Walk it out

Last week Gable and I went on 4 walks together (plus a trip to the dog park). I'm pretty sure that is 4 more walks than occurred during the month of March. A couple factors - 1) Gable is finally better and we can't get away with not walking him 2) The snow/ice that was covering the trails at the park has finally disappeared so the risk of me falling on my butt is reduced 3) We finally have had some warm weather which just can't be ignored 4) The sun is out later so walking Gable after work is actually a possibility and 5) I had a low key weekend planned so I had plenty of time to walk him.

I don't anticipate that we will continue at this pace of 4 walks a week. (Weather man says colder temps with a chance of rain/snow is on the way plus next weekend is busier for me.) But hopefully we can continue taking a couple walks each week. While it wasn't much fun hauling my much larger self off the coach and bending over to tie my shoes - once we got started on the walk I actually felt pretty good (despite the constant heavy breathing and slower pace). At work I'm doing lots of quick two block sprints between meetings which have become increasingly more uncomfortable. So it's nice to know that my body doesn't mind the slower paced longer walks as much. I hope these can continue up until baby's arrival!

Another emergency trip to the vet

Gable hurt himself again this spring. Apparently he missed hanging out at the emergency vet hospital in Ames. Matt and Gable were out walking in the woods (the story starts the same) when Gable came running back to Matt with a bit of limp and a little bit of blood on his paw. Matt checked it out and it looked like he stepped on a rock or stick or something and it punctured his paw pad.  (Just like if a human stepped on a tack with bare feet.) Understandable it was sore but when Gable started acting weird a few hours later, Matt got concerned.

He took him up to the hospital to have him checked out. The doctors on call didn't see anything wrong -- just a puncture wound. They cleaned it out and gave him some antibiotics so that it wouldn't get infected.

Well a day and half later and Gable wasn't getting any better. Actually we noticed that when he woke up in the morning, his "wrist" was swollen. Back to the emergency room. They put Gable under and went in for surgery. They found a half inch thorn that had worked it's way up from his foot into his "wrist". They extracted it and bandaged him up. Doctors orders were to get him rest, keep him off his foot for awhile, and not to get his bandage wet. (Seriously someone needs to come up with a waterproof cast/bandage for dogs. Putting a sack over his paw everytime he goes outside to pee is sooo annoying.)

Thankfully Gable is all better now... and thankfully we have dog insurance on him. There were a couple rough days in there where Matt was freaking out about Gable's health (which then caused me to freak out) but this time he didn't have to be bandaged up as long as last years' incident.



swollen wrist/paw
(his left paw is the one he hurt - you can see that where his dewclaws were removed is where the swelling is noticeable)



all wrapped up
(Yes, Matt was thrilled that they wrapped Gable in camo tape each time)




all better
(just need the hair to grow in from where they shaved him for his iv)



love you Gable!

Siblings

A couple weeks a go we finally had a warm(er) day and Gable got to meet his half-sister Emma! Gable and Emma are from the same breeder and share the same dad but they are about 18 months apart in age. We met Emma back in December, a couple weeks after Cody and Ashley brought Emma home, but it was after Julie and Mike's ugly sweater party, so Gable hadn't met her yet.

It was so fun to see them interact together. Can't wait for the next family get-together!

Too funny for words

Gable and Max...after their nap.

 

A Sunday stroll gone wrong

How is it that Gable knows exactly what to do to drive me crazy?

We had just finished a lovely little 40 min walk in the park/forest when he found this puddle in the parking lot. Of course I didn't have his kennel in the car or an old towel with me. So we waited 15-20 minutes for him to run around and dry off (and roll around in the grass) before I let him jump in the car. What a fun mess to clean when we got home!

Gable's Accident

No need to worry Gable's fine now :)

But back on March 9th, Gable was out romping through the woods with Matt and he somehow sliced open his leg, just above the paw. The cut was deep enough that it severed his artery and went through 2 (of 4) tendons. He was gushing blood but Matt acted quickly, throwing a bandage around his paw and racing him to the ISU Emergency Vet Clinic in Ames. They called in a special orthopedic vet surgeon and put Gable back together.

Gable was in his cast for 6 weeks. And during that time there was no running, jumping, climbing, wrestling, swimming... pretty much he just laid around and had ZERO fun (well except for when we got him bully sticks).

   
The first couple weeks we was kinda lethargic but he eventually gained back his energy and became a very stir-crazy pup. We now have a hole in the drywall where Gable "punched" the wall with his club.

Yes, that is our bed in the family room. It's ridiculous, I know. I'm definitely embarrassed by how over-the-top we are with "parenting" Gable. Because of the injury, he wasn't allowed to jump and down from our bed. But since he likes to sleep with us, we moved the bed to make it more convenient for him. (I know, you're probally rolling your eyes. I am too.)

As you can see he definitely gained his energy back. :) Gable got his cast off on April 23rd. Originally the doctor had said that there would probably be some physical therarpy needed, but he actually healed so well he didn't need it! It's great because that means he's going to be fine... no long term limp, but i was a little looking forward to seeing what canine physical therapy would be all about (they mentioned something about a treadmill in a pool).

He's back to his old self now. Running around like a crazy dog!

Gable Turned 1!

On February 22^nd Gable celebrated his 1^st birthday. If Matt would have let me, I would have gone all out on a celebration for him. (I even found some great ideas on pinterest for a puppy birthday party.) Instead we just maintained our current level of spoiling. J Here he is on his birthday enjoying a bone.  

It’s weird to think that a year ago, we had no idea what having a dog would be all about. Since we don't have kids, we completely treat Gable like he's our baby. And we both know that we're completely over the top about it. But he's just so stinking cute :)

Right now his favorite activity is going on walks - expecially when Matt takes him because its always a new adventure for him. On this walk they found some rusted out old pickups.

Gable tends to be a bit more naughty when he walks with me. I think it's because our walks are more boring so he has to entertain himself a bit. Luckily this is a farmer's field and not our backyard.

He also loves going to the dog park in replacement of his walk. This weird Iowa weather has turned many of the dog parks (as well as our backyard) into a muddy mess. It may be hard to tell how muddy he truely is in this pic because he literally is coated in mud due to a somersualt he performed while chasing his buddies.

When he's not out running around, you'll find him eating or sleeping.

The best part of having a dog is undoubtably the unconditional love. Every night I come home to Gable waiting for me at the top of the stairs. Sometimes he'll even start waiting for me early and while I feel guilty that I'm not home yet, it totally warms my heart knowing that he misses me.

Sleep-away camp

On Sunday Sept 4th at 8am Matt, Gable and I drove 2 hours east to Countryside Gundogs near Center Point, IA. A half hour after arrival, Matt and I headed back to Huxley... without Gable. He's been gone for 3 weeks now. But hopefully he'll be coming home next week if he continues to learn at his current pace. The trainer says he's doing really well and that he'll be a great hunting dog for Matt. The trainer will work on basic obedience (sit, stay, kennel, come) but the main focus is on introducing Gable to birds, shotguns, and handling in the field. Here are a couple pics the trainer sent of Gable showing off his natural instinct.

Even though I know he's having fun and learning a lot, it's hard not to miss him. And it was hard not to be sad when we left him. I think my experience leaving him at the trainer was probably a preview to what it will be like someday taking our child to their first day of kindergarten - a mix of anticipation, excitement and fear. Gable knew something wasn't right and whined (cried) as we walked about from the outdoor kennel that would become his bunk for the month. As I listened to Gable cry as I walked away, it took a lot of control not to burst into tears, insist this was all a mistake and bring him back home with us. He's so young, he'll be scared (and cold), he'll think we're not coming back for him, he won't remember us when we finally do get to pick him up, he might not get along with the trainer or the other dogs... I was kinda a mess. You know when you're trying really hard not to cry, but you can't help the tears and your face gets all blotchy? That was totally me. I threw on my sunglasses and then stayed quiet while Matt finished talking with the trainer because I knew I wouldn't be able to trust my voice not to crack.

It's been weird at home without Gable but we've been trying to take advantage of the opportunity - vacation, projects around the house, not worrying about schedules or time away from the house, allowing ourselves time to relax together. But I am sooo excited to see our puppy soon!

Miss you, goofy Gable!  

Sweet Corn Love

Sweet corn has got to be one of our summer favorites. And apparently it's one of Gable's favorites too :)

Matt was trying to get a pic to send to friends... they sent us an adorable photo of their little girl, Natalie, enjoying some sweet corn and of course we felt the need to show off our "baby" too.

Doggie Dip / How we spent our 2 yr Anniversary

Matt and I only made it to the pool once this summer. (This may explains why I'm so pasty.) But our one trip to the pool was FANTASTIC. WDM's end-of-summer doggie dip was on August 15th - our 2 yr anniversary. For $5, Gable got to play with 59 other dogs for an hour in the pool. There was another session after our but they literally got sloppy seconds in the pool so I'm glad we went early. 

Waiting in line to get in! Good thing Matt and Gable got their early.

Obviously, this little video isn't of Gable, but watching this dog swim was too funny to not share.