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Madewell Leopard Dot Pajamas | Tall Ugg Boots

Five months ago we got a puppy, so I thought we were wellll over due for an update, er I mean pupdate ;) To read the first post about our pup, click here.

Dino (Dionysus) is now 8 months old and pushing 85 pounds. That tiny pup in my previous post that was under 30 pounds, seems so long ago!! Here’s a post on just my thoughts in general over the past several months!

Having a dog makes you better. Don’t get me wrong - I love my cats! BUT a dog is all around different. Here’s some examples of how they better you.

• active - Nick and I were kind of in a physical rut. With a dog you literally have to snap out of it or else you’ll have pee and poop all over your floor. Dino has kind of whipped us back into shape and motivated us to move our bodies more.

• schedule - Oh man. If your routine or lack there of isn’t really working, getting a dog forces you to get on a schedule and stick to it, making you more productive in every other aspect of life!

• social - Getting Dino has allowed us to meet and speak to people we never would have. A dog is the ultimate ice breaker and can easily help you meet people.

• love - Dino is so loving. I might yell at him about something and 5 minutes later he is back for kisses and pets. I’m definitely not good at this IRL, so it’s a great example to have.

• patience - orrrr lack there of;) When A dog who weighs more than half of my body weight jerks my arm across the parking lot, it’s easy to get frustrated. I’m constantly working on my patience. This is good for obvious reasons, but also Danes do not respond well to negative reactions, so I’m trying to do my best to be positive as well.

Notes about Dino:

• friends - He literally wants to be friends with everyone! He is so sweet and is genuinely interested in everyone and everything around him.

• cats - I get asked a lot about how he is with the cats. Elliot is afraid of him and he knows it, so he will chase her around the house if he has the chance. Cat thinks he is ridiculous and is definitely the alpha. Dino has received several bats to the nose… I’m just waiting for the day I find them snuggling, but I don’t think it is going to happen.

• poop - Dino has been having some poop issues. It started when he visited a certain doggy day care, so they think it was bacterial? We would feed him these tablets to help, but have since weened him off of those. We try to feed him pumpkin with his dry food at least once a day, along with a probiotic spray. He isn’t too fond of the spray, but I trick him by putting one layer of food down, spraying, then covering it with an unsprayed section of food. Both of these things really help with getting nice, solid poops!

• food - We have switched his dog food! When I first did my puppy post, a lot of y’all didn’t like that we used Diamond Naturals. I think my favorite comment was that it is the “taco bell of natural dog food” LOL. He never really loved his food and we just kept him on it, because that’s what he was eating when we adopted him. Dane’s have finicky stomachs, and we just didn’t want to risk it. BUT our vet said go ahead and do it. We have since switched to Fromm’s and he LOVES it. We not only use their food, but also their treats. His favorite are the cranberry liver ones! He is still using a slow bowl to eat out of. We haven’t gotten him raised bowls yet, because we are trying to find one that the slow bowl fits in. We may just have to custom make them! We also really like this thirsty dots mat, which helps soak up all of his slobber while he is drinking!

• crate gate - His crate is now the largest size it can be unless we stack some! He sleeps there every night, and as of now will continue to do so. Unfortunately, we don’t have a bed in there, because he keeps chewing them, so ratty (but warm) blankets it is. We do have a bed for him in the living room, so we can monitor his chewing BUT it is his 3rd one. We want to get him a really nice memory foam one, but only once he shows he won’t destroy it. Also, we still have a baby gate on our bedroom door. This allows the cats to come and go as they please, but keeps Dino out. We let him in our bedroom when he is supervised, but otherwise he isn’t allowed in there. This also gives us a spot where we can leave our shoes on the floor if we want;)

• ear - The only really big issue we have had is with a pet day care. We were going to try and give him some play time during the week, but we have cut back on that because of an incident. We were called early afternoon one day saying that “another dog’s tooth had caught on Dino’s ear” but he was fine. Hours later when Nick went to pick him up, Dino was not okay…he was still bleeding and extremely pissed off. (which is not his personality) We took him to our vet who was mad on our behalf and got the day care to pay for his medical bills. The first night they just bandaged his entire head so that the swelling could go down and they could get a better look at it the next day. Turns out he had a hematoma and had to get 10 sutures in his ear. He had to wear a cone for about 3 weeks and it was probably the most unhappy we have seen him. Needless to say we haven’t been back to that location!

• fix - Yes we are fixing him! We will probably wait until after next March, once he hits a year old. Bigger dogs need their hormones longer, so they can continue to grow! It’s recommended to get them fixed around 12-18 months so they can reap the benefits for as long as possible. We bought the City Vet puppy plan, so it’s included as long as we do it by June!

• training - Dino has done level one training with Dallas Doggie Dash, but we need to take him back for round 2! We also board with them. They aren’t taking new boarding clients, but they are taking new training clients, so check them out if you are in DFW.

• favorite toys - Dino is a chewer. He goes through stuffed animals SO quickly. His longest lasting toys are the Kong Classic, the Nylabone, and the Dinosaur Egg Squeaker. We also love to get him a beef knuckle from our butcher to chew on outside. In this post he is playing with a Kong Stuffed Animal. I thought it would last, but the horns and the tail were soft fabric (the rest of it is more hard, durable fabric) and he killed it under 24 hours.

Really our main struggle the past few months with him was regarding using the bathroom. Sure he’s a puppy, but part of the struggle wasn’t even his fault! We live up 3 flights of stairs (no elevator) and the nearest patch of grass once you’re down the stairs isn’t for several yards. BUT now he is pretty much a champ. Also until about a month ago, Nick was coming home from work at lunch everyday, so Dino could potty. If you’re in the puppy potty stage, don’t worry. It does get better!!!

Overall, it doesn’t get much better than a Dane lean. When they are tired and/or showing you love, they put all of their body weight on you, by leaning onto your legs. It is the sweetest thing!! We are still working with him to not jump when he is excited, buuut after all, he is still a puppy. Can y’all wait until he is full grown?! We can’t!

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