Nothing but insults. You're obviously unhappy. Sorry. Maybe you're part of the reason.

Gaslighting. A standard abuser response.

I don't need to waste any more time with you, it's been more than enough. You can continue to anonymously try to pump up your self esteem all you want. Very sad, not my problem.

@Ninapearl- you obviously have the touch! I have a few pounds I'd like to shed; could I come stay with you for a while, lol?

There should be a wellness check on your wife and children.

@Olychick we'd love to have you visit!!

Interupting the flow here to introduce Zeus, my DD’s Great Dane puppy.

this is on the meet and greet day. He is home with them now.

Nina, I wanted to message you but your feature us not turned on.

@eld6161 squeeeee!!!!! i've been waiting for a photo of this baby, he's adorable! hope the aftercare of his crop will go smoothly. will he be shown?

i'll see if i have to change something in my settings here to allow messages! going there right now...

ok, i changed my settings, i will send you a message and see if you can respond!

Eld I had to go across the house to fetch my reading glasses. Thought it was one of your hidden picture games. With glasses on it still took me a couple seconds to realize I had the head orientation wrong. And THEN I found the eyes! I had been looking higher. 🙂

Camera facing pictures of black dogs can be tricky!

@eld6161 i changed the settings that i hope will enable private messages but i can't seem to find how to actually START one. please send me a message when you get a chance and i will try replying to you. this is strange since i've received messages from others in the past.

i am beyond technically challenenged!! 🙄

Eld! What a big beautiful baby!

Click on someones name. Click on ”activity”. You should see message on the right over their activity. Yours is showing up.

thanks, sherry. i found it and tried twice, this is all i get...

soooo frustrating!

Gotta love that classic 'you made me do it' attitude!

And this reminded me our across-the-street neighbors @ our soon-to-be former house have a beautiful grey Great Dane - she's a big bouncy baby 😊

It switches me to Houzz and will not let me log in???

Ninapearl - Thats the same error I kept getting trying to write to Petalique the other day.

@Sherry i haven't been able to log in with my username for months. i've been using the "log in with google" option.

FOAS, were you ever able to pm Petal?

Did you try replacing 'houzz' with 'gardenweb' in the URL and reloading?

That usually works for me, in fact, I had to do that just now.

No, Nina, never got through.

i haven't tried that, carolb. i'll try it the next time i have to log in. thanks for the suggestion!

Yes.

I was having major log in problems for a week or so too. I filled my time elsewhere, but they spontaneously resolved, so now I am back.

It is always goofy around here. 🤷‍♀️

Nina I just left a message for you.

Yay puppies!!!! Gosh is there anything better?!

I always think I want one more. My 2 are getting up there in age. However, sadly, so am I. I honestly don't know if I have the stamina to raise a puppy well. Sigh. So I live through others....

Love photos of dogs and babies. They bring joy.

At first I couldn't work out why the puppy had horns stuck to its head. Now I understand. I am not a dog owner or even a dog lover but I do think it's sad to see ear cropping. It's illegal here and considered a cruel practice. I'm surprised passionate dog lovers allow it to be done to their pets. Is there a rational that justifies it other than fashion? Tail docking is also against the law here.

Ear Cropping in Dogs | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk https://share.google/FpWsUUNsnW7HavE4z

It seems like hours ago, but I want to say YAY to Ninapearl and Pip for their continued success in getting back in shape. I love all the positive responses you and she have received.

Eld, your Grand Great Dane pup is so very cute!! I wish you all many years of good health and fun with this little guy. Zeus is a real beauty. Did I spell it right?

@eld6161 got it and sent a reply! i also included my email address just in case pm's stop working.

@Ally De i haven't raised a puppy in decades. all of my danes as well as my corgis came from either rescues or show homes and were all adults. pip was 11 months old, she's the youngest dane i've ever had and believe me, i questioned my sanity because she was still ALL puppy! she was well trained with a wonderful temperament so it was i who needed to learn the ins and outs of a young, silly, giant dog.

add that to what is jokingly but by all accounts, relevant, is what's referred to as "brindle brain". i don't know if it's honestly correlated with a dog's particular color but i know many dane folks will tell you that harlequins are goofy, blues are pensive even as puppies, brindles are perpetual toddlers that would rather get into mischief than eat. 😂

gender is another thing i have found to be fascinating. i've had 4 male danes, 8 females. all of them were extreme cuddlers but the boys, by far, exhibited traits that made me wonder if their brains were fully functional. it isn't that they weren't smart, they were just lazy lugs that found it easier to go through life with as little effort as possible. it was a rather endearing trait.

all of my females, whether retired show dogs or rescues, were smart as a whip with acute problem solving abilities. pippin quickly figured out that when i left the house and she had to stay behind, she would (still does) find a piece of my clothing hanging on a door knob or in a pile of laundry and she will take it to her bed to cuddle until i return. when they've been left at home, she oftentimes will greet me at the gate upon my return with one of my "chore" sneakers. frank, on the other hand, knowing that jumping ON me in a big no no, will stand 3 feet away from me and just bounce bounce bounce with that "I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH grin on his face. 💖

@floral it's a very hot topic among many people. most show breeders will crop puppies that they deem possess the qualities of a future show dog while leaving their "pet quality" puppies with natural ears. i won't fault anyone who chooses to crop even a pet quality puppy as long as they are dedicated enough to go through with many, many weeks (sometimes months) of posting/taping the pup's ears to ensure the cartilege hardens properly. there's nothing worse than a "crop flop". this is destiny, one of my past rescues. the vet did a beautiful job on her crop but her previous owners failed miserably with the follow up care.

as for the cruelty aspect, cropping is done under general anesthesia and more often than not, the puppy bounces back in no time. of course, as with any surgery, it's necessary to keep them quiet and not let them get rambunctious for a week or 10 days but most times, owners find it challenging to do so because the puppy just wants to play play play.

it's rare to see a natural-eared dane compete in the show ring in the u.s. and even more rare to see them placed by a judge.

i often wonder if ears have any bearing on a judge's decision. while it would not be proper for them to take that particular thing into consideration, i wouldn't be surprised to know it's what happens at least sometimes. ears have nothing to do with a dog's conformation other than they must be proportionate to the head. so i don't feel they should be considered in relation to cropped/natural 🤷🏼‍♀️. i would imagine that as controversial as cropping and tail docking are, some day both will be banned here as it is in most other countries.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK had the courage to ask you, Nina, the question I had too. That is, what you think about ear cropping and tail docking. My understanding is that the practice is banned for all dogs in Canada so I wasn’t surprised to read that it’s also banned in UK. I did understand it’s become a controversial subject here in US & I thought more show breeders were opting out. Since the valid reasons for ear cropping are no longer valid, I’m surprised the traditional look hasn’t fallen out of favor faster in US too. The dogs left with their natural drop ears and longer tails have a very different ”look” about them. IMHO, it might help remove the fear factor that’s often attached to some of the dogs who have cropped ears. - Dobermans, Bull dogs of various types, Boxers to name a few of the more well known. Dogs with drop ears seem to have a softer& more docile look about them. I do realize cropped ears have no bearing on the breed’s usual personality. I’m only referring to the fear of larger & strong dogs for some who aren’t familiar with dogs in general. To address floral’s question about the reason for ear cropping in the first place - here’s part of what AI says

“While historically intended to prevent ear infections or injuries in working/fighting dogs,…”

The only reason I see is when you had to dock a previous dane's tail for "happy tail". He wagged it so hard it bled everywhere.

When we adopted our current Min Pin mix, I made SURE they were not cropping ears or tail.

I adopted senior cats that had already been declawed. I did not know really what that was. I had not done that to mine and never will.

It should be outlawed, but will not.

Nina, i did not get your message.

eld6161 why am i not surprised! i will see if another one of our regulars here can pm you my email address. if that doesn't work, i guess we'll just have to start our own dane puppy thread.

@KW i totally agree with everything you said. natural ears definitely make a dog look more approachable even if it does weigh 200#. that being said and while i wouldn't crop a dane puppy myself because i wouldn't want to deal with the aftercare, i do like the look of a well done crop. it's an individual choice and i have zero problems with those who chose to go that route.

i am seeing a lot of rottie owners choose not to dock tails. i'm not sure the reason but i'm seeing it more and more.

@Sherry yes, that was samson. he came to me with happy tail. i tried for weeks to get it to heal but nothing worked. it got so bad, the tissue began to get necrotic and that's when i gave up. he healed quickly and felt SO much better. i know it had to be terribly painful for him. this is how happy tail plays out more often than not with danes. i've seen numerous people post about it on my dane facebook pages and they almost always end up going with amputation.

i chose to take the tail down to a nub. leaving more than that often leads to the same thing happening and a second surgery becomes necessary.

when samson wagged his nub, his whole back end wiggled.

as for declawing cats, i don't think i've ever seen a more barbaric practice done intentionally. i agree, it should absolutely be outlawed! not only is it an unnecessary surgery, it carries lifelong repercussions for the animal. just a horrible, horrible thing!

Basicly, declawed for cats means the same thing as cutting off the first two joints of your fingers and toes.

Nina, I had my 15-year-old Maine Coon cat in for a wellness check, and there was this enormous jet black Dane standing with her owner who was paying. What a huge and gentle dog. I think she said she weighs 150 pounds.

Declawing is indeed barbaric, and I have two out of my three with them declawed. Both were done by their first owners.

Basicly, declawed for cats means the same thing as cutting off the first two joints of your fingers and toes.

i worked a few weeks many years ago for the vet i used back then. my intention was to just to answer phones and make appointments which is what i was hired for and it was never going to be anything more than a temporary gig. after the first couple of weeks, the vet wanted me to occasionally assist him during surgeries. spays, neuters, entropion surgeries were ok, i'm not one to faint at the sight of blood. one day he asked me to assist with a declaw surgery. had i known what that entailed, i would have refused and that probably would have been the end of my pretend vet tech experience. i ended up in tears and told him never again. that day weighed heavily on me and as much as i enjoyed helping with animal exams and interacting with animals/owners, i quit very soon after.

@lily i used to enjoy taking my danes into pet stores and farm supply stores just because most people never get the chance to interact with the breed. all of my danes loved the attention and it was fun answering questions, even the silly ones like, do you have a saddle for that thing? i stopped doing it a few years ago just because of the liability issue. people these days are so sue-happy, and i decided it wasn't worth taking a chance. whenever people asked to pet the dogs, there were rules...no getting face to face with them, no hands over their heads, no squealing, NO HUGGING, no you may NOT kiss the dog. most people were happy to follow the rules but there were a few here and there that pushed me to the limit. i do still take them to one out of the way farm supply store where there are usually very few people around.

my first dane weighed 150# so if you'd never been up close to one, i know how amazing it felt to you. actually, i had never been close to a dane until the day i got her, i just had wanted one from the time i was a little girl. when i got home with her and sat down on the couch, she sauntered over and sat down right next to me. i looked down at the size of her feet and asked myself "WHAT were you THINKING???" too late, i was already in love!

This girl was so sweet that I totally forgot the first thing I always ask...Can I pet her? I just went up to her massive head and started petting and telling her how beautiful she was. I think she knows it. Gentle giant.

Re: declawing. Even worse. Bernie's owner had him declawed on all four paws, neutered, and then dumped him outside to fend for himself. Many states have banned the practice. I've had 18 cats and never thought about declawing, and just odd that these two I have now are my first.

Nina, I sent you an email.

got it and just sent you a reply!

I just went up to her massive head and started petting

i would be pretty confident in thinking that this girl's owner is very used to reactions like yours and most likely knows her dog welcomes strangers giving attention just fine. i know very well how a 150# dog can inspire a lot of ooooos and aaahhhhs!

i have different vets for different things. i have my regular vet, a chiro vet, an ortho vet and a wonderful daytime emergency vet. every time i take pippin and frank in, all of the vet techs and many times, the other vets in the practice will pop in to visit us in the exam room. i've been told by many of them that most of the danes they see are very timid and have to be muzzled before they will even think about treating them. of course, just the idea of being in a vet's office is, understandably, a tense time for a lot of dogs. this is where socialization is so important. any time i have aquired a new dane, we occasionally drop in at one of the vet's offices just to say hi to everyone and get a cookie or two or three. i always found that exposing dogs to the sights, sounds and smell of a clinic under non-stressful situations always makes it easier when they have to actually be treated for this or that. since both pippin and frank are sure that the entire world revolves around them, they are excellent patients when those time arise. even things like pulling blood for routine tests are no big deal for them and i'm all about making the vet's and tech's jobs as easy as possible.

Ninepearl, I love that description of the kids when they are out and about.

Good vets are worth their weight in gold, I think. I have been friends with my vet, Lisa, for over 25 years. When I met her, she worked for the practice that is here in my little town. I had Murray then. He was a rescue. He had been tied tightly to a telephone pole and abandoned so he had some issues, especially about being constrained in any way. The exam rooms in this practice were very small. Murray would get anxious when we were called in to wait in one. The vet would come in and take the dog out to the back room to do any work required. One time I saw Murray's chart and I saw it had 3 stars on it. I mentioned to Lisa how nice it was that he had 3 stars. She smiled and said actually that wasn't a good thing. It meant he was difficult when they handled him in the back. We talked and I told her his background. The next time we came in, Lisa came out in the open waiting area and sat on the floor and did her exam right there!! Murray was calm and cooperative and it went very well. So she always did that from that time on. She opened her own practice 16 years ago so of course I followed her there. She was also a horse lover, had had her own when she was younger. So she has cared for Murray, Miss Kitty, Rocket, Speckles, Fred, Carmelita and now Lacey. In fact, I picked up Lacey's flea, tick, heartworm medicine yesterday and I told Dave (her husband) about Lacey's inability to drink normally. She was doing a dental procedure and was unavailable, but she called me last evening and we talked about a possible solution. She was unaware of any issue but then she had only seen Lacey pretty much right after I got her and I didn't know about it then either. I just love her and Dave and their crew. When you have a vet you trust, it means the world.

Good vets are worth their weight in gold

can i get an AMEN!!?!! i have found this to be particularly challenging since i got myself into giant dogs. few vets around these parts are all that familiar with the specific needs that danes and other giant breeds need attention to. one of those things at the top of the list is general anesthesia protocols. my current vet that i use for things like routine blood work and wellness exams often asks my take on things and is more than willing to listen to me and better yet, oftentimes takes my opinions to heart.

when it was time for pippin's spay/gastropexy, she came right out and told me that she would prefer i have it done by a vet experienced in giant breeds. that's when i talked to pip's breeder and took her advice to travel to iowa to the vet she uses. my vet was particularly hesitant to go ahead with the pexy procedure because she had very little experience with it and done wrong, there can be serious consequences so, off we went to iowa. we made the same trip when i had frank's neuter/pexy done. i did take them back to my regular vet for post-surgical checkups and to have staples removed. she didn't even charge me to do it!

did you have a separate vet for teddy? back in the day, i had one who made farm calls which was invaluable because we all know, horses ONLY colic or get hurt on holidays, weekends, or at 1 a.m.!! oy!!!

^LOL

Yes, there was a farm vet who would come out as needed but I was blessed that Bobby, the owner of the farm, had been involved in all aspects of horses for over 40 years when I got there. He was an excellent farrier as well. So most anything that came up whether hoof abcess, colic, cuts, really most everything, he was able to take care of for us. We paid for the farrier work. All the horses were barefoot, so mainly trims for us but he had lots of clients for shoeing. He went to a conference every year about the subject and he knew the phisiology down pat. The doctoring was usually just part of their care. Besides we boarders, they would have thoroughbred mares coming to have their babies every spring. They did all of that as well unless there were complications. They trained and broke horses there as well. Like I said, I was blessed to have them.

sounds like you had everything covered very conveniently! someone like your bobby is invaluable. i was pretty much at the mercy of my vet although he never once hesitated to come out. i remember a few very long nights sitting in the barn with a colicky horse. no fun!

i never boarded at a stable although when i lived in town, i rented a lovely 20 acre pasture from a farmer at the edge of town and within walking distance of my house. it was a very bucolic place with lots of big oak trees and a creek that was spring-fed so i never had to worry about water, even during the winter months. i had 3 horses out there and thankfully, they were all easy to catch!

my farrier lived a distance away but he was so good, always on time, did the work while we made small talk and then he was off to the next client. he had thoroughbred race horses that ran at a track near st. louis so he was very knowledgeable when it came to lameness. i would always call him before i called the vet and i don't recall a single time when he wasn't able to find and fix the problem with ease.

there was a shallow pond not far from the pasture. tuffy loved the water and i often rode him there bareback with just a halter/lead rope and let him go in. it was great fun during the hot summer months when riding any distance was uncomfortable for both of us!

lily's post made me think about my little kitty who showed up in our yard half starved and missing lots of fur. I started feeding her, then one day she let me take her in my lap and I discovered she was totally declawed. That's when she came inside and stayed there.

When I first brought her in, after 5 baths to get all the fleas off:

She managed very well with no claws, fortunately, but it hurt my heart to even think about why anyone would do such a thing. I would often give her lots of scratches, since she couldn't effectively do it herself.

And I recall many years prior to that, I was @ our vet's and there was a young Siamese in one of the boarding compartments that had both front paws thickly swaddled in bandages that showed bloodstains, meowing piteously. They told me it was recovering from being declawed, and described what that entailed - horrible, to say the least.

“I would often give her lots of scratches, since she couldn't effectively do it herself.”

Carol, that kind of caring and kindness is so touching.💕

it's bad enough to declaw but to then turn a cat outside where it is defenseless is just unforgivable! she was lucky she picked YOUR house for refuge! 💖

my son's little family of 3 has 3 cats. the first 2 are from the city shelter. cat #3, oscar, showed up as a stray. he was thin and raggedy but friendly. they fed him every day and eventually brought him inside. it took him quite a while to adjust to not being a vagabond but no matter how much he objected, they stuck to their guns and now he happily sleeps on the living room chair or in front of the roaring fireplace.

left to right...luna, orion (who are brother and sister) and oscar. the only way i can tell luna and orion apart is because luna has black freckles on her white paws. other than that, they are identical! luna and my 9 year old grandson are inseparable. she sleeps with him every night and is his shadow during the day.

Ninapearl, one time Bobby was going down to River Downs to do some farrier work on a few thoroughbreds. He asked me to come along. It was great fun. I got to hold the horses while he worked. I lucked out with boarding at Trail M. It's a 100 acre farm with three pastures and two barns and a training bulding. And access to a 300 acre woods was right at the farm and we got to ride all the time. Great times and lifetime friends made. It was an hour drive from my house but it was what I could afford. It turned out to be the best setup anywhere around. It was such a great way to be back with horses and of course Teddy was the best!!!

This was 15 years ago. Me and Teddy on the left, my friend, Bettina and her horse, Crosby on the right. I lost Teddy in 2015. I still get together with Bettina a few times a year. She lives only a few minutes from the farm. Those were some fun days.

great picture! i have always thought teddy was such a handsome guy with beautiful markings. he looks like he was built much like tuffy. riding bareback was like sitting on a big, warm sofa with fur.

I need a "love" button! Tuffy is gorgeous too. There is something about a paint! Teddy had some beautiful markings. I loved pouring over Teddy's APHA pedigree. He had family in common with a few horses that I knew and I loved that. Of course if you go back far enough..........Anyway he was a paint/quarter horse cross. I thought maybe he had some draft in him. He was stocky and that head of his! Tuffy looks very quarter horse to me. Does he have a registration/registered name?

you nailed it! tuffy was out of a quarter horse mare, sired by a paint stud named Hank-a-Chief. tuffy's registered name was Tuffer-n-Hank. i had been on the hunt for a couple of years for a nice APHA gelding and had traveled all of illinois, iowa and missouri. on what would be my last travel day, i stopped at a tack shop a couple of hours from home to pick up a hoof pick. standing at the checkout counter, i was looking around on their bulletin board and found an ad for this gorgeous gelding for sale. a guy standing behind me told me he knew that horse and said he was great on trails, 5 years old, newly gelded. when i saw that the phone number was in MY area code, i couldn't write it down fast enough. i called on my way home and wonder of wonders, this guy lived 40 minutes from me! i got so excited and asked if i could stop by and see him before i went home...

mind you, it was november, darker than the inside of a cow at 4:30 p.m. but i wanted to see this horse NOW. he told me to come on by so i did! got there and he brought tuffy out of the barn and i almost fainted. he was exactly what i had been looking for. thinking he would be asking way above what i was prepared to pay, i tried to calm my excitement. he told me all about him, that he was great on the trails, sweet as the day is long, very affectionate. i asked why he was selling him and he told me that he had used him at stud for some outside mares and was preparing another young stud to take over those duties so he had him gelded and decided to find him a good home. he offered to let me ride him in his pasture, said he would go ahead of me on his 4-wheeler to light the way with his headlights. he put a bridle on him, i jumped on him bareback and off we went. that horse never missed a beat, trotted right out, loped a couple of big circles then walked calmly back to the barn. the guy looked familiar to me and when i asked him where he worked, i said no wonder i thought i knew him from somewhere. he was a deputy sheriff in the county where i worked and i often saw him at the courthouse while filing paperwork for my boss. i was sure that he was being honest about everything he told me about tuffy so i crossed my fingers behind my back and inquired about his asking price. when he said $700, i almost DIED! even all those years ago, a nicely marked, well-broke APHA gelding would easily sell for $2-3K. i bought him on the spot. this was the day before thanksgiving so i waited until friday to hook up the trailer and bring tuffy home. we put a whole lot of miles on over 23 years, he was my bestest friend and when gary got sick and died, i spent a lot of days sobbing into his mane.

i wish i had a nickel for every time on a trail ride, somebody would ask me if i'd sell him. HA! not a chance!! one guy pestered me all weekend once, told me numerous times to just name my price. i finally told him ok, you've beat me down so yeah, i'll take $10,000,000 for him and not a penny less. he left me alone after that. 😂

i spoiled that horse rotten, even got him his own little pet.