Von Knopf Danes
(Hope) Current Events
02/04/2012 Let's see what we have been up to....MUD! I just finished spreading out the first bale of straw and it's February? This usually is a spring activity for us. Ealier today we watched the AKC Euckanuba dog show on TV. Such beautiful dogs. It would be great to go one day.
We've been looking at the spring dog show schedule to see what is coming up near us. I look forward to seeing our friends again ringside and helping others who are new to the sport.
12/04/2011 Happy Birthday to Clarice and Hope! They are seven years young today!
12/03/2011 While trying to update my website last week I deleted the contents of three pages! Ugh...so now I am in the process of putting them back together. They needed updating any way so not such a bad thing. :)
Kajal's puppies are 5 weeks old and doing very well. All I want to do is sit on the floor and play with them! Time flies when you are having fun.
It was such a thrill to have Elwood finish his American Kennel Club championship! I jumped for joy like a little kid. Thanks to our friends and competitors that day for your congratulations and well wishes!
09/27/2011 Busy, busy, busy around here. All is going well but just not able to get out to show this past few weeks. Ricky was neutered yesterday so we are releived that all went well. Now begins the healing...
Kajal is doing well and we hope to have four puppies as seen on her ultrasound! Her due date is October 27th plus or minus a day.
Elwood did pick up his last major so now he needs a point to finish his AKC Championship!
08/12/2011 We keep looking for majors to enter so that we can finish Elwood's AKC championship. Not many shows drawing enough entries lately. In the meantime, our boy Ricky has been bred to two outside breeders and hopefully they will get what they are looking for in their new litters!
06/08/2011 Vonna's visit was a lot of fun. She is turning out to be so lovely!
Zoe was with puppies but unfortunately she lost the litter due to a uterine infection. We are so very sad over this as she was pregnant...so we are taking care of her through this and work with an excellent reproductive vet to make sure she is okay. Please keep good thoughts for her as we work through this. Zoe is a good girl and very healthy. But for some reason, this litter was not meant to be. Mother nature had her reason...
05/15/2011 Vonna will be coming home for a visit soon and we are very excited to see her! We will show her in a few shows to get her used to things and then she'll go back home for a couple months. She is the first natural earred show Dane for us.
Zoe may be going to have puppies this time around! We are very excited about this too. The sire is a beautiful CH black male that carries the blue color gene but not fawn. Therefore we expect black and blue puppies. We are working hard towards pulling the blue gene through with these two as we feel strongly that the conformation, health and temperaments are worthy of breeding. I am hopeful that we can get an updated picture of this boy as I have seen him in person and he is very nice indeed. His last picture I think is when he was 1.5 years old and he is now over 2 years old and has filled out as a handsome young Dane should.
My research into canine nutrition continues and is a bit eye opening.
5/08/2011 Two more reserves for Elwood this weekend.
5/03/2011 Wow these past couple of weeks have blessed us with some nice wins! Great work by those owning and training their Danes towards their goals. Maya passes her heart exam and earns her CGN (the equivalent to AKC's CGC)! Ru (formerly Sophia) wins Best Puppy at a huge Great Dane specialty which is such an honor! Elwood, also wins at two more shows going Winner's Dog!
4/15/2011 Another month has nearly passed by and we again have been busy with some health testing of our Danes. It is getting so very expensive to do these tests so we hope to find more of these tests available at the shows we attend where the prices are a little more wallet friendly.
We are very excited about the prospect of Zoe possibly going to have puppies early June. She is a beautiful girl with a great temperament. The chosen sire is also a very nice representative. It is really hard to wait this out!
I have been studying canine nutrition in more depth lately. It is really so confusing with all the dog food marketing hype. Thus, I decided I needed more reliable information to make sure we are on track with what is best for our feeding program.
3/21/2011 This past weekend Elwood took one reserve...he and Sky were both entered. Both are blowing coat and thus not as 'pretty' as we would like. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll get through this. Summer will come though and bleach their coats (we play with our dogs outside as does Sky's owner). So with happy play time comes at a price. We'll get a tan but unfortunately in dogs this is not so appreciated. :)
New puppy plans are in the works and we are very excited about the prospects. Hopefully all will work out and go as planned.
Today the weather is nice and we can finally open the windows! Happy Spring everyone!!!
3/10/2011 Enough of the rain already! ugh so much mud...
2/13/2011 Thank goodness the weather is finally getting back to normal levels. Yes today was warmer than normal but enough of the 20 to 25 degrees COLDER than normal already. :)
With the warmer weather today, I spent nearly two hours picking up the trash people have thrown out their car window on my property. Drinking and driving is illegal, coffee in styrofoam cups from UDF are not eco friendly folks! Ugh. My property is no different than others out here. Everyone has the same trash. All over the country. Where has the simple respect for the land gone?
Sophia is an absolute wonderful and promising show puppy. She is super sweet and pretty. We will start conformation class this week and have already entered her in a puppy match! Wish us luck.
1/19/2011 New pictures are up on our puppies tab. A bit of work with 30+ pound puppies! That was the last time we'll be working on the table with these girls. :)
01/06/2011 I know, I know I need to get new pictures up of the puppy girls from my current litter! But they are so sweet and fun to just play with them. :) Will get new pictures of them this weekend. There are the two girls with cropped ears that I really would like to see in loving show homes and the one girl I left uncropped just because...
Happy New Year to everyone and looking forward to seeing my friends ringside at the shows soon!
12/18/2010 Time is coming near for Christmas and the New Year!
We have not been out showing because we have puppies here. There is a lot of bad viruses that tend to go around this time of year but with some of what is out there now it is really too much to risk with baby pups at home.
We have been busy with the pups for sure but also some health testing too. Elwood and his sister Sky have passed their hip tests and Elwood has passed his thyroid test too (OFA thyroid normal).
10/31/2010 HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!
It has been an exciting couple of weeks with Maya leaving for her new home and Kajal having her litter just yesterday.
Maya now lives with the Amanda and Tammy in Canada where she will be a part of their family first and show pup second. Currently they show Bulldogs (which I understand the fancy has dropped "English" from their breed name). I had the rare opportunity to watch them show a couple of their young boys at the American Bulldog Club Nationals a few days before Maya left. Quite a wonderful event to have in one's backyard practically. I will post more information on our Young Hopefuls tab as I am able and have received it.
Kajal's litter is doing well and we are pleased to have 3-4 more pups than expected! A nice mix of fawns and brindles. This is our first litter with brindles for us. We will be seriously evaluating this litter for show prospects as they grow. Typically I take the first stacked photos of them at 5.5 weeks and try to post them on my puppies tab. It is always a challenge as they are pretty wiggly. :)
9/10/2010 The puppies are doing well and as usual growing rapidly. Twinkie is a very good mom and so sweet. We are beginning the weaning process as their little canine teeth are starting to come in.
The pups are so much fun to watch. I always get so engrossed with watching them lose track of time! My house needs a good cleaning and won't clean itself if I don't get moving. :)
8/14/2010 It is so very hot and humid outside...the flies too are unbelievable this year. No spray seems to stop them anymore. They bite right through it. I look forward to the fall. Fall is my favorite time of year. I just hope we are able to enjoy a long fall season rather than going from 90 degrees plus to 32 degrees and freezing!
7/28/2010 Weird Internet computer troubles these past couple of days. I think I have it fixed now with only one annoying remaining issue to fix.
7/17/2010 This next week Twinkie's puppies are developing all their organs and then skin pigment. Really interesting to know now each step of the way how puppies develop. Much like they know how human babies develop! Instead of 9 months it is 9 weeks!
7/13/2010 Now that Twinkie is waiting for her puppies to arrive, we will take a break from showing our Danes just to be on the safe side and not bring in any illness. It has been really hot and humid out so we won't miss the heat! Timing is also good for Elwood as he is going through another growth spurt...
6/19/2010 We continue to show a lot lately and while it is fun and rewarding, I am starting to get a bit sleepy....it is fun but hard work too.
Twinkie was bred this past Thursday and we look forward to Twinkie x Fred babies. This should be a very nice line breeding between the too. Their faces and heads should be just beautiful. All will be black with maybe a fawn or two. Fingers crossed the breeding took!
This is also the time of year where everyone gets a full health check up with our vet. Updated this and that etc.
6/03/2010 It is hard to believe a month has gone by. We have been showing a lot lately and doing pretty well thankfully. This past weekend was very hot and we felt like melted butter (and probably looked like it too).
Maya is losing her teeth steadily and her ears are standing wonderfully. She is a sweet girl and we hope to do well with her in the ring when it is her turn.
5/03/2010 Yesterday Elwood took Best of Winner's from the Bred By Exhibitor's class and his sister Sky took Reserve Winner's for the girls! The day before, Elwood went Best of Opposite over a Champion dog and Best of Winner's. The previous weekend Sky was Winner's girl and Elwood took Reserve. What a great start for these two siblings!
4/27/2010 This past weekend we were showing in Terre Haute, Indiana. Sky picked up Winner's girl for her first two points and Elwood picked up a Reserve Winner's the next day! Maya came along for the ride (she is only 13-14 weeks old) and socialization. Hopefully, their pictures will turn out. It was cold and rainy for most of the time we were there.
3/10/2010 Nana and Bruno have left for their new homes this past Saturday. Kajal and Ricky were bred on Monday. And, we have had health tests done on Kajal (thyroid normal) and Elwood (eyes and heart normal). So we have been really busy!
3/02/2010 The puppies received their first set of shots this past Saturday and all checked out healthy from our vet. They did great and went fast asleep as soon as we arrived home.
The snow is almost all melted this morning and the backyard is a mess! Later today will be major clean up day. The front driveway when plowed pushed a lot of gravel into the yard as well and that needs to go back. We can't wait until SPRING!
2/15/2010 The snow is incredible out here when it blows and snows. I had to run out today and got stuck on my way back into my driveway. I did manage to dig it out and somehow get it back into my garage 2 hours of hard labor later but i won't be going anywhere until I am plowed out or the snow melts. This experience took 1/2 of my van's front moulding off (the pretty conversion van stuff). Ugh. There was also a piece of metal on top of the snow behind my van that I am hoping wasn't important. Oh dear.
2/09/2010 All is going well here at our house. This weekend we will try to get some stacked pictures of the babies. We won't force it but if we are lucky, we will take a few pictures. The puppies will be four weeks old on Thursday.
1/27/2010 We tried to get new pictures of the puppies last night but they were pretty wiggly. Their eyes are starting to open and just a little bit of playfulness is starting to show up. :)
1/14/2010 All is well here as we wait for Clarice's puppies to arrive. Her due date is today. It is 7:44 AM and not much activity but some nesting going on through last night. We will try and nap during the day to keep well rested.
12/31/2009 It is almost the beginning of the new year and decade! We wish a very Happy & Safe New Year to everyone! Looking forward to seeing our friends ringside next spring.
One wish for the new year....I wish we could keep the mud outside of the house where it belongs.... ;)
12/17/2009 Christmas is nearly upon us and we are not entirely ready. We have been busy getting ready for winter and trying to keep other parts of our website up to date with announcements, pictures, etc.
Jake finished his Canadian Championship in grand style all owner handled and from the puppy classes! Congratulations to Sylvia and Jake!
The Ho family bred to our blue boy CH Fred and has puppies less than a week old. All is going well at their house.
Clarice is going to have puppies on our about January 14th. This is a repeat breeding that produced Elwood, Jake and Sky. It is difficult to try not to get overly excited.
We received an ecard from Caymen and her family this week! Thank you to her family for this.
Max's owners in Michigan sent an ecard too with a cute bear sending us lots of hugs. Thanks Kate!
I've been eating entirely too many sweets these past two weeks so I better get busy and do more laundry or something otherwise this five extra pounds I managed to pick up recently will become either permenant or worse yet turn to ten!
12/06/09 Well now I just got my computer back home as we have had a bit of a problem with it. I will catch up with everyone in the next day or two so please understand....geez