26 week measurements

26 weeks, 88.9 lbs, 29.75" tall

25 week measurements

25 weeks, 84.6 lbs, 29.75" tall

A Dog's Purpose

Mom read this on another dog's blog...thought it was very sweet and wanted to share it with you. So I gave her permission to post.

~Murphy


A Dog's Purpose? (from a 6-year-old).

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker.

The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.

They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?''

The Six-year-old continued,''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Hot times, they are for diggin

Seriously..its been hot here in San Diego. I'm just a pup, and havent been around the block much (well, that's not entirely true...I've been around the block lots of time on our nightly walks, but Mom said it was just a "figure of speech"...whatever that means). Anyway, like I was sayin...its been HOT! Mom said San Diego isnt normally this hot, at least not this many days in a row, but I'm not sure I believe her. Last weekend was hot...it was hot during the week...this weekend was hot...this whole week is suppose to be hot...oh, and yeah, guess what? The coming weekend is suppose to be hot too.

When I say hot, I'm talkin 90 degrees F. That's too hot to even go outside! And, since its not typically this hot in San Diego, Mom said we dont have something called A/C.

I think A/C stands for "always cool". I've felt it when we've gone on walks. A store will have its door open, and there's a nice cool breeze comin from inside. I always want to go inside...just a little, even if its just for a moment to lie on the nice cool tile, but Mom always says "no dogs allowed". Grrrrr.

Last night, it was so hot that I couldnt even sleep in the bed with Mom. I was pantin and pantin, so finally I jumped down off the bed and went to lie on the nice cool wood floors in the bedroom. Awww...much better.

Tonight I decided to make my own nice cool spot to lie. You see..there was this tangerine tree in the yard. Mom said it was a dwarf, but I think it just didnt like the spot she decided to plant it. It just wouldnt grow. It wasn't happy. I could tell, cuz I'm smart like that.

So, I decided to help Mom move it. And during the relocation process, I found that the dirt in the hole was nice and cool! Oh boy...once I got started, I just couldnt stop. It was soooo much fun to dig!! Dirt flyin everywhere. Worms in the dirt! Findin the rocks and flingin them out of the hole! Whooohooo!

What fun! Mom gave me a little bit of the stink eye when she first came out and saw my masterpiece..but then she started laughin. And I dont know why, but whenever she does, she always says to me "its a good thing you're cute!"

Anyone know what she means by that?

Great Dane & Mastiff Meetup

It was Great Dane & Mastiff Meetup day at dog beach on Coronado! Yippee!

Introductions were the first order of business. First, I got to meet the old Mastiff (oops...didnt catch his name!). He was a bit of a grump, but I think its just cuz he knows what trouble us young pups can be. After a few grumbles and growls, I decided quickly that it was a good idea to leave him alone.

Ari didnt seem to have any trouble with him, but she is a regal girl and super mature at 4 years old. Gosh, in Great Dane terms she is almost middle aged! Im sure she's gonna live to be 100 though, so we wont tell her that thought ran thru my head.

Then I got to meet Bently and Tuttle. Bently is the real pretty fawn boy, while Tuttle is the one with the spots. Mom says that colors called Harlequin. Whatever...spots is spots.

Another mastiff at the meetup was Lulu. She looked like a rhinocerous when she put her head down! Boy did she have a lot of wrinkles and extra skin. (Mom said that wasnt a very nice thing to say about girls...but it was true!) She didnt really play much, but had a good time patrolling the area.

Another beauty at the beach today was Cleo. I think she was 4 or 5 as well, and much too dignified to play with the likes of a young pup like me. I sure tried though! Mainly cuz I thought she was so pretty! Plus, I bet she can really run fast. She's one of those danes where you can really see the greyhound in her...dont you agree?

My most favoristest dog of the day though was Bella. Her daddy said she was an English Mastiff. I couldn't hear an English accent, but she sure was pretty. She was very calm and regal. I think she mighta played alot before me and Mom got to the beach though, so she mighta already been a bit tired out. After the beach I got to go to a restaurant with her and play some more while all the doggie parents ate lunch. She was super sweet...I really like lying my head on her, and she didnt seem to mind either!

Anyway...once the introductions were over, the fun could begin! I love love love the water!! Since it was so hot out, the cool ocean water really felt good. I ran and ran, playing with all sorts of really nice doggies. Some of them even shared their toys with me! Mom said they werent really sharing...I was stealing and she kept yellin at me to give them back. She can be no fun sometimes!

'scuze me? could I borrow that for a minute?

Come on...dont cha wanna share?


Yay! I dont think they noticed!


Finally! Victory!

check out how fast Im goin!

Tuttle and Bently liked to tease a lot. I tried and tried, but just could not keep up with them. I think its the advantage of their long legs. Just wait til I grow some more! Boy are they gonna be in trouble!

What's Black & White & Blue all over?

My favoritest neighbor, Adelle, musta been bored today (I guess that's what happens when you come over to walk your favoritest neighbor-dog and he hasnt had a poop accident in his kennel). When she came over to thank Mom for the Thank You card (doesnt that sound silly?), she was toting Sifl (her Papillon, named after a sock puppet and one of my bestest buddies!) and Haley (her daughter and also one of my bestest buddies!) along with her. Nothing unusual about that, right?

Yeah, right! Nothing unusual until I took a snif and a look at Sifl! He was BLUE! And not just a little blue...a whole lotta blue!

I hafta say, he looked a little like a cotton candy dog. Or a smurf dog. Or a dog who ate one too many Louie Bloo Raspberry Otter Pops. Any way you looked at it though, he sure was cute!

Haley & Sifl

P.S. Dont worry...Neighbor Adelle said its just something called veggie-table dye and will wash out in a couple days.

What color do you think I should be?

24 week measurements

24 weeks, 81.3 lbs, 29" tall

Gastro-enter-o Whuter-us?

Gasteroenteritis. That's what Mom says I have. What?? That's easy for you to say!


My tummy is not feeling too well. Last Thursday, when my favorite neighbor Adelle came over to walk me at lunch time, she found that I'd had a bit of an accident in my crate. I felt so awful about it, but I just couldnt help myself.


Luckily, cuz she's super nice, she pinched her nose together and took me and my blankets outside and we both got hosed off. Phew, was I stinky. She called my mom at work and told her what had happened but by the time Mom got home I was back to my old self. Mom thought it might have been some new Salmon treats that she gave me. They smelled kinda rich, and she thought they might have been too much for my tummy to handle.


The next morning though, my tummy was upset again. Naseau is what Mom called it. I called it feeling yucky. I threw up a little, so Mom decided not to feed me that morning and see how I was feeling throughout the day. Again, by the afternoon, I was feeling better...and boy was I hungry! She gave me just a little dinner that night, but I was on the road to recovery and feeling much better! Best thing was, Mom decided not to take me to the doggie doctor after all!


It sure turned out to be a great weekend...Grandma & Grandpa came down for a visit and I got to go all over the place. Wags for Wishes was going on, so we went there and watched Splash Dogs, Agility, Flyball and Lure Coursing. Mom said it was a fund raiser for really sick little boys and girls. I hope they raised a lot of money, cuz I sure like little boys and girls and I dont like it when they are sick!

Boy was it hot though, so we didnt stay very long. I was jealous of the splash doggies, getting to jump in that nice cool water. All day I felt great though, no tummy troubles at all.


Sunday, Mom & the Grandfolks took me to a place called Seaport Village. Again, it was super hot, and this place was right by the ocean so she thought it would be cooler for me. It was, but not by much! San Diego was having a heat wave I guess and even by the water it was over 80 degrees Faren-something-or-other. In the evening, right before sunset we got to go the Fiesta Island.


It was getting kind of dark, but the temperature was oh-so-nice and there were a few other doggies to play with. All of a sudden, Mom spotted something she called a snake! She yelled at me to stay away, but I couldnt resist and thought it looked like a stick to play with. I tried picking it up once, but it was kinda wiggly so I dropped it right away. Boy did I get in trouble! I guess some snakes can bite hard and leave yucky poison in your body with their fangs. Yikes! If I had known that I woulda stayed away! This wasnt one of those scary snakes though, Mom called it a California Kingsnake. Either way though, I probably shouldnt play with it! Here's kind of a fuzzy picture taken by the other girl who had her dogs there. She used her cell phone so it didnt come out very good, but you can get the idea of what it looked like. It sure was pretty!

This morning when I woke up, I was still feeling good so Mom fed me my normal amount. She keeps complaining about my poops though...says it looks like a cow lives with her. I guess cuz my poops look like cow-patties.


Sometime during the day though, I started feeling yucky again. This time I threw up a little and had a bad accident in my cage. It was terrible, but I couldnt help it. Luckily, Adelle came over during her normal time and rescued me again. She called Mom right away, and Mom came home immediately to take me to the doggie doctor. Luckily, we go there all the time for treats and weigh-ins, so I wasnt scared at all.


They did all kinds of tests on me. Poked me in the arm and took some red liquidy stuff out of me. I hope I dont need that! They also made me lie on my side, and on my back so they could take pictures of my tummy. I was real brave, and everyone was super nice at the clinic. I think they were worried that I had eaten something I shouldnt have (why? I dont know...I never chew on things I'm not suppose to!). Mom was happy when the pictures (xrays, she called em) came back normal. They also tried to get a sample from my bum, but after a morning like I had there wasnt much to get out. Poor Mom...now she has to pick up a sample the next time I go. Yuck! I feel sorry for her! Right now though, I am kinda tired from my big ordeal so Im just gonna see if I can sleep it off.

In the end, the doggie doctor said I probably just have gastro-something-er-call-it-itis. A bad bug in my gut. So, I got a shot to help with my throwing up, another one to help with any acid in my tummy, and 4 different pills to take at home. Mom also has to cook for me for 1-2 weeks. Chicken, Rice and Cottage Cheese. Sounds a bit boring, so hopefully I'll be back up and running soon and can get some yummy food!

23 week measurements

23 weeks, 80.3 lbs, 28.5" tall

Great Dane Meetup

Gosh! So much went on last weekend its hard to keep up on this blogging stuff!

Sunday morning Mom took me to a Great Dane Meetup. WOW! There were more Great Danes than I have ever seen in one place! A few of the dogs I had met before....here and there along the way, but some of them were new.

Ari & Titan were there. Everytime I see Titan I am amazed at his size. He weighs 190lbs, but is SO tall! Both Ari and Titan are white great danes, and Im sorry to say are deaf. Even though they can't hear, they sure have a great time with the other dogs!

There were some really fast dogs. I tried, but couldnt keep up with them. After a while, I just sat back and watched them run. Its amazing how graceful 130 lbs can be!

America's Next Top Model-Dog

Mom was scrolling thru the many posts in the "Pets" section of Craigslist last week, and came upon an ad for dogs wanted for a new coffee table book. On a whim, she decided to email the photographer and see if he'd be interested in photographing yours truly. He immediately emailed back and said he already had 2 Great Danes, but that I was SO unique looking that he'd love to have me come down. Whoohoo!

So, Saturday morning after being a lazy pooch and sleeping in til 8:30 (a model HAS to have his beauty sleep, right?), Mom insisted I get a bath. Yuck! She said I had to be nice and clean for our adventure that day. Whatever!

After the bath we loaded up in the CRV and went on a road trip. The photographer was located in Oceanside, CA so it was about a 40 minute drive. I didnt mind though...I kinda like hanging out in the car. It takes me lots of cool places!

We got to the photographer's studio right on time. He lived in a nice 5 story building right near the ocean. He had to buzz us in and when he did he said to go to the 3rd floor. That's when I got to go in an elevator! There were funny doors that opened automatically, and then Mom pushed a button and we were off! Up to the 3rd floor and into the studio of Andrew Grant. http://www.andrewgrantphoto.com/

He was real nice, and right away I liked him cuz he gave me lots of treats! All of a sudden though, a BRIGHT flash went off with a pop and a whir. Boy was that scary! Every time it happened I would jump!! Mom and Mr. Grant kept petting me though and giving me lots of treats, and pretty soon I figured out it was just a stoopid noise and a bright light and nothing to be scared of.

After that, it was "blue steel" all the way. Mr. Grant took LOTS of pictures of me, and the best part of it was all the treats! Mom and Mr. Grant both made funny comments about how I really "worked it", and Mr. Grant kept saying I was a natural. Geez...all I did was lay there and look cute. What's so hard about that?

Anyway, I found out later that he really really liked my pictures. So much in fact that one of my pictures might make it on the back cover page of the book! Very exciting!! Plus, I think he is going to use 2 or 3 other pictures of me inside the book! I cant wait to see it!! The best part about it is that its a fundraiser for shelter pets. If you want, you can pre-order your copy here (http://www.andrewgrantphoto.com/dogs_001.html).

It wont come out until November...Mom said that's still a few months away. I dont even know what months are though, so that really doesnt mean anything to me. Guess I'll just wait til she gets her copy. Until then, here's some of the pictures Mr. Grant sent to Mom. Dang...I sure am a cute boy! (if I do say so myself!)

New duds

Dont I look handsome!! Mom got me a couple of new collars. I hate to say it, but I think she has a spending problem. Lucky for me, the spending is all on ME!

Actually, she got lucky and didnt have to pay for both collars. One of the creative ladies in the Danes Online Forum has a business of making dog collars, leases, tugz and toyz and all the proceeds go to a Great Dane Rescue. (http://www.rescuemetugz.com/store/Default.asp) Is that not the coolest thing or what! Anyway, Michele (the cool lady) decided she would give away a bunch of collars on the forum. All Mom had to do was pick a number between 1 & 100 (good thing it was her, cuz I cant even count to 10!) and if her number was within 5 either way of the number chosen we would win a collar. She picked 28, cuz that's my birthday...and lo & behold, we won! The problem began when Mom got on the website to decide which collar to get. There were so many cool collars, she just couldnt decide...so, lucky me! I get 2!

Here's the first collar. I love the way the turquoise color looks against my coat. Quite a good lookin boy if I do say so myself! You can see my new tag too. (again...Mom spending more on me!) Its a "St. Francis of Assisi" tag...Mom said he's the patron saint of animals which means he'll protect me and keep me safe from harm. I like that!

And here's the 2nd collar. This one's 1.5" wide, which is great because of my nice thick neck. You really get a good picture of the beautiful blue paisley pattern.

my "blue steel" look

22 week measurements

22 weeks, 79.3 lbs, 27.75"