Summertime Saint Bernards

[] Ya'll are making me blush! Thanks for the nice compliments![]
 
Jennie: my "tiny" little girl outweighs me too! Just think of what it's like for me when big-guy Shaq decides to sit on my lap! (And yes, just in case anyone was wondering Shaq has broke my toes more then once!)
 
Annie: Anything for you! []
 
Kate: There are tons of saints that need homes on petfinder. I always end up wanting to bring a new one home! My ideal number of saints would be seven. [] I *think* they would all fit in the Expedition???? I grew up with labs, but am now a huge fan of saints! They have a lab-like sweet personality, but much less energy.
 
Anyway thank you to everyone else for all the nice compliments. I will have to forward this link to DH, cause he always likes to hear nice things about the babies [] (Of course nice things about him and the lawn don't hurt either.) DH is home for a few days, because he seems to have picked up the mumps [:'(]. Maybe this will keep him busy!

Really gorgeous dogs.

You need to take more pictures for us!!!  With you gys are the best ones so we can really see how HUGE!! 
 
You have made me want one, DH does too lol.  He stared at the picture with your DH in the back and just said "wow" lol.
 
BTW - how long do the generally live?  how did he break your toes? Just stepping on them?
 

Such BIG doggies! But so handsome! I wanna snuggle up in their fur coats! Oh, and I love that pic of your DH trying to peek over your dog. Great pic! [sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif]

I think Saints are beautiful dogs, but too big for me! lol.. Gorgeous family!

kaykay - karin will be better equipped to answer your questions, but from my research Saints have an average lifespan of 8-10 years.  As with a lot of the giant breeds, their organs and bones wear out faster than smaller breeds from sustaining the huge body. 
 
karin - I keep looking at them on petfinder and drooling.  Unfortunately, we live in the UK, which causes 2 problems: 1, we don't have a service like petfinder here (maybe I should start one??) and 2, houses tend to be smaller here.  Our house is average sized for the UK but tiny in comparison to the average North American house.  We just don't have the room for a Saint right now.  I know they don't need a lot of exercise and are relatively sedentary but they do take up a bit of space!  We are moving to Canada in 18 months and once we are settled there we will get a Saint as a companion for Ben - I have ALWAYS wanted one.  Am I correct in the assumption that they get along well with other dogs, generally speaking?  Also, sometime after we get settled we are likely to have children, and I have read that they can be good with kids if properly trained?
 
Sorry to hijack your thread - it was an excuse to look at the pics again. []
 
Kate

AWW! theyre both so cute! i just wanna pinch their huge cheeks! lol

You are right, 8 to 10 years is average. Saints actually do fine in small houses, cause they are such LAZY dogs, that they take less space then you would think! They are generally the "gentle giants" and do well with other dogs if properly introduced. They are good family members, but with young children you want to watch a saint puppy, they will easily knock down a toddler without meaning to. Otherwise I think they are the perfect dog, but of course I am totally in love with my saints [] I don't even mind all the slobber and hair, it's just part of the "saintly love".
 
kaykay - Shaq broke my toes when he was about 8 months old. At that stage he was big, but could still leap through the air with the greatest of ease... he stepped on my bare feet during a playful frolic! Later after my toes were healing, he re-broke the same ones, in the exact same way. DH has had his broken too! [] oor Shaq, he thinks he is just a little guy!!!

Karin,
 
Thanks for that info.   There were other considerations - my SO is a first time dog owner and was a little unsure of starting out with one so large.  I also have no idea where we would put a crate big enough for a saint!  We are both looking forward to having one when we move though.  I will watch out for broken toes!  Once we are settled in our new house and Ben has gotten used to his new surroundings, we will look for one.  I am sure there will be a Saint rescue organisation in British Columbia, or I will find one on petfinder somewhere in Washington State and drive down to get him/her. []
 
Kate

The Saint Bernard Club of America has a really good rescue organization. They have many chapters in the US, and I am 99% sure they have one in Washington state. Also there are often saints or saint mixes at shelters. (Last year I was seriously considering driving to Wash state to adopt a pair of saints from a shelter there!)
 
We started out using a crate with Shaq, but he outgrew his XL crate very quickly. We finally just started letting him sleep in the bedroom at night, and if we left during the day for an hour or so he stayed in our bathroom. He was a really good non-destructive puppy, and by 6 months I trusted him to have the run of the house all by himself. (I did not work the first year we had Shaq, so he was rarely alone.)
 
Marley is half Pyr, and she was another story! We never crated her, because the non-crate method worked so well with Shaq. I really  wish that we had used a crate with her, because she was much more destructive then Shaq and took longer to housebreak. Plus being so much smaller, a crate would have worked well for her. At this point Marley is almost 2, and I can leave her in the house for hours without a problem. (But believe me, there was a point that I never thought that would happen....she was a challenge!)

I love seeing photos of your dogs.  You really should post pix more often!!  BF and I love looking at how HUGE they are! ha ha

Oh...to be squished and snuggled by Shaq and Marley...
Beautiful dogs.....Give them big hugs and kisses from me and Talus.....

I just never get tired of looking at those two... I'd LOVE to meet them in person.  I don't know if I've ever seen a dog that weighs as much as he does!
 
Beautiful doggies!  []

Oh my!  Mumps, Karin?  May Dr. Annie suggest he snuggle with Shaq & he'll feel much better in no time.
 
I didn't use to like Saints.  When I was growing up there was a mean & I mean horribly evil Saint that used to roam the neighborhood terrorizing other dogs & kids.  I feared the breed until I met Dakota.  Kode should be an ambassador for the breed.  He's like I expect Shaq & Marley to be, a gentle giant with a heart of gold wrapped in fur & slobber. )

I thought I'd already replied to this. [&:]
 
Anyway, your pair are just gorgeous. How do you get anything done? I'd be wanting to snuggle with them all day.[]