Omar is ONE !

It is hard to believe that Omar is one year old today.... he arrived here when he was 12 weeks old and has been on the constant move ever since. Most off our dogs have slowed down enough to have a picture taken...they pose and are pretty good about the odd snap...Omar is hard to draw a bead on....you have to sneak a pic, before he blasts off like a fruit fly.....he is jet propelled and ready to go ....

our first year...Omar has an absolute love of cloth and plastic...forget having to go and buy him an expensive dog toys...he would much rather have an empty plastic soda bottle or an old rag ..................problems...if you are drinking a soda, he will stalk you and whine for the empty, so we have taken to having all our soda in a glass...as not to be rushed into finishing just so nut boy can have the empty.......this love of plastic extends to all plastic...he would be like a pig in shit at the dump.... he loves to play catch, but a ball is not necessary...he will fetch anything you choose to toss......he is a constant companion and interested in absolutely everything you do, most of are dogs have been this way in some context..but Omar is relentless......the only other dog we have had that even came close to this behavior was, Woof Woof, our very first dog....... he too was poodle , a mix of poodle and Irish terrier.....Woofie did calm down and Omar will too...he is a very smart dog and is starting to obey commands when you can get his attention.........last night he ran out the back door and Ken, my husband ,was able to get him to come back with just a verbal command, he didn't have to chase him down

all in all ,he is a smart, sweet, good tempered dog .......wouldn't matter...he is family and we would make the best of it .......after all he is loved and that overrides all the rest...
the top picture was his first picture and the second was taken last month....

nicknames his first year....demon child, stinker, troll, nut boy, big boy, mouse boy ...these are the top few...I do call him O, and big O....he loves when you say,...O O O O O O Omar !.....sounds silly, but the best part of family is you can be as silly as you like in private....I also say...big O, little m, ar...spells OMAR........what can I say , we are all silly here ! thank goodness the dogs can't speak back , or roll their eyes like kids...

The Dog Kids

This is so typical of my kids.....I was having a bit of a clear out and looking into what I had for fall decorations, and Omar stole a stuffed pumpkin....not a priceless piece , so I let him have it....he proceeded to rip off the button eyes and cloth leaves at the top around the stem...then the hemp string that made the divisions in the pumpkin......I must have acquired this at a local craft fair....then he decided to tease Squiggee with it...she however had already settled down for her nap...one of many during the day...she is getting old and seems to need more sleep....for all his efforts, he could get her to play...so he decided to snuggle down next to her resting his head on her back...if it wasn't for Omar's hair being curly and Squiggee's not...you would be hard pressed to see where one dog stopped and the other dog started...lol

these cubby/dog beds are so popular with the dogs that they have two sets ...one in the livingroom and one set in the studio...it's a hard life for these two...not !

Omar the Terrible !

There reaches a time when the puppy does things that are no longer cute...not a hanging offense, but make you swear ...I now have to keep the studio locked when I am not in it....Omar sees the studio as a special room filled with all sorts of goodies...things he must to chew and tear up...all our puppies have loved the studio for the same reason....the trash can is a treasure trove of pieces of discarded canvas, old paint brushes, paper , pieces of paint stained paper towel and empty paint tubes...anything I pitch in the trash, is like dog cat nip !....Omar has chewed a canvas, destroyed I don't know how many brushes and expensive drawing pencils....you see he can't decipher between that which is trash and that what is still being used....he trolls the studio while I work just looking for the excitement of finding the one thing that I have not placed in a secure spot, out of his reach......his reach to my surprise is formidable...poodles have the most amazing long legs and their balance is circus worthy...plus the little bugger is smart...always waiting for my attention to be elsewhere and he slips right into his sneak mode ,before you know it, you are looking for your tape measure, good pen ...you just had it in your hand...."Omar , where are you and what have you got"...I yell!...it has become a phrase you hear ring out in our house all day long......I know this is just being a puppy ,but enough already , you are making Mommy nuts! .....when Omar got up on a chair in the studio , reached up and helped himself to a whole roll of paper towel on a shelf......dragged it down and went at it like a buzz saw......I finally decided to keep the studio door closed... Omar and Squiggee hate closed doors......any slip up and the studio is at risk...code red !!!!...the two only check it all the time it is closed

this is not the only room...nothing is safe, when his mood strikes...the other night ,Ken was changing the bed clothes and this left a foam mat exposed...the zipper on the cotton cover had broken leaving the actual foam exposed....in a flash while unattended , Omar ate a hole in the foam...it was everywhere, in his fur all over the bed and surrounding carpet....I guess it just caught his attention...who knows...he has never chewed carpet or furniture...he has plenty of chewys and toys...I guess he needs variety...and like most puppies....they cannot resist repeating the bad behaviour given a chance...so we are on high Omar the Terrible alert, 24/7.....

for all his deviant behavior , he is a very smart dog...a problem solver...he just loves to shred......oh well his house training is going great.....

Omar's new thing....he now has put himself on sentry duty.....guarding the house from invaders....

any car, bird or person trying to invade .... we are alerted ...oh well, better than a dog that shrinks from any noise to shake and hide under the bed...all 20 lbs. of Omar ..he thinks he is a great Dane, and of course with little Squiggee as back - up...Omar is a force to recon with, until you shake a plastic bag at him...then he disappears.....not so brave when it come to the rustle of plastic....Omar will be 8 months old the 11 of June...this first year seems just a tad long!

Omar's progress

We have been watching Omar grow at such fast rate the last two months.....he weighed in at 9.5 pounds his first check- up with our vet that was the first part of February...we had a delay with all the snow storms and last week Omar had his last puppy visit, and he weighed in at almost 14 pounds....now on a little dog a puppy especially, that is a lot of change...as you can see by the two pictures his has grown taller and very ganglia...he has a new grown-up collar and a wonderful new name tag, that is enamel , green and silver paw print with his engraved info on the back...I was amazed at all the improvements in dog tags from when our last puppy got one..these are nice enough to be on my Juicy Couture charm bracelet...Omar even has one of my crystal heart Juicy charms on his collar...so he has info and bling!.......As this great burst of growth has come , so has Omar's appetite increased...in fact , it is like trying to fill a bottomless pit from morning till night...like feeding a teenage boy!....he eats with such relish and has a wild look in his eye like we haven't fed him for days....whining at your feet till you can get a meal to him...he was only five months old the 11Th of March....but experience with other puppies has shown us...they grow tall and lean looking, then they fill out...this repeats till they reach full growth.....his new passion is the outdoors, with the early signs of Spring...birds and new smells he will do anything to go out....putting his collar and leash on have become a non-problem as they always do when they see the benefits of going out.... he has discovered his woof and likes to bark at anything new outside or on the TV...not continually, just in bursts and responds to stop it...when it goes on too long....all in all, he is a great dog and it seems we have had him forever...not just since the middle of Jan.
He has nicknames....monkey boy because of his long legs ..they remind me of a monkey.....devil dog & Belzebub...self-explaintory....Little O..and my favorite that I call all our dogs with affection... little sweet mouse boy...(mouse girl) for the girls....Omar is probably the fastest most athletic dog we have had to date ...his DAD is teaching him to catch...he flings himself into the air , and when he does make contact with the ball..it is something to watch....
one very exciting detail...every time he is groomed ..the pom-pom on his tail takes on more shape....the coolest part of a poodle if you ask me.......I tried to take his picture in the same chair to compare size but he has taken a violent dislike to the fabric on the chair...you know how dogs are...just like people with their phobias and other quirks...and we here respect that...like everyone else in this house he is also stubborn....?????

Devil Dog !

Looking at this sweet little dog all snug in the lazy boy with just one eye half open, you would never know that he could cause such commotion.........the snow is melting , enough so that now the gravel driveway is exposed , so what seemed to be a silly puppy trick is slowly becoming a favorite trick/game of Omar's......he has taken to swooping down on his way to the back porch,quickly grabbing of gravel and bringing it inside ...you have to chase him down to get it..they range in size ,as small as
peanut ,to the size of a large walnut......we can't have him brake a tooth or worse choke on a stone............. the noise it makes when he grinds it in his mouth is like nails scrapping the blackboard....he loves stone..the brick behind the wood stove...the stone wall in the living room.....he is just nuts about the feel I guess....and the taste...well it just won't do! ...no discussion....just NO..... and just when you think that the little stinker has done his worst as far as bad habits......he rushed in today madly jumping and so pleased with himself...no it wasn't a giant stone but a cigar shaped piece of dried poo...for the first time the stone doesn't seem so bad....please..this is not unusual...our first dog had to be kept from the cat's litter box....you can treat them like a child, dress them up...get a fancy clip and a new collar......but they are just dogs...clearly when they display this king of behavior it makes you take a moment to reflex......but then Omar will only be five months old on Thursday the 11th..he is still a pup....after all my brother , once took off his diaper and drew pictures with his poo on my mother silk wallpaper...at the time she too, was not amused...we laugh about it now ,but at the time , I thought my mother was going to faint...she turned a strange shade of ash....and the blue vein on the side of her head was like out of a horror movie....maybe Omar is thinking of building a barbecue with his stash of stones when Spring really arrives( did I tell you that he has become sneaky..he hides them and then gets them later like a drug dealer hides his stash from the police)....I know he is only a dog.....no need , I haven't lost all my marbles yet....close.... but no prize!...and I am so glad we don't live in Africa wear the poo could be really huge! are you with me!

When Hell Freezes Over...!

Ok...snow...cute for Christmas maybe...but after the holidays it is just too much to handle....it is not enough that , we never got our flu shots, because we weren't old enough or young enough...... by the time it reached our area...I already had the crude that has been on the move all around our area and never seems to completely go away........ just when we could actually see the ground we had a massive snow fall, and today the God's thought it might be fun to top it off with another 3 to 4 inches...the cherry on my day....our new pup , Omar, was just starting to go out to pee and poo...then the snow....this has now so confused him it is a crap shoot inside, as to where he will do his business....this morning he stood right in the middle of the living room on the oriental carpet and peed to my horror ............ this evening he pooed on the paper where he should have peed this morning...... that sent us into claps and rapture...how sad is that......he has become one of the family in record time..he is nuts... growing so fast.....I say too much too much protein....gruel..that will slow him down...lol..(only kidding)...he likes to empty the puppy chow on the floor , eat it then wander around with the bowl in his mouth like Oliver Twist looking for more...feeding him now ,is like trying to fill a bottomless pit.....he is a heat seeking missile to anything that has fallen on the floor , a living breathing Hoover, his favorite being Kleenex......Omar can jump up on anything , but once there, refuses to jump down...so he whines and one of us has to rescue him.....so we have to keep the bedroom and office closed as well as the studio until he gets it...can't be too soon for me...he is a sweet lovable dog , but with the snow and being couped up inside and the house in disarray....I am now nuts...or more nuts than usual.......... I have had a rash of Christmas stockings to paint.......I officially hate Santa! .....I am behind in work , hate all my work clothes that are faded , covered in paint and holes...what else...I just need to be able to take a walk in the nice warm Spring air without wearing so many clothes.......it is like being in Hell ,if Hell was cold and snowy..........not my time of year to sparkle..... I need more new socks....I bought all new socks a couple of months ago and they have been washed so many times they now look old....I just need some sun...I crave it...I am one of those people that need it.....but then I hate the real hot weather...so by and large I am happy with the weather maybe 4 to six weeks out of the year.......the above picture says it all ..it expresses my feelings completely...

you know you have had it when, the toilet paper reaches the dinning room and your official scent is Vick's Vapor rub........

Cubbie time in Squiggeeland !

This is what happens when you have to share your cubbies...these are strange little dog beds that I bought for Squiggee...she loved the first so much I had to get second for the studio....now that she has a baby brother...Omar, we have had to put the two in the living room and will have to find something else for the studio....Omar and Squiggee use these two beds as their staging area....they play, nap and drag toys in them...Omar loves to dive in and flip around all by himself like he is wrestling another dog......all of Squiggee's toys have become Omar's too...but for the small rubber soccer ball, that Squiggee and her Dad have to play a game at night...for this, I have to hold Omar , so he doesn't interfere....he wants to do everything Squiggee does..eat and sleep with Squiggee ..he is stalking her....

she has warmed to him with each day and the growls and snarls are less and less....Squiggee has never had a playmate the same size before to roll around with....I have taken to serving their dinner on a big oval platter with the food spread around the rim...it works well...they eat at the same pace and seem to enjoy it...two dishes were out of the question...Omar would end up eating out of Squiggee's dish...they really need a troth.....

I use to think we found just by sheer accident found crazy dogs...I now fear they come into our house as normal and run amuck when they live with us...it rubs off...

they are fun to watch and Squiggee seems to be enjoying it all........meanwhile , Omar is in the process of going pee and poo outside , this confuses him , when he comes in so we have had some puppy accidents...all in all he is doing great...and growing so fast...

Squiggee-Buns Hendrix's baby brother !

Omar News !

Well, here is the boy after his first hair cut....he actually looked like a real poodle when his Daddy brought him back from the Pet Salon..lol...and he smelled like a French Tart.....with my allergies and Squiggee's skin allergies we use a very Eco friendly non- smelling gentle pet shampoo here at home . So Omar had to have another bath...two in one day....... he will have to take his own shampoo, when he has his do taken care of once a month.

Well you can clip and shave and wash a dog...but he is still in essence a dog...I think he is in his terrible two's like children have..he is into everything...from dragging my panties from the bathroom where I have undressed and into the living room, along with anything that he can find...

His house paper training was just moving along so well, when all of a sudden he has decided that he needs an alternative place to poo...paper is for pee..poo anywhere...so with our brown carpet through out the house, you must now keep up your guard.My husband has a huge flood light ,that he calls the turd light.

He has learned to jump up on things , but refuses to get down on his own...so He whines....the other night he was on our bed and whining so fierce...I thought he was just being a pest...but he had to poo... to our dismay..he did..so that fur throw needs to go to the cleaners....

His favorite toy is an old aspirin plastic bottle with a screw top, that I have filled with some beads .... it makes a noise like a rattle...he is on his second one, since he also likes to chew it...any empty box, cereal or anything like that, will amuse him for hours... he will roll and tear it up... then we have all the old toys of Squiggee ,that have been hard used ..squeakers gone and parts missing....

So now our house looks like we have forty puppies...now just one...

On the plus side...he is a love bug..that sleeps all night and hold his pee till morning...he isn't a picky eater and hasn't barfed once....

he is discovering his voice and when my husband plays a certain note on his harmonica, Omar goes into this howl, that sounds like something deep and out of a horror movie soundtrack, it is so funny....

Omar and Squiggee have become better friends..you still have to make sure that their rough play doesn't go too far and turn into a serious beat-down...

Some of the bonded is due to the fact that Omar just loves Squiggee to death every inch of her and spends a lot of time licking her all over...enough said..after all, they are dogs sometimes to the core.

But generally Omar is carving out his place here in Squiggeeland and does love the studio and unfortunately the canvas, like every puppy we have every had..it must be the sizing that tastes so good....

On another note..if you are having a dull day...take a look at Mr. Squiggee's blog...he has launched himself today...we here, call it doing a nutter....unplugged please !!!!...surely nuts!

Omar has his first beauty salon appointment !

Well now I have done absolutely everything...I made an appointment for Omar at the new dog salon in our little town this morning...His appointment is Tuesday in the morning....
So I was asked to supply pictures of the type of cut we wanted...
I found this great website that had these drawings of so many types of cuts and clips that I was easily able to pick what I had in mind.....
I really never thought it would come to this...but there are real reasons why poodles need to be clipped...now Squiggee , our Boston is almost hairless..no care but to clip her nails and bath time...but Omar's hair is so dense and for just plain hygiene...he needs to be clipped....and of course to live up to his image of being cool !....
So this is the cut and clip we will attempt to have...the lady said with puppies it takes many sessions to get the basic shapes in play and the earlier the better...she was so friendly and funny on the phone, I know this is going to be a fun place to go........way too funny....this just makes me laugh...and the funniest thing is that his Daddy will take him..the two guys are becoming an item......a man and his poodle....
fyi...this little Town doesn't have a dry cleaners...you have to leave you cleaning at the market and they ship it to WV to be cleaned...but they do have a pet salon...how strange is that !

It's A Boy !

Well here he is ...our new pup...three months old today..he was born 10/11/2009 right here
in PA. His AKA registered name is ...Omar Squeek Hendrix....
He arrived here Friday and within that short period of time has managed to turn our little house into a dump...we have a crate in the living room...his main abode and a smaller one in the studio. we are lucky that we have a supply of dog stuff from former pups...but oh my God...you forget the turmoil that a puppy creates, until he is fully house trained.....
Squiggee was curious at first then excited and now like all siblings that has been the baby of the family has decided, that he should go back to wherever he came from...pronto....
Squiggee has not had the pleasure of breaking in a pup, so this is a new invasion of her space...but at least she isn't lonely.....
No blood has been let, but it is just a matter of time...Omar adores Squiggee and followers her every step...like being stalked...eventually all will calm down and they will be the best of pals...it always works out...we thought Bubbles was going to eat Squiggee alive when we brought her home the first day...we didn't dare leave them unattended...this is not as bad...but Squiggee does come off as a grumpy older sister.....
meals and treats have to be monitored...I almost was bitten in between a small piece of chicken the first night...puppies have no manners and grab at everything....Squiggee is teaching him that certain behavior will be met with a sharp bark and snap...it all sounds like a small war...but really not so bad...but my husband and I have had no rest the last couple of days.......
Omar is a very bright all black miniature poodle with a tiny white goatee....he is the first dog that we will have to have groomed...a new experience.......i have been planning his cut....he has tons of hair and I can see why he needs to be groomed.....no bows or red toenail polish for this little guy...
he was named after our favorite character in an HBO show called "The Wire"....Omar is a very cool black hood that robs the drug dealers, he is charming and follows a Robin Hood kind of code..and he is gay....the British actor that plays Omar is way to charming in real life...
our little Omar is just as charming ..and playful, and very smart...his house training is going great....
and he responds to his name ....but my living room still looks like the dump...oh well...