Puppy Love

When Puck and I were considering getting a pup, he started his research and campaign for a Great Dane. They don’t bark excessively nor do they have high-pitched voices. More importantly, they are pretty laid back, friendly and good with kids. Their major drawback is that their average life span is only around 8 years. Our Dane Shakti just turned 10 last November, and we couldn’t be happier with our gentle giant.

One of our friends told us of someone with a litter of Great Dane pups in Stillwater where we were living, and we headed over to check them out. At only 6-8 weeks old, the litter of around 8 pups had overrun the house, and the pups were around the size of beagles. Shakti’s mother was a Merle (mottled gray, not an AKC-certified color) and her two-hundred pound father a Harlequin (black and white). Unfortunately, neither had been well-trained, so they jumped on people and tore up furniture. Meeting untrained adult Danes definitely underscored the need to make sure ours was well-trained.

Shakti was an adorable and happy pup.

Her mother.

Her father.

Having read the Monks of New Skete book, we put the Great Dane pups through a personality test – lifting them in the air, rolling them on their backs, dropping keys behind them to make a lot of noise, etc., and we discovered that all the pups were immensely laid back. Instead of biting or fighting to get away, they tended to just patiently look around and grunt, and they showed very little interest in the keys. When they curled up to sleep, Puck enjoyed moving from one to the next and rubbing their bellies to hear them grunt in their sleep.

Shakti with a few of her siblings.

While we were able to resist immediately taking a puppy when we first saw them, it wasn’t but a day or two before we returned and selected (thanks to Puck!) the sweetest and most affectionate of the pups. Born November 6, 1999, we brought Shakti home with us for the first time in late December. Following the advice of the Monks of New Skete, we didn’t let her into the house until she had gone to the bathroom outside, which meant all three of us shivered outside for approximately 20 minutes while we waited for her to do her business. Admittedly, she looked a little confused and miserable, but as soon as she had gone to the bathroom, we whisked her up and carried her into our home and our lives.

Shakti and Mary cuddling.

Puck and Shakti playing.