296. A theme bookshop. A doggy bookshop in Singapore?

May 5, 2006 7.40 am Taipei

Young people in Singapore seldom read books, other than their text books. They are the internet generation. Click and SMS type.

So, is the business of a theme bookshop selling doggy books a viable business? Will it be profitable? I don't know. This doggy concept has never been tried before in Singapore nor in Taipei. I visited the biggest bookshop in Taipei near the Taipei Tower 101 for 3 times during my visit to Taipei.

A book lover's dream boat. Six floors of books. I could not believe it. Not more than 10 titles on dogs. Are there dogs or dog lovers in Taiwan or not? Singapore's biggest book store has more doggy books than this super bookstore in Taipei.

TWO THEME BOOK SHOPS IN TAIPEI.I discover 2 theme bookshops in Taipei.

MOVIE THEME
One is at the ZhongShan Road. This is the equivalent of Orchard Road of Singapore. The bookshop is housed in the ex-US Ambassador's Residence. It sells books based on movies. Its cafe is crowded with young people.

ART, TRAVEL, LIFESTYLE & LOUIS VUITTON THEME.
I read from the Taipei Times that the 4th storey of the newly opened Louis Vuitton luxury store has a bookshop. What has LV to do with books? I associate LV with luxurious handbags. What sort of books do they sell?

The Taipei LV store is a 4-storey building. The young salesman told me that Taipei LV's bookshop is the second one. The big one is in Paris. The 4th floor is beautifully decorated. Around 150 sq ft of space. Not enough space to display the books and there are more on the 2nd floor.Black books shelves with rich brown laminated drawers.

Arts, travel and lifestyle. Beautiful books. I presume you can get from other bookshops.But the interesting thing about this bookshop is that electronic images of LV history book in a cabinet hole.

In this cabinet hole, USING BOOK FLIPPING IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, one can read a book. This "electronic" book is on the 2nd floor. There is an opening in the cabinet. A light projector shows an image of a Louis Vuitton book - the history of LV. "Just wave your hand from right to left," the young salesman in black suit and tie said, "And the book pages will turn by themselves." No need to manually flip the pages. Words are bigger. Pictures are bigger. Telling the story of the founder of LV and his heir.

I swept my right palm on top of the cabinet which had 4 small lights. The book turned for first 3 pages back and forward. Very impressive.

After 3 pages, the images of next few pages would not turn anymore. Surely, the history of LV could not be 3 pages? This would be the teething problem of all start ups. But this is a technology that will encourage the internet generation to read. If it works.

LOUIS VUITTON CITY GUIDES to European Cities and New York. Excellent idea. But will they sell?

CONCLUSION.

Is there a place for a doggy theme bookshop in Singapore?
This will be hard to tell. But if there is a strong branded name equivalent to LV and selling dog-related products and veterinary and dog 0services, it is possible that a theme doggy bookshop will be a viable business.

A tourist attraction for tourists who love books and doggies. The brand name of this dog company attracts the visitors. The theme doggy bookshop makes them want to visit the place. It must have a variety of doggy books. From all over the world.

Will this concept work? I think it will. I remember reading about a casino gambling bookstore in Las Vegas. Nothing but gaming. It became a reference centre and meeting place. A theme bookshop specialising in gaming actually. Maybe should open a branch in Singapore with the 2 integrated casinos being opened. The success or failure of the bookshop depends on the operator of the bookshop. The knowledge of the operator. the passion and experience. Where to find such a person?

I have a feeling that a theme doggy bookshop in Singapore will be a viable business proposition if it is connected with doggy products and services. Of course, this bookshop should have books for all pet lovers as doggy owners do keep other pets and do have friends and families who keep more than one species of pets. Like hamsters, rabbits and iguanas?

Online competition and big bookstores are the main competitors for theme bookshops operated by private individuals. Can the profitability be sustained in Singapore? It is a hard question to answer.

295. Can a vet afford a Louis Vuitton handbag?

May 4, 2006 10.30 pm

CAN A VET AFFORD TO GIVE A SINGAPORE GIRL A LV HANDBAG?

"If you have to ask about the price of the Louis Vuitton's handbag, you cannot afford it."

Can I afford a LV handbag as a present to a Singapore girl who never had one? Who has never heard of Louis Vuitton.

In the LV store, a shimmering pink purse bag cost NT$20,000 (S$1,000). A handbag would cost more.

If I have to ask about the price, I should not go into this shop. 2 young men in black suits guarded the entrance. A small lift for 2, lined by red soft padding could take customers to the 4th floor which is a book shop. The 2nd store also had books for sale. The first floor was for ladies. The 2nd floor had men's clothings and gleaming LV watches. The 3rd floor was for ladies.

So, should I bring this Singapore girl to the Louis Vuitton's new store Zhongshan Road? The store was opened 2 days ago. It was boring to visit the other departmental stores as these were present in Singapore. But a special building just to display and sell LV goods, I believe, does not exist in Singapore.

This road has all upscale department stores. So, it is the equivalent of Singapore's downtown Orchard Road.

I wanted to buy her a LV handbag. Singapore girls are crazy about shopping. Like most women. So visiting LV's new store was something interesting for the Singapore girl.

The bookshop was the one of interest to me. We took a lift to the 4th floor. Black shelves with brown laminated cupboards and bright spot lights. A young man in black with ear plugs (probably listening to MP3 music) was in attendance. The 4th floor had a few books. "Life-style books," he said when I asked about dog books. He produced one book, "Lump the Dog who ate a Picasso" by David Douglas.

There was no price sticker on the book. It must be true. If I have to ask about the price, I cannot afford to buy this book. This store does not display price tags. Not even for dog books.

I asked the Singapore girl if she had any interest in any LV handbag? She said no. Maybe she thought I could not afford it?

We walked down a few shops. There was a small shop making chops by hand. Such chops are used by Taiwanese and Japanese for stamping their cheques. Most Taiwanese banks require such chops.

"NT$3,200 (S$165) per chop with carrier case and wax ink which can last for 3 years. Not the stamping pad ink. Chops made with the wax ink are clearer and better. Handmade chops are not so easily imitated, unlike computer generated names made nowadays," the man in his forties said to me. He had inherited the shop from his aged father and uncle.

"The price is higher because this chop is made from bovine horns and will not chip" a Taiwanese woman in her forties said to me. She took out another chop made of other material and knocked on the table edge. Small pieces fell off the edge.

I had 2 chops made. One for myself and one for the Singapore girl. She was not Chinese educated, so she had difficulty writing her Chinese name. The chop maker was great. He took some Indian ink and wrote beautifully our Chinese names inside a circle to make the chops.

"Should be ready and delivered to your hotel tomorrow at 9 a.m" the chop maker said. He had customers from word of mouth and from web postings put up by clients in America and Japan. As for his business, he had no websites or emails.

"It is a pity," I said. "Taiwan is the world's largest maker of computers. Here you do not even use computers. The internet will increase your business globally. If prospects can know more about your business, it will be via the internet. They can contact you by e-mail and place orders." He did not believe me. I doubt his children will be interested in his business of handcrafting chops instead of using computers. It is a dying trade.

I left the shop with the Singapore girl. She said, "You have been conned." I was surprised she said that. Was a handcrafted chop at NT$1,600 not worth the hard work and expertise? It is hard to understand the Singapore girl.

294. The Hong Kong International Airport's Labrador caught a vet

May 2, 2006 midnight arrival at Hong Kong International Airport.

The black Labrador Retriever was sniffing my left trouser as I cleared the transit barrier. His handler let go of the retractable leash loosened as he moved closer to me while I walked slowly away to the exit. He kept following me.

Suddenly 2 young men stopped me to ask me to open my hand carried bag. I put the bag down on the floor to open it. "Actually, the dog is sniffing my trouser pant," I said. "Most dogs are interested in me as I am a dog vet."

Another man in his thirties, wearing a vest and jacket appeared. His hands on his hips. In case I made an attempt to escape. A drug trafficker. "Any name card?" he asked. I took out my wallet. No name card. Usually I carry some. That made him suspicious.

I unzipped my hand carried bag: "I may have some namecards in my hand carried bag." All sorts of things obstructed my hand. Finally I managed to get my name card. The man with the vest examined it. "You are a veterinarian in Singapore?" he asked.

It was not exactly a professionally produced namecard by a professional printer. It was computer printed by business card software and cut. Maybe I ought to get professionally printed cards, like professionals.

The Labrador Retriever came to me to do his duty. He looked at me and was not excited with me. More interesting things to do, like smelling the new carpet and some chairs.

"Stretch your left leg," the man with the vest said. I extended my knee and stretched my left leg. I wondered why he asked me to do that. Maybe he wanted to see drugs hidden in the left sock? Earlier, one of his man wanted to body search me. But he did not.

The Labrador Retriever was no longer interested in my leg. Nor in my hand-carried bag. He was nonchalant as he sniffed the light grey carpet. A sniff of my left trouser pant and that was all he did now.

This dog was good. Maybe I should not have rushed from my surgery to the airport. Maybe I ought to get brand new trousers should I fly to Hong Kong. After being away from Hong Kong for 8 years, I was most surprised to see that the new Airport was so modern and impressive. That drug sniffer dog was very good. The 3 narcotic officers were good and polite.

I wonder how drug sniffing dogs are trained? Do they sit and signal if they find narcotic drugs? Or they just smell and follow the suspect all the way out to the transit lounge? It would be interesting to know how they are trained.

293. Garden soil, bathroom and playpen confuse the puppy

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Silkie, Male, 4 months old. Couple with teenaged daughter.

1. Playpen + newspapers when owners go to work.
2. When owners come back from work, bring puppy to the garden. Puppy eliminates and play in garden.
3. Toilet + newspapers. Shreds newspapers. Pee and poop on floor after shredding papers.

Very confusing schedule for a young immature puppy mind. Where should he eliminate?

Excitation urination. Sees owners or picked up. Urine comes out.
Male Puppy barks at couple when told to go out, but not teenaged daughter (who gives treats as training). Probably an alpha male dog.

What to do?

1. Fixed schedule for paper training. Easier said than done as owners not around during day time.
2. Buy a pee tray if want to paper-train.
3. Neuter male dog if too aggressive or bites.
4. Use treats in training.
5. Daughter to start "stay" command. Still young.

In such cases, it is best to go to garden in evening and pee-tray/paper trained in the playpen at other times. No toilet room yet.

292. Not recognising paper at toilet area

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Miniature Schnauzer, Female, 3.5 months. With owner for past 2 weeks.
Complaint: "Cannot recognise that newspapers are the toilet area".

Couple with pre-teen daughter. Mother said, "Some problems with toilet-training. Canyou advise us?"

When have vets become puppy toilet trainers?


1. Crate with pee tray. Upper right corner - towel. Rest is newspapers. Water bowl and water bottle on left lower corner.

2. Puppy pees and poops sometimes on towel, shreds papers.

3. When taken out, roam the whole apartment, does not recognise the newspapers for toilet area and eliminates anywhere during past 2 weeks.



ADVICES.
1. Neutralise urine smell of whole floor of crate, including towel with white vinegar:water 1:1

2. Or get new towel.

3. Remove water bowl.

4. Relocate water bottle to lower right corner, not left corner.

5. Restrict to small area outside crate when puppy is let out. Supervise. Watch signs of wanting to pee or poop.

6. Get soiled newspapers (with urine smell). Put puppy on it when signs are seen.

7. Neutralise whole apartment floor.

8. Feed 2 x/day. This is done. Puppy eats all food within 5 minutes. This is OK.

Basically, confine, paper with urine smells and training on schedule. Ask owner to let me know in 2 weeks. If they ever do.

291. Studying undergraduate veterinary medicine in Australia

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

This topic is not related to toilet training of puppies, but personal note.

Sunday April 30, 2006 is a significant day for Daniel. He could not sleep on receiving the email. He got accepted by Murdoch University (via email reply) to study Veterinary Medicine. In 2006, a large number of applicants had been received by Murdoch. So their reply for the first 8 successful candidates for the first quarter of 2006 was delayed from beginning of April to end of April.


Recruitment agents in Singapore told Daniel and me that all applicants have straight As in their grades. If not, don't bother to apply. Murdoch Univ is very difficult to get into. So, I told Daniel. He ought to have studied much harder. His teacher (one of my dog clients) had expressed the sadness that he was intelligent and could do well. But, the teacher shook his head, "He was not hard working in his studies." As parents, we left him alone. So, in the last 3 months before the "A" levels, he studied hard. We let him chart his own future.

If he had focused on academic excellence, he would have got all straight As. Less of late nights with the other boys. It seems that teenaged boys must go out late nights and stay overnight. Play pools. Party. National Service full time had curtailed his social life drastically. I thought this was good for him. He thought otherwise.

So, after the agent's advices and the exhibition, I thought he might be acceptable by Sydney University and he had looked forward to cosmopolitan Sydney. No reply from the other universities as at May 1, 2006. Except for Murdoch Univ.

In mid-April, I emailed to Murdoch for the results. If there was no hope for Daniel, we could apply to Glasgow University where I graduated. The reply was that there was a large crop of applicants and so the reply was delayed to end of April. So, there was a great interest in veterinary studies from Singapore. Maybe from the region.

Acceptance is one thing. Now the hardest part is to study hard and graduate. Stay the course. Not come back half way. Otherwise it is a lot of parental money down the drain.