Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Mischief

Sometimes Bella likes to create a little mischief around the house, just to keep us on our toes.

Saturday was a gorgeous day - warm and sunny, so we opened up the house to let in some fresh air. Bella was especially fond of the screen door, since she was able to better see, hear and smell what was going on outside. So she stood by the door, watching the people working in their yards and listening to the other dogs in the neighborhood...


And then she had enough and decided to be cute, lying in the sun chewing on her favorite frisbee...


And then, just when we thought she wasn't moving, and decided to do something other than give her our undivided attention for five seconds, we come back to this:


Someone had figured out how to slide open the screen door. Little turkey!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Bella says...I'm 11 weeks today!

Hi again! I'm 11 weeks old today! I'm getting much taller, and I weigh 26 pounds (or at least I did on Sunday) - that's 10 pounds in 4 weeks! Here are some pictures of what I've been up to lately. I love to hang out with my mom and dad, and I especially like belly rubs. I always have to know what's going on in the house, too. Luckily, I'm big enough now to see over the gate they put up, so I always know what's happening.









Hey - is that food I hear? Gotta go! See you later!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Ear ye, ear ye - an update

Thanks to Carol (as always - you're the best!) and Shannon, who sent us information on Bella's stray floppy ear. If anyone else out there reads this and wants more info, check out this link from Sixstar Danes breeder page (http://www.6stardanes.com/ears.html) or www.danesonline.com. From the other research we conducted, we found that it's also pretty common with other breeds (including German Shepherds and Yorkies) whose ears flop when teething, and usually go back to "normal" (whatever that is) once their adult teeth come in. Both of Bella's are flopping together now, so we've dubbed her "Origami Ears" for the time being. Taping is a solution, but we've decided just to see what happens, and if she grows up with ears in the Lotus position, then so be it. :-)

Bella got the in-house spa treatment this week! She had her first bath and got her first manicure - Carol, thanks for the tip on using a Dremel to do her nails! She really didn't mind too much, and she especially loved the bits of banana she got as a treat when it was all over. For more info on using a Dremel to do your dog's nails, head over to Gunther's page and look at the list on the right-hand side - there's a link to a great resource full of photos and tips.

I'll post some pictures tonight during her evening naptime. Have a great day, everybody!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Very Int"ear"esting

Here's something funny...we can't for the life of us figure out what's going on, so we need the advice of you smart, Dane-experienced people out there.

Here are Bella's ears at 9 weeks, last Wednesday:


Here are Bella's ears on Saturday:


And here are Bella's ears today at 10 weeks:


What's up with that right ear? It just started flopping over Monday night, for no apparent reason. She didn't take a tumble, it doesn't appear to be injured, she doesn't wince when we touch it. We even cleaned both ears last night thinking it may be irritated, but nope - just crooked. Any thoughts? Will it go back to flopping forward? Thanks, smart doggie people!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Life with Bella - Week Two

I swear, sometimes I think the girl grows overnight - she seems heavier when I pick her up to take her downstairs in the morning. I can't believe how fast she's growing.

Bella is starting to take on more of the typical Great Dane characteristics - her jaw is squaring up a bit, her ears have started to stand up (it's so funny), and when she's alert, she stands like a champion show dog - head up, chest out. Maybe now people won't mistake her for a Weimaraner on our walks. "No, she's a Great Dane," we say. And the number one response we get is, "Wow! Are you sure?" Yup, we're sure. ;-)

She's been getting better about her leash this week - less chewing, more walking. Housebreaking is coming along, too - we realized that we'd mistakenly taken on the "weekend" mentality. Humans break out of their Monday-Friday routine, so why not her, too? We found out quickly - breaking out of the routine = lots of accidents. We've learned our lesson, gotten more in tune to her schedule & her signals, and we've all been doing much better this week.

We'll post more pictures soon!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Bella says...It's my birthday!

Well, sort of. I'm 9 weeks old today! I weigh 20 pounds, and I'm growing so fast! My vet says I'm going to be a big girl when I grow up.


I got a present on Monday from some nice ladies that mom works with - she says they like to look at pictures of me and hear how I'm doing. I like them already! Thanks for my present - mom and I have been learning to play fetch with my new tennis ball.
So far, some of my favorite things to do are eat, sleep, play, eat some more, play and sleep. Oh, and snore. I like to go for walks and to go watch my dad play soccer. I love vanilla yogurt and bananas (my mom hides my vitamins in there; she thinks I don't notice, but I play along to make her happy).
It's time for me to go play now. Arrrf - I mean, I'll see you later!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Friday, October 5, 2007

Life with Bella - Week One

My, how far we've come in a week! Bella has been such a good puppy - we're so lucky! She's adjusted well to her new environment, with almost no anxiety over being in a new place with new people. She's a pro in her crate now, too - she never puts up a fuss about going in for a nap or to sleep at night, and when she wakes up, she can calm herself down (unless we need to take a trip outside, but that's usually quick and efficient so we can both get back to sleep!). She's learning to walk on a leash, which usually goes well - unless it gets within chewing distance, at which time it lands squarely between her sharp little puppy teeth. That we need to work on, but all in good time.

We made our first visit to the doggy park on Saturday, and after finding the "little dog" portion empty, we decided to venture into the "big dog" section. She wasn't too sure what to make out of all the sniffing and bigger dogs, but she didn't act overly submissive or aggressive if she was frightened. She did make a beeline back to us if it got to be too much, but she didn't stay there for long. She also met a little 10-week old Rottie puppy, and they played for a little while. The size difference was amazing between the two - Rotties are big dogs, too, but Bella was a lot bigger that this adorable furball even at 8 weeks.

My dad and stepmom came by to meet their "granddog" on Saturday evening. Bella was on her best behavior, and we think she won them over. This may tide them over on grandkids for a little while, but we're not taking any bets. :-)

Sunday was lazy family day - we all liked that! Following a bruiser of a soccer game on Sunday for B and a little overstimulation at the fields for Bella (new people overload!), we all zonked out and watched football all day. We think Bella enjoyed the extreme laziness - her frequent and loud snoring clued us in.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Our first days with Bella

Here are a few photos from our visit to pick up Bella on Saturday. Maybe this is why she can sleep through anything?


B with Bella's parents (such sweethearts!)

and human mom and doggie mom:


On Sunday, we took her to a soccer game, and we had some friends over to watch football. Bella was great with all the new people and puppies she met that day. She especially had lots of fun with her Uncle Tony.


Crate training is coming along...she gets better every night, and is starting to develop a routine with us. She likes to take her favorite toy (whichever one it is at the moment) and hop into her bed, or play with it in our laps. She likes to go for walks, but she really loves it when we turn around to go back home. And when she's really, really tired, she snores like a lumberjack.


She is so funny - she makes us laugh constantly, and we feel so lucky to have her in our lives.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Bella says...Hi!

Hi! My name is Bella! (But I think you already knew that.)
I went home with my new mom and dad on Saturday! We had lots of adventures - we drove through three states, from my old home in New Jersey to my new home in Maryland. I didn't see much of it, though - I was really tired, so I slept almost the whole time.


When I woke up, they took me to a little pet store and bought me lots of toys! The girls in the store thought I was cute and took my picture to put up on their bulletin board. We went home, and I checked the place out. I liked exploring! I think I wore my dad out, so we took a nap together.


I met some other dogs and their people, and all of my cousins came over to play. My mom and dad took me for a little walk on my new leash, too - they said I did a great job, but I just liked being outside with all the new things to see and smell. We came back home, ate some dinner, and I had lots of snuggle time with mom and dad before bed.


I really like it here - my human parents are really nice, and they give me lots of love and hugs and kisses. Okay, now I have to go play with my tire. Bye!