LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

All you need is love........and Sanders has had LOTS of that over the past week!

Thanksgiving was an absolute blast. We spent the time in Ligonier with Tony's family, and Sanders got to play with Alexis. Alexis is Tony's mom and dad's Weimeraner who is 13 years old or so. Alexis would have made a great mom. She loved playing with Sanders, and Sanders loved playing with her. It was so funny that every time Sanders would go out to go to the bathroom, Alexis would pee right on top of where Sanders went. I guess that is a wild kingdom thing to mask the baby's scent??


We spent Thanksgiving at Uncle Bob and Aunt Lu's. Sanders got to stay next door with cousin Sami (Kevin and Krystal's Dog). Sami is a 6 month old Great Dane. And when they say GREAT they mean it! The dog was easily 6 times taller than Sanders....but the two of them had some fun romping time. Sanders loves getting some play time with other puppies! Unfortunately we didn't get any photos of this. But trust me, it was hilarious!!

Then we went to my mom and dad's house on Saturday, and my nieces got to play with Sanders all day. They had a blast, and this is the sunset just before we left...beautiful isn't it?

I LOVED MONDAY!! Sanders got his cast off! YAY! His leg is a little atrophied and he is walking around on it gingerly...but he has no cast! No more Glad Wrap...No more baggie!

And most importantly, NO MORE STINKY DOG!! We were able to give him a bath last night. He smells so pretty now!! There isn't much to the dog without his hair...check it out. Oh, and thought you might like this funny video!

Today, the vet called...and Sanders has Giardia again. She also wants him to go to an orthopedic doggie surgeon because she wasn't really comfortable with the way his ankle looked from the XRays. So, I scheduled an appointment for Thursday. Hopefully nothing is wrong, and he'll heal up just fine!!

That's the latest. I'll post on Thursday after our visit! I can't wait to be beyond all this and let my dog live a normal life!!

New week, a new cast...unlike Hollywood!

Went to the vet today and Sanders got a new cast.....

No more Injuries!!

Sanders started the ball rolling for injuries against the Indianapolis Colts. I think as of the conclusion of the game last night, there are officially 10 people who are injured on the team! Yikes! Only 2 more weeks until he is cast free *hopefully*

We went to the vet this morning, and got his 2nd round of immunizations. He also got his cast replaced. It was a little wet because of the rain all day yesterday. I've now been informed for how to use Glad Press 'n Seal to first wrap the cast before going outside on a rainy day, then put a baggie over it.

They gave Sanders such a great cast this time! I'll make sure to keep it as clean as possible!

After the vet, we stopped by Purrs and Gurrs in Fishers to pick up some Eagle Pack Dog Food (From Mishawaka, IN!) and some treats. I love the lady who runs this store. What a great person!!

Update for week 11 AD.

Sanders is growing so quickly...and becoming more and more puppy each day! He is doing great on the leash. We went for a 2 mile walk this week. He was so tired when we got back.

Here is a picture of Sanders at 11 weeks old:


Sanders is doing great with his leg...and I am ready for him to have the cast taken off...too bad we still have 2 more weeks with it. Today we couldn't go on a walk because it was raining. Everytime we had to let him out, I had to put on a ziploc bag to keep his cast from getting wet.

We also spent a good part of the day today working on Sit, Shake, Down, Stay and Come. He is doing sit about 100% of the time. The rest of the commands are coming along well.

We are going to try to get Sanders enrolled in puppy classes this week. He is ready for some socializing with the other dogs around.

I miss my puppy, but I am well rested!

Friday night, we went to a fundraiser for Second Helpings. They had a silent auction, and I got to bid on a puppy package and won it!! Sanders got all kinds of cool new toys...a 'Chuck a Duck', a 'Heave a Beaver' [which are both frisbee like games], some treats and a gift card to go to a puppy school in the elite town of Carmel. I'm sure the classes will be elitely priced. Not sure we want to expose the dog to a spoiled lifestyle. Because everyone knows he isn't already spoiled! LOL.

On Saturday, Sanders got to meet our neighbor's German Shepherd that is 3 months old. It was funny seeing 2 herding dogs deploying their herding tactics on each other. Too bad Sanders has a broken foot...otherwise, he may have been able to take on Adrian. I'll take my camera with me next time the 2 play so you can see the 2 of them. Adrian will always be way bigger than Sanders. Makes me think I need to get Sanders enrolled in a puppy class soon.


Above is a picture of the Ohio River. I drove down last night to Evansville, and took the scenic Lincoln Byway (Indiana 62). The leaves were absolutely striking.

It is crazy that after having been with the puppy for only 2 weeks that I can miss him so much after just a day of not seeing him! I'm missing the big moments in his young life....not crying last night when Tony put him to bed (then again, Tony slept on the couch testing out our theory that if we are in the same room as the dog that he won't cry), getting his first cast off and impressing the vet office of how well he is getting around on his cast.....*sigh*

I got a very nice full night sleep last night, but woke up once thinking "Wow..the dog sure has been quiet!" Then I realized I was in Evansville. DOH!! I didn't miss getting up at 6AM to let him out though!

Oh, I started working with Sanders on the word "Down" yesterday. He is doing it pretty well! He is doing sit very well, and does shake pretty decently. He's also walking along quite nicely on the leash for both Tony and I!!

Friday, November 2

There's not too much to report, but lest a single day go by without some sort of post, and in the interest of my day at work going a little faster...Well, here we are.

Jen took Sanders over to her sister's new house yesterday & today because Jen is helping them paint. While there, one or 2 of Jen's nieces "taught him how to shake." I dare say it'll take a little longer to get him consistently responding to the commands. However, I did see one of the girls do the shake thing with him yesterday, and with apologies to all of my old English teachers, "He done pretty good".

He's still on 3 legs but gets around really well on just the 3. He looks kind of like a pirate with a peg leg, but Jen already pointed that out. He'll need the cast on for a total of 4 weeks (not 6 as previously reported). Since he's growing so fast, we have to go back EACH WEEK and pay to have a new cast put on. Yikes.

We're a little strapped for cash, so the money for the weekly vet visits is just going to have to come out of the funds I had been using to buy him calcium supplements. It's unfortunate, but its either that or have the HD-DVR service turned off, which is OUT OF THE QUESTION with the Colts-Pats game this weekend. I love my dog as much as the next guy, but come on.

Aaayyyyyeee Matey! I'm a pirate!

I knew I should've named the dog Captain Jack! I thought he might resemble him with his dreds when he got older; however, we see that destiny already had some thoughts on how naturally this name would fit. Our little guy looks like he is a pirate walking around on a wooden leg. Especially now as he is putting some weight on it! I couldn't resist, so I went out and bought him a pirate shirt so he could fit the part.

Yesterday was a good day with Sanders. We went on a couple of walks with the leash, and he did really really well! His progression can also be measured by the fact that he has not had an accident in the house in 5 days!! Could we be close to potty trained? Also, last night only boasted 5 minutes of crying before falling asleep. Until 3:30 when he woke up and barked a bit....but I think he was actually trying to tell me something..."Uh mom...you locked the cat outside last night!"

Doh! Yes, I am a HORRIBLE pet parent! Gizmo must've escaped to outside when I took Sanders out for his last duty before going to bed. I thought I heard a meow around 5AM this morning....and sure enough, he was waiting for me at the back door at 6AM. Then to top it off, Gizmo was standing beside me in the kitchen when I was making coffee....(which the cat NEVER comes out until 8PM), and I stepped on his toes!!!!! Am I destined to cripple all my pets? I swear I don't have a psychological disorder making me do this! Anyways...Gizzy is fine. Here he is after the long night/morning!