Sharing Space with their Bones

Roxie, the velvet black beauty, has learned to be less protective about her bones. She shares space with our own GH, which is just a blessing! She's great on a leash, and there's no reaction yet to small dogs, although we do keep testing around the neighborhood. We took her on a short hike today and she was very interested in the lake water and the ducks! She's very playful and curious -- and didn't tire or bore for the entire 1.5 mile hike we took today!

Sunday Afternoon at the baseball field

We took both Roxie and our own grey (the white/black one in all photos in this blog) to the baseball field yesterday afternoon. As soon as all gate doors were closed and locked, they took off! Both of the dogs got along well and had such a great time playing! Running, fetching, chasing each other... it was a fun time for all. Roxie will run (like the wind) for the tennis ball, and bring it right back. She's getting to be very responsive -- and it's not even been a week. She's so smart!

So we've had Roxie for 4 days now and to date she's had no accidents in the house. We're taking her out of the crate gradually... we want her to remember that the crate is her safe place and eventually voluntarily walk in whenever she feels like she needs her "alone time". An exercise I have been doing with her is leashing her to my waist. This way I know where she is at all times, yet she still gets some freedom from the crate.

Another part of the training we've been doing is having her learn to stay in the crate when we open the door. This is something we've done with Winston, our first greyhound, and it works VERY well. Eventually you'll be able to open the crate door, walk out of the room, grab a treat from the cupboard, then walk back into the room with the crate -- when you give her the command "Ok Roxie!" she'll walk right out. Hey, it's just easier on everyone involved!

One update on the transition from kennel to our foster home: we've kept the muzzle on her for the first couple of days, as fosters need to do, but it's no longer needed. She and Winston get along fine, there is no territorial issue at all up to this point. She knows it's his house, she accepts it now and has moved on. She's submissive and sweet, yet playful and alert.

This morning it was pouring outside, I had a candle lit and was working from my laptop. Roxie was right standing right next to me, pushing her head into my hip. Winston walked up to me for some affection, no growls were heard at all, then all of the sudden the typical greyhound neck hug happened. To me it's one of the sweetest things to see... his neck went under hers and crossed -- I wish I had my camera on me at that time! It was a definite photo opp!

It's currently still raining outside, but when it's dry this weekend we plan on taking both Roxie and Winston to the park to give her some exercise. Her personality is coming out even more now. She's got a lot of energy and is really playful. Will be fun to see her run a bit in the park.

New Blood

We've got a fantastic little temporary pal for our greyhound. Her name is Dakota Roxie! We just love this sweet little girl! She's got to be the most affectionate hound I've met! What a lover... she's a "leaner". As soon as she's out of the crate she's pushing on your leg for you to pet her. She's really terrific. She can run up the stairs no problem and down with a little coaxing. She responds well to her name and knows the word NO. She is great on a leash and just as sweet as she can be. Her coat is something I would love to wrap myself around at night when it's cold... it's like velvet. We're having a fun time with her and KNOW that whoever adopts her is going to have such a wonderful, loving companion for life.