Weekend Fun

Yesterday I decided to get the agility stuff out because it was such a lovely day. I am honestly convinced that the weather is seriously confused! It's the end of September, it's not supposed to be so warm outside, it's supposed to be starting to cool down! Today it's still fairly warm out (warm enough not to need a jacket, but do bear in mind that I don't get cold easilly) but it has actually rained, if you'd call the misty drizzle rain, and it's not half as bright as it was yesterday.

I haven't had the agility stuff out for a little while so some of the equipment needed a little wipe down and I was half petrified that I would pick up the seesaw and a huge spider would crawl up my arm! However, I did make it though everything without encountering any spiders and the one that was outside the shed door was..........eaten by Oscar.....

Anyway, moving on from the spiders, I did manage to get some good photos of our agility fun - even if the camera was collided with numerous times and stood on by yours truly! It did survive, and has no scars (which is just shocking!) 

One of my tunnels has sadly died! I'm not sure what happened to it though. I know that Oscar didn't rip it up and it wasn't left out since the last time I used it. It's the mystery of the ripped up tunnel!

He was so very helpful when it came to setting up a little course!

The course: 2 jumps, seesaw, 1 jump, tunnel. 

Flying dog?

Lift off!!!!!

Tunnel

More flying

Almost touch down....? 

Some very serious seesaw tipping going on here!

And more flying!

It wasn't a hard course, I mean, it was just a straight line of obstacles but Oscar seemed to enjoy it. We did a couple of runs with that and he used up the rest of a bag of Natures Menu meaty treats (not just doing agility though, he did some training too). 
We're finally getting somewhere with the latest trick, pushing a football into a goal. He's now actually trying to push the ball along with his nose which is a huge step up from his previous just looking at it and walking towards it. He's even started putting his paws on the ball, which has given me the inspiration for his next trick- standing on a ball! But we won't start that until he had mastered pushing it into the goal.

Oscar is a dog that likes to ride in style and yesterday he laid claim to his latest belonging....

He will now be driving himself into town to do all the meat shopping, once he gets his licence of course and a suitable crash helmet! But I have told him that he may find himself a job to run it as I wont be paying for the petrol for it!




Later on in the day we went off walking in the usual place but we couldn't go into the fields as they were being ploughed, so it was just a boring old leash walk. Well, it wasn't as boring as I thought it would be, some funny things did happen.
Firstly we were walking up the lane way which is just off the main road and I feel this huge strain on the lead. Actually, I was nearly pulled over because the lead was clipped to me belt and Oscar was adamant that he must get to the ditch. I was confused as to what was up with him so I stopped and looked at him as he stood like this,

It took me a while to find what he was fixated on but eventually I saw something in the ditch, just standing there.....

.....it was a little mouse! It scampered off as soon as I took that photo but Oscar needed to do some further investigations....

He never did find the mouse after that but he was determined for the rest of the walk to be a mouse hunter. Now, if you've ever met Oscar you will know that he is pretty stupid when it comes to hunting. This dog who supposedly comes from working lines is supposed to be able to hunt rabbits, well Oscar doesn't find rabbit holes too appealing and he will in fact run away from them if he gets too close!
Needless to say, this 'hunt' of his didn't go too well and I ended up pulling him out of a hole at the side of the main road!

I'm not entirely certain how he managed to get stuck down there but soon after I took that photo his harness had disappeared into the hole and he was whining to get out, which he obviously couldn't, so I had to haul him out. If it wasn't for his harness then he would have been pretty stuck!

As I said at the start, the weather isn't as good today and I've had to put the agility equipment away.

On another subject, Oscar has been changed to one meal a day now. He's gotten a little chubby since I've gone back to school because of lack of exercise and all that so I've put him on one meal a day now instead of two as it allows me to compensate for the treats he gets during the day without him losing a meal. I've also started to actually weigh out his food! For those of you who know me as a raw feeder, you'll know that even that in itself is a miracle for me!
He doesn't seem to mind at all and it definitely helps take the pressure off me in the mornings as I have more time to do other stuff as oppose to prepare Oscars breakfast, which, trust me, can take some time on some mornings.
As part of this weight loss thing I'll also have to get up at half 6 each morning to walk the little monster before school. I don't have time after school most days so at least twice a week he may go without a walk, which obviously sends him hopping off the walls with all the pent up energy. Not sure how long the morning walks will last though as it starts getting dark in the morning soon and if that's the case then it will be too dangerous to go out walking so early and the fields are off limits right now due to the horses in them.
We'll see how it goes next week anyway and I'll make the final decision regarding the morning walks and whether they are going to work or not.  

Parent Free Weekend

The Parents are away in Dublin for the weekend meaning that I can do basically whatever I want with Oscar. The only downside is that my nan is out right now and is staying over for the night and while it shouldn't, it's really bugging me! I don't see why we can't go one night without parents!

Moving on from that, I finally got into town today to stock up on meat. I did intend on getting some fruit, veg and nuts to make up some veg mix but in the end that didn't go to plan.......I ran out of money! Its a shame as I haven't made up a veg mix in a very long time. Although, I'd say I looked rather odd in both Dunnes and Supervalue today. All I had on the counters was meat, nothing but meat and bones. And I got the strangest looks as I walked through the town with a backpack full of meat and a huge carrier bag full of it too. You'd swear nobody had seen a teenager walk around town with nothing but meat for her dog before?!?!

My Raw Haul!

So while I may be down €35, I did get :
- Lamb and Pork liver
- Lamb kidney
- Turkey drumsticks
- Beef mince
- Pork chops
- Turkey mince
- Pork ribs
- Probiotic yogurt
- Lamb hearts

Mam and Dad have gotten a tenner worth of Natures Menu wet food (for kongs), treats and pigs ears in Dublin for him too.
He had a nice fancy dinner tonight as well,

Lamb heart, Turkey mince, Probiotic yogurt, Apple cider vinegar, keepers mix and coconut oil!
Who would want kibble when you can have all that?

Oscar is a very spoiled dog, if I do say so myself!

We had a nice long 2 hour walk today too. Finally a 'real' walk since I went back to school! Horses are in all the fields behind the house now so we had to go on a road walk first to get to the fields today.
We started off in a mucky, ploughed field, although it was dry which was a bonus. And I must say, it looked like the surface of a different planet and it was so awkward to walk and run about in, even for the 4 legged monster had trouble with it!

Standing on a log

Standing on a big rock

The 'Off planet' surface

Can I go run around now? Please?

Finally, FREEDOM!

Sniff, sniff, sniff......sniff, sniff

There's something up that tree, I must investigate! 

I get a better view standing like this!

It's hard to imagine that I'm actually in a field next to a main road!

Posing with.......a big rock.......?

We did some recall training in this field too. It is amazing how much difference it makes to recall when the dog is actually HUNGRY because his mean owner didn't give him breakfast and dinner wasn't until after the walk. He was literally at my side as soon as I called his name, or even though to blow the whistle! It was lovely! And I got PICTURES!!!! (obviously, it's me, that's all I'm good for)

I'm coming for the food, I'm coming!!!

He nearly fell over my shadow.....

Then we went off on our way up and down the road and eventually we ended up in....surprise, surprise..... .....another field. It was a green and grassy field this time so a lot easier to get around (for most, some people seem to have issues with the tracks left by the horses). However, it happened to be the field that Oscar isn't too fond on. In fact, he dislikes this field so much that when we walk to it by going through the field directly behind the house, he actually refuses to go anywhere near the corner where the gate for it it. And god forbid we go in there and I let him off leash too soon he will run back to the other field as fast as he can.
Today he was pretty okay there though as we went in a totally different way. We did a little distance control here, just your basic sits and downs from a distance and running stops (as oppose to recalls). He did well and I'm very impressed with how good he's gotten. He can be a little slow with the down position and he currently wont do stand from a distance but his 'sit stop' is very good, or I like to think so anyway.

If he keeps this all up then I may be doing competitive obedience with him in the future. I started reading the Kennel Club regulations on it and it does sound like something we can do. I think it would suit Oscar more than agility and it kind of suits me a lot more too.

I'm sorry now, but I just have to add this in (it's a little off the topic of Oscar) .....

.........only in Ireland would you find a bath, complete with taps and plug, in a field!


There was a fire in a barn across the road today. Smoke everywhere and the flames were quite a sight when you looked from the field down the road. The fire brigade was up and down all day and even when we got home from town at half 3 it was still smoking. I got a picture of the aftermath a little while ago,

They were lucky that the hay bales stacked up beside the barn didn't go up in flames either. Nobody was hurt in the fire luckily but I have no idea how it started.

It was a good day today, excluding the whole fire thing of course. While I should have done my homework, I am very happy that I decided to do stuff with Oscar instead! Here are a few more pictures from the day,

Busy with his interactive toy, the 'Tug a Jug'.

Why are you throwing these away? I want to lick them clean!

Cute or what? 

I've also got some pictures that my friend took from over the summer that I'd like to share. I think they are very good.

I love this one! It's one of my favourites!

His tail looks really long in this

Zoomie session

I was on the roof, he wanted some ham....

Another favouite of mine

This is just awesome! 10/10

Back stall

My hood was up for the backstall because Oscar's nails are long! I had to protect my neck and head (learned that the hard way!) ........and my hair was less than perfect!
But, never fear, I have the solution to Oscar's long nail problem,

 
I've been looking for a nail grinder online for a while now but they were all so expensive. However today, while looking for something in the garage, I found that! It is exactly what I need and it is perfect. Plenty of attachments, different speeds, not noisy, light and easy to maneuver and it saves me €30! I know it's not specifically for filing dog nails but it is just what I need and will do the job.
You'll probably all think I'm crazy by now, but I can assure you.......

....I most certainly am!

I'll finish off tonight with this one of a kind photo of Oscar taken at exactly the right moment in time (it was kind of an accident though),