Where Does the Time Go?

We haven't been so good about updating the blog lately...ooops! We have had sick kids and sick mom and just getting back into the swing of things. Abbey is doing great! What a sweetheart. She is starting to get into the stage where she just settles down and sleeps for a good chunk of the day, which is kind of nice then I don't have to worry about what she is up to every 5 minutes. Of course, she still has her moments....like 2 days ago when she decided to chew my daughters plastic headband!

Abbey has been making some friends at the leash free...she generally tries to find a dog who will tolerate her puppy antics and then sticks to them for the whole visit...tormenting them the whole time. She also does this very interesting move...she lies down on her belly and waits for the perfect moment to POUNCE! She looks just like a lion stalking her prey....yikes!

Abbey was at the vet today because she has a bit of an eye infection (which I'm sure she picked up from a "colleague" at the leash free. She also got weighed...41.8 pounds.

She is quite excited (well she will be) that she is going for a sleepover this weekend at Granny's....I hope she still likes her crate after getting the royal treatment and sleeping on the bed all weekend.

What is everyone else (Duke and Bodhan) up to????

Happy Halloween!

Abbey was exhausted after an evening of handing out candy and showing off her new hotdog costume!

Abbey meets Bodhan

Thanks to this blog, we were able to connect with Abbey's brother Bodhan, and we were able to arrange a playdate with the two siblings. Abbey had such a wonderful time playing with her brother. They instantly connected and played really nicely for almost 90 minutes. Many people that came to the park knew right away that they were siblings. They even have the same white coloured "racing stripes" on their shoulders. It was also great to compare stories with Bodhan's mom.......you know they are related when they do the same crazy things like chewing the knobs on the drawers in the kitchen. Abbey was exhausted after the playdate and will definitely be up for another round with her bro in the near future.

Here's a short video from the mini reunion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkTQlIHCQfg

Abbey Sneaks a Snack...

Well I always knew it would happen...it was just a matter of when. Our previous lab Riley, while he loved food and snuck his share of snacks, never did what Abbey accomplished tonight. I caught her snacking straight out of the kitchen green bin.....ahhhhhh! Our daughter was helping to clear the dinner table and put dishes in the dishwasher and she accidentally left the green bin on the floor with the lid open. I didn't realize that anything was amiss until I heard Abbey go into the kitchen for a drink and then she disappeared. All was quiet so I thought she might be up to something. I expected to see her with a shoe or a mitten in the kitchen. Instead I found her with her head right in the green bin enjoying some leftovers. I think I screamed so loud that she very well may never do this again....but talk about gross. The kids were so grossed out that they didn't want her to lick them for a while tonight (I didn't remind them that she has had worse in her mouth and then licked them). I just hope we don't see leftovers coming back up in the middle of the night. Oh dear.....she is a sneaky little pup.....she might need a bell attached to her...and an alarm on the green bin.

Abbey the "Ronster"

We have started calling Abbey the "Ronster" on occasion. For those that used to watch (or still do) Scooby-Doo, this is how Scooby says "monster"........and we thought Ronster was a little nicer than Monster. Abbey has been a real Ronster this week. When out for a walk, she doesn't want to walk in any direction that I am going, she tries to crawl under every bush to see if there is anything good to eat, she pulls and parks her butt when she doesn't want to come in the house. She spends a lot of time trying to get into mischief.....stealing shoes, umbrellas, backpacks....anything she can do to get some attention. She even climbed up on the couch and tried to hang out there without anyone noticing...nice try! It just seems like this week we can't tire her out. Endless walks and playtime outside just don't seem to cut it. I can't wait until she has had all her shots and can go to the leash free!!

Abbey's First Sleepover

Since we were attending a wedding last Saturday, Granny offered to look after Abbey overnight. I was a little worried. I thought she might pee on the carpet or chew something she shouldn't...or cry all night! This is how amazing our little puppy is......she ate, slept and peed when she was supposed to. She played nicely with her toys and followed Granny around like a shadow. Now, we usually take Abbey out for her last nightly pee around midnight and she is good until 7am. Well, Granny goes to bed around 11 so I thought Abbey might be up around 6, which is a bit early. As it turns out, Abbey went out around 9 to pee and they spotted a racoon in the backyard. So Granny was a bit nervous to take her out at 11 fearing they may run into a skunk, so off to bed they went without a late bathroom break. Well, doesn't the little stinker sleep all night and have to be woken up by Granny at 7:15am! Here I was thinking she was going to wake up at 6 and she ends up having the sleep of her life! After that performance I am not falling for any of her tricks to get us up before 7. Granny said she was a great house guest and she is welcome back anytime......phew!

Abbey's Condo

Abbey may have had a breakthough with her crate when we leave the house. She was put in her crate 4 separate times today while I popped in and out taking the kids to school and picking them up. After all trips out, she seemed calm when I came home!! I even took my time getting her out of her crate and she didn't make a peep. Yeah!! We have now renamed her crate "Abbey's Condo". She is doing just great! In the last few days, true to being a lab, we discovered that she really knows the word "hungry". If we are about to feed her a meal and we say "are you hungry" and she happens to be in another room...she runs as fast as she can to the kitchen and waits for her meal....nothing like having a personal chef and wait staff!!

Last week before school.......

This has been another rough week for Abbey. While "swimming" (this is code for sit on the top step of the pool and watch the kids) at Granny's house this week Abbey decided to check out what yummy treats she could find in the garden. Well she managed to find an apparent great appetizer......cat poop. We couldn't get it out of her mouth fast enough and down it went. Well that evening her little tummy was rumbling a bit and she seemed more tired than usual. At 5:30 in the morning she was begging to go out and she ended up having really bad "dog-a-rhea"! Poor thing. All morning she was constantly going out. I got her an appointment at the vet in the early afternoon and got some great "dog-a-rhea" pills and a pre/pro biotic. She was wiped by that evening, but took her meds no problem. She felt better today, but she really had a rough ride. A few more days of the "dog-a-rhea" pills and a week and a half more on the pre/pro biotic. Through it all she has managed to gain weight. Up to 19.4 pounds and almost too heavy for the kids to carry. She is still a gentle little sweetheart that hates to be left alone in her crate when we go out (still fine at night and for naps during the day)......Abbey is going to have to suck it up the first day of school when I have to take the girls to school and pick them up at lunch etc.

The Ring Leader

Lovin' the hula hoop!

Shoulder feeling much better. Look, a new toy . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9fDKpC6lmQ

A Rough Couple of Days...

The kids and I went shopping for school supplies so Abbey had to spend some time in her crate at home while we were away. Things didn't go so well. While we were out, despite going outside before we left, she pooped in her crate. Everything was covered in poop (toys, blanket and Abbey). I also think she barked the entire time we were away because she was exhausted when we arrived home. So she had a bath and toys, crate and blanket were washed. She went happily to sleep last night in her crate, but of course we were home!

Then this morning she tried to follow me up the stairs and was going a little too fast. She didn't quite make the first stair properly and ended up spraining her left shoulder ! Poor little Abbey. She yelped when she put weight on it so I took her to the vet immediately. The vet determined that nothing was fractured and said it is a sprain. She can put a small amount of weight on it now...enough to pee and walk gingerly. She took some pain meds and we have to keep her quiet for a few days. So the kids are on duty to be nurses to Abbey all weekend. Hopefully within a week she'll be up running around chasing leaves.

Here's What I've Been Up To...

Since Abbey arrived at our home on August 15th, she has been wonderful. The day she arrived she had a visit from her "Granny and Pops". She immediately took to them and I'm sure she'll quickly learn that when Granny comes over she always gets a treat.

On Abbey's second day she spent time visiting her "Grandma and Grandpa". She had a blast exploring their backyard and discovered her first chipmunk. She had so much fun she wore herself out and slept for quite a while on their backyard patio. I bet she can't wait for her next trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house to see what wildlife she will run into!!

Abbey has been swimming in Granny's backyard pool a few times too...she seems like the type of girl to go for a quick dip and get out and sun herself. She was comfortable in the water (of course she is a lab) and enjoyed cooling off.

Abbey also enjoyed meeting about 75 people at the Buskerfest in Port Credit last weekend. Everyone wanted to pet her....including one lady who insisted on holding her. She was a star and she loved every minute of it!

Abbey is finally comfortable in her crate at night! The crate was a tough sell for Abbey. She just LOVES being close to people and for her to be separated from us was torture for her. But after a few sleepless nights we then spent a few nights sleeping on the floor beside the crate and she is now totally comfy in her den. Now, the daytime is another story. Abbey is quite jealous that her brother is quiet in his crate (we read her his blog) for a couple of hours during the day. Abbey will prance in and out all day and have naps, but when the door closes and we leave the house she is quite upset and we can hear her barking outside (I'm sure the neighbours can too). So we are working on that. The kids and I are shopping for school supplies today so we'll see how she does.

As far as "potty" training she is awesome. She has only had a couple of accidents (which is fantastic) and now that she has mastered to 2 steps to our back door, she goes there.... sits and bumps her nose against the blinds when she needs to go out....and sometimes when she just feels like getting some fresh air. Training Abbey to go pee outside seemed so much easier than our previous lab...she has caught on incredibly fast.

That is pretty much where we are at.....she is 10 weeks old today. She is wonderful and loving and great with the kids. So gentle and calm....thanks to her parents Diva and Jack.

Big 'bark out' to Bodhan

Bodhan's my brother and was the inspiration for this dog blog. Check him out http://puppybodhan.blogspot.com/

Hello World

Abbey's our new yellow lab. She's just getting into the whole social networking thing, starting with a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypfMy0swf9w

Enjoy!