I am super excited that the Marmaduke movie is coming out next month but am also worried that many Great Dane puppies will wind up turned into rescues after the adorable puppy stage wears off. You know that the same thing happened when 101 Dalmatians came out and when Paris Hilton fell in love with chihauhuas and the Taco Bell commercials came out. Every kid begged their parents for one without doing research about the breed or being prepared to care for them for their lives. With Great Danes, the trouble is tripled because we are GIANT dogs who need lots of love, food, attention and special care. (Not to gross you out but you can see the size of my poop compared to a tennis ball!)
As some of you may know, I came to my forever home through Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue (RMGDRI), based out of Denver, CO. RMGDRI is ramping up its DogSkool program to educate the public about Great Danes. History has proven that when a new movie is released featuring a certain breed of dog, spontaneous purchases of that breed increase. These spontaneous purchases often lead to a flood of unwanted dogs at shelters/rescues because the new owners did not do their research and were not prepared to care for their new four-legged family member.
According to Laura Rubin, President of the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue Inc., "We get many young Great Danes into rescue with the surrendering reason that they were purchased as cute little puppies and six months later have turned into 100 lb. untrained teenagers and the owners can't handle them."
The press release from RMGDRI continues, "DogSkool is the brainchild of RMGDRI with the purpose of portraying Great Danes in a realistic manner teaching people about the breed; their special needs; and what to expect when owning one. Great Danes are very affectionate dogs and are a joy to own, but new owners must be educated, responsible, and committed to their care before opening their home to one."
Please, help us get the word out that owning a Great Dane, or any dog for that matter, is a great responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
An amazing woman and her dog Harley are also driving across the country to raise funds and awareness of Great Danes. She has launched the "Get Harley on Ellen" campaign to again help educate the public about our majestic breed. Visit here to learn what you can do to help.
Knowing that education is only the first step to fight the proliferation of surrendered animals, please donate to RMGDRI (or any Great Dane rescue in your area) to help find Great Danes forever homes.
I just wanted to make sure that everybody knows that my AskDrBrutus column can now be found in The Anipal Times as a regular column. My first official entry is here.
The Anipal Times will be published on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month so make sure to read often.
As always, if you'd like to submit a question, please tweet @AskBrutus.
Thanks to my dear furiends @mariodacat and @cokiethecat and @CelebrityPets who all honored me with the Sunshine Award. You can see @mariodacat's blog here and @cokiethecat's blog here and @CelebrityPets blog here!
The rules for accepting the Sunshine Award are as follows:
1. Put the Sunshine Award flower logo on your blog or within your post 2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers who fill your life with sunshine 3. Link the winners within your post 4. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've received the Sunshine Award 5. Post these instructions so they'll know what to do!
Here are the 12 anipals that I give this award to but every single one of my pals deserves it! @kittehboi Who's tidy whitey #DudeFest avatar will be forever burned into my mind @CheshireK who I so enjoy working sekurity with @Niqqi who makes me smile every morning when she says hello. A wonderful pawty planner as well. @busybuttons who constantly makes me smile with requests for the #ScoobyDance and her obsession with squeaky toys @ZackRabbit who is the best bunny chef I know @Snick_the_Dog who is the best #PawPawty sekurity captain ever @SirFudgeEsq who constantly surprises and amazes me with his wit and wisdom @MadLabM who send me bacon treats all the time @Smokeypoodle who is my sekurity buddy and all around great pal from the West! @kyba who makes great avatars for so many of our anipals @mattiedog who is one of my closest Twitter pals. Vote for him on the Twitter Wall!
My dear furiends @henryandfriends and @SirFudgeEsq honored me with this award. I am so pleased that they would think of me. @henryandfriends is very special and furiendly and was one of the first anipals I met on Twitter. Here is the link to his webpage so you can learn more about him. @SirFudgeEsq is by far the most intriguing character I've met on Twitter and am really honored that he would give me the nod. Here is the link to his blog but be forewarned that his blog is not for the faint of heart or sensitive types but I still enjoy his musings.
Here is the award they gave me!
So I am supposed to say 10 things about myself that no one knows and then give the award to another 10 furiends. So here we go!
10 Things About Myself 1. I can't catch a treat to save my life. Never caught anything thrown to me. 2. I don't like peanut butter. 3. I'm afraid of the pool cues on the wall downstairs. 4. I really like my sisfur Tess (she just doesn't like me). 5. Palms are my favorite houseplants to eat. 6. I can't go to sleep unless my entire body and head is covered up and tucked in. 7. I run and hide on another floor when mom gets the vacuum out. 8. I don't even chase the birds who eat from our birdfeeder. 9. Dad makes to most excellent bacon in the world. 10. Mom loves me the most!
10 Furiends Who I've Given the Award To @BusyButtons @MattieDog @BearBearD @DogThunder @MadLabM @MavtheTiger @MariodaCat @Niqqi @BlindMaximus @MaggieTKat
I had to post this because I want it to live on forever! OMD! Thanks to @CokietheCat for making that for us. I have never laughed so hard! I must admit that I am one HOT dog.
So it's been a bit longer than planned for my second session of #AskDrBrutus. In between mom and dad leaving us with the dogsitter, grandma coming to visit and finishing up all the details for #Dudefest, my plate has been a bit full. But fear not my dear readers. We got our second snow storm of the season this week so I'll be spending a lot more time in front of the fire answering your questions.
As a reminder, I'm not an expert on anything at all but I love to talk and share my opinion! Anyone is welcome to submit questions of any sort by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus or sending questions to @AskDrBrutus and I'll do some research, tell you what I think and we'll all have a great time.
*Of course, as I'm not a vet, medical expert, trainer, psychologist or any other expert please take my advice as you would that of your furiends and neighbors and consult a real expert if you have serious problems and issues. I don't want anyone to get hurt!
Question: How come hoomans don't got tails? @AylaLab
Answer: Evolution is a tricky thing and in many ways, humans do have tails, they just aren't like those of dogs and cats because humans no longer need them for everyday functions. Before a human becomes a fetus the embryo does have a tail but it is absorbed during development. Also, the tailbone is a reminent of a tail and can still be broken although it doesn't stick out of their bodies. Personally, I like having a tail. I use it as a weapon and regularly raise welts on my humans' legs. Hee, hee, hee!
Question: How can I tell if Frederick is a girl frog? Also, @FrogBuddha's tankmate Bert acts like a girl when humping. Why? @AlbinoFrog
Answer: We had a lot of humping questions this session so let's start with the basics. Humping is a basic animal instinct when it comes to reproductive drive. Without getting too graphic, humping is natural and perfectly appropriate action. Sometimes it is also a way for animals to establish dominance.
As to your first question, figuring out what sex a frog is can be difficult and appears to depend on the kind of frog you and Fredrick are. Without knowing that, there are some possible ways including the male frog having bigger ears than their eyes, males are the only ones who call or sing, and females are often bigger in overall size. During the breeding season some male frogs develop what are called nuptial pads on the inner part of their limbs or digits. Some species have no external differences at all. So, if you can compare Fredrick's ears to his eyes or check his legs for pads or if you have never heard him make any sounds, you might be about to figure out if Fredrick is a boy or girl.
Finally, I am not really sure what a girl frog looks like humping. Given the nature of these things, I think that as long as Bert is on top and is the one doing the humping, he's probably the boy!
Question: My Bruder is a lil 4 lb chihuahua. He pounces on Big Eye (see photo), humps like a wild thing and then springs off off him and pants like mad! Da ugly doll's name is Big Eye, but when my Bruder is "dating him" we call him Poked Eye. Go here to watch the video of Spike's adventure with a date before Poked Eye. @mattiedog
Answer: Well, boys will be boys as they say. And if your brother is without his manly parts, the least you can do is let him go about his business with a toy that is much bigger than he is! Having seen the photo of Poked Eye, the ugly doll does not seem to be suffering any long-term damage (just don't put it in your mouth after he's done, ewww!).
Question: Will too many cookies make my butt look too big? @no_crybaby_doGs
Answer: Daffy, while it is always a good idea to eat sensibly and get plenty of exercise, a wonderful cookie now and then will not make your butt look big. You've been working so hard collecting all of the bunny niblets for #Dudefest that you deserve an extra cookie. In fact, have 2 on me!
Much more to come on the next session of #AskDrBrutus!
At our weekly #squirrelclub meeting today, @ZackTheMadDog and @PoesTosca were joking about starting a #baconblast or #pigparty to celebrate the wonderful PIG! Come to find out there is a loosely organized #hamclub already so we have determined that it would be mutually beneficial to combine #hamclub and #baconblast into one weekly event designed to properly celebrate anipals' love of pig products (ham, bacon, pork, etc.).
Therefore, my #pigfest co-founder @CobwebDukes and I have put up a poll to the right of this post so that you can vote on the time that #pigfest will be held each week. Please vote now to have your voice heard. Vote by October 20th. The votes are in and #Pigfest will be held each Thursday at 11 am EST. Come one, come all!
*Please note, #pigfest is a funny celebration and not meant to offend anyone's religious or other beliefs. All anipals are invited to attend each week and food items other than pig products will be served including crickets, veggies, yogurt, fish, etc. Bring it if you want it.
An ode from @Gabby_da_Tabby Da dane he is a mighty Brute and on occasion he does toot But at this time lets punce & jig and celebrate the mighty pig
Cheers for #Pigfest from @Gabby_da_Tabby Bacon bits, ham steaks, pork chops, roast Brutus wants to be your #pigfest host redeye gravy even bacon beer everyone join dis #pigfest cheer all those porkie foods give shine to your coat please go to his blog for da #pigfest vote
On a sidenote, I've been talking about bacon so much that mom decided to write a blog about it herself. If you would like to read it, click here!
My dear furiend Daffy (@no_crybaby_doGs) suggested that I host an #AskDrBrutus column on Twitter. While I'm not an expert on anything at all, I love to talk and share my opinion so we'll give it a whirl! Anyone is welcome to submit questions of any sort by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus and I'll do some research, tell you what I think and we'll all have a great time.
*Of course, as I'm not a vet, medical expert, trainer, psychologist or any other expert please take my advice as you would that of your furiends and neighbors and consult a real expert if you have serious problems and issues. I don't want anyone to get hurt!
So, let's get started. We had a number of questions submitted this morning:
Question: I am a 3 yo ToyFox. I never took a toy apart 2 see whas inside. Am I ok? @no_crybaby_doGs
Answer: Being a terrier, I'm surprised you do not have a strong prey drive but many of the smaller toy breeds have had that trait breed out of them. High prey-drive tendencies are more common in working breeds. We further discovered that Daffy had been treated very poorly in her first home and had a lot of fear prior to finding her forever home. That fear may be the reason she is less "curious" (destructive) than many doggies. You are completely fine my dear!
Question: Do mollusks have stinky butts? @AylaLab
Answer: I first had to learn what a mollusk was myself. Mollusks are shellfish (not actual fish and some live on land) and can be any of 3 varieties: Hatchet-footed - These live inside of two shells that are connected by a muscular hinge which can open and close the shell. They are referred to as bivalves. Lines on the shell tell how old the mollusk is as the shell gets bigger, the older the shellfish gets. Clams, scallops, oysters and mussels are bivalves. Belly-footed - These have just one spiral shell and carry their shells on their backs. They are called univalves. The snail, slug, periwinkle and conch belong to this group. Head-footed - These have a definite head surrounded by tentacles. The squid and octopus are two in this group.
So, now that we know what a mollusk is we must determine if they have stinky butts. Mollusks ingest food through a siphon system that takes it to its mouth before entering a digestive gland and the intestine. Wastes leave via the butt. Therefore, mollusks have stinky butts in the same way that we kittehs and doggies do!
Question: I'd be interested in knowing the reason why Danes shouldn't have Nylabones? @MadisontheLab
Answer: This question was brought up because I said that the rescue organization I came from said that danes shouldn't eat them. After reviewing the packet that I came with when I was adopted, it said that we should not be given rawhides and pigs ears because they are hard to digest and may potentially cause bloat or blockages because danes are prone to bloat. There are many causes of bloat and no one knows for sure how to prevent it entirely so it was a caution against doing things that might cause more occurences. Fact: mom was incorrect when she said that the rescue said not to give Nylabones to me. However, doing some further research, I was particularly interested in this link: http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/RawhideandChewyTreats.htm
which went into discussions on Greenies, Nylabones, rawhides, stuffed toys, etc.
Overall, given all of the data and opinions out there, it is probably safe to say that owners and their doggies should do some research, test out different products under close supervision and make an educated decision about what we should or should not chew on! Which leads into our next question...
Question: Why is pet-parents so mean sumtime? Why dey get all upset 'bout little things like chewin' shoes? @AylaLab
Answer: Pet parents are territorial just like we pets are. Just like doggies may have their own favorite toy or bone or blankie, hoomans have their favorite belongings to. Many mommies (and some daddies) love their shoes (a lot). We like them too because they smell like our hoomans.
For example, yesterday, I ate my mom's new hardback book she had been reading. I didn't want to read it, I just liked the fact that it smelled like her and I missed her so I chewed on it.
The lesson to be learned here is that we need to respect our hoomans things in the same way that they respect our toys and don't take them away from us and throw them in the garbage when they are chewed up and stinky.
Question: Do frogs toot? @MadisontheLab
Answer: The internet provides a wealth of information about frog poop but nothing about frog toots. Given that @cricketthetoad and @albinofrog regularly send me toots and #FartFriday greetings, I'm gonna guess that they must enjoy a good release of stinky gas now and then. If anyone has any scientific info to add, I'll be happy to post it!
That's all for this week's #AskDrBrutus! Don't forget to submit your questions by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus and/or post a comment below or tweet @BrutustheDane.
It's a celebration of all things dude in the anipals world!
Our #Dudefest pawty on November 13-14, 2009 is in honor of @BrunotheDog who has recently moved to a new home in Maine. Consider it a housewarming pawty/welcome-home celebration as he pawties with his old furiends and looks forward to meeting new ones! Join us at Dogmigo River for a howling good time!
Your #Dudefest organizers are: @HanktheDoggy - in charge of BACON BEER (brewmeister) and DJs @SidtheCatahoula - in charge of desserts and @BrunotheDog @BigBoyBosco - in charge of peace keeping, trouble making and the poo gun @trailerparkdogs - in charge of all design details, tooting and trouble @SydPie - in charge of barktenders, menu planner and hot dudette @OatieDog - Welcome Wheaten (your hostess with the mostest!) and hot dudette @MadisontheLab - in charge of PR and hot dudette @brutusthedane - Dudefest planner and chief troublemaker
DudeFest Details: November 13-14 6 p.m. EST to 6 p.m. EST (24 hours of dudeness!) Dogmigo River
All anipals are invited to attend but expect crudeness including burping, tooting, bacon beer drinking, cigar smoking, poo shooting and poker playing. (We will have plenty of drinks and activities for our younger anipals and barktenders will be IDing for drinks. We want everyone to be safe and have fun!)
There is no sekurity so pawty on dudes and dudettes! We are just dudes having a good time! @GeorgetheDuck will be constructing the paw wall so please make sure to RSVP at the link above. (Thanks George!)
While no gifts are required to attend this housewarming pawty, if you would like to give a little something to a local animal shelter in @BrunotheDog's area that would be fantastic (donation link above)! Harvest Hills Animal Shelter is a non-profit organization which contracts with nineteen towns in Western Maine to accept neglected, stray and abandoned cats and dogs. These animals are brought in by the towns’ animal control officers. When space is available, Harvest Hills also accepts owner surrendered animals from all surrounding communities in Maine and New Hampshire and will assist other shelters by providing a safe place for adoptable animals that would otherwise be euthanised, or did not fit another shelters admission policies. Since opening its doors in 1992, Harvest Hills has found loving homes for approximately 9000 cats and dogs.
Theme: The theme is simply dude stuff. Come dressed to the nines, wear a fake mustache, or don't dress up at all--it really doesn't matter!
Menu:
Dudefest Drink Menu #1 BACON BEER! – The first. The only. BACON BEER! #2 Lab ‘N Lager — bacon beer with fur of @BrunotheDog (guest of honor) #3 Baconrita – tequila, bacon, more bacon, triple sec or Grand Marnier, fresh lime, more bacon #4 Razzmatazz – salmon, tuna, bacon, ham, blended with gin, chilled glass #5 Dudaroni! – pepperoni blended to perfection and mixed with Bacon Beer #6 Princess Poison – sweet and fruity umbrella drink for the ladies *giggles* #7 Hound Dog – blended hot dogs and whisky, served chunky #8 RottieRita – root beer, Navan vanilla liquor, vodka, dollop of vanilla ice cream, bacon chaser #9 Pickled Herring – vodka, citrus, bloody Mary mix, sweet pickle relish, wedge of lime, celery salt rim, herring garnish #10 Cat-mopolitian – cranberry juice, vodka, Grand Marnier, catnip float, salmon garnish #11 Niptini – The classic #pawty drink! #12 Veganrita – v-8 juice and tequila with a splash of Grand Marnier #13 Whine – Red, white or rose #14 Duck blind - Basic Here Duckie!!! with a vodka pond added, frozen and blended, sushi float #15 Loose Moose Juice - moose droppings (anipal-safe chocolate-covered almonds) blended with gin #16 Hooch (@PierrethePoodle's special blend of fire water) no limits! Bacon or regular!
Non-alcoholic Concoctions #1 Here Duckie!!! – extra large martini glass w/ pummeled pond grass, lemonlime, and a sushi float #2 Water – large or small bowl with ice cubes #3 White heaven – milk for the kitties #4 Go Bananas! - something special for Kolo and friends #5 Opaque heaven – tuna juice straight up, no chaser #6 Catachino – hot coffee whipped with cream #7 Tea please – choice of teas #8 B Brothers Coffee - A special blend created by @BrunotheDog and @BrutustheDane naturally roasted coffee with the essence of toot (rotten eggs and tuna)
Dudefest Noms! #1 Bruno’s Meat Pie — Bruno's favorite meat pie #2 Tootybrutie — chili with extra beans #3 Trailertoots — Swanson's bacon-beer battered chicken dinner #4 Sydsoup - white bean soup #5 Swankyhanks — hot dogs and beans #6 Smokinsids — brown beans w/pork #7 Uh-oh-oaties — beans and rice #8 Poopinpeties — bean and nip #9 Gut Grenade – ribs, beans (with extra pork), cornbread, spicy fries, comes with a Bacon Beer #10 Farts on a Stick! – bologna rollups #11 Lettuce Dance – wedge salad with tiny tomatoes and crumbled blue cheese (choice of dressing) #12 Flickin chicken – Shredded chicken salad sandwich, hold the lettuce #13 BACON! OMD BACON! – 1 pound of overcooked bacon, crispy, crunchy, yummy bacon #14 Schmooopy shrooms – crab stuffed mushrooms #15 It fell on the floor – kitchen surprise #16 Tootsie Roll – special treat for the dogs #17 Bird Flew – honey mustard chicken skewers #18 Swine Flew – BBQ pork skewers #19 Ham dinner! - Ham, au gratin potatoes, green beans, mustard sauce #20 Corn cob – a corn cob for your digging and burying pleasure #21 HOT DOG! - Grilled natural casing franks with fresh homemade rolls #22 OMD! Cheeseburger cooked rare with all the fixings #23 Pizza – veggie pizza (also available with hamburger or pepperoni) #24 Stealth Farts - Deviled eggs #25 Bunny BMs - candy-coated bunny poos (no need to order--snack bowls located on all bars and tables, neverending!) #26 Cheesy Potato Beer Soup - Daffy's specialty #27 Toad Tasties - crickets and crispy cricket legs #28 Maddy Fingers - Chicken fingers
Dudefest Desserts! #1 The HanseeSundae - Three scoops of ice cream (beef chicken and pork)topped with whipped whipped cream and sprinkled with bacon and sausage bits. #2 The Kolo Martin - chocolate covered banana #3 The SydPie - A deep, rich (safe for animals) chocolate pie with swirls of fleur de sel caramel #4 Feline Fantasy - lightly whipped tuna mousse studded with bits of nip. Garnished with catnip chips. #5 The three fish souffle #6 Lemon, champagne strawberry gratin with pistachio Ice cream and banana crisp #7 Coconut fruit soup with mango chips and caramel ice cream #8 Teddy bear chocolate mousse - a favorite of Henryandfriends. For dipping pleasure, a pistachio and hazelnut biscotti #9 The Rubber ducky - citrus fruit jellies in passionfruit, lemon and peach. #10 Brutus The Danish - for anipals who prefer breakfast sweets, cheese or fruit danish #11 The Happpiii - a platter of everything, guaranteed to make you wave with glee #12 The Hank the Doggy Oreo cheesecake with a nutty graham cracker crust #13 Big Boy Bosco - Frosty paws milkshake. Add your own mix-ins. Guaranteed to NOT give you a stomach ache ;-) #14 The Super Muffy - one ball of coconut flavored cotton candy surrounded by two balls of pink lemonade cotton candy #15 Whoa! – Aerosol can whipped cream #16 BunnyLoadCakes - baked specially by no_crybaby_doGs' mom, bunny poos baked into a delicious carrot cake #17 The Bruno Original - Apple-nougat tart (sauteed apples, nougat almond mix, traditional sweet dough base) #18 The Bruno in Maine - Pear almond & apricot tartlets #19 The Fruity Bruno - Strawberry rhubarb tart with almond cream, strawberry gelee and rhubarb compote #20 The Nutty Bruno - Vanilla nougat with chunks of almonds, dried cherries and chunks of dried beef
DJs: We have DJ spots available. If you would like to help, please contact @HanktheDoggy or myself. November 13 6 pm EST: @SidtheCatahoula 7 pm EST: @lexingtonthepup 8 pm EST: @mattiedog 9 pm EST: @GeorgetheDuck 10 pm EST:@BunnyJeanCook 11 pm EST:@BunnyJeanCook November 14 midnight EST: @BigSkyMonte 1 am EST: 2 am EST: @LouPeb 3 am EST: @LouPeb 4 am EST: @flicka47 5 am EST: @flicka47 6 am EST: @flicka47 7 am EST: @Dogstoyevsky 8 am EST: @Dogstoyevsky 9 am EST: @kittehboi 10 am EST: @mattiedog 11 am EST: @Yoda_the_Dog noon EST: @HanktheDoggy 1 pm EST: 2 pm EST: 3 pm EST: 4 pm EST: 5 pm EST: @buddybentley 6 pm EST: @SidtheCatahoula
Barktenders: We also have barktending spots open. (You must be over 18 or 21--depending on your country--to barktend!) If you would like to help, please contact @SydPie or myself. November 13 6 pm EST: @tweetypie54 7 pm EST: @MrKiplingwoof 8 pm EST: @Meow_Girls 9 pm EST: @PierreThePoodle 10 pm EST: @MadisonTheLab 11 pm EST: @BigBoyBosco November 14 midnight EST: @BigBoyBosco 1 am EST: 2 am EST: @JavaTheCat 3 am EST: 4 am EST: 5 am EST: 6 am EST: @LadyBonessa (noon GMT) 7 am EST: @LadyBonessa (1 pm GMT) 8 am EST: @OatieDog 9 am EST: @tuttifruiti_cat 10 am EST: @trailerparkdogs 11 am EST: @trailerparkdogs noon EST: @tweetypie54 1 pm EST: @OatieDog 2 pm EST: @BigBoyBosco 3 pm EST: @GeorgetheDuck 4 pm EST: Our Guest of Honor: @BrunotheDog! 5 pm EST: Our Guest of Honor: @BrunotheDog! 6 pm EST: @PierreThePoodle
I am a 4-year-old brindle Great Dane. In addition to loving my Twitter furiends, I am also the founder of Dudefest and a member of Da Shibbering Cheetos anipal band. (I play bass guitar!)
care. (Not to gross you out but you can see the size of my poop compared to a tennis ball!)
