We great danes, Stellar and Venus, like food, sleep, running; food, sleep, running; food sleep running; food, sleep; food, sleep; sleep; sleep; sleeeeee.
Come on, tickle me.
I’m happy!
Come on, I’m waiting for tickles.
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, like going in the box on round things. We see lots of trees and big boxes and people like him. Calm, she says as he takes Stellar on the lead and she takes me, Venus, to the box thingy. I pull. She opens the door. I jump inside. Then Stellar. She sits in the middle of us on the back seat. Sit, she says. We step on her and our giant paws and claws push on her knees. Her face goes wrinkly and slowly she lifts off a large paw. Ouch! We go h,h,h,h. In front, he turns the round thingy. Cold wind pours on our heads. That’s better. We drool over the big bed seat cover thingy they put inside. She pats our heads and we go h,h,h,h. Calm, calm. Our black and white hair is all over her.
The box stops. I know this place. I want to jump out. He takes Stellar. I want to go too. The door is still open. She holds on to the lead and she says, stay. I don’t know why he shuts the door. He looks inside the big box. He calls her and says, OK, no cats. She opens the door. Calm. Out we go. Calm.
They talk to the man. Inside, I want to sniff all over. Stellar goes away. The door shuts. I go h,h,h,h. He smiles and comes out with a piece of red wooly stuff. Stellar chewed a rug and a bit stuck between her teeth. He got it out! I hear clip, clip. Talking. Out she comes. I go in. He cuts my claws on my legs. She holds me still. I won’t let him cut anymore. He puts something in my neck. Finished. She holds my head and he presses my bottom. All done!
Talking. A lady comes with a small dog. She goes. Why? Is she scared of us? They take us back to the box. H,h,h,h. She goes in.
Me-It’s interesting how simple changes can cause a slight problem. In hot weather, we let Stellar go in and out of her crate at night. Venus remains inside her crate. Stellar chewed the corner of an old rug on the cool stone floor. By day, she kept licking her lips. Unbeknown to us, a piece of wool was stuck between her teeth. Venus had a blockage in the tubes leading to her anal sacs. It took the vet just a squeeze to unblock them. No more bad smell!
Venus is tired after her vet visit
So two one yearly check-ups (heart, teeth, search for tumors, etc), yearly vaccinations for serious dog illnesses, small treatments, and claw trimming, as much as Stellar and Venus would allow! I’ll have to be sneaky and try to trim their claws again at home.
Yearly check up and vaccinations- so worth it.
Stellar seems to have lost her tail at the vets!
Yes, we great danes, Stellar and Venus, take up all the shower thingy! She holds food and we follow her in. Just one! Venus is pushed gently on her tail. She doesn’t walk in like me. We scoff the food. Water pours over our heads. It warms our ears and paws. She even sprays it under our tummies. It goes under our tails too.
Mmm warm water
As soon as she rubs it on, I lick the bubbles. More water. She rubs the towel thingy over me. She calls him. The towel lays over my back. I walk out of the big box as she squeezes my long tail. I have a big shake. They go, “Oh no.” He smoothes the towel along me. I run in the garden. Where’s the mud?
Venus eats before her shower.
We great danes, Stellar and Venus are changing. My face is light, not black. I’m slow when I get up from my day bed. I bark at noises. Venus doesn’t like to go downstairs to bed when it’s black outside. She eats leaves that make her sick.
Me-Venus and Stellar are nine years old this month. Like all dog lovers, we hope our pets will live a long and happy life. We do two things to assist us.
Stellar and Venus, nine years old
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, want our day beds. Why are they on the chair thingys?
Dog beds drying
I don’t want to lie on my blanket. The floor is hard.
Dog blankets
Ah, at last, the beds we lie on smell soapy like shower time.
On cold winter evenings, we like to feel cosy.
Dogs are creatures of habit so we provide security by giving them their regular routine. Stellar and Venus love soft beds and evening blankets. We like a wood burning fire.
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, like being snuggly. When the garden is black, we have our own crates with blankets and towelly thingys for sleep. When it’s shiny, we have our own soft round beds to see the garden. If it’s pant, pant, pant, we lie on the stone
There’s only ONE rug.
Venus crumples the old rug and lies on it.
I’m top dog. I want the rug so I step on it. Venus doesn’t go.
Stellar tries growling to get rid of Venus.
I’m top dog. Now I try licking her.
Venus likes it when Stellar licks or bites her cheek.
Venus is still here. I’m top dog. I’ll try playing.
Stellar is playing but showing Venus she’s the boss.
Venus goes to the garden door.
Stellar is curious.
Venus tells Stellar to move.
Venus wanders off again.
Er, I’m top dog so Venus obeys me.
We have many things for which to be grateful: family, friends, material goods, food and drink, travel experiences, good health, interests and more. We are in this position due to our own ability and also luck.
However, not all would consider material possessions a sign of happiness or success. Someone said, “Don’t admire a wealthy person as that is all they have”. Happiness is relative. An aesthete is only interested in the arts but not material possessions. A Buddhist monk survives on only basic food and prayer. Simple tribes live happily only sharing with others.
Where poverty is causing unhappiness, those less fortunate than us do not choose to be in this situation. We are aware of the needs of others and help in our own way, materially, financially or with our time.
The best possession of all is receiving love and giving love.
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, just want some love and a good scratch!
Venus love cuddles!
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, like to snuffle. We want to chew seed thingys. Someone sweeps them away. We see the round black seed thingys from the tall straight tree with prickly leaves. They had labra something dogs when she planted it. That was before us. Sort of grass comes from the round seeds. She pulls it up.
The black palm seeds have fallen from their cases.
The big, wide trees drop lots of seeds now. They blow about in the wind. Once they dropped on the table below. She was pushing a brush along. She left some to stick on the picture.
The green Ficus seeds are unripe, the reddish-brown ones are ripe and the light brown ones are old.
Ah, my favourite, the big round seed thingys from the smelly trees with furry leaves. They drop and they are shut like a small ball. Then they go woody and open up. Out fall the seeds. I want to chew the empty box.
Abundant fir cones on Cypress trees
Me-Frequently, I find self-sown palm seeds near the palm tree. If I potted up the seedlings I could have a nursery of palm trees in various stages of growth. They make an attractive present in a pot.
The Ficus seeds make good ground cover, replacing terracotta clay balls. However, some do sprout. They are soft and so easily threaded to make fun jewellery.
Empty pine seed boxes make pretty indoor arrangements. Place them in an unused fireplace or spray them silver or any colour you require, depending on the season or celebration.
We great danes, Stellar and Venus, like that brush thingy rubbing over us. We LOVE our food. We don’t mind being in the shower too much.
There’s one thing we don’t like. When we have eaten and she picks up the long thing. She presses it. She puts a blob on her fingers. She says, “Teeth” and tries to open our mouths.
“Do I, Stellar, have to open my mouth?”
Now the top row
“Do you like my smile?”
Eve MEL Thomson- Helpful Hints By Hounds And Humans! 