Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

Lilly Belle was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia as a puppy, and we decided to schedule her for surgery in December. This video show the trouble she encountered when climbing stairs. One week after this video, she underwent surgery to receive a new hip.

We consulted with our local Vets and decided to have Lilly's operation performed by Big Sky Animal Medical Center in Great Falls, Montana. The surgery went exceptionally well and Lilly is now in the recovery phase, wich takes about two months. During this time we do not let her run free, climb stairs or use her back legs to jump, stand, etc. It is important to let the bone fuse around this new cobalt hip of hers.

Lilly is doing very well, but she is bored and restless due to the confined space we must keep her in for her own protection. You can also see the x-rays of her hip joints after the surgery. To learn more about hip dysplasia and see our videos, photos and x-rays, go here.

Merry Christmas!

Lilly Belle & 'Ol Saint Nick himself!

Ho, ho, ho. . . .

Well here it is early Christmas morning and I'm waiting for the 2-legged dwellers of this place to get out of bed and continue with the festivities of yesterday. Man, I like it around here when they start bringing the outdoors inside, potted trees, hanging bright lights and decorations all over the place... so much to get into and so little time!

Oh yeah, that's me (your favorite Great Pyrenees pooch) and some funny dressing guy called Santa Claus. He fed me cookies to pose beside him so that he could get his picture taken. Mom giggled the whole time, but dad seemed embarrassed and kept out of sight.

Today should be fun like yesterday was; seemed that everybody was feeding me treats I'd never tasted before.... mmmmmm good! I'm not sure if this was the reason I bugged mom 3 times last night to go outside. I know she doesn't mind, I think she likes it when I wake her up when it is dark and she gets dressed to go out in the snow with me. Hey, I could hold it until next Wednesday if I wanted to, but I know she enjoys this special time together with me.

Wait... what's that? Either one of those danged cats to chase or one of the tall critters are stirring. It must be time to start playing Christmas again. I REALLY like this time of year, I guess you do too! Sooooooooooooo . . .

Merry Christmas to all!

(yeah, even those cats, Puff and Pooh and Minnie too... I'm feeling good!)

Dog days of summer

Not just whoof, but.... WHOOF!

Pack leader here... I now know why they call this the "dog days of summer". We've just had the hottest, driest July I can remember. Forest fires are raging to the east, north and south of us, and there does not appear to be any rain in the immediate forecast.

Our Great Pyrenees, Lilly Belle has been lethargic to say the least. That fur coat she wears is not making her life any easier. And the cats... Puff and Pooh always try to conserve their energy, but I think they have enough stored up to stay awake for the next month. Even little Minnie (the mouser) prefers to hide out in the garage instead of sniffing around for fresh rodent meat.

And even the 'ol pack leader (that's me) has had trouble raising the energy to keep this blog current. I don't know about you friends, but this is one dog who is ready for fall and some cooler weaher!

I think I'll go lie down somehwere in the shade....

Dog vs. Porcupine

To the winner goes the spoils

Last summer, our Lilly Belle attacked a skunk. It was a horrible and tragic story (for the pack leaders), Lilly seemed oblivious to all the commotion and the "stink" that surrounded our acreage after her victory. You can read the full story here...

Today I received an email from a friend telling of an equally terrible tale of a Pit Bull who made the wrong decision to tangle with a poor little Porcupine; but being brave and stupid, he learned the hard way that you can't always win, no matter how tough you are. The Vet sedated the dog and removed 1347 quills...the dog survived and hopefully learned a lesson.

1. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity
2. Choose your fights wisely. 3. Don't mess with Porcupines!

Ouch, that smarts!

All about Pyrs

Note from the pack leader here...

I just discovered a wonderful video on YouTube about Great Pyrenees dogs. It is a well done video describing the characteristics of Pyrs. If you want to know more about this fabulous breed of dogs, watch this video.

Oh and BTW, all of us 2-legged and 4-legged bloggers would like to wish you and your family a happy and safe Saint Patrick's Day!

Dogs & Cats Together

Lilly: Minnie, I saw your last post and what you did to that poor helpless mouse. You should be ashamed of yourself. Great Pyrenees dogs (that's me) are famous for our good nature around kids and cats. What if I treated you like you treated that poor mouse? You're not much more than a light lunch anyhow...

Minnie: Give me a break! Mice are rodents, they carry diseases and scare the hell out of women... I do the world a favor when I munch a mouse for lunch.

Lilly: Not if you're a mouse.

Minnie: You're probably just jealous that I got to that mouse before you did. After all, you eat skunks!

Lilly: Do not.

Minnie: Do so.

Lilly: Not.

Minnie: Forget it, I'm going out for lunch.

Barking Dog?

News from the pack leader...

If you are a subscriber to this blog, you are aware that our "puppy" is a criminal having been cited by the Sheriff (3 times) for barking. Yes, in rural America where you can shoot guns, dig a gravel mine and use your back yard for anything you choose – we have a county-wide ordinance for "barking dogs". And not just any old run-of-the-mill barking dog ordinance…

No sir, our purposely vague law states that anyone can have the Sheriff cite a dog owner if the dog's barking bugs them. There are no definitions as to how many times the dog can bark, how long it can bark, at what it can bark or. . . . or nothing! Dog barks – you don’t like it - call the Sheriff. Got a neighbor you don't like who has a dog? Call the Sheriff. What a great way to drive a neighbor to the brink – but it is not working.

We chose to pursue our legal rights as we feel that our dog should be allowed to bark at the bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and drivers who are lost and think our paved drive is a road. Toss in the UPS guy, Fed-X, mail carriers and other neighborhood distractions and . . . these are the reasons we have a dog that barks and protects us on our tiny 5 acre plot.

Well Tuesday was the day for our "omnibus hearing", where we met with a judge and the county prosecutor to discuss our side of the case and decide if we wanted to pay a fine or go for a jury trial. It should be noted that each of the citations required a separate trip to the courthouse to plead not guilty. Today was our 4th. trip to the courthouse on this matter. The neighbor? All he has to do is dial the phone.

We were prepared. We believed that we could demonstrate that the County’s barking dog ordinance is extraordinarily vague, lacks any definition, provides County officials and dog owners no reasonable guidance, and is blatantly unfair to all dog owners in the County.

We believed that we could establish that this county-wide ordinance, when applied to rural areas, violates personal freedoms, the State Constitution and the Code of the West (seriously, that's real). We also do not believe that one unfriendly individual should have the power to dictate standards to an entire community. We were ready to do battle, armed with color photos, letters to the Sheriff, emails of support from neighbors and highlighted copies of the State Constitution and the Code of the West, and a stack of supporting documentation (my bride is like, well - a dog with a bone when it comes to research - no pun intended).

Tuesday during our hearing, we learned that if we go to court and win - nothing changes. The only thing we "win" is absolution of a small fine (in this case, three fines). Our neighbor can call the Sheriff that day and we begin the cycle all over again. We paid the fine. The thought of yet another future trip to the courthouse to gain absolutely nothing seemed like a waste of time. So there you have it, one disgruntled neighbor can dictate his will to the entire community.

But wait, we're not done yet. We have a plan and this plan is a humdinger! No, nothing illegal or even morally or ethically questionable (unless you agree that our legal system is morally or ethically flawed, but that's a debate for a different blog).

We KNOW our neighbor is not a dog lover, so it is improbable that he subscribes to this blog, but we will save our plan for a future post - AFTER - we've accomplished our mission of getting our neighbor and our Great Pyrenees to live in harmony and peace. In the meantime, I've got to go straighten-up the house for the next deputy Sheriff's visit.

PS: And BTW, the Sheriff and all the deputies we have met (5 now) are just outstanding, professional and courteous people.

Whitefish Winter Carnival Parade

Lilly: Puff, Pooh and Minnie... did you cats see me in the parade yesterday? I was the star, mom told me so!

Pooh: What parade? I must have been sleeping. There was a parade? Why didn't someone wake me?

Lilly: Yesterday, they held the annual Whitefish Winter Carnival and they had a huge parade, and I walked with about 12 other dogs from the Northwest Montana Humane Society. We were awesome - we were the hit of the parade! Mom told me that was true.

Puff: Yeah well, mom isn't one to always tell the truth when she's talking about you, Lilly. I mean after all, she does call you "Puppy Love". What could be further from the truth?

Lilly: Hey, this was a big deal, they've been holding this parade for 48 years. This year I was the star. One short human called out... "Hey look a Polar bear"!

Pooh: Well, too bad hunting season is over, you'd look good hanging on somebodies wall.

Lilly: Pooh, they stuff cats too, ya know! And besides, no one would shoot "Puppy Love".

Minnie: I would, will you show me how?

Lilly: You ladies are so "catty". Go back to sleep! That's what you do best anyhow.

Lilly - Criminal Dog! (part 2)

Lilly: They're back . . . do you remember me telling you that the long arm of the law reached out to me as a result of our neighbor calling the sheriff because I bark? Remember this conversation? Well, they were again called in to issue mom & dad a citation because I do what I'm supposed to do... bark!

Puff: This is so cool, Lilly the 'outlaw dog' - living under our roof... or should I say you're hiding out here?

Lilly: Yeah, can you believe this guy keeps calling the sheriff! He never calls mom or dad, just calls the sheriff . . . what a strange person we have living next door.

Puff: Are you guilty?

Lilly: Of course I'm guilty... I bark!

Puff: That guy must be like me and Pooh, he must not like dogs. I can't blame him, of course.

Lilly: Well I can tell you that dad is getting tired of this. He went to the Sheriff's office the other day to see if there was anything he could do to help solve this problem. He and the Sheriff talked for a long time and the bottom line is that mom & dad are going to go to court next month to get this taken care of.

Puff: Will they arrest you or dad?

Lilly: They will only arrest me when I start attacking cats that think they are funny!!! No one is getting arrested, the purpose of the court hearing is so that everyone can tell their side of the story and a judge (who I hope likes dogs) will decide who is right.

Puff: What's with our neighbor? How come he doesn't just ask you to shut up, or ask mom to gag you?

Lilly: Understanding human motivations and peculiarities is far above your level of understanding... I only know these things because I am "man's best friend". This neighbor is a bit eccentric and apparently just doesn't like friendly puppies like me. So, as they say in the movies,

"To be continued..."

Famous Cats

Pooh: Hey Lilly, last week I told you that Puff and me are movie stars and had one of our videos featured on YouTube.

Lilly: Oh yeah, I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would take time from their day and watch two cats sleeping. I'd rather watch paint dry.

Pooh: Well I can tell you that almost 600 very smart people disagree with you because that's how many times our movie has been watched by an adoring public - who are asking for more!!!

Lilly: You have got to be kidding me. People are THAT bored?

Pooh: Boredom has nothing to do with the appreciation of fine artistic productions and two magnificent movie subjects. I can see it now... "The Adventures of Puff and Pooh" - how two beautiful kittens defend themselves from a polar bear-looking dog and lived to tell their tale.

Lilly: You are a sick cat. Someone must have told those 600 people that mom was giving away free dog bones or something.

Pooh: Think what you want, all I know is that Puff and I now have a following. And, due to the many requests for more, I'm going to point everyone to our famous movie... "Where did the water go?"

Lilly: You won't mind if I check it out later, right now I have some important things to do... mom needs some animal-therapy and the best thing that helps her cope with you two cats is by loving on a big dog like me. She needs to hug me and rub me all over... doesn't do much for me, but she seems to like it. She calls me her "therapy dog".

Pooh: Wow, and you think people are bored because they watch our movies? How bored must mom be?

Puff and Pooh, Movie Stars!

Pooh: Hey Lilly, did you know that Puff and me are movie stars?

Lilly: Right. You think that just because mom can't let that camera get three inches from her hand that she wants YOUR picture?

Puff: No Lilly, its true... mom put a video of us on YouTube and now we're movie stars.

Lilly: Cecil B. DeMille couldn't make you two "movie stars" if he had a gazillion-dollar budget. You guys don't do anything cute, you just sleep all the time and lick each other.

Pooh: If you won't believe us, look at our movie debut below!

Lilly: That's disgusting. You just wait until mom sees me doing something really cool...

Pooh: We can wait...

House those cats and dogs!

Our dog and three cats have a variety of living quarters. Lilly Belle, our Great Pyrenees considers planet earth to be her province. As any Great Pyrenees owner will tell you, a Pyr off the leash is a "Dis-a-Pyr" (say that fast). Consequently, if you don't live on a 5,000 acre ranch, Pyr's need to be fenced. Lilly's fenced play area is approximately one acre in size.

Although she has her favorite perches, she will snooze anywhere. Lilly is not one to cuddle-up inside a dog house and stay out of the weather. On the contrary, she LOVES being out in the weather and nothing makes her happier than sleeping in the snow, regardless of the temperature. We have tried to make certain areas her 'den' and she has a wonderful 10-foot kennel lined with hay bales (below), but more often than not, she prefers to sleep out in the open where she can keep an eye on her flock... us.


A dog house for Lilly Belle is not something that is high on the priority list as we don't think she will make use of it. It is hard enough to get her to stay inside our home longer than a couple hours. She is driven to patrol the perimeter of her fence and do the job she was breed to do - guard.

However, we've done a good bit of research in this area of dog houses and if you are in the market, I'd recommend you check out DogHouses.com. They are the leading source for Wood Dog Houses, Plastic Dog Houses, and Crates and Kennels. From rustic looking log-style houses to barns and plastic designs of all types.

• More about Lilly's kennel
• Check out DogHouses.com

Thanksgiving Cats

Puff: Pooh, what are you doing on that ladder?

Pooh: I'm waiting for Thanksgiving.

Puff: What is Thanksgiving?

Pooh: I'm not really sure, but a bunch of 2-leggers show up, food is everywhere, I get petted for hours - and even Dad's in a good mood.

Puff: Does Lilly know about this?

Pooh: Lilly's a dog. She doesn't know about such things as Thanksgiving or even Indians and Pilgrims.

Puff: What's Pilgrims and Indians?

Pooh: Indians are like you and me, we were here first. We had the run of the whole house and we were happy. Then Lilly shows up and starts chasing us from place to place, eating our food and stealing our toys. Yeah, I think Lilly is a Pilgrim.

Puff: Oh. I guess we're supposed to be thankful that we're not Pilgrims, is that it?

Pooh: How would I know? Do you think I make this stuff up?

Happy Thanksgiving
from Puff & Pooh
& Lilly Belle too!

Lilly Pad

Hi gang, Lilly Belle here (you know me, I'm the Great Pyrenees puppy). In our last posting we talked aout 'ol Dad being a crafty fellow, and I have to tell you the he really likes me.

Mom and dad are concerned that I might develop "hip dysplasia" (whatever that is) because I'm such a big puppy and that is supposed to be common in large breed dogs. Well anyway, I told you that my Dad loves me and here's why I believe that...

Dad likes to take me along with him when he goes to town. He drives a huge Dodge truck that mom says she needs a step ladder to get into. They didn't want me to jump up or down from the back seat, so Dad invented a "Lilly Pad".

The back seats lift up and out of the way, so Dad built a platform that rests on the floor and he covered it with indoor/outdoor carpet. This is where I ride when we drive to town. What's more, he also built a step for me to use getting in and out of the truck. This truck step is also covered with carpet so I don't slip when I get excited. You can see my truck step here.

See, if my Dad didn't love me do you think he'd make me all these cool things? Oh and BTW, that's me and Pooh watching people walk up the stairs.

Walking the dog - in style!

Lilly's 2-legged dad is a crafty kind of fellow. Nothing makes him happier than tinkering in his shop. The best part about old Dad's tinkering is that he creates the neatest things for me and the furry members of the family.

Dad is religious about walking Lilly every day - weather permitting. He even walks her in the rain. The only weather condition that puts a halt to the daily walks is ICE. The problem is that Lilly needs her exercise whether there is ice on the road or not. This posed a problem and the need for Dad to spend time in the shop looking for a solution.

We have a Yamaha ATV, and we have taken Lilly out to run while we ride the ATV and hold the leash. However, in bad weather both hands should be on the handlebars to work the brakes and accelerator. Not having three hands, Dad's answer was to attach Lilly's leash to the ATV.

Now anybody could tie the leash to the bumper, or metal racks on the front and rear, but that wouldn't do for Dad. No, he had to devise a special mounting system that permitted quick attachment and disconnects.

In addition to being a crafty kind of fellow, Dad's also a closet geek and he made a webpage that shows you all the steps in creating a mounting bracket for Lilly's retractable leash. See Lilly's ATV leash project here!

Welcome to my purrrrfect blog

Hello, and thanks for stopping by. I have great hopes for this blog. The critters I share my life with are more than just pets, they're part of my family. The pure joy that they provide me every day was the motivation behind this blog. Their antics, pictures and funny stories will force a smile and bring joy to your day. Please come by often - take a break and enjoy.

My furry family and I make our home in northwest Montana with my husband , daughter, three cats and our 100+ lb. Great Pyrenees "puppy", Lilly Belle. All of our critters have their own websites. Yes, that's me being kept warm by two sister kittens, Puff and Pooh.



Puff and Pooh's site is written as a children's story and tells of their daily adventures in and around their home. Our "mouser" is named Minnie and to learn of her exploits, you need to visit Miss Minnie's Cat House. She lives in the shop and has a very unique "cat house" with whole-house heating and a dining room!

Our Pyr is named Lilly Belle and although she tips the scales at one hundred pounds, she's just a puppy.