Truman's Follow Up & Gypsy

Tuesday was Truman's follow up visit to the vet. I had hoped that he would be released from the vet's care, but that wasn't the case. Though his fever is gone, he still has tenderness in his back. So we are on another 2 weeks of antibiotics. He will be ok in the end, but this is seriously putting us behind in his show training. And the other part to it is, that he is showing signs in his back legs of straddling. Walking like you have one foot on either side of something. I don't know if this will go away as his back gets better or not. If not he will not be able to show.

The vet once again reminded me of how serious this infection was and is. And I am so glad that we caught it in time.

Gunther is doing great. He's growing like a weed. I need to get some of the pictures I have of him posted. It's been a couple of weeks since I weighed him so I will do that and then update the blog.

Several times in this year I have written about Noel Clarke. He is Ivan's handler and he will hopefully be helping me with Truman in the show ring. Well, Tuesday his lost one of his beautiful girls. Her name is Gypsy and she would have been 5 years old this November. She was the perfect Great Dane bitch. Here are a couple of pictures of her. This was an extremely sudden and unexpected passing. I know that Noel and Walter are hurting so much and that their other two Danes, Max and Violet are missing her too. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers

I messed up. LOL.

Now I can laugh about it. But at the show I messed up the Rally routine so we didn't do too good. But, we did have a good time. Gunther at first wasn't really fond of the hotel room, he sniffed every inch of it. But before long he made it home. Here are some pictures.

Here we are beginning the Rally course. This is right before my mistake.

This is a great picture of Gunther. He was tired and had a long day. The boy was ready for a long rest.

Our friends that were at the show too, did really well. Congrats to Noel and boy Max for getting their first 4 point win on Friday. They are still at the show today so hopefully we'll have more good news coming from Noel.

Jay and Barbara were there with Ivan. He came in 3rd on Saturday in his group. He would have done better if another dog hadn't have been aggressive toward him and distracted him. This same aggressive dog about 30 minutes earlier went after Gunther and tried to bite his muzzle. Needless to say I was pissed that someone with a dog with that temperament was even showing.

I haven't looked at the schedule but I believe our next show will be in August here in Atlanta. It will be a lot of fun. This show we may skip Rally and take T to start getting use to the "show" atmosphere. When shows are inside, they are load, crowded and at times insane. ;-)

Speaking of T. He is now 54.5 lbs. I am so glad that he is gaining a little weight. He's a little taller too. He has just the sweetest disposition and just loves doing things with us. There isn't a mean bone in his body.

Gunther's First Offical Rally Obedience Competition

We have been working hard getting everything together for our trip Thursday. Of course I'm going to over pack. I wouldn't be me, if I didn't. hahaha. I'm really going to over pack for Gunther. Yup, it's his first official Rally Competition. It's in Greenville, SC. We're staying in a Quality Inn and I have to make sure that Gunther is comfortable. So we are deciding what toys to take, his favorite blanket and of course his food, treats and water. Lots of pictures will be taken so I'll have lots to post when we get back Sunday.

We are also going to be there with Jay (Gunther's breeder), Barbara, Noel and Walter. It's going to be a lot of fun hanging with them at the show and watching all their dogs in the conformation rings. Great Dane people are some of the best.

T will be staying home with the rest of the family. I will miss him a lot, but before I know it, I'll be taking two Danes to the shows. That will be amazing.

This is Ivan, Gunther's little brother

Say hello to Ivan. This is Gunther's little brother from the litter that was born Sept. 29, 2006. He is 5 months old and debuted in the show ring for the first time yesterday (Saturday, March 3). He is an amazing little boy. Charming, cute and still such a little puppy. I am so excited for him and his future. I think is going to have a wonderful time in the show ring. Speaking of that. Noel Clarke, Ivan's handler is in my personal opinion, the perfect handler for Ivan. Check out Noel's website and look at his Danes.

Don't you just love this face? And that nose is so cute!


Here is Noel taking Ivan up and down the ring for the judge. I wish you could see Ivan's gait.

And here he is after his final lap around the ring. There were several other Danes and their owners, handlers and family standing just a few feet away from Ivan in this picture. Just enough to distract him to look out of the ring. But it gave me a good photo. LOL.

Over the summer Ivan will be going to several shows and I'll of course post how he is doing. There is a big show for him coming up April 15. Like the Gun-Man was at this age, Ivan will grow leaps and bounds by the April dog show. Keep in him your thoughts as Noel prepares him for it.