...And now for something completely different

 In October 2019 Ronnie and I took a driving trip through the Midwest, then to the Badlands and Black Hills in South Dakota - which I highly recommend.  The Badlands are starkly beautiful, and we saw lots of wildlife.  The Black Hills are just gorgeous.

But then we went on to Yellowstone, which is absolutely breathtaking.  We have all  touristy photos, which don't really belong here - but this was one of the highlights of the trip and IS canine-related:

the

This beauty was separated from his (her?) pack which was on the other side of the road.  Traffic was stopped as everyone was in awe of this gorgeous animal.  Getting this close to a wild wolf just doesn't happen, normally you see the Yellowstone wolves (if you get to see them at all) as moving specks in the distance.

Throwback Saturday

More old photos - when Izzy was a baby she loved chewing on plastic things (she still likes plastic bottles!)

I got these pictures of her as a puppy - I think this is so stinkin' adorable!

Far-back Friday

I ran across this picture of Dakota when she was young enough to not be all grey yet!  If she thought I had been on the computer enough that day she would just lay her head on my keyboard.

More lure coursing

 Since videos seem to be playing properly again, here are some of Izzy and Ellie enjoying the chase:

Here is Ellie doing a CAT (Coursing Ability Test) - approximately 600 yards.  It's pass/fail, the dog is judged on the willingness to keep chasing the lure.

In contrast, here they are running the Fast CAT - this is a straight 100 yard dash.  The run is timed, and the dog gets points based on the average speed.  Our Danes usually run it in a little over 8 seconds, which converts to a little over 24 mph.  This is the average speed - considering that it takes them a stride or two to get up to speed I'd like to know how fast they are going at the end!

Here is Izzy - her timed run was the first part, after the turn around she just chased it back to the start line:

And here is Ellie:

Hello again!

 I've said this before, but I really do want to start keeping this blog up again.  If only for my own memories - in many ways it's easier to look back and find old pictures or stories here than on Facebook or other social media.  Hence the recent Throwback posts.

But for something current, and sticking to the theme of "living with Great Danes" I took this video of Ellie eating spinach.  Plain, no-salt-added canned spinach, out of a spoon.  That girl will eat pretty much anything!  And how cute is she?

 Welp, apparently videos are not working on Blogger at the present time - supposedly they are working on it!  If you can't wait and want to see the video, here is the link: Ellie eats spinach

Throwback Tuesday: Dakota 15 - 16 weeks

 Going through my old drafts, I found this one about dear Dakota.  We had to say goodbye to her this past July (2020, just one more awful thing about that year!).  She was just a week shy of her 11th birthday, and was doing so well, very active though arthritic, and sassy and happy.  Then she had a terrible fall on our deck, blowing out a lumbar disc and lost all control in her hind legs.  We didn't want to put her through surgery that would have a small chance of success, so tried conservative treatment with steroids and pain meds.  She was very comfortable, still sassy, eating well - but couldn't walk at all.

This is where the size of a Dane is a real disadvantage.  If she were a small dog, we might have tried her in a wheelchair for dogs (although her front end wasn't all that strong) and therapy, etc.  But just transportation for a 120 lb non-ambulatory dog is a real challenge.  Not only physically difficult for the humans, but difficult to do in such a way that the dog is comfortable.  And a Dane-sized wheelchair would not work in our house with its corners and steps.

So we made the very difficult decision to let her go peacefully.  But oh my, we miss her!

So I was very happy to find these great memories.  I hope you enjoy them too!

 -------------------

OK, we're about caught up on Dakota - these were all taken in the past week or so, when she was 16 weeks old, give or take a few days. I love this first picture, it's not that often that I get a dog with their eyes closed! :-)

I'm just waiting for the flash.

Like all of our other Danes, she sleeps on her back a lot, and THAT is a shot that I just can't resist:

Pretzel? Or puppy? - you be the judge!

But she doesn't spend all her time sleeping... oh Hell no! Sometimes after she has taken all of the toys out of her toy box (which is actually a collapsible laundry basket) she likes to play with the basket. My friend Karen, who has her brother says he likes to do the same thing:

Any more toys in there?

If you come too close I'll whack you with this!

She and her Aunt Topper get along great! Maybe Topper is just happy to not be the only striped dog in the house anymore:

I was in the kitchen when I heard a lot of thumping and quiet play growling. If I stepped around the corner, they would stop playing and stand there looking at me, so these were taken by quickly peeping around the corner.

Throwback Monday

 Kinsey lived to be almost 13, which is a good lifespan for a giant breed dog.  She was healthy and active up to the end, but it wasn't all good genes.  Just like humans, dogs benefit from a healthy lifestyle and Kinsey competed in Agility until she was 10 - although at age 8 or 9 we moved her to an easier level with lower jump heights.  She seemed to enjoy this, which is the main reason we did it.  She liked going to classes too.  Here she is at age 9 or 10, at an agility seminar:

 

But as she got older, she started having trouble with arthritis.  This is as common a problem with older dogs as it is with older humans, and many of the same medications and treatments that are used in humans can help dogs.  **DISCLAIMER** Obviously, do NOT EVER give your dog any medication without checking with your vet!!  Although dogs and humans can sometimes take the same drugs, often times they can't.  Also, the dosage may be way different.

But anyway, our older Danes have benefited from a healthy diet, exercise as they can tolerate, NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), pain-relieving therapies like chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, cold laser, and also rehab to keep them strong!

Here is Kinsey doing the underwater treadmill back in 2014, when she was 12.  The warm water takes a lot of weight and stress off the joints as the dog exercises.  They are introduced to this gradually, with lots of treats.  In Kinsey's case, really a LOT of treats since if I didn't keep the treats coming she would just stop walking!  She always liked to set the rules.

One thing she did NOT have to be bribed for was the cold laser treatment.  It's called a "cold" laser because it doesn't heat up the way a standard laser does, it never gets hot enough to damage tissue.  But it does create warmth and stimulates blood flow, and Kinsey LOVED IT.  You can just see the waves of contentment coming off her here:

The therapist's little French Bulldog liked to curl up with Kinsey during these treatments - I nearly died from the cuteness!

We cater to their comfort at home too.  Years ago a chiropractic vet recommended putting a heat lamp over one of the dog beds, so the could get under it or not as they choose.  We use a "brooder" lamp which is designed to keep baby chicks warm.  It's very safe around animals and safe to keep on for long periods of time.  We use an infrared lamp - partly I think they work better, but it's also nice since they aren't so bright.

Anyway, Kinsey LOVED her heat lamp!!  She used it all during the fall, winter and spring.

 

And she wasn't the only one who liked it!  Our cat ZB often would commandeer the bed.  Even though she is so small, the dogs have so much respect (cough*fear*cough) for her that they won't try to get on the bed when she is there!

We have been fortunate with our Danes for several decades now, they have all lived to 10 or more.  Right now we don't have any elder Danes, just two youngsters.  But gosh I miss those sweet grey faces!

Lure Coursing

 Lure Coursing is a sport in which dogs chase a "lure" - usually a white bag, but many things can be used.  Sort of like the way greyhounds chase a fake rabbit on a racetrack.

Until a few years ago, only Sighthounds (Greyhounds, Whippets, etc) were allowed to compete in lure coursing in AKC.  Then they started an event called a "Coursing Ability Test" or CAT in which any breed could compete.  The lure is dragged over a winding course on a flat field: 600 yards for most dogs, but small dogs and brachiocephalic breeds can run 300 yards.  For the CAT, there is no official time and it's a pass/fail test: does the dog keep chasing the lure?  3 successful runs gets the dog a Coursing Ability title (CA).  Additional successful runs get higher titles.

I tried this with Dakota for the first time when she was 6, and she thought it was stupid.  "It's just a plastic bag!"

But the younger dogs like it, and we have found that if they learn the game when they are young, they often will continue to enjoy it for years.  Of course they know it's just a bag, but they enjoy the chase anyway.

These photos are all of Ellie, enjoying the chase:

Cones are used to cover the pulleys, which are used wherever the line dragging the lure goes around a turn:

Here she is at the end, about to catch the bag!

A few years later, the AKC introduced another lure coursing event called the Fast CAT.  This is a much shorter course, a straight 100 yards.  The dog is timed, and the time is converted to miles per hour.  Then they get points based on the mph.  For small dogs, there is a handicap process in which they get more speed points than they would otherwise.  150 points gets the dog a novice Fast CAT - which is abbreviated as BCAT for some reason.

You can get great head-on photos at a Fast CAT, since the dogs are running in a straight line.  Here's Ellie:

And several great pictures of Izzy.  I have lots more photos of Izzy doing Fast CAT than regular CAT, because she likes the Fast CAT better.  Ellie likes them both.  We have a friend who has a dog who loves the regular CAT but not the straight, shorter Fast CAT so much.  Every dog is different!

This last one is my favorite, with her tongue flying like a flag!

If you are interested in doing this with your dog, they have to be at least a year old (although some clubs hold practice runs at the end of the day that are good for puppies).  Go to https://www.akc.org/sports/coursing/coursing-ability-test/ for more information.