Oscar The Grouch goes Best of Breed over other Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs at the Dog Show today in Oyster Bay, Long Island (at Planting Fields Arboretum). If you live in the area, Oscar will be showing in the working group at about 3pm today. Help cheer this Swissy on!
At 1 pm everyday, like clockwork, Oscar wants to go down to the lobby. Why? To say hi to the mail lady, Cathy. Watch as this swissy does whatever she asks:
David and Oscar agree, Cathy is the best mailman, period!!
Over the past month, Oscar has knocked on Rocco The Bulldog’s door several times but quickly becomes a sad swissy, as Rocco has moved away. This week a new neighbor moved in, Dexter The Golden Retriever puppy. Now after every walk, Oscar wants to visit Dexter to see if he can play. Dexter is just 10 weeks old but it looks like the start of a great friendship.
Now that Oscar has received his excellent OFA rating, it was time to experiment with some working dog activities. Only a half hour away, in Rockland County, there was a GSMD weight pull organized by a local swissy club, SCONE. With some encouragement, Oscar was able to pull more than ten times his body weight in a practice setting. Oscar is easily capable of pulling that much plus additional weight, but I have to get him used to the actual process, as he never done it before.
For a video of Oscar doing the weight pull:
Thank you to Nicole Kerrigan for organizing the event and Laurie Carmody & Kelly Nevin for working with Oscar.
Oscar being a social city dog, loves busy NYC weekends when everyone is out celebrating especially Cinco De Mayo. As Oscar walks by El Rio Grande, the neighborhood Mexican Restaurant that is dog friendly, he takes some pictures with his new fans. Oscar then reunites with an old friend, Charlie the Cockerpoo. We found out that when Oscar was a puppy, he was in the same day care as Charlie. The tired swissy later headed home to see another dog in the elevator wearing jeans and a t-shirt!
After speaking with LA based producers, a new primetime tv show that will be airing on one of the big three networks came out to follow Oscar around earlier this week. This swissy is keeping his paws crossed. Stay tuned…
Oscar’s nose is healing great! At the vet’s office for a followup, Oscar meets an Appenzeller Mountain Dog! Also known as the Appenzeller Sennenhund, they are the rarest of the four mountain dogs (Greater Swiss, Bernese, Entlebucher being the other three). They weigh about 50-70 pounds which is half an Oscar. The owners recently moved from Europe and now live in New York giving Oscar a new friend.
After three weeks of anticipation, Oscar received his OFA tests back today. Oscar’s hips are rated excellent (the highest rating) and his elbows and shoulders are normal (as were his heart and eyes in the past). Although the vet said everything looked great at the time he took the X-rays, he does not determine the actual rating. The X-rays are sent to a team of three independent doctors who make the decision, so the actual results could be different. David is overjoyed that Oscar now has his full swissy clearances.
It’s very important to not buy a dog from a breeder without clearances. If a dog fails their clearances it’s optional to disclose. With bernese or greater swiss mountain dog it’s essential to have the hips, elbows, shoulders, and eyes done at a minimum. A breeder being a member of a national club such as the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America (GSMDCA) or the Bernese Mountain Dog Cub (BMDCA) means nothing as clearances are just guidelines, not actively enforced.
It has been pouring rain outside over the past two days, and it feels like winter is back! I worked from home all weekend, and Oscar missed his long walks outside. I introduced him to his latest toy, Elmo, to break him away from boredom. After a game of fetch, the tired swissy went to sleep, allowing me to get my work done.
When I first got Oscar, I was afraid that he would not play fetch. When I visited his breeder’s house while Oscar was two weeks old, his father was not interested in playing fetch. I know that every dog is different, and luckily my greater swiss mountain dog is the complete opposite. Oscar can play fetch and tug-of-war for hours and also has a toy fetish. The crate that he slept in as a puppy has now become his personal toy chest. Everyday he somehow chooses a different toy to play with, but Tigger is definitely his favorite!
Last night, the weather was great outside. Oscar is his usual swissy self saying hi to people and dogs from the neighborhood. Walking down the block, Oscar goes to say hi to another dog, a 10lb munchkin sized dog. Well this munchkin bit his nose! Seeing some blood and scrapes along the rest of his nose, I took no chances. Rushed upstairs to grab my wallet and drove as fast as I could with Oscar to the vet before they close. The vet cleaned Oscar up and gave him some animax so the wound can heal faster. I will be using that in conjunction with Snout Soother (nose balm for dogs) to speed Oscar’s recovery. I learned my lesson to always be on guard and have some basic dog first aid supplies like Animax handy.
