Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving!!!!! Well, it's over now and I am a little late posting this but I had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! This year was a very romantic Thanksgiving and my very first to cook by myself! Charles and I were on our own this year and it was very lovely but filled with mixed emotions. We enjoyed the time together and the chance to make some memories and new traditions, but we both missed our families dearly. There is nothing quite like a Thanksgiving surrounded by family....or in our case this year three dogs and a cat!
  Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all that we have in our lives. I have soooo much to be thankful for. My friends and family that love and support me no matter what, my amazing dog that brings me so much joy and unconditional love, and my boyfriend...the man of my dreams. I have waited my whole life to have a man love me so deeply and dote on me all the time and sometimes I can't believe that I got so lucky to have met Charles. He is the sweetest, most amazing man and I'm not sure what I have done to deserve him. Every girl deserves to be told that she is beautiful everyday and that's what he does. I love you Charles!

Homemade Mac N Cheese

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing...from scratch! ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

My plate!

The spread!

our lovely table...all pretty.

  

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday!

Trip to the Vet and Stomach Tacking

Yesterday I took a half day to take Keena in for her yearly check up. This was our first visit with our new vet! I liked the first vet we used....he was very nice and all but he was a much older vet and the only vet at that facility. Their hours were not working well for me and he didn't seem to take my questions and comments as seriously as I would have liked.  Our new vet clinic is the Zionsville Country Vet Clinic and it's actually on the same property as the Country Kennel I have taken Keena to in the past (which she absolutely loves). When we got there everyone was all over Keena saying how pretty she is and how well behaved she is. I would like to take credit for her behavior but to be quite honest she came that way. Haha.
  Anyway...the visit went well and Keena now officially weighs OVER 140 lbs! Dr. Sharri would like her to lose about 10 lbs and I feel bad that she has gotten over weight but her new found appetite since we have moved in with three other dogs is big! I was instructed to cut her food back by about 3/4 of a cup a day. We will try to go on more walks to help her trim down. I asked the doctor about her eye boogers (goopy gross stuff that is ALWAYS coming from her eyes) and she took a look and discvored that Keena does have some eye abnormalities. Like most danes, her eyes droop and so excess dust and other debris can get into her eyes and her eyelids are shaped a little differently. Fortunately they did not find any eyelashes growing into the eye witch can plague great danes as well. They did a tear duct test to make sure she is producing enough tears (which she is) and she didn't like that very much. They gave me some ointment for her eyes and after ten days we will see if its an underlying infection causing the eye gunk or if its just her eye abnormalities.
  I really like this new vet and am very excited I moved Keena to this clinic. I am a first time dane owner and I have my concerns and plenty of questions! Dr. Sharri answered all of them without batting an eye! She did a thorough exam of Keena and was very nice. She even gave Keena a free rawhide! (She was telling me about rawhides and used one that they normally sell as an example and Keena tried to take it out of her hand so she gave it to her as a "welcome to the clinic" gift!) Keena did very well, even though we was a little frightened when the doctor and the tech came at her at once to draw blood. Haha...I don't blame her. She is a wonderful dog and was so relaxed otherwise that she was even sprawled out on the floor chewing on her rawhide while waiting for her shots!
  It was a great visit and we will go back in a few weeks for a Lepto booster shot. I have one thing to mull over though and if anyone has an opinion I would greatly appreciate it! I asked the vet about Bloat, which terrifies me, and she gave me a lot of suggestions and preventative type techniques but she said the best way to prevent it is tacking the stomach. Does anyone have a dane with a tacked stomach? Has anyone ever looked into it for their dane? I am curious about it and Dr. Sharri said she could give me a quote on prices. If anyone has an opinion....please let me know!

Traditions and Fall Days

  Well, it's that time of year again and the holidays are quickly approaching. This year is promising to be a little different than the normal for a few reasons. I work both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and my sister is expecting her 3rd baby! Lilah Jean will be born on the 19th of December and we are all very excited! Well, the other day Charles and I were talking and it turns out that his family is going out of town for Thanksgiving and now I will be making my very first Thanksgiving dinner....just Charles and I! We are both very excited actually and I decided that it will be a good time to start a few new traditions.  I found some new recipes and made a menu already for the big day. Charles and I will start our own little traditions as we grow closer in our relationship. I can't wait to make a lifetime of traditions with him!
   Since the weather is getting cooler and very windy lately we have been cooped up in the house a little more. Gotta love lazy fall days lounging around the house!

Danes really do know how to stretch out....don't they?

Everyone is comfy and cozy.

Busy Day

Today Keena and I had a fantastic day off of work! It was very busy! We started our day with going to Speck's Pet Supplies because I had gotten a coupon for a free do it yourself bath! I was very excited but a little worried that I would be able to get her up into the tub by myself. I called ahead and they assured me that they would help me if I could not do it on my own. It was a very nice set up and the bath tubs actually had ramps the dogs can walk up. I haven't trained Keena to walk on ramps because there have never been any situations where she had the chance to so the young worker and I heaved Keena into the tub. She did a great job but was NOT a fan of the drier! It was pretty loud, in her defense. I was proud of her and convinced that from now on I'm always going to take her to the do it yourself baths because everywhere else charges SOOO much money to bathe her because of her size. Plus, this is good bonding time for us. :)
  After the bath I let her pick out some treats for being such a good girl and then we were off to the vet to pick up her monthly preventatives. I took her in with me and asked if I could weigh her. Keena now weighs 139.6 lbs!!!! Holy crap I think its time to cut back on treats! I am taking her to the vet for her yearly check up in a few weeks and I will talk to the vet then. She is back to eating twice a day and I have been giving her extra treats in her transition to living with other dogs. I'll keep her off treats and just let her have her food and bones. She loves her rawhides and other chew bones. We had a great day together and watching her eat her first Bully Stick was hilarious! She kept trying to pull peices off and it would spring across the floor and she would have to chase it! I love my Dane baby and really enjoy our time together.

Sitting in the tub. They said that they have had bigger dogs but she filled up that tub so I don't know how that worked out for those owners.

Had to sniff this stuff out.

Looking sad and pathetic.

She was NOT a fan of the drier.

The Devil Drier

"That's how we get out of here, right?"

Happy HOWLoween!!!

Its that time of year again...tricking, treating and dressing up!!! I really wanted to dress up Keena (even though I said I would never be THAT owner) but where do you buy a costume big enough for a great dane?! In MY closet of course! I decided that Keena would be a college girl....she weighs more than a lot of them anyway! She was a boilermaker...of course. We went to Specks pet supply last night because they were having a big Howloween celebration. We got free treats, met other dogs, and even got our picture taken to be entered in the costume contest! I have no idea if she will win but we had fun anyway! Everyone loved her and her costume and kept ooohhinng and aaahhhhing. :) She's a star!

Boiler up!

I love this one. :)

Little prarie woman.

 

New Routines

It's been so long! We have been doing well here in our new house and Keena is loving life! She plays with the other dogs and is back to eating her full 6 cups a day. Before we moved she was barely eating because she wasn't getting any stimulation or enough excercise I guess. She is a handful now and I am finding it very essential to have practice training sessions of the commands she used to know soooo well. She still listens and "minds" but it's harder for her with all the other dogs around wanting to play with her.
     Well not too much has been going on with us. About a  week and a half ago Charles and I went to Evansville for a weekend visit and my neice's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Keena stayed with her Aunt Caitlyn and her best friends Manii, Shelby, and Enzo. She really is growing and thriving here and it warms my heart. :) Here are some cute pictures I have taken of our recent home life events.
 

Me :)

Charles!

Keena destroying a Betty Boop doll. She plays with toys now!

Enzo and Keena

Shelby

Manii...chewing on a toy...what else is new?

Keena and Tabbs the cat laying down only feet apart.

Tabby. He's cute...and semi suicidal.

Keena Says.......

RELAX!!!!!!