Meet Zeus

[peternap]

Ever since Coleman died, the house has been pretty empty. Honestly, I'm not ready to get another dog yet though. I did start looking earlier in the week. I was looking for an Oorang Airedale like Coleman. Airedale breeders can be pretty snobbish and since the Oorangs are large (Coleman was 102 at his peak), they don't want to breed them. They don't do well at shows.

I was only able to find one breeder in the country I was comfortable with (Didn't have the puppies in a feed trough in the middle of a pen or the mother chained to a barrel) He is in Indiana though and didn't have any puppies and wasn't going to have any until next spring.

So I started looking at other breeds I liked. I like big dogs. IMHO, they're more intelligent with better dispositions except for the more aggressive breeds like pit bulls. They're also easier to train.....My opinion only guys, don't get insulated :lol:

One breed I've always liked are Great Danes. Not aggressive, easy to train, very good with children and generally, laid back. They are subject to some genetic disorders though and the bloodline is really important from a health standpoint. Good ones are expensive too.

I started checking on breeders and found three I wanted to look at. Ten minutes with breeder one, and I knew he was a flake. Breeder two was nice but fairly new so I looked at her reputation pretty hard. She was trying hard but had had too many litters in a bad economy. She had a lot of 6 month and older puppyies and hadn't had the money to pay the vet for the shots and worming.

Breeder three made the grade. Had been doing it for 20 years, had good dogs and the parents on site as well as all the medical records for every dog she had. The parents were great and she had one of the older (1year) offspring on site which was not for sale. All of the puppies were raised in her house.

She had a litter of pups that were 4 weeks old so it w
ould be another month before I could pick one up. I was just looking but my wife got in and was playing with the puppies and I left a deposit for one before I went home.

Gentlemen....Meet Zeus...... he's the Harlequin (White with black spots at the bottom of the picture)



This is Zeus's older brother. At 95 pounds, he's about half grown

[Sassy]

Awww, how cute!  I love Great Danes - had a harlequin myself for a few years - he was about 5 when I got him - so sweet & loveable - thought he was a lapdog...  he didn't seem to be the smartest, sometimes.  He would spend hours barking at the squirrels in the trees - they'd tease him unmercifully  chattering away at him...  bark was pretty booming - his name was Hoss - probably about my favorite dog - but Spike has definitely made a place in my heart - he's pretty loveable & quite the character     I think you'll be very happy with Zeus! 

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like he'll be a lapfull, Peter.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Danes are clever dogs... we had a neighbor with one named Princess when I was a kid, and every morning Princess would hop blithely over her chain link fence to go collect all the neighbors' newspapers.  Mom used to try to run get the paper before Princess got a hold of it, and more than once I had the enormous pleasure of watching Mom play tug of war (Mom is barely 5' tall) with that monstrous dog.  Several of the neighbors complained about Princess eating their papers, and so eventually the neighbor started keeping her inside between 4 AM and 7 AM, so the understanding was that if you wanted to read your paper intact, you had to get it before 7.

So, how/why did you pick Zeus out of the litter?  And was he already named, or did y'all come up with his name?

[peternap]

I named him. It seemed to fit.

This wasn't an inexpensive dog so I took my (Our) time picking one out.

First, my wife liked him which suited me.
Harlequins always seem to be the clowns and just have more personality.
His father was a Harlequin and was just beautiful and a ham. He would run up and lean on me (leaning is a trait with Danes) then throw himself down to get his tummy scratched. Then he'd jump up and shake my hand then throw himself down again.

His brother was constantly play fighting and showing off.

Zeus, was leading the group and putting everyone in their place. There's no question that all three are Alpha dogs. The health records of father, mother , grandmother and grandfather are perfect. No hip, heart or bloat problems (of course this goes for the entire litter).

And the final decision maker....Jane liked him.

The breeder is less than happy because we won't show him or breed him. She had both the Harlequins earmarked for that.

[Sassy]

I know about the "leaning" part - my Great Dane loved to lean against me - sometimes just about knocked me down!  He'd also like to crawl up in my lap - his back feet would be on the ground but the rest of him would be on me... then watch out when he's playing & running - I don't know how many times he misjudged & ran into me when I didn't get out of the way in time 

[mvk]

Peter
Congratulation's. 

Side car for the whizzer?

I adopted a German shepherd/ Rottie mix about two months ago after not having a dog for two years after losing Keisha to cancer. He was a fifteen month old rescued dog.  He took me off a bicycle and tore up my knee just got back on my feet.

Mike

[Redoverfarm]

Peter I guess the hunt is off for you a dog since you found Zeus?

[peternap]

Yeah, but thanks for looking John. I should have let you know.

Jane and I looked and when we couldn't find any within driving distance, we talked about another breed. I've always liked Danes and we were able to find a breeder that we liked, and had an exceptional litter of pups.

We can't pick him up for three more weeks but that works out anyway. Friday is new Grandkid day ...There's something unnerving about knowing exactly when it will be born and that it's a boy, in advance. There's also something unnerving about being a grandfather, I still haven't accepted it from the first one.

We're going to keep Emma over the weekend so I have no idea if I will get anything done on the barn or not (I really need to get some work done)

[Redoverfarm]

Peter what's the story with "Zeus".  Hadn't heard about him lately. Did you pick him up after the board meeting?

[peternap]

Yep, got all 15 pounds of him. He's doing really well despite the supposed "Professional Breeder" . When we picked him up (You wouldn't believe what he cost" he was covered with fleas, had ring worm (The Breeder called it Boo Boos) and has red mange. The Vet has everything under control but there is a black cloud over Wakefield.



Pretty rugged looking, isn't he.......

[Redoverfarm]

I am sure you will have him in ship shape in a month or so.  I guess they are so used to raising peanuts there they no nothing about dogs.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

My mom bought a miniature spitz sight unseen one time and when she got her, she was so covered with ticks and fleas that we weren't sure we were going to be able to pull her through it.  She was nearly bald from all the bites, poor thing, and of course wormy as all get out.  She finally looked as she should have all along after about 8 months. 

[peternap]

I swear he grows every day. I think he's gain 3 pounds this week

[muldoon]

Good looking lil fellow.  He's got some huge feet to grow into. 

[MountainDon]

Hey Peter. He's looking good. 

[Sassy]

What a cutie!