Hairedayle

You know I said in my last post that Aunty Kim was cleaning out the garage & that's why her & Paddy couldn't come play in the snow? Well, seems mum was right & she was setting up her grooming table for me!

This was how my Saturday morning began. Dad put me up on the table so I wouldn't wriggle so much while he combed out my legs before I had a shower. They were really tangled up from getting so wet over the last few days playing in the snow. Does that look like a happy face to you?

Once that torture had finished it was straight upstairs to be dumped unceremoniously in the bath. Now I have to admit I don't actually mind having a bath per se, I just don't like being clean and smelling of shampoo. And I especially don't like dad aiming the shower hose at my butt. What is he doing back there???

This is the stoopid girlie shampoo mum makes me use as she says it smells all nice like baby powder. I don't want to smell like a baby, I was to smell like a handsome young chap. Can't she get something like "C K9" or "Tommy Holedigger" so I can smell all rugged & manly. The bottle even has two cutesie-pie girlie puppies on it & says "Molly & Daisy, beauty queens" for pete's sake. See my not impressed face.

This has to be the No 1 most unflattering photo EVER! I look like a scawie monster!

After my bath mum went out to get her nails done. She goes every 2 weeks & always has pretty patterns on her nails. Today she got some Valentine hearts, aww.

Once she was back, off we went to Aunty Kim's house. Now I have to admit that I was a little bit worried about getting my hair cut by her because she has 3 poodles, and beautiful as they are, I didn't think I'd suit a poodle top knot. Mum assured me that she had given Aunty Kim a step by step guide that she found on the internet & she would stay with me the whole time. That made me feel a bit better, and going to Aunty Kims has to be better than going to the grooming parlour again.

I was a bit unsure of the table at first as it seemed a bit small for me. But I was a good boy & stood very still, so Aunty Kim didn't have to use the harness.

She did my back and tail first. It felt a bit tickly, but not too bad at all. Her clippers were nice & quiet, and mum was giving me treats, bonus!

Next she moved onto my head & face. She did this shorter than my back. It was a bit tickly, but she said I had to stand really still so I didn't lose my eyebrows, eek!

She clipped carefully all around my ears, and inside them. The had been getting a bit itchy as they were furry inside, but they're much better now. Dad kept having to give me ear rubs, so he should now be relieved of that duty for a while!

Here I am just checking with mum that she's keeping a tab on things & that I'm still looking handsome. She assured me that all was well.

Woah, that's a lot of fuzz. I'm glad the snow has gone or I'd be f-f-f-freezing.

Part way through, mum & Kim had a tea break. How am I looking? Kim still has my legs & underside to do.

I love Aunty Kim. I'm glad that she is learning how to groom me so I don't have to go to the groooming parlour any more. Uncle Charlie is fitting out the garage for her so she'll have a proper set up next time I come with a bath, grooming table, drier, etc. The walls are going to be tiled & it'll be very fancy. I guess when you have 3 poodles to groom you're spending a lot of time out here so need somewhere nice!

Here Aunty Kim has brushed out all my leg hair. She said I have quite a few places where the hair is short or even a bit bald, & that my beard was the same. Mum said it's because I eat the big white rawhide chew sticks, which I hold between my paws and gnaw on, & all the gunk gets really stuck in my beard & legs. Mum said "right, no more of those chewies so your hair can grown back nicely!!!". Any ideas for non gunky chews you guys?

Nearly done now & feeling a lot more relaxed & happy. Aunty Kim was pretty nervous about messing up as she had never cut an Airedale before, but mum kept saying she was doing good, and do I not look like a satisfied customer?

Just my back legs & tail to finish off now. Sunshade , I have to tell you that my "muscle butt" that you so admired was infact all hair from the weird way the lady at the groomers cut my back legs last time! My black saddle is coming through nicely now though.

My cute butt!

Freedom! I finally get to have a run around in Aunty Kim's garden (see, the poodles aren't allowed on their lawn either - they have mean parents too!). This wicker pig's ears weren't as tasty as the pigs ears mum buys me!

I think Aunty Kim did a really good job. She said I was a really good boy to stand so still & stand, sit, turn etc when she wanted me to. I have a show in a fortnight, so she's going to give me a quick tidy up that morning, and you know what? I think I'll actually qute enjoy coming back. Especially as the "Poodle Parlour" should all be finished by then!

Licks

Oscar x

Still Snowing, Whoopee!

Woo hoo, it's STILL snowing really hard here. I think I am driving mum & dad a bit crazy as I am wanting to go outside every 10 minutes to check the snow's still there. Sorry, but it's just so exciting!

As promised, mum took me to Seven Fields yesterday afternoon for a romp. Paddy the Poodle's mum said she was busying clearing out the garage so he couldn't come, boo. Mum said Aunty Kim is clearing out the garage so she can set up her grooming table to give me a haircut on Saturday, double boo!


I think I told you all about Seven Fields before. It's a huge expanse of fields which are all green belt & cannot be built on. It's hard to explain just how big the area is, but believe me, there's simply LOADS of space to run around. I am really lucky to have this right on the doorstep, so insist that mum & dad bring me here regularly to make proper use of it!


Aha, so this is where the local squirrels have been hiding out. They obviously decided not to come to MY garden anymore, ha!

Before we got going with the crazy running around in the snow, mum wanted to take photos of me looking rugged & handsome in the snow. I obliged & posed nicely - not!

Is this my best side...?

Or is this better...?

I am training for the world record for snow eating. I must have eaten kilos of the stuff today. I made so much yellow snow as a result!

Yum, yum, yum. I know it's only frozen water, but it's just soooooooooo good!

To see why I look so shattered in this photo & why mum had one frozen hand by this point in the afternoon, see the video below, tee hee hee!

I have realised the point of snowmen. They are excellent stick dispensers. There are now lots of one armed snowmen on the fields of Swindon as I casually grabbed an arm from almost every one that I passed.

This was definitely a boy snowman. Don't look at him if you are easily offended! See how I am looking away in shock.

To protect other doggies & small children from seeing the rude snowman, I did the decent thing & ate his boy bits! All gone, much better.

There are still some pretty decent sized sticks hiding beneath the snow, you've just got to know where to look & have a good nose to sniff them out.

Whoa, those are some BIG snowballs. Hope no-one throws one of those at me!

This was the coolest snowman that we saw today. He only seems to have one arm, but I am NOT GUILTY in this case!

See how fast I can run even in the slippery snow, whee!



And this might explain the tired photo above & mum's freezing cold hand (sorry mum, but it was such good fun!)

Daddy made me my own giant snowball when he got home. I was more interested in eating more snow though! Sorry it's sideways on, dopey mum!

We were out for 2 1/2 hours, phew!

Licks
Oscar x

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!!

Wowie, wowie, wowie, looks what's outside in MY garden!!!


Hahaha squirrels, I bet you're not going to be making any excursions into MY garden this morning. Stay in your beds.

I think dad might have trouble seeing where he's going on the way to work! Oh, he says he's just going to scrape it all off the car. I thought he might stay home with me but it seems not.

Mum, I don't want to pose, I want to go & play!

OK, one quick look to camera, then I'm off to investigate. I can't believe we finally got some proper snow after seeing so many of you guys having fun in it.

It's still snowing pretty heavily. Look at the park, it's like something on a Christmas card.

Mum managed to stop me bounding about for a minute or two for a quick shot of us together. She says don't laugh at her hair, but she didn't see the point of doing anything with it when she got up, knowing she was going to get soaked with snow. Bed head, hahaha!

What the heck is that?! Dad said it was a snow man, but I have no idea. Where's his face for a start? Very strange. Maybe there's a man inside the snow, hmm.

It's a good job we know our way around the paths as the signposts aren't much help today!

No doggies out on the field today. Hopefully there'll be some out later. Mum is going to phone Paddy the Poodle's mum to see if they want to come out to play later.

I just couldn't stop eating the snow. Even though it was freezing on my tongue, it was just so much fun!

Even though I kept shaking the snow off, it was coming down so fast that I was getting covered again. Mum said I looked like I had a bad case of dandruff. Gee, thanks mum - love you too!

Still looking handsome despite the beard full of snow don't you think?

Hmm, seems like I bought a few snow souvenirs home with me. I'll eat them after I've scoffed some breakfast. All that running around in the snow gives a guy an appetite.

Mmm, nice warm towel, that feels good.

Hey, mum, can we go out again later, please, please, please?

Licks

Oscar x

VIDEOS BELOW!

Ring Ring

OSCAR'S LESSON ON HOW TO IRRITATE YOUR PARENTS

1.
Choose your weapon. In this case, the squeakier & more annoying the better. The idea here is not to kill the toy, but to get the most noise out of it for the longest period, so you're just going to have to take it steady.

2.
Wait until the parents are watching one of their most favourite TV programme. I picked E.R., but you'll know what your parents enjoy best.

3.
Play, play, play with that toy, preferably very close to either the parents or the TV. Remember, you're going for maximum annoyance factor here.

**You might want to stop the music on my page to hear the full effect of the video**

4.

Give the "I'm really sorry" face afterwards to make sure you still get cuddles & treats when they go to make a cup of tea during the commericals.

You can't fail. Go on - try it, it's GREAT fun!!!

Licks
Oscar x

The Grass-Eating Monster

When I went out for my first pee pee & poop of the morning everywhere was sparkly & very slippery. Mum explained that Jack Frost had visited. Damn it, we had a visitor & I missed it? I must stop sleeping so soundly at night, I'm missing out on fun!

Anyway, once the sunshine came out, all the sparkly stuff went away. I was kind of glad as it was actually pretty cold on the tootsies, you know? Glad until dad emerged from the shed with a scary grass-eating monster!!!

What was dad doing helping out the monster? It was eating up MY grass. Even I'm not allowed to do that! Stoopid fence was stopping me getting to the monster & giving it a piece of me. Plus I thought I'd better stay close to mum & the house to protect them. No, it wasn't that I was being a wuss, I was being a guard 'Dale, honest!

I think I showed him who's the boss around here, don't you?

Licks

Oscar x