Upstairs, Downstairs!

It seems Oscar has now discovered the stairs, as well as finding ingenious ways to overcome the various obstacles we put in the way to prevent him climbing up!

In the past week we have noticed a definite increase in his size, and no doubt this has given him the extra leg length needed to climb up the stairs.

The only problem is that once he is up, he loses all confidence coming back down again, and just sits there looking down at you. When you ask 'What's wrong' (like he's gonna reply), he starts whimpering. We got a great shot of him looking down at us (see top of this entry).

As of today, he will come down, but only with verbal encouragement, and after every step he successfully navigates, he lets out an excited cry.

I did double chek with the vet to see if this is 'allowed' to which she said yes, but not to let him do it too much.

But how do we stop him coming up when we don't want him to? Here are just a few of the combinations we have tried:

Training Crate = FAIL
Training Crate, Kitchen Stool = FAIL
Training Crate, Kitchen Stool, Cardboard Box = FAIL
Training Crate, Kitchen Stool, Cardboard Box, Washing bag = RESULTS INCONCLUSIVE

Of course, we could just invest in a stairgate, but where would the fun be in that?

Home again

Well, we're back home from our weekend in Christchurch. The drive down was a pleasure, not only because of traffic (or lack thereof) but because Oscar slept all the way. I thnk it is safe to put a big stamp of approval on crate training, as it really is working for us.

As predicted, Oscar got afew treats, not to mention his first squeaky toys, which its safe to say, definitley amuse him, and us (for about 5 minutes).

Oh..the puppy party #2 has been moved to Wednesday now, as bigger dogs now have their own day, leaving the smaller dogs to have more fun with others of similar size.

Toys, Insurance and Vets - oh my!

Well we have had Oscar for a little under 24 hours now, and although a little shy at first, he has definitley come out of his shell today.

We've decided to crate train him, which means that he basically lives in a large travel crate which has been lavished with a comfy bed, together with a carpeted flooring. (See picture above).

It's great, as we should (in theory) be able to take him in the car with us without yapping or crying, as he will, in effect, be in his bed.

Now although, I splashed out on a few choice toys before we got Oscar (Kong and Ragger), it has become clear that we need a few more. So Im off to our local pet store later to get some Tennis Balls and a Rubber Bone to put treats in - also a 'Kong' product.

I also got Oscar's pet insurance sorted out today. It is definitley worth shopping around online, and it's imperative you get a plan that covers any illness your pet may get, for his / her life. This may work out a bit more each month, but will be more than worth it if they ever get sick. Petplan offer this for around £30 a month, but we compared online and found More Than to offer more for just £13+ a month.

Finally, I also registered Oscar with a local vets today, so I can relax a little now knowing that he is covered on all bases. A little bonus from registering him, was that for the next 4 weeks, he is invited to a 'Puppy Party' at the vets, where he can socialise with other puppies of the same age.

Our first party is next Thursday, so no doubt, Ill report how it went.