There’s no way around it, George is a big boy.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the
6-1/2-year-old Great Dane is the tallest dog in the world. And now he is famous
too. After appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Live! With Regis and
Kelly,” George will star in owner Dave Nasser’s book “Giant George: Life With
the World’s Biggest Dog,” out April 10.
But as this colossal canine reveals to the Daily News —
through his owner and spokesman — fame means little to George, who prefers
afternoon naps at his Arizona home, barking at the UPS deliveryman, and chicken
and rice dinners.
I’m 43 inches at the shoulder, according to the Guinness
Book of World Records. On doctor’s orders, I have lost some weight recently. I
probably weigh around 230 pound. Typically, Great Danes weigh closer to 140
pounds. So I’m big but not fat. I’m long and lean. And while I’m getting up
there in years, I’m still in really good shape right now. However, anything can
happen with a dog my size. Let’s say I break a foot — there is almost nothing
you can do, because you can’t pick me up to go to the bathroom.
What does a dog of your stature eat?
I eat pretty much the same thing every day. It’s a
mixture of chicken, rice, dog food and yogurt. Sometimes I’ll get a tablespoon
of canned dog food as well for flavor. Great Danes can have sensitive stomachs,
so it’s best if I eat the same diet all the time. But I eat a lot. Every meal I
eat two cups of rice, one cup of dog food, three quarters of a cup of chicken,
and then four or five tablespoons of yogurt. That’s about 180 pounds of food a
month, 110 of which is the dry dog food.
Do you have a girlfriend, George?
Not anymore. I used to have a girlfriend name Bella. She
was a Labrador. She broke my heart. We are no longer an item.
That’s too bad. You could find a new girlfriend in New
York City. Have you ever been?
I came to New York when we did the “Live! With Regis and
Kelly” show. I loved it. I had a whole row on the airplane, all five seats.
Plus, they put us in a hotel that was two blocks from Central Park, and every
time I went to the park, everyone wanted to pet me and take pictures.
Do you have any enemies?
The UPS driver near my home in Arizona is my nemesis. I
hear that low-pitch rumble of the truck from miles away and I start barking. I
have a very deep, loud bark and it can absolutely be intimidating, but I’ve
been seeing that UPS guy for five years now and he is used to it.
A lot of people think big dogs are dumb. Thoughts?
I know I’m not a poodle, but I’m very intelligent. That
might be surprising but I have at least a 50-word vocabulary. My owners have to
talk in code and spell words out because I understand exactly what they are
saying. Here are a few of the words that I know: dog park, dog leash, golf
cart, food and chicken.
What do people say when they see you for the first time?
I hear the same things all the time. There’s, “You’ve got
to get a saddle for that thing.” Or, “Is that a dog or a horse?” It was funny
in the beginning, but now I’ve heard it hundreds of times and it is just
boring. One of the downsides of being a big dog is that sometimes people are
afraid of me. People will see me and often switch sides of the street.
Where do you sleep?
I used to sleep in my owner’s bed but I grew too big and
now I have my own queen-size bed.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
“Giant George: Life With the World’s Biggest Dog,” by
Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee, Grand Central Publishing, $24.99.