Doc and Nugget!

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#1
Doc (Great Dane: 120 pounds) and Nugget (Chihuahua: a couple of pounds!) were the most complex, funniest, and engaging pair of dogs I have ever owned. Doc was acquired as a puppy from a breeder, Nugget was also acquired from a breeder, but she was a "throw-a-way". My oldest brother brought him home one day, I didn't what it was, it looked like a rat - she was still a puppy and fit in the palm of his hand.
Doc grew up (WAY UP) and so did Nugget. The dogs got along great. I came home from high school one day, and almost fainted at the sight I saw when I walked through the gate into the back yard. Nugget's head was hanging out of Doc's mouth!! The life literally drained out of me, as I loved both dogs dearly, and I thought Doc had killed Nugget and was eating her as a snack. Well, I got mad at Doc and started towards him. I got closer to the dogs and it suddenly struck me that Nugget's tongue was moving up and down, as if she was panting. How, I thought, could she being doing that when she was dead? It never crossed my mind that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Nugget - I was certain she was dead and Doc had gone crazy. Doc saw me and started trotting towards me (much like a horse with a dog that size) - and NUGGET LIFTED UP HER HEAD AND LET OUT A YIP! She was happy as a bug in a rug! I could NOT believe my eyes, Doc was carting Nugget around like a Taxi cab giving someone a ride: and Nugget was loving it! It became a daily occurence, seeing Doc carrying around Nugget in his giant, Great Dane, mouth. It was comical and a riot to say the least.

Lots more stories, but this is another I just have to let out:
I was walking both of those dogs at the park one day. I always let Nugget off the leash, she was too small to bother anyone, what was she going to do, gnaw at someone's ankle? Doc, however, was ALWAYS on a leash, he did not like other dogs besides Nugget. Nugget went running off one day at the park, as was her custom. A few minutes later, she came running back with a very large German Shepherd chasing her. The shepherd, of course, was catching up with her very quickly and it was obvious he had mal intent towards Nugget. The shepherd was so fixated on Nugget, that he failed to see Doc. Nugget ran right under Doc's legs, the shepherd STILL didn't see Doc, he had Nugget on his mind as his next meal, at least that's the way the dog was acting. The Shepherd grabbed Nugget in his mouth, which is when Doc grabbed the shepherd by the neck and literally began "throwing" the dog back and forth in the air, side to side. Well, I wouldn't have this either, I love dogs, even dogs that are trying to hurt my dogs - they really don't know any better it's just in their blood I guess, so I grabbed Doc and forced him to let the shepherd go. That dog probably wished it would have never bothered with my little dog, I wondered who the dog belonged to, and thought again about letting the dog off the leash with that much trouble. Still, looking back, the shepherd was unharmed (at least, no blood or innards showing), Nugget was okay if not shocked, and it is a bit of a comical thought looking back when I saw the look on that shepherd's face when he realized there was a HORSE of a dog standing over the top of the chihuahua! Think of a person whose face turns white at the sight of something ghastly, that is what this dog did in dog terms! Funny? Well, not really, but something I will never forget in the annals of the history of dogs in our family.
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#3
Here's another story (but true). Doc was another incredibly crazy dog. A Great Dane at 120 pounds, I used to sit in my house at the kitchen window and watch him trying to jump up and catch birds flying through our back yard. I was astounded one day to look out the window and see him actually catch a bird flying in mid-air! I never thought he could do it - and he didn't kill the bird, I ran out and made him let it go before he was going to crush it.

Well, that's not really the story I was going to tell, but everytime I think about that dog, I think of all of his crazy antics. Anyway, I will never forget Doc going through his first 4th of July (and subsequent 4th of Julys as well) as a 1 year old plus. We had some firecrackers and were waiting for all the fireworks to go off. In the area I lived in at the time, we could sit on top of our house and watch fireworks displays in all different directions (large city). I remember sitting on the roof and looking down at the "other" noise going on, Doc was going crazy. Jumping up and down, barking incessantly. I knew it was because of the fireworks, but we weren't about to put him in the house when he acted like that, he would destroy the house. We got down off the roof after a while, deciding to light our own firecrackers. I took one, lit the fuse and threw it. Doc ran after it, picked it up in his mouth, and before I could get to him to get it out, the firecracker exploded in his mouth! I was shocked, I thought he was going to die or something - who knows. Instead, he was shaking his head back and forth in a violent contortion - as was his custom when he is destroying something. Well, we were kids, so we threw another, and another, and another. He picked up every single one of them and they all exploded in his mouth! He acted as if nothing happened. I guess I have more stories about Doc than any of the other dogs our family had, but that's because he was pretty much nuts. Like finding him standing in front of the door one day with a duck in his mouth (yes, a live duck). Or getting hit by a car, but instead of hurting him, the headlight and turn signal lense broke on the car! The time the kid down the street sicked his two large dogs on him while he was in our front yard. They ran down the street towards him like they were coming to tear him apart. Well, I was a kid, and I had no fear - Doc was crazy and two dogs would not intimidate him at all. And they didn't. As soon as the dogs came onto my property, Doc - on a leash - began going crazy - barking, growling and basically waiting for dinner to come to him. It never happened- the dogs stopped, looked at him, put their tails between their legs and ran home. I was tempted to let Doc go, he definitely [/I]wanted to go, but I didn't. Instead, he had lots of other dog fights at the park nearby. I would take him for a walk - I guess he was getting a repuation. People - all kinds of people - people I had never seen before - would bring their dogs to the park too. They would let their dogs off of their leashes and "sic" their dog on my dog. I didn't go to the park to get Doc into a fight, Doc LOVED to run, like a horse - so I would take him for a run instead of a walk. Anyway, I always waited until the dog began attacking Doc before I would let Doc go. I didn't want to get into trouble, but I wasn't about to let another dog tear him apart simply because I was holding him firmly in a leash. Doc would always take the dog, even very large dogs, by the top of the neck just behind the head and begin thrusting them in the air from side to side. The thing that was truly appalling, even for a teenager at the time, was the owners would always get mad at me - even though THEY were the ones that sicked their dog - letting them off of the leash - and sic them on my dog! I actually felt sorry for those dogs. Well, I have a large dog now, and he doesn't like a lot of other dogs either, but I am much older and I wouldn't even dream about letting him get into a fight. He stays on the leash - but I haven't had anyone sic their dog on mine, and I stay away from areas where there might be any possiblity of that happening. Well, just a few more stories, but they are all true even if it's hard to believe.
 
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#4
That Doc must have been a riot! I just love the stories!

He reminds me of my old doberman Chaz.
Chaz loved to run and run and he would just barely run by someone
and miss them by a foot, and keep going... One day I was talking to
a guy, and he came tearing by missing us by a foot like he always does
but on the rebound, he started charging us again but my friends head
was turned and he didn't see chaz coming. Well just about the time chaz
was making the pass, my friend started walking away and right into chaz's
path. BAM, chaz hit him so hard it knocke him down. He got up and brused
himself off, and said, Darn, what a dog!

Chazhound
 
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#5
Lol, I can just picture a doby colliding like a freight train into a car, instead with a human. I really like dobies, I have just never owned a purebred, I had the mixed breed version, a wonderful dog. The more time you spend with your dogs, the more antics and memories they create. And yes, Doc was a riot. He was very intelligent - and he used that smartness in ways unimaginable. Our back yard had a six foot tall block fence. Well, Doc, on his hind legs, stood about 6 foot tall. BUT, a part of our yard was raised by three feet with a "display" of roses. Kids used to walk down the alley behind our house going home after school. Doc would go up to the raised portion, stand on his hind legs, and be a full three feet over the top of the fence. From a kid's perspective in an alleyway, he looked like he was 9 feet tall, LOL. Now THAT was a riot! People driving trucks looking for things would absolutely freak out - I would run and look over the top of the fence if I happened to be out there and a vehicle was coming. One of my current dogs, Willie, a different kind of crazy. He has that huge bone chew in half and an entire portion of it eaten now. He spends a couple hours a day "working" on it. He's the ONLY dog I have ever seen that can actually catch a cat. He hates cats with a passion. He goes into "overdrive" when he sees one - you can say anything you want to him and he is oblivious to it. Well, I was walking him the other day, and he did his number 2 right on the street. Yuck. I let go of the leash (it was late at night, I wasn't worried about other people or dogs) and made him sit in the street while I cleaned up his mess. Well, a cat appeared out of the bushes about ten feet away, and then just sat down right in front of Willie. I didn't see the cat - or Willie's reaction - until too late. I don't like cats either, I grew up with them as a kid and I just can't stand them now, but I'm not into animal violence. Anyway, Willie saw the cat, and had the poor thing in his mouth before the cat could move 5 feet. He wasn't chomping down on it, but he was holding it firmly in his mouth. I was yelling at Willie to let it go, which he "accidentally" did, but he ran after it. I was literally screaming at the dog - who took off after the cat - he wouldn't listen. I was really shocked to go around the corner of a house and see him standing there with that cat in his mouth again! How can a dog catch a cat? I don't know, I didn't see the second time cause he disappeared around the corner. I was so mad at him by this time, though, that he dropped his head down, let go of the cat and came whimpering up to me. Well, I guess I have myself to blame as much as Willie, I just didn't think a cat would be dumb enough to present itself in front of a large dog and just sit there, as if to antagonize it. Well, the cat ran away, I hope it wasn't hurt. Willie, well I had mercy on him. He's a hunting dog at heart, I guess you just can't take that out of a dog. Well, I have lots more dog stories, but I would like to read everyone else's experiences with their dogs!
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#7
Thor and the Four Thieves

I had a friend, Dave who was a biker from Wisconsin. He worked for my dad, helping him land survey. Dave just had to have a Doberman, but didn't have several hundreds to spend on one with a long pedigree, so he was quite pleased with himself when he located a local couple whose female had just delivered a litter of purebred pups.

Dave brought Thor to work with him every day, and Thor was a real character. He minded me, and he minded Dave, but everyone else needn't even bother.

Dave and the vet had a terrible time getting Thor's ears to stand up after they'd been clipped, but finally they did and Thor began to look quite ferocious. His head was a bit on the squarish side, and his muzzle was wider than a typical Dobie's, and his eyes were set oddly, but he was really shaping up to be a beautiful dog with perfect black and tan Doberman markings.

Then his adult coat began coming in.

Suddenly, the square muzzle, the lack of break under the eyes and the refusal to be obedient as most Dobermans are became very clear. That coat started coming in, still with the Doberman markings, but coarse and wavy and extremely thick.

Thor was a Dober-Dale!

He really was one of the most delightful characters I've ever been around, with the typical Airedale sense of humor. Thor was also the perfect dog for a biker. He was cocky. He was fearless. One Saturday night, Dave heard yelling and swearing coming from the parking lot at the motel where he was living at the time. He went outside to check, and found Thor, holding his ground and snarling, with four thugs who had been trying to steal Dave's Harley quivering against the motel wall, screaming for help and swearing at Thor. Dave called everyone in the bar out to see; all the regulars got a huge laugh, Thor got a t-bone and the four would-be thieves got chased out and told never to return.
 
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angie0923

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#8
Sleeping Beauty, Drinking Problem and More Cookies

Renee: I'm new to this site so forgive me if I am posting this message in the wrong area. I saw your pictures posted that were entitled sleeping beauty, drinking problem and more cookies please. Could you send me an e-mail and tell me what kind of dogs these are. I'm asking because I have a mutt that I love very much but I have no idea what breed he is. He looks very similar to those 3 pictures. My e-mail addres is [email protected]. Thanks so much.
 
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#11
what happened to Doc and Nugget?
Well, the story I was referring to them is the original post. If you mean what happened to them physically - Doc was up in the mountains on a camping trip - he died of what we assume to be a heart attack up there. It was so sad, I mean, we weren't even at home when he died. He was a great dog, I only have good memories of him. He lived to be 10 years.

Nugget - we had her for 18 years. She had serious health problems that vets couldn't fix, we had to have her put down.

I guess there is a gruesome side for dog lovers that have had dogs all of their life: they see a lot of dogs come and go - entire dog lifetimes. I now have 2 Great Danes; plus a Great Dane mixed with Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog; and a Rat Terrier. That's enough dogs for one househould, IMO : )
 

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