King of the Puppy Class

Pooped after Puppy Class!

Hey you guys,

Wow, so nice to see lots of you have found my blog & enjoyed reading about me. Thanks for all the comments about my cuteness/handsome-ness/rugged good looks. I am trying not to let it go to my head. Mum does tell me quite a lot, so I'm kind of used to it.

I had a busy day yesterday. I had my usual morning walk & saw my friend Sam. He's a Golden Lab & doesn't mind too much when I bite his face & whack him with my front paws, so he's pretty cool in my book. Weirdly, some dogs just don't go for that for reasons I just can't fathom. Mum says it's because they're not puppies any more, but I'm sure I'll still want to play when I'm all grown up. We went to play some football at lunchtime. I hadn't been able to do that for a few days as it has rained so much here that the field was really muddy & mum didn't want to have to bath me so soon after my posh new hair cut. I love getting muddy though, it feels goooooooodd!

In the evening I went to puppy class. I love going so much & when mum stops the car outside the hall I get a little crazy with excitement. She tried to make me go toilet before we went in, but I just wanted to get in there to see the others. I was a bit sad though as my bestest buddy Maverick the Great Dane has moved up to the adult class as mum said he's not really a puppy any more. Hopefully I'll see him again when I move up to the next class as he is a realy cool guy & he's way huger than me even. Still, there was a new Chocolate Lab to play with. He was quite naughty though & bit his mum a few times and made her fingers bleed. He did it to the instructor too, naughty boy! Now I have all my adult teeth I don't do that, but I'm sure mum can remember how sharp my puppy teeth were, he he. I think everyone liked my new hairdo, Molly the only foxy lady in my class even lay on her back & let me lick her, so she must think I'm sexy. Her mum said she's just a hussy, whatever that means.

I just have one thing to get ticked off now to get my Bronze Certificate. Hopefully I can do that next week & then I'll get my certificate the week after at our Puppy Class Christmas Party, woo hoo! Mum says dad is going to come along to that one to see how well I've been doing, so I'm looking forward to that already. I did hear some mention that I'm going to be wearing something called fancy dress, so not too sure what that involves. Mum seems to think that as I'm called Sherifs Sundance Kid, it would be cool to dress me as a cowboy. I saw she'd been looking on a website at an outfit called "Woody from Toy Story". Hmm...

To pass my Bronze Certificate I have had to:
Sit
Dog to sit in front of handler & stay in that position until told to move
Down
Do to go into down position on command in front of handler & stay until told to move
Walk on a loose lead
Dog to walk in a relaxed manner on left of handler without lagging or pulling
Come
Dog to come back to handler when called & have lead attached
Leave it
Dog to leave & take a titbit when tolf
Doorway Situation
Do to go through a gate/doorway in a controlled manner
Play
Handler to play with the dog, start & stop a game & be able to take any articles away from the dog
Controller Greeting
Do to be under control when being greeted & not jump up
Vet Check
Handler to be able to examine the dog's teeth, ears, feet etc without resistance
Grooming
Dog to accept being groomed by the handler

I just have my play to get signed off next week, but that should be cool as I'm pretty good at dropping a toy (well, apart from my tuggie, but that's just too much fun to give it up without a fight).

After puppy class we went to pick dad up. He had been helping his friends rip out their old kitchen as they've just moved house & are getting a new one fitted. They were really tired & dirty & had poorly hands from working so hard. I tried to lick dad's better. We walked to get Chinese takeaway. I really wanted to go in the shop as it smelled sooooooo good, but there was no way I was getting in there. Boring. So I just sat outside with mum looking cute & got lots of petting from passers by, so it worked out OK in the end.

I had hoped to snaffle some food when we got home, but I was just so pooped after my class & walk that I just couldn't keep my eyes open no matter how hard I tried. Good job I did get some shut eye, as one of the neighbour's car alarms went off at 6am & kept going on & off for over an hour, grr. Still, it meant mum got up a bit earlier & I got a longer walk, so all's well with my world.



Licks,
Oscar x

The changing faces of Oscar

Hey peeps,

We made a bit of a muddle of posting the photos in the last post, so thought we'd have another go!

Here's some pictures of my life so far.


Here I am with my 7 brothers on the day we were born. Poor mum looks like she could do with some sleep, but I don't suppose we gave her too much peace & quiet! We don't look at all like Airedales, more like little black rats!

That's me on the left with some of my brothers aged 1 month. We look really roly poly. And quite grumpy too actually. Maybe we were waiting for food. I love my food a lot! I'm sure we were doing lots of play fighting in between sleeping & eating.

Here are me & my brothers taking in the sights & smells of the great outdoors aged 6 weeks. As you can see we're already growing fast. I think judging by the fact we're all looking so well behaved we must have been waiting for our dinner. I'm sure we were soon back to mischief making!

This is me aged 4 months, just ater arriving at my new home. I had already been to one mum & dad at 8 weeks, but they thought I was too much of a handful, so they took me back to the breeders. Better than abandoning me I suppose, and I got to see my doggie mum & half brother again! After 2 weeks my new mum & dad came to collect me. They were going to get an 8 week old Airedale puppy, but heard about me, came to meet me, & fell in love. Well, who could resist? I look tiny in this photo now, as I have grown so much since I arrived at my new home. I think I weighed about 9 kilos here.

This is me at 5 months. As you can see, I'm growing rapidly. Mum thought I was getting a bit chubby, but as you can see from my hair cut picture below, it was all just fur! I know I look a bit peeved, but I was so sick of posing for photos! My puppy crate is in the background. I don't really need it anymore as I'm a well housetrained boy who has pretty much finished teething, but I still like to chill out in there.

This is me on my 6th month birthday this past weekend. I now weigh 16 kilos. I'd just been to be groomed for the first time. The lady there told mum & dad I'd been a really good boy, but I'd been so tired after all the bathing, trimming, drying & pampering that I'd had to have a power nap with some of the other pooches whilst waiting for mum & dad to come back & get me. I think I look rather handsome, even if I do say so myself. I have puppy class tonight so hopefully the ladies will be impressed with the all new sophisticated Mr Oscar.

Hope you enjoyed looking at me!

I'll let you know how I get on at puppy class this evening in tomorrow's posting. Hopefully I might get my bronze certificate tonight!

Licks,

Oscar x

Introducing Oscar the Airedale

Keeping an eye out for pesky squirrels

Hello,

My name is Oscar & I was 6 months old on November 26th 2006. I'm a pure breed Airedale Terrier & my Kennel Club name is Sherifs Sundance Kid. I was 1 of 8 brothers & as our breeder's registered name is Sherifs Airedales, they decided to name us all after cowboys, cool huh?

I went to live with some new owners at 8 weeks old, but they took me back to the breeder's aged 12 weeks as they said I was too much of a handful. I was sad that they didn't give me chance to settle in & show my true charm, but it was great to see my mum & breeders again.

Lucky for me, my new mum & dad came to my rescue & gave me a new home aged 14 weeks. I have been happy there ever since, learning lots & growing rapidly. When I arrived I weighed 9 kilos (19 pounds) & was a fuzzy little pup. I now weigh over 16 kilos (35 pounds) & look like much more of a grown up boy, especially since I got my first haircut last week.

I go to puppy class every week & I really love it. I have been going for 6 weeks & am about to receive my Bronze Award, so mum is very proud of me. I have a few friends there who don't mind playing with me - a lot of the dogs I see when out walking are far too mature to play with a lowly puppy like me.

As I said, I live with my mum & dad, and my sister Flakes, a very big, hairy black & white pussy cat. She's 15 years old & is a bit grumpy. Actually, amke that a lot grumpy. She likes to swipe my nose if I get too near her or her dinner, so I'm learning to steer clear of her (or just eat her food when she's not around!).

I love eating, playing fetch for ages, chewing my bones, stealing socks, eating some more, going for long walks, finding sticks & plastic bottles to carry home, getting filthy whilst digging or jumping in puddles, my pink squeaky bone & sleeping after all that fun.

Well, I hope you'll enjoy reading about all my adventures.

Lot of love & licks,

Oscar x