Not A Llama

[milano]

But it is large with 4 legs and fur.









Hello, we adopted a great dane puppy. His first home didn't work out due to some sad circumstances (not his fault, a deployment and a cancer diagnosis) so one of MH's coworkers was fostering him and wanted to find a home with previous dane experience. He arrived today and is such a sweetheart. We are his 4th house in 4 months of life so I'm sure it will take a bit for him to adjust but he's been around lots of kids and other dogs and is settling in good so far. I haven't weighed him yet but I would guess he's around 40lbs. His name is Apollo!

[milano]

Our older dog seems completely unfazed that he is here, and Ferg is acclimating pretty well so far. I'm hoping they will be best buds. I already reached out to a trainer because with 3 dogs I need the 2 that can hear to be well-trained for both their safety and my sanity. Ferg is getting neutered right before Christmas so hopefully we can start some formal training right after he recovers from that.

[Speedy]

Adorable! I love the ears <3

[charlotte]

I love him!! Hello Apollo. So happy he found his way to your loving home!

[tj]

To be fair, he is a similar size and probably eats the same amount as a llama.

I hope things work out so well for you guys. Welcome to the fam Apollo. I love you already.

[milano]

Update: he is 56 lbs. And seems to have had some training! So yay for that. We walked him down to the playground and he was a perfect gentleman with all the kids he met. Like not a single jump or anything, just gave lots of kisses.

[charlotte]

56 pounds, what a big guy! I just want to play flippy-floppy with his ears.

[stringy]

Oh my. I cannot fathom a Great Dane but I want to hang out!

[mc13]

OMG! How adorable! Congrats on the new baby!

[mapleme]

So sweet and huge and cute!

[nikkipal]

What a handsome boy!

[mintyblueair]

Congrats on the new addition!! He sounds like a sweetie.

[rugger]

All of this makes me smile! 🤩

You guys are awesome. Happy training!

[snowmoon]

Hi Apollo! He’s so handsome!

[milano]

M asked today if next year we could get a girl puppy for Christmas.


2 YEARS IN A ROW DOES NOT MEAN THAT PUPPIES AT CHRISTMASTIME IS GOING TO BE AN ANNUAL THING!!! I did cackle though.

[pbandj714]

Omg I love him. Hi, Apollo!

[rugger]

Nov 29, 2021 18:05:56 GMT -6 milano said:

M asked today if next year we could get a girl puppy for Christmas.


2 YEARS IN A ROW DOES NOT MEAN THAT PUPPIES AT CHRISTMASTIME IS GOING TO BE AN ANNUAL THING!!! I did cackle though.

I dunno, sounds like a tradition to me 🤪

[milano]

So full disclosure on the state of this dog adoption process.

Sunday & Monday went well. I woke up Tuesday morning in an absolute panic that we made the wrong decision and literally cried all day long. And then all night. And then all yesteday morning. I was so depressed and thought I had made the wrong decision and life was going to be crazy, I was just miserable. But I started feeling better yesteday afternoon, and today has been good. I think I just started remembering all the hard parts of having such a large dog, the potential for injury and sickness and remembering how losing Lily felt so devastating, but while being heartbroken I also felt a sense of relief at not having to worry about her since her mobility was affected at the end and all the other things. And I felt like maybe I was trying to replace her? I don't know. I was a mental mess. I was truly panicking, couldn't eat, sleep, etc. Wondered if we should send him back to the foster family asap so we wouldn't get too attached.

But he is SUCH a good puppy, especially for having been bounced around as much as he has. He and Fergus play together, he knows some basic commands already and is a good listener and does well in his crate. I am meeting with a trainer tomorow morning, with both dogs, to come up with a game plan. Today I took them on walks separately and then another walk separately with just M and it felt more normal and routine. Deep down I don't think I made the wrong decision, because I was SO confident in it last week. I know we can give him the amazing life and home that he deserves, but having essentially 2 puppies in the house at once has much potential for chaos and I just have to remember that they won't be puppies for long. And like, 3 dogs in a house is absolutely crazy to me. But that is my crazy now and it is going to be ok. Training will be my sanity saver, that I know! Also getting quotes from fencing companies.

Anyway, I felt like I had to share all that because it felt fake to not acknowledge the sometimes reality of adopting a dog. It is a wonderful thing but also a bit of a mindfuck, especially when it is an unexpected thing! I know it is going to be ok but adjusting is taking time.

[charlotte]

I wanted to cry and undo my decision for like the first 3 weeks when we got our pup. I think it’s a normal feeling because you already know the realities that lie ahead!

I will say what I was telling my mom this morning, in case it makes you feel optimistic. After paying for professional training (and learning how to work with him myself consistently) it’s like having a whole new pup. I was always dreading the mornings/evenings/weekends due to the chaos of puppy + kids.
Now his behavior is (mostly) so good and we all enjoy his presence so much! You’ll be so glad you did the training and Apollo will be a great addition to the family. 🥰

Just wait until next Christmas, when you have FOUR dogs.

[milano]

charlotte thank you! That does help a lot. And that last line made me about spit out my water 🤣🤣

[DGM]

milano, you are an amazing woman with the biggest heart!

[milano]

I had to buy him a sweater because he hates the cold. It's an off the shoulder style, compliments of Old Navy lol. He's such a goofy shape right now.

[stringy]

Dec 2, 2021 13:15:06 GMT -6 charlotte said:

I wanted to cry and undo my decision for like the first 3 weeks when we got our pup. I think it’s a normal feeling because you already know the realities that lie ahead!

I will say what I was telling my mom this morning, in case it makes you feel optimistic. After paying for professional training (and learning how to work with him myself consistently) it’s like having a whole new pup. I was always dreading the mornings/evenings/weekends due to the chaos of puppy + kids.
Now his behavior is (mostly) so good and we all enjoy his presence so much! You’ll be so glad you did the training and Apollo will be a great addition to the family. 🥰

Just wait until next Christmas, when you have FOUR dogs.

this resonates with me...we are halfway (is there ever an end) through doing some private training, and we aren't the most disciplined/consistent parents (dog or human)- especially BM. But working from home and being the main one who deals with Zoey all day - its a million times better to put her in her "place" while kids are eating breakfast and running around in the morning, vs Zoey jumping all over them and trying to eat cereal (why does she love cereal so?).  We have a long way to go.  charlotte, how old is your pup now? We are in the prime teenage years and its painful. (11 months)

yes to fence milano !

[charlotte]

stringy he’s only 5.5 months so we still have a very long way to go!

Yes, one of the biggest/best changes for us is that he no longer jumps on the kids! It was a nightmare before with the jumping and stealing food because he’s already somewhat big.

We have much more training to work through, but at least I’m sane now and can see that he adapts well to training.

[mc13]

Dec 3, 2021 8:19:49 GMT -6 stringy said:

Dec 2, 2021 13:15:06 GMT -6 charlotte said:

I wanted to cry and undo my decision for like the first 3 weeks when we got our pup. I think it’s a normal feeling because you already know the realities that lie ahead!

I will say what I was telling my mom this morning, in case it makes you feel optimistic. After paying for professional training (and learning how to work with him myself consistently) it’s like having a whole new pup. I was always dreading the mornings/evenings/weekends due to the chaos of puppy + kids.
Now his behavior is (mostly) so good and we all enjoy his presence so much! You’ll be so glad you did the training and Apollo will be a great addition to the family. 🥰

Just wait until next Christmas, when you have FOUR dogs.

this resonates with me...we are halfway (is there ever an end) through doing some private training, and we aren't the most disciplined/consistent parents (dog or human)- especially BM. But working from home and being the main one who deals with Zoey all day - its a million times better to put her in her "place" while kids are eating breakfast and running around in the morning, vs Zoey jumping all over them and trying to eat cereal (why does she love cereal so?).  We have a long way to go.  charlotte, how old is your pup now? We are in the prime teenage years and its painful. (11 months)

yes to fence milano !

I swear our dog ate more waffles and pizza than dog food his first year. He’s still a “foodie” at almost 3 but at least now he’s more polite and waits until it hits the floor to eat it instead of straight from the kids hands, mouths, plates on the table. 😂

[pbandj714]

Dec 3, 2021 11:08:23 GMT -6 mc13 said:

Dec 3, 2021 8:19:49 GMT -6 stringy said:

this resonates with me...we are halfway (is there ever an end) through doing some private training, and we aren't the most disciplined/consistent parents (dog or human)- especially BM. But working from home and being the main one who deals with Zoey all day - its a million times better to put her in her "place" while kids are eating breakfast and running around in the morning, vs Zoey jumping all over them and trying to eat cereal (why does she love cereal so?).  We have a long way to go.  charlotte , how old is your pup now? We are in the prime teenage years and its painful. (11 months)

yes to fence milano !

I swear our dog ate more waffles and pizza than dog food his first year. He’s still a “foodie” at almost 3 but at least now he’s more polite and waits until it hits the floor to eat it instead of straight from the kids hands, mouths, plates on the table. 😂

Oh yes! Our 11 yo foodie camps next to the table during meals, intently watching the floor. She did a happy dance when J brought the high chair up from the basement because girlfriend remembered the spoils of babies eating. 😂

[charlotte]

My youngest proudly declares “the puppy loves me!!” every night after dinner.

… the puppy loves to lick your sticky fingers, kid.

[milano]

Apollo is beloved across the neighborhood already. I took him for his first big walk a couple days ago and he did so good, although I did feel like I was walking a show pony. I have to speed walk as fast as I possibly can for him to be able to trot at a regular pace.

He has diarrhea though and as you can imagine, a great dane with diarrhea is...a lot of output. Thankfully he lets us know he has to go so all has been outside so far (including the middle of the night which is brutal) I talked to the vet and they said to put him on a diet of rice and meat only for at least the next 3 days, so I whipped up a batch of that this morning and gave him that, and then gave the other pup his regular dog food, then the older pup her special order fresh dog food. I'm like a short order cook at this point. A loves to eat though, he is Very Passionate about eating, so the past couple days were rough when we had him fast a day and then have been trying to do small quantities with the fresh food. I feel like he looks really skinny so I'm glad they said to keep feeding him because I don't want him to lose any weight. He weighed 62 lbs yesterday, but that was after a day of not eating and being sick. He is 5 months old today!

I need a chart to reference as to who eats what when and who gets what pills when.

Dear diary.