Pawsome Blogger Award

A special thank you to Hiking Hounds for recognizing my Greyt Dog Blog :o). I'm so very honored, and love sharing my now two greyhounds with the world.

I'd like to pass it on to the following blogs. You are extra pawsome if you have gotten the award more than once ;).

Luna's Life in the Garden State

Brindle Hounds

Greyhounds CAN sit

Never Say Never Greyhounds

Wet Noses

The Puppy Raising Roller Coaster

Declan's Dog Blog

Genji's Corner

Thanks again!

Just for Fun

Peanut, peanut butter....

A Seminar With Colleen Pelar

Today I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar by Colleen Pelar, author of Living With Kids and Dogs...Without Losing Your Mind . It was educational, and Colleen is a delight :). Much of her information was useful and innovative, but there was only one part of it that bothered me; She said that all dogs shake and stretch after any unpleasant event, and it is an involuntary behavior (though with training, you could make it voluntary). But...my dogs do this ALL the time!!! Every time we get up in the morning, like clockwork, the hounds will stretch, shake, and run down the stairs when all they were previously doing was laying on their beds all comfy...what's stressful about that? They also do it: After running, after playing, when I get home (for Ferg, this does make sense), after eating, after peeing, etc. Because I have a hard time believing that all of these things are stressful, I am going to take the word of the book Inside of a Dog that says that dogs shake/stretch to start/end activities of any kind. For my dogs at least, this sounds far more plausible.

Nonetheless, I'd recommend her book to anyone and everyone who has children, and will certainly apply said guidelines if/when I have my own children. It explains clearly how to manage your environment to avoid any incidents that could occur. Definitely worth the read: http://www.amazon.com/Living-Kids-Dogs-Without-Losing-Your/dp/1933562668/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326578869&sr=1-1

That's a little more like it...

We had a practice alone training session this morning, where I just up and left with no triggers. I think the results were pretty promising! Of course, hounds would be muzzled if left for more than a few minutes. I was very pleased that Ferguson did not pant, and was able to stop staring at the door in an attempt to get Winry to play (even if it was unsuccessful), and went to chewing his bone on his bed. Had I not come back, I think they would have settled just fine.

Next to Winry, who, I promise you, does NOT have any separation issues at all, Ferguson's interest in the door looks almost normal :).

I'm thinking this might be more of the way to go; I leave practically every day for work with them being left out, so we'll just add muzzles to the equation and hope for the best with gradual time increase. This video did make me feel a good deal better though :-). Winry's presence really does seem to make a difference.

Ferg is still on fluoxetine: 20mg daily.

Life with Winry (Photos)

^At least she knows how to sleep in a bed.

^ There are some things I guess I will never understand.

^How she waits for breakfast every day.

Meet Winry (fka "Sassy")

So, if you couldn't have guessed, we failed with "Sassy." The dog is just too perfect and exactly what I wanted when I originally wished for a greyhound. Not that Ferguson is NOT; he is wonderful all in his own ways, but Winry is what I had envisioned for months. The name alone will take some getting used to for all of us, but the dog just has no Sass in her, and "Sassy" is just so common. Winry is the name we had originally picked out, as you may know if you've been following my blog for some time.

Not only is she not a bit snarky, she is only two years old and quite sane, mellow, and easy-going. She sleeps a lot, is self assured enough to happily be left alone pretty much anywhere, and is cute as a button. Clever little thing too; understood the "down" thing within two tries of waiting for dinner. She's cute, because you can see her little brain kogs working away when she thinks. Anyway, she loves stuffy toys, has been quite good with my parent's Westie, and pretty much has no real flaws. Walking on a leash is the only thing, but I am SO spoiled with Ferguson, world's greatest dog on leash. She knows to not pull though and is getting much better with distractions.

Without further adieu, I present to you my new hound (and the last for quite a while), Winry!

And, Ferguson will now have a pal always.

Newton's new family, and LD Weihl Sassy.

Newton found his forever home yesterday!!!! Things have been going very well in his new home. He is an only dog (though I thought he'd be more than okay with this, the leader-type he is) and has been doing well with their two cats. I was very pleased to hear that he is settling in well and his family seems to really enjoy him! I'm very happy and proud of him!!!

The same day Newton went home, "Sassy" came home with me as a replacement foster. Sassy came right off the track last weekend and was adopted the same day. However, her family had a very skittish 6 month old kitten, and while Sassy initially tested cat-workable, they didn't utilize the muzzle, leash, or squirt bottle in their introduction, leaving the cat more than petrified beyond what the family wanted to work with. So, she came back and will be staying with me for a while...or forever.

I have to admit, I think I am falling in love. This dog has been practically perfect since she walked in the door. She's not snarky, knows how to instantly pee when let outside, is quiet and okay with being alone, is responsive already to being called and listens well, rides wonderfully in the car, seems to be hitting it off with Ferguson, walks pretty well on the leash, and is excessively, almost unbearably, cute. She is meeting my criteria as if she has an innate check-list...we might be in danger of failing here. At x-mas when we visit my parents, we'll work on the small animal thing with Niles, the excessively mellow Westie, and WILL make use of squirt bottles, muzzles, and leashes. This is mainly because Eric definitely would like to adopt a cat one day, and while we can certainly adopt a cat that is very dog-friendly, knowing for sure that she will tolerate it would make the decision even easier. Additionally, knowing I can trust her at work with smaller dogs and my parent's dog is also fairly important.

So, we will see how things go and continue to progress. I'm so afraid to get my heart set on her, but I feel like it's starting to be a losing battle. But: I think I may know exactly what (or who) I want for x-mas.