How did everyone's Valentines day go? Ours wasn't quite as planned. Bowling didn't work out which really upset me because I was really looking forward to it. So luckily there was a plan B in which we got a free rental from the Redbox, picked up some Micky D's, then headed home to hang out with the pup. Mac was pretty excited our date night didn't work out. Oh and last night when we got home from work I was sitting in our living room folding clothes when I realized that my bottom felt wet. I thought that maybe Mac had an accident. I wish Mac had an accident because come to find out something is leaking in our walls again and the laundry room was soaked and half of our living room carpet is soaked. We had to move our TV and cabinet along with all our stuff that was along two of our walls. So our house is in a disarray at the moment. We were supposed to have my Best Friend Lori and her family come this weekend to visit, but now I'm not to sure if that will happen. Hopefully this leak can be fixed ASAP, but considering how long it took last time we had a leak, it might take weeks. I'll keep everyone posted. Now on to the real post!
When we brought Mac to the vet when he was little puppy for all his checkups, they let us know that most small dogs are prone to a symptom called Luxating Patella. It is where their knees can slip and get stuck out of place. It usually goes back in place after a short while and when we lived in the top floor apartment, running up and down stairs was good for him. Now that we have moved, we no longer have stairs for him to climb. Back in the fall, Mac played a little too hard with his fur-uncle Zeke and when he got home he had a hard time using his back right leg. Like I said earlier it usually falls back in place after a little activity or us massaging it, but it had been a few days and he still looked pitiful. We brought him into the doctor and they gave him an anti inflammatory and that seemed to do the trick along with some rest. After that though, we felt we needed to give him some kind of exercise course that he could use to build up his muscles again and keep that knee moving. We had just finished our table and chair renovation and Matt and I we were in the "lets get things done" mode, so we decided to build an A frame. After we got the obstacle course for Matt's birthday we thought it would we could make a big competition course for him to play on. It will help him exercise and be fun at the same time.
Matt found plans online at this site. They had really good instructions and photos that were easy to follow.
Matt building the frames
The painting process.
The rungs for traction before we sanded and painted them.
Trial run:
It ended up being a little slippery for Mac and he would get nervous about going up and down.
After this we decided to add some sand to the paint so that he wouldn't slip anymore. It added a nice grip to it. We also added blue to the top. It was more official looking to be two toned and it helped us to know how far he needed to run down it before he could jump off.
Here are the pictures of it completed and Mac's official run on them.
(See his pool, he LOVED it this summer. When we would let him out to go to the bathroom, we would often find him just chilling in his pool because he was so hot.)
We hold his treat in front of him and he just follows it up and down.
He got a little side tracked here and heard our neighbors dogs. Now he can keep an eye on them.
Me testing it out with him.
The frame in all its glory.
A close up of the hinge.
We put a piece of foam across the middle so that Mac's paws don't get stuck in the hinge. We just used plumbing foam since pool noodles were out of season.
Here is picture of how the chain connects underneath so that the frame doesn't slip out when Mac (or an eager human) runs across the top.
King of the backyard!!!
Linking with the DIY showoff party:
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