Ozzie's Manic Monday

"Leaf me alone!" Ha a little Autumn humor!

Ozzie sunning with a pumpkin!

Finally Friday and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Bulldogs

Pass the suntan lotion please!

Well we all made it through another week! It's been an eventful one as far as the news goes! Gaddafi meets his maker and the world is rid of another nutty evil dictator! Like Martha says, that is a good thing!

A disturbing tale of exotic animals on the loose in Zanesville Ohio the other day. I am still upset over the killing of 48 beautiful animals that was a tragic lost to us all. Perhaps now finally Ohio and other states that don't have laws on owning exotic animals as pets will enact legislation that will prevent this kind of irresponsible and selfish situations from occurring again!

Ozzie has just been "chillin" enjoying the cooler weather, sunning himself in the front parlor in the afternoons. It's a tough life but someone has to live it! What to do? Nap on the couch or on his sherpa mat? Decisions, decisions!

The other day a friend of mine told me her son was considering getting a bulldog and she asked for some advice on the subject. Now knowing that an English Bulldog is not for everyone I wanted to give the facts without discouraging them too much! I came across something on line that put together all the facts about bulldogs very succinctly.

If you want a dog that:

• Is moderately-sized -- built low to the ground but very heavy
• Has a short easy-care coat that comes in many colors
• Is easygoing and dependable with most of the world
• Doesn't need much exercise and spends much of the day snoring on the sofa
• Seldom barks

If you don't want to deal with a dog that is:

• Tenacious stubbornness if he decides he really, really doesn't want to do something
• Serious food possessiveness -- Bulldogs should not be fed around small children or other pets
• Shedding
• Snorting, snuffling, wheezing, grunting, loud snoring
• Slobbering and drooling
• Gassiness (flatulence)
• A multitude of health problems, a short lifespan, and sky-high vet bills
• High cost ($1000 and up)

Now this all true and valuable information that can help you make a decision, but if you happen to be around them and fall in love with that beautiful sourmug face then all the negative stuff flies out the window! But to be fair to the animal itself, they are the most neediness dogs on the planet! So if you don't have the opportunity to be home with them for most of the day, you should probably pass!

Let me get back to tending to Ozzie's needs. He is currently lying in a pool of sunlight streaming through the window and it's probably time for him to turn over so he tans evenly!

Hope to get to those cookies on Sunday! Ozzie and I are wishing you all a fun filled fall weekend!

Chew Bully, Chew!

Just a chew between your cheek and paw will do ya!

Dogs love to chew. It's part of their genetic makeup. Bulldogs are intense chewers that require some real sturdy chew toys to keep them satisfied. Ozzie's favorite are his assortment of nylabones which are durable plastic bones that he will gnaw on very happily for hours. I never experienced him chewing on any of my shoes or other possessions other than a cardboard box or two. (He enjoys cardboard for some reason?!) Of course there are always bullie sticks but they are more of an outside chew, since they often result in a stinky slobbering mess!

The other night I was watching one of my favorite shows, Modern Family, where husband and wife Jay and Gloria, now have a French Bulldog named Stella. Jay spoils Stella silly and Stella loves to chew on all of Gloria's shoes and clothes. Of course Gloria is very upset by this behavior and blames it on Jay's lack of discipline with the dog. In this clip Gloria has had enough and tries to turn the tables with Stella's choice of items to munch on.

Stella is a cute Frenchie! I am sure when she isn't on the set she only chews on her own toys! What do you think Oz? "Arf!" Hmm you're not that sure are you Oz?

Finally Friday and Where's the Grub?!

Hurry up with the cookies, I'm hungry..again!

Still getting over this cold but I'm feeling a lot better. I think I gave it to Ozzie's pop, oh well so it goes! I ordered Ozzie's dog food from the vet on Monday and when they got it in I ran over there on Tuesday. When I received the food at the reception area I knew right away it was the wrong kind. The box had a red background and it wasn't the same diet formula. Ozzie has been on the Hill's Prescription diet Therapeutic Weight Reduction for a few months now. He has lost 7 pounds and is looking fit and trim! ( well at least for Ozzie) It comes in pre-measured packets and so it's is a no brainer in terms of portion control. You can only get this through your veterinarian. They corrected the order and now I am waiting for it to come in.

In the meanwhile I ran out of food for Oz so I picked up at the local grocery store a small bag of Rachel Ray's Nutrish. It is all natural and though not a diet formula the chicken variety has chicken listed as its first ingredient. Figuring that since a portion of the proceeds go to animal rescues I felt good about it. Ozzie seemed to like it but then again he doesn't have the most discriminating taste. He likes everything! Not to say it tastes bad , it looks and smells good! If I were a dog I would go for it!

Speaking of going for it I have a recipe that is Fall appropriate for this weekend. It is for Cinnamon Pumpkin Dog Cookies. I haven't made them yet myself but I am going to give them a try. Here is the recipe in case you want to do some baking for your pup.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of wholewheat flour 1 1/4 cups of pumpkin puree ( do not get the pumpkin filling variety it has sugar in it ) 1/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 cup water ( to adjust the consistency of your dough)

Mix ingredients in a bowl or in a food processor using the dough blade Roll out dough with a rolling pin until its 1/4 thick. Using the cookie cutter of your choice, cut out the cookies. Place cookies on a greased sheet or use parchment paper to line your baking sheets. Bake them in a pre-heated oven for one hour at 275 degrees F. The dog cookies should be slightly browned. Let the cookies cool before giving them to your favorite pooch!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

What to Wear Wednesday

Get this dumb thing off my head!

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and I am in quagmire as to what costume Ozzie should wear! He hates having anything on his head. I have been that route before only to end up ditching the hat. He did however like wearing his pirate cape the year before. Maybe I can dig that up and have him wear just the cape and tell everyone he is Dog Juan! The tiger costume I bought last year was a complete waste! I had to wrestle him to get it half way on before giving up. I am not sure what he can be yet but I better get a move on it. The neighborhood kids are looking forward to seeing Oz dressed up for their trick or treating delight!

Happy Columbus Day!

What a beauty of a day! Especially lucky weather for the Columbus Day parade that is marching down 5th Avenue in NYC at the moment. A proud day for Italian Americans to celebrate their heritage. It just so happens that the guy who discovered the Americas happened to be an Italian from Spain. So a day also to recognize all who come here to be Americans and to celebrate this great country. My great-grandparents came here from Italy over a hundred years ago and with them the dream of a good life. It was also very important for them to become Americans first while still embracing their Italian culture. I am very proud of them and all of the Italians who immigrated here and made a successful and wonderful life for themselves and future generations!

Now Ozzie being an English Bulldog is confused by all the hub -bub! Though I am sure if I said the word "pizza" he would come running! I think I will make some good ole fashion spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight in celebration. I am sure Ozzie will approve!

I want to leave you with three Italian teenage tenors who's singing is amazing. If there were any justice in show business Justin Bieber would be shining their shoes!

Ciao!

Finally Friday and Dogs Don't Catch Colds!

Unfortunately I have come down with whatever head cold that has been going around of late. You know... sore throat, runny nose, headache the whole enchilada! Ozzie just looks at me with his head tilted as if to say "What's up with you Ma?" I guess that is the most sympathy I will get from him. Dogs don't catch colds from their humans so he is the only one who will allow me to get close. Everyone else in my family is treating me like Typhoid Mary! Well avoid me as you will...it's only a matter of time ma famille!

There are a lot of long faces in the NY/NY tri-state area this morning. The Yankees lost to the Tigers 3 to 2 last night. No World Series this year Yankee fans! Probably the most disappointed person is Jorege Posada. This was likely his last season in pinstripes. At least he leaves the team with plenty of World Series rings in his pocket.

The weather looks to be sunny and warm for the weekend, a little bit of Indian Summer perhaps and we look forward to taking Ozzie to the park with the fish pond. Not that Ozzie is looking forward to it. I am sure he rather just sun himself on the deck.

I will leave you with this website of some bulldog art, and who doesn't like that? The artist is Susan Tantlinger and she does some wonderful portraits of bulldogs. They really are fantastic! I wish I could paint like that! Well, lets face it, the only thing I have painted lately is the kitchen!

Enjoy the weekend all! Right Oz? Oz? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Sherpa Madness

As I type away Ozzie is taking his morning nap on the floor, not the new Sherpa mat I bought him yesterday! I went to the Christmas Tree Shop because I spied in their flyer Sherpa Pet Mats on sale for 16.99. I thought this was a decent price and I have been looking at them for Ozzie versus a bed. Ozzie has had beds in the past only to pee on them and have them end up in the trash. The Sherpa mat seems more practical since its easily thrown in the washer if there should be an accident.

The Christmas Tree Shop should be called The China Tree Shop. There is not one thing on sale there that is not from China. It reminds me of the challenge ABC news gave a family to go out and furnish and replace everything in their house that was made in China with goods made here in the USA. It was tough to do and I see why. Anyway I have deviated from the subject. Ozzie seemed to like it at first. He even took an hour and a half nap on it. But this morning he has returned to the floor in the office totally ignoring the Sherpa. Maybe its because that is where he usually naps in the AM and he is a creature of habit. Hopefully he will use the mat and it won't end up in the attic somewhere under the cat carrier. (Yes I use to have a kitty, for 16 years!)

A week ago Ozzie had his bath and nails done and he seems to have reverted back to his bulldog odor! I know if he didn't have that bath it would be far worse but it just seems that for the price of the groomer it should last a little longer! I guess to Ozzie he smells just fine and has no idea why his humans wrinkle up their noses at him. Ah...smelly dog bliss!

Limping Along and Petition for Pups

I love fish oil pills, as long as they are wrapped in cheese!

Ozzie has been limping slightly once again. I am not sure if its from lying on the wood floor or maybe from rough housing with his pop. He is limping with his front legs and I think its stems from his big shoulders. Lets face it, English bulldogs are orthopedically challenged! I started giving Ozzie some fish oil pills this weekend and I am not sure if its coincidence or not but his limping has alleviated somewhat.

Fish oil for dogs has been promoted as an anti-inflammatory helping everything from skin conditions, arthritis to kidney disease. If it's so good for humans why not dogs too? I am going to continue to give it to him this week and see how he does. Almost 2 years ago he was limping and when we took him to the vet they prescribed Rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory. It made him (pardon the pun) sick as a dog. He ended up over night in the vets hooked up to IV's since he was dehydrated from vomiting and a bad case of diarrhea. So I rather go the holistic route first.

In the meantime I wanted to put this website on my post today. I received it from the Humane Society. It is a petition to President Obama to crack down on the puppy mills and selling dogs on line. There are some loop holes in regulations that they use to continue this inhumane treatment of dogs that they profit from! Lets try to put an end to puppy mills in our life time! Please sign this petition and get active in promoting laws that can end their suffering! Ozzie and his friends thank you!

crack down on puppy mills petition

Just Desserts?!

The perfect chew toy for dogs! Symbolic as it may be it is a" gotcha" moment for this pup!

Alarming Afternoon

Can't a guy get a decent nap around here without alarms going off?!

Yesterday was a mixed bag of weather here in Jersey. I believe at one point it was sunny and muggy then it took a nasty turn with some thunder and lightening and even hail in some areas.

This all occurred in the afternoon as Ozzie was taking one of his power naps. Thunder as it may it did not awaken the sleeping bulldog prince. Then all of the sudden the house alarm went off like it was warning us of the end of the world! Ozzie flew 3 feet off the couch and began barking furiously! I ran to the control panel and fumbled to enter our code on the keypad. What the heck? Ozzie was still barking like a crazed canine when the alarm central station called and asked if everything was OK. "We are fine but the alarm went off for no reason, it wasn't even activated!" She then told me that they had already called the police and they were on their way over. Seems the type of alarm that went off was the panic mode where you have to push a code that indicates get here on the double. I told her that I didn't set the alarm at all never mind entering the panic code.

Sure enough the police were on our porch and Ozzie started barking again. I went to door and Ozzie strutted out on the porch as if to say " Hello officers, how are you today?" I told them we were fine and the one police man said that they were responding to a panic alarm. "That means to us like someone is chasing you around with a knife!" I explained that I never even activated the alarm and that it maybe lightening from the storm set it off. They took my name and then looked at Ozzie who wasn't wearing his collar ( he likes to sleep in the buff) . I told the cops that he was okay and would not bother them. Ozzie seemed happy to see them! Maybe he can identify with law enforcement? I apologized for the inconvenience and they left. Ozzie returned to the couch probably more exhausted than ever and was back to sleep with a blink of an eye!

I guess Ozzie's call to duty mode sets in when necessary. I am still trying to figure why the alarm did what it did but I guess it was like a test of the emergency broadcast system!

Too much excitement for Ozzie so were are hoping to have a calm weekend. Here is hoping your weekend is as calm as you like it to be!

A Ten on the Cute Meter!

I couldn't resist in posting this today! Nothing like a Bulldog kiss!

Acorns are for Squirrels

Ozzie telling Harley to leave the acorns to the stupid squirrels and eat more cheese!

Now that its Fall and leaves will soon be changing color and Oak trees will drop their bounty of acorns I wanted to make everyone aware of the potential danger of acorns. You may think, "So what my dog has nibbled on them occasionally." A small amount may cause some mild stomach indigestion but eaten in greater quantities, the gallotannins they contain can cause kidney damage. Typical symptoms are stomach upset, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation, while whole acorns can also block your pup's digestive tract. Ozzie has a friend Harley who is a determined Pom-Chi and just loves his acorns. Now that Ozzie has told Harley to not eat them in a recent dog to dog conversation, Harley will hopefully have the will power to stay away from them and leave them to the squirrels.