Great Dane

[MissDolittle]

After my husky Nicholai passed away of lupus 3 weeks ago, we finally
decided to get a new dog, because Butters, the lab, got pretty bored.

Since my dream dog is a Great Dane, we put the word out to the shelter
to call us if they ever get a Dane in, which happened twice over the past
5 years and both dogs were claimed back by their owners.

I didn't have much hope, but a day later the shelter calls and gave me a
phone number to call..somebody needs a home for a 6 months old great
dane.

I was like 'whuaaaaaaaaaa', lets call and take a look. And that's what we
did. When we got there and got out of the truck..over 20 Danes came
running at us..I was in heaven! lol

And then we saw him...Olliver is his name. A blue merle.
He has everything you want in a dog..he likes kitties and puppies and
other dogs. He is no troublemaker, but he will have to learn a few things
like not to pee in the house and not to chew cables lol. But other than
that...it took him 5 seconds to figure out the leash...is glued to me knee
while walking...I'm in loooove!

Here is Butters and Olliver, he's probably going to double his size:

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliver.jpg

Here he is with Sandy and Butters..lil Sandy is the boss and he respects
that too..amazing:

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/olliversandybutters2.jpg

[WingedCat]

He is a beautiful boy, Miss D.

See, I told you a special dog needed you. :)

[MissDolittle]

You sure did. I was so glad to get him out of that trashy place, get those
fleas and ticks off him, yuck. I would have taken them all if they would
have let me...they had 13 dane pups there, 5 days old in a trailer that fell
apart. Those pups were under a blanket of flies and those tattoed dudes
where bragging about having a home for the dogs. Their trailer didn't look
any better..I'll never understand people who can live like that, makes me
shiver just to think of it!

[WingedCat]

Awww Poor babies.

At least Olliver has a wonderful home now. We can only hope the others will find one too.

[MissDolittle]

Unfortunately those dudes call themselves breeders, they intent to keep
most of them, just Olliver's sister Coco is up for sale for 50 bucks..I was
tempted, very tempted lol.

[WingedCat]

Grrrrrr I wish someone would put a stop to people like this.

[MissDolittle]

Ya, the dudes were bragging about the cops being there twice trying to do
something against that, but they couldn't. If ya live outside of the city limits
they can't do anything..we need more laws for that!

The dogs look cleaner than the guys (xcept the pups in that fallen apart trailer)
and were well fed, but covered in fleas and ticks. Before we took Olliver
inside, we had to dip him. He's a happy puppy though, check it out!

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/olliverpups2.jpg

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliverpups1.jpg

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliverpups3.jpg

[Snoopi]

What a bunch of sweet faces!!

[thundersquirrel]

hahaha, it looks like those puppies were looking for milk in that second pic...lol i wonder what Olliver would do if they tried to milk him! rolling

your dogs are beautiful. how many do you have? i'll have to put some pics of my dogs on here once i figure out how.

[MissDolittle]

I got 3 dogs, legal limit here in town lol..well besides the 5 foster pups that
is lol.

This is Sandy, my oldest..she's 14 now, a chihuahua cocker spaniel mix. I
got her when she was 3 months old :):

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/new/dogs/normal_sandywet1.jpg

and this is Butters, my Lab..4 years old now. He helps me raise about
anything lol. But I won't let him get near the wildlife, even though he would
help there too:

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/new/catsdogs/kittensoutside17.jpg

And Olliver you've seen already :).

[thundersquirrel]

they're adorable!

that's awesome that your dogs can be foster parents, cause a busy rehabber can't always be the absolute parent figure for puppies and kittens.

ugh, i hate breeders.....even with professionals; waiting for the perfect show dog to be born doesn't justify making a bunch of puppies that are replacing dogs scheduled for euthanasia. puppies are wonderful, but we've got enough needy dogs in the world.

man's best friend deserves to be treated better, ya know?
listen to me.....next thing you know we'll get a dog breeder on here, and i'll be the cause of even more controversey. lol 8) i'm such a michael moore.

[MissDolittle]

Hahahahaaa, I love Michael Moore!

Anyways, there are breeders and there are breeders. I tried to breed
huskies, raised the mom, she had 8 in her first litter and got sick, no
milk. I spent 2000 dollars on milk replacer and needed help from the
neighbors, because once I was through bottle feeding them all, I was
already late to start again lol. AND I was on crutches, put my tailbone out.

That was the first last time breeding for me lol. I lived in Wisconsin back
then and huskies were the perfect dogs up there.

[NatureGirl]

Olliver is beautiful! And Sandy and Butters are too cute! I have 2 dogs, a Yellow lab mix (Maddy) and a Queensland Heeler (Chloe)

That really is terrible about those breeders. nossir I can't understand why they would treat their dogs like that. I wish there was something someone could do about it.
I'm sorry you had that bad experience trying to breed huskies Miss D. I've always wanted a huskie or a malamute. They're just gorgeous.

[MissDolittle]

Pictures, hun, pictures! laughter

Well, as to having huskies as pet, I can tell you one thing: you won't have
much fun with them. They don't play, they hate the leash, because they are
bred for pulling, so they pull lol. And you can't let them off the leash, because
they will be gone before you know it.

As much as I love them and their ruaruarua hubba hubba talk, I will not
get another dog like that..no malamute and no huskies. I had 5 different
huskies and a malamute..well he was a wolf hybrid which I didn't know when
I got him, so that actually doesn't count, but they were all the same way.
I need a dog to cuddle and play with and walk on a leash, you know what I mean?

[Snoopi]

Your dogs look like they have wonderful personalities and all three are beautiful!

I have a black mini poodle whose name is Tina and will be two in August - First dog I have ever had that loved me and only me. She would rather sit in my lap than eat or breathe. She fell in love with me the day I brought her home at six months. All she wants to do is sit in my lap and look me in the eyes. Strange, but I can't complain. I am just glad somebody loves me. LOL :-({|=

My other dog really belongs to my teenager, but my teenager now has a boyfriend and no time for her pets. She is a Chinese Crested Powder Puff whose name is Lula. Everybody loves Lula and Lula loves everybody. She is only six months old, but very mature.
She doesn't bark much, but yodels. LOL When she does this, everybody melts!

All my pics are on my computer downloaded from my camera. Not sure how to put on here yet.

[MissDolittle]

Hahaha, I can just see it Tina sit on your lab looking into your face rolling .

I'm also somewhat an expert in dog behavior, so let me ask you:
does she stare or looks kindof expecting? Does she look you directly in
the eye?

If it's staring, she is working on her rank, wanting to be alpha.

If she looks expecting, she wants something from you..either cuddling,
playing etc.

I'm a bit concerned with the ranking my 3 have to go through since Olliver
is here only a week (he grew a full inch in one week!!!). They all do the
humping thing..the lil female humps the big male dogs to remind them who's
on top (many people think it's sexual behavior, but it's not unless the female
is in heat. Mine are all fixed..well, Olliver's turn is next week.)

I loooove to figure out dog behavior, because they are so obvious most
of the time :).

I watched a show on Animal Planet years ago about dogs being the most
loveable parasites on the planet lol. I wanted to get mad at first..like how
does he dare to call dogs parasites, but I had to agree with him lol.

They eat from us, they get shelter from us, they can sure suck the wallet
dry and your strength lol.

[Snoopi]

Well, Tina has always been the Alpha in our dog family. When I feed the dogs, she gets to eat first and pick out all her favorite morsels. The others just wait around patiently. I tried putting out separate bowls even far apart, but she dashes from one bowl to the other. I don't see her trying to attack the other dogs, but she makes a little miffed noise if any dog tries to taste a little.
I got Tina from a lady up the street from me last year. Tina was already six months old. When we first met, she got in my lap and did the staring thing then. I figured she was trying to read me.
But a year has gone by and she continues to do it. I wish you could see her. She is the blackest poodle I have ever seen and her eyes and nose are smut black also. It is almost hard to see her eyes if she is in need of a grooming. She is gorgeous and I have never shown dogs, but she is perfect enough if I had wanted to.
She is very obsessive with me. We let our dogs play outside during the morning hours. If my husband lets them in, I can hear her tearing through the house to find me. She does nothing else except look for me first. She jumps straight up into my arms like a circus dog and wants me to love her and if I don't pet her, she will take her nose and move my hand to pet her. All the time, staring me in the eyes with those black eyes. LOL
Another funny story. I wake up early and fix everyones' breakfast. One morning I had everybodies pancakes in plates out on the table. My son was complaining that his sister had been a pig and had eaten everybody's pancakes. Sure enough, when I went downstairs, all the pancakes were gone. I thought Emily must have been extra hungry. We later found out Tina had gone from plate to plate eating everybody's breakfast. She did that twice when we accidently left her in in the morning. That is why she is outside in the morning.
She has a thing about eating. Sometimes she asks to go outside and I see her go right away and eat grass. I wonder if it is her way to help with stomach issues from overeating.
She is a doll though. Under my bed is every stuffed animal in the house. She takes them there. No chewing, just loving and hiding them.
I don't know what I would do without her.
Sorry so long, but I would like to know what you think about her. As typing this, I realize I don't spend enough time with her as I should. I have had some disturbing issues with my dh and it has made me a little distracted and haven't spent time with those I love ...

[MissDolittle]

I see...yes, she is alpha, over you too. That's what I meant with alpha, not
amongst the dogs, but with you. You need to be alpha, so once she starts
the staring, stare her down until she looks away. That's one way.

I kick my dogs outside in the morning too, too much trouble when the
biggens play inside lol. Olliver is also chewing on everything he can get
his teeth on, I wouldn't even trust him for one minute alone in the house.
But he's still a puppy and I got the biggest rawhide bone out there, 24 inches!

Alternative works always better than punishment. It's the sound of the
voice and the body language that makes a difference. If you don't behave
like an alpha dog they'll do with you want they want lol. Oh they can make
us feel guilty, can't they? hehe

Did you ever watch the Dog Whisperer on TV? It's such an awesome show!

Yes, eating grass is doggy's maalox so to say, it's perfectly alright and
good for them :).


If you want to talk about the disturbing issues (what's dh?), feel free to
PM or email me, ok?

[MissDolittle]

Some new pics :):

http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliver-butters.jpg


http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliver-pups.jpg


http://www.amazes.us/album/albums/userpics/10001/normal_olliver%7E0.jpg