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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Bella in Action