Skip to main content

Raising a big dog vs raising a working pup

Just so you know, this post is mostly an excuse to show off some photos of my big Gussy, but I did want to also share some observations about Gus' puppyhood compared to Taz, because so far they have been very different puppies.  I have been asked if Taz is helping to get all of Gus' wiggles out, but really I think Taz is still more wiggly than Gus, even though she is 2.5 years old now.  She is often the one barking at him to come and play, and she can still get him on the ground if she runs at him side on!

eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
A rare view of Gus with his mouth shut


Here is a list of observations and comparisons between Gus the Great Dane/Bull Arab/Big dog and Taz the Kelpie/Collie/Working dog (they are generalisations which may not apply to other dogs, just what I have seen so far).
  • Taz really benefited from her puppy box and we used it until she was 1 year old.  With Gus we only used it for a few months.  At night he started to hop onto Taz' bed, so we stopped putting him in the box, and then when he was big enough to not sneak under the gate, we let him out all day (but with chickens locked up).  He seems far better at calming himself and happily sleeps all day.
  • Gus has hardly chewed anything.  Although he does take Pete's thongs (flipflops/jandles, not undies) if they are left outside.  He doesn't chew them, just hides them.  So far everything else has been safe, which has been a nice change compared to Taz the collector of all lose shoes, gloves and sunglasses.
  • Gus took a long time to learn not to wee or poo on the veranda.  It got to the point where I had to take him down onto the grass every night before I went to bed and encourage toilet stops.  He seems ok with that now (we never had that trouble with Taz).
  • Gus eats SO MUCH FOOD!  We hope it will slow down where he stops growing.  His weight has increased from 7.5 kg when he first came home to over 30kg.  It took us a few days to realise that he was hungry in the afternoon.  Since then he now has breakfast and an afternoon snack.  We just keep putting food in his dish until he is full, I don't want a stunted big dog!  And if he's allowed to get too hungry he helps himself (or Taz helps, we're not sure, but it took two dead chickens to figure out that feeding Gus in the afternoon is number one priority before we let the chickens out).
  • The front clip harness has been the best investment!  Gus can walk next to me without pulling, even though he is stronger than me now, anytime he tries to run ahead the harness pulls him around, so he doesn't bother anymore.  I haven't tried the front clip on Taz yet, she has just figured out how to 'come behind' and walk behind us, so its a joy to walk them both calmy at my pace, instead of being towed down the road. - see video below
  • Working dogs have a heap of nervous energy, and they need to be taught to be calm, but big dogs seem pretty chilled out already and just need consistent discipline and a big bed.
What do you think?  Have you raised a big dog or a working dog puppy?  Any tips to share?

More about Gus
Puppy Gus - training a big dog
More about our big Gus the Great Dane pup

More about Taz
Happy Birthday Puppy Taz!
Training our Taz - puppy months and dog years
What I've learnt about puppies


eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
we had to get Gus a new bed, this one is 'dinosaur' size

eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
Gus has learnt to fetch sticks like Taz

eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
He has to 'give me five' before he gets his 'tucker'






eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
here's baby Gus when he first came home
eight acres: raising a big dog vs a working dog
and my big boy now, don't know how much bigger he will get!


Comments

  1. ...I think that couch is going to fill out a bit more yet. Beautiful dog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. He's such a fine pupster Liz; and smart too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. He is so cute and yes you are right working dogs have a lot of nervous energy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

Popular posts from this blog

The new Eight Acres website is live!

Very soon this blogspot address will automatically redirect to the new Eight Acres site, but in the meantime, you can check it out here .  You will find all my soaps, ebooks and beeswax/honey products there, as well as the blog (needs a tidy up, but its all there!).  I will be gradually updating all my social media links and updating and sharing blog posts over the next few months.  I'm very excited to share this new website with you!

Chicken tractor guest post

Sign up for my weekly email updates here , you will find out more about chickens, soap and our farmlife, straight to your inbox, never miss a post!  New soap website and shop opening soon.... Tanya from Lovely Greens invited me to write a guest post on chicken tractors for her blog.  I can't believe how many page views I get for chicken tractors, they seem to be a real area of interest and I hope that the information on my blog has helped people.  I find that when I use something everyday, I forget the details that other people may not be aware of, so in this post for Tanya, I tried to just write everything I could think of that I haven't covered in previous posts.  I tried to explain everything we do and why, so that people in other locations and situations can figure out how best to use chicken tractors with their own chickens. The dogs like to hang out behind the chicken tractors and eat chicken poo.  Dogs are gross! If you want to read more about chicken tractor

How to make soap with beer (and tallow)

I may  have mentioned this before.... soap making is addictive!  Once you start, you just want to keep making more soap.  And not the same soap, you want to try all sorts of different soaps.  I made the mistake of joining a facebook group called Saponification Nation  and now my facebook newsfeed is full of glorious soaps, in all colours and shapes, which makes it even harder to resist the urge to experiment.  One soap that kept popping up a few weeks ago was soap made with beer. I generally prefer not to use ingredients just for the sake of it, I like to know that they are adding something to the properties of the finished soap.   As you know, I don't like to use artificial ingredients either (colours or fragrances).   When I read about beer in soap I found out that beer adds sugar to the mixture, which increases lather.  I use tallow in my soap, which has limited lather, so anything that adds lather could improve the soap.  It also contributes a tan or brown colour to