April 30th, 2014 - Microchips

Spent a couple of hours researching microchips.  The company I had been using for years now charges a yearly fee.  I've learned no matter which microchip I go with, I can register Emmett's information for one fee of $17.50 on-line or $19.95 by mail. 

They also don't charge to update contact information if a family and their pets move.  All dogs can be registered whether purebred or not.

http://www.akcreunite.org//

 

Yesterday, I received the book that I had ordered from amazon.com

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised at the large selection and prices.  I saw a few other books that I will be adding to my amazon.com Wish List!

 

A friend of mine from Facebook shared the below video that she came across on YouTube.  I really enjoyed watching Honey the Great Dane growing up with her kitten sibling Lemon.  Honey was so gentle with Lemon even when both were very young.  Apparently there are many videos on YouTube of Honey and I enjoyed the one where she and her owner were dancing at some sort of canine event.

 

 

 

14 days until Emmett comes home!

April 28th, 2014 - Puppy Pen / Crates

Woke up at 5 AM thinking about Emmett.  Veronica has been posting puppy pictures and they're all growing so fast.  She sure loves her furry, 4 legged babies and is a very good mom.

 

 

 

The first few weeks of their lives is crucial and these puppies are being handled with love and raised around children.  Veronica is truly giving them an incredible start on life which will reflect on their individual personalities as they grow and mature. 


As I was puppy proofing the house I kept thinking about a Puppy Pen. 

I like the fact that I can fold it up during the day and at night, I can set it up next to the bed, put a doggy bed in the middle of it so I can have Emmett close enough that I can hear any and every sound he makes.

The crates set up in the Den are too heavy and bulky to be moving about and I'm not going to leave Emmett alone in the Den at the other end of the house all night.  I love the idea of him sleeping in bed with me and I'm sure he will soon enough but for the first couple of weeks I would constantly worry about him falling or jumping off the bed and getting hurt. 

It's actually cheaper to buy a Puppy Pen on amazon.com verses PetSmart, Pet Depot etc.

I found a Midwest Black E-Coat Exercise Pen, 24 Inches by 42 Inches $54.99

also

Midwest Black E-Coat Exercise Pen, 24 Inches by 36 Inches $48.82


They really are a handy thing to own and slide under a bed when not being used.  I had a nice pen years ago that I took with me to the Obedience Trials and I use to put a huge umbrella in the middle of it to keep Daisy and Yogi out of the sun.  I also used it after giving them baths to dry off in the sun, not to mention they're a lot more accessible when taking care of a sick or injured pet.  Yogi is the handsome guy on the left and Daisy, my dainty Artisan Basset on the right.

They also can be folded in half and used as a free standing divider not to mention if you travel they are just so much easier to deal with compared to the weight and bulkiness of a crate.

16 days until we bring Emmett home!

Oh I forgot, Veronica was telling me earlier that when she woke up this morning she discovered the puppies escaped from their puppy area and were all over the Living Room.  I wish I could of seen the surprise on her face.  Nine puppies, running nine different ways.  How funny!  I just want to know if my Emmett was the ring leader again.  Life is good!

April 27th, 2014 - The Gentle Leader

Many years ago I had a 135 pound male dog named Parker and also a 110 pound male dog named Gunther. 

 

For the most part they listened really well and I never had any problems walking them together unless they saw a squirrel.

 

I'm only 4'11 and I'm one of those people who will not drop a leash under any circumstances and due to that logic have had my share of bumps, bruises, cuts and abrasions.   After one very painful walk and being dragged through a hedge after a chipmunk off to PetSmart I went and bought two Gentle Leaders for my boys.

 

It took awhile to figure out how to put them on and in the end I was never dragged anywhere again by my two overly and easily excitable 4 legged, furry children.  Our walks got longer and it was very comforting to know that there was no way I ever be jerked off my feet again.  I still have their Gentle Leaders and over the years have used them when training other people's dogs.

 

While visiting with Emmett to get my weekly photos, I asked Veronica if she had every heard of or seen a Gentle Leader and explained why I liked them.  So I thought I look over the Internet to see if I could find any pictures of Great Danes wearing Gentle Leaders and I did.

 



 

 

In fact my Emmett will resemble the dog in the above photo when he's full grown.  During my search of photos I came across a post a woman had written about her Great Dane and her experience with her Gentle Leader.  She had written:

 

"Hi everybody I just want to share my experience with you. My blue (intact) male is 6 1/2 months and a little over 90lbs. He is very strong and used to pull and drag me while on leash all over the place and he was starting to almost embarrass me in stores and public and I could almost hear people whispering (why can't she control her dog??!!)( I'm a small girl weighing a 110+ and being 5'2", I would have to make sure I was wearing sneakers and plant both my feet on the ground trying to control him, at the end of our walks my hands would be raw and almost bleeding from pulling and fighting with him. Well I bought a halti/gentle leader head collar. Let me just say, Merlin is like a different dog. It requires almost NO FORCE on your end. Your dog can still bark, bite chew etc... it is not a muzzle. As soon as I put this collar on he knows I AM THE BOSS!  Needless to say choke collars and all the rest of them didn't work a bit. I can actually take him to PetSmart and Dog Shows now and he doesn't even try to pull now. I guess its like a horse bridal, the body will go wherever the head will go, makes good sense to me. Can u imagine a horse with a choke collar on? Little kids and other people can actually come up to Merlin and pet him without him jumping or getting to wild. I really stand behind this, and I thought it would help somebody else who was at their wits end and didn't know what to do with strong pulling dog...you don't have to yell or anything, people try it, you will notice a difference right away. Hope I have helped another Dane family out there
CINDY AND MERLIN"

I already knew that I would use a Gentle Leader with Emmett once he reached a certain weight.

17 days and counting till Emmett comes home!



April 26th, 2014 - Emmett is 4 weeks old today!

Today my Emmett is 4 weeks old.  Mark and I stopped by to take some updated pictures so I'll have them for his Puppy Album.

I got to pet Emmett's mother and I basically got her seal of approval.  She was very good about me laying on the floor taking pictures of her babies.  Her name is Sadie and for this being her first litter she is a good mom.

 

 

 

I had Mark take a better picture with me and Emmett's father.  Before I forget, I've been spelling his name wrong it's not Draco, it's Dragi.  Great picture of Dragi, but not such a good picture of me.

 

 

 

 

Below is a photo of Sadie's and Dragi's puppies.

 

Emmett has grown some since I saw him last week.  At 4 weeks old, the only important thing to him, is his mommy.  Veronica (the owner) made me laugh when she told me that my little Emmett gets all the other puppies stirred up.  Good for Emmett his personality is already starting to show!

 

 

 

The picture below is my husband Mark and we all know who he's holding. 

 

I'm about as un-photogenic as a person can be but many years from now when I look back over Emmett's Puppy Book, I'm going to love these pictures.  I really like this one because it really shows how much he's grown and also the white on his chest.

 

 

When we went to see the puppies we had only planned on staying 30 minutes at the most.  During our visit my husband who's been playing guitar and giving lessons for 40 some years got to talking to Robert who he discovered also played guitar.   Off they wandered together and talked guitar, chords, 3rds,  5th's, minor's and all the other stuff my husband talks about that I just don't get. 

Our 30 minutes stretched to 90 minutes and we only left because Mark had a lesson to teach that afternoon.

I liked Veronica from the moment I met her, she is a true dog lover and as it turns out we actually have a lot in common.  I got to know her daughter Ashley better and Ashley's beautiful daughters who seem to be dog lovers themselves.  It's amazing to see such little girls not caring one bit about two big dogs who are 3 times their body weight.

 

I'm hoping Veronica and Robert will come for visits once we bring Emmett home on May 14th so they can see how's he's doing.  He's going to grow into an amazing,  spoiled and much loved member of our family. 

I need to make a note to myself to check out the Diamond Natural that Veronica has been feeding the puppies.  Earlier today, I had to go out to Harvest Mill for some bird food and learned that a 40 pound bag of Chicken Diamond Natural is $29.  It's a really good quality food and you can't beat the price.

18 days till Emmett comes home!



 

April 25th, 2014 - E-mail from our Veterinarian

I e-mailed our Vet some questions I had concerning Emmett's upcoming shots and wanted to share his reassuring response.

Hey Carolee,
It's wise to use the same vaccine through the whole series-6,9,12,16 weeks of age. He won't be fully immune until after he finishes the series so we recommend limiting his exposure until then. Of course he needs to be socialized starting soon after you get him, so it's always difficult to know what's best. So we wouldn't say go to a bunch of places where lots of dogs go until he's finished his shots, especially places like dog parks, and pet stores. The problem is that parvo is very long lived in the environment and you could even bring it home on your shoes or birds could track it into your yard if they walk through a yard that is contaminated with the virus. So about the best we can say is to use common sense and keep your fingers crossed. I don't know prices off the top of my head and am at home now, so might be best to just call the clinic. I think it would be wise to wait a few days to let him get settled in before we vaccinate him but check with the breeder to make sure it's ok . Some require an exam within so many hours. We can't wait to meet him! Alan Jones DVM

Sent from my iPhone

How nice of Dr. Jones to contact me himself instead of his staff. 

April 23rd, thriftyfun.com

After meeting Emmett for the first time, I did what any proud mother would do and entered his picture in a contest.  Below is the picture and what I wrote about it.

Thor's Thundering Emmett (Great Dane)



Your Pet's Age
3 weeks old

Your Pet's Breed
Great Dane

Do you have anything else to share about your pet?
Today, I met my Great Dane puppy for the first time. He's 3 weeks old and I will visit him weekly so I can take pictures of him. The first time I held him, he started sucking on my bottom lip and I about melted all over the floor.

I take the pictures so I'll have them ready when I start Emmett's puppy album. On the first day of every month, I will take his picture, weigh him and document everything he's experienced in a journal. It's a wonderful keepsake that will be filled with precious memories. I've been known to tape a couple of baby teeth within the pages. As the years pass, the journal will be priceless and greatly treasured.

By CaroleeRose

April 23, 2014 - Info on puppy shots

Today, I called our Vet out in Hazel Green to find out roughly what  it's going to cost to get Emmett his puppy shots.  It's a  bit of a drive, almost 23 miles one way but well worth it. 

We go to:                                 Animal Hospital Of North Alabama
                                                  14323 Hwy 231- 431 North
                                                  Hazel Green, Alabama
                                                                              35750
                                                  256-828-7474

Dr. Jones and Dr. Hayes are incredible as are their staff.

His puppy shots will be given at 3 weeks intervals.
 
$55.00 for the 1st visit
 
$30 for the 2nd visit
 
$35 for the 3rd visit
 
and when he's 6 months old $100 - $120 to be neutered depending on his weight.

I won't take Emmett to PetSmart to get his first puppy collar nor will he go for walks until he has had his shots.  I'll estimate the size for his first collar and gently start getting him leash trained out in the backyard.

Some puppies do really well for their first time on a leash and I've seen others roll on their back, terrified.  I have a good feeling about Emmett and his first time on a leash will be lots of fun not to mention the tasty treats I will reward / bribe him with.

Tomorrow morning we will be visiting Emmett and I will be taking 2 hand towels that I will hold him in to take his scent home to Rosie and naturally take photos.

22 days until we bring Emmett home.