The life and times of an English Airedale Terrier puppy

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

My favourite games

Hi,

Thought I'd show you a couple of my favourite games. The first one involves a placemat that I stole from fat Flakes the cat hehe. The game is to push & pull it around the garden with your front paws & flick it around. Great fun! See how I carefully side step the poo poo I'd just done, phew! In the back corner you can see where I've been digging the stones, how naughty (but so much fun!).



Now for this game you have to find yourself a hooman. Get them to bounce a ball off the wall while you try to catch it. It's really exciting. Every so often the hooman misjudges & you get to grab the ball & run around showing it off! Mum & dad fitted new wood flooring over Christmas, so this games going to be a bit trickier from now on as it's a bit slippery!




Anyway, I can't stay long this morning as I am off to the vets for my op, gulp! I have such a hungry tummy from having no food. I'll let you know how I get on later if I'm not too woozy. If not, I'll catch up with you all tomorrow.

Licks,

Oscar x

New Year Resolutions

I've been tagged by Faya. The game is to list 5 new year's resolutions and then tag 5 more friends.

My resolutions for 2007 are:

1. Not to eat any more socks, plastic bags, bottle tops, bits of my toys, washing up sponges or any of the other things I am prone to eating

2. Try not to hump any more dogs once I have had my operation later today so that I can have more friends.

3. Gain my Silver & Gold awards at puppy class & start agility training, yay!

4. Try to behave when getting washed or groomed (going to be soo hard)

5. Keep in contact with all my lovely blogging buddies & make some new pals

I am struggling to find anyone I know who hasn't already been tagged though!!!

Licks,
Oscar x

Monday, January 01, 2007

I'm back!

Well hello everyone, I'm back. Thank you for all your messages on my chat box. Sorry if you've been worrying about me.

First of all, Happy 2007 to you all. I hope you all had a good Christmas & got some nice presents & food. I will check out your blogs shortly to catch up with all your news.

I have had a good Christmas, but I have been a bit poorly too. I think I told you before about my sock fetish. Well...it culminated in me eating in one of dad's socks. Now mum thought I had eaten it, but dad said there was no way I could have done, so mum kind of put it to the back of her mind. Then a day or two later I ate some onion & I was really poorly, so I was on the boiled rice diet over Christmas (yum yum - not) but still wasn't very well. On the first working day after the Christmas holidays, mum was going to take me to the vet, but I was sick, & there was the sock, oops! Anyway, I'm now feeling sooooooooo much better, so I think I'd better try really hard not to eat more socks!

So, I was saved from an operation for sock removal, but apparently I am off to the vet's on Wednesday for boy bits removal, gulp!

I got some cool Christmas presents. I'll post some pictures of them later. I have already demolished quite a few of them. The reindeer mum & dad bought me to replace humpy horse has received the same treatment, so he is now eyeless & missing one antler! I think mum & dad are hopeful that after my op I might be less keen to hump my toys & every dog I meet, but I'm not so sure, he he.

Anyway, off to read up on your Christmas adventures. I'll post some pics & tell you more about my Christmas tomorrow.

Licks,
Oscar x

Friday, December 15, 2006

Terrier Tagged


Hey all. Seems I've been tagged by Sunshade - ooh, first time to be tagged

The Rules: The player of this game starts with "3 things he/ she would love to get for Christmas" and also has to list "3 things he/ she definitely does not want to get for Christmas". Then he/she tags 5 friends and list their names. The ones who get tagged need to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. And the one who tags need to leave a comment that says "you've been Christmas tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

OK, let's see...

3 things I would LOVE to get for Christmas

1) Some snow pleeeeeeeeeeeeease
2) A HUMUNGOUS marrow bone
3) Lot's of walks & fun with mum & dad over their holiday from work

3 things I definitely DON'T want for Christmas

1) No scary fireworks over Christmas & New Year
2) No more wearing stoopid cowboy outfits
3) No lump of coal Santa Paws 'cos I'm being REALLY good

I am going to tag Boo, Charlie Kellie-Church, Opy, Kevin & Loui

Licks,
Oscar x

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Pooch Party

Well my friends, the day of the much awaited Christmas party finally arrived yesterday. I was pretty excited anyway, as I can usually sense when it's puppy class day. I was a little confused when dad got in the car too as he doesn't usually come with us. However, as soon as we got near the hall I could tell where we were headed!

I had to get my costume on in the car park before we went in as mum hadn't trusted me to sit nicely in the car whilst wearing it. Something about chewing it. Does she not realise I'm now a mature man of 6 1/2 months? Hmm...

Anyhow, once we were all dressed up, in we went. Dad was put in charge of the camera, but he didn't take many photos, and quite a few of those were pretty blurred as we were all running around like crazies!

He did manage to get one photo of me & mum though. Excuse the glum expression, but I just wanted to go & meet my friends. Mum was the only hooman to dress up, boring lot, & I have to say the other dogs didn't do much better. My girlfriend Molly had a cute Christmas cape on, Bracken had some antler ear, & Annie had a pink sparkly neckerchief on, but apart from that it was a bit dull. The bonus for me & mum was that we won hands down, & that I got LOTS of attention for looking so damn cute!


This is Harvey. He's the baby of the class. He's a Chocolate Lab. He's the one who made his mummy's fingers bleed the other week as he's still really nippy & gets really over excited at class still. He seems to grow huger week by week!

The first game was Pass the Parcel. The hoomans passed a package around to music, & when it stopped whoever had it had to unwrap some paper & find the trick us doggies had to do before the game continued. It didn't ever stop on us, but my friend Paddy the Poodle had to do a down-stay, and some of the others had to do tricks too. Georgie the Springer Spaniel won. Well done Georgie!

We played quite a few more games including Musical Chairs & an Egg & Spoon race. Dad recorded them & they are at the bottom of the post. It was soooooooo much fun.
There was food & drink for the hoomans, but none for us, so mum gave me some treats as I was doing the games. I did try to steal a few bit of food from the table, but mum was in there faster than a speeding cowboy bullet. Darn it!
After the games, it was awards time. First I got my Bronze Certificate.

Then my pretty little lady Molly won a really shiny cup for "Best Puppy" of the year. She also got her Silver Certificate, what a girl. Her mum is only a little girl herself, so she has done really well. Molly was so excited & was leaping about all over the place!


It was then time to go home. Boo! The time seemed to have passed so quickly & I could have played for much longer.
Mum & Dad went to Domino's on the way home to get pizza as they were so hungry apparently. Huh? What about me??? You had food at the party! And I hadn't even had my dinner yet! At the shops by Domino's we met mum & dad's friend Sharon & her West Highland Terrier. I think he thought I was pretty cool in my cowboy clobber, and the hoomans thought I was super cute.
We went home & mum & dad started munching their pizza. Now normally I'm pretty well behaved when they're eating as so far they've never let me have so much as a crumb of their food (apart from bits that have dropped), so I kind of know by now that I'm not getting anything & go off & do my own thing. But last night I was making a real fuss, sniffing around the table & not interested in my toys. They couldn't work out why I was being so insistent, until mum suddenly realised that in all the excitement of getting ready for the party, I'd not had my dinner! Gee mum, get your priorities sorted. She still made me wait until they'd finished stuffing themselves though, and I was soooo hungry after all the running about at the party, & smelling their pizza wafting over me.

Anyhow, once I had a full belly, I was able to check out my goodies from the party. I won this cool Christmas tuggy for the Fancy Dress. It did have a nice red tennis ball on the end, but we were all kind of playing about with it at the party, & it got shredded! I think it was Georgie the Springer Spaniel as he's a bit wild. It's still a cool toy though.


This was my present from Santa Paws. It's a bone made from tennis ball stuff, but is a lot tougher than the red one was. Mum says it will float in water like Sunshade's yellow ring toy, so maybe I will be brave & give this swimming malarky a try sometime.

Mum won this for me in the Tombola. There were lots of gifts with different numbers attached & you paid the lady some money & picked bits of paper out of a bucket. They had numbers on too, & if you matched one up you won that prize. I think dad was hopeful for one of the bottles of whisky that were on the table, but mum won some bubble bath & other stuff for herself (seems like hoomans, especially mum ones like baths & showers & smelling good, funny people), and this really bouncy ball & some rawhide chews for me. I don't think I'll get to eat the chews. I think mum will give them to Paddy the Poodle's mum, as no doubt she'll say they'll give me funny tummy. I did try to eat them through the plastic bag without much success!

I am a little bit worried now, as mum & dad were saying that as I got so many new toys at the party, they might have to tell Santa Paws not to bring me too much for Christmas! Noooooooo! That's not fair, I've been trying so hard to be good, and that Flakes has presents, you've seen them. Hmph!


Anyway, here's a picture of my certificate. It's pretty nice looking I have to say. not sure why mum got her name on there though - after all, it was me that did all the hard work! Mum says she will frame it, and we can put it on the wall so everyone will know what a clever boy I am. Hopefully there'll soon be a silver one to go with it.


All that's left to show you are the videos. I think some of them are a bit long so be warned!

Off to have a snooze as I'm still pretty tired from all the excitement!

Licks,
Oscar x

The first video is of the "Egg & Spoon race. Paddy the Poodle & my mum's friend Kim are up first for our team, then me & mum. The cutie who goes after me doesn't normally come to class as she is a grown up girlie, but her mum helps out so she came along to. her little pink t-shirt said "Too Cute" and she really was! Last but not least was the lovely Molly.



This video is of "Pass the Parcel" that I told you about earlier in this post. This was a bit boring for us while they were all passing the parcel thing around so we were playing with my tuggy that I won, so I think this is when the tennis ball sustained critical damage, oops!


This final video is of "Musical Chairs". This was a lot of fun. The video is a bit long as me & mum got down to the last 2! We lost out to my girl Molly & her grandma, so I didn't mind too much. At about 1 minute 50 in, a lady goes to pet me & I decide to give her lots of face licks which I don't think she was expecting. I don't normally kiss many people, but she was a really nice lady.


Wednesday, December 13, 2006

My Fat Sister

I know I have mentioned my cat sister a few times, & mum has told me that it's only fair that I introduced her to you all. I know probably not all of you are huge cat fans, so look away now those that aren't.

Her name is Flakes. I think it's a pretty stoopid name, but mum & dad said she was already called that when mum got her from the rescue centre, so they didn't want to change it, same as I was already called Oscar (well, at least that's a sensible name!) She's nearly 15 years old, so a really old lady, but there's not much wrong with her reflexes, as she can still give me a good swipe on the nose if I get too close when she's in a mood!

This is her in her pink palace. It's really dad's little girls room for when they come to stay, but Flakes likes to "look after it" the rest of the time, cos she thinks she's a bit of a princess and needs a pink boudoir.

She's really, really furry, which kind of drives mum crazy sometimes as where ever she goes, she leaves big lumps of fur in her wake. She HATES being groomed though, and cries like a big baby whenever anyone tries to! Believe me, that cute ickle face belies an evil scary cat monster when a hair brush appears!

This is her food, which I like to steal, erm I mean taste to make sure it's OK for her to eat, when ever I get the opportunity. See, it's called "Go Cat". Yeah, Go Away Cat and let Oscar eat all your food! Mum doesn't like me eating it as I have quite a sensitive stomach & get ill if I eat almost anything apart from my food & treats made by http://wellbeloved.co.uk. Flakes' food is cheap stuff, but she gets ill if she has good quality food. Go figure!

And anyway, look - the water bowl may say CAT, but the food is free for anyone!

This is Flakes' favourite toy, and about the only one that I haven't claimed as my own! It doesn't squeak or do much, so I'm not that interested in it, and I figure even a 15 year old old lady has to have a little fun.

I was a bit put out to find this yesterday. It looks suspiciously like a present for the little madame from mum's sister. Hmm, there had better be one for me somewhere too or I won't be a happy boy! Maybe it is true what mum & dad keep saying about only good boys & girls getting presents!!!


It's my Christmas Party at puppy class tonight. Hopefully there'll be some good fun & games. Probably food too, not that mean mum will let me have any I bet in case I get ill. No doubt mum will make me post the photos of me & her in our Woody & Jessie outfits tomorrow for you all to admire (laugh at).
Licks
Oscar x

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

A Walk Around My Neighbourhood

Hiya,

As the weather is dry again (miracle of miracles), I thought I'd drag mum out & give you a tour of my neighbourhood. Even though I live in a large town, I am lucky that around my house, there are some really good places to walk.


This bit of park is right outside my house, & there are pathways all around my estate for me & the hoomans to go walkies so we are away from the cars. We have had fun exploring & discovering lots of different routes. Mum is much braver when dad is with us though, as she has no sense of direction whatsoever!


This is the park where my dad's little girls like to play when they come at weekends. It has been so rainy that it has been underwater for a few weeks! Looks fairly dry today though.



I never miss the opportunity to have a game of "fetch" while we're out. This is my yellow tennis ball - I'm not so good at giving this back as some of my other fetch toys as it's just so good to chomp on. I found it whilst out on a walk & claimed it as mine!


As a good neighbour & citizen, I think it's important to keep my area tidy & free from litter, so I'm always extra careful to pick up anything I find en route. Tsk, someone's dropped a banana skin, that could be dangerous, better pick it up & eat it.


This is a bit of a funny picture. I'm having a drink out of my current favourite muddy puddle, so you can't really see my head too well. Don't ask me why it tastes beter than water in my bowl, it just does. OK mum?


This lane leads to the fields where I can get off my stupid lead & have a proper run about, hence the rather peeved expression as I just wanted mum to get a shuffle on & get there instead of keep pointing that THING at me!


Finally arrived. The place is called Seven Fields. Any guesses why?! There are supposed to be foxes, squirrels & all kinds of wildlife here, but I haven't seen anything apart from birds & other dogs so far. Maybe they hear me coming & hide. Maybe I'm just too busy having fun to notice.



As you can see, there's LOADS of fields, so plenty of space to have a really good play & use up some of my terrier energy.


First though, I always have to have a sniff about to see who has been here since my last visit. Have to stake my claim you see. Don't want any old riff raff using the fields.


Look how much space there is to run around in - and that's just one field, never mind the other 6!

There's a stream too, but I'm not too sure about water (apart from the lovely muddy puddles), so I haven't ventured in yet. Maybe when it's a bit warmer next year, brr.


I found a great stick while we were out, so I had to drag it home to add to my collection.


Back home now. Sometimes my fat sister, Flakes the Cat, is sat in the upstairs window keeping watch, but not today. Probably too busy stuffing her face while I'm not there to steal her dinner, greedy Miss.


Because of the awful rain we have been having, the garden was getting like a swamp, and I kept trotting LOTS of mud into the house, so mean dad fenced of the lawn until spring. As he pointed out, I do go out 3 times a day for play & walkies, so don't really need to be on the lawn, but I was still a bit fed up. I have managed to break through the fence once, but now security has been tightened up so don't think I'll get another chance unless come up with a very cunning plan!



Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed looking around my stomping ground. Glad I'm back in the warm, as it's raining again!


Licks,

Oscar x