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The Plight of the Singapore Special

What the Shelter Won’t Tell You

Lady-Mae is my first Singapore Special. We adopted her in 2012. She is my seventh dog in my life. When I was growing up, we could have unlimited number of dogs as long as they weren’t a nuisance to the neighbours.

As an experienced dog owner and handler, I did something totally out of the ordinary when it came to choosing Lady-Mae. I went purely with my instincts. I didn’t research about owning a rescue dog, I just went ahead to get one. (If you’re a new dog owner, I highly suggest that you speak to many fellow Singapore Special owners. A variety of owners and not just one type of owner. It’ll give you a more realistic view of this dog. Please do not follow my example.)

As time went by and I got involved in the dog community, I realised that many people struggled with their Sg Special because either their dog wasn’t properly socialised or they did not get a suitable trainer. So here’s a list of 12 things that I think will help you to decide if the Singapore Special or SS is for you and if you’re up to the challenge.

1. They are the toughest dog to train, even harder than a husky: Most trainers will tell you the Husky is the hardest dog to train. Well, move aside Husky because the Singapore Special tops that list. Singapore Specials don’t care about anyone. They are not bred to want to listen to you. They are bred to solve problems on their own. They do not do well with a wishy-washy handler. Not being able to make a decision on the fly is going to make you be a weakling in the Singapore Special’s eyes. Once you’re seen as a weakling, they will exploit that. I often tell fellow owners that making a bad decision is better than not making one at all.

2. You’ll need to find a GOOD balance trainer: A good balance trainer means a trainer who knows how to use Positive Reinforcement and knows how to teach corrections in a fair and just manner. Singapore Specials are sensitive dogs. They do not do well with high aversive training and neither do they do well solely on Positive Reinforcements only.

3. Singapore Specials need a firm owner: Being firm these days is being labeled a dictator. On the contrary. Being firm means that when you say NO to your dog, be prepared to say NO another one thousand times before your dog will take you seriously.

4. Critical Learning Period For every dog, not just the Singapore Special, the critical learning period is from 3 to 5months. During this time, if a dog is intentionally socialized well to the environment, people, and the lifestyle of the owner, it will grow up to be a balanced dog. However, this is highly critical for the Singapore Special. Missing out on this window creates many of the behavioural issues that the dog will carry through its life. The only reason why the dog becomes good is because of good management. So be prepared to manage your dog but it doesn’t mean you will see the problem behaviour go away.

5. Socialising your dog is a crazy long list over a crazy long time: For many Singapore Specials, they find it hard to adapt to the urban lifestyle that we live and move in. They need to have POSITIVE experiences from the time they are rescued all the way until they have matured adults (4 to 5years old). Socialisation is not going to be a ONE-time affair. These dogs need the consistent positive experience. Socialization isn’t bringing a dog to a dog park and letting it do what it wants. Socialization is an intentional affair with a specific goal.

6. Knowing who you are is critical: Self-awareness is probably the one thing that most SS owners struggle with. So before you bring one home, know what makes you tick. Know how you make decisions, what needs you have so that you can make decisions. And be comfortable in your own skin. E.g. some people need TIME to make a decision. If that’s you, then be aware that if your dog reacts, you should already have a backup plan because there will not be time for you to deliberate. Your Singapore Special is going to know you before the first day is over. And it’s going to know what your weaknesses are and how it can exploit you. E.g. if you’re afraid that the dog will bark its lungs out and get a complaint from a neighbour, the Singapore Special is going to bark the heck of its lungs out because it’s going to push every weakness button. It wants to see which of our weaknesses it can exploit.

7. It needs leadership: Leadership has become a nasty and dirty word in the dog world today. It’s sad because Singapore Special needs a person who is able to provide them clarity. These dogs need someone to give them clear definitions of what is and what isn’t acceptable behaviour. And they need someone to give them clear guidance on how to achieve acceptable behaviour. Failure to provide this will result in a Singapore Special that is highly fearful, reactive, or aggressive.

8. The Singapore Special is wild at heart: I think too many people downplay this trait in the Singapore Special. They are very feral. Almost wolf-like. But they are dogs. They will be eager to please if you can provide leadership. You’ll never be able to domesticate the Singapore Special but it doesn’t mean they cannot be in a home. I always felt guilty for adopting Lady-Mae because I felt like I was caging her by adopting her. It took me 8 years to be able to say that my rescue dog is beginning to be more like a dog that has been carefully bred for centuries.

9. Singapore Specials need an outlet for problem-solving: Because these dogs have evolved to problem-solve daily, they need to be active participants in their training. One of the things that I do is WAIT for the dog to offer me a behaviour that I find acceptable. I don’t give it a command. This is what we call Free Shaping in dog training terminology. Eg. I will wait for the dog to calm down and not jump on me before putting the leash on. I will not tell the dog to sit etc. I will wait until the dog is calm and gives me eye contact before I reward the dog. Having fostered and helped so many dogs and families, Free shaping is highly integral for a Singapore Special. It keeps them engaged. It makes them think about what you want and that taps into their instincts to problem solve. Know how to work with their instincts not against it.

10. They need to roam free: Every Singapore Special yearns to be off the leash. It’s sad that many owners aren’t able to train their dogs to the point where their dogs can be off the lead and ignore people and dogs and just be engaged with their owners no matter what happens. So if you ever adopt one, be prepared to put aside EVERY free time you have and work with the dog until you can get here. Your dog will thank you daily.

11. They are purpose-driven: Singapore Specials are not the usual pet dog. If you’re looking for one, be prepared to go to a trainer who is adept at knowing how to train working breeds. They need a job. Some Sg Specials are really adept at obedience work. Some are great with tricks. Some are awesome with people, (yes there are some Sg Specials who are). And then, there are some who are like my dog, Lady-Mae who enjoys helping people and animals in distress. It’s going to take you at least a year or two before discovering that your dog’s purpose is. So be open minded, go try many activities. Lady-Mae and I have tried, Obedience Competition style training, Tricks, Pet therapy, Agility, Lure coursing. All these flopped terribly and miserably. My dog just stood there and looked at me like she was bored. Until we tried Nosework. Lady-Mae enjoys the search especially for an animal that’s in distress. She enjoys it so much that you can’t even lure her away with Mcnuggets!

12. They are resilient, have great perseverance, and are highly intelligent: Many times when I see descriptions of a Singapore Special up for adoption, nothing that is on that paragraph is what you’re really going to get. Singapore Special is a highly resilient dog, meaning it can withstand a lot of psychological challenges and it’s going to use that with you throughout its lifetime. The SS is also a dog with great perseverance hence they might look very stubborn. However, if you are able to persevere together with them, you will not only gain their love, loyalty, and devotion but their utmost respect. Lastly, the Singapore Special is highly intelligent. I think people do not give enough credit to this dog. Lady-Mae hasn’t ceased to surprise me every day with her ability to offer an innovative solution.

The Singapore Special requires us to put their needs way above ours for a very long time. Adopting one will consume you. It will take up a lot of your time, money, and energy daily for a good 3 to 4years before you’re able to see a highly reliable dog. That’s if you put in the work daily. I have not met a SS owner who said their adoption journey was easy.

Every SS owner will tell you how hard they worked to get where they are. I worked hard but I know of owners who had to work much harder than I did. If you are still up to adopt one, then, welcome to the club. You chose a dog that will not just change your life but it will force you to grow you in ways you never imagined.

Adopting a Singapore Special is not for the faint-hearted. It’s for people who are prepared to take on a self-development journey.

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Community Stories

My China Adoption Story: From the Streets to the Sheets

May the story of Yumi bring you the positivity and strength you need to get you through the most difficult and tiring of times.

Meet Yumi, the strongest and cutest fatty adopted from China. It was his Gotcha Day recently so I finally got some time to sit down and write his story, about how he overcame all odds and came out a happy little warrior despite all he has faced.

From the Streets to the Sheets

Yumi is the only dog in our house that wants to sleep with humans. The poodles like to sleep by themselves in their crates or on their own beds, but Yumi will always want to climb onto our bed and plop his fluffy butt against me and sleep. No matter how I sleep, he will always make sure to have one part of his body touching me. When he sleeps on my bed by himself in the morning after I wake up, he will move up onto my pillow and sleep on that instead. While it may not seem like it, Yumi is actually a very needy dog, that craves the constant accompany of us.

Backstory: Health and Burns

Yumi was rescued from the streets of Shanghai, China, and when he was found he was in extremely bad condition. He was found covered in fleas and ticks (suggesting he has been on the streets for a very long time), starving badly to the point where you could see his bones, his teeth were mostly gone, his legs were all injured resulting in him not being able to walk normally and most scarily, he had two big burn marks on his back.

No one knew where he came from and what has happened to him. Was he abandoned? Did he run away from his previous home? Was he a lost dog who never found his owner? All we knew was that we had a badly injured dog that needed to be taken care of.

These two burn marks covers approximately 20-30% of his entire back.

The vet said that Yumi’s had suffered 4th-degree burns, and he could never be able to recover in those areas. After all, it was literally “griddled” and the skin felt like a piece of plastic that was completely rid of any fur.

Coming Home

This was right after arrival at Changi Checkpoint as he was clearing entry. He was still really confused and worried at this stage.
This photo was taken right after Yumi arrived in Singapore at Sembawang Quarantine Centre and he has pretty much settled down by then.

My mother spent about 6 months nursing him back to health while arranging for his immigration to Singapore. On 29 August 2016, he was brought to Singapore to start his new life. He was finally allowed to go home on 27 September 2016 after clearing quarantine.

Bringing him to the vet confirmed all our suspicions about his legs, Yumi had Grade 4 luxating patella in both knees and his front paws had healed at the wrong angle after being broken (probably due to the lack of medical care when he was stray). What we were told was that we had to be prepared for arthritis to take a toll on him once it sets in. We also had to be super careful about not worsening his conditions.

Aggression and How We Dealt With It

Being a previously abused dog, Yumi inevitably had signs of aggression. He has specific triggers which set him off, causing him to go into a panic and snap at whoever is near him. However, it was through his reactions that helped us to determine his triggers and slowly mitigate his fear.

For example, he does not like any form of sticks, be it long or short. As long as he sees a stick, he will run away and bark fiercely at it after finding a secure spot that protects his body. We try to have him get used to it slowly and help him to understand that not all sticks are a threat to him, but it’s not been an easy process. Unfortunately, some fear is just super-strongly ingrained, and there’s minimal which can be done to make him no longer fear it. But thankfully, our efforts did pay off slightly, as he is now relatively calm with a few items, and can be relaxed even beside them.

In addition, probably as an effect of his days of being a stray dog, Yumi resource guards. He does not allow others near him when he is eating and used to give off warning growls when we approach him during meal times. Thankfully, after years of coaxing, he is now able to eat beside the other dogs without worries and is even willing to share with Yuzu sometimes.

Yumi is very close to Yuzu, and he is always very gentle with her and watchful over her.
Despite being an abused dog, Yumi still gets along very well with everyone.

Still a Happy Little Boy

Despite the adversaries he has faced, Yumi is still always a happy and cheerful dog, and is always happy to meet new friends where he goes. We know that he isn’t young anymore, but he always exhibits puppy-like behaviour with his excitement and curiosity. He is very protective of his family and does not allow anyone to threaten us (human or dog). If the humans got into a fight, he will come in the middle to break up the fight (forever the peacekeeper of the family).

Despite being abused, he does not let his past demons stop him from being friendly with people. He is still quick to warm up to people and is absolutely loyal and loving to the very core. In fact, he won the hearts of all the staff at the quarantine office in his 30 days because of how loving he was towards him. No matter where he is, he always has fun.

Quarantine life? So what! I can still have fun no matter where I am.
Day 1 of meeting his new sister and boom, best friends!
Just keep smiling, no matter what happens. One day, everything will be better.

What I’ve learnt from Yumi is that no matter what happens, always stay happy. Despite having so many injuries on his body, he is still smiling and having fun every single day. He never lets his trauma deprive him of his happiness every day, and continues running around despite his joints aching.

I recall once seeing him at a dog party when he was running with some Spitz when he suddenly just buckled and fell to the ground. I panicked and was about to run over to pick him up when he just got up and continued running around with the other dogs happily. I was worried, and still am constantly worried about his joints, but I never want to deprive him of his happiness and interactions with other dogs. All I can do is to do it in a controlled environment, where he can safely play without getting injured.

A funny story about Yumi which I just remembered. I once thought he went missing at a pet cafe. One second he was running around and the next he disappeared. I kept calling for him and went around looking for a tiny white Pomeranian before suddenly hearing the party beside us ask me “Is this your dog?” while pointing to the fat little Yumi who was hiding among a bunch of Samoyed, stealing some of the birthday cake from that party… He just invited himself into the party and the Samoyed accepted him. *speechless* Cut the story short, he ended up celebrating the birthday for the Samoyed and was even in their group photo lol.

The forever tamjiak Yumi with his pawtner-in-crime hiding behind him.

Nowadays, Yumi is getting older and is no longer as puppy like or moves as much as he used to. He still has random bouts of energy but he no longer keeps up with the other dogs. It’s a truth we have to accept, that our pets will grow old and eventually leave us one day. But until that day comes, I will make sure that Yumi lives everyday of his life happy and loved.


Just to add:
Please do support adoptive causes and adopt instead of buying if possible. Put a smile on a dog’s face, and allow him to feel happy and have a home again. If you wish to buy a dog, please do make sure you’re purchasing from an ethical breeder, not a pet shop or puppy mill. A pet is for forever.


For more adorable Yumi photos, check out his Instagram at @yu.mi.zu