The pack has grown !

We are now a pack of 6. Two great Danes, 2 miniature Dachshunds and a cat. Here they are waiting for breakfast to be served. They are all on raw food.

Odin and Camelot bonding with play

Camelot has shown incredible patience with Odin and tolerate his constant desire for playing.

Rex keeps surprising me

Rex is showing some encouraging improvements, less limping and dragging. He can also walk 3-4 times longer than he was able to last week. I have also lower his weight with 3 lbs.

Rex not giving up yet

Rex has over the last few days shown some very impressive improvements. He has tripled the distance he can walk. He is lifting his leg noticeable more with less dragging. He has now been on Cosequin for over a month and I have a feeling this is what's starting to kick in. I have lowered the doze of Rimadyl to 100mg a day, down from 200.
He is also taking a break from his acupuncture treatments.

More energy, still limping badly

Rex seem more alert, and energetic this morning. He walked out of the RV with more determination that he has had for the last few weeks. He also wanted to walk faster this morning despite his limping. It does not seem to bother him much. It's looks awful to me, but if he can handle it I guess I have to go with it. When he was sick with a kidney infection last year he did not want to get up from the couch and go out. He's nothing like that at this time.

Goodbye and thank you my old friend

The day I have dreaded for the last two years has come. Rex's legs has over the last few days gotten worse and now reached a point where he has a really hard time walking and even standing. He has very little control over his rear legs and struggles to keep his balance. Fortunately he does not seem to be in much pain, but this is not a life of a dog. Keeping him longer is not what is best for him. Deprived from running and walking he seems miserable and the right thing to do is to let him go to sleep forever. He have had such a great life. I like to think he was fortunate to come to me. I'm sure I have extended his life several years feeding him the food he was designed for. I never expected him to live to the age of 12. For 8 years we walked 3 times a day rain, snow or shine, never missed it once. He also never ever missed a meal. Was only sick one time! He's been an unbelievable easy dog to have, don't bark, never whined once!! Gosh I'll miss this guy. I'm planning on taking him to the vet tomorrow. Damn, I hate this part of owning a dog.

Dogs with discipline

I take my dogs with me anywhere since I know they enjoy driving  in my truck. This includes grocery shopping. It has always amazed me how they know to leave the groceries alone. There is meat and all kinds of great smelling foods right there next to them and all they do is sniffing it a few times. I can even leave the truck and nothing has been touched when I come back. Such good boys. They do the same at home. I can leave my plate with food on the dining table and  go somewhere, and the food will be there when I'm back.

Nice Great Dane service dog story

Great Dane service dog makes people look past the wheelchair read more

I'm thinking of training Camelot II to become a service dog. He's so friendly and calm. I'll will have him evaluated for this next year to see if he's a good candidate.

Morning snack

A sure way to get both of my dogs up in the morning is to serve them their morning snack. The reason they get this tiny meal is so I can portion their supplements out better . They get several that are suppose to be taken two times a day.
They both get a multivitamin called daily blend (powder), green blend (powder) and Omega 3. I mix the powder into raw ground meat. Camelot also get half a chicken wing to keep his poop hard. Camelot came to me with chronic diarrhea. This half chicken wing taken with his morning snack and 3 whole chicken wings with his main meal keeps his poop nice and firm and his anal glands empty.

Rex get a variety of  supplements for his joint issues. I'm currently testing Cosequin DS extra strength.

Happy birthday my friend! Rex is 12 today.

For the last 8 years Rex has been living and traveling with me and my other Danes. I got him at the age of 4. Rex is a genuine kind dog, incredible balanced and even tempered. I can't remember him ever doing anything wrong. He's just hanging out following me quietly. Such a great dog. 

He is now in is last phase of his long life, struggling with pretty serious join issues. I'm taking it day by day with him now. Watching for pain and signs of discomfort beyond what is good for him. I just do not want him to end his life miserable. So far so good. But, I'm prepared and I do live everyday with him as it could be the last. So, happy birthday buddy, I'm pretty sure we got many more walks together.

Rex on new supplements

I have for the longest time used a certain natural supplement for Rex's joint problems. My supplier is out and I'm out too, so I have to find something else meanwhile. My vet really swears by Cosequin, so I bought some last week and Started Rex on it this Friday. I'm actually seeing a difference after already. He is lifting his dragging leg more and not limping as much.  I'll will record him walking to day if I can get him out in this freeze.

Winter has arrived

Winter is here.... and my Danes really enjoy the snow. Even Rex seems to move quicker when it's cold.

Camelot is just have a grand time running in the white stuff. The picture is from yesterday, before a blizzard arrived. The temp dropped from 30F to 0 overnight.
The walk this morning will be very short. When the temp drops below 10, the snow that gather in Rex's paws are too cold for his comfort. He will stop and try to lift all legs.... tripping, waiting for me to dig it out. The interesting thing is that when he  starts walking again the new snow that gathers in his paws does not bother him as much.

Rex did not make it to the acupuncture sessions we had scheduled.   I completely messed up my back and was not able to move much the last few days. Feeling much better today, so we will make a new appointment.

Made appointment for acupuncture

Today we made an appointment for acupuncture. I did not know that this little mountain town had such a service. We have to wait until Monday for our first consultation though. I have to admit that I'm skeptical, but I'm curious enough to see if it makes a difference. Too many people says it is helping their dogs so I have to see for myslef. I've never been afraid if trying different things. We never really learn or progress if we don't. 

I'm exited to report back here with the results. All I hope for at this point is for Rex to be able to lift his foot a little so it clears the ground and limits the dragging of his foot. Anything beyond that would be outstanding. 

Another good day for Rex

Rex had another good walk to today. Close to a mile. His paw is healed and I'll take of the boot tomorrow.

P.S. Somone asked me if that's his ribs showing. No... that's shadows from some bushes. 

Rex made the morning walk again.

Once again Rex championed through our morning walk and made it to the end of the trail. He is definitely walking faster these days.  I guess dogs like humans have good days and not so good days. For me keeping an eye on Rex and adjust to his days is what I have to do.

This boy knows how to get cozy

"There is nothing like coming home from a walk and get under my blankets"

Rex likes to get tucked in under pillows and blankets. When I get it right he lets me know by purring like a cat.

This purring/low grunting noise is also a great indicator on how he feels. One of the favorite things you can do with your dog is to rub their ears. I don't know of any dog that do not like this. When I do this with Rex and if he does not make this purring noise I know something may be wrong. This is how I found out that he had a kidney infection last year, long before I could notice it otherwise.

By living so close to my dogs for so many years I have developed an awareness for the very subtle signs they give.  

Relaxing after a meal

That was a nice meal.

Rex has this habit of sitting on the couch after a meal. It's on of these rituals Rex has always done. This is the only time he will do this. He sits there for about 5 minutes, watching TV. Then he gets down, turn around and gets up on the couch.

One year a since Camelot passed

One year ago today I lost my dear Camelot to cancer. One of the worst days of my life. This gentle giant was such an ambassador for the Great Dane breed. I had never before been able to archive such a close connection with a dog.  I could read his mind based on his body language and was able to predict his next move. And he could pretty much do the same with me.I never understood how we were able to have this connection. He always had such a calming effect on me. Most dogs has this effect on me, but Camelot was able to create a stronger feeling of calmness and peace than any other dog I ever had.
I think about you every day my friend and I miss you very much. The picture above was taken the day I found out he had a large tumor inside his chest. He died a week later.