It is almost 2012. Hard to believe I will again be fumbling over dates on checks etc and writing down the wrong year.  I guess this why they created bank cards.

The puppies are doing well. The girls are seperated at night from one another in seperate pens. One male is doing exceptionally well and is sitting and staying until he gets his treat.  The girls are a little more impatient. They seem to recognize the differences in collars too.  There are a couple of times they have gone after the odd color collar wearer.  I have seen this in horses when I lived on my friends ranch years ago.  One pasture had all white horses in it and at feeding time they would run off the next one from the hay according to age.  The eldest mare ate from every other horses flake of hay and then went back to the front of the line where the first flake had been thrown. Then a bay mare was run into the pasture and they wouldn't let her eat at all. They kept running her off of her hay so she was moved out of the pasture and back into another area.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 3:31 PM PST

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2018 3:12 PM PDT

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For those of you who read this blog, and I am hoping it is very few.  I had a very quiet Christmas. You see, I lost my family members in a series of Train Wrecks begining in 1988. It has been one train wreck after another and now they are all gone. This is a good thing, because train wrecks are always messy.  People like to pull out their crystal ball and tarot cards and pretend they are mind readers. They throw suggestions at you and try to 'fix' things. They are generally in support groups and frankly that is exactly where they belong, in support groups where like minded individuals can wreck each other trains by derailing members of the support group with helpful insightful suggestions about the other support group members problems. This is ok, if they are in the same shoes, but generally no one walks in the same shoes or even on the same track, support groups are not multi-support, they only support one thing and neglect or forget that other people's circumstances are not like theirs based on demographics, socio economics, politics, education including number of years in school K-12, AA degrees, or BA/BS, Masters, or Doctorates,  majors or minors of course work studied and of course esthetics about dogs.

We did have a quiet Christmas. Optemus is doing well, and I will get to see him next Friday when his owner brings him by for his next shot. The pups think they are guard dogs now. One little pack of do not enter into our property. They watched the yardman clean up and followed him around. Another cousin of his told the girls to 'listen' and they listened and then sat. I was amazed because the boys are the ones listening to me not the girls. they are growing every day and while we are not Optemus, they are big. I tried to put my forfinger and thumb around one of the males wrists and I couldn't touch so their wrists are bigger then 6" around.  I haven't weighed them lately, they are very heavy and hard to pick up.  They love the barn, and are exploring every inch of it.  They like the rice bran I feed the horses and I am using the tiny bite size pieces to train them to sit.  I know this is a strange blog and not at all about the puppies, which isn't good, but, that is life. When someone emails me to as me if I will take 700.00 off the price of a puppy, and then gets huffy about it, and finally tells me in a half sobbing way that they put a deposit down with a breeder who breeds many different colors of danes, and has lots of puppies each year but that for the price the emailer offered they don't get a choice of sex, color or whatever, I think something is fishy.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 2:09 PM PST

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2018 3:21 PM PDT

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This has been the strangest year yet. People are sending me Christmas Cards quoting bible passages about Christ Dying. Hey, I don't know about the rest of the Christian World but on Christmas I celebrate his Birth not his Death. Coo, coo, and very mixed up.

The puppies had thier 3 rd DHLPP shot, this time when I reordered the vaccine Progard was available and I am so happy. So I have ordered two boxes of 25 doses of DHLPP shots. One thing I did note was that the Vanguard for some reason or was it the Galaxy at any rate one of them can't be sent to MN. something about the live culture in the vaccine. Weird.  Progard has been the best and it is made by Schering Plough Animal Health.

This is also turning into an exercise of wills against wills. There have been alot of people who are unable to care for their horses so ASPCA is stepping in and taking the animals away. No one is giving an inch. ASPCA is then begging for donations. One of the local news channels is giving a whole 30 cents to ASPCA if you press like on their facebook page. BIG whoop. This is also a hot button political issue and the people who are pushing this animal crap are in Sacramento pushing a political agenda that looks more like a blueprint for socialism then democracy.

I will also add here in this blog, that when the taxpayers voted for a high speed railway between so cal and no cal, I don't think that anyone intended for the CDCR to hijack the funds and begin running the railways off the course/route between two correctional centers here in the Valley. Thank God that got stopped, by a savvy business person. It was begining to look like an emergency response system for the prison system just in case they bull baited inmates into rioting against them. Personally I am at that point too. Way too many controlling people in this world and it isn't doing anyone any good anywhere.

At least some Macy's commercials have rid themselves fo the Red Star and are now using a White Star in thier ads. Can I say subliminal messaging enough ! I think everyone was seeing red stars and boy has the message to the people been sublime.

Take Care,

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 11:08 AM PST

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Getting censored on a website or any technology that you pay for with your dollar.

Where do the Socialists draw the line? Let's see, They loudly protest about people with an income that is higher than their's but they love to take the money from people who DO NOT Share thier viewpoints. I don't think they are happy people because their need to be in control is never satiated even when they get thier own way. They are stuck in a rut and the wagon wheel cannot jump out of the same ole same ole track. The problem is that this impacts the reactions of other people that they interact with in their lives.

I had another post for this written and someone whose computer skills are bigger than mine, decided to knock me offline, and I lost the post I was writing. If you don't like the opinions of others, don't take their money.

Contrast BYB and Puppy Miller's.

Millers always have dogs available and they have huge kennels so they are more apt to deal with you when it comes to bickering over price.  I am not even going to say BARGAIN. So kick butt attitudes will result in kick the dog instead. Personally, I would rather slap the crap out of them for using sob stories to get a better price.  Maybe that is why, Miller, told them that ok, at that price I will pick the pup, of my choice not yours, and you can't have a say in the color, gender, age or whatever. So it appears to me, that Miller is also tired of Kick Butt Attitudes.

My publicist mind told me to erase that sentence. I am not known for my People Pleasing ways and I am out spoken.

At any rate, every morning and night that I feed the horses, one puppy will decide it is their turn to assist me. Their treat for this is a small handful of rice bran. They love it.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 10:42 AM PST

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2018 3:18 PM PDT

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Today I used the Dremel on the puppies front toe nails. They were pretty good, some needed to see what the Dremel was, and some didn't like having thier feet restrained, but I made it through and they got cookies.  Holly watched, and everytime I went to bring in another puppy, Holly, TJ and Grace stole the cookies off of the end table.  Luckily they also drop on cue. I don't like thieves in dogs and I don't let them keep their stolen goods so they can't get reinforced for stealing. 

Last night we had a freeze warning so I picked the Myers Lemons off of one of the small trees and sliced them and dried them in the oven to store in a tin.  I learned about this idea from Food Network, Giada, and want to thank her.  The slices are really tart with the same myer lemon flavor and they should store well.  It makes it easier to avoid freeze issues if the fruit is ripe enough to pick before it dries out.  Especially with myers since their skin is so thin. 

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 4:17 PM PST

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2018 3:16 PM PDT

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Yesterday was a blustery day here in Tigger Land. {RCA bounces like Tigger} The electricity went off and on so many times the Dish had to reload over and over again.  I missed The Chew. Then the power went completely out. That means no water here because the pump runs off of electric. 

The pups flying saucer pans really turned into flying saucers. The dog house kept moving around in near circles,  luckily it didn't take flight. The pups were brought into the house, and with the TV off and all the power they went to sleep. Around 7 PM the electricity came back on thank you PGE.  There are people in the Clovis area that are still without power.  The morning news showed horrible footage of LA with streets lined with fallen trees. They reported wind up to 105 mph. 

I went outside and saw that several branches from the eucalyptus had broken off, one is lying across the dog kennel and needs to be cut up for firewood. The corners of the property are filled with tumble weeds and the ground looks like cement where the wind blew the top soil, not really top soil thanks to water issues in the Valley, but dust.  I have seen worse, so it isn't that bad.

I was waiting for the wicked witches house to land on the house but I don't have her ruby slippers here.  The triple pane windows were trying to rattle and there was a vibration on the inside panes on the sliding door. The Guaranteed to Rust Bells were clanging wildly. The Orange County register posted about the Best in the OC for margarita's yesterday anywhere in california was the best place for margarita's or a nice gin and tonic with a slice of lime.  who cares. The cell phone was losing power and I was happy I had a cell phone charger for the truck. Somewhere there is a trash can of mine that blew out of the ditch and off who knows where, I guess it will never be seen again.

And today I am remembering a paper I wrote for a folk lore class time capsule, where I wrote about how my dad's family worked in the Oranges until 1980. Today because of the water issues I was reading about, I am remembering how a cousin worked in the grapes, and guess what, ag isn't using as much water as they continually report in the news with their scare tactics reports to grab water from the Valley. In fact one of the biggest users is the Industrial areas of California including a semi conductor.  So now I am wondering if the recycling waste water is being used for the purpose of cooling a semi conductor. I know they have brought recycled waste water to Kings county for the farmers/dairymen/ranchers to use to water the crops, but is it also being used for the semi conductor? Just wondering since it is and will remain an issue for the Bay Area smelt who are dying because of the waste that is getting dumped into the Bay and because they need fresh water to flush !

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 10:25 AM PST

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2018 3:19 PM PDT

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It is cold and foggy here in the Big Valley. We have been reading online about some changes in the Great Dane Standard, but haven't checked to see if what is being passed around is correct or not.

Generally, and unless the GDCA Standard has changed, only blacks from blue breeding can be bred to blues.  Only Blacks from Harlequin breeding can be bred to Harlequins and I guess the Mantles.  Only blacks from Fawn Breedings can be bred to Fawns and Brindles. And of course black to black breeding.   I have never known or heard or read that any black can be bred to any color other then the same bloodline the black was born into.

I do not stud my dogs out anyway.  Although a lot of people ask or call or email me asking if I do, I don't.

Another rumor that I heard circulating is that you don't have to crop ears to enter into the show ring. That is also a new one for me.  I know that in other countries ear cropping has been outlawed, and I have seen dogs or pups from these countries stacked with the handler holding the ears above the head.  I guess you can and as the person told the other person asking about the ear cropping, the individual needs to be perfect in other areas. 

I have been trying to get these pups to stack naturally by raising the food bowl.  Some show person taught me that years ago, and it works. The pup learns how to stack with thier heads up.  I know there is more to stacking a dog or puppy, but I think this little step helps them to get the idea to hold thier heads up.

I have never made the claim that any of my pups are BIS BISS quality, but since they are AKC registered dogs they can be shown in AKC sanctioned events and classes. Maybe this BIS BISS is where many people get mixed up, I guess it depends on whether or not you want to use your dog for sport and recreation or really sail to the top of Great Dane World.

Signing off, I am missing Hot in Cleveland.  I hope Don Rickels stays on the show. It is a great comedy with a little vaudeville thrown in.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 7:59 PM PST

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It is two days before Thanksgiving and I have a lot of things to do so most likely will not be blogging on the litter.

I had a phone call today and tried to send a link to my facebook page and videos.  I don't know how to use the phone the phone is doing just what it wants to do. Now I have another public video just so someone can see a video.  The puppies are getting bigger and they are not wanting to go outside in the cold. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and keep the peace.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 10:06 AM PST

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I was reading elsewhere on the internet about teaching a puppy to ring a bell to let the owner know it needed to go outside. They did a long drawn out pick up bell, give command, put puppy out etc. etc. etc.  Mine have been trained using a different method and one which doesn't rely on the owner picking up the bell and ringing it.

I have sleigh bells on my doorknobs, so everytime the dogs go out, it automatically rings or jingles.  I am not actively ringing the bells and prompting them, they are picking up on the sound whenever the door is opened or the doorknob is used.  This is an easier method, although either method works, the end result is the same, the Dog has the owner trained to open the door to go out. This has led to some interesting scenarios in my house.  Like a dog grabbing the doorbells off the knob and running around the house jingling the bell to wake me up to go outside.  Or just to go outside and take a look at what's happening on the street without any real need to go potty.  They pick this up all by themselves, so owners can truly say they are owned by their dogs, not the other way around. So who is getting conditioned here the owner or the dog, why the owner of course!

They also have pulled on the larger bells that are hanging on other doorknobs if I didn't hear the slight jingle.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 10:11 AM PST

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It is almost Thanksgiving and I can't wait. Have been watching FoodNetwork all week long.  The solid blue male and I sat in the living room chair this morning and he really was interested in the Hershey's Kiss jingling bells commercial. He watched the entire ad intently.  I didn't tell him that dogs are not allowed to have chocolate though, was just happy that his attention was on the ad.

Last night a stray tiger cat showed up on the back porch.  It looks like a nice kitty.  S/He was looking for food in the puppy bowl. I got him out of the backyard by giving him some dog food in the front yard instead.  I have mixed feelings about this as I need a new barn cat to keep the mice down, but the cat must be smart enough to stay out of the backyard.  Freeway, a silver tabby knew better but he did like to tease the dogs by getting atop the roof and staring at them.  I don't have other animals except for the horses.  The puppies have been ignoring the horses and while interested in them, they are not chasing them.  Sometimes the horses like to tease the dogs too, by doing thier airs above the ground, throwing their tails over their backs and snorting.  They are arabians and all of them have been around Great Danes a couple from birth.

People on some dane lists have started a thread asking if people have Rescued.  Yes I have rescued and black great dane when I was living in Sonoma County in 1975 for $5.00.  I went to get a cat, and came home with a Great Dane. Alisha was taken to the pound because the owner could not afford to pay the boarding fee at the boarding kennels, and the boarding kennels took her to the pound.  According to what I was told, the breeder picked up the male dane and not the female, but I am now wondering since I have gotten older and longer in the teeth, if the boarding kennel kept the female and only allowed the male to be picked up ? She was a registered dog but of course the boarding kennel didn't have the papers on her.  I remember taking her to the Russian River and running into people who had danes. One man had a nice black male and wanted our phone number, but we never exchanged numbers.

I also rescued a German Shepard from the Orange County Pound, who did have papers in 1970, cost $15.00. We called him Sampson. We ended up finding him a new home with some lady in Newport Beach whose entire house was white and she wanted a white dog to match.

And I have rescued a lot of cats over the years including ones I have found running across the highway, hence, the silver tabby named Freeway.

Then there were three siamese cats. My daughter and I and her friends would ride along a railroad track in Tulare County.  Three siamese kittens came out of the brush and acted like they were stalking the horses mountain lion style. It took me a couple of days to catch all but one.  It took me 3 months to catch Baby Face Nelson using turkey parts.  He lived to be 21 years old.  I have his ashes.

Posted by bluediamondgreatdane at 11:32 AM PST

Updated: Sunday, 20 November 2011 11:44 AM PST

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