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Hugo's Page
(I've shortened this up a bit to take the page down to a managable size.)
We took a little trip to Beaver Lake Park with Jerry and Lois from Creative Indulgence. They caught the growing Hugo loving the water!
I may have distorted some of the pictures to make them fit, but I hope I haven't messed them up. They do such a wonderful job.
 This lively little boy is such a joy, and such a challenge. He's a six month old ball of gangly bones, skin and energy. He makes a regular habit of grabbing pillows and blankets off the sofa and running away with them. Fortunately he can't get far, but he does do a pretty self-satisfied dance while he runs away.
The big challenge is not laughing as he buries his head in shame and looks up at me with those innocent little eyes- those little puppy eyes in that big 82 pound body - knowing he's been a naughty boy.
Then there's the totally ignoring me while he's being scolded because he's so interested in smelling the last thing I ate on the scolding breath I'm sending his way. Such innocent little eyes sniffing and looking up at me with that "...what is that? Can I have some?..." question in his eyes.
Oh, and when he grabs dog toys off the store shelf and tries to run past me with that little smirk of joy on his face.
He's really good at shoving several cat toys in his mouth (on the fly) so you can't tell he's got them until he tries to chew them up, or spits them out on the bathroom floor.
We're working on learning to ring a bell when he's outside instead of jumping on the glass door. I figured that will be better than replacing the door.
There's always something to work on. Like most people it's all about finding the time to be sure training continues.
We're also working on keeping off the chairs and tables when mommy says to, instead of when mommy is close enough to grab him. Let's see, there's also the running through the room at top speed back and forth, over and over (known by Dane lovers everywhere as "The Zoomies"). Controlling it is alot like trying to stop a large, free moving, very fast rock from running around in your living room. I believe I received some bruises tonight.
Our next adventure is going to the vet on Thursday to have him look at the growth on Hugo's head. Some of you may have seen it when you visited him at the store. It started out fairly small and next to his right ear. He also had one next to his right eye. The one on his eye seems to be going away, but the one on his head has grown and spread a bit. We'll see if the vet wants to remove it. I'm hoping it's nothing serious, so we'll go in positive.
I'll let you know what becomes of our visit.
Now I think it's time to put the wandering troublemaker to bed. He's walking about in a tired puppy daze trying to find something to get into that he won't get scolded for. Oooop. He just wandered into his kennel. Ooop- now he's out again. Time for Mom to take some action.
Well, It's Christmas 2008!
The year has moved quickly and the store has been as busy as we were able during this VERY snowy winter.
For my friends and relatives who may not be close, here are a few pics from this winter...
Now that there's a little time, I figured I 'd better get this page caught up.
Last time I wrote I was going to be taking Hugo into the vet to see about a growth on the top of his head.
Well, you may be happy to know, as I was, that it was a common growth that can also be found to grow on the gums and other areas of the head. It is called a Hysto.....something that I can't remember now (sorry). I can look that up again for those who may be interested. The growths, although sometimes large, generally reabsorb on their own. My vet did take a bit of a sample from the growth and looked at it under the microscope. All looked according to what he expected. So- we elected to leave it until January to see if it would reabsorb on his own rather than take it off via surgery just because it looked bad.
Well, what do you suppose he went and did...? Yep, he scratched it.
So then we had a bleeding growth that I was hoping would scab over and be o.k.
So what happened then....yes, he scratched the scab and I was sure I was going to have to have it removed if to only keep everything from getting a spattering of red on it. I made an appointment to have the surgery, and found out, much to my disappointment that it would have to be done under full anesthesia. That is something I'd like to avoid as Great Danes can be very sensitive to such chemicals.
Long story short... the growth started to heal and shrink, so I canceled the surgery. It is now almost gone.
Speaking of pictures. I found some 'old' puppy pics of Hugo from when he was just about 3 months old. Thought I'd share them 'cause they're so cute.
 What a Baaaby boy! Makes me think about crazy things like someday getting another puppy. HA!
Back to reality.....
The boy is getting biiiiigggeeerrrr. He's most likely about 100 lbs now, as he was 90 in mid November. Guess it's time to weigh him again.
He still believes in working hard, and comes to work everyday.
Hugo's a great representative for the store. He loves our products, and really enjoyed the Christmas season.
He got fun toys, and has enjoyed the snow in his new Windhorse coat.
January 28th
I just received a wonderful gift of pictures of Hugo's dad!
Now you know where he gets his "rugged good looks".
Thanks a bunch to Kim M. for sending these.
New info and pictures of Hugo will be coming after Valentine's Day pictures at the store. It will be a great opportunity for everyone to get wonderful formal portraits this year. It will be an all black background with dramatic lighting. It should be beautiful!
March 13th 2009
I thought it was about time I gave some kind of update on the boy. Unfortunately I have no new pictures. Sorry. I've been so busy and also found I need a new graphics program for my new computers at the store before I can get any more photos up. Boring I know, but that's why there are no pictures.
Oh, and the Valentine photos were a "no go" as "The Hugameister" (a.k.a. Hugo) decided he couldn't sit still long enough for a decent photo. Sooooo, I decided not to press him (or the photographer) too much, since it was late in the evening.
Hopefully the upcoming sunny weather will allow us to get some more outside photos with natural light!
So the most recent changes seem to be a more vocal Hugo, who is willing to play a little rougher, and has decided listening is not a skill he is going to spend alot of time developing.
My boy is maturing, and I realized he is spending too much time at work (like his "mommy"). He is developing a narrow view of the world that needs to be expanded. Spending most of his time at the store he is becoming more oriented toward alerting on the sound of dogs in the front while he's in the back. He's more inclined to run up to another dog than he is to quietly wait until he's invited. He's responding vocally to dogs that give off less than friendly greetings.
The crux of the matter is....we are going to be practicing being calm when others are around. We are going to be attending more classes and activities with other dogs. Since he's great with people, I just need to keep that up in different environments. He also needs to learn to be separated from me, and listen to commands from others.
I'll let you know how this new program goes.
April 14th, 2009
 I finally won the battle over the camera, and managed to load some pictures on the computer today. (sorry the quality is not very good.)
We've had some fun in our new class at the RiverDog Training Facility in Issaquah. We are learning to do the more challengeing things- like staying with distractions, and working while other dogs are making noise and moving around. I believe this is much harder work for me than it is for him, as I'm ususally the one who is tired by the end of class.
I've found the clicker to be a great tool for getting attention. I've used it to get eye contact, and a more consistent sit on his rug before going outside.
I'm always telling people that consistency is what we have to have when training our dogs. That's what gets a consitent result from them.
I'm also always saying it will be about three years of consistent training to get the results we generally want to see. I'm doing my best to be patient.
I finally weighed the "little man" yesterday (Tuesday) and he is 127.6 lbs.
He just keeps getting taller, but not gaining much weight. He is one lean fellow, but it's good for his joints to stay thinner.
We spend quite a few mornings running around at Beaver Lake Park getting our exercise, and visiting with the other dogs. So far Hugo is being much better about playing nicely, and just trying to be friends with everyone. Less dogs works better, so we go early in the morning. He had quite alot of fun with a little Shiba Inu yesterday. She tried to get the upper hand on him, but he was just a little too tall. It was very cute.
The saga of various bumps and strange things popping up on Hugo's body continues.
 I'm not sure how well you can see it in the picture, but he ran into a dog at the park, and came to work with a "shiner". It was puffy for about three days, and didn't seem to bother him. It was pretty puffy, but has gone a away now. He lost a little hair, so if you see him you can still see the spot, but it's all better now.
A little while ago we started carrying a new product in our store called VivoZeo Complete. It's made by a company right here in the Seattle area. We love it. It was introduced to me by some of my customers sho had used it on their dogs and horses with great results. It's great for detox, inflammation, infection, liver cleansing, cancer fighting, immune system help and so many other things that keep coming up every day!
Well... I decided to try it on my doggy kids to see what it did for them. At first I didn't notice anything, and then I realized Hugo's puppy acne was going away.
I had been treating it with another product, but I was not consistent about using it due to having to make it up fresh and wipe it on a couple times a day. With the VivoZeo Complete, all I do is put it in his food. The acne was looking better, so I stopped the other topical treatment to see if the Vivo was what was making it better. It was! I'ts almost gone.
 This is the before picture, when it was getting better, but still not going away.
I was surprised at the improvement.
 I'm really impressed with this product. It has done wonders for several customers in the short time we've had it.
 Hugo and his buddy (a.k.a. boss) Luna.
More later.
 HI! I'm bigger now.
(34 1/2" at the shoulder)
Hugo is pleased to be able to see over the door now. He is happy to receive visitors whenever he is not sleeping.
 His eye is almost better. All the swelling is gone, and you can only see a little hair loss (see his left eye). Such a resilient little fellow.
May 15th 2009
Hugo turned 1 year old in April! As they say "time flies". I find it hard to believe my little fellow has been underfoot for a whole year now. So many changes, so many adventures.
Hugo at the park.
He found the half flattened soccer ball to be the nicest toy someone left for him. That was good for lots of fun- especially in the mud!
Our new favorite toy became the knotted rope someone left. We played tug and throw with that for a few days until it disappeared. Hmmmm. Guess what mom had to get? We now have our own rope toy with a big knot on it to bring, and take home with us.
Hugo was really quick to learn the "drop" command, and is a champ when it comes to tug play. He will tug and jump and bring it back to you if you happen to lose your grip. He fetches and drops so well. He makes me proud. It also makes for a great bit of exercise for both of us.
 Here's the boy reluctantly posing next to the park direction sign for Beaver Lake Off Leash Area.
Alas, he is now banned from playing at the park -BY ME- until he's neutered.
He's had two instances where he wasn't playing all fun and games with a dog at the park. He got a little too vocal and a little too insistent on grabbing the other dog. That was it for me. We want to keep things happy at the park. He has to settle for walks and fun in our yard for now. When he is neutered (probably some time in August) he will have a few months to bring the hormones down a few notches and then we will try the park again. He's been such a good boy about playing with everyone, I didn't want him to start any bad habits.
It's obvious he's maturing as he's more likely to alert and bark at strangers who he doesn't recognize. He's definately very fond of the girls and more touchy about meeting boys.(dogs that is) It's to be expected, but a little disappointing. Although it is easily manageable by avoiding the free running at the park and talking him through meeting someone new, or other dogs.
Our big challenge now is walking by another dog he wants to meet- without pulling my shoulder out to go meet the dog up close. We will keep working on that one. I've just got to get my body positioned ahead of him and hope that people coming the other way don't see my training as restraining a mean dog. He just wants to meet and greet in the not polite way. We'll keep working on it.
Today we met 'Leo' the bulldog puppy walking along the trail, and Hugo just thought that was so fun. Leo saw him and started running on his little legs as fast as he could to come see Hugo. Leo only got bumped around and tripped on a few dozen times. He didn't seem to mind.
 This beautiful bit of fun is Hugo and Regan at the last "Simply Black" photo shoot at out store.
Our next "Simply Black" is this May 29th and 30th! Get your reservations for your special pic. Call Jerry and Lois at 425-868-9978. They do a fabulous job, and really work well with all the animals (and most of the people) who come in.
Hugo really likes to soak up the sun when it finally comes out. He looks a bit like a bag of bones laying there these days. He's growing (again) so he looks so much thinner. I've got him back to three meals a day now, just to keep his backbone from showing. Mr. Lanky Legs-
Playing fetch in the backyard is replacing some of the play at the park. It's actually alot easier on me too. -Less running from one place to the other- in and out of the car.
We'll see how he does at our new house. Yes, we're moving in June and Hugo (and Luna) will have a whole new yard to explore. They will still have alot of option for play in their new yard, and a local lake, as well as a friend's fenced in acreage. Lots for all of us to explore.
So....It is now June 27th. We have moved to our new digs, and the process is almost finished. Moving has been quite the time consuming process- as I'm sure all of us who have moved are well aware.
The dogs were greatly concerned with all the time they had to spend cooped up in the rental house while I moved things to the new house. All in all they got lots of Kong toys filled with pumpkin, canned food and treats. They had lots of beef chews to keep them a little more calm when I was too tired to take them out for a walk after moving all day.
Hugo could hardly contain himself and has spent alot of time under-foot, to be sure that he didn't get left behind.
The long and the short of it is that there is still alot to do both in the house and in the yard, and my little man is wound like a top right now. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he really wants to be good. He is just so excited. The new house is a whole new playground.
The yard has the makings of a Hugo race track. I intend to clear the way and make it official as soon as I can. It's so fun to watch him run all out with so much excitement!
 Blurry Hugo on the "Race Track"
 Hugo at the top of the yard.
 Blurry Hugo running back onto the path.
A few days ago he found a plastic dinosaur (from kids who lived at the house before) and had it in his mouth while he ran around the "race track" with so much joy. I was enjoying the fun romp as I saw him run back and forth across the area in front of the house. He was just loving running in the yard..right?
It wasn't until I stepped outside that I saw the little glow in the dark piece of plastic flip out of his mouth.
Needless to say we made a treat trade, and he got to do something else.
So far he has found a nice sized log, flower pots (which look very different once you turn them over and come walking back down the path - (Tee Hee- he's kinda silly that way.) We have lots of tree limbs that have been cut but not dragged off (by people). Those have been a great amount of fun!
 The "check in" at the front door
We had a one day incident with something that caused him to break out in welts all in his soft belly area. Ouch! It looked terrible, but he didn't seem to mind. No licking or itching. Maybe it was all the Lidomed I plastered him with. That only lasted a day-thank goodness!
There is still alot of dog-proofing to do, but he can't escape and he's having a lot of fun. He's actually kind of funny about even small openings. He won't pass through a door by pushing it open. If there isn't enough room for his body, (or he can't rush you when you're opening the gate or door) then he will stand there waiting for it to open wider. There have been several times when I didn't open his crate door as wide as he thought it should be so he just stayed in rather than wiggling his way through, or pushing it open. Funny how that doesn't apply when he wants to plop himself down on my bed in that sneaky, but not sneaky way of sitting on it and then languishing the rest of his 130 (or more) pounds along the side until....what do you know?!?...his whole self is just a layin' on my bed. mmmmmm:(
 Hangin' in the yard with Luna.
Playing in the pool on those hot summer days we had.
July 30th
I've had computer issues at home, so had to wait till there was time at work to post some more. I'll get the rest as I can, but here's some more of what the "Huagmeister" has been up to.
Hugo got to spend some time at Ali Fulton's Adventure Dog play field!!
Boy does he like that! There's lots of room to run and lots of places to dig and pick up sticks! Check out http://www.adventure-dog.net/ for her fun dog services.
Since he's been so grabby and dominanat at the dog park, and since we moved away from the Beaver Lake Park area, Hugo has spent more play time at home and at Ali's great play area.
The big change is here. I spoke to Dr. Iverson, and we did a little check up for Hugo before having him neutered. The doc agreed that Hugo was probably done growing in height and it was a good idea to neuter him before his semi-agressive behavior turned into a bad habit of going after all male dogs. The doc wanted to do a vaccine update, and I told him "No". I chose to do a titer test to be sure the previous vaccines (1 parvo and 1 distemper) were actively received. All was well, and the neuter is a go.
Neuter Day was today! At 8AM my little man went in to have ...an.... adjustment.....to his manly parts. I took him in bright and early at 8AM to Dr. Iverson at Evergreen Veterinary Hospital in Kirkland- The go to Great Dane Doc.
He did just fine. They called me back after he got out of surgeryand said he was licking the floor, and he was up and standing just a few minutes ago when I called them again. (3:15 PM).
It sounds a little over-protective, but Danes are sensitive to anesthesia, and a simple surgery can turn into something not so simple quicker than I like to imagine. I was a little scared to leave him there all by his lonesome.
Of course he wasn't allowed to eat or drink since last night around 7:15 when he got his dinner here at work. He probably won't be eating till tomorow, and will be a very hunrgy boy! He does love his food.
Hopefully he will stay still for the next few days as his rather large "parts" will need to stay still to prevent swelling and infection. Gee- alot of sitting around and sleeping. Hmmm.......
More later.
Having trouble with the picture uploads. I will try to get it fixed soon.
 A funny pic from a friend.
 A picture of the drugged little boy coming home from surgery. I took it while I was driving (actually I was at the stop light) so it's a little blurry. He just looked so pathetic I was worried about him all the way home.
He has a "Bite Not" collar on as an alternative to the cone. It turned out not to be enough for the bendy-boy. He could still manage to lick himself, but it took him several days to figure it out.
It was really hot that day, and we had to set him up with several fans and lots of comfy cushions (which he slid off of).
 After the day wore on he was able to sit up and stare at us a bit.
 He and Luna enjoyed a little ice as a cool down. We took his collar off to let him bend his neck a bit.
I did find the "Wonder Walker" harness to be a big help as he couldn't wear his collar and the "Bite Not" collar at the same time. The "Wonder Walker" (which we do carry in the store) was a great help as it kept him from pulling, but left his neck free so I could put the other collar on and off when needed.
We ended up using the cone as the "Bite Not" didn't give him enough freedom, and he learned to stretch around anyways. The cone was more scary, and he wouldn't even move when I first put it on him. As you can see he "loooves" wearing it. That's his 'please save me. I'm being held captive by cruel people who locked me in a plastic cone' look.
All in all it was quite the ordeal for all of us. Hugo seemed to want to sit on everything, which I thought would be very uncomfortable. He didn't stay still really well unless I put him inside one of our ex-pens and made him lay in his bed. He had to do this quite alot, as he swelled up so much it looked like we hadn't neutered him at all.
I was a bit worried, so I took him in to have him checked. We ended up giving him a round of anti-biotics, which may have actually prevented any real infection. It took at least two full weeks before he looked like he was going to stop swelling. By that time he was wanting to run around like a mad man, and I was pretty willing to let that mad man out of my house for a few dashes around the yard.
All said and done, not something I'd like to re-live, but for a Dane it went well.
I gave him some probiotics for a few weeks to get his bacteria count back up, and he's been acting like his old self again.
We still have the wait while the hormones change over the next few months.
The next step is the re-training. We'll be working on getting those social skills back up to playing with other dogs at the park (hopefully), and start working on all our manners again. The move and all the recent changes have kept my schedule a little busier, so back to training time for us now.
More about our evaluation at Riverdog and what they recommended there. ....at my next break.
Befor the end of the year, I figured I'd better let you know what's been going on.
My good friends at Riverdog have recommended a training camp program for Hugo that will help him work around other dogs and in public stores and streets while he practices his manners.
We started the three day a week camp several weeks ago, and he is responding well to his commands (as consistent practice is always good for), and he is doing well around some other dogs. He seems to feel the need to be in charge of a situation with another dog, but responds well to leash and voice commands. It just means alot of attention on my part, and him being on leash at all times. That's not a big deal as I do that with both of my dogs at all times in public. I do have to be more aware, and I have to be ready with my commands.
All in all, although it's been disappointing, he is still such a wonderful love, I cannot help but think of him as my little baby boy.
Denise at Riverdog recommended I take him through his Canine Good Citizenship class, which will teach him to ignore other dogs in public, and act appropriately. She also suggested I begin competition obedience training (which just happens to be available right here on the plateau) to hone his voice commands and response to me. That will give me the advantage when he has distractions like other dogs, people or excitement that makes himwant to go see or control the situation.
That will be a big commitment, but sounds like a wonderful thing for both Hugo and me.
I will revise this page after the new year to bring the latest training advances for my big boy and new pictures as well.
Happy New Year to All!
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