Distruction!!

So its gotten round to that time of year again,Oscar is digging for worms. He is making potholes in our garden!

And he took out one of our hedging plants,but it was dead so he actually did me a favor

I had filled in the hole before i took the picture

And for the biggest hole so far,

Its deeper than it looks!

He gets kongs,treats,toys,cat food you name it but he would rather seach for worms and eat them. But i must say its quite impressive,the fact that he can smell things underground and pinpoint exactly where they are. Maybe i should have stuck with the tracking after all?

And there is more,despite his numerous chew toys he decided that hose pipe connections were nicer,so he has chewed all of the hose connections we own,

And those are just from the front garden!

He also lost his stag bar,and i have been looking for it all week but i found it today! It was under his favourite tree,don't know why i didn't look there in the first place!
Oh and this is what happened to the only good football we had,

But in all fairness,i do play football with Oscar each week.

And finally,i am finished school! Until next Wednesday when i have to go in and do my junior cert exams.
But on an end note today,Oscar is quite happy relaxing in his bed in the sitting room(after all the chewing and digging)

The weekend!!

Friday started off good,but Saturday soon turned out not so fun for Oscar. Saturday was annual booster and kennel cough day,and that all included a trip to the vets. It was a new vet clinic this time,we took him to get his boosters done in the kennels we send him to when we go on holidays(and he absolutely loves it).There is a vet clinic and grooming studio on site and Oscar quite liked the vet clinic and the nurse in the beginning,and i liked her too,she was so much friendlier and nicer to both me and Oscar.
But all went down hill for Oscar when she took out the needles.He was fine with the boosters and the check up but then came the needle up the nose. It was like a military operation trying to hold him still,but eventually we got the needle up his nose
He wasn't right then for the rest of the day,he just wanted to do nothing and the heat didn't help with his mood either.He didn't even eat his chicken drumstick,he just left it to cook in the sun
And to make his day even worse i soaked him with the hose and gave him a bath! He was horrified at the though of it,but it was the bath i was meaning to give him since February so at least its out of the way now.
But he wasn't happy,

                                     So he sat on my mums chair while he was soaking wet!!!


Today was better though,we started of by hiding his breakfast in the kitchen for him to find,a game that he really enjoys,

I can get it,i can get it,just one more inch!

                                       
Then he decided to come say hello while i had my toast,

Mmmmmm....can i have some???

And then out to say hello to the horses,but he decided to sit and wait until i got back

I had plenty of free time today so i decided to get back into weave pole training. I had to start from day one yesterday,because i hadn't done it right before so today was our second session. He did good for about 5 goes then he decided to have a lie down,

No thanks i think i will lie down

 It wasn't like he had to weave 12 poles,he just had to walk through the middle of 2 poles and then he got a treat,must have been very difficult and tiring work????











So anyway,that didn't go quite to plan,but at least we got something done. Instead we did some recalls,and he was happy to come back for some ice cubes to play with.

Did i hear you say ice cubes?

Later in the day he got a bone,which he did eat,and an ice pop!

Yummy!!! 

And after all the tiring work he had done he had a snooze in the middle of the garden in the sun

I also took this opportunity to take a nice photo of his paw!!

And then  he decided to help with the wheelbarrow,

So,where do i push it?

The cat also had a very productive weekend, she spent most of it on this lovely rock!!

I have also found a lovely swimming pool on sale in Argos,so i will be getting that tomorrow! Can't wait to see how Oscar likes that! It also comes with 2 inflatable dolphin things holding a net,a volleyball and a water slide thing that you put on the ground.  But i only actually need the pool!!

Fridays,don't you just love 'em!!!

I do! They have got to be the best day of the week,end of school week,homework isn't due till Monday and the sun comes out!!!  It had to be the hottest day of the year,without a doubt,it was gorgeous! After all its about time the sun made an appearance,i think the sunny south east actually lived up to its name today!

So had a right day today after school,met up with my friend at 6 and we went for a great walk in the woods,Oscar had a great time and we will all sleep tonight too.
We also have some visitors in the back field too.

I also tried to give them an apple but they didn't want it.
So now that horses occupy the fields,Oscar wont be walking in there for another little while.
But we had great fun in the woods.

Oscar took the lead,as we made our way though the trails,

And we decided to drop the long line,to stop Oscar tangling himself around trees,and he did well,following us and waiting for us to catch up to him.
We also took the river walk trail,so he had the chance to go swimming,and while he wanted to go down to the river we were not prepared to go under the barbed wire fence. Not just yet anyway,but we admired it from the distance!

So Oscar improvised and tried to drag us somewhere else!

After a while he got tired and slowed down a little,and let me take some nice pictures,

He certainly enjoyed himself!!!  Will be a great place to play scent games in!!! 
Hopefully the weather will stay nice and warm for the weekend. Fingers crossed anyway!

Who rules the roost?

Probably a question most of us have asked when it comes to our dogs. Usually a question asked when the dog pushes you off the couch or steals your dinner from you plate. Or perhaps it pops into your head when you see 3 or more dogs interact. Well what your about to see applies to none of what i just said!
I am talking about who rules your house,the cat or the dog? 
In my case it appears to be the cat who has the poor little hound wrapped around her sharp pointy claws!
Example A,

 Oscar out lying in the garden in the wind.He has a lovely kennel clean,dry and warm.........................

                                                  
                                                   .....................  but its been taken over by the cat

Example B

  











Oscar in one of his favourite resting places,however.............................

                          











                                                                             .                                                   .........................the cat soon decided to take over here too.



And this is where Oscar sat today,because the cat took over ever other place

And he wont challenge the cat,those days are over for him!! He used to harass her all the time,barking and chasing until one day she gave in and gave a good swipe to his face and ear. He doesn't chase her anymore,in fact she is the one who chases and harasses him now!!

No need to say who rules the garden in my house! Oscar does however have a privilege that the cat does not get anymore,he spends plenty of time inside in his cosy bed!
                                                    

Walkies!

Well there was no walk in the woods today. Instead we went to the field.

It was quite nice today,not to wet,fairly warm and no wind!  And Oscar enjoyed himself,but the grass is getting a little long so its more of a jumping spree for him,but who cares! It gets him tired out!
Because of having to retrain the recall he is on a long line for now,but he certainly liked searching for treats in the grass,

                                                         " where is it! where is it?"

Not to mention looking for rabbits and birds!

                                                        "I see something moving!"

                           He looks like he is trying to be a pointer there! Haha!


And we had a couple of good recalls at the start,then he got bored and needed to be guided back.But he is a work in progress,hopefully once i get this tug e nuff it will help.

                                                "Now where's my treat,i don't have all day?"


Eventually we had to head home,

                                      "Really? But we haven't been here long,only 30 minutes!"

But needless to say it was 30 minutes of jumping about and then some chasing things around the garden. Eventually he decided to have a rest,

And then he had a stare off with a bottle!!

Fill my Kong!!! Please!

Kongs,wonderful things! I don't know what sort of state our garden would be in without a trusty Kong. Now i am talking the Kong classic,not those dental ones or the Kong wobbler,you just can't beat a classic!! Although a Kong wobbler is great too,actually most Kong products are great,but the classic is a must!!!
Never heard of it? Here it is,

 And for extreme chewers or stronger dogs then you can get the extreme one,its black. But this one has lasted a long time,i am so glad we got it! Its a large one by the way,the picture makes it look bigger than it actually is,its about 10cm tall.

Anyway,on to the fillings! There are so many things you can use,but here i what i use,
- Kibble
- nature diet
- Dry cat food
- Scrambled egg and cheese
- Cheese
- Peanut butter
- Yoghurt 
- Honey
- Bananna
- Fruit and veg(apples,carrots,melon)
- Water and treats
- Cooked meat
- Home made treats

And i mix nearly all of them together. Here is an example of a usual Kong for Oscar,
 Nature diet at the bottom,a layer of dry cat food, a layer of kibble,a little more nature diet and peanut butter to seal the hole at the top. I also like to stick a biscuit in the top hole too. And then i freeze it. Here is one i have in the freezer at the moment,

I always put the best thing at the very bottom of the Kong,it makes him want to get to it because he can smell it.
Sometimes i just have his breakfast in it,other times its just peanut butter smeared on the inside of it.
Scrambled egg and cheese is a firm favourite. To do it i just mix up 1 egg in a jug then half fill the Kong with it ,oh and remember to put some sellotape along the small hole at the bottom before you put the egg in. Then i put some grated cheese in with it and put it in a cup,so it stays upright and then into the microwave for 1 minute,it may take longer but keep an eye on it because when i did it the first time there was egg all over the microwave! Then i sprinkle the top with cheese and leave it to cool. You could freeze it i suppose but i never tried.

I always like to cover the hole with something so he has to work a little harder to get into the good bits! Usually i use peanut butter or now i use honey,i also use cheese if i am in a rush(i just push it in really hard!)
And freezing them makes them last just that little bit longer with your dog,but i don't tend to freeze them if its cold out. Its handy to have 2 Kongs! 
Now you have no excuse to be boring with your Kong fillings! You dog just wont know what to expect anymore!

What's up today?

Its a Saturday,aren't Saturdays supposed to be fun and exciting? Well it was quite the opposite today,it was rater dull and boring,for both me and Oscar.
We didn't go anywhere today,just a walk down the road and in a corn field(on leash though I'm afraid)
And Oscar was out of character. He didn't want to play,all he wanted to do was sit on my foot and be petted each time i went out to him,so i did just that. But i did discover a new Kong filling,Honey! He loves honey,so i used the left over nature diet in the freezer,some dry cat and dog food and honey to make a lovely Kong for Monday! Its now sitting in the freezer just waiting to be used!

We did a little training,and despite my best efforts to make it fun,Oscar wasn't very interested. And it seems that the cat has taken over both of his outside kennels,

(she looks nice but you shouldn't approach her.Beware of the cat,never mind the  dog!)

So we will have to find a way to keep her out of them even though she has her own perfectly cozy house.

It got better at dinner time! Oscar couldn't wait to have his food and was eager to work for it so we did some focus work and a few tricks. I tried to use his boomer ball but he wasn't in the mood to keep pushing it about tonight and very little food was actually coming out,so he went searching for some of it in the grass instead.
And he got even happier when he had another raw chicken bone with the rest of the dinner. I am hoping to stop his food bolting so i left the room when i gave him the bone,just going back in every 2 minutes to check up,hopefully he will accept me in the room soon. But I'm not moving too fast,the last thing i want is a regurgitated chicken bone on the floor because he ate too fast.

                                                              Waiting for his dinner


Anyway,hoping its better tomorrow,perhaps a little brighter outside,that would be nice!  If its nice out we might meet my friend for a walk in the woods.
I did plan on playing 'find the toy' tonight,but he has just settled down for the night,so it may wait until tomorrow. I think i will try and get him to chew this stag bar,i got it for him and it wasn't cheap so he better use it!

Setting realistic goals!

Since we started doing Agility with a trainer many problems have arisen,which wouldn't have been found otherwise. While i am thankful that they have been discovered,i am perhaps a little devastated to discover that Oscar,as good as he is,has practically no recall what so ever!!!
Not to mention his lack of attention and focus on me and his rather disappointing lack of interest in toys. He is a beagle i know,but its clear that i had the bar too high for him to reach.
I tried to many things a once and didn't finish or proof commands properly,and look at where its got me. Pretty far i suppose,with a dog that can do an abundance of tricks and most of the basics. But i didn't train some things properly or i failed to recognize the problems in the early training sessions.
He used to have a fairly good recall,you could let him off leash in fields and he would come back when called,but then something changed and it went down hill from there.
So in light of all these discoveries i have made realistic goals for us,
*Recall
    -Retrain new command,"to me".
    -train using food times,restrained recalls and play recall games
    -Use a long line in new places

*Agility
   - train 'nose touch contacts' using games.
   -retrain the seesaw(he got spooked the last day on it)
   -Buy a curved tunnel
   -Teach left,right,twist and turn commands
   -work on speed and running ahead of me

*Basics
   -Work on focus
   -Go back to using a clicker
   -Perfect loose leash walking
   -Work on food bolting
   -Socialization

*Drive
   -Buy a tug e nuff and use during training to increase tug drive and interest in toys

     


I have also decided to bake treats from now on,works out cheaper and better!!! Hopefully we will be able to achieve most of these goals by the end of summer,but if i can get my recall and focus work done then i will be delighted!!

Happy Birthday Oscar!!!!

Happy birthday to you,happy birthday to you,happy birthday dear Oscar,happy birthday to you!! Hip hip Hoary!!! 
Well it was last Friday,but his present didn't arrive till today,but he didn't seem to mind!!
He is now the big number 2!
2 years already!!! Wow, time does fly by, doesn't it?
I can still remember the day we brought him home,it was quite a rush to be honest,called up his owner and then we went to pick him up an hour later! He went from being this small little chewing machine,

to this tearaway hound!

We had a couple of ups and downs along the way,but boy its been a great time,and i can't wait for more!!
Now for the bit we all love,PRESENTS!!!!

                                              A harness,stag bar and a new toy!

                                     "Look at me in my new harness,and it glows in the dark!!!"

                                                           "What do i do with this?"


And for the special birthday dinner,

                                         Raw chicken bone,ham and some kibble!

                                       "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... Bones!!!"


Happy Birthday Oscar!!!!!