I pick her up next Saturday afternoon. She's 5 and is called Dieta
Meet the new assistant, same as the old assistant. :)
Great dog assistant Don!
She's a real beauty Don. Im looking forward to reading about her participation during your future reviews.
My best wishes for you and your new assistant Don!
She looks very nice :)
I was sure you'd get a puppy - do they get used to new people well even at 5 years of age?
Have fun you two!
Best wishes for you and her Don! Looks like a fine choice.
Congrats Don, we might have to do a raffle to try out the new assistant. 
Talking of which: This may be of interest for some - these are extracts from a dog's diary and a cat's diary.
Excerpt from a Dog's Diary...
Day 983 of my captivity... My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.
Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. $^$£$%$^&*.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously brain damaged!
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.
For now |
The kennel she came from had more breeding bitches than they could cope with, so they had to reduce their numbers. My priorities were, she had to be placid, she had to be a good-looking giant schnauzer and right at the bottom of the list was her pedigree.
She'll settle in well enough - one of the many reasons I wanted a placid dog. Fizz came from a breeder who was downsizing from giant schnauzers to Border terriers. She was 5 when she came and was no trouble at all. I just hope she gets on with the Airedales next door, Fizz didn't. This is Molly from next door.
She's from a commercial breeder of giant schnauzers who has more dogs than she can keep.
I wanted a mature dog with a placid temperament so she could work with some of my out-patients most of whom respond very positively to dogs. So I saw on their website that they had these, so phoned them to ask. I'm going to Lancaster (exactly 300 miles from here) this coming Saturday to collect her.
The stance is the classic show stance - something Fizz was reluctant to do in her later years. In fact the only way to get her to stand like that would have involved typing her back legs to something. I think it must put a bit of strain on their hips and hers were getting a bit stuff at the end.
This was her preferred posing position.
It's so much harder with cats... as Don has demonstrated with the diaries excerpts. :)
I think you got yourself a looker, Don!
Don and Dieta does have a nice ring to it.
Great looking assistant there Don! wish you and her the best.
LOL Don for the diaries. I think I can believe they are 100% accurate 
Yeah , put me down as a cat non-lover .
When used carefully, a dog can be an enormous therapeutic benefit.
My problem is particularly with the pure English Bull Terrier - nobody could call them pretty.
The pit types round here are bred indiscriminately by neds who starve and beat them - and tend to use them as weapons. Actually, for a while American pit bulls were an illegal breed here, along with Akitas, Tosas, and a few other breeds - just being one of those breeds was sufficient to earn a death sentence for the dog.
My father once had such a case in court, the dog clearly wasn't a danger to anyone and spent its time in court being charming and getting petted by everyone. Unfortunately, he probably was a pit-bull but there was enough slack that my father passed the matter to a higher court. That particularly silly bit of legislation was quickly repealed. A classic case of tabloids stirring moral panics at its worst. But mostly staffies are great dogs, it's just that I don't much care for the way they look though they are nowhere close to the standard of ugliness set by the English Bull Terrier
Thats a fine looking Dog you have there sir !
Looking forward to hearing more ...
A person I work with whose breed of choice is a Rottweiler/Great Dane cross (She's had lots of them) has to lock them up before she can have a row with her husband. Or they'd attack him.
Giant schnauzers are also notorious for attaching themselves to some random object and guarding it against all comers. Fizz never did that, but she had been very, very well trained. One of the other folks I work with is a psychologist who knows more about dogs and their training than I'll ever know. If I have to go away anywhere that I can't take her, Dieta will be living with her till I get back. It is a very, very long story but while Fizz actually lived with me for the last few years, I didn't actually own her. She belonged to my psychologist friend. Who lives an hour's drive out of town and Fizz had got to the age where she had to get out at lunchtime or carpets had to be washed. I live a mile from work (on foot - 1.5 miles by car).
If there are any behavioural problems, Dieta be getting intensive input till she can be trusted to behave herself. Since she's lived in a kennel rather than a house, I will almost certainly have to house train her. Which is probably a lot harder with a 5 year old than it would be with a puppy.
My first priority when getting her was that she be a placid dog - this is very important to me as she's going to be working with patients on a very regular basis.
I originally planned to wait a lot longer before getting another giant, the house got far too empty. I love the breed, they are great dogs when well trained. And an utter menace when they are not. Any dog that size who isn't kept under firm control has the potential to be extremely dangerous. I don't plan to allow that to happen.
I've never liked Great Danes - this goes back more than 45 years. When I was a kid one of the players for the local football (soccer) team lived two doors away. He was Danish and owned a Great Dane. A guy called Henning Boel who was locally quite famous.
I'm playing football in the park as you do when you are 5, using our jackets as goal posts. Well, my near neighbour's Great Dane crapped in the sleeve of my jacket. Which I discovered when I put it back on :(
Which put me off Great Danes for life.
Congratulations, Don!
Hope you'll be happy together!
(Was the jacket that ugly? :bigsmile: