Archives for Dog Blog category
Hurricane Gustav and Ike both hit within one week of each other. No electricity, water or communication with the outside world. Trees and electrical lines were down everywhere. When I say trees, I mean trees that were over a hundred years old. What a loss. Not much clean up could be done until the professional tree people could come and get the trees off the lines, then the power people came in and tried to restore electricity. We were without electricity for quite a long time - well over a week. I really appreciated the time that the workers put in and the fact that they came from other states. The effort they made was magnificent.
Once the large trees were put on the side of the road to be picked up later and the electrical lines were no longer a threat, it was time for us to clean up the debris in our front and back yards. We started with the back yard and Kreiger, our black German Shepard, thought it was a great game to bring sticks from the back yard and place them on the pile of sticks by the road. I would pull the largest ones and he would grab hold to one part of the large limb and help me carry it. We were truly working together and I would compliment him every chance I got. He would also pick up smaller sticks and bring them to the front. [As an aside, my six cats thought the pile of limbs and trees were put there for their personal use and enjoyment. They stalked and jumped at each other like they were kittens again. It was fun to take a break and watch them.]
We finished the back yard and started in the front. Since the pile was a lot closer, I could throw some of the smaller sticks directly into the pile. Kreiger thought the rules of the game had changed and would run to the pile, find the stick I threw and bring it back to me. I tried to explain to him that we needed to continue to build the pile up, but he liked the new game better. Bottom line — for every stick I threw for Krieger to retireve, I threw four sticks that stayed in the pile. No matter that this new game took more time because I enjoyed playing with Krieger, and besides, he deserved some quality play time for being my helper and Hurricane Hero.
Oct 08, 2008 | | Dog Blog
I received a telephone call from someone who had a Great Dane that needed a home. The couple was splitting up and the Dane couldn’t go with either of them. I agreed to adopt the less than one year old Mantle Dane and proceeded to go to the country to pick her up late one night. When I got to the house, through the pot holes and mud, “Baby” was in the house and delighted to have visitors. She had no idea that she was getting ready to make a trip into the unknown. After much crying and saying goodbye, I left with Baby to make the trek home.
It was very late when we got home so I put her a pallet down next to my bed and turned in. I was dead on my feet, but Baby was nervous and wide awake. She talked all night long in her own way and kept me awake so I comforted her and spent time consoling her in the new surroundings. By morning I realized that Baby had the wrong name. A Great Dane does not need a name like Baby, on the other hand, she talked all night long so I named her Lady Chatterly. Baby and Lady sounded very close so I changed her name because she earned it.
One week after bringing Lady home I integrated her successfully in with our other Dane and German Shepard. They would run and play, but unlike Lady, the other two dogs are older and just didn’t have the energy that Lady did. When Lady wore them out they were ready to lay down and rest; on the other hand Lady looked for things to keep her occupied and out of trouble.
Did I say out of trouble? Wrong!! She started on the blueberry bushes in my backyard. I guess she didn’t like the way they looked or where they were planted. Lady ripped every one of them out of the ground and chewed them up. There was nothing left to replant. She proceeded to find my telephone line which is buried 18 inches under ground and dig a hole to uncover it. Lady did not eat through the line, she just wanted to dig enough to find it. No matter how many times I filled that hole up she was determined “it is my hole and I want to keep it.” I finally filled in the hole and put large concrete blocks over it until she forgot about it.
I realized the problem was that she was bored and needed extra curricular activities besides playing with the older dogs. We started a bicycling routine and spent quality time together. This increased the bonding effort I was making and generated an outlet for her excessive puppy energy. She loved running next to the bike.
She no longer dug up any fruit trees or bushes, but she did do a really nice job of eating every limb on my fig tree down to a nub. The tree was only about 5 foot high and I had just planted it a year before. Lady was definitely a challenge. I put a fence up around the fig tree, replanted blueberry bushes with fences around them and kept the concrete blocks in place. It looked like everything was incarcerated. My backyard looked like a prison block. The fruit trees were in prison and the prisoner, Lady, was running free.
The blueberries were doing great because I planted new bushes. The fig tree was still an unknown. I knew it was still alive, but it looked like a five foot stick with no branches or leaves. I would just have to wait until spring to see what would happen.
The fig tree continued to be protected and in the spring a wondrous thing happened. Little buds came out and grew into limbs that sprouted and became a full beautiful tree. The pruning job that Lady did on the fig tree actually helped it. The tree was much fuller, greener and took off like a rocket. It is now 7 foot tall and is loaded with figs. Wonderful!!
Lady Chatterly was no lady but she made a great gardener. Let’s not tell her about what a great job she did. No need to have a repeat performance!!
Jun 07, 2008 | | Dog Blog
Chloe died tonight. Earlier in the day we had all the dogs in the house because it was so hot outside. I had bathed all of them yesterday and today, now that they were dry, I brushed them. As they lay on the cool ceramic tile floor they languished in the treat of being let into the house and groaning with pleasure with each stroke of the comb. Chloe, my Shetland Sheepdog, kept coming up to me and my husband for a pat on the head or a snag of her nose. She loved this. It made her bark in exaltation for the special attention. For dinner I had cooked some chicken meat and added some beef drippings to the mix; this I poured over their dog food as an extra treat. Chloe was especially excited because it was her favorite treat.
This evening, after dark, I commented to my husband that it was unusually quiet outside. Chloe was the one dog that we leave out of the fenced in backyard. She never strayed from the yard and was always on guard. She kept us and every other dog in the neighborhood apprised of any danger or unusual appearances on the street. Chloe was our barker in times of trouble, so it was unusually quiet, no barking at all.
I stepped out my back door to go put the trash out for pickup in the morning and that was when I saw Chloe laying near the back door. I called her name and she did not move. I called again. I saw the tell tale sign of death as I looked at the glazed over eyes and feces on the patio. She had died alone and did not make a whimper to let us know of her passing. I like to think that her body just wore out and it was her time. Chloe was ten years old in body but still a puppy at heart.
I shall never forget how introverted and shy she was around people she did not know. She was playful, happy and curious around everything in her life. She lived and slept with cats who were good friends and she mourned the death of her sister, Duchess, six months ago. Chloe was fiercely courageous when necessary and devoted to her whole family. We shall all miss her terribly.
We love you Chloe and will remember you always.
May 29, 2008 | | Dog Blog
I didn’t know Great Danes like water, but it wasn’t long before I found out different. Titan liked to go into the pond, but only in the shallow water up to his chest and stand in the cool water; he wouldn’t swim. Onyx would go all the way into the pond and swim, especially on hot summer days. I enjoyed watching both of them cool off.
The girls, Duchess and Chloe my Shetland Sheepdogs, would herd the geese from their pen to the pond for a swim every afternoon and post guard, one on the island and one on the bank. Any time the geese would try to get out of the pond, the girls were there to bark and chase them right back in the water.
One day the girls had just put the geese into the pond and Onyx decided he would go for a swim. This was the first time that both the geese and Onyx had been in the pond at the same time. Onyx is deaf, so he couldn’t hear all the honking going on or the barking from the bank. He could see the geese in the middle of the pond and they looked very interesting. He had to check them out. Every time he would get close to the geese, they would turn and go to the opposite bank to get away from him. When the geese got close to the bank, Duchess or Chloe would bark at them and turn them around back into the water. The geese were caught between a rock and hard place. On one side was this barking dog that would chase them back into the water, and on the other side was a behemoth trying to get to them. They were going back and forth. When the geese went to the left, Onyx would swim left. When the geese went right, Onyx would swim to the right. Onyx was stuck in the middle of the pond going around in circles. It wasn’t long before my 168 pound baby was getting tired. The dilemma was that he was in the middle of the pond and was too far away to see the hand signal I was giving him to come to me. Because he was deaf, I couldn’t call him.
Onyx started sinking and I was about to dive in when Titan came to the rescue. Titan swam out to Onyx. Once Onyx saw Titan, he followed him in to the bank. Both Great Danes were safe and pooped. I was proud that Titan showed his true colors by swimming into the “deep end” in order to save his friend despite his fear of the deep. Onyx never followed the geese again and never, ever went swimming to the middle of the pond. Titan stands in the shallow area with the water up to his chest, but he keeps an eye on Onyx just to make sure that doesn’t get himself in trouble.
Thank you Titan for coming to the rescue, once again.
May 27, 2008 | | Dog Blog
One year my husband and I gave each other registered Shetland Sheepdogs. The girls were litter mates and all most identical. When we got them they were small enough to fit in the palm of our hands, but it wasn’t long before Duchess Lanae Dakota and Chloe Blaze were big enough to go down the steps of our house to take care of business.
There was so much business to take care of, they had to guard the house, make sure that nothing was out of place, that the cats and kittens were not being too mischievous and most importantly that the geese and chickens were in their pen. The last of these duties
was their favorite. As you know, Shelties are herding dogs and as such just love to be in charge. When we would let the geese out of the pen to swim in the pond, the girls would herd them to the pond and ensure that they stayed in the water. There was an island in the middle of the pond with a bridge. Chloe would cross the bridge and man the island while Duchess would run around on the outside to hustle the runaway geese back into the water. You never heard such a ruckus as all the barking, honking and hissing that went on. The girls loved it and the geese tolerated it. When the swimming was over Duchess and Chloe, with a little help from us, would herd the geese back to the pen.
Also in the pen were our chickens. Duchess and Chloe would go with me every day to collect the eggs. They were my rear guard should the geese mount and rear offensive. The hens had unusual nests to lay in. When I would cross an old toilet that was no longer being used and still in good shape, I would abscond with it, stuff hay in it and eureka, a perfect nest for laying eggs. All the toilets were lined up in a row under a roof so rain wasn’t a problem, snakes never were a problem, and Duchess and Chloe couldn’t get the eggs out of the toilets. It was a perfect solution to many possible problems.
Duchess and Chloe took their duties very seriously and were on call 24 hours a day. One morning it became obvious that something was amiss when a pile of feathers was in the front yard. Apparently something had gotten one of the chickens and eaten everything but a few of the feathers. Duchess and Chloe had let us down and were no where to be found. At first I was worried that in their eagerness to defend their territory they were lured away by coyotes or some other animal, but after walking the regular path to the chicken pen I found the girls licking their chops and finishing up what was left of the chicken. The veterinarian and all books I’ve read said DO NOT GIVE DOGS CHICKEN BONES. What about a whole chicken? Obviously Duchess and Chloe were not aware that they had done a bad thing, because they didn’t try to hide the fact that they did it. Now a big problem existed. They found out they liked fowl and anything outside of the pen was fair game.
Let’s see, we started out with about 20 chickens and ended with about 10. It didn’t take Duchess and Chloe long to wipe out fifty percent of my stock. The geese could fend for themselves so they were in no danger, but something had to be done about the chickens. Since chickens can’t guard your house nor sit on your lap to snuggle the chickens were sold and the girls stayed. The geese gave Duchess and Chloe enough exercise and distraction from their daily ordinary duties and kept them happy.
Who would have thought that the Duchess and her sister would go to the birds.
May 22, 2008 | | Dog Blog
I inherited Krieger when a close family member passed away. Krieger is a solid black registered German Shepard. Absolutely beautiful and highly intelligent. Most people think he is a wolf. The vet said that he is the biggest Shepard that he has ever seen.
We helped him through the grieving process by spending as much time as possible with him. You might say that we grieved together. I have a large picture of his former owner (my son) and, he would sit and look at the picture. It was very sad, but then I also would sit and look at the picture too. I don’t know that dogs, like people, every truly get over losing someone precious to them. We just make more room in our hearts and lives for more special people.
Several months passed and Krieger seemed to adjust quite well. He got along well with my two Shelties and two Great Danes. They were not strangers. He had come over and played with them on numerous occasions. Now he was a permanent fixture.
Krieger loves to fetch. Sometimes he will let you have the stick, rope or toy, but other times he will bring it back and not let go. He wants to play tug-of-war. This is where mowing the lawn came in. He had so many “sticks” in the backyard that it made it difficult to mow the lawn. I had to go out and pick everything up and when I would he thought I was ready to play so I decided to beat him at his own game.
The game? It’s called pick up your own “sticks” in the backyard. I would get on the riding lawnmower and when I would come to a stick, toy or rope, I would whistle for Krieger, point to the fetch toy and tell him to “get your stick” or “get your rope.” Krieger would pick it up and run away with it and I would mow the area where the toy had been. When I would come upon another item that needed picking up I would whistle for him again and tell him to pick up his stick. Gladly he would continue to pick up his fetch toys and run away with them.
This system works great for me, he thinks I’m playing with him, he doesn’t get close to the lawnmower (I don’t want him hurt) and the job gets done in a flash. Krieger is the biggest help I have when I mow the lawn.
Who would have thought.
May 13, 2008 | | Dog Blog
Autumn is a wonderful time of year. The air has just enough of a chill in it to erase the hot days of summer and invigorate me into taking walks in the woods. I love to walk in the woods and see what I can find, whether it is a new plant that I have never seen before or a wild animal. We have plenty of those around: coyotes, armadillos, deer, alligators, snakes, turkeys and all other run of the mill wildlife. The leaves are falling and crunch as I walk stepping over limbs that have fallen during the summer storms.
This particular day my husband and I were walking with Titan and Onyx, our two Great Danes. We were having a great time until something moved in a large brier patch. It was too thick to see what it was, but it was large. Titan immediately showed his bravery by jumping into the patch to find out what it was. Onyx, not knowing better, followed Titan. We caught a glimpse of a pretty large buck. We also caught a glimpse of our dogs chasing the buck and then they were gone.
We called and called for Titan to come back. There was no use calling Onyx because he is deaf. I was beside myself when they did not come back. We waited for a while and then returned to our home on the other side of the property. I got in my truck and went looking for them along all the roads that I thought they might possibly come out. No dogs! My husband consoled me by saying that they would find their way home.
I didn’t feed Titan or Onyx that night; no need to because they weren’t home. The next day I went out looking for them on foot through the woods. I covered all of our property and went next door to search on the hundred acres where a hunting camp was located. I followed the four wheeler paths and finally ran into some of the hunters. They were highly upset that I was contaminating their area and ruining their hunting. I told them about the two dogs and requested that they let me know if they saw them. I implored that they please look carefully through their sights before shooting. I didn’t want my dogs shot. I went home quite sad. Late that evening Titan showed up at the house. It was a happy reunion and he had no wounds on him, thank goodness. The second day passed. No Onyx.
Well into the third day I received a telephone call from a woman asking me if I had a Great Dane named Onyx. I cried and told her yes. She gave me directions to her house about fifteen minutes from my house. When we got there she told us her story. Apparently she saw Onyx for the first time the third day he was lost. Titan and Onyx must have gotten separated on the second day. The lady told us she looked out her kitchen window at the pasture behind her house where she had cows. She saw what looked to be a large white calf. Someone’s calf must have gotten loose and into her pasture. She went outside to get a closer look and realized it was a dog, a very big dog. Not knowing whether she should approach or if she was in danger she stood there. Onyx approached her and gratefully made a new friend immediately. He was just happy to find a human. The nice lady fed and watered him, took the number off of his rabies tag and called the SPCA to find out who the dog belonged to. That was how she got my telephone number.
My husband and I drove to her house in a flash and we walked with her to the barn. Onyx was in a cozy, warm horse stall. It was the perfect size for him and she had him bedded down on hay. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to be reunited with Onyx and I can’t tell you how much it meant to him, but he bowled me over when he saw me. The good Lord was watching over Onyx because there were a hundred things that could have gone wrong out in the wild with his impairment.
We brought Onyx home and reunited him with Titan. What a glorious reunion that was. It was like Titan realized he had left his charge and once he was reunited with Onyx they would never part - and they never did.
May 12, 2008 | | Dog Blog
My Mom always loved animals, but her favorite dog breed was beagles. She loved the way they would bay while running through the woods after some unseen prey. One year I gave her a beagle puppy for her birthday. The family hadn’t had any beagles in a long time and I just felt it was time for another addition to the family; besides Mom wasn’t well and she needed something to brighten her day.
This dog was incredible. He showed intelligence right from the start. We always fed our 
dogs scraps from the table and they loved it. This pup was no different. One morning right after I gave her the pup, Mom gave him a biscuit. He promptly took it and padded to the living room. He didn’t eat it right away like a normal dog would so Mom followed him to see what he was doing. That scamp took the biscuit to the corner of the room, behind a chair, and nudged it squarely in the corner with his nose. Then he came back for more. Why would he do that? It wasn’t like he was a squirrel putting away nuts for the winter.
Mom gave him another biscuit and BINGO he did the same thing except he took it to another hiding place and wedged it between two pieces of furniture. It was hilarious to hear Mom tell the story. Of course later Mom would retrieve the biscuits so that ants wouldn’t gather or any other beasties. I don’t know that the pup ever returned for the biscuits, but that’s how he got his name: BISCUIT.
Biscuit was constantly entertaining the family. If you walked through the door and shut it, but didn’t let the latch catch, Biscuit would push the door open with his nose, then would promptly turn around, stand on his hind legs, put his two front paws on the door and close it. This was the first pet we ever had that had enough manners to close the door behind him, after all he wasn’t “raised in a barn.”
My Mom fell very ill and she couldn’t take care of Biscuit any longer, so I found a home for him. A young boy needed a friend and I gave him one. They were great for each other.
The thing about Biscuit is that he made Mom laugh and love him despite her illness. A smile on Mom’s face was all that mattered and Biscuit brought many of those to her and us all.
Who would have thought that we would be finding little caches that Biscuit had stowed away for a rainy day months after he was in his new home.
May 08, 2008 | | Dog Blog
As I have mentioned in my previous blog below, we live on ten acres of land. I didn’t keep Titan and Onyx (both Great Danes, Onyx is deaf) in a pen, they were free to roam. The property next door consisted of several hundred acres and was used as a hunting camp. Naturally there were four wheeler paths throughout.
On this particular day, in the heat of the summer, Titan and Onyx were plowing through the woods next door and having a great time. No hunters were around, because it wasn’t hunting season. Good, no hindrances, but then something happened. I could hear Titan barking up a blue streak. Onyx was not barking and I knew that that was not as it should be. I immediately called my husband from inside the house and told him something was wrong. You can tell by the bark of your dog when it is a happy bark or one signaling something else. This was something else.
I didn’t wait for Michael to come out of the house, I had to get there fast. I climbed through the barbed wire fence and headed in the direction of the barking. The thick woods made the trekking difficult, but one or both of my “babies” were in trouble. I finally came upon Titan who was standing all alone and barking. When he saw me, he stopped barking and starting whining and then took off. I followed him. We did not have to go far because Titan had kept himself within eyesight of Onyx.
Once I saw the situation, I yelled for Michael to come faster. Onyx had run across a four wheeler bridge and apparently found a rotten place in the bridge. He fell through, half-way. He was wedged half-way on top and half-way on bottom. Thankfully his head and front legs were on top, and his chest was what held him in the bridge.
Michael got there, we assessed the situation and decided both of us could not pull him out. The bridge was over a huge ditch filled with water (and snakes) and the bridge had seen much better days. We decided that I would hold onto Michael’s belt from behind so he wouldn’t fall into either the ditch or the bridge. He would try to pull Onyx out. Onyx was still a puppy, but Danes are puppies until they are 2-3 years old. Onyx weighed approximately 100 pounds at the time. As Michael pulled, Onyx pushed with his front paws. Titan was frantic on the side of me and seemed to want to help. After much huffing, puffing, pulling and pushing, Onyx was freed. He now had battle scars to prove he had been through an ordeal. They would heal and he would never, ever go across a bridge in the woods again.
After medicating Onyx’s scraps and wounds, and the adrenaline pumping through our systems had decreased, I began to reflect upon what had happened that day. Titan didn’t want to leave Onyx, but knew he had to get help. Titan also knew that if Onyx couldn’t see him then he would think Titan had left him. Titan went only far enough to where we could hear him barking and Onyx could still see him. When I came upon Titan in the woods, he led me to the problem. It reminded me of Lassie coming to get Little Timmy because someone or something was in trouble and needed help right away. That’s just what Titan did.
Titan did a Lassie thing by getting help to Onyx who was definitely in need. I was so proud of Titan for loving Onyx enough to take care of him. Dogs are smart. Titan was smart.
Who would have thought that Titan would do a Lassie thing.
May 06, 2008 | | Dog Blog
I guess by now, you know that my favorite breed is Great Dane. You also know from my previous entry that I have a Dane named Titan. When Titan was six months old, an acquaintance that I worked with (who raises Danes in New Jersey) contacted me to tell me her female had whelped twelve pups. I was so excited for her and she e-mailed me pictures. I enjoyed hearing how her and her husband had to ensure that all the pups got enough nourishment since it was such a large litter and to see the pictures as they grew from tiny (well not quite so tiny) pups to wobbling around and then romping.
There were three almost completely white pups in the litter and one was deaf. I was asked if I would like to have the deaf puppy. Was there any thinking about this to make the decision? YES!!!! I wanted the puppy. I all ready had a six month Dane who could be the ears for the one who was deaf. It was an ideal situation. All we had to do was to figure out the logistics of getting him from New Jersey to Louisiana.
It was the end of November and sending him via air was impossible due to the cold. We couldn’t meet halfway because traveling by automobile was also out of the question - time constraints and work. We put on our thinking caps. Another week passed and we came up with an idea. We both worked for the same company, Onyx Environmental Services. Onyx has 18-wheelers that make trips from New Jersey to Texas. Would it be possible to put that puppy on an 18-wheeler that was all ready coming south? We talked to one of the managers at the New Jersey facility to see if we could approach one of the drivers with a proposition. Approval granted.
The puppy’s owner talked to a driver and asked if he would let the puppy ride in the cab with him. Would he also take care of the puppy’s needs during the trip (i.e. feed, bathroom, water, etc…)? We would of course pay him for his trouble. We found our man!!! He said that he all ready had a Dachshund sidekick riding in his cab, so he was used to stopping for pup essentials. HURRAY!!!
On December 13th the truck left New Jersey and made its way to Louisiana. When the driver got close to our rendezvous point he would call me so I could make the short trip to pay him and pick up my new pup. He called on December 15th (my birthday) and my husband and I went to adopt my new child. The driver said that he almost had the pup trained to be an 18-wheeler dog. His Dachshund and my Dane played most of the way. I could just imagine that small dog playing with my eight week old, 25 pound Dane.
When he handed me the puppy, I immediately fell in love with him. What a great birthday present. He was almost solid white, as far as his hair was concerned, with the exception of four or five large black spots, but he had hundreds of black spots on his skin under the hair. He had sky blue eyes that were absolutely beautiful; they reminded me of a Husky’s eyes.
I normally wait to see what kind of personality a puppy will have before I name him, but because Onyx Environmental Services was instrumental in getting him to me, I named him Onyx. He was my white Onyx.
We brought the Onyx home and introduced him to Titan right away. Titan, of course, also took him right away. I think he could sense that Onyx was a “special” puppy. They ate, slept and played together. I would get in that play and train because I knew that this special pup would need to learn some important hand signals since he was deaf. He was very smart and learned a number of them, “stop,” “down,” “sit,” “come,” etc…. Of course the trick to learning these hand commands was that I had to ensure he was looking at me when I did them or he would never know I was talking to him. Titan helped because he also knew the signals. If Onyx would see Titan doing something, he would also.Onyx grew and grew and finally became bigger than Titan, but Titan was always the leader. Onyx was also a”leaner” like Titan (it’s the breed) and he thought he was still a lap dog even when he weighed 168 pounds. If he decided to sit him rump in my lap, there was no getting up. He loves to be touched, rubbed and have his ears scratched. He moans with simple delight when his ears are rubbed.
Most people would find it difficult to raise a handicapped dog and especially one as big as a Dane. I find it to be special and rewarding, and I would do it all over again given the opportunity.
My white Onyx is a real gem. (More to come on the Adventures of Titan and Onyx.)
May 05, 2008 | | Dog Blog
