Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for November 24, 2014

I too get uneasy around very large dogs. My sister had a Great Dane. Its ears reached my forehead….and I’m nearly 6’0

I am uneasy around any dog I just met.

We were sent to countryside to grandparents as children and they had a German shepherd. I’m sure it was just friendly and liked us, but I found it unnerving when a dog taller than me when on back paws puts his front paws on my shoulders.

My husband’s cousins have an Irish Wolfhound, sweetheart of a dog, bit boy is she tall!

My aunt had a dog that would regularly look my 6’4" dad in the face, big and looong legs. But she was very protective of my aunt, so she had to be locked up or put out for saftey when more than 2 or 3 people came over.

Went to the home of a man who owed me some money.He saw me coming from a couple hundred feet away and launched his 140 lb Rottweiler in my direction. Knowing I had no escape, I sat on the ground and became as peaceful as I could and spoke to him quietly as he approached with the hair on his back standing up.By the time Mr Deadbeat got to the scene, Rotty was upside down across my lap and I was scratching his chest.Mr D looked down at us, “Twenty-five hundred dollars for a watchdog and THIS is what I got?”So I looked up at him and said, “Yeah, and look at what HE got.”Thinking about it later, I realized I likely could have walked away with the dog . . . debt settled.

I feel like Shirley should have tusks..

Dawwwwwwww. Big Shirley looks very cute (and somewhat puzzled) in this one. As everyone has said here, large dogs tend to be quite friendly—it’s the little dogs ya gotta watch out for…

Ah! Punctuation joke! Brilliant!

Rexxster: I agree, Big Shirley looks like a boar, not a dog.

Grandma can keep that surprise for herself!

As to Grandma’s recipe; sounds like the cranberries ARE the surprise. Yeeccch.

In my experience big dogs are clueless as to how large they are. The problem is that they can knock you over without trying to, meaning to, or realizing it. Little dogs, on the other hand, are acutely aware of how small they are, and cop an attitude to try to compensate for it. Mid-sized dogs, which covers a wide range and the vast majority, are a crapshoot. They have their own personalities, so can be sweethearts or Big Blue Meanies.

That teensy dish of dog food ain’t gonna cut it. Shirley needs a bathtub!

Let’s see – piccalilli, sauerkraut, capers, olives and horseradish, plus cranberries. That would be a surprise! Might need a few anchovies, though.

My dog is perfectly gentle, by no means an alpha dog. But I have “The B-G’s,” Badass Goat brothers. Kids can go play with them. Don’t turn your back, kid.

As several commentators have already noted, Grandma’s Cranberry Surprise is, well…, surprising, to say the least!But Big Shirley is such a nice doggie; just a nice hello-wuff to Alice, whose biggest problem is Fear itself. Polyfill will protect you, Alice, from the gentle giant!

Recipe for “Crannberry Surprise”:

2 cup piccalli1 tbsp capers1/2 cup sauerkraut1/2 tsp horseradish1/4 cup chopped olives1 can jellied cranberry sauce1 package unflavored gelatinWhipped cream,. for serving

Combine all ingredients except gelatin and whipped cream in large bowl. Prepare gelatin according to package, add to combined ingredients. Put in fancy jello mold to cool in fridge, until set. Serve at Thanksgiving table, with whipped cream on side. Watch kids and adult eat whipped cream & try to give individual servings of cranberry surprise to Big Shirley under table. Take leftover cranberry surprise from Grandma with smile, hide leftovers in trash when you return home.

This is served frequently here in Utah, except it’s usually green Jello instead of plain gelatin.

BUNNY!!!

Big Shirley looks like a wild boar not a dog.

Oh, God. Capers! NO CAPERS! cries

The problem with small dogs is that they are really medium-sized dogs, stuffed into a skin that is way too small for them. It makes them cranky. :D