning stand up and run around.. the minute he does.. Hunter runs towards him and holds him down by the neck.. asserting his alpha-maleness .. 

Don't worry.. we'll still be conducting this exposure exercise to make Hunter more comfortable with Lightning's presence.. and as always.. no favoritism is shown.. and we make sure that the three older dogs still feel the same amount of love we've always showed them!

Awww... hugs to all my babies! 

Lightning - ever the socialite!

Lightning is a doggie socialite if there ever was one!  He gets so excited to see Hunter, Max and Lupo that he runs straight to their compound whenever we take him for a walk.  He'll jump on the fence and lick them on their faces.. it's so cute to see!

Mmm... Yummy!

 Fortunately, he's on the receiving end of endless kisses from Max and Lupo (when he can give a damn).. Hunter.. that boy is still on an ego-trip.  Tries to get to Lightning every opportunity he has, and has tried on several occasion to bite him.. which he did yesterday :(  Fortunately, it wasn't a hard bite and I was there to stop it.

Oh Hunter.. what will it take for you to like Lightning?

Good news.. Lightning is now sleeping outside the house, no longer in the kitchen!  Hunter no longer barks at him .. it's just the biting issue we got to fix.

Still the cheeky fella.. Lightning himself is on a biting mission.. usually my fingers fall prey.  But he is as adorable as ever.. and no doubt loved to pieces by us.

Lightning wants Friends!

Lightning has grown up so much.  And boy is he ever curious.  He wants to make friends with Max, Hunter and Lupo.  Naturally, I'm find with that, but I was rather apprehensive on how Hunter would react, as he has tried to bite Lightning on several occasions!

So I would let Lightning run to the dog compound (the entire area behind the gym) and he would sniff around and try to get into the area.. all while Max, Lupo and Hunter look on.  Max and Lupo were excited to play, but Hunter was a little reserved.. Lightning would get so excited that he'll start licking the other dogs.. you should have seen Hunter's expression of disgust when he was licked..

But Hunter is loosening up around Lightning.  He's no longer as aggressive, but I can see that it'll take more time for him to get comfortable around Lightning..

And so.. the team bonding continues....

Lightning's Visit to the Vet

On 12th November 2011, we took Lightning to City Vets for his 3rd shot.. boy was Lightning curious.. firstly, he refuses to sit still on the weighing machine, then he was happily sniffing every nook and cranny.. we finally had to put him on the baby weighing machine, where he finally sat still..  My baby boy put on 3kgs in one month! 

Lightning with a thermometer up his ass...

 He started to panic when we placed him on the newspaper on top of the cold metal table.. and when the doctor came, he started shivering so bad.. I think he recognizes the doctors from previous shots!  He wasn't very appreciative towards having a thermometer up his ass too.. although understandably.. would anybody be?

The doctor came in a convinced us (not that there was much convincing needed) to give him a heart-worm shot as well.. we agreed and thus.. my poor baby.. received two HUGE jabs that day.   But my brave boy did not even flinch.. 

He was back to his curious self right after that.. and finally enjoyed riding in a car (maybe it was because I wasn't behind the wheel!).. sticking his head out the window and looking around.. and leaving his saliva all over the car.. 


Thus was Lightning's visit to the vet...

Lightning's Welcoming Committee

So... I now have 3 other dogs at home.  Maximus Primus Ling (Goldie), Hunter Ling (Siburan Husky) and Lupo Ling (Siberian Husky).. Cookie was my fourth, but with him gone (Thanks to the bastards that STOLE him).. so Lightning rounds the team to 4 again.
I was a little worried about how they will accept him.. 

Maximus Primus Ling "Noooo.. not another one!"

Lupo Ling "HAHAHA.. I'm not at the bottom of the food chain now!"

Hunter Ling "Really?  A new dog?  Another MALE?"

Hahaha, I'm just kidding.

Hunter is getting used to a new male dog in the house.  He's just trying to exert his authority as alpha male.. didn't give a warm welcome to Lightning.

Maximus was so happy to get a new playmate.  He wanted to play immediately, running after Lightning.. not knowing that at 3x the size of Lightning.. Lightning was running for dear life!

Lupo, being the cool anti-social dog that he is, couldn't give a stuff about Lightning.  Was more interested in exploring his surroundings.

Lightning now lives in a cage in our kitchen at night because we're not too sure how Hunter will treat him.. but we're slowing moving him outdoors so get the other dogs accustomed to him.

Ahhh... bliss...

Lightning's Homecoming

So how did we get Lightning you asked?

Well, it all started way back in August 2011, when Pets Paradise advertised that they have border collies to sell.  I didn't take much notice until my sister decided that she wanted to get a dog with her husband.  I mentioned that border collies are now available in Kuching.  Well she got excited, so I enquired with Pets Paradise and they gave me a contact number, which I never called.  The idea of getting a new dog was... impossible.

2 months down the road, we lost one of our goldies, Cookie.  He ran out and was never seen by us again.  Feeling the hole in my heart, I started posting up lost signs around the WWW.  I kept coming across the ad for border collies for sale in Kuching so I decided to enquire more.  I SMS'ed the number given and said that if the owner had a black and white male border collie for sale, please keep me informed.  Well, I got an immediate response saying that they had a wheaten & white male border collie, would I want him?  I wasn't really keen on a wheaten & white border collie.. I mean.. aren't they famed for being black & white??  The owner was persistent and started sending me pictures of him.  He stole my heart from that first picture.

Please take me home....

Isn't he just that adorable?  Who wouldn't take him home?  So I had to make a deal with my parents to get him.  3 months of yoga every 2nd day and Lightning comes home with me... well.. had to think about that for a bit :P  Just kidding.  DEAL!


So 3 days after enquiring about Lightning, he came home with me.  A little scared of the car ride (or maybe my driving?) but he settled well at home.  Yes, Lightning is finally home.

The Birth of Lightning

Lightning @ 3 Months on his journey home

This is Little Lightning Ling.  Born on the sunny day of 25th July 2011 (which happens to be the same birthday as my niece Ashley!), he was one of a litter of 5.  Born to a wheaten & white father border collie and a black & white mother border collie.. Lightning was destined to take after his wheaten & white HANDSOME father below...

Ain't he the Heart-Breaker?

Why was he called Lightning?  Lightning became his name because of a lightning shape on his butt when he was born.  When we adopted him, we thought that would be a totally awesome ice breaker, and hence.. he was christened Lightning Ling.