This is my dog Athena(Left), accompanied by my roommates dog Kodak(center) and his GF Sandy(right).
She is a 75lb Great Dane-American Pit Bull mix. Right now she is a year and a half. We have the same birthday. She was acquired from a friend who has a banana farm. I never had a dog before her, I have always been a cat person, but when I saw her as a puppy nursing under a banana tree I felt an instant connection. She was exactly 1 month old and she fit entirely on my hand. Her fur was soft as velvet and she did not cry when I picked her up, or on the drive home. I raised her in my bed room, and as soon as she could crawl out of her box she came into my bed(I sleep on a futon). She used to try and suckle on my ear lobe
. I have never had any problem with her. She is easy to train, but is still a strong individual. She is an alpha, even dominating Kodak, he's a 2yo chocolate Lab. She still sleeps with me in bed till this day, although sometimes she hogs all the space so I kick her off.
I read great danes were used to hunt boar. She is an excellent sprinter and shows great hunting skills(She practices on Kodak the chocolate Lab). She uses 2 distinct hunting strategies, one is cheetah like, the other is more wolf like.
1 She will line up her body and sink low, watching her prey and waiting then take off at full speed(Cheetah style).
2 She runs in figure 8 pattern with Kodak in the center. She then harasses him and entices him to chase her. She then uses her superior speed and agility to put distance between them, then circle back and slam her body into him, essentially knocking him to the ground. She will do this several times until he is too tired to chase her.(I can definitely see how this technique can work on boars)
It may not be clear in the pic but she has one blue eye and one hazel eye. I do worry about the serious health issues found in both of her parents breeds and am hoping hybrid vigor will give her a long and healthy life. It saddens me to know that they have short lives. I take more care in feeding her than I do myself. She is on a raw diet, its 100% meat and bone, it keeps her lean and fit with a beautiful and soft coat that shines. I don't think I can say enough good things about her. She already went through her chewing phase which was an adventure everyday. I went through many pairs of sandals, 1 sofa, 1 PS3, and atleast 3 pairs of glasses. I used to fall asleep with my glasses on so she would pull them off while I was asleep and help herself to a new chew toy.
My roommate used to have her sister too, but unfortunately our neighbors poisoned her, because she kept crawling under the fence to their property, since then I never let my dog sleep outside. This happened when they were still young and could fit into small spaces. And yes I'm sure it was the neighbor because he told us he did it and would do it again if he found any dog on his property.(needless to say we don't speak) Unfortunately dog poisoning is common in PR. Our neighbor did it by slipping rat poison in a hot dog and feeding it to the dog, it was extremely sad and traumatic to see her vomiting and convulsing. In PR they say people will poison your dogs just before they break into your house. Fortunately I have not experienced this yet.
My beautiful girl(dog)
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