Please bear with me as I transition my website to a different format!
Great Dane Nationals
Last month was the Great Dane Club of America’s National Specialty. The Nationals are held every October, each year at a different location around the US. It’s a weeklong event of educational seminars, conformation, performance, parades and the opportunity to meet breed fanciers from all over the world. There are hundreds of Great Danes shown over the course of the week.
This year Nationals were held in Chattanooga, TN. I was unable to attend, but Tiana and Neil took Bree & Kizzy, along with two of Neil’s fawns – Ch Flighty Never Say Never (Mello) & Flighty Now or Never (Neena). Tiana had quite the stories after traveling with the four dogs!
L to R: Neena, Kizzy, Mello, Bree
Tiana handled Bree in the Amateur Owner Handler class. They didn’t place, but Tiana did a great job handling Bree. Kizzy was in the Open Mantle class and took 2nd in the class. Neena was shown in the very large Open Fawn class and did not get a placement. Mello was shown in Best of Breed and made a cut. Neena and Mello’s dad (Ch Elan’s Command Decision Reimroc) won Best of Breed/Best In Specialty Show. All results can currently be found on the Great Dane Review website.
Kizzy’s placement picture:
For information on future Nationals dates and locations, visit the Great Dane Club of America’s website. Past winners can be seen on the GDCA’s Photographic History Page.
What we fed today
Yesterday the dogs had two meals of chicken RMB parts. For breakfast tomorrow I have beef liver and 2 lbs of ground chuck thawing. I’ll add a can of Tripett for each dog to that, along with supplements.
Play time – Kizzy & Greta
Sister Greta came over yesterday for a play date. It was a beautiful day – unseasonably warm for November 8th!
Kizzy’s piglet impression:
What we fed today
I got a great score of food yesterday. A friend cleaned out their deepfreeze and passed along some old meat. Freezer burned meat is fine to use. I personally wouldn’t feed a diet of only that, but it’s not going to hurt the dogs and they don’t seem to mind.
The dogs enjoyed some of that for breakfast – pork patties and beef liver. I also included 1/2 can of Tripett each and a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt. Supplements added.
Dinner tonight will be chicken RMB (Raw Meaty Bones).
What we fed today
This morning, the dogs ate a 5 lb roll of AFS meat. Supplements added. Skyy wasn’t as interested as normal and Kizzy managed to polish off the majority of the food. They seem to take turns being pigs, so unless one dog is getting really short changed, I tend to let the hungrier one eat more. Works well for the appetite for the less hungry dog for the following meal!
For dinner, they split 1 lb of beef organ mix (heart, liver, kidney), one can of Tripett each and some leftovers.
What we fed today
For dinner last night, the two girls consumed a 5 lb roll of AFS meat between the two of them, with the kids’ dinner leftovers on top (eggs, pancakes and a little bacon). As long the items fed are in moderation, leftovers are fine to feed. For supplements, I added Vit C, Vit E and Fish Oil. They haven’t normally been eating quite that much, but Kizzy needs to gain a few pounds right now so I feed extra of the things they really like.
They had a light breakfast of one (tom) turkey neck each. For dinner tonight, they had ground hamburger (split about 3.5 lbs), sliced up lamb liver, 1/2 can of Tripett each and a couple heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt. Same supplements added.
For breakfast tomorrow, they will each get one can of Salmon, one can of Tripett and some leftover chicken & noodles that have been sitting in the frig.
What we fed today
In effort to give people an idea of what a raw fed dog might eat, I’m going to try to make frequent postings on my dogs’ meals.
This morning for breakfast, Skyy ate a pork neck bone and Kizzy ate a pork neck bone and a turkey neck. I don’t weigh RMBs (Raw Meaty Bones) any longer, but imagine Skyy’s meal was about 1 lb and Kizzy’s was about 1.5-2 lbs.
For dinner, each dog had a can and a half of beef Tripett, mixed with 1 lb of a beef organ mixture (heart, kidney, liver) from My Pet Carnivore. I added one raw egg (shell included), Vit C, Vit E and Fish Oil to each dog’s meal.
Dinner:
For tomorrow’s breakfast, I have pork ribs thawing on the counter.
New pictures
Check out some recent pictures of Skyy & Kizzy – November play pics
Nails – Dremel
Keeping your dog’s nails short is good for your dog’s foot. Long nails can cause discomfort for the dog and be hard on your floors or furniture. Not to mention they hurt like mad when the dog steps on your foot!
I use a dremel to grind my dogs’ nails. 
I like the dremel as I’m less likely to injure the dog (quicking the nails with clippers can be a bloody mess) and the nails end up smooth. I picked up my cordless dremel at Target for around $20. Use the course sanding head.
There are now specific dremel tools for doing your pets’ nails. It isn’t necessary to get the pet-specific tool, although if they’re price comparable, there isn’t anything wrong with them either.
I have to charge the battery immediately before use (I plug it in the night before I plan on doing nails), in order to make it through both dogs’ nails. I also find that I have to replace my dremel about once every year or so as the battery gets to the point it will barely make it through the job. I’ve thought about going to the electric variety, but like the freedom of the cordless.
To keep the nails short, I do nails about once a week. If your dog currently has long nails, you won’t be able to get them short in one sitting, you’ll have to make the quick recede over a period of time by doing the nails more frequently, every 3-4 days.
When dremeling the nails, keep in mind that the friction will cause heat to build. Use a tap-tap method on the nails and be mindful of the heat.
To start, I dremel off the ends, taking the desired length off of all of the nails on one foot, similar to if I was using a nail clipper.
Notice how the end of the nail is blunt
Then, I go back to each toe and smooth all the sides:
In the end, you’ll have nice, smooth short nails! They look nice on the dog and help prevent injury to their feet – and yours! (Please disregard Kizzy’s dirty feet – we had just come inside from a run in the field!)