Today's Date - September 2nd, 2014

Emmett is in full puppy mode and we are in our third version of puppy proofing the house.  The taller he gets, the more inquisitive he becomes about anything he can reach.

 

He's definitely the Jerry Lewis of the canine world and though very naughty at times he makes me laugh non stop.  Opening the refrigerator has turned into an Olympic event and seems to be a very popular game.   

My husband asked me the difference between Euro and American Great Danes and while looking for some side by side pictures to give him a visual I came across this and found it very interesting in a good way.
http://greatdaneservicedog.wordpress.com/great-danes-in-general/

 

Today's Date - September 13th, 2014

Emmett is officially 6 months old today and it's been a very exciting week for him.  He's now a very solid 76 pounds and as tall as I am when he stands on his hind legs to kiss me. 

He's entering that funny phrase of life where the silliest of things either spooks him or he's overly cautious.  The other morning I took him for a walk and he noticed a fire hydrant for the very first time and there I stood smirking as he growled and barked at it for 10 minutes.  He also sniffs and barks at mailboxes that are different, recycle bins, trash cans and anything left near the road for bulk pick-up. 

 

                                    He's growing into an awesome watchdog

 

                                    

                     

and Rosie has been an excellent role model

 

The other day while out in the backyard, Rosie had that playful look in her eye and it's the first time I've seen that look since Emma passed away.  She was looking me dead in the eye and without thinking I said, "Make him run Rosie". 

It was the favorite game of all games between Rosie and Emma.  She would chase Emma all over the yard for 5 minutes at top speed and than they would wrestle.

When Emmett saw Rosie running at him full speed, he tucked his tail and the chase was on.  She caught him, nipped him in his hind quarters and he ended up rolling over and over.  Rosie stood over him wagging her tail as if to say, "Hey Dumbo, it's your turn to chase me now"!

I was pretty excited about it all due to the fact it was the first time that Rosie actually played with him.

 

 

                                             Emmett loves quality play time with his dad

 

 

                                                  I cherish photos of the kidz together

 

 

                                                          Emmett loves to give kisses

20 / 21 weeks, fully vetted and microchipped

Today's Date - August  14th, 2014

Today Emmett fatally injured a baby rat.

Today's Date - August  16th, 2014

Emmett is 20 weeks / 5 months old and weighed in at almost 65 pounds when we went to the Vet yesterday to get his final series of puppy shots and micro-chipped.

 

 

The micro-chip was $38.57 and I like the idea that he also has an ID tag that can be Googled so I can be contacted anytime.  I also like the fact that I can change my contact information as needed without an extra charge or a yearly fee.

He is micro-chipped with Save This Life and his number is 900164000532961

This afternoon after Mark came home from work, Emmett charged across the hallway, into the bedroom and jumped up on our very high king size bed.   He did with no effort and actually seemed pleasantly surprised by being able to do so.

I e-mailed Dr.Jones with Emmett's current weight and I will be giving him 1.2 ml of  IVOMEC for his Demodectic / Puppy Mange.  His coat is a lot healthier looking now and we still have another 2 weeks to go.

Today's Date - August  19th, 2014

I love the picture of Emmett sleeping on top of Mr.Bear.

   

 



         

   He loves to eat carrots!

 

 Today's Date - August  23rd, 2014

Emmett is 5 months and one week / 21 weeks old.  He still weighs 65 pounds and one afternoon while taking a nap I missed another growth spurt.  It's totally amazing to see him grow and change on almost a daily basis. 

 

I took the picture below a week ago and the one underneath it yesterday.  Thought I share what a one week growth spurt looks like through my eyes. Emmett is a good head taller than Rosie now.

 

 

 



 

 

 Today's Date - August  26th, 2014



I've been taking Emmett for short walks to get him more accustomed to being on a leash before I start training him.  People don't seem to realize that he's still very much a puppy even if he looks like a grown up dog. 

I took the picture below to show even though he may look like an adult dog, his testicles are the size of marbles.  It's only recently that they were even visible. 

Everything is so new to him and I enjoy watching his reaction to the silliest things.  He barks at trash cans, mail boxes, bicycles, people looking at him, leaves blowing across the street and anything that moves.

He's going to have an incredibly deep chested bark when he's full grown and I have no doubt an excellent watchdog.  He barks every time he hears a doorbell on TV and any outside noise.

Yesterday, while sitting on the front porch I noticed he is actually taller than me when we sit side by side. He's earned the nickname "Hugging Emmett" because he loves to put his front paws around my neck and hug me.

Anytime I fall down, he lays across my back, puts his paws around my neck and rests his head on my head as if he's waiting to go for a piggy back ride.  The other morning I was down on my knees looking under the bed to see where Rosie was when I heard this loud gallop coming down the hall at top speed and before I could turn around, Emmett jumped onto my back as if I was some sort of diving board and sprung himself up onto the bed.

Breaking my leg the day after bringing him home and being in a cast for 8 weeks definitely put his obedience training on hold and I did what I could.  How I managed to potty train him, not to mention using potty pads is beyond me.

The potty pads helped a lot and I had no problem weaning him off them once I was able to get around better.

Emmett still prefers to sleep in the smaller crate even though his legs hang out the door.  This morning he heard something outside, jumped up barking and smacked his head on top of the crate. 

I guess I need to shut the door so he uses his new crate which is absolutely amazing.  He probably sleep in it more if Rosie would stay out of it.  The only time he is crated is when neither Mark or I are home.

It's been an interesting week watching him try to figure out his height difference as he bumps his head under the kitchen table trying to sleep at my feet as he's always done since the first day we brought him home.

 

Today's Date - August  27th, 2014

 

Last night as I prayed, I asked for guidance in training Emmett.  This morning when I woke up, I took Rosie and Emmett on a short walk together.  I had Rosie in a prong  collar and Emmett in a Gentle Leader.  I know most people really hate the prong collar but when used as a training aid correctly it's a huge help.

 

Rosie is very difficult to walk in a regular collar and has yanked me off my feet more than a couple of times.  My balance has always been an issue since coming down with the Transverse Myelitis and the only way I can walk her without getting hurt is to use the prong.  She has the greatest respect for it and is so much easier to walk.

 

The walk was actually enjoyable and both dogs were well behaved.  Rosie has a melt down anytime I put a leash on Emmett because she feels that she's missing out on some wonderful new experience even if it's only a training walk to the mail box and back.

 

Rosie was so happy to be included and Emmett loved having her along.  I need to walk more to get the strength back in my legs and I'll be able to go on more walks if I walk them together.

 

I thought I share a few things I've learned this past week with Emmett.

 

1)  I can not leave any clothes, towels, bath robes, shoes or personal items out, left on tables, counters, beds or any sort of furniture.  If it's within Emmett's reach he will take it.  Last night he and I went head to head over him repeatedly taking the kitchen and bathroom towels not to mention my bathrobe.  Once he gets it, he zooms around me at top speed to show me how much faster he is.

 

Note: I thought it was a bit too quiet and found Emmett on the bed, surrounded by all the clothes that had been in the laundry basket.

 

2)  He puts a whole new spin on being a food hound!  Last night Mark had some Little Debbie, oatmeal cookies and Emmett was so obnoxious about it that I had to crate him.  Little wrappers need to be thrown out and all food put away as quickly as possible. 

 

I like to mention that anytime we open the refrigerator, Emmett comes galloping in as fast as he can and sticks his entire head in to get an up close and very personal view of the insides.  I also need to throw out all trash before going to bed.

 

                                                He finally looks like a Great Dane!



17, 18 & 19 weeks old, 57 pounds, 25 inches tall, Meloxicam

Today's Date - July 26th, 2014

Emmet is 17 weeks old and weighed in at 51 pounds.

 

Today's Date - July 31st, 2014

Today, Emmett met his Gramma for the first time it also was his very first long ride in the car. 

 

 

 

After our visit as we were getting ready to leave a resident and her visitor walked over and petted Emmett as he was laying down in the back of our station wagon.  He was so good with everyone.

 

On the way back we picked up his anti-inflammatory and pain killer from Walgreens.  He will be taking this until it no longer works or he's finished growing and has had his surgery.

 

It's the liquid form of MELOXICAM and he gets 1.6 ml every morning.  He also gets 1 ml a day of IVOMEC for the Demodectic / Puppy Mange every night.  I mix both liquids in a little bowl of Ice Cream.  His coat is finally starting to look healthy.

 

 

 

Today's Date - August 2nd, 2014

Emmett is 18 weeks - 4 1/2 months old and weighed in at 57 pounds.  He's 23 inches at his shoulders.  According to the Great Dane charts for 4 month old puppies they average anywhere from 50 - 65 pounds and stand 21 - 25 inches tall.  He still has 2 more weeks of being a 4 month old and I wonder what he'll weigh by then.

 

I tried to do a selfie but he wouldn't stand still.

 

Today's Date - August  5th, 2014

Yesterday, I started to teach Emmett how to catch hot dog pieces and he managed to catch a couple.  I can see it's not going to take him very long, anything food related has his total devotion and attention.

 

Last week I drove out to the Tractor and Supply in Athens to pick up some dry food for Emmett and Rosie.  There were aisles of dog and cat food, not to mention a huge selection of bowls, toys, collars and leashes.  Their prices were way better then PetSmart and Harvest Mills.  I saw so many different things I would love for Emmett to have someday. 

 

The week before I had done a lot of research on dry dog food, spent hours reading 100's of posts on the Great Dane Lovers, Facebook page and finally made an educated choice.

 

The Diamond Naturals is wonderful and highly recommended from many people on several of the Great Dane Sites.  4 Health was mentioned over and over again and is what I now feed Rosie and will eventually be feeding Emmett once he's full grown and done growing.

 

 

Today's Date - August  9th, 2014

Emmett is 19 weeks old and still weighs 57 pounds but he's 25 inches tall at his shoulders.  Last night I let him outside to do his last potty about 10:45 PM and he charged the fence barking.  I didn't see anything over in Ed's yard but it was very dark outside with the clouds hiding the moon.

 

He carried on for several minutes and the next thing I know he has the dogs on the street behind us barking too.  He's an incredible watchdog considering he's not even 5 months old yet.

 

I want to thank God for prayers answered for Emmett's grown-up crate.  He had grown out of the two we had and it just didn't make sense to get the next size up knowing he outgrow it within a couple of months if not sooner.

 

UPS dropped the crate off late in the afternoon and the box was huge and very heavy. 

 

Emmett was no longer able to stand or sit in the smaller crate.

 

He has plenty of room to stretch out in his new crate and I am so GRATEFUL!

 

 

He no longer fits under the kitchen table and keeps bumping his head.  His legs are so long now and he can actually stand over Rosie.

 

 

 

He's finally looking like a Great Dane, he looked like a Labrador Retriever pup for the longest time.

 



 





 

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

4 months old - 47 pounds / Severe Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy

Today's Date - July 17th, 2014

 

Had an 8:15 AM appointment at Trusty Vet for Emmett's 3rd series of puppy shots then an 11:15 AM appointment with Dr.Jones at Animal Hospital of North Alabama for x-rays of Emmett's right front paw. 

 

I had always felt that Sadie, Emmett's mother stepped on him when he was very young and that his leg healed crooked.  Looking back at some of the first photos that I had taken of Emmett his right leg looked larger.  Not knowing the growth patterns of a Great Dane, I just thought his right leg grew larger first and that his left leg would catch up.  The picture below was taken when Emmett was 5 weeks old.

 

 

 

I noticed it started to look like he was bow legged at 6 weeks old.  He walked okay, I didn't notice any limping or that anything wasn't normal.

 

 

 

This is the first picture that I had taken that I noticed his leg was different.

 

 

Each growth spurt his leg looked more bowed.

 



 

Once he started to gain weight and looked like a small adult dog, even though he was still a young puppy, he started to favor the leg and as he grew his gait changed and limping became part of his normal stride.

 

 

 

 

Dr.Jones brought us into his office to show us Emmett's x-rays and I about cried.  The x-rays were scary looking to say the least.

 

Below in blue is what I later posted on Facebook.

 

"Just received an e-mail from our Vet and Emmett has,

 

severe hypertrophic osteodystrophy

 

I about cried when I saw how bad his leg looked in the x-ray. We will be seeing the Vet next week to see if anything can be done to help with any pain he has. He gets around alright with a noticeable limp and I want to know everything there is to know to help him as he gets larger and heavier. He's a sweet boy and to him all of this is normal. Very, very sad but then again who would understand him better than me. We can both be slow and awkward together."

 

Dr.Jones said for his leg to be this bad that both his parents had a recessive gene and that it was genetic.  That he  should never be bred but we weren't going to mate him anyway.  I asked him questions about breeding because one of the Great Dane books I have said Mantles & Merle's should never be bred together.

 

He himself was a breeder at one time of high quality Labrador puppies and he answered my many questions.

 

He commented that none of Emmett's littermates should ever be bred and that if the breeder was ever going to mate the mother again, what ever male she was considering should be tested.

 

All the puppies from his litter carry the inherited recessive gene and their puppies could have health issues.

 

The mother and father looked healthy and fine to me but I know nothing about genetics.  I had no idea how involved Great Dane breeding was or I guess any breeding for that matter.

 

It never occurred to me that you couldn't breed two healthy, beautiful dogs and not get beautiful, healthy puppies.  The other puppies in his litter looked fine, though he was a good 5 - 7 pounds smaller than the others.  The reason we brought him home at 5 1/2 weeks old was by the time he worked his way towards the feeding pan, all the food was gone.

 

He was so much smaller than the other puppies and there was one that was even smaller than him.

 

 

 

When we first brought him home the top of his head was all scaly with scabs.  We were told it was from the other puppies playing too rough with him.  I noticed it never healed and Dr.Jones suspected Demodectic Mange, did a skin scrap test and he was right.  He actually let me look through a microscope and I could see the actual mites crawling all over the slide.

 

Below in blue is what I later posted on Facebook,

 

Emmett is going through a growth spurt and weighed in at 47 pounds at 4 months of age. The medication for the Demodectic / Puppy Mange looks like it's starting to work. Our Vet said even when his coat starts to look better we need to keep giving him the medication for 6 weeks. I'm about to give him a medicated bath. I guess he'll be presentable by the time he gets his final puppy shots. Apparently it's something puppies get from their mother so I don't have to worry about Rosie catching it. I can't wait to introduce him to my family, friends and neighbors. He's got an incredible personality and keeps me laughing all the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's Date - July 19th, 2014

 

Emmett is 16 weeks old / 4 months and weighed in at 47 pounds. 

 

 

Today's Date - July 23rd, 2014

 

Today, I posted my concerns about Emmett's leg on Facebook's Great Dane Lover's page and copied it here as a reference.  I wanted to see if any of the other Great Dane owners had ever experienced or had first hand knowledge of hypertrophic osteodystrophy.  Below in blue is my post.

 

"When we first brought Emmett home, we didn't notice that his right, front leg was a little bowed. We thought perhaps his mother stepped on him and accidently broke his leg. The day after bringing him home, I fell and broke my leg and there was no way possible that I could carry a wiggly puppy in his own cast outside. So we went and had the x-rays done after I got my own cast off.

Our vet took a bunch of x-rays and Emmmett has severe hypertrophic osteodystrophy. I about cried when I saw the x-rays and they were sent out to a specialist for a 2nd opinion. Emmett is now 4 months old, 47 pounds and he gets around very well considering everything. He does limp but he has his whole life and doesn't known any difference.

My Vet said Emmett's disease is treated with medication to help the inflammation, but will eventually need surgery to correct the damage caused by the disease.

He said for it to be this bad that both parents had to of had the same recessive gene. I don't know anything about breeding and thought 2 beautiful, healthy dogs would have beautiful, healthy puppies.

All the other puppies in his litter looked extremely healthy, he also was 2^nd to the runt and all the other puppies were 5 – 7 pounds heavier than him.

The breeder offered to give me another puppy with her next litter and she is a very nice person but we love Emmett and he is, what he is. Hopefully, surgery will be an option, but to be truthful the x-rays were absolutley the saddest thing I've ever seen. I'm disabled myself and besides loving Emmett with all my heart I have empathy for him and who better to understand him than me.

He's a very smart and happy little boy. I'm just really concerned about what his quality of life will be like if surgery can't be done. I have my own issues with fatigue and balance so the two of us, in a sad way make a great team. We can be couch potatoes together, go for short walks and enjoy life the best we can.

I've researched amputations and seen videos of a few Great Danes with 3 legs on YouTube. They seem happy and got around well so I wondered if surgery were not an option would Emmett be better off limping and keep in mind I have no idea what his limp will be like when he's full grown verses amputation. My Vet said he will be a small male and in his case I think that is probably a good thing.

I was wondering what other people would do in the same circumstances." 

 

I also attached this photo to show what his leg looked like.

 

 

A lot of Great Dane owners responded to my post.  Many felt I was feeding him the wrong food and that he was growing too fast.  We actually weigh him every Saturday and I record his weight.

 

At 5 weeks old at his first visit to the Vet with his littermates he weighed 5.3 pounds and the largest puppy was almost 11 pounds.

 

We brought him home at 5 1/2 weeks old and he weighed 6 1/2 pounds and at 7 1/2 weeks he weighed 12.4 pounds.

 

10 weeks - 22 pounds

11 weeks - 26 pounds

12 weeks - 30 pounds (3 months)

13 weeks - 33 pounds

14 weeks - 40 pounds

15 weeks - 45 pounds

16 weeks - 47 pounds (4 months)

17 weeks - 51 pounds

 

A couple had similar situations with their puppies.  I am very happy to report that Dr.Jones said Emmett would be able to have surgery but it would have to be done by a Board Certified Orthopedic Vet and there are two locally.  We have to wait until he's full grown and his growth plates are done.

 

Great Danes stop growing anywhere between 18 - 24 months so we have about 14 months to save for his surgery.

 

He will be on an anti inflammatory to help with the pain and soreness until then.

 

Last night I noticed the top of his head touched the top of our larger crate so I guess we need to save for the Great Dane size crate now.  He can still lay down in it but not for much longer.  Watching him grow taller almost daily has been fascinating to watch.

 

He's taller than Rosie now and perhaps just a hair or two taller then Emma had been when she passed away.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 5th, 2014 - 14 weeks old, 40 pounds - 1st real meat bone

It's been an interesting week with Emmett.  He is in full puppy mode and everything I thought I knew about puppies is no longer applicable.  When he plays, he plays hard and it takes a good hour or two to get him played out.  This happens all day long but once he's exhausted he'll nap for 3 - 4 hours straight without waking up.

When he gets that rambunctious, I crate Rosie who goes very willingly.  She doesn't tolerate his craziness very well and actually appreciates the safety of her crate.  Once he settles down and is no longer bouncing off the walls I let her out but more times than not she just prefers to stay in and nap herself. 

At 10 years of age, Rosie just doesn't get really excited about playing anymore.  She loves it when he follows her all around the yard and always glances back at him to make sure he's still the acceptable and respectable 2 - 3 feet behind her.  She still loves to go on late night walks with her daddy and looks forward to it from the moment she first wakes up.  She lives to be walked and once my leg is completely healed I will start walking her again in the morning while it's still cool out.

I've been following the Great Dane Lovers, Facebook page and I've learned a lot of interesting things with the first being Great Danes act like puppies their entire lives.  You can have 25 different puppies all the same age and there will be a noticeable difference between them.  Some much larger being 5 - 10 pounds heavier and talk about a wide assortment of different energy levels.  It seems to be pretty common for many of the owners to have 2 - 5 Danes in their household. 

Emmett is right in the middle of the acceptable weight for his age.  I noticed the other night that he may be moving into the larger crate earlier than I thought he would.

 

It looks like we're going to need to save up and actually buy a Great Dane size crate.  Emmett likes to sleep in his crate and I've seen enough hilarious photos of damage done by other Great Dane puppies to know it's by far a much better investment compared to replacing all the furniture. 

 

I wonder if anyone makes one that looks like and can be used like a table.  I've seen crates that look

like end tables.

The measurements below are for the largest crate made.

54" L X 37" W X 45" H
For dogs 111-190 lbs.
SKU: 1314114

 

Midwest Solution Series "Ginormus" Double Door Dog Crate

Internet Price: $389.99   Today's Price: $130.49  (Save 67%)

Shop All Products By Midwest

• Midwest dog crates have a strong & secure corner drop pin design
• Tough, easy to clean ABS plastic pan with independent pan-stop
• Safe & secure slide bolt latches
• Large dog crates designed specifically to fit the largest of dogs
• Ideal for extra large breed dogs over 125 lbs.

 

I also saw that some of the Great Dane people have purchased, a large dog bed that looks like a couch.  All the people who bought one for their dogs absolutely love it.  It would definitely fit really well in my office and leave me some floor space.

Snoozer Luxury Overstuffed Sofa in Red

Internet Price: $129.99 - $189.99   Today's Price: $97.49 - $142.49  (Save up to 25%)

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• Stuffed with high loft polyester fill
• Provides your pet with a luxurious place to sleep
• Perfect for any size pet
• Soft & comfortable microsuede fabric
• Removable cover & pillow are machine washable & dryable

 





I like to save any product information that I come across so it will be easier to find when and if I actually need it.

 

Today's Date - July 11th, 2014

 

I gave Emmett his very first meaty bone this afternoon.  He's been teething and I wanted to give him something that he could really sink his teeth into.



 



 

 

I let him sniff them before I actually gave him one and within seconds I had his undivided attention.

 

 

I gave Rosie's hers in her crate and gated Emmett in the kitchen so there could be no confusion over the bones.  It was very obvious that he liked it a lot.

 

 

I videotaped him for a few minutes so I could recall and cherish his first experience for many years to come.  I knew I needed to temperament check him to see how he would react to me taking a bone away from him and I truly did not expect his reaction.  He growled, snarled and snapped.  I was extremely surprised and before I even knew what I was doing I had him on his back and it turned into a huge battle.