'Putting a Dane outside for much of its life is akin to sentencing someone in solitary confinement. While a Dane does take up a great deal of space in the home, it is within this home that the dog can come closest to reaching its full potential. Caring for such a dog begins and ends with the amount of time and effort an owner is willing to expend.' [Joe Stahlkuppe]
ABBEY June 23rd, 2009
Shes home, warm, I clipped, toenails done. You’d think shed be cool. Na.. two days AWOL, shes aggro.
hates the danes, totally territorial, barks, screams.. you would think she didnt know Chels and Shiloh… nor me..
welcome to our world
ABBEY June 20th, 2009
Saturday night,when this photo is taken, warm by the fire, rain on the roof. Its been raining steadily for 2 weeks. For those that dont know this is my sons dog, Lucy Yap Yap, she must be six years now. I was involved in a massive car accident and Lucy was bought for me while I was convalescing but she was always Josefs (my sons) dog. She slept with him, pines for him, if I put her outside she would sit at a verandah where she could see him. Hes now left home but she still goes to his room to sleep and is estatic if he comes home, to her where he belongs.
Back to Saturday night, not an unusual night, routine, I went to bed about 10pm. Locked the Danes in their room but didnt check for Lucy, assumed she was on Josefs bed warm. Around 9am Sunday, Gabrielle gets the door as I get dressed.
‘Have you lost your white dog? (Gabe is confused and says no, shes here, I’ll check)
‘Well she was at the Waterfall, I called the council’ (woman storms off)
Gabrielle tells me, now we are both in a panic, Lucy is gone. I ask who was the woman? The Waterfall? thats 3km’s away???? Oh and the council is closed for the weekend… What the hell do we do? Gabrielle is frantic, the dog’s gone, we cant contact anyone?
All I can think is we are so broke since I lost my job, how the hell do I get Lucy back? I have absolutely no savings. The car died last week and at best guess Lucy is now 30km’s away. Its been raining so much those I can think of who could help are ‘flooded in’. Gabrielle (God bless her) has broken her savings and is counting 20cent pieces on the carpet… She rings Josef, they come up with the plan to offer the RSPCA 2 Danes for one Lucy! … (well we know where my kids stand with the hounds…lol). I try and calm them and tell them we can do nothing till Monday morning
Monday while Im asleep, from 5am on, Gabe googles the RSPCA, rings them with the ‘Dane Offer’, luckily they say get Mum to call. I do… I cant get to town (Gabe is too young to collect her), its going to be $120 (cheap as Im now unemployed, $200+ if you are working), I also need sterilisation certificates (she has ear tattoo, doesnt count?) microchip proof (I said its in there, read it!!) or we are talking $300+plus $10 each night she stays….Lucky I keep all the dogs records up to date,
Eventually my ex drives 500km’s(takes two days off work), I give him the money I have, he adds to it and Lucy Yap Yap is home
Shhheeesh
ABBEY June 19th, 2009
Yep, Bitey face, they are still at it and it can break out at anytime. No one gets hurt but boy can it get noisy. Its often spontaneous and often over in two seconds, other times goes on for half an hour. No one seems to ‘win’ and its all in good fun.
ABBEY June 18th, 2009
Well this week we’ve reclassified Chels from anorexic to greyhound chic. The girl is putting on weight finally. That’s after 2-3 weeks of a high calorie porridge mix that she loves. Trouble is she wont eat her biscuits dry now but thats a small price to pay.
Its porridge, pumpkin, egg, oil, gelatin, mollasses and any left overs thrown in. I just cook it and spoon it over her dry food of a morning, she then has more dry food at night. Throw in a chicken piece a day and shes doing ok.
Shiloh is a fat witchity grub who has a small amount of porridge as well of a morning or she cries. Im so pleased with Chels, she was lookin like Paris Hilton and thats not good!
Have all so started feeding them seperately, Chels would settle to eat but spent her time trying to prevent Shiloh eating then running back and forwards between bowls, neglecting her own but stopping Shiloh eating hers she was really making herself anxious. So now its seperate rooms with a door between them till they are both finished.
ABBEY June 17th, 2009
I tried folding the jacket in half and cutting but it wouldn’t fit so I had to lay the jacket flat and cut, which meant I had to include original arm seams and on the chest piece a zip. After that I removed the template and hand sewed around the jacket back (that is what I’m trying on Chels in the photos) and have started the chest part. It is definitely a job for an xL jacket to avoid the sleeves and be able to cut a more smooth coat. So far, including yesterday has taken 4hrs.
My much loved Gran is in a nursing home, so I phoned her and suggested I come and sew with her tomorrow while she works on a jumper she is finishing. That will give me a chance to buy half a metre of red fake fur for the end butt and the collar; and a ball of red wool for the button hole stitch Im going to do each side in. This will cover my tiny messy stitches and give it a smother finish.
So far, so good. I’m pretty happy with the progress.
ABBEY June 16th, 2009
Well Ive made a start on my babes first coat. I went the the thrift shop and bought two mens jackets, the one with the red lining is an ‘M’, the other is a 16 (I assume boys) they were the biggest they had and cost me $3.50 each. I threw one on Chels when I got home (good fit) and that was it for Shiloh, she stood and barked. Ive noticed Danes dont like the unusual. 
Tonight I began with cutting a paper pattern out of news paper, adjusting a little as I go, Im using the pattern I found on the net here. Tried that on, adjusted again, added more newspaper to the stomach band and when it looked ok cut out the ‘official prototype’
The stripped material is the fitted sheet of my bed that Chels shredded last week (grr) I cut the elastic off and will use that for the leg band. I laid it out on the jackets and Im not going to get a coat out of each jacket but will use both these for Chels. Its finished off with fur trim on the neck and butt (probably another jacket, Gabe went burko when I started dragging her coats out.
but thats as far as I got tonight, it was mission impossible at first as they both wanted to stand on the newspaper in front of me and ‘help’. Will post more pics as I get further along but for a non sewer Im doin ok so far
ABBEY June 15th, 2009
Now dont look at the scratch marks all down the door… I figure I can paint these over. The reason my front door is featured is the handle. Its not Dane proof I have found. A 5am knocking on the front door, with my young neighbour up in arms as Chelsea decided to go say hello to his pair of Malamutes which of course involved frenzied barking from both them and Chelsea, I couldnt work it out, the front door was shut, yet Chelsea was happily wandering (and ticking off) our neighbourhood. I bought her inside (when I finally caught her) and put it down to an odd mystery.
Yesterday, I put the Danes on the verandah and headed down the side gardening. I was startled by my ‘across the road’ elderly neighbour screaming. I ran to her aid. Yep Chelsea was happy as Larry on a sun lounge on her front verandah. Shame faced and with many, ‘Im sorry it will never happen again’ I dragged the wandering hound home. I knew I had shut the front door, and it was shut when I returned. So I put the kettle on and pretended to go to the study.
Honest, the hound looked around for me, then put her nose under the latch and flicked it up once or twice. Bingo the door opened, looked around once more for me then headed off. After she had gone, the door slowly closed on its own. Holy Cow Batman!
Now I have to lock us in the house and if I go outside lock the door behind me, which is fine but Bella has the only key, so I have to climb the verandah to get back in. Tomorrow Im off to get some more keys cut.
ABBEY June 14th, 2009
some may have seen this photo on my blog but last night was our first fire for the season. Normally I spend the night trying to get the girls off the lounge, this night they all found a spot between myself and the fire and not a peep out of them till bed time.At first it was novel for them to stand near the door of the fire looking in, but they soon jumped back when the heat warmed their skin. Now it looks nice and cozy but I seem to have been relegated to the far end of the lounge room, the only alternative is for me to get down there on the mat and find a corner for myself I guess (sigh).
ABBEY June 13th, 2009
Shiloh at 91/2 months, trying to soak up the last of the afternoon sun today. I looked at this and thought, ‘Wow!, my little girl isnt a pup anymore’
ABBEY June 12th, 2009
Poor Chels, she feels the cold and our house is an igloo. Its all timber and slate and although we have a fire I havnt lit it yet, add to that the verandah door is always open so they can get outside and its damn cold. I dont want to miss there walks for winter but even though our climate is mild compared to others, this cold snap has me thinking.
So I started searching the net. I cant knit so Im limited to sewing and free patterns are few and far between. Lots for sale or from ebay. I found a few and have posted them at the top under ‘Budgeting for the Girls’. The one pictured here Im going to have a go at, the Nopan ompelukerho: Warm winter coat. It can be made from an old jacket (will get two mens ones from the thrift shop) and seems the most secure.
If anyone has any tips or ideas Id love to hear them, my experience with sewing is minimal and most will be hand sewn.