Mmmm...Bones....

It all started about 3 month ago, when I gave Sanders a big meaty bone from the cow we had butchered w/Tony's family. Sanders was in COMPLETE euphoria! He loved that bone. So much that he took it outside and dug a hole and buried it. It was so funny to watch him look around to make sure no one was watching him. If he thought someone was...he'd walk away nonchalantly and act like he was up to nothing but hanging out. Me, being the sneaky human I am, watched him bury this first behind our neighbor's shed. Then I watched him move it to our flower bed...where it sat until about a week and a half ago.

Sanders decided it was time to get this deliciuos morsel out of hiding. So he did. And on an evening where we sat out with our awesome neighbors and ate pizza on their patio...he hung out in the yard and munched on his treasured bone. Actually, he munched on it so much, that there was nothing left of this bone the size of my 2 fists put together. Needless to say.....at about 3 in the morning, Tony got up and heard the dog puking. He puked for an hour and a half. Then Sanders kept puking in the morning. Poor little guy! With it being memorial day weekend, I decided after he puked again at 8:30AM and the fact he looked horrible...that I should take him to the vet to make sure there wasn't any kind of a blockage.

The vet agreed with me, that raw beef bones are fine for dogs......however, ones that have been sitting outside in the elements 'de-calcifying' end up letting the dog bite off more than he can chew...We took some x-Rays..and the little guy was fine...it was painful for a couple days as he pooped out completely dry poop with big chunks in it..but it serves him right!! :P

The vet did say that Sanders has very nice hip structure! HAHA! Also, it was funny to all of us to see how skinny Sanders really is! Enjoy these rare photos of Sanders!

The Crib is well on its way!

Wow! I just got a call from Tony. He's been out at my mom and dad's house all day working on the crib for the baby! He told me to check my email....and it looks like it has been a pretty successful Memorial Day for him! Isn't this amazing?!?! Looks like our baby will have somewhere to sleep by the time he gets here!! GREAT JOB TONY!!

Time for a haircut!

Last weekend, we got home from our baby shower in Fort Wayne....and I decided that it was time to do a little 'trimming' of the dog's hair. His puppy coat had grown out far enough, that if I cut it off, he'd be left with cords about 3-4" long. (The puppy coat was kind of rusty colored, and the cords were really flat and fat looking....they didn't look like ropes.)

So, I began my adventure by trimming just a few....then that led to a few more....and a few more....and then Tony caught me in the act. You can see the 3 piles or so laying on the ground around us. Sanders did pretty awesome to sit there and just let me clip all over.

After all was said and done, the dog looked a little less like a mop, and a little more like a dog. He looks so skinny now...it is really weird!!
On another note, Tony was brushing the cat a couple of weeks ago, and Sanders REALLY REALLY wanted to be up close and personal with Gizmo. So, he snuck in between Tony's legs, and popped his head right up in Gizmo's face. The cat just kind of scoffed at him with this look that said 'What are you looking at, you smelly beast?"

Sanders visits a nursing home!

Sanders made his first visit to a nursing home in late March. He visited our friend Lois Harlan who is staying in Greenfield. It was the perfect setting to take him to. He was pretty excited with all the new smells and the people. He did all his tricks for Lois, and even let her give him a treat! Lois is in her 90s, and STILL remembers when everyone's birthdays are! It is absolutely amazing!

Here is a picture from our visit

Warm Weather = Outside fun!

I am so glad the warm weather is here! The first day that it got warm (back in March), Sanders and I decided to venture down to the canal and hear our friend Mandy's band play an acoustic set under the bridge on the canal. Her band's name is Sweet and Low Down. They are simply amazing! You should check them out if you get the chance!!

Giving the Dog a Bath

I don't know if we've posted any pictures of giving Sanders a bath. It is certainly becoming more of an event. Probably more because of the process of drying, rather than the actual bathing part of it. It will take us between 20-30 minutes to really wash Sanders down and get the dirt and grime out of his hair. The stinkiest part of him always seems to be around his mouth. His hair always gets in his food/water bowls, and then of course in the ponds and creeks that he decides to drink out of. After we wash and rinse him really well. We turn off the water and then start wringing out his dread locks. I'll often times take 20 minutes doing this part of it. The more water we can squeeze out of his dreads, the faster he will dry. Then I take him out of the tub and towel dry him with 3 big bath towels (simulating the wringing I was doing in the tub). After the towels are soaked and he is as dry as I can get him that way, I've decided to put 2 child size sweatshirts on him and pin them together. One head hole is for his head. The other head hole on the other shirt is for his tail. It makes one of the funniest looking dogs ever!!
Sanders will then get a second set of sweatshirts after 15-30 minutes of running around in the first set. Then we take them off and let him hang out. He's normally dry within 15 hours after doing this! Of course, then he always seems to run somewhere and stick his body in some dead animal type aroma.....and then I want to give him another bath. I restrain myself, and try to only give him a bath once a month or so. Fortunately, I'll be too pregnant to give him a bath soon...and Tony will have to do it :)...hehe...

Fun times with friends and general updates

In mid-March, Jen went with her friend Carissa and the neighbors' daughter, Brooke, to Louisville to a dog show!! Jen was hoping to meet some fellow puli owners and get tips on bathing, grooming, etc. Unfortunately, there was only one puli the day they were there (I guess most pulis were the next day), and the owners of the one that was there were kind of aloof about talking to others. Dog show people can be pretty weird as it turns out. (Shocking, right?) Even so, I understand everyone had a good time and got to see lots of cool dogs, as well as visit a Harley Davidson store AND the Louisville Slugger museum!!

Last weekend- the last in March- Jen and I went to Chicago to stay with our friends Eric and Paula for the weekend. Stacey and Thomas and their 10-month-old daugher Emma also stayed. It was really great to see everyone... this was the 1st time we had seen Stacey & Thomas since Oktoberfest in 2007, and it was the FIRST time we got to meet Emma. She was a very sweet little girl who smiled all the time. I really enjoyed having her around. I sure hope our boy is that nice!

We walked around the city quite a bit on Saturday, we introduced Thomas to deep-dish pizza, went to an art shop where Eric & Paula bought a painting, and then went to an oliveria & spice shop and headed home for dinner just in time for it to start raining & sleeting!! Eric and Paula spent several hours cooking us all a really good dinner, as the weather kept getting crappier outside. When we got up Sunday there was a few inches of snow on the ground!!!! Sunday we all went to the Chicago Institute of Art before Jen and and I headed home with Stacey & Emma in tow - they stayed with us until Tuesday!! Stacey helped us to register for baby-shower stuff at Babies R' Us on Monday... thank GOD she was there. That place is overwhelming. They make waaaaayyyy too much baby crap.

Today was nice so Jen took Sanders sheep-herding again while I stayed home to work on a couple projects I have going. Although, I will say that I am sure Jen got more accomplished just by standing there watching the dog chase sheep in circles for 2 hours than I got accomplished the entire day - let's just say things did not go smoothly. Oh well, having things be challenging makes it that much more rewarding when they're done...Right?