Ellie-Mae Galion St Bernard Great Dane Labrador Retriever

Ellie-Mae is a Galion St Bernard Great Dane Labrador Retriever and graduate of Homestead Dogs 2-week overnight puppy obedience and socialization training camp

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Best of Delaware Award Best Trainer Emblem

Best of Delaware Dog Training

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614.973.9711

A St Bernard Great Dane Labrador Retriever puppy sitting obediently on a training mat

Ellie-Mae is a Labrador Retriever, Great Dane and St Bernard mix from Galion, Ohio and a graduate of the Homestead Dogs 2-day Basic Puppy Obedience and Socialization Training Camp. Excellent, Ellie-Mae!

Labrador Retriever

The planet’s favorite dog, the Labrador Retriever.

Not only are they tops in the United States, they’re the favorite breed of Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Labrador Retriever’s are also prized as guide dogs, search and rescue, assisted living, therapy dogs and contraband detection.

Of course, the most popular gets the best press. Labrador Retrievers were the first dog to appear on the cover of Life Magazine and a United States Postal Service stamp.

But the Labrador Retriever isn’t just a pretty face. Labs were originally bred to be aquatic duck retrievers and ship mates for sailors on the cold, icy island of Newfoundland (technically, I think, the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador).

Their coat was ideally refined to restrict ice formation. Their iconic tail actually serves as a sturdy rudder for improved agility in the water.

Yet, one of their other top-5 favorite traits is the Lab’s unrivaled temperment. The fun-loving, easy-going, highly intelligent Retrievers just want to be everybody’s friend, man or beast. But despite this outward appearance, the Lab is a bundle of energy on the inside.

This sturdy breed was bred to be a worker in a rough land and they need an energy release and be included in family activities. Without enough exercise, a Lab can display undesireable and destructive behavior.

Trainability: A-
Labrador Retrievers have nearly an unmatched desire to please and become a fun-loving member of the family…uh, pack.

Read more about Labrador Retrievers at the American Kennel Club and the Labrador Club. There is also a local chapter at The Central Ohio Labrador Retriever Club.

Great Dane

The Great Dane presents the appearance of powerful regality. It’s muscular, chiseled form added to it’s great size is impressive as much as it is intimidating. While the Dane towers over all but one other canine, it’s heart is even bigger.

For reasons unknown, Great Dane implies a relationship to Denmark. But like many breeds, Danes trace their origins to Germany. It’s believed they were bred to hunt wild boar but were also used for other hunting excursions and effective guard dogs. They were also effective in military and police operations as formidable and fearless fighters.

The Great Dane has a confirmed existence of over 400 years with potential references dating back 8-900 years. Over this time they’ve accumulated a few names. In Germany, they’re known as Deutsche Dog, or German Dog; Latin languages referred to them as dogue or dogo; Dogge was the name in Germanic languages while England called them Mastiffs. There’s two names credited to France, Dogue Allemand, or German Mastiff, and Grand Danois. The United States got Great Dane from the English translation of Grand Danois, which in France means “Big Danish”.

Trainability: B
Great Danes have a wonderful personality and are eager to be a great pack member. Their sheer size, however, can be an issue. Direct contact with a human is a sign of affection but when something the size of a college linebacker leans into you or attempts to fit its frame within your, or a visitor’s, lap, that can present some challenges. Danes also have a tendency to pull or break from walks after catching a scent. Pack leaders must be prepared to stop a linebacker with 4-wheel-drive.

Read more information about Great Danes at the American Kennel Club and The Great Dane Club of America.

St Bernard

Saintly Servant.

The first Monastery is believed to have been created in the 4th century Middle East where religious persecution forced some to seek the safety, like other Earth species, of higher ground. As more individuals accumulated, some formed walled communities and swore to a life of solitude, servitude and simplicity. Many committed to education and the Monks feverishly documented everything into the largest collection of material known for that time period.

By the 5th century, one such group had formed high in the Swiss Alps. At this altitude, white-outs can create 40 foot drifts and avalanches are a constant threat for all but a couple months of the year, yet, it was still the best route for travelers between Italy and Switzerland.

As European migration and trade increased, so, too, did the instance of snowbound travelers in life-and-death struggles against the unforgiving mountain elements. Sworn to serve, the Monks bravely set out to help those in need. With only their giving spirit, knowledge of the area, and a couple dogs the Roman army probably left behind, these Monk-Dog teams saved countless lives. To the desperate traveler, they must have been seen as saints.

Seven centuries later, some Monastery’s had transitioned to an order that lessened the traditional physical labor performed by Monks. Apparently, this included search-and-rescue. Dogs were now being sent out in teams without handlers. Not only were they exponentially better at finding survivors, they had also learned how to dig survivors out like their human handlers and had developed a keen sense of impending avalanches. In teams, the dogs were large enough to assist a wounded traveler back to the Monastery. In more dire circumstances, one dog would stay with the wounded, even laying on top of them to maintain warmth, while the second dog would return to the Monastery for more help.

We don’t know much about the dogs. Strangely, the one thing the Monks didn’t document much of was anything concerning their dogs. Illustrations and artworks over the centuries depict changes in appearance, but we can only theorize as to the breeding origins. In fact, it wasn’t until the late 1800’s when the breed finally got a name. After centuries of being known as Holy Dogs, Hospice Dogs, Mountain Dogs, Monastery Dogs, Alpine Mastiffs, Swiss Alpine Dogs, Barry Dogs, and probably a few more, the old Roman Army dog from the Great Saint Bernard Pass finally got a name.


Trainability: C-
Saint Bernard’s are intelligent, patient, very responsive to commands and eager to please. Saint Bernard’s love to hang with their pack, are kind-hearted, and famously great with children, but their size can be a challenge. Training classes can help a Saint Bernard navigate through humans without the skills of an offensive lineman. Saint Bernard’s will display bad, or disruptive, behaviors if left alone regularly for long periods of time.

Read more about the St. Bernard at the American Kennel Club and the St. Bernard Club of America.

Some of the information used for the dog breed descriptions was gathered from the American Kennel Club at www.akc.org.

Ellie-Mae

St Bernard | Great Dane | Labrador Retriever

Homestead Dogs University Camp Graduate
Date of Birth December 10, 2020
City
School
Graduate
June 25, 2021
Occupation
Hobbies
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