Lost a 3rd tooth!

Sanders lost a 3rd tooth overnight last night! It is amazing how quickly the new teeth come in. His 2 front teeth are already visible..and the 3rd one is starting to really push through!!

Christmas has come and gone! Finally an update!

I'm sorry to all you loyal Sanders fans out there! Seems December snuck up on us in an extraordinarily busy way! We've been so busy that we obviously haven't updated the site. Thanks to Mom and Paula....the much anticipated update is finally here!

December has been great without the cast on Sanders' leg. He is running around very happily, and is starting to enter puppy adolescence. He was doing so great with all his commands...and now he seems to have forgotten the most important one..."COME". He thinks it is a game now, as he runs right by us when we call him...if he even acknowledges hearing us.

We have gotten a bit of snow here...and have learned how difficult Sanders' coat may be in these conditions. Even with his short hair, we took him for a walk around the block before anyone shoveled...and he came back looking like a black poodle with little white snowballs around each of his feet. We had to bring him inside and let him melt on a towel in the kitchen before he could go anywhere else...man, what a mess!
We decided to escape the snow, and took a trip to Evansville for the weekend to go to our friends Karla and Jessica's Holiday Party. We took Sanders with us. On the way down, we stopped in and saw Tony's Brother Rob. He LOVED Rob and the belly rubs!Sanders spent his first night in a hotel. He did great...and as a reference, the Drury Inn allows you to bring pets, and don't charge anything!! Here is a picture of Sanders in the elevator as we are leaving the hotel:

We also have decided to send Sanders off to try out a place that has this "DAY CARE" for Dogs. Basically, they put the dogs into a room, and let them play and socialize with each other. We thought it would be good to try it out in case we need to board him, and also to get him exposed to other dogs. Sanders LOVED going there...and when he came home he slept for almost 2 days!! Guess, a tired dog is a good dog! The place we're taking him is called Dog Dayz in Noblesville. Only problem with the place is that when dogs play, they drool on each other, and our fluffy puppy came home a little soggy...and stinky. So we have to give him a bath shortly after coming home. This is what he looked like when we picked him up from an overnight visit!

We also celebrated Christmas with our neighbors, and Sanders loves the attention from Colby and Brooke. We thought this was a cute picture of Sanders and Colby: We got to see LOTS of family over the holidays. We went to Northern Indiana for the Replogle family Christmas. Sanders had a blast playing with his buddy Alexis again (the Weimaraner that Tony's mom and dad has). We even let him stay the night without a crate and he did great. The biggest change was letting him roam free with Alexis out in the yard. Sanders loves the outdoors..but sure didn't like the 60 mph wind that made it feel less than 20F outside! He wouldn't go to the bathroom unless we walked him out and told him to go...he held it so long once that he started going in the kitchen...man, was I upset! At least it was on tile. We spent Sunday with the entire Replogle family...Sanders came along, and found it quite comfy to sit under the Christmas Tree. On Christmas Eve, Sanders lost his 2 front bottom teeth! How appropriate for the song....

We spent Christmas day with my family. After voluntarily helping vacuum the kitchen floor, Sanders partook in the traditional Christmas Day nap.

I thought this sunrise on Christmas Day was beautiful...thought you might enjoy:

Well, that is the latest update...Hopefully we'll get more frequent with our updates for you..that is..until our vacation in the middle of January. I'm sure we'll have lots to write about then because Sanders will be staying the week with Grandma and Grandpa Thackery!

100% Puppy!

Sanders is now 100% puppy! He is a little ball full of energy wrapped into 11 pounds of fur!

We went to the orthopedic doggie doc on Thursday, and she said he would be just fine and that we just have to exercise his leg and get it all stretched out. Of course, that cost me $200 for her to give him a clean bill of health...guh. Whoever thought a pet could be so expensive?!

We went to Grandma Thackery's for the weekend. Tony went out and chopped wood while Sanders and I played with Grandma, Payton, Amanda and Bekah. He also has learned a couple of new commands! Sanders now can BEG and CRAWL and STAY! So, that brings him up to a total of 6 commands (SIT, DOWN and SHAKE are the others).

We worked on Stay a lot this weekend. It was the perfect opportunity with so many kids running around him as a distraction. The neighbor kids even got in on the fun of it.

So, as a reward, we took Sanders out back and played with him with a Frisbee grandma had given him.

He loved it because he could stick his head through it....then he stuck his foot through it....then he was stuck...and couldn't get it off...but could run. Check out the funny videos:





Of course, with all the good behavior and learning this weekend, came this morning. I'm in my office working, and I hear the Cat's toy being dragged around through the hallway. I went out to see Gizzy....and found Sanders instead. He KNOWS he is not supposed to go into the hallway. And he also ate ALL the cat's food [which is a hairball prevention type food]. At least we know Sanders won't get a hairball now. Sanders is just WOUND up today. Hopefully a walk will chill him out a little!