HeavyPaws

Frankly I don't think it's anyone's business but hers.

I would love to breed Danes because the idea appeals to me. The idea of selling and getting money from it doesn't appeal to me; constructing better, healthier, long lived dogs from selected lines; raising the puppies, seeing them off to responsible, good homes, seeing the strong lines of good Danes continue, is all enough to make me want to breed. However, I have no interest in showing. I've been to many, many shows and quite frankly the most interesting thing there {to me, at least} is seeing that year's new additions to the great breed. Seeing how traits can develop over generations of careful breeding, seeing how temperament passes down, picking which breeder bred each puppy just from body shape and colour, it's all happy times for me. I, however, would not buy a pair of Trading Post merle knock-knees and slap them together and call it 'my own line'. I will not breed unless I have the money to do so, the experience to do so, funds to test for everything that it is possible to test for, the knowledge and support gleaned from more experienced breeders, and the know-how to provide the best puppies to the best homes. Therefore, I do not breed. If I bred now, with the resources I have now, I would call myself a BYB and unethical breeder, no matter what I know of the breed. Good intentions do not make good deeds.

We had such a serious problem in our last place that we kept a dish of water on the bedside table so we could drown the fleas we picked off ourselves at night. Yes, I am serious. It was like the Dark Ages. NOTHING worked. I remember one day we did a 'purge', we sent the dogs away to the groomers and boarding for the week to be de-flead, we hired a professional pest control expert who sprayed our entire property, we stripped our beds off {mattresses and all} and sent the sheets to be washed at the cleaners, the quilts and mattress to be treated and washed at another place the pest guy suggested, we emptied our clothes drawers and washed them all, we even went to our inlaw's house while it was all happening and washed our hair and scrubbed down so not a single egg or flea could escape the slaughter. We couldn't go back in the house for another 24 hours because every inch of everything had been sprayed. The night we slept in our house again after our *expensive* total purge, OH turns to me and says "look" Flea, on his arm. A nice fat one too. We moved. Our new house for some reason, has no fleas. I use lavender oil mixed with water and spray it on the carpets and human bedding every week before and after vaccuming, and the dogs get obsessive check overs every week. This is gross, but a failprrof way I've found to check for fleas on carpets is to get a small glass bowl. Next time you buy beef, drain the blood into the bowl, and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds to make it warm. Place the bowl on the floor in a locked room, leave for a few hours. When you take it out, place it on the table and peer down so you can see anything that may be floating on the surface or hold over a lamp. The fleas are attracted to the warm blood, hop in, but can't get back out. You'll find them kicking on the surface or doing laps in the blood. The light going through the blood makes it easy to see them.

I saw some 7 week old puppies for sale, not saying where or who by. Part of the ad says 'already desexed so ready to go', but I was under the impression that desexing can only be performed over 8 weeks old. Am I right, and if so, why is this?

Anything newly bought or cherished. The last thing she decimated was my brand new ipod case. Not only did she ignore the old case that is exactly the same, she also managed to bite into my new wallet at the same time. Why? WHY?

Wow, that would have been, um, fragrant. I picked it up, and it was so rotten it came tumbling out in black flakes and white chunks that looked like yellow cottage cheese. I can't eat cheesecake now, it looked exactly like that

I'll tell you a secret. When I meet a puppy, of any breed, I immediately decided that's the breed for me and reject my thoughts of buying a dane.

My mum met him at at botanic gardens morning tea a few years ago and told him he was a bumbling moron and chewed him out for some particulars she'd been holding onto for years. He used to have these books, not sure if anyone remembered them, that came with some of the older issues of the magazine, that described a few species of plants, a few of birds, and a few animal breeds. She held a grudge for most of my teenage years about his recommendation that cockatoos were perfect kid's pets, and how lettuce is good for rabbits, and also something about some palm tree or something. I kindof tuned out, a la teenage girl. Whenever he'd come on tv she'd snort and go "Huh, that Don Burke, if I ever met him, oh I'd..." And one day, she got her eternal wish. Lock them in a room together for an hour and he'd take back everything he ever said to offend her. Tongue of flame, that one

That's how puppies learn boundaries and how to play properly. Of course if it gets seriously rough and the adult dog is getting too annoyed, separate. Moon prefers to roll them over with a paw and turn her back to them.

I found one that used to be full of banana and yoghurt....five or six weeks ago. Stuffed behind my rosebush and smelling like a dead body

I was at a Melbourne vet yesterday and met a very handsome 16 week old Doberman pup with a docked tail, and last week I saw a rott pup with a dock too, at the park. I thought docking was illegal in VIC, but I'm still seeing young dogs and pups with docks in some places. I didn't want to ask either owner as that might open up a can of worms of unethical breeders, vets, etc. My questions. Do people {meaning registered breeders of dogs that traditionally have docked tails} still dock their puppies, and how do they get it done if it is indeed illegal? Is it a case of don't ask don't tell with a particular vet? Or would docked puppies only be from unethical breeders who do home docking?

Dammit! If our current house allowed it, we'd take as many as possible. I have fond memories of my chickens perching on my bedposts when I was a kid. They'd come inside for winter and I'd end up with 5 or 6 in or on my bed, pecking my cereal in the morning, bathing in the shower

Depends. Is there a song called 'Moron'?

What? Says who? All a crate is, it's a child's playpen with a lid. Fill up a guinea pig water bottle with lemonade, fill up a crate bowl with sweet biscuits and grapes, throw in a few frozen kongs filled with peanut butter and chocolate, chuck in a couple of dollies or toy cars, lay down some newspaper and stick it in front of the tv, then stick the brats in there. That way there's room on the couch for the dogs. I'm joking, I'm joking

I go for unique ones. Moon has {all squeaky} lobster, macaw, giant snail, raccoon and a tree trunk with toy squirrels in it. She goes nuts over Mr Bee, a giant bee with googly eyes that makes a loud buzzing sound. As soon as Mr Bee comes out of the hall closet, she prances like a Spanish pony and barks. Then she snatches him and runs around the house leaping on things; table tops, kitchen bench, bed, couch... That is why Mr Bee is in the hall closet

I grew up in a Dane family; it's all we've owned for generations, so I was born into bias! I always wanted a bit strapping harlequin boy, and still do. One day, one day I'll find the breeder I'm after.

Moon managed to lock herself inside the cupboard, which only has a slide lock on the outside. AND eat a wholepacket of timtams while there

Great Danes that are afraid of water but more afraid that their master is drowning {aka floating peacefully in the pool with sunnies on} are funnier. She tried to reach me via the child's floating mat, you know, the ones that are about 10 inches long?

I had that once when Moon went in for desexing. She went in at 18 months after I'd examined all the evidence, but one thing stuck in my mind...a story I read about a lady who got her deerhound done at 18 months but he died in surgery from complications, and I practically sat on the phone all day. At least you did one better than me. Mine was like Me: "Hello?" *shaky voice upon noticing vet's number* Vet Nurse: "This is *** from ***, with your dog Moon, unfortunately..." Me: *wails* "SHE'S DEEAAADDDDDD!!!!" Utter silence from the other end. Turns out they regretted to tell me they had an emercency c section come in and needed to bump her desexing to 4:00 instead of 2:00. The nurse gave me the biggest grin when I went in to collect her. The vet had no such thoughts, he outright laughed and admitted he wished he had it on tape so he could set it as the answering machine message at home.

I'm jealous! Are they an imported pet or are they going to work for breed recognition. He said he was an import, he was his pet in the US and when he moved here for business he brought him along. His vet here refuses to believe it isn't a rotty x golden

I want to add, I saw a black and tan hovawart today

I don't look at the Pound and Rescue thread, I'd offer foster and buy every single one I could. We're tossing between a puppy from a breeder or a rescue next. I'm leaning towards GAP hound, but I'm also thinking maybe I'll go the way I originally planned. Most likely, when we're ready to welcome a new member, I'll make a new thread in the P & R forum, telling them about me and my partner, what we're looking for in a rescue dog, and ask them to let us know if a likely dog passes through their hands. Then as a thankyou to the rescue who helped us out, I'll donate enough money to bust at least another dog out of the pound or provide care to one who's already been saved from death row. That way, I avoid the impulse "That one!" choosing that would prove a disaster for me and the dog, and lead to a bad new home match, and I'll have DOL support to lean on. Also, I can be sure at least one other dog has a lovely new chance at life If I left it to myself, I'd be bringing home a new dog every hour because I couldn't leave the pound without it

Thanks, guys. I've now decided a puppy isn't for me. Moon was a darling puppy, slept through the night, no chewing, howling barking or piddling in the house and obeyed the rules as soon as she learned them. I should've realised that good puppy equals terrible adult dog. She's great, but sometimes I could just *makes strangling motions*

Moon does this, she particularly likes doing it with sticks or brooms. She did it to the end of a rake once and never made that mistake again. It flipped up and over her back and hit her right where her tail meets her body {crup?}

I like it when people argue with you on what breed of dog it is you own. I had a lady who works at a pet food store ask me what breed of dog I own the other day, I told her and she said no such breed exists Moon has been mistaken for a grey pitbull, a grey mastiff, a BEAGLE , and, my favourite, someone once confidently told me that she was most definitely a "one-na dem rare grey spotty saints bern-herd" I was happy after that. I thought I had a common Great Dane, turns out it's a rare Grey Spotty Saints Bernherd. Yes, DOLers, be jealous. I'm taking stud offers now ;) Don't miss out on your chance to own a rare {only one in the world so far} Grey Spotty Saints Bernherd puppy.