Thank you Boy & Baby

You know how upset I am at the moment about Sammy & Suzy. Well, the postman rang the doorbell & when dad went to answer it the postman passed him a parcel saying "Your dog gets more post than you do!". He went on to say that he was glad mum & dad were home as he didn't know how I would get to the sorting office to pick my parcel up, or what identification I would have to show the man there. Funny postman!

My parcel is from Boy & Baby. What a lovely thought. They must have known I would need cheering up. Thank you so much!

I could smell something really good as soon as mum gave it to me, so I couldn't wait to get in there & see what the lovely aroma was coming from.

Wow, it was a lamb bone & some dried New Zealand beef. Yummy! They had read about me drooling over the Bully Sticks a lot of you guys were munching & had tried to get me one, but the store didn't have any left (us doggy bloggers must have bought them all!), so they got me these instead. These look just as tasty, if not more so.

Mum unwrapped the beef while I did my best sit & wait whilst trying not to drool.

It was delicious! I crunched it up & ate it in a few minutes flat. Next!

The lamb was just as good. I got most of the meat off it pretty quickly. Well, I do have some big old teeth. This was the first time I have smiled in a few days, so thank you Boy & Baby.

I wish I'd taken a bit more time on it, as it was gone far too quickly. My auntie from America is coming to see me in May, so I'm going to ask her if she can squeeze one of those giant bully sticks into her suitcase!!!

Mum did manage to film me eating some of my treat. Dad's little girls were here over the weekend, so that helped keep us all occupied. The youngest (Jess) is still a bit nervous of me. I am bigger than her so she worries I am going to knock her over quite a bit. That's why she is saying to mum that I didn't "get her". They have their own doggie at home, but she is 10 years old & quite sedate, so I guess compared to her I do seem a bit big & bouncy. Her big sister (Em) really likes me, so she is teaching Jess to be less worried. Jess does like tickling me when I am sitting quiet so I think as she gets bigger she will learn that I am nothing to be scared of. I think I am pretty much grown now, so I'm sure she'll soon be bigger than me!

I'll let you all know as soon as we hear any news of Sammy & Suzy.

Licks

Oscar x

No news

Hey everyone,

I'm sad to say there is still no news on Sammy and Suzy. There have been no more sightings of the white poodle & none of the shelters have any news. I think grandma & grandad fear the worst as it has now been a week in the hot sun if they had been abandoned. I think we just have to hope that someone may have taken them in and given them a home, or that horrible as it is, someone had them stolen to order and is looking after them. I know grandma and grandad will keep looking.

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes, I have passed them on.

Licks
Oscar x

Dognapped!

I am not a happy boy today. Remember I said the other day that dad's mum & dad were moving out to Spain with their 2 poodles? Well, the poodles were going overland with a pet transport company & were supposed to arrive with my grandma & grandad last Sunday, 4th March.

As we hadn't heard from grandma & grandad since they arrived in Spain on the 3rd, we assumed they were OK & were just busy settling in & enjoying their new life. Oh no, quite the reverse...they finally managed to contact us yesterday & gave us the dreadful news that the van with Sammy & Suzy in had apparently been stolen near Barcelona. The van was apparently found later near Benidorm (further down the Spanish coast) with no Sammy & Suzy.

Grandma & grandad have spent every day since Sunday talking to police, animal shelters, getting ads put in local papers & looking for Sammy & Suzy but to no avail. My mum speaks Spanish so she has emailed some shelters who are trying to help.

As you can imagine, grandma & grandad are devastated, and are so worried that Sammy & Suzy have just been dumped somewhere if the thieves were just after the van. I can only hope that someone has taken them in & is looking after them. They must have been stressed enough from the long journey from England without this happening to them. Mum, dad & I have slept so badly worrying about grandma & grandad as well as Sammy & Suzy of course.

Grandma & grandad did all the checks they could to try to make sure the company were reputable, but grandma is now a bit dubious and is wondering if the company are some way involved in their disappearance.

I guess all we can do is keep looking, contacting people who may be able to help & keep fingers & paws firmly crossed that Sammy & Suzy are found safe & well.

I don't feel like doing anything much as I am just so sad & worried. They are only teeny toy poodles & they don't even bark Spanish. Please pray for them.

***UPDATE*** One of the shelters has phoned grandma & grandad to say that a white toy poodle with a collar on has been spotted running around in a village on the coast. It's very scared & no-one has been able to catch it yet. Suzy is a very timid white poodle, so please let it be her & let Sammy be nearby too. Grandma & grandad have already had 2 false alarms today. They have gone to the village to see if it is Suzy & if so hopefully they can catch her so paws crossed we will soon hear some news.


Licks
Oscar x

New Bandanna

Now you may have noticed from previous posts that I like my bandannas. I think they add a certain je ne sais quoi to my already handsome appearance.

I have my cherry print one with the sweet little paw charm. This one is a good look for Spring 2007 I reckon.

I have a red polka dot one which I think is very jaunty. I can imagine going cruising on my yacht in this one, giving everyone my most refined and haughty look.

I have a Christmas one which has little holly berries on. Ooh, look I still had my boy bits in that photo. Sorry for flashing them at you!

And now I have this very dapper Airedanna! Isn't that just spiffy? It tones just beautifully with my tan and black coat.

Mum tried to get me to sit nicely & pose in my new bandanna, but I had much more important things on my mind, namely my din dins which was sitting on the worktop. The delicious aroma was wafting down to me & I was powerless to resist. See my devil dog looks as I lined up to do a bit of counter surfing? Mum managed to snap the photo then quickly prevent me from launching myself, dang it!

This was what I was aiming for. Lovely poussin. I ate a whole one for my dinner & it was soooo g-o-o-d!

And here's my breakfast from this morning. Raw white fishy-fishy, some natural yogurt, and apple, lettuce & carrot all blitzed up with some garlic powder, kelp and linseed oil. Delicious if a bit whiffy (dad hates fish so he was gagging a bit hehehe).

It's beef ribs for tea tonight. I've not tried them yet so I'm looking forward to that. No obedience class tonight as the teacher is going to Crufts tomorrow with her doggie. My 2 brothers Bertie & Dylan are also going, so keep your paws crossed for them! The terriers are on on Saturday 10th.

Licks

Oscar x

I've been BARFing

No, not barfing as in being sick, I've begun eating a BARF diet! This is a raw meat & meaty bones diet. Ever since I came to live with mum & dad at 15 weeks, I have not had the greatest digestion. Sorry to be a bit gross, but I have frequently had very bad wind (think people having to leave the room) & lots of tummy upsets. Mum & dad changed me from the food I was on when I came to live with them to a high quality complete dry food, but I was still having problems once or twice a week, & eating anything much apart from that brand of dry biscuits & treats gave me a very bad tummy. Because I got bored of dried biscuits & more dried biscuits I was frequently scavenging for food, which just gave me even more tummy problems.

Mum & dad spoke to the vet, but she didn't really offer much help, so they just carried on with the dry food, giving me boiled rice & chicken when I was really bad, whilst looking into alternatives.

They did a lot of research & reading on BARF feeding, and also got advice from a couple of people who are feeding their dogs this way. A lady at the Wheaten Terrier Health Initiative gave them lots of help. They have been feeding their dogs this way for over 10 years. Mum also got help from a lady with an Airedale just a little older than me who has been fed this way since 8 weeks old (just like Jaffa has been).

I have now been eating raw for a week, & I have to say I'm feeling pretty good on it. I have had no smelly windies, my poops have been much smaller & firmer, I am getting a GREAT variety of foods so mealtimes are something to REALLY look forward to. Mum & dad have noticed that I seem more calm & relaxed already.

My first BARF meal was some lamb, as mum knows that the lamb kibble was the best one for me tummy wise. It smelt sooooooooooooo good as soon as the packet was opened & tasted even better. Mum thought I would gobble it up as I tend to hoover up my biscuits, but I actually ate it slowly, enjoying each mouthful.

Mmm, how tasty does that look? Mum has also been giving me a couple of tablespoons of natural yogurt & some blitzed up fruit or veggies as part of this meal each day, as well as a teaspoon of garlic powder & some kelp. I have also tried rabbit, chicken, beef, tripe (stinky but oh so yummy) raw eggs with the shell & mackerel.

Can you seem my tongue in this photo? That's a sign of how delicious I was finding my meal. I used to drink LOTS of water as my biscuits were so dry, but now I am drinking a lot less as my food is naturally full of moisture.

For my other meal in the day, I am getting raw meaty bones. This means things like chicken wings, turkey necks, rabbit portions, lamb neck, lamb flank. These bones are about 50/50 meat & bone. I have to crunch it all up with my teeth, so I get nice clean teeth as well as tasty food. Mum says once a week I can have some lambs heart, liver or some other offal.

Here I am trying out my first ever chicken wings. At first I did not have a clue what to do with them. I kept licking & licking but knew there must be more to it than that.

After a few minutes I tried picking it up & crunching it between my back teeth. Much better. I was able to break it down & eat it all up. Yummy!

I am loving my new food. I know it isn't for everyone & I hope I haven't grossed too many of you out. I reckon I was allergic to the grain in my biscuits & even the rice mum & dad were giving me to help my runny tum. Mum & dad are off to the butchers tomorrow so I can't wait to see what goodies they will bring back.

Thought I'd leave you with a photo of me & my fat daddy! Is he bigger than your fat daddy Simba? He has those glasses that go dark when you go out in the sunshine, he's not really posing in his sunglasses in the house! You can really see what a big boy I am getting to be. And yes, there is a fridge in our lounge! Dad's mum & dad moved out to live in Spain last week & they gave us their HUGE fridge freezer, so our little fridge is now waiting to go to a new home. They have taken my 2 toy poodle cousins Sammy & Suzy out to Spain too, so I hope they can speak to & understand the woofs & barks of the Spanish doggies out there!

Licks

Oscar x

I'm Still a Puppy

Because I am quite a big boy, I think people often don't realise I am still only a puppy. I was just 9 months old last weekend. Quite often when I am out on my walkies, people really avoid me or pull their doggies away if I try to play. I never dive right in to play - mum or dad always ask if I can say hello to other doggies, & I always have a sniff first & am learning to play bow before throwing myself on them, but some people seem to think I'm big & scary. I NEVER bark at other dogs, I NEVER growl, & since I had my boy bits operation, I NEVER try to hump other doggies anymore, so it makes me a bit sad that people aren't always very nice to me. Mum & dad are forever saying "He's only x months old", "He's still a puppy", blah, blah, blah. Once they know this, a lot of people are then fine with me. There are doggies I meet on my walks that will play with me until I start to annoy them with my puppy bouncing & bitey face games.

We were in the pet store the other day & I sniffed in the general direction of a little girl spaniel. As soon as I did, her owner scooped her up, & moved to the other queue saying "Aw, was it a big scary doggy", "Aw, poor Sophie, did the big doggy want to get you" and generally making a big fuss. I was really upset as I just wanted to sniff hello. I mean, she wasn't even that cute. Mum & dad said not to worry, & that that doggy would end up with issues, not me since I have been well socialised & am not scared around dogs, any kind of hoomans or any other animals.

So, to prove that I really am just a big, silly puppy, I thought I'd show you me being stoopid this morning. After stealing mum's gloves in the snow the other week, it was now time for the scarf snake to be got! I did kind of mess up the lounge in the process (see film - throw on the couch all bunched up, rug way out of place, etc), but I did help mum tidy up afterwards - honest!






Licks
Oscar x

Aunty Clare Comes To Stay

As I've been so busy what with shows & baths & chewing sticks, I never got around to telling you about Aunty Clare coming to see me. Aunty Clare is my mum's little sister. She always spoils me LOTS, which mum & dad always tell her off for, but which I LOVE! Mmm, pigs ears, thank you!

As it was a nice sunny day, I asked if we could go out somewhere with Aunty Clare instead of being stuck in the house. I just love going out in the car & watching the world go by.

We went to a place called Coate Water where there is a big man made lake which you can walk around (& swim in if you like freezing yourself), & the hoomans can hire canoes or play golf, cycle or run. They were trying to build a university campus & lots of houses here, but there were LOTS of protests & it seems like people power won & the plans will not now be going ahead, yay!

I found this old tree stump, & had a good check that there were no squirrels lurking inside. Cooee, Mr Squirrel? Come on out & say hello to me!

Here's a view across the lake. It really is very pretty. There were quite a few doggies swimming, but it was just far too chilly in my opinion.

This is mum & Aunty Clare. Not a great photo. doG knows what mum is doing pulling a "Doofus" face. Do you see how much clobber I have on? A collar, my flexi leash, my bandanna, my car harness & my halti (as there are LOTS of doggies here & I just want to go & play with them all, even the scary ones!). I think mum has mistaken me for a pack horse, not a puppy! I kept trying to take Aunty Clare's gloves off her as they were so bright & fun to toss around!

We met this swan family, but they were protecting their (very big) baby, so weren't very friendly at all. You wouln't want to chase these guys Nanook, I think they would have fought back!

At the park there is a model railway that hoomans can ride on. I think it's supposed to be for children & their parents really, but mum & Aunty Clare wanted to go on it, big babies!

It was a fun afternoon. I hope Aunty Clare comes to see me again very soon. Next time, see if you can find me one of those Bully Sticks pretty please!

Licks

Oscar x