I like to eat things.

Yes, this is another Oscar post.

Where do I even start?

Oscar ate this.  ATE it.  As in swallowed it whole.  Um... I have no idea how.

The one we had originally had a cheap tennis ball attached to it.  We bought it during one of our puppy classes back in the day for training, and he ripped off the ball in class.  It stayed in tact for, oh say, about 5 minutes.  He loved the fleece part, but it did get disgustingly wet while he played with it.  The then started to pull at each strand, ruining the braid part.  Eventually, the toy became a very loosely braided toy with mismatched lengths of fleece strand.

Many times, I had to take it away from him and knot up the longer strands because I noticed they would go completely down his throat, but never have I imagined that he would get the entire thing down.

So this time, he did.  The toy was quarantined away in the bathroom downstairs, and Mr. Chill must've left the door semi open while he pulled out the trash in the room.  Oscar found the toy, and JACKPOT! Within a minute it was gone and our poor dog walker witnessed it.

Of course, the next few hours were followed by frantic calls from yours truly to Mr. Chill, to our vet, and to our dog trainer, Ruth.  I lined up various emergency vets in the event Oscar chokes or vomits, or has a toy sticking out of his ass (um, deja vu?).

The first night went fine.



Video of Oscar trying to get Mr. Chill's attention. (Just for the record, we ignore Oscar if he cries or whines, unless it is an emergency, because we don't want him to think crying will get him what he wants.)

Finding time to work out

Why is it that I feel like there are never enough hours in a day?  Especially when it comes to working out?

I try to hit the gym, or do bikram yoga, 4x a week.  I really should do more, but trying to make the 4 classes is TOUGH.  Getting there is half the battle.

For example, I made plans to have dinner with my Dulcetta girls (to be announced in the near future) in the city.  Plenty of time to hit the gym beforehand.  But then I realized, Oscar needs paw booties because the snow and the salt is doing a mean number on his precious paws.  I would say this is a priority especially since we're supposed to be hit with another 12 inches of snow tomorrow, and his paws looks so sad.

In true planner fashion, I called Buzzy's, our great dog food supplier, and asked if they had dog booties. Yes they do!

They carry Ultra Paws booties, and they have decent reviews.  Hopefully winter is almost over, so Oscar will only need these for another month or so.  They're not as cute as some other booties I saw, but these look like they will stay on. 

So my plan is to purchase these today along with some food and treats for our pup.  Then drive into the city and pick up Mr. Chill, go to dinner, and come home.  There is something about working out after 6pm that is very unappealing to me.  Will just have to do double tomorrow I guess.  Oh right, I have to do grocery shopping tomorrow too.

Introducing Chill family!

So I've changed Oscar's diary to be a more encompassing blog about Oscar, myself, and the doings of our family.  Most likely, it will be more about me and Oscar, with tiny tidbits of Mr. Chill since he's very private.

Anywho, thanks to everyone who's been following Oscar's diary!

Please update your bookmarks and google reader to http://thechillfamily.blogspot.com/.  All of Oscar's old posts are there as well!

Today, I will leave you with a pictures of my cute pup in about 20" of snow from this weekends blizzard!

I have no idea how little doggies go to the bathroom outside.  It took Oscar a few hours to find a safe place to poop!

Oscar's hippy hips

Every once in a while, we've all noticed that Oscar drags his back right leg during walks. Sometimes, especially when it's cold outside and he's tired, he refuses to walk and sits down on the sidewalk, middle of the street, or in the bushes (Look mom, I'm a tree!). My biggest worry was that he may have hip dysplasia which is common in breeds like American Bulldogs.

With the suggestion of our trainer and dog walkers, we decided to have Oscar checked out by his favorite vet, Dr. Wilkerson at Mt Airy Vet. We decided to wait on xrays until the doc suggested it...

So off we went to the vets office. Well first, we had to have Oscar try out the new ramp to climb into the back of the SUV.

That took a while. Chris was getting frustrated and said, "Christina, I swear, if we wasted $120 on this stupid ramp that Oscar won't use..." and almost on cue, Oscar ran up the ramp and sat down inside the SUV. Ha!

We drove to the office, then we tried to get Oscar out of the car via Ramp. A few minutes later, Oscar was getting showered with love and kisses by the staff at the vets office. Oh, he's such a stud there!

There was another big dog in the waiting room, and a german shepherd came out later from his appointment, and they both greeted each other nicely. I think the german shepherd wanted to play because he gave Oscar a great big play bow. Well... it's the doctor's office, not a playground. So Oscar went back to focusing on us for treats.

We went into the exam room, and his favorite blond nurse initiated the new staff nurse by introducing Oscar to her along with his drool, which ended up all over her crotch. What a mean joke! But Oscar didn't mind. He loves the attention there.

We first ruled out Lyme Disease, then talked to the doc about Glyco Flex pills and trimming down Oscar's weight even more. He's also fit, but he suggested we get him almost skinny, which will help his joints.

Great news is that the doctor didn't think an xray would be necessary at his point. He was able to flex Oscar's back legs, and he wasn't in pain. We will bring him in if Oscar starts to limp most of the time and if he has a more difficult time getting up after a long nap. But with the weight management and pills, he thinks Oscar will be find. Let's hope so!

Big Update!

So it's been a long time since we've updated! Lots have happened since...

Let's start with our new bulldog-mobile.

We got rid of the little jetta, and upgraded to a cross-over SUV. Why? To accomodate Oscar. But now, it's too high, and our little baby will need a ramp to get in and out of the back trunk.



Here is Oscar chilling on his way to Blue Bell Park - one of his last rides in the jetta.

Since our last post, Oscar has continued to love us. See exhibit A below.


A.



B. Maybe daddy loves Oscar too much.

C. Spent a nice day outside pretending to be super serious and sexy.

Halloween came and went, and we couldn't find him a cool costume in his size. So instead, he borrowed our fedora hat for a few seconds. Then he thought about eating it, so we had to put it away. Far away.

In mid December, we went on a cruise to the caribbean, leaving Oscar with his dog sitter and Queenies. This was the longest we've left him, and to say that I was nervous and anxious would be an understatement. I had to hold myself back from texting our dog sitting 24/7.

So we were on this... (a cruise)

Enjoying some of this

and this.

Our flights were cancelled back to Philadelphia, so we enjoyed some more of this:

while Oscar enjoyed this.

A week after we returned, it was Christimas! Of course, we couldn't neglect our baby and not get him a gift, so we gave him his little football with string tug. What a perfect gift we thought!

Yes, Oscar LOVED it. A bit too much. He started to SWALLOW the rope, along with the toy. So we took it away. Far away. Like in the garbage forever, away. Poor Oscar.

Now that Oscar is 1.5 years old, and he's been very good (aka no household-damaging-chewing), we've started to allow him full reign of the 1st floor of the house if someone is home. This also includes sleeping on the couch at night, while the adults sleep in the bedroom. I picture him sleeping like this when we're not looking...

But in the morning, I usually find him like this:


I've also started working in a real office recently, but only temporarily. So I think Oscar misses me being home with him all day. Because honestly... he loves to deter me from working on my laptop.

His big head always gets in the way. Fortunately he hasn't drooled enough to short circuit my laptop.

More of Oscar in New Hampshire (by Oscar)

I cannot believe mommy didn't write about my time in the water. I hate showers and baths, but I definitely grew to like the lake water... sorta.

I knew I had to help out somehow, so I decided to save Daddy's sister and her boyfriend from the scary lake:

I pulled that boat and all the passengers to safety - Super Oscar!

Daddy and Mommy bought me a new toy, but they tricked me... they threw it into the lake, I chased it and before I knew it, I was waste deep in water!

How did I get out so far?

I eventually got used to going into the lake, but only up to my neck, I did not want to get my pretty hair on top of my head wet:

You want me to go how far to get the frizbee?

Whew, I got it, and I kept my head (mostly) dry! I'm heading back to dry land...

No, I do not want to go back into the lake, just give me the damn frizbee!

I gots me my frizbee and I iz doing fine here, thank you very much.

Our trip to Lake Winnepesauke

Over the summer the Hill family head up to New Hampshire to spend time with the rest of the Hill family.

This is a photo journal of our journey.


On the trip up, Oscar threw up within 1 hour. He usually doesn't get car sick, so it was a bit disturbing. He also barely slept during the whole ride. He was either a) excited, b) sick, or c) scared that the baby gate in the back seat was going to fall on him. We think it was d) all of the above.


For some odd reason, Oscar started to hang out like this in the car. He is so big, he can use the head rest as his pillow!


We finally go to the island, and Oscar was scared of getting onto the boat. We also did not think he could swim. So we SHOVED him into the boat, and CARRIED him off of it. Fortunately, he learned very quickly that a boat ride is much like a car ride and eventually he figured out how to get on and off without any help... even when we did NOT want him on the boat... but that's another story.


Chris' dad rented a sailboat for the trip. Here is Oscar watching the boat come in. He's like your personal welcoming committee.


Yay! The boat's here!



Here is a great picture of Oscar hanging out inside the house. He was SO rowdy during the trip, but he was always so gentle with Grandma. She loved him, and he loved her back. Sadly, Grandma passed away a few days ago, and we're all so thankful we were able to see her recently. Hopefully lots of Oscars are up in heaven taking care of her.


Like I said, Oscar was usually rowdy, so he was usually leashed up. Here is Chris holding onto a long lead with Oscar at the end of it. He is also rocking the socks with flipflops look. He's so hot.


Oscar LOVED the boat rides.


He also loves car rides, especially in a new Mercedes. I think Chris' dad was worried Oscar would DROOL all over his new leather seats. But Oscar wasn't concerned about drool. At some point prior to the trip, he had eaten some socks, and he was in the habit of throwing them up... again. So we took him to the vet on the mainland to get him checked out.

Oscar always feels bad after he eats socks. He knows he shouldn't. But I think once they end up in his mouth, he forgets all that, and the tastiest of socks outwins the consequences. Ah... free will.


Chris driving the boat.


Chris, Jenn, Pete, and I went out for lunch at this great seafood place. We stuffed ourselves with oysters, steamers, fish and chips, etc. Oh my... it was heaven.


Chris was grill master the one night we had bbq for dinner. BBQ chicken, steaks... every night was a gourmet meal.


Chris and I took turns waking up early to take care of Oscar. One morning, Oscar woke up so early, the rest of the house was still asleep. We hung out on the front porch trying to make as little noise as possible. We practically watched the sun come up. For a city girl and city dog, we loved that porch and looking out onto the lake every day. I think we could live like this.


Oscar loves people watching. He was watched Jenn and Pete paddle up to the shore.


Video of Oscar greeting Jenn and Pete.


At some point, Chris took me out on the Sunfish again. This time, we did not get stranded. Oh wait, yes we did. The wind died. It was a very calm week on the island. Eventually Chris paddled us back to the dock.


I had a great time nonetheless. I find the Sunfish to be very romantic. Especially when you're not moving. Then you imagine sharks circling you. Wait... we're on a lake. Never mind.


Later our family went onto a boat expedition to explore the area around our island. Oscar was loved it.


Chris was the captain.


I just sat there.


Oscar made funny faces the whole time.


Oscars lips flap in the wind. It's like hair blowing in the wind... but funnier.


We finally had a day with some wind, so Chris' dad and grandfather took the big sailboat out. I tagged along because I've never been on a sailboat larger than the Sunfish. I had a great time... I also got burnt.


Chris' grandfather steering.


The boat docked.


Whew, what a trip! Oscar slept on the whole ride home back to Philadelphia.