Sunday, November 30, 2008

Dane pup’s first rainstorm… and medical update

Princeton looks happy at the park at age 7 months. This is a rare shot of him looking out of his left “ghost eye.”

Our Dane pup Princeton saw rain for the first time this week and went wild. He loved racing around the backyard getting wet and barking at puddles. Then the next morning when it was still raining he watched it from the doorway with a puzzled look, then lay down right next to my feet, not wanting to get wet again.

Princeton was neutered 10 days ago and came through surgery just fine. He’s recovered quickly -- you can’t even see the scar anymore. He weighed in at 94 pounds! And he’s 29 inches at the shoulder. I wonder how that compares to his brothers? He's not 7 months old.

The vet also checked his eyes because he acts like he can’t see as well out of his left (lighter colored) “ghost eye.” The vet turned out the lights and shined a flashlight into each eye. No problem with the right eye, but when she shined it in his left eye he kept squirming to get away, then finally bit her! (Not hard.)That’s not like Princeton! He’s usually very friendly and never bites (except in play). So that side is a lot more sensitive to light, but the vet couldn’t see any differences other than the color of the eye. She said we should see a specialist (ophthalmologist) if we want to pursue it. It seems to be a genetic condition because he's a merle color.

My partner asked the vet how big she thought Princeton would get. She said it was hard for her to estimate because they don’t have any other Great Dane puppies in the practice. Then she added, “There’s probably some other clinic nearby that’s getting all the Great Dane puppies.”

“Every profession has its conspiracy theories,” my partner teased, and we all started laughing.

When I walked Princeton in the weeks leading up the neutering, I kept feeling like he was a stallion prancing and resisting as his handlers try to get him into the starting gate for a race. I wonder if he will still be like that after neutering. Our neighbor’s nickname for him is “Bounce” because he’s so bouncy.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this Big Boy at sunset!

M said...

Hi to Princeton's Mom! I am a regular reader but don't take the time to respond like I should. I guess that makes me a lurker! Anyway. Great Danes are such an interesting breed. My partner and I have had 4 and each of them had their own health issues...allergies, OCD, etc. We are quite familiar with visits to the vet. We have had 3 females and 1 male. They have ranged in weight from 100-140 lbs. We have loved them all and each of them has made us laugh. None of them lived past 9 years though. Princeton is a doll. He will adopt to his sensory challenges without any difficulties. They are far superior to humans in that regard! Regards! M

Michalea said...

My neighbor has a dane puppy and a vet who takes care of a lot of danes. Apparently the rule of thumb is that their weight at 6 months is half their adult weight.

BTW, Princeton is looking great!

Sames Blogs said...

PAW!!! Dude you are growing up just fine! Keep the prancing up showing off to your mom. She will stay proud of you. MAX- the Dude!
PS- I am 6 1/2 years and my sis is 8 1/2 years and we are both going strong.

Anonymous said...

Hi Princeton!

I love your "Lemon Dance"!

Hey, guess what - I have a real Lemon! My cat sister is called "Lemon" because my humans got us at the same time as puppy and kitten and they wanted a pair name for us...so "Honey & Lemon"!

Do come by and visit me sometime!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane
www.bighoneydog.com

The Zoo Crew said...

You are such a handsome boy. There are three danes in our crazy household. The oldest is Kai and he will be 8 next month. Then there's Willow and she's 9 months old. Then there's wild Echo and she's 3.5 months old (and deaf). Stop by sometime and say hello :)