A caveat

This is what Strauss does during the majority of her time. She especially likes to bury her face under blankets. Unfortunately, it does not always make for an interesting photo opportunity.

Since potential adopters are perusing this blog, I want to clarify that Strauss is crated all the time. The majority of the photographs were taken in one 10-minute free period on Monday. I am dispersing the pictures across several entries to make the blog more interesting.

I understand that some greyhound adoption groups advocate crating and that some don't. I volunteer for one that does, and frankly, it works for us. The crate is a familiar environment for a recently retired racing greyhound, it keeps the dog safe when I'm at work, and it works to prevent separation anxiety before it starts. Greyhounds are notoriously sleepy. Their sleeping habits can match any cat's at up to 20-22 hours a day. Why not have them sleep in a comfortable crate while they acclimate to your home?

That said, here is the breakdown of Strauss's schedule:

1. Wake up, go out to the backyard to potty
2. Depending on whether Strauss comes right back to the back door or has zoomies in the yard, we wait an appropriate amount of time before giving her...
3. Breakfast (1.5 cups of kibble, mixed with 1.5 cups of warm water)
4. Just before we leave to work (~8:30AM), Strauss is let out one more time to potty
5. We usually give her a Milkbone, a stuffed Kong, or a Greenie before we go
   
6. Around midday, our dog walker arrives and takes Strauss out on a 30-minute walk
7. We come home from work at ~6:30PM and Strauss is let out to the yard for a potty break
8. Repeat Step 2...
9. Dinner (1.5 cups of kibble, mixed with 1.5 cups of warm water)
10. Around 10PM, we take a long walk/potty break (~45 minutes) before bedtime

Strauss is in her crate the entire time except during the potty breaks. She has no problems going into her crate and will easily go in there at a mere hand gesture. In fact, when I gave her a bit of free time on Monday night to take photos, Strauss tired herself out exploring and within 5 minutes, she voluntarily retired to her crate and settled down.

If I had a hyper foster, I would add a long walk in the morning to tire him/her out before heading off to work. I "worked from home" yesterday and had the chance to observe Strauss during the day. As I predicted, she just slept and slept.

"Dear My Future Family,
This is how I will look to you for the first month and a half of my adoption.
After that, I will look the same - minus the black crate bars.
Love, Strauss"