Worlds biggest dog

[Valuist]

At least thats what the claim is...the tallest dog and weighs in at 245 lbs.

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/pets-26594274/giant-george-great-dane-is-world-s-tallest-dog-28944351.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fpets-26594274%252Fgiant-george-great-dane-is-world-s-tallest-dog-28944351.html

[Dave Schwartz]

A few of you visited my house in the 90's when we had Butkus.

http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/Butkus01.jpg

The above picture was my old friend when he was at the very end of his 14 years of life. He had lost 65 pounds and weighed in at a svelte 153.

That's right. At his biggest he was a massive, (218 lbs) mountain of a dog who stood tall enough to look down at our full-size the dinner table. He had a 52-inch chest.

Mom was a Rottweiler-black lab and dad was a St. Bernard-Great Dane mix.

Butkus, named after Sylvester Stallone's dog in Rocky, was raised with our horses. He even learned to eat hay with them. Good thing they never learned to like meat - the last thing this world needs is a flesh-eating horse.

He was the most intelligent dog I ever owned, understanding over 30 phrases! His main claim to fame was that he would say "I love you" if treats were offered.

http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/ButkusRodney.JPG

Above is the last picture we ever took of him: with "the kid, Rodney."

At first he did not like the kid much, but eventually they became good buddies.

Rodney Goldberg, a Golden Retriever, is now 7, who lives here with his step-sister Rosie Goldberg (known as the flab-triever). (yes, those are their real AKC registered names.) In comparison to Butkus The Wonder Dog, those two are dumb as a post.



Regards,
Dave Schwartz
Who swears that ever
word of this post is true.

[Striker]

The saddle on top of the great dane with the kid in it is a great picture.

[lsbets]

Great Dane's are awesome. We got a GD/Ridgeback mix about a year ago. She is tall as can be, right at the level to eat off the kitchen table, and has the best temperment with the kids. Scares the hell out of everyone when they first see her because of her size. She's two and hangs out all day with our 12 year old rat terrier, ridgeback mix (imagine that mating). They look almost exactly alike, just one is giant, and one doesn't even weigh 20 lbs.

Two weeks ago my wife was at Walmart and someone was giving away 4 month old rottweiler/lab puppies. So of course she brought one home. Turns out the dog was very sick, and had parvo. Instead of taking the pup to the vet on the weekend (he would probably die anyway), my wife stayed awake for 3 days feeding droppers of Danactive probiotic drink and water to keep him hydrated till he hopefully pulled through. Now he is running around like a happy, healthy puppy, keeping busy trying to herd the kids. I don't think he would have pulled through without my wife by his side.

[Dave Schwartz]

That's awesome, LS.

Is the Parvo an easy virus to cure?

[PhantomOnTour]

Having a pet will enrich your life

[lsbets]

That's awesome, LS.

Is the Parvo an easy virus to cure?

No. If you get the pup to the vet right away, there is a 30% chance of survival. By the time we figured out he was sick (we figured the first time he threw up it was because of new food/new home), everything we read said 90% fatal. We were looking at a thousand dollar + vet bill with little chance of success. But there are great resources on the net. Basically they die from either dehydration or sepsis if the intestines rupture. One breeder recommended the dannon yogurt drink to get some nutrition in. All the vet would have done is put him on an IV and check on him at shift change. I really think the love my wife showed him made the difference. He looked so bad when he started walking again, he had lost about half his weight. Now he looks normal. Its amazing.

[GameTheory]

The above picture was my old friend when he was at the very end of his 14 years of life.I'm amazed such a big dog made it to 14 -- 7 or 8 is considered old for big dogs. We had a 30-pounder that made it to 17 or 18 (actual age was uncertain as it was a shelter dog that we got at 2ish), the last several years with diabetes.

Our current dogs are even smaller -- two 20-pounders. That's one of them in my avatar looking stoned (called Baloney).

[blind squirrel]

Great dog Dave :cool: ...i saw the 245LB Great Dane...WOW!

[Dave Schwartz]

GT,

When Butkus was 7 the vet said I'd say he has about 18 months, 2 years tops. Then he said that again at age 8, 9, 10... in fact he said it every year. He probably should have been put down at age 12.5 or so because his quality of life was greatly diminished. By 13 I would take him for a walk and it was like 30 minutes to get to the corner - maybe 75 yards - with 2 or 3 rests each way.

One of our biggest fears was that he would climb the stairs and we wouldn't be able to get him down again.

I think what made him such a unique dog was that he was mostly like a giant black lab. He had the rott-growl. If you have ever heard one, you know what I mean. They growl not only as the breath out but as they inhale as well. LOL - It will empty a room of strangers, I guarantee it.

I have some great stories about him, too. LOL - We have these two friends; husband and wife. She is very pretentious. Pretends to be about 10 years younger than she actually is. Laughable in a 50+ woman.

One day they come over. The guy walks and and the woman is just behind him. Butkus has a think for this woman's, uh... personal smell. He greets her at the door and promptly sticks his head up her skirt.

I am across the room talking with her husband and she is trying to pretend that everything is fine. Funny thing is, I can see it happening but it isn't registering.

Ladies, please forgive my lack of... delicacy... in this matter, but it was hysterical.

Here is this woman, with a 200-lb dog, forcing his nose up her who-who, and she is trying to carry on a conversation, continually smoothing her skirt, and pretending that nothing is going on.

What finally brought it to my attention was that two of my boys were standing behind me watching the whole thing and just LTAO. That was when I rescued her.

I hollered across the room, "Butkus, get away from there! You might catch something!" Okay, I made that last part up but the thought did cross my mind in that fleeting moment. (Did I mention that I don't like this woman much?")

Okay, maybe you had to be there but all I can tell is that I am laughing hysterically, tears running down my face as I tell this story. Just trust me when I tell you it was beyond funny. Even her husband was laughing uncontrollably.

[JustRalph]

I swear, that dog is bigger than the horse i bet in the Wood Memorial

[Dick Schmidt]

Hey Dave,

The pictures of Butkus certainly brought back fond memories. I knew him when he was in his prime and he was one of the strongest dogs I've ever seen. Luckily he didn't demonstrate his strength very often, a genuine good dog.

I also heard his I love you "talking" and still think it was in the ear of the beholder. I never heard I Love You, but ol' Bucky did try. Great dog.

Dick

[elysiantraveller]

I love my dog. Here he is a 15 months completing a upland hunt test. He was the youngest dog at the test by two full years. They do add a lot to life.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p622/fade07w/uplandht.jpg

[elysiantraveller]

No. If you get the pup to the vet right away, there is a 30% chance of survival. By the time we figured out he was sick (we figured the first time he threw up it was because of new food/new home), everything we read said 90% fatal. We were looking at a thousand dollar + vet bill with little chance of success. But there are great resources on the net. Basically they die from either dehydration or sepsis if the intestines rupture. One breeder recommended the dannon yogurt drink to get some nutrition in. All the vet would have done is put him on an IV and check on him at shift change. I really think the love my wife showed him made the difference. He looked so bad when he started walking again, he had lost about half his weight. Now he looks normal. Its amazing.

Thats a pretty incredible story. Kudos to your wife. Your other dogs are vaccinated right?

[lsbets]

Thats a pretty incredible story. Kudos to your wife. Your other dogs are vaccinated right?

Yeah, they are. Its pretty amazing watching Ace (the puppy) run around and play now. He's going to be big too. Huge paws.

[lsbets]

I love my dog. Here he is a 15 months completing a upland hunt test. He was the youngest dog at the test by two full years. They do add a lot to life.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p622/fade07w/uplandht.jpg

Beautiful dog.