I just got around to reading this thread, Scott, and am glad to read Frances came through everything well... When I had Tater Tot neutered at 6 months, he seemed almost back to normal the next day, except for a bit of tenderness... was like he never had the surgery in a couple days or so... And I remember we had Gizzmo spayed at 6 months, also, and the vet told us to not let her be very active or jump up on anything for a few days -- FAT CHANCE -- she wasn't home 10 minutes before she jumped up in her favorite chair... never a problem, as soon as the anesthesia wore off, she acted like she'd not even had surgery... She was a spunky little girl in those days. And of course Tater Tot is my Wild Thing (and also my "little buddy"). I've finally got him housetrained well enough that I'm letting him sleep with me most nights... We put him in his bed, which is still in the pet cage, and close it up about 8 p.m. Just have to ask him to go to bed, and he does -- and then waits for his doggie biscuit -- but he learned that one REALLY quick, lol... Then I give him a nite-nite snack not long before MY bedtime -- just did a while ago... give that time to get things "moving," take him outside to do his business and then we're off to bed together with his OLD squeaky, which he bit a hole in several months ago and is no just a shell of its former self, so it no longer squeaks, but he still loves it (he has a new one of the same squeak toy -- we bought close to dozen from Wal-Mart, at 92 cents, each, so we can replace them as he wears them out). My thinking is I let him take the OLD, non-squeaking one to bed, where he chews it and shakes it, but DOESN'T make all kinds of squeaking noises while I'm trying to read before I go to sleep... Lately, he'll get tired of playing before I'm done reading and paw at my covers, which I then raise and he crawls up underneath and curls up by my legs... usually ends up by my chest, though. I just LOVE IT! :) And I'm so happy for you and Sarah that Frances Jean has brought so much joy into YOUR lives! Happy Puppylovin'! Jeff

Oh Jolana, I just noticed the thread you saved. How in the world did you save that? We sure had a lot of fun. I'm glad it kept you going through rough times. My vote is for George Clooney. He can mulch my beds any day. lol Shoo...is it hot in here?

He's a big, huge, beautiful teddy bear. Wish you could all meet him. I remember when he was 7 weeks old and saying to myself how soft his fur was and hoped it would stay this way. He now has this silky, wavey coat. I've never seen anything like it. It's not a long coat of fur, just medium, but soft, like silk. really remarkable. Here is a link that might be useful:

'hard wired for fear' The phrase brings back a sad memory. I once worked with a Rottweiler-loving gal (does it seem like the big girls like the little dogs & the little girls like the big ones? Jane was a willowy blonde & all her dogs outweighed her.) Her dogs truly were gentle giants; they were house dogs who washed their feet in the kiddie pool after they'd been outside & slept on the couch & rode in the car; they lived with several cats- & were terrified of one of them, a bossy tortoiseshell... Jane lost her beloved Rosie when Rose was about 7 years old. From what I understood, Rotts are susceptible to or have a genetic predisposition to develop a kind of blood cancer. It was a long hard journey, & Jane was heartbroken at the end. About 2 months afterward, she went, on a whim, to look at a litter of Rotts. She said she'd had no intention of getting a puppy, but she wanted to see them. The 'breeder' had the mother & father dogs chained to doghouses, there was no grass in the yard, the water was dirty, it was awful... & Jane felt sorry for the pups & bought one. *She raised that dog in exactly the same way she'd raised the other*. He too, should have been a 'gentle giant', but he became more & more aggressive, snapping at the cats, growlilng at the other 2 dogs, etc. The cats were afraid of him, the dogs were afraid of him, & eventually Jane was afraid of him. One day when Jane tried to get past him to go into her kitchen, he growled & raised his hackles & bared his teeth. She said she'd never been afraid in her own house before. Yet, like so many of you, she kept trying. She tried everything under the sun. She finally had him euthanized, & the vet tried to comfort her, tellng her that it was a genetic or inborn irregularity, using the phrase "bad wiring". You cannot overcome bad wiring.