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.