Showing posts with label Hank the Tank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hank the Tank. Show all posts

Friday, November 21, 2008

Hank the Tank: 9 months

Life with a growing saint bernard is interesting. Hank is full of love and he's eager for attention. A very easy disposition, but he loves to be the center of attention.

Now, at 9 months of age, he weighs roughly 100lbs. Give or take a few. His father weighs 200lbs, his mother around 160. Did I mention that it takes almost 2 years for a saint bernard to reach their maximum weight?
When Hank commits to a spot for napping, you may as well resign yourself that he's just there until he's done because it takes some effort to get him to move. Unless, of course, you entice him with cheese. Or anything else that is remotely edible. Thankfully, he's what they call a "dry mouth". Which means he only slobbers after eating or drinking. Any other time, no drool.
Hank has never met a food he didn't like. He's even managed to eat a couple things that were not meant to be eaten.

I've been keeping a mental tally of everything he has decimated. A garden hose, the big spindle that the garden hose was on, a rake, a shovel, a welcome mat, a little plastic kiddie pool, 2 gas hoses for the bbq grill, and various little odds and ends. I powerful storm caused a 7 foot tree branch to fall in the back yard. Hank had reduced it to wood chips within 3 days. So, I know if I ever have a need for mulch, I know I just need to give him some wood.
When Brother moves out, he's going to owe me so much crap, he'll probably have to take out a loan.I can't be a hater, though. Could you stay mad at this face??
After all, he's still just a baby.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Hank the Tank: 4 months

He's growing like a weed. Just this morning, we took him to the vet for his next round of vaccines, and we weighed in at a robust 46lbs. I'm sure he would have weighed more if he would have gotten breakfast before we left.
Brother has been training him to walk on a leash. Whenever he would get out the front door, he would make a beeline over to Mom's house. For the longest time, I figured that he just liked the attention from "Grandma". Later, she revealed to me that whenever he would come over, they fed him string cheese.
The housebreaking has gone really well. We've had zero accidents for a while, unless you count the time he puddled on Mom's kitchen floor. We think he was just excited about the cheese.
Brother has been teaching Hank to "speak" when he wants a treat. While this might be a cute trick, Hank now barks whenever someone is eating. Even a bowl of cereal.

A little more benign trick would be to "shake" or "high five", which he does well with those beefy paws of his.
Hank still loves to play, and when he's not playing with Sam, he's trying to chew on feet. He especially likes to chew on mine when I am attempting to go down the stairs in his favorite game of "Make the Lady Fall Down the Stairs".
The vet also told us that he is now cutting his adult teeth. I told Brother to "hide everything". I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about the larger pieces of furniture.

His poops are getting bigger, and his land mines are easier to spot in the back yard. I don't walk in my back yard barefooted.
Not anymore.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Hank the Tank: 12 weeks

Hank is growing by leaps and bounds. I swear, he goes into his kennel at night, and comes out five pounds heavier in the morning.Sam keeps busy trying to establish his Alpha-ness over Hank. He only has a couple more months of this as Hank will outweigh him. As of now, Sam only has fifteen pounds on Hank.Hank's favorite place to hang out and chill is currently under the dining room table. When it is time for bed, I have to crawl under the table and pull him out as we have not learned the "pen up" command yet. However, we are working on that.Hank, like most any teenage boy, is little body, but all legs and feet. He's unbalanced and uncoordinated and falls over himself with little encouragement, or just a slight draft.Hank still has some of his puppy features, but he's starting to emerge true to his breed. He still has puppy breath, unless he's gotten into something disgusting. He's now started to drool, especially after eating. He'll eat non-stop if allowed. And, instead of cute puppy turds, his poops are now starting to resemble that of an ottoman. Some Saint Bernards tend to run on the small side. I get the feeling that is not going to be the case for this guy. If this is his paw at twelve weeks, I can't imagine how big they are going to be fully grown. Hank still likes to play, especially with Sam. He is very inquisitive of his environment. This lands him in hot water all the time. The rest of the time, you can usually find him sleeping.Overall, a nice addition to the house. Now, if he would just fall in line with the housebreaking.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Presenting: Hank the Tank!!!

The new arrival made his big debut at Casa de H-Train this Saturday after brother went and picked him up from a breeder in St. Joseph. Not a puppy mill, I double checked. First, he stopped by Mom's for a little show and tell. She loves her new grandson. From there, both Mom and Brother came over and deposited the furball on my bed while I was sleeping. There are worse things to be wakened by, I suppose.

Brother was originally going to name him Harley, but it turns out that every other person names their dog Harley. So, in keeping with our family's fine tradition of mediocre pet names, he decided on Hank.

What is Hank? Hank is a Saint Bernard. A real Saint Bernard with no added preservatives or fillers. Their average weight fully grown...170-200lbs. He's going to take colossal shits in the yard. Hope Brother has a durable shovel. I'm having the yard treated this season.

Sam has already assumed the roll of long-suffering elder. Hank climbs all over Sam, and Sam just lays there and rolls his eyes. It will be interesting to see what happens once Hank grows up.

For the most part, Hank is a very mild tempered puppy. Where Sam was on what appeared to be a chronic meth trip, Hank is laid back. Actually, he's a slug. You can put him anywhere, and he will just lay down and go to sleep in that spot. A couch potato in the making.
What's really fun to watch is how Brother interacts with Hank. It's like Brother has a son. He carries Hank around in his arms. Hank follows Brother around the house, and whines when he is not within his immediate eyesight.

Life should be interesting with a Saint Bernard. I can't wait until he's old enough to wear the keg.