Awww, he’s still a little baby bottoms, even if he’s got himself a big baby bottoms! So sleepy. Kenai, 47 wks
This is his new favorite napping pose. Instead of getting all the way on the bed, he sort of puppy slides; front end first, ooching the back end up in sections. This pic is the second to last section. Next he’ll shift the rump to lay across the foot of the bed. Must be a feel good stretch kind of thing. Silly wumps.
He had a stimulating Thanksgiving. We so rarely have company come over that the boys aren’t exactly well practiced at controlling their excitement with the prospect of people love. Poor Kenai had his gentle leader on until he got the idea that he still has to stay on his bed.
Only getting attention when called over for it isn’t a boy’s idea of fun. They were supposed to play with him on demand (insert puppy pout, puppy sigh).
Overall he did very well, and even with his brother’s happy antics, Kenai stayed calm. He didn’t mooch from the table a single time, my good boy, and didn’t really bug anyone. Once when Melba approached him all noisy and excited, he had to be clamped down on for the initial stages of the rough you ups.
She’s used to the swats and jumps of her lab, but Kenai’s considerably larger. Riling this bull elephant up to “play” isn’t a good idea when you’re in your 80’s…He outweighs her already!
I get asked a lot if Danes are good with children. Yep. Very good with kids. If… if is the big catch. Their personalities are wonderfully tender, gently protective, and tolerant. When grown. Puppies are another matter. They must learn from day one how to interact with kids, especially small kids.
Dane pups will be as excitable and playful as any other pup, only with some serious poundage. An excited 4 month old Dane can knock down a grown woman, so yeah, a toddler will get some bruises if it’s not supervised.
My first baby sitter was a Dane. Riptide was 6 months old when Mom got him, his training well underway. I was 2 days old when we met, and it was love at first sight for us both. Riptide was my first boyfriend. He would lay down beside me, that big nose keeping track of when I needed a diaper change. When I could crawl, he would walk along behind me, even moving toys or other obstacles.
Standing up involved grabbing his fur and using him to keep from tenderizing my rump roast. He cried a time or two, but never moved. He would block the stairs, and if I tried going around him, Riptide would keep his big butt in my way. Spankings meant he was put in another room first, where he cried with me.
Outside, he would kill snakes and groundhogs, and run off cats and stray dogs when I was out with him. He would retrieve my toys and balloons too. We shared cookies, took naps together, explored the woods as a pair. Riptide was a companion and protector.
But Riptide the Gentleman had to learn not to run around playing near me, to never ever swat or bump, surrender the ball when I wanted it, and be gentle. It came naturally to him, but he was just a youngster himself. He was supervised around me until Mom was certain his behavior would always be calm. For him, that was a solid year. Then she would let us be alone together, though she was never far away.
For Kenai, as calm and gentle as he is, I wouldn’t trust him alone with a little kid yet. He swats too frequently, and plays too hard. He’ll be very well behaved for awhile, then start getting over-stimulated. He’s attracted to the little peoples, tickling babies with his whiskers, trotting along next to kids and doing his sits for them. They’re like magnets, and when they cry, he gets all upset and wants to fix it. But he’s a gorilla when he plays.
Our late Brazos, once he was over his teenage dunderhead stage, yeah, he was beautifully gentle, trustworthy around babies on the floor. His tail got gnawed on, his ears were pulled, he was crawled all over as an adult. Each pup will need time to grow up and calm down before you can put them and the kids out back without watching.
Someone else asked about stopping the swats. Jeez. I emailed back with what I’ve tried, but had to confess I’ve never completely stopped it with Kenai. It’s a frustrating failure. He does it less and less as he ages, and is more careful about where and how hard the feet hit, but he still forgets himself and wallops when playing. Grrr. He’s been no where near as easy to redirect and manipulate as my past Danes.
With other dogs, Kenai is an unredeemable ruffian. A top notch thug, and middleweight golden gloves boxer. Perhaps that will also decrease, after adolescence, if I just keep on keeping on with corrections. How sorry I was not to have a helpful solution. Who knows, maybe something that failed with Kenai will work for that pup?
Saturday morning I began seriously looking at mobility harnesses for Kenai. Most people buy them around a year old, acclimating the dog to the feel and use of the harness they’ll wear throughout their working lives. I’m sure it feels odd to them at first, heavier and more restrictive than a nylon walking harness. Thankfully, Kenai is pretty tolerant of equipment. Except the fleece coat—it must offend his dignity or something, the man-snob.
Anyway, the arrival of a harness will mean a new stage of the brown bear’s training; balance and the beginnings of carrying stuff. He’s far too young for carrying my schoolbooks, the big heavy things. And there won’t be any real bracing tasks yet, not until he’s grown.
We’ve nibbled the edges of carrying and balance, but once I have a rigid handle or backpack pouches, he’ll start hauling lightweight grocery bags for me. Toilet paper, dinner rolls, shampoo bottles…not the eggs though. That could be messy.
All our hands free heeling practice really did have a purpose! And so did his walking harness. I wasn’t just being a despot. “Thou shalt walk NICELY little boy”…
We’ll officially have moved into stage 2 of 3 in his SD training when his harness comes! Basic obedience, balance harness, and weight bearing are the 3 stages for Kenai. It’s exciting and intimidating at the same time! There’s so much to learn and get used to, for both of us.
He hasn’t fully perfected the basic obedience, and probably won’t be totally reliable until he’s grown. That’s okay. Who knows, perhaps a heavy leather harness will make him feel like he has a job to do? He does walk better on his easy walker harness, and did with his little boy back pack several months ago.
Not having done this before, I’m sure there’ll be lots more flubs racked up in my “oops” page. Oh and plenty of “what the heck was that about” from the brown rhino’s repertoire. That’s the fun of it, I guess, laughing at the duh moments.
“Hope and fear travel together…”
[...] Very good with kids . If… if is the big catch. Their personalities are wonderfully tender, gently protective, and tolerant. When grown. Puppies are another matter. They must learn from day one how to interact with kids , especially small …[Continue Reading] [...]