This morning Savage and I took a quick 15 minute bike ride in order to get rid of some excess energy, and then attempted a walk with the Halti. The Halti Headcollar by Coastal is looks similar to a horse halter, and is designed to discourage dogs from pulling or lunging ahead by transferring the forward motion into turning the head sideways. The idea is that where the dog's head goes his body will follow. I spent about $20.00 at PetCo on Savvy's black Halti. According to the advertisements, the Halti calms boisterous dogs, simplifies training, restrains biters, reduces fears, reforms fighters, assists with restraining dog during veterinarian or grooming visits, and calms hysterical car travelers. I simply want Savvy to walk nicely and respond to "heel".
After the first introduction to the headcollar, he seemed very apathetic about it. The instruction booklet it came with made it clear that the fit was important, so I tightened the adjustable collar around his upper neck and silently thanked Randy for making me buy the largest size (5 - designed for bloodhounds, large danes, mastiffs, St. Bernards, and similarly sized dogs). Today I put it on him and quickly took off for a walk up the hill behind our house. About 6 steps into it, Savage started pawing at his nose, so I said his name and when he lifted his head I offered a small piece of cheese. This went on for about 8 times before he got resigned to the collar. It obviously bothered him, but after about 10 minutes he started sniffing the ground, looking around, and getting involved in his surroundings, instead of being focused on the Halti
The strange thing is that during the whole walk he stuck like glue to my side, even though I intentionally left the leash slack to minimize his anxiety. I think what bothered him most was the band over his nose because he kept his head lowered. Maybe his confusion over this different sensation was what actually kept him right next to me. Whenever he is scared or uncomfortable he wants to be as near as possible to his mama. I kept offering him treats during this time but he wasn't extremely interested in them. They seemed almost an afterthought, and I ended up actually placing them in his mouth while walking. It was very, very weird to see my boisterous, energetic puppy walking slowly next to me with his head hanging down. While this is what I wanted to accomplish with the Halti, I would ultimately like him to be more comfortable and content with it.
I've read some online reviews on the Halti and most are overwhelmingly positive. There are a few concerns I have based on the more negative reviews, including my dog wrenching his neck if he got too excited and started jumping ahead, and the nose strap cutting into his nose (though I think this is a matter of incorrect sizing). According to some of those reviews, the Halti headcollar appears to not be suitable for some dogs. Overly energetic dogs seem to go crazy over it, pawing and scratching at the collar, and it is possible to slip it by backing out if the fit isn't perfect. (The newer design has a safety strap that connects the headcollar to the dog's regular collar so the leash will still be attached in that situation). Some owners of short- or pug-nosed breeds say the fit doesn't work at all for their dogs, making the Halti unusable. On a side note, I've personally noticed when I'm around other dogs wearing headcollars that strangers tend to assume it's a muzzle and get frightened. Especially with a huge dog this reaction could be a small disadvantage of the Halti, but the avantages no doubt outweigh it. Just one more question we dane owners will have to answer.
Savage and I will keep training with it, and I'm very interested to know how the Halti is working for other great danes and giant breeds.

Last weekend was fishing opener, and of course I brought Sav's bed along in the boat and his fleece jacket in case it got a little too chilly. Just as he has the last two summers, he enjoyed boating immensely, and loved eating the minnows we used as bait. Afterwards he got a meal of rainbow trout and mashed sweet potatos.
During the week we have all been working to get things done in the new house, and I brought an old twin mattress up to the property so Savage has a comfy place to relax in the yard.
Yesterday we drove 140 miles to the nearest big city to buy more construction materials and I also finally got my dog a Halti headcollar. I've been considering the benefits of one for awhile, and this morning I put it on briefly and he didn't seem to mind after a couple minutes. I'll be working with him on his acceptance of the Halti, and also the heel command using it as a training tool. When I get some more time I will be posting more about the Halti, it's specifications, uses, and how my great dane is doing with his. I've heard good things from other dog owners and I'm really optimistic about this.

Here are Savvy and his friend Nala at Lace Lake, one of our favorite hang-outs. Even though temperatures are still cool, the ice on the lakes is slowly melting, allowing the pups to do some splashing around and giving me some nice photo opportunities.

My boyfriend and I have been working this spring on making our new house livable. The floor plan is roughly 2000 square feet, with a big attached garage, dog door, and fenced-in yard for the pup. Savvy absolutely loves being at the property, because he has lots of room to run, and no busy roads nearby. He follows us all around the house, supervising our work, tearing up rolls of house-wrap and insulation, and generally getting in the way. The picture above is Savage "helping" Randy with the electrical wiring. We are all really looking forward to moving in sometime this summer.

When Savage was younger I bought him the Dog Training Kit from ClickerTraining.com because I had heard so many good things about this method. Initially it worked well for us, but somewhere along the way we stopped practicing with the clicker. The other day I decided it was time for some training, refreshers for the basics: sit, stay, etc., and decided to use the old clicker. Well, this time around Savvy was so scared of the clicking sound that he refused to even come near me, even when I was offering him treats. Obviously I was perplexed and frustrated, and with the dog becoming increasingly nervous and confused, I ended the failed "training session", and put the clicker away.
I intended to give the clicker kit to a friend and her dachshund, but shortly after that I began pondering another use for it. You may recall our first exhausting experiences with "The Evil Bicycle" from October '06, wherein Savvy kept barking, circling, and biting at the bike and generally wearing himself out. This kept happening every time we biked, and eventually got so out of control that I planned on not even using the bicycle for exercise this summer. (You can probably figure out where this story is going.) Yesterday I got the bike out of the garage and took it and Savvy out to test my new theory. As soon as I started pedalling my puppy started barking and biting the front tire. But when I clicked the clicker he backed off and moved away, allowing me to pedal without fear of him knocking me down or me running into him. We spent about 15 minutes biking in this way, and he each time he got in front of the bike or started whining, I clicked. Success!
Of course, with Savage I never know if this is just a one-time thing or if he truly "gets it", but I'm pretty confident that this method will help us both enjoy biking more this summer, without all the barking and anxiety. Ironically, how I'm using the clicker is the opposite of the way it's supposed to be used, that is to say: positive reinforcement. But this is the "training" that worked for us the other day, and really the only thing I've found that has stopped him from freaking out about the bike. Now I'm looking forward to biking with him, instead of dreading it.

I spend so much time taking pictures for, editing, and reorganizing The Story Of Savage that I rarely check in with my other favorite dog blogs, a few of which have been gracious enough to link back to this site. Imagine my surprise when I was presented with the online "Excellent Blog Award" by a regular visitor to this site (a black dane girl named Behr). In order for me to accept this fun award, there are some rules, listed below:
1. By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, I agree to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy.
2. You can give the award to more people, but please award at least 10.
3. Link back to the person who gave you this award.
Therefore, I would like to pass on the Excellent Blog Award to some of my favorite blogs, in no particular order. All are centered around great danes, naturally.

Behr Rake's Blog
I'll start by returning the favor to Behr by posting the link to her site. It's a pretty informative one, with lots of interesting and funny posts.
Great Dane Addict
Professional photographer + two great danes = amazing photos and inspiration.
Sarah's Dawgs
The online home of Roger the rottie and Nala the dane, and occasional random foster dogs.
Albert The Great Dane
Sarah's elderly brindle dane, Albert, has his own blog, detailing his rescue, fostering, and finally forever home (with Sarah, as it turns out).
Ready For Rally
Leslie's and her dane, Roxy, are just beginning to compete in the canine sport of Rally Obediance and Agility. Visit her blog to follow their training and progress (?).
Blog de Dane
Another Rally novice from Puerto Rico, Huey also competes in Conformation. Oh, and his best friend is a cat named Mr. Bigglesworth.
Gunther The Great Dane
All these talented great danes make me wish Savvy and I had access to these canine sports. Young black male Gunther is active in RallyO and regular Obediance. This blog follows The Gun-man through puppy classes, vet checks, obediance training, and everything in between, including the addition of a younger brother, Truman, to his household.
Dane-amic
Lisa hasn't updated Frank's site lately, but it's worth a visit to check out the pictures of a beautiful black dane. Funny enough, her posts ended right after she got a second dane, Django. Maybe she's a big overwhelmed...
Our Girl Blue
Newlyweds add a baby blue puppy to their family. Chaos ensues! But in a good way.
DaDane of DaWeek
Last but not least, this site (while not exactly a blog) deserves a link. Ginnie is another professional photographer, and her great dane portraits and dog show photos are amazing. The posts are usually updated weekly.

I know how much commitment is required to maintain a blog. The sites above deserve recognition, not only because they showcase the magnificent breed that is the great dane, but also because a lot of time, work, and thought went into them. By all means, check out the dog blogs and let the authors know what you think. I really appreciate knowing that people around the world are following The Story Of Savage, and genuinely care about my baby dane. Congratulations to all the Excellent Blog Award winners, and please pass it on!

Savage never stops surprising me. Today I realized that he recognizes just about every word or phrase his humans use when referring to food. First it was "are you hungry?", which was a given since I used those words every time I fed him. Then I taught him "food" almost as a command because it helped so much when I was attempting to teach him recall. Now it's gotten to the point where Randy and I can't even use the word "hungry" or "food" in our home without causing Savvy to stare and drool. A few months ago we realized that he knows the word "chicken" (which makes up the main part of his diet). Today I found out that he knows the word "eat" and the phrase "something to eat" when I told him I was going to make his dinner later. My boy is a genius! Now I just have to remember to watch what I say.

Recently a visitor to this blog contacted me asking about Savage's hypertrophic osteodystrophy, and if I truly believe that diagnosis. First of all, based on his symptoms and clinical signs, I have no reason to believe that this "disease" is anything more than another episode of panosteitis (also known as "wandering lameness"), which my dane was diagnosed with last summer. On August 15th of 2007 I explained his original pano episode and treatment:

"At the same vet appointment she addressed my main concern, which was limping affecting Savvy's right back leg. This had been going on for a few weeks, with one episode where he wouldn't put any weight on the leg at all. It was possible for me to gently feel along his leg, hip, and joints, with no pain or discomfort for him. However, as his vet palpated the long bone in his lower leg (shin area) his pain was obvious to both of us. Savvy was diagnosed with panosteitis and given a cycle of anti-inflammatory pills called Deramaxx.
Panosteitis is an inflammation of the long bones in growing pups, and doesn't normally occur in dogs as old as Savvy. The good news is that it will eventually go away on it's own. Because he is no longer limping and doesn't seem to be in any pain at all, I decided not to give him the pain pills. I generally don't like to put any medication into my doggie's body that is not absolutely necessary. I've been limiting his exercise a bit, and keeping his diet the same. Savage is now acting completely normal and I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

After his vet appointment of February 5th, 2008, I expressed a bit of frustration concerning his doctor's decision to treat Savage for HOD, even though his x-rays didn't show anything out of the ordinary. At that point I was "...inclined to think that this limping may just be a continuation of Savvy's pano, albeit more severe." I still believe that because Savage never had some of the classic symptoms of HOD, including swollen joints, fever, lack of appetite, etc.
After much research on the internet, and talking with other dog owners, I've found that some vets immediately make presumptive diagnoses in cases involving certain breeds because of the overwhelming prevalence of certain illnesses in those breeds, perhaps overlooking a simpler but less serious condition. The great dane breed in general is known to have some health concerns which a dane owner and his/her vet should be aware of and watch out for, and HOD being one of these, it seems easy to assume the worst when dealing with a limping dane. Pano and HOD are both classified as conditions affecting long bones during rapid growth phases, and danes seem to be predisposed to both. The good news is that these diseases are usually self-limiting, and with treatment the affected dog can recover completely, though at least regarding pano, relapse can sometimes occur (as in Savvy's case).
To sum things up: In my opinion my Savage was mis-diagnosed with hypertrophic osteodystrophy. At this point he seems healthy and active, with no more limping lately for the past couple weeks, so I am hoping that this episode of panosteitis was the last.