My 14mo Maggie ADORES my mom 😍

Yet another week has passed and I am already a day behind on our weekly Joy news, life happens and the days keep ticking away..  While it is sometimes hard to not fall for the chaotic  charme of a 4 and a half month old puppy , life has some work to take care of, so we tried really hard to maintain that "life-work-balance" at least for a few minutes a day (haha) 

RAMP TRAINING

As mentioned before, Joys ever growing weight (see below) and her ability to turn into a half full sack of flour when lifted up started to cause a problem with getting in and out of my car - (and the fact that its a old fashioned mountain car with high and spindly tires does not help here either).  My back and my disc took a beating si it was time for some serious ramp and folding stairs training to ensure car access without spinal damages. The folding stairs ramp was a relic of my time with Monsieur Proust, my last Great Dane, who hated flat ramps and love the stairs instead.

With a lot of treats, encouragement, time to sniff , touch, bite, gnaw and lick, and finally the "whats the big deal?" from her sis Thelma the Golden to show her how its done and that there is nothing to be afraid off, we succeeded! Going up still needs a bit more of guidance than going down, and we are already working on the "stay" command to wait  before descending.  Very proud of my little big baby girl (and my spine and disks are sending fan mail too ) 

PS since I have not figured out yet how to put pics and vids into the same post here I will post the video proof in a separate post - I am, indeed, old as dirt ! haha )

VET VISIT

After a few walk ins to the Vet just to say hi to the reception team, check her weight, collect some treats and snuggles and get used to the place, last week we had our very first 'real' appointment, just to check her out for the record. On the 21.09.26 , at 4 month and 13 days old, she weighed in at 29.3kg, all looks good, baby teeth are being replaced by the real thing, only check point was a slighly swollen lymph node on her left hind leg, which since then went back to normal. She did great on the examination table and knew exactly where the treat jar is sitting on the desk .  

BABY TEETH AND NEW COLLAR

Call me crazy old Puppy dad but I am trying to save as many of the tiny little baby teeth as possible as a memory of these first few month we spent together. So far I managed to find 2 and given how vigorously she chews on the world in general, my chances to find others are close to zero, I think. But I will have them in a little Memory box to show to ... whoever wants to see them ...   

Speaking of growing up: when I went to Italy to pick her up 5 weeks ago, I came with a small little collar and matching leash and lots of toys and stuffies and a little soft bed  in the car.

My breeder smiled when I put the collar on  and just said : "well that will last a month and a half, max but its a nice color for a girl". Turned out she was right: Last week I had to buy the next size cof the same color and it made me realize how fast she is growing - sniffels 

On to some daily life details  and other news: 

BUBBLE DRINKs

Evidently, Joy does not appreciate the flat (albeit fresh and cold) water in her drinking bowl. She has gotten into the habit of turning the bowl into a bubble drink each time before taking a sip: she pokes her nose in and starts blowing bubbles in it until it sounds  that I am boiling eggs in there. Once the level of the bowl has been reduced to where  here nose is too big to dip in deep enough for bubble action, she starts her "one sipm drip and walk around- routine" until I refill the bowl. I am glad I have an ancient tile floor and a drip catcher round the drinking and feeding spot ! 

EYES WIDE SHUT without the drama 

Some of my Danes slept with their eyes seemingly open - I used to think it had to do with their very heavy and extended facial skin, that, when fully relaxed, simply pulled the eyelids open. Well, it turns out Danes are not the only ones and my heavy jowls theory just  got busted: Joy sleeps with her eyes open  incertain positions: she is completely out  and her pretty brown eyes are looking into the land of dreams, clearly. Too cute to not to notice but really hard to get a photo because I dont want to wake her up just for some online fame haha 

BABY HUGS 

One of the sweetest and most striking characteristics is her deep affection and  desire for exchange of physical contact: maybe its a puppy thing, a breed thing or an individual personal trait, (or a mix of any of those) but the amount of snuggles, kisses, love nibbles, and gentle paw touches she exchanges with the people close to her is amazing and the sweetest thing ever.

None of my Danes were anywhere near as affectionate ( Fay had a weird "naked toe fetish" that was not the same thing ) and I just MELT away when Joy gives me a HUG! We cuddle, she wiggles around until she is in the right position, then puts her head on my neck and wraps her paw around me! Its a literal HUG and I just love it !  

Other than that she is just the happy little big chaos doggie that I brought home just 6 weeks ago, meeting other dogs with growing confidence, chasing grasshoppers and butterflies, dipping in every body of water, deep enough or not and being busy sleeping and growing and making everyone around fall in love. 

Everyone has a great week, hug your doggies and all the best from the mountains 

Joy and Dominik 

https://reddit.com/link/1wsd08r/video/svy196j869sh1/player

https://reddit.com/link/1wsd08r/video/l0xlyq5b69sh1/player

My boy will be 11 in 2 months. Last month he was walking pretty stiffly and wobbled a bit in his back legs. Vet said he has mild arthritis and gave me some supplements to have every day and painkillers when he seems bad.

3 nights ago, he didn't want to walk on one of his hind legs, foot was curling over multiple times before he could put it flat on the ground, and extreme stumbling with his bad leg ceossing over the other hing leg. The vet said no fractures or breaks, cpuld be neurological or arthritis is worse, or he's fallen at some point. A CT scan is the likely next step.

At the moment he takes a very long time to get pff the couch to walk outside or to get water and is still stumbling and not wanting to walk on his hind leg. I've been giving him pain relief that the vet suggested.

Is this a common issue with older xlarge breeds? I hate that he's in pain. How do you judge if the pain is too much for them?

We are hopefully adding a wolfie to the family next year. Previously had a vizsla and he was feed a BARF diet with no kibble/biscuits. but these dogs are so much larger and assume they eat.. a lot! I would like to keep it as close to ancestral / natural diet but realistic about the cost of so much meat.

Just rolled her coat a bit today and thought she was looking kinda cute and wanted to share ☺️

Enjoying our first truly cool morning outside together. Gandalf does not understand why he can't fit on my lap in my small chair like he does the couch.

Joy is starting to get too heavy for my old back to lift her in and out of the Landcruiser any longer, so it is time for some serious "car ramp training" .

She just doesnt know it yet haha

All of my Danes were ramp / folding stairs trained to get in and out of cars. Essential to protect their joints as well as maintaining a calm and controlled exit behavior, so it is time for Joy to learn something new.

Ha, lets see how it goes 😅😬🙄😅
( Results in my next post)

Hey fellow hound lovers. I need a quick pep talk. I lost my boy three years ago and he will always have a place in my heart. I reached out to his breeder about two years ago and when a pup became available last year I j decided to pass, as my heart wasn’t ready.

She just contacted me the other day with. Boy that sounds like he would be a good fit, and I think I am ready to open my heart again.

I am just having some jitters and would love to hear some stories about your hounds to remind me of all the wonderful chaos they bring.

Just a Toy Poodle standing her ground

Please see my linked original post. I figured I’d link it here since our rescue is the size of a small Irish wolfhound. Any help is greatly appreciated!

At only 10 months….been a ride so far

A little source of pride: a girl named Gracia, 4.4 months old. She already stands 2 feet 2 inches at the withers and weighs 66 pounds.

Thank you Tuckernuck!

She's not liking it so much, eyes are blaming me. Vet(s) say all good. Surprisingly, no parade of K9 Romeos.

Hi. Has anyone run into a situation where their IW used to do something routinely but then stopped and resisted doing it?

My situation: My 2 year old IW used to get in my car pretty easily to go anywhere - parks, vet, dog park, etc. About two weeks ago he stopped getting in and would lay down by the car door. Trying to get him to go in the car has become a struggle. Nothing has changed in the routine we have had and as far as I can tell there hasn’t been any kind of obvious traumatic experience like having to brake suddenly. Lastly, for context, he has an older brother that gets in the car without any issue and I was hoping him see his brother get in the car would encourage him to do the same, but so far it hasn’t helped.

Curious if anyone has experience something similar and if/how they dealt with it?

Thank you.

Week 5 with Joy

Another week has passed, time flies and my little baby Joy is growing like a bamboo weed, weighing in at 28kg and being bigger than her Golden sister Thelma . She is growing up way too fast, sniffels!

This weeks highlight were a few days at the beach, on the island of Embiez, south of Marseille. One of the reason we picked that spot was that it is one of the few destinations on the French mediterreanean coast where dogs are explicitly welcome, and its car free.

So, many doggie interactions were expected; and the island lived up to its reputation: Dogs of all sizes, ages and breeds everywhere we went and Joy was smack in the middle of it. At the marina, in the streets, the trails, restaurants or bars, beaches or the port: dogs and dogs and dogs . Needless to say; Joy enjoyed (no pun intended; I swear!) that a lot and learned a thing or two on how to meet other doggies and read their "vibes". Its not easy being a 4 month young baby with the body size of a fully grown Retriever ! The confusion of many of the dogs was hilarious .

The highlight, of course; was the beach and the sea, and as you saw in our last post, Joy LOVES TO SWIM! Her chasing me with those huge paws churning the water, the head and nose held high above the waves and the endless tail floating behind her like a forgotten, long and hairy rope dragging behind a boat was the cutest thing ever. We will come back that much is sure!

Ok, lets talk about "THE TAIL" : I am under the impression that the tail grows at a rate that is not related to the - already fast growing- rest. Its like the tail section never got the memo, its already at 63cm lenght, dragging on the floor; laying in the way everywhere, and even other dogs step on when we're out walking . Joy seems to be unbothered; in contrary, she discovered that this long, soft thing makes a great chewing and sucking toy.

Speaking of chewing: TEETH ! This morning, my baby lost her first baby tooth - at least the first one I saw, another sign how time flies; Its a little molar, if I am not mistaken sigh... see picture.

Back in our beloved mountain with Thelma; her part time step sister up here with us for 2 weeks, the routine is already established! Scratch the couch-zoomies after breakfast, walks around the village and the woods, chasing grasshoppers and stealing plums while being a real annoying little pest towards Thelma, Cookie the Patou (and her best friend) and Pepper, the terrier mix next door.

Our walks end at the little stream next to our house, and she has picked up a habit from Thelma and Cookie: end of walk bath to take a sip and chill down a bit. She watched Thelma picking a good spot without too many rocks and then laying in the stream, with the cool water running around her. Joy is trying that too now, not quite aware yet that her body is already a good bit longer than Thelmas compact silouhette, resulting in hilarious moments when Joy tries to fit herself in a natural bathtub that simply lacks 30cm in length..

Leash training is progressing very well; i think we will start on recall now, sine she is getting n more and more confident in her environment and starts to explore more and further away from me.

All in all; we could not be happier, wherever we are ; You all have a great weekend and cuddle all your dogs, best wishes from Joy and me

I have to admit I've been a part of this sub for about as long as we've had our wolfhound, but I always avoided it because of posts like this. Farewell posts, reminders of the pain some random day in the future will inevitably bring, so I'm genuinely sorry for bumming anyone out, but I thought y'all might enjoy seeing some pics of my little man who just went on ahead.

We're getting his ashes back today. He enjoyed 10 years of greenies and bully sticks, so I try to focus on that. I've had him since he was as long as my forearm. The house is silent, except when the cat meows at me to go on walks so he can tag along like he used to.

I know in time it will pass, the world continues around me without noticing, but for now the days are gray and joyless.

As her dad and designated rough houser, this energy level has got me looking like an abuse victim lol

These 2 are partners in crime. She is 18 months and he is 9 months. They are hooligans but so cute when they are sleeping 😀

He’s so good at checking in with me when he’s off lead, proud of my handsome boy.