Okay, brace yourself I have lots to say/ask…

For five years, I did my research on Great Danes; reading books, reading online, talking to other Great Dane owners, planning financially, etc. Well, three weeks ago I brought home my beautiful black female Great Dane puppy.

I want to do adoption/fostering eventually but thought that in the long run it would be a good idea to start with a puppy of my own. That way I get to know the breed under normal circumstances before I take one in that essentially needs to be rehabilitated. Anyway, back to the puppy…

Bella Notte (that’s her name, no relation to the silly Twilight books or movies…grr. I picked out her name 5 years ago too) is 13 weeks old and is far and away the best puppy I have ever been around. Our puppy trainer has been using her for demonstrations during class because she is so mellow and eager to please (especially if she is getting a treat!). I am blessed to be in a situation right now where I can literally devote myself to her 24/7, and I am. Since we brought her home, she has never been alone to fend for herself and get into trouble. I feel that this is the only way to raise a puppy if you are wanting a grown up dog that is well behaved. When you are with your puppy all the time, you see all the bad behaviors right when they happen, and can stop them right away.

We are doing crate training, and *knock on wood* have had two nights in a row now without any crying or accidents in the cage. She is sleeping about and hour and a half later now than when we brought her home too! She had it in her mind that she needed to be awake around 5:30am every morning (I did not expect that part of puppy parenting!). Okay, on to my questions…

1. I am feeding her (don’t jump all over me please!) Nutro Large Breed Puppy Food because that is what her last parents were feeding her and they have raised some beautiful champion quality Great Danes. I have spoken with other Great Dane owners and done lots of research online, and the debate about puppy food vs. adult food is extremely confusing. Everybody has a differing opinion. I am going to switch her over to Chicken Soup large breed formula but should I do that now, or wait until she is a year old?

2. My vet (highly trusted) is recommending that Bella get her rabies shot with her last set of puppy vaccines, which is in a few days. I feel like that is too soon for a little puppy, but I don’t want to put her at risk in any way. When do you think is the best time for the rabies vaccine?

3. I have already decided that I am going to have her stomach tacked when she gets spayed, because it will give me a little bit of peace of mind, and a little more time if something were to go wrong. But as far as when I should get her fixed…I don’t know. My sister is a vet and has said that getting girl dogs fixed before they have their first heat is being done more and more because research is showing that their risk of all kinds of cancers goes down considerably. However, Bella’s last parents said that I should wait until after her first heat. Obviously financially, it is smarter to get her fixed sooner rather than later because the bigger she gets the more it will cost. I don’t care so much about the money though; I want to do what’s best for Bella in the long run. There are too many irresponsible pet owners out there that let their animals suffer because they realized that they couldn’t afford the upkeep. Anyway, opinions about the best time to spay?

I’m sorry, I can get very talky. I’ll try to be more concise next time I post.