Winter was my favorite time I love to drink water from creeks, but jumping into it is not my thing   We hear people talk about the “perfect dog”. Well, in my case that’s my boy Rex. I got Rex from Mid Atlantic Rescue in 2002. He was 4 years old and had been locked up in a garage for the last 3 years. His paws was so soft, from not been on any rough surfaces for years, that Rex could not walk on graveled roads. If you feel a normal dogs paws they are hard on the surface. Feeling Rex’s paws was like feeling the my palm of my hand. Imagine walking barefoot on a gravel road. That’s how Rex walked. I started walking Rex on grass only. Then we gradually moved on to soft forest trails. After 2-3 months of slowly introducing him to harder surfaces he had developed normal paws and could walk on dirt roads and finer gravel. Rex already at age 4 had noticeable joint problems and was walking with stiff front legs and dragging his hinds legs a bit. I think he had been on very low quality dog food all his life. He had massive tarter, and bad breath. A teeth cleaning fixed this. Later, it was very interesting to compare Camelot, when he reached age 4, with Rex. Camelot had been on raw food all his life had no joint issues and no tarter and always a minty fresh breath. The day I got Rex I offered him raw food. He wolfed that down as he had never eaten anything else. I have never seen a dog switch that easily. The benefit to Rex getting on a raw diet was nothing less than amazing. When I got him he had a hard time running. After a month or so on raw food he was running again, I noticed a significant increase in muscle mass. His coat got shinier and fuller. When I got him he drooled a lot. Within a week or so this almost stopped. Rex also had extensive gas. This was almost eliminated after less than a week on raw food. Within month, no gas! The gas is one of the nicer benefits from raw food diets. Non of my dogs have gas issues. Rex also when he got wet, smelled bad. This also improved greatly and after a few months he had no oder after getting soaked. Rex has several routines that he follows every day. He always drinks water before he eats. This makes it easy for me to give him certain supplements that I can dissolve in his water.  After he’s done waiting he will go to the couch where my dogs sleep and rest, and place is butt in the seat. He will sit there for a bout 5 minutes and watch TV. Then he slowly crawls up on the couch and get comfortable by arranging his blankets. Unless really hot he likes to have hi nose covered while resting. I walk my dogs 3 times a day. The morning walk can last from 1 to 2 hours depending where we go. Around 2-4pm we take a shorter walk depending on the temperature. If it is a hot day my dogs are not too comfortable and we stay out for about 20 minutes. Rex do not like hot weather and I must bring cold water to entice him to keep going. Around dusk we walk for another 20 to 30 minutes. This is when Rx is the most active. He likes to go through bushes to get is body scratched by the branches. This is something he has enjoyed all his life. He has favorite spots he visits every time. Rex never played with any toys, I don’t think the previous owner ever played any games with him. Camelot thought him to play with sticks and that is his only form of play. He’s very clumsy and can’t catch anything thrown to him. His eye sight and hearing and smell is still excellent. Rex is very alert and observant to new noises. Always tilting his head in curiosity. He likes to smell and investigate on every walk. Sometimes he can stand at one bush for minutes just smelling. At his age I let him do what he want and patiently wait for him. My dogs are 90% off leash and free to roam around on our walks. I firmly believe this is important for their “mind”. Getting physical and mental exercise is important for their overall well being and prevents boredom. I will keep updating on Rex’s condition on my blog. Rex is having increasingly more difficulties walking. He is on several natural supplements. This is what I currently give Rex: I like listening to all sounds and noises. Fortunately my hearing and eyesight is still excellent I do not mind snow and cold days. I love to eat snow on our walks. A documentation about 3 Great Danes on a raw food diet traveling across Northern America www.feed-raw.com All rights reserved Feed-Raw.com Rex 1997-2011 Rex lived 13 long years. Update: Rex passed away on October 18. 2011. He was 13 years and one month. He no longer was able to walk and the quality of his life was not that of a dog. I tried everything I could to make his senior years as comfortable as possible. I will miss this incredible friendly Dane and for ever be thankful for showing me the benefits of feeding raw food.