'Puppy Party' #4 (The Last Puppy Party)

Today was met with both excitement and a little sadness as Oscar attended his...*sniff*...final Puppy Party at the Vets.

Getting him in the car was an easy job, as he has now connected car rides to fun at the vets / travelling to my parents for attention and treats. As soon as I parked up he was crying to be let out so we could go inside.

It's worth noting at this point that I received a phonecall on Monday from the Vets asking us if we could switch Oscar's class from Wednesday (small dogs only) to Thursday (bigger dogs only) due to his....*coughs*....excessive energy last week.

My heart almost skipped a beat, as I thought she was ringing to say he was going to be expelled for pinning down the Chihuahua! Luckily he wasn't.

We were surrounded by an Alsation, a Goldendoodle, a Black Labrador, Nero The Labradoodle (who is now Oscar's friend) and a Chocolate Lab called Pepsi. Holding onto Oscar was even more difficult this week, as the excitement was too much for him. He was wriggling all over the place.

This week's talk was on Dog behaviour and handling, and we were all asked to see how our pet reacts to us checking their teeth / eyes / ears and paws. Oscar seemed quite happy with this, but then we were told to pass our puppies to the left and swap with the person on our right!

I, of course got the biggest dog in the room...The Alsation! Let's just say he wasn't as easy to pick up as Oscar. I must confess a little anxiety when it came to checking his teeth, but he was well behaved, and I lived to tell the story - which is always a bonus.

After a lengthy play with the other dogs, whom, despite their size, he was still able to chase around and pin down [pictured], we said our goodbyes and Oscar and I were given a Puppy pack, complete with toys, information leaflets and a Certificate marking his completion of the 4-week Puppy Party [pictured].

Whatever will we do with our Thursday Lunchtimes now?...

The First Walk!

Brief blog entry to say that we have finally just returned from our first dog walk with Oscar!

Amry, Oscar and I went out over our local recreation ground and then through into a woodland area for a short(ish) 20 minute walk. We also bumped into Nero and his owner (from the Puppy Party), who was walking her other dog (a West Highland Terrier).

Earlier on today, I drove to 'Pets at Home' to purchase an extendable lead [pictured] so that Oscar could have a bit of a free run, whilst still maintaining some control over him.

About 10 minutes into the walk, when we were away from any cars, and safely int he woodland, I let Oscar off the lead alltogether, and was surprised to see him staying by my side all the way home - despite encouragement to 'go play'.

Theres a point in the walk, where we reach a road, and I felt confident enough to keep him off the lead by side, and he stayed there all the time. I think we got extremely lucky with this dog because he seems to pick things up so quickly and naturally. Will try and get some pictures from the walk next time we go.

'Puppy Party' #3

Puppy Party #3 is now over, and I have never seen Oscar having so much fun! Somehow, he even managed to bring the usually timid / petrified Chihuahua (Tallulah) out of her shell. By some miracle, I was able to get a quick shot of Oscar and Tallulah squaring up in what can only be described as a Wild West shoot-em-out [pictured] - (although what the Carrot is doing in shot, I have no idea).

This weeks topic was on Grooming and Insurance. I know the two topics don't exactly go hand in hand, but it was informative all the same.

For those of you looking to use brushes on your dogs, the advice learnt today was to start off with a rubber brush (Kong make one I believe) and gradually introduce the wire brush.

We wee also told the importance of finding a good Dog Groomer, as you don't have to legally be trained in the profession, and there are apparantly some bad eggs out there.

I was told to bring in Oscars injection card detailing when he has his first lot of shots, in order to book him in for his last set. I was quite pleased to hear that we can in fact get them this Friday, so in a week and 2 days, he should be able to go on his first walk.

'Puppy Party' #2

Oscar and I have just got back from Puppy Party #2 - can't believe we only have two more left!

Today's discussion was about Dog Food, and what is the best sort to feed them. The adivce from the vets was to give them dry food such as Eukanuba or Science Plan. Which is just as well, as we have been giving Oscar Eukanuba.

The dry food is preffered by vets as it contains all the nutrients a dog needs to grow healthy and strong, whereas compared to wet food, there can be some ingrediants that dont agree with your dog.

It's important to note that when you feed your dog dry food, they will naturally drink more, so dont be alarmed if they spend up to a minute lapping up water!

When it came round to allowing the puppies to play on the floor, Oscar seemed to take it upon himself to assert his position as top dog - Tallulah the Chihuahua stood no chance and was pawed over within 30 seconds.

This weeks party went by really quickly, as most of the session was given to the dogs being able to play with each other. I couldnt help but notice that all of us 'owners' tend to zone out staring at our puppy. It would hav made a great picture..but...well...I was zoned out!

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.

'Puppy Party' - #1

Well, it's Thursday, and Oscar has just attended his first 'Puppy Party' at the Vets. I must admit, I was a little nervous, as I didn't think dogs could interact with each other until they had their last set of injections at week 12. The Vet reassured me over the phone, however, that it is perfectly safe as long as they have had their first set of shots, which Oscar had on 20th July 2009.

We got there before anyone else, which showed a little eagerness on my part, and we both patiently waited on the benches for the others to arrive. First to enter was a Collie called 'Issy'. Oscar's ears immidiately pricked up and one-by-one the other five dogs entered. A German Shepherd Dog called 'Teemo', A Chihuahua called 'Tallulah', a King Charles Cavalier called 'Cookie', A Labradoodle called 'Nero' and a Huskey called 'Rocksie'.

Keeping hold of Oscar was extremely difficult as he was terribly excited and wriggling all over my lap, desperately seeking an opportunity to leap onto the floor and play with the other dogs.

We were split up into two groups - Big Dogs and Small Dogs. Oscar of course fell into the latter - this didn't stop him fearlessly bounding up to the German Shepherd Dog that was four times his size though!

There then followed a talk from the Veterinary Nurse, who discussed parasites that owners need to protect their puppies from. This then concluded with the puppies (in their groups) being allowed to play on the floor.

The session ended with us showing what commands our pets had learned, and I couldn't help but smile, knowing what we had learned in day three! The nurse came round and asked if Oscar could show us what he had learned, and right on cue, he sat, gave his paw, and lay down.

The party ended and left us both with excitement for next week's Puppy Party #2.

It has just occured to me that we have now had Oscar for a week! Time to have our own puppy party at home, I think!