Sleepy time!

We have a nightly ritual around here. When it's time to go to sleep, I get in my comfy bed, lay down with my sleepy-time toy, let mom and dad give me tummy rubs, and then they cover me up and I fall asleep with a smile on my face. It might look a little goofy, but I love it.

This little guy in my mouth is my Micro-Puppy. He got that name because he can go in the microwave and get all warm and toasty for me to sleep with. I've had him since I came to live with mom and dad when I was just a tiny puppy. I sleep with him every night, and I'm very gentle with him. I do like to give him some nibbles before I fall asleep, though.

Good night!

Bobbing for Ice Cubes

This past Sunday was hot - or at least I thought so! I heard the weatherman say it was 85 degrees, a lot warmer than I remember from when I was little. Mom and dad say this is springtime. All I know is it makes my tongue hang out!

So on Sunday, mom was getting some sun on the deck. She looked pretty relaxed, so I thought I'd join her. It was pretty nice, except for one thing - I was HOT! So mom, being the nice lady that she is, got me my own water dish for outside, and as a special treat 'cause I looked so pathetic (I must finally be getting it right), she put some ice cubes in it for me. Man, was that fun! I invented a new game - I call it, "Bobbing for Ice Cubes." Also known as, "Hey, what's this wet stuff up my nose?"

Step 1: Identify ice cube.

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Step 2: Make contact with ice cube.

Step 3: Submerge entire snout when going after ice cube.

Step 4: Remember to breathe out through nose when bobbing.

Step 4 in greater detail - breathe out!

And that's it! My favorite thing to do once I finally get it out is to bat it around with my paws, suck on it and spit it back out again. I don't like to eat it - too cold and crunchy

My first day at the beach

Last weekend, I got to meet my other Grandma for the first time! She lives in Texas, and she came to visit for the weekend. I had lots of fun with her - she even let me sleep in bed with her one night! I'm a great snuggler, and I gave her lots of hugs and kisses while she was here. If you're reading this, hi and I can't wait to see you again!

While my mom and her mom were on the Eastern Shore (where I went at Christmas-time and played with pinecones), dad and I had some quality time together - he took me to the doggie beach! It was my first time ever at the beach, and I liked it a lot. I loved the water, and even though I know I can swim, I didn't really like it when the water got over my head and my paws couldn't touch the ground. Here's what our day looked (and sounded) like:

Hi! You guys come here often?

Me? Nope, it's my first time here. Thanks - I think I will join you!

Ooh - a ball! I can get it, I can get it...

Hey - a bigger ball! I'll help you carry it out...hang on, I'm coming!

Hi, dad! This is lots of fun! Thanks for bringing me here!

Swimming is hard work...mind if I just sit here for a minute?

Rock on, Bella!

B and I love dogs, and I won't even get started on how much we love Great Danes now, too. We love Bella and think she's a riot, and part of the reason we started this little blog back in August was so we, and our family and friends, could keep track of how she grows, what she does, and the ins and outs of owning a giant breed dog.

In doing all our research, we stumbled upon Savage's blog (the link is in the sidebar to the right). Savvy is a gorgeous blue male, and we were fascinated with his mom's documentation of how he grew, his training, feeding style, and all her research on the breed.

Over the past 6 or so months since we brought Bella home and started this little blog for fun, we found tons of other Great Dane blogs out there, and started a little family, so to speak. We always check in to see how our other Dane pals are doing, and we love their blogs. So imagine my surprise when Savvy and his mommy presented little ol' us with this:




We're excellent - go figure!! So we just want to say thank you to Savvy and his mom for thinking of us!

My Pal Jackson

I had so much fun on Saturday - I got to play with my new friend Jackson all day!

Jackson is a Rhodesian Ridgeback who mom and dad's friends rescued a year ago. He is such a sweet boy, and he's one lucky dog to have such great (and fun!) parents. They love him so much, and he loves them right back.

We went to the dog park earlier in the day - it was hot and there weren't many other doggies to play with, but we still had fun. We came back to my house and played, ate and slept for the rest of the day. We got plenty of treats, but as you can see, we had to work for them!

Near the end of the night, Jackson decided he needed a midnight snack, and check this out - he moved my bowl out of the way and found the food underneath! What a smart guy - I should have paid closer attention - knowing how to do that could come in handy someday!

Quick Update

Once again, I've been slacking on the blog updates (I'm SO sorry - really!) but I wanted to give a few quick updates before the next round of photos (which will be tonight - I promise!).

Bella turned 8 months almost 2 weeks ago, on April 8th. She's almost 32" tall and weighs in at a whopping 102 pounds! We're in triple digits now, folks! She's been doing great with her obedience class and takes her test to pass Obedience II tomorrow. She'll also be taking her Canine Good Citizen test next Tuesday, so everyone out there, keep your fingers and paws crossed that we all do well on that! She's got everything down except the "Accepting a friendly stranger" and "reacting to another dog" tests (only because she wants to lick the friendly stranger and play with the other dog). Dad and Bella have been working very hard on those two pieces, so when she passes, Dad also deserves a big pat on the back.

Healthwise, our big girl is doing great! Our vet referred us to a doggie ophthalmologist since she'd been having some eye issues, and her right eye appears to be sunken in a little more than the left, which concerned us. Happily for all of us, the doc gave her a clean bill of eye health, and said she's perfectly fine. She said that since Bella is still growing, she may not have "grown into" her face just yet, or she just might have deep-set eyes, and that it's really nothing to worry about. She did suggest that we give her some moisturizing eye drops every day, and it seemed to give her some relief last night, so we may be on to something! She'd also been eating a ton of grass lately, and after researching it and asking our awesome doggie daycare lady, found that it might be due more to the grass being fresh and new (it is springtime here, after all!) than her having an upset stomach. We also decided to supplement her dry food with some fruits & veggies to give her some added nutrients, in case she was eating grass for that reason. We're happy to report that as of the last few days, our pup is no longer an herbivore, thought she has taken a liking to green beans.

Photos are coming tonight - Bella had lots of fun on Saturday with her pal Jackson, a rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback, and we've got the pics to prove it! Hope everyone has a great day out there!

Mischief with Mr. Octopus