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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Good Golly its Ollie McCauley

Hello and welcome to another episode of Dear Oliver! Today’s special guest is my sister and her brand new fur baby, Oliver! You don’t want to miss her pet peeve, especially if you’ve ever had trouble training an adorable, free spirited and highly rambunctious puppy. So, come on in and belly up to the bar. And while you’re eavesdropping on Oliver’s sound advice, why not treat yourself to one of his legendary martinis! You’ll find his impressive venue listed on the sidebar. Not a martini fan? Not a problem. Oliver will make whatever drink strikes your fancy and serve it with a wink and a smile. And rumor has it that his Taco Con Questo dip is hotter than a sultry night in Georgia. With no further ado, let’s give a warm round of applause to Mary Beth and Ollie McCauley!
What can I getcha to drink, love?
Of course an ice cold beer in a frosty cold mug! And a fresh cold full water bowl for my chum Ollie!

Casting Mary Beth a wicked wink, Oliver flashes his most dazzling smile. My pleasure, sweet thing. After serving the requested drink orders, a chilled mug of IC Light and a bottled water, he scoops the squirming black lab puppy up in his arms and raises an eyebrow. Ollie ol’ boy, being my name sake and all, I’m your mentor, which means y’all have quite a reputation to live up to with the ladies!

Gazing at his mentor with admiration, Ollie grins a doggy grin, his eyes gleaming like stars. He yips excitedly.

What’s that, Ollie ol’ boy?

Ollie yips a little louder, just a tad annoyed that he has to explain himself to his mentor.


Catching on, Oliver puffs out his chest. You got it, my little protégé, I’ll be happy to give y’all some pointers guaranteed to score major brownie points with the ladies.  Starting with this. With a flick of his wrist, Oliver presses a button on his 007 remote. Instantly, a panel opens displaying a box of doggy breath buster biscuits. Whistling, Oliver feeds the panting pup a few. First rule of thumb, Ollie dear boy, fresh breath will allow y’all to steal lots of kisses.  With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Oliver sets the doggy in an upright position on a bar stool and pumps his biceps.  Ollie, my pet, watch and learn. You’re about to see the master at his game.
Placing another frosty mug of beer in front of Mary Beth, Oliver leans a little closer and gazes into her eyes. Who can I play for you on the jukebox, my pretty young thing?

Mary Beth grins. I have a few selections starting with AC/DC – You Shook me all night long! Or how about Play that funky music white Boy! By Wild Cherry or Sweet Caroline – good times never seemed so good by the one and only Neil Diamond! Or who could forget “everybody wang chung tonight” remember that one? How about “Pour some sugar on me” by Def Leppard? I know a favorite of my dear sister’s is Hall and Oates “I can’t go for that – no can do” or “Kiss on my list” How about for old romantic time sake good old Frank Sinatra “fly me to the moon”! I could go on and on with this category. Any more suggestions from the audience?

With his jack-be-nimble fingers working a mile a minute, Oliver programs the impressive venue into the jukebox, mumbling under his breath that MB is every bit as high maintenance as her sister. With a sonic boom that quakes the earth, You Shook Me All Night Long vibrates off the walls.

When Frank Sinatra’s song floats across the room, Oliver smiles a beguiling smile. Taking Mary Beth by the hand, he leads her out to the dance floor. serenading her, they dance cheek to cheek.
“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like
On a Jupiter and Mars     
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me…”

The audience breaks into thunderous applause. The Dancing With the Stars couple take a sweeping bow.

Whew, Oliver mixes himself a James Bond martini. Handing Mary Beth another cold one, their glasses clink in a toast. So tell me about your pet peeve, love.

My pet peeve is Oliver’s biting!  He will not leave us alone!  We give him chew toy after toy but his attention span is that of a pea and within seconds he goes from the chew toy to jumping on us, biting us like a chew toy!  He is very strong and thinks this is the most fun game!  He growls playfully as he chomps on your fingers/arms/toes/legs anything he can sink his teeth into!  Also he will not entertain himself; he thinks we are solely there to be a source of entertainment to him and if you do not pay attention to him for one second he will bark for your command

Right on cue, Ollie barks sharply, demanding equal time from Oliver. Whistling a verse of Hall and Oates “I can’t go for that – no can do, Oliver snatches a present from the bar, a chew toy of a James Bond martini. Strutting over to Ollie, he picks him up. Immediately, Ollie displays his annoyance for being ignored by biting on Oliver’s ears, fingers and arm.

Watch the biceps, junior! Chew on this for a while. He sets him on the floor on a blanket, gives him fresh water, some doggy nibbles and his chew toy. Totally ignoring the command, Ollie attaches himself to Oliver’s leg, chomps his teeth into it and takes off running laps around the  bar, barking excitedly. He shoots Oliver a don’t mess with me look.

Mary Beth shakes her head. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Luckily these wild times do not last long and he tires easily and the next thing you know he is curled up at your feet or in your lap and lavishing you with sweet kisses and then the next thing you know he is snoring and out like a light!  This is when he is so lovable and sweet!

Ollie races past them, a streak of black lightning, stopping only to bite Mary Beth’s leg.

Another beer, love, you’re looking a bit frazzled.

Mary Beth accepts it with a smile. Oliver delves a tortilla chip in his Taco Con Questo dip and feeds it to MB, then another. So tell me, sweet thing, where do you think utopia is?

Utopia for Oliver is running in the yard full speed ahead, chasing sticks or us!  Also he likes to play basketball with my son Connor and is very good at defense!  Utopia for us is Ollie’s naptime!

Showing no sign of slowing down any time soon, Ollie does laps around the bar that would make a marathon runner weep.

Deciding it’s time to take charge, Oliver goes about the ritual of mixing up a pitcher of his legendary James Bond martinis. He pours the chilled, shaken, not stirred concoction into two frosted Gibson glasses. He hands one to Mary Beth and winks. Here we go then, love, a nice JB to sooth your blues away. Snatching Ollie as he streaks by, Oliver pumps his biceps and grins. Dipping his finger into his cocktail, Oliver sticks it into Ollie’s mouth. Ollie smacks his lips. Then he shoots up his arm and pumps his doggy biceps.

Mary Beth McCauley is a wife, mother of two children and one fur baby. She is Customer Service Team Leader at PPG Industries, Inc. in the Silica Products Customer Service Department.
When she is relaxing in her spare time, Mary Beth enjoys reading, tending to her flower and vegetable gardens and is an avid sports fan.
Final words from Mary Beth.

Any suggestions for calming this crazy pup when he is in his full speed ahead play and bite mode?  We are desperate!

21 comments:

Hywela Lyn said...

Aw you are so cute Ollie!Good morning, Sharon and Mary Beth, kisses to you and to Oliver (and Ollie)

Hopefully Ollie will grow out of the puppy chewing and biting stage, not a lot I can recommend except stern words when he nips and praise when he obeys. I'm sure he'll be worth it all though.

P.L. Parker said...

Ollie is a sweetie. Biting and chewing - we love our doggies not matter what.

Sharon Donovan said...

A warm welcome to my sister and her adorable puppy Oliver!
Hi Mary Beth, just hang in there, grin and bear it and he'll be worth it in the long run! Let's hope so.
Hi Lyn, sweet friend, thanks for the sound advice.
Hugs,
Sharon

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Patsy, patience is a virtue, right.

Debra St. John said...

Hello Sharon, Oliver, and Mary Beth,

Oliver, you are so adorable...oh, and the puppy's cute, too!

Since it's still morning time, I think I'll start off with some orange juice. (And, Oliver, darling, be a dear and add a splash of champagne.)

Good luck with puppy training. I've never trained one, so I;m afraid I can't offer any hard and fast advice.

Sharon Donovan said...

Debra, yes, they're both rather adorable, aren't they!
A mimosa it is then, oh Oliver!
The puppy comes running, butler ignores me. What's wrong with this training program...

Caroline Clemmons said...

Ollie is adorable. Love to see you posting, Sharon. I've never trained a puppy. Both our dogs were already trained when we acquired them.

Mary Ricksen said...

Well having a lot of experience with the dog raising thing I do have several good suggestions. Gloves, no just kidding. When my poochkies bit me I said no sternly and gave a gentle squeeze to the dogs closed snoot. Till you can tell he's not happy with it. Every time they bit me I squeezed that little sensitive nose gently to annoy them back. It soon stopped, and the multiple dog chews does help. They are so oral when they are young, they will grow out of it. You have to let them know on a pups level, that you are not pleased.
That said Nibby just chewed up a brand new whoopy cushion I got to fool DH. She has never chewed up a thing in her 10 months of life.
Go figure...
Love you Mary Beth!!! I wish I could give you a huge hug and do lunch with you and our Sharon every week! I think Ollie is a fantastic name and I wish you years of doggie love. They are soooo worth the trouble!!!

Pat Dale said...

Hi Mary Beth, Sharon, Oliver, and Ollie! What a fun time to have with an adorable lab. My experience with dogs, especially large ones, is to supply them with rawhide bones to chew. They're doing what human babie do, teething and learning how to chew solid food.
We've just gone through quite an experience with our one-of-a-kind Teddy. Theodore B.D. (big dog). He was about the size of Ollie when we rescued him at nine weeks. He had big paws but we only learned later that his daddy was a Great Pyrenees. At eighteen months he's 140 pounds and still growing. Can you say,"Large Dog!"? lol
This morning, he's coursing our fairly large back yard with a twenty pound chunk of broken concrete clammped firmly in his jaw. Oh my! Thought I had that hidden away.
We've lost shoes, belts, and undies (I kid you not), to this see-it, eat-it monster. By the way, Mary's advice is good. Clamp down on his snout and hang on until he's ready to whimper. It won't hurt Ollie but it will dissuade him (eventually) from biting what you don't want him to bite.
Meanwhile, cheers and thanks for a fun post.
Pat Dale

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Caroline, love when you drop in for a visit. I do believe Oliver is on route, good help is so hard to find!

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Mary, you show 'em who's boss, girl! That pinching the snoot's a new one on me but whatever works. Love you too sweetie and I promise one day we will meet.

Sharon Donovan said...

LOL Dale, that Teddy is one BIG BAD BOY. I still remember your Christmas story when he was home alone when you were shopping. But really, Teddy, isn't a 20 chunk of cement a bit hard on the teeth.

Shawna Thomas said...

Ollie is adorable! Olivers not bad either. ; )

Good morning to all!

I haven't had a dog since I was a child so I don't have any further advice for you! Sorry.

I will take some OJ, though. ; )

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Lynne. thanks for the visit. Oliver is stuck in traffic but wwill be along shortly.

Anonymous said...

Great to meet you Mary Beth and Ollie!

I've got one for ya! A spray bottle filled with water. Good ol' H2O does the trick for my dog! When I catch him doing something I don't want him to do, I spray him in the face with the water. It's completely harmless and he doesn't like it one bit. You have to catch him in the act, though, or you'll repeat the spraying. After two or three times of spraying him, it should register. Again, harmless but effective!

I saw them using this to train the dogs at the Petsmart and I like it a LOT better than the newspaper on the nose my step-dad used to use.

I hope that helps!!

That's my two pence...

Arial ;)

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Lynne, always a pleasure when you pop in to visit. Watch out, here comes Ollie to say hello.

Sharon Donovan said...

Hello, Arial, nice to meet you. Thanks for dropping in to chat with us and to advise on puppy love. So the spring shower might put sweet Ollie in line, interesting. Thank you!

Sandra Crowley said...

I'm a sucker for dogs, and Ollie is adorable!! Who could resist that sweet face?

I won't bore you with all my dog stories. I'll only say my boxer was my biggest training success. Love, consistency, and patience are the most effective tools.

Enjoy!

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Sandra, thanks for dropping in. We would love to hear stories about your boxer.

Oliver said...

Ladies and gent, it's Friday night. TGIF Which means it's time to party. Nane your poison and if y'all have any advice to share for teaching Ollie boy some manners, we are all ears!

Sharon Donovan said...

A warm thank you to my sister Mary Beth and sweet Ollie for being my special guests this week on the Dear Oliver show. As always, a big thank you to my readers and followers for offering advice on training Ollie. And to Hywela Lyn for posting pictures and decorating my blog with such finesse. Thanks, Lyn, dear one.
Please join us next week when my guest will be the talented and mischievous Pat Dale. Until then, may the luck of the Irish be with you as you travel through life.
Love and Blessings,
Sharon