THE OTHER DOG, TRAINING MY HUMANS & ANOTHER NEW FACE

OSCAR:
(27th August 2013)

"I wakened up early this morning when one of my new humans, Catherine, came into the kitchen where I sleep.  She took me outside and it was a bit cold after my cosy bed.  I still have no idea why my new humans take me outside and away from the warmth of the kitchen!  After a while she took me inside ~ I think she is learning I need to get back into my bed to do a wee.  Once again when I did this she took my rug away to the other room and once again I heard a machine starting.  So there I am in my cage with just the base to sit on.  Humans are weird.

After my breakfast, Catherine put me on my lead and I sat beside her as she checked her emails.  I fell asleep on the floor beside her and later wakened up to find we were going on an adventure!  She kept saying "lets go and wake Sean up".  I wondered where Sean was and soon I was lead into another room where he was asleep in a very big bed, well bigger than mine anyway.

Who is this other dog?!

It was then I saw the other dog!  I got a bit of a fright and let out a little bark which made my humans burst out laughing.  They were talking about me (I now know my name is Oscar and so I know when they are chatting about me).  

I barked even more to send this dog away but all Sean and Catherine did was laugh and then take a photograph!  Have they no concern for the fact a strange dog, which looks very like me, has wandered into their house?  Or maybe he lives in the room with the humans bed?  The other dog didn't bark and he didn't approach me but stayed where he was for me to approach him.  I think I am safe for now!

Sean got up and we all went back to the kitchen where Sean again took me outside.  They are obsessed with taking me outside for some reason.  But a strange thing happened.  I needed to 'go' and did my business and I got lots of congratulations and pets afterwards.  Maybe my humans prefer me to do my business outside the house?  I might give that a try later if it means I get lots of pets and even a little piece of liver as a treat.  

I came inside and had a sleep for a while and when I wakened up another human was in the house.  Catherine told me her name is Kathleen and she is the best dog trainer in Donegal.  Surely she means human trainer?  I don't know.  But I know one thing, I really like Kathleen.  She petted me and chatted to me like she'd known me for ages!  And I can smell dogs on her!  Lots of exciting new scents.  I know why too.  She told Catherine she had just finished a class to she must have had lots of dogs at it.  I might like to go to her class to see her and meet all these new dogs.  Catherine said I can once I have my inoculations complete.  Whatever that is!

My new ball & rope toy!

When Kathleen left (she said she had another class so there must be a lot of dogs in Donegal ~ even more than my old home!), Catherine took me outside again and this time she took one of my new toys.  

It's like a ball but there's a rope on it and so it's easy for me to carry.  Catherine threw it and I ran after it and brought it back to her and she very quickly learned to keep throwing it for me!  She is going to be easy to train.

We played for ages and Catherine kept throwing the toy in return for my bringing it back to her.  Then I really needed to have a wee and did one in the yard.  Catherine was very happy with me and even gave me a little cube of that delicious liver!  I think I am having another training breakthrough with my humans ~ I 'go pee pee' (as they call it) in the yard and I get a piece of liver.  I am enjoying training my humans as I am getting lots of rewards.  I suppose they are grateful they have such a great trainer.

Resting with my Nylabone

I was quite tired and so Catherine took me inside and I went into my bed and chewed for a while on another new toy (my humans call it a Nylabone).  It is really good to chew on because there is something delicious inside it and it helps take away any aches I get because apparently I am teething (another new word).  

Catherine only gives me it to chew for a little while each day which makes it a bigger treat for me when I get it.

And now for another snooze ~ I am a growing boy after all!"

NOTE FROM CATHERINE:
Dog owners should read this WARNING about Nylabones before giving one to your dog or puppy.

MY FIRST FULL DAY IN MY NEW HOME

OSCAR:
(Monday, 26th August 2013)

"I wakened up this morning and discovered that I wasn't at home with my brother and family and then remembered leaving them all yesterday and my new humans, Sean and Catherine.  I know this is my new home because they told me last night and I remember before my other brothers and sister going away in cars with humans and they never came back to my old home.  

I am in a room on my own but I hear noise outside and then the door opens and Catherine came in and opened my cage and petted me calling me Oscar and telling me what a good boy I am.  I like being petted.  She told me I was such a good boy for sleeping all night and not crying.  Why would I cry?  I was comfortable and warm.  Strange creatures these humans!

She fed me and gave me a big drink of water and then for some reason decided we would stand out in the back yard (she calls it the dogs yard but I don't see any other dogs here?).  We just stood around for a while and she kept saying "Pee pee Oscar".  I have no idea what a pee pee is but she seemed to want me to do something.  Eventually she took me back inside and into my cage and thank goodness because I was just bursting for a wee.  I was half way through when Catherine heard me and came over and took my snugly rug out of the cage and went off to another room where I heard a machine starting up.  Why did she take my rug away?  Maybe I am not meant to pee on my new rug?  I don't know.  Humans can be strange.

Catherine later got a little red cube and had it in one hand.  I discovered that in the other hand she had a fistful of delicious liver cubes.  She was saying 'Oscar, sit' and then pushing my bottom down on to the floor.  Once my bottom was on the floor the red box made a click sound and Catherine gave me a cube of liver.  We did this for a little while and then I went for a lie down.  I think the word sit may be connected with my bottom touching the floor.  I will have to study this more.

Me and Anja

Later we all went out in the car again.  I was in my cage and really I don't mind this now because it means I am going on a trip somewhere and it could be somewhere exciting.  And it was.  Sean drove for a little while and then when he stopped I was lifted out and we went into a room that smelled of lots of dogs!  I know my humans (Sean and Catherine) couldn't smell them but I could.  Another human with a very friendly voice came up and petted me.  She smelled of dogs too although my humans had no idea I could smell dogs once again.  I was getting to like this place!

Catherine called this new human Anja and she was feeling me all over in a gentle way and Catherine asked to take a photo of her with me for my blog (this one you are reading.  Yes, I am going to be a bonna fide blogging dog.  Whatever that means ~ I just hear Catherine saying it so I am happy with that.

After we left Anja, who I heard my humans saying is a vet.  She seemed very like a human to me.  We went a little way in the car and then I had a very exciting time!  We stopped at a huge grassy place with the sea beside it and I got to investigate all the new smells all over the place ~ even though I was still on a lead.  Sean had the other end of the lead and he let me wander wherever I wanted and I found lots of what he called 'seaweed'.  It was pretty tasty but he kept taking it off me.  Humans, as I have said before are strange sometimes!

Lots of exploring later and it was back into the car.  I thought we were just going home but we weren't.  I was taken to a very special house where my human's have lots of little humans.  Catherine told me they are her grandchildren (whatever that means).  I was a perfect gentleman and all the people were saying what a beautiful boy I am.  I am liking all this attention!  

See?  Cake on fire!!!

Everyone was very happy and singing something called 'Happy Birthday' and there was a cake on the table and Bee (the grandchildren's mother) set it on fire!  I was a bit startled but still agreed to pose for a photograph from the safety of my human, Sean's, arms.  I couldn't take my eyes of the cake on fire though!

Later, we left to go home and I was very tired and so had a good sleep in my cage where my snuggley rug was back.  Even though I miss my brother and my family, I think I am going to like living with my new humans!"

OSCAR COMES HOME

So yesterday, Sunday the 25th of August 2013 we set off to County Louth to collect Oscar.  You can imagine how excited I was all the way there!  Of course being the semi-final of the all Ireland in Dublin there were diversions on the road which made the journey about an hour longer than it should have been and so delaying my actually getting to meet Oscar for the first time!

Oscar (on left) and his brother

When we got there Paul (the breeder) and his wife and two young daughters were in their large back garden with Oscar and his brother playing together with another of their dogs, a very pretty brindle whippet.

He came bounding over to us and we got to pet him for the first time.  His puppy coat is a soft as velvet and his black muzzle even softer.  Naturally I fell in love there and then.  And even though he may not admit it, I know Sean did too.  He is so gorgeous it would be hard not to love him (Oscar I mean.  Well Sean too but that's another story!).

Ike

I was looking forward, with trepidation, to meeting Oscar's father, Ike as it would give me an idea of the eventual size of Oscar (breed standards are one thing but seeing an animal in the flesh is best to me).  But although I was dying to see him I had admitted to Sean on the drive down that I was a little nervous too ~ he is after all a muscle bound beefcake who weighs in around 10 stone!

It is weird really, I have had dogs practically all of my life but I still remain, not afraid as such, more unsure perhaps and especially with a large dog of course.

Paul went off to get Ike from his kennel and moments later this tank of a dog strolled over to us on his lead.  He IS big but thankfully very gentle.  Maybe a little stand-offish but that is part of the make up of a Bullmastiff.  Still he came to us, lead by Paul, and we petted him ~ it was actually like he "allowed" us to pet him which was quite funny.

The great thing about finding Paul and Aisling (Oscar's breeders) is that we could see not only Oscar's father, mother and indeed grandmother but also learn even more about the breed and how Bullmastiffs fit in with a family with young children.  They have had Bullmastiffs for many years and long before they had their girls and so the children grew up with their Bullmastiffs always in their lives and Oscar has had the benefit of 14 weeks from birth in their company.  Having very young grandchildren this aspect of the breed (and Oscar) is of paramount importance to us.

Oscar ~ what's not to love!

After a few hours with Paul, Aisling and their girls it was time for us to take Oscar home.  For the first part of the journey we decided that it would be best to let him sit on the back seat beside me and we thought just putting him in his cage would be too frightening for him for his first long journey and indeed the first time being separated from his family.

Taking up half the back seat!

I put the big thick fleece we had bought for him earlier in the day on the back seat and put Oscar in.  For the first 10 minutes of the journey he just lay across the rug.  Five minutes later he moved closer to me and put his head on my knee.  Five minutes and lots of assuring sounds (from me) and pets, he was sitting right beside me with his velvety, chubby face pressed up against mine.  (Awww time).

Obviously as Oscar was loose in the car Sean could not go very fast just in case of having to brake suddenly.  We very quickly realised the journey would be much too long for a puppy at that speed and so we pulled over and put him with his rug, teddy, and a slipper from his former home into the cage.

Not particularly thrilled at being put in his cage!

Outside Emmyvale (about half way home) we found a place to park safely and take Oscar out of the cage on his lead to let him do his toilet.  He did a wee but nothing else, despite waiting for ages!  Nearer home, just before Strabane, he kicked up a noisy fuss.  I guessed what was up with him ~ toilet break.  We had to drive for about another mile until we found a suitable place to stop.  So, armed with kitchen paper to pick up what was coming, we took him out and within seconds he had the business done.  We picked it up (yuck ~ no matter how much you love them this is one of the "yuck" times), binned it and were on our way for the last 15 minutes of our journey.  What impressed us about this is that Oscar could so easily have done his business in the cage but even at his young age he didn't want to.

Posing for the camera

Once home, fed and watered Oscar very quickly made himself at home.  No fussing, no fretting.  Of course after he had settled down one of the first things I did was get busy with my camera and put photos on twitter and facebook ~ Oscar had arrived!

OSCAR:
"Today was a very strange day.  It started off pretty much as any other day did: being fed, watered, and then playing with my brother and my breeders children.  Then in the afternoon a man and woman arrived and chatted a long time with Paul and Aisling and the girls.  Then they all went in for coffee (I tried that once and have no idea why humans like it!).

Later, the man and woman (called Sean and Catherine) came out of the house and Aisling took me to clip my nails just to show Sean and Catherine how she does it.  I don't really mind having my nails clipped because Aisling does it every week and is very quick and soon lets me loose to play again.

After a while Sean and Catherine took me to their car ~ which is the same as one of the cars at my home so I was familiar with  it.  Catherine sat in the back seat and I was placed in beside her on a big comfy rug.  Then the door slammed and the car started and I realised I was going away alone!  I had to lie for a while thinking about this because I was confused about why these strange people were taking me away.

Catherine kept chatting to me.  Humans can't bark so it was hard for me to understand but somehow her voice relaxed me and I crept a little bit nearer to her.  She kept tickling my ears and petting me and saying 'Oscar'.  I have no idea what that word means but she seemed to like it because she kept saying it.  I moved closer and cuddled up to her and she kept petting me which made me feel happy.

"I am feeling a bit confused here."

After a long time they stopped the car and I got out to do the pee pee I had been holding in because I didn't want to wet my new rug.  After I did my pee pee I was put in a cage at the back of the car!  I couldn't understand that and wasn't very happy because Catherine didn't get in so I had no-one to cuddle up to.  But she put a rather strange blue furry thing in and I cuddled up to that.  I think she called it Oscar's teddy.

Ages later I wakened up and REALLY needed to go poo poo.  I tried to tell Sean and Catherine by yelling at them but they might be deaf because they ignored me for another while.  Eventually I think they understood what I was saying because they stopped the car and let me out to do my poo poo.  I might have a lot of training to do with these two!  

We stopped again but this time it was very dark and Sean carried me up lots of steps and we went into a house and they kept saying "We're home Oscar" ... I am begining to realise that Oscar might just be my new name!.  I must be a clever boy after all!

Home and dog tired!

I felt very tired and was happy to get into my comfy den.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?"

HOW WILL LUCY TAKE TO OSCAR?

Our inherited cat, Lucy, inherited when our son, wife and baby moved to the USA, is a real firecracker of a cat.  She is extremely strong willed, smart, sassy and super intelligent.  Since our own wee cat Mimime died of blood cancer recently Lucy has had total centre stage in our home.  She can open doors, and in some strange way, can almost make us do whatever she wishes.

Lucy

I have a strong feeling her nose will be firmly pushed out of place when Oscar comes home on Sunday evening.

Obviously they will have to be kept apart until they settle down and Lucy accepts him.  I will crate Oscar and let Lucy into the room and keep it like that until there the animosity dies down.  This will have to be done to protect Oscar more than Lucy as one swipe of her very sharp claws would hurt Oscar and possibly set them up for a future of fighting where later, when Oscar is bigger, Lucy could be the one to suffer.

With previous cats and dogs I have found the crate method best.  It allows them to suss each other out safely and eventually settle into a harmonious life together.  Hopefully it will be the same with Lucy and Oscar.

OSCAR THE BULLMASTIFF

I am Oscar's "mum to be", Catherine.  He hasn't yet met me and has no idea the excitement his imminent arrival is causing in his future home.  His future  "dad" (Sean) & I are counting the days until we collect Oscar on the 25th of August 2013.

Oscar will live in our home in beautiful County Donegal on the north west coast of Ireland after we collect him from his birth home in County Louth (we promise not to hold it against him that he is not a Donegal boy!).

Oscar will be our first Bullmastiff (the dog to the left here is Oscar's canine father, Ike) but we are certainly not novices of the bully breed having been mum & dad to three English Bull Terriers over the years.

We have many of the things here already that Oscar will need (even though he doesn't know what he needs!).

We have doggy beds, toys, feeding bowls, cage, and so forth but given that Oscar will grow much taller than our EBTs he needs to feed at a higher level than floor level.  (This is something I only learned that taller dogs need via the internet ~ previously we have been mum & dad to a Bouvier des Flandres, Elsa, who had to make do with feeding bowls on the floor since back then we knew no different (that said Elsa lived a long & happy life with us low floor feeding and indeed went on to be one of the first, if not the first Irish Champion Bouvier).

Back to Oscar.  I had intended to get a carpenter friend to make a "table" at a suitable height for Oscar.  This basically is a stand with slots for a feeding and water bowls.  Luckily I mentioned this to Paul (Oscar's first dad & breeder) and he told me not to bother saying Oscar will very quickly outgrow any table I had made.  Paul said that instead buy an adjustable stand from our local pet shop.  I had never heard of such a thing.

But I went to a local pet shop, sure they too would have no idea of such a thing.  I was wrong.  The owner brought me a box with said item.  Thank you Paul, Oscar's breeder for informing me of such an item.

I have been washing all our dog towels in non bio soap too to make sure we have fresh towels for Oscar.  Alf (RIP) used to be bathed every Friday night by Sean and he loved it totally.  I was a little worried about bathing the mass that is a Bullmastiff and mentioned this to Paul in the course of one of our lengthy chats with Paul (Oscar's breeder).  He said we could wash Oscar outside if we wished using bowls with water and soap on a sponge (Oscar won't be reduced to al fresco washing ~ we have a big bath, big enough even for a fully grown Bullmastiff).  Paul went on to say that bathing too often was not a good option for dogs as it might make them itchy.  That made my antenna go up and I asked why and he said it dries out their skin and makes them itch,.

I was back into memories of Alf then of course and mentioned how we used to bathe Alf every Friday night to ease his itching.  After lots of chat about skin conditions in dogs and allergies (and our taking our first ever English Bull Terrier to the Animal Hospital in Ballsbridge, Dublin) I told Paul we only fed our dearly departed Alf chicken (and I being totally against factory farming would only buy free range chickens which of course are way more expensive), Paul informed me that chicken actually makes dogs itch MORE.

That information left me gutted.  To think that we had bathed Alf & fed him chicken and we were only continuing Alf's condition  You can imagine how bad I felt.

Moving  on, I was impressed with Paul's knowledge and his willingness to impart it.  Added to that the fact that he has had Bullmastiffs for over twenty years and is passionate about them.  We had found the person we trusted to sell us a pup bred with care.

So the date is set, next Sunday after Paul returns from a week of dog shows.  Already I am wondering just how early we can leave home to get to Louth to see Oscar.  I am not sure Paul would appreciate our landing at 6 am which is right about when I would prefer such is my excitement to see our new boy!  I guess I will have to hold off until lunchtime.  Or maybe just before lunchtime.  Or just after breakfast.  I will be back to 6 am at this rate.

In the meantime I am enjoying listening to a couple dog trainers I found on youtube.  Both teach using the clicker and positive reinforcement methods and I really like them.  It is so long now since I had to train a dog and to be honest, Alf was so smart there was very little training needed ~ he just seemed to pick everything up immediately, I so I am very rusty in such matters.

I had never heard of clicker training before but it strikes me as a great aid to training this little clicker.  The pet shop actually had one.  Literally one.  The owner said there was a fashion for them some time back but it had died off so he hadn't restocked them but luckily there was that one left just for me.

Training is of paramount importance of course for all dogs both for their own safety and the safety of anyone who comes into contact with them.  But facing the eventual bulk of a heavily muscled up to ten stone Bullmastiff, early training is probably even more important.  Certainly to me anyway.  And learning these new methods is passing the time while we await the arrival of Oscar!

Here are links to the trainers I like TAB289 and The Amazing Dog Training Man