Adopt Me!

Irene has gone home!!!

2009-09-17T11:19:00.003-04:00

After six months of scratching our heads about Irene and laughing at her antics, she finally found a home with people who are committed to adore her permanently. What's even better is that I can stalk her virtually through her own web photo album!

So long, Funny Face!

Slightly new schedule for our household

2009-06-22T10:00:00.003-04:00

A little to the left... yeah, that's good.

We had a great Open House yesterday at the Falls Church PetsMart. There were four sets of people interested in Irene. When it rains, it pours! They all seemed like they would make a great fit for her - long walking/jogging, schedule-oriented folks already in the adopter approval process.

In case some of you are checking out Irene's blog, I've started a new job so our household schedule has shifted:

7:00-7:30AM - Potty break in backyard/ run around like crazy/ snack on new grass (this would be a good time for a morning walk if you don't have a yard)
8:30AM - Breakfast (Irene is at a good weight now and gets 1.5 cups of Canidae twice a day)
9:00AM - One more potty break before my husband leaves for work (I leave at 8AM)
5:30PM - Potty break
6:00PM - Supper (and then Irene conks out in a food coma)
9:00PM - Nighttime walk ~30-45 minutes
11:00PM - Last potty break before bed

The hounds know the difference between a weekday and the weekend. We try to do something more fun and active over the weekend. For Irene, this translates to an Open House where she can be petted and talked about for two hours. Yesterday, she was so tired from all the love, she didn't even bother to remind us about dinner.

Recently, Irene had another stint in a different home while we went away for a long weekend. We learned that her habits have a tendency to "reset," meaning that she will be upset with the new environment and cry for the first night or two. So, we can reasonably expect that, that will happen in her adoptive home as well. The good news is, when she came back to our home, she fell immediately back into the swing of things without any fuss. Irene also adapted very easily to me starting work and not being at home during the day. Although I wonder if she even notices that I'm not there since she sleeps all day anyway!

Irene is still here and still funny

2009-05-25T18:44:00.002-04:00

Irene's new trick: sunbathing

I've been busy studying for the LSATs and haven't been able to update this blog as much as I'd like. Potential adopters are fast falling in love with Irene, but are inexplicable adopting other greyhounds at the last minute. I'm confident that she will find a good family match for her soon.

Much overdue update

2009-04-06T22:23:00.003-04:00

Irene has been with us for a month now, and she continues to baffle us and make us laugh. She is no ordinary greyhound. A brief stay with another foster family while we were out of town confirmed a few hypotheses we were forming:

Irene is very smart and needs to be mentally stimulated (treat balls, kongs, and puzzles are great for keeping her brain active)
Any vocalizing in the crate directly correlates to the amount of exercise she receives
Irene is a fast learner and will benefit immensely from a formal training class
She is protective of her food/crate/toys when it comes to dogs (even other greyhounds) and cats (However, Irene is perfectly fine with humans, and I've been able to take food and toys out of her mouth without any trouble)
When there is no food/crate/toys involved, Irene gets along great with other dogs
Irene is a medium to high energy hound - she can be a couch potato provided she gets an hour of exercise per day
Irene loves children, but I'm not sure yet if they are immune from her protective behavior when it comes to food, toys, and personal space

Hello - I am very cute

I like to wedge my head into people like this

Even other greyhounds are not immune to my cuddling

The routine for Irene

2009-03-04T20:19:00.004-05:00

Aside from the little scare we had earlier this week (which was the human's fault), Irene seems to be settling in nicely. She understands our schedule now, which is as follows:

7:30-8:00 AM - Wake up and go outside to potty

8:00-8:15 AM - Have breakfast (currently 1.75 cups of Canidae and half cup of cooked rice - Irene still needs to gain weight)

8:30 - Another potty break before we leave for work

Somewhere between 12:00 and 3:00 PM - Dog walker stops by to walk Irene for 30 min

Somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 PM - We come home from work and let the dogs out to potty

Immediately After That - Dinner (1.75 cups of Canidae and some rice again)

~9:30 PM - We go for a 30-45 min walk

Just Before We Go To Bed (anywhere between 10 PM and 12 AM) - Another potty break

Irene, like most animals, likes structure and lets us know if we've hit 'snooze' on the alarm clock too many times. Frankly, I've never been a morning person so I'm grateful for another reason to force myself out of bed.

The walk in the middle of the day is likely not necessary and can be easily replaced by a morning walk. As I mentioned, we are complete zombies in the morning and just can't get it together to fit a walk in before we're headed off to work. I think Irene would normally be okay without a midday potty break on a typical workday schedule.

I forgot to mention this earlier: we took Irene to an Open House last weekend and she charmed the pants off of everyone. She leaned into anyone who even brushed up against her and stood there until the person got tired. Irene even enjoyed a visit from a toddler whose "petting" was more like smacking. She happily endured the toddler's "loving," which answers our question about how she would act around small children. There were a few children at the Open House, and Irene appeared to be very pleased to be around little humans.

We will be attending Mighty Healthy Pet this Saturday from 11AM-1PM, which is located in College Park.

Good girl, Irene!

2009-02-26T11:12:00.003-05:00

Irene has made huge strides in the past three days. She sleeps through the night and is feeling very confident about staircases. She has an excellent appetite and her stools have normalized. Irene walks remarkably well on lead and follows us around when in the backyard. It appears that she just needed some time to settle in and feel stable.

No, I don't need a smaller toy. This one fits in my mouth just fine.

We are providing Irene with two 30-45 min walks each day to ensure that she doesn't get a chance to feel restless in her crate. She is otherwise easily distracted with a Kong filled with treats and relishes in positive reinforcement, such as random treats given for being quiet in her crate.

As for other animals, Irene demonstrated that she is positively indifferent to other animals (small dogs, big dogs, cats, squirrels, etc.). The only time she makes a fuss is when her crate is approached by a cat or dog. Irene has made it clear that her crate is her sacred space and no one can come near. She is perfectly fine with people encroaching on her crate space, but she is very protective of it against other animals. This makes sense since Irene comes from a world where her crate was the only thing that belonged to her. She loves to pick up toys on her way out during potty breaks but always drops them before returning to her crate. It's as if to say, "These nice things can't possibly belong to me." It's enough to make me want to cry.

To quell her fears, we temporarily placed a blanket over the front of Irene's crate. That way, she cannot see dogs or cats approaching her space head-on and eliminates the need for unnecessary nervousness. I would recommend that her adoptive home does the same until Irene feels more comfortable. I am mostly concerned about any resident kitties that may feel inclined to stick their faces or paws into Irene's crate simply because cats like to do things like that. Well, that is exactly the type of thing Irene hates!

Irene just needs someone to provide her consistency and positive feedback because she is super sweet and cute as a button. I suspect that her ideal situation would be the sole pet so that she doesn't have to compete for attention or a home with a more submissive dog. Irene reminds me of our alpha female deerhound who is bossy to other dogs but melts in our hand.

Whytell Irene... that she is a bounce?

2009-02-24T10:47:00.003-05:00

Occasionally, adopted greyhounds are given back to the organization because their families are no longer able to take care of them and they are called, "bounces" or "bouncebacks." Our new foster, Irene, is one such hound. Unfortunately, bounces are often prejudiced for something that was outside of their control; people give up dogs because of financial trouble, divorce, a new baby, location move, etc., and not because the dog is bad. Adoption organizations will try their best to make good, permanent matches, but some things are simply impossible to predict.

Irene arrived on the same January haul as our previous foster, Santana (now called, "Lincoln"). She has simply hit a little bump on her road to retirement, but she'll soon be back on path to warm naps on soft beds and unsolicited petting.

She may be fresh off the track, but Irene knows what toys are for

But first! It's back to basics for this cute girlie, such as handling stairs, learning to be alone at times, and acting mannerly around other animals.

Understandably, Poor Irene is a little confused and nervous right now, and is showing it with her output. We are putting her on a bland diet (cooked chicken and rice) until her stools firm up. Hopefully, that will happen soon so that we can then work on putting some weight on her bones. We will also place her on two rounds of dewormer medication, just in case there is another reason for her diarrhea and weight loss.

Irene's kennel name was "Whytell Irene" and her racing stats can be found here. She has had a puny number of races at 18 in total. Her last race was in May 2007, so there is quite a mysterious gap in her past. Another mystery is the scar on her nose. Well, at least Irene has made no secret of the fact that she loves people and food. We will have to wait and see what else we can learn about Irene in the coming days.

A new record!

2009-01-31T11:24:00.005-05:00

We've had some quick adoptions before, but I think this is a record. Santana came off the racing track last Saturday and was "spoken for" by adopters four days later. He happily trotted off with his new family yesterday morning. Jon and I stood in the doorway, as we always do, to chuckle at the new parents struggling to pick up the 71-lb, limp greyhound into their car. It is a wonderful match and their meeting was a mutual love-at-first-sight. No worries here.

I'll take this opportunity to post the remaining pictures I took of Santana. Here are his many goofy faces:

Having been born and raised in Florida, Santana was not too sure about the "white stuff":

So long, Santana! May you tempt us no longer!

Welcome Santana!

2009-01-27T09:09:00.004-05:00

Santana and his wiggly nose

When our deerhound, Burnie, left for the breeder's to make puppies, we realized that we had room in our house once more for a know-nothing greyhound bumpkin. We really missed fostering and jumped at the chance when our doggy count went down to two (albeit, temporarily). It is just our luck that we received the best-behaved greyhound EVAR [sic]. PLEASE! Someone adopt Santana FAST! We do not need this temptation! Three big, sleepy dogs and two cats is enough.

Here is the bio we submitted for Santana's profile on the Greyhound Welfare website:

They don't come much easier than this: our new ex-racing greyhound foster, Santana, is perhaps the quietest, most easy-going, sweetest foster to date.

Santana was already wagging his tail immediately after coming off the haul truck from Daytona, Florida. He leaned against the tub in relaxed bliss during his first bath. He ate his first retirement meal with enthusiasm and then fell asleep in his crate without missing a beat. He even had solid poops right away, which was certainly unexpected.

We are convinced that Santana must have read the greyhound adoption books because everything is going according to plan. He has nearly conquered the staircase after two days. Or at least, he understands the basic mechanics and occasionally gets confused about which foot goes where. Santana seems to accept his alone-training and stays quiet in his crate. Aside from a single howl when he is awake and he can hear a lot of activity upstairs, the only other noise we heard from Santana was a hilarious, whistled sigh.

Santana is very responsive to training since he is eager to please. Therefore, he walks delightfully on lead and stays clear of the kitchen counters now. He met our cat and tried to say "hello" via a butt-sniff. Unfortunately, his greeting was returned with a swat to the face. Suffice it to say, Santana is dreadfully frightened of the cats and avoids eye contact with them as if his life depended on it. He gets along beautifully with our two resident sighthounds, but people... ah, people are the love of his life. Santana practically "heels" to the nearest human in our backyard. Frankly, I suspect that he enjoys teeth-brushing and nail-trimming because of the people attention.

Santana is a no fuss, no muss sort of fellow. He has yet to meet small dogs and children, but given the way he glosses over squirrels and melts under a hand - I think he will make a terrific hound for any family.

Coltrane finds a perfect home as Howie

2008-03-31T10:42:00.000-04:00

Goodness me! I nearly forgot to make a very important post:

COLTRANE WAS ADOPTED! (last Sunday)

He was adopted by one of our organization's officers - no less. He now goes by the moniker, "Howie," which suits him perfectly (for his racing name, "How It Works).

Howie has an older sister in the 7.5-year old bossy greyhound, Fly. Luckily, he is used to bossy girls (aka, Burnie).

Here is a lovely email we received not long after he left:

"Dear Jon and Yeonwoo,

I wanted to let you know that we made it home safe and sound with both dogs today. Howie found a comfy spot to curl up in the back of the SUV and once he settled, Fly did as well. There was no growling or snarling and they rode peacefully the whole ride. At one point, I was a little worried because the both stood up and Howie had Fly completely pinned against the back seat because he was leaning so hard on her but she was very tolerant and just waited for him to shift his weight and then found herself another spot.

He has been quite content to lay and rest in the crate and ate his supper without any hesitation. We took them on a nice long walk and he was overwhelmed with all the new sights and smells but managed to walk nicely on the lead in spite of the newness.

I truly believe he will settle in here quite nicely and we want to thank you for the wonderful job you did with him. Feel free to come visit any time you like, we would love to see you again."

There's really no feeling quite like that of a great adoption match; it is a combination of a sense of accomplishment, lots of love, and optimism. Howie has found the best home he could possibly find.

* * *

As for us, we are going to take a long hiatus from fostering during the summer months. Jon will be busy sticking his arm up cows in order to get into vet schools, and I will involved in legal clinics for law school. Please check back in the Fall. In the meantime, I will see about finally getting around to updating our wee humble blog about our zoo family here: GrauHaus.

Taking the toys for a walk

2008-03-26T14:42:00.002-04:00

These days, you are very likely to catch Coltrane doing this:

Photo Fest

2008-03-25T13:36:00.005-04:00

We traveled far and away to Hanover, MD this past weekend to attend the Arundel Mills Petsmart open house. Coltrane made a good show of himself and was happy to be the only brindle around. I reminded visitors that all they had to do to keep Coltrane's attention was to touch him. So long as you continue to pet him, he won't wander off to smell biscuit boxes and doggy bottoms.

Coltrane and his borzoi girlfriend.

Sweet seniors Trudy and her brother, whose name I can't remember! Forgive me!

What sweet faces!

Notorious Z.U.N.I. - our first foster greyhound - was also present to make us laugh.

Zuni cleverly using her needle nose as pliers. (Worry not - we stopped the thievery after getting a good picture.)

Spring is here

2008-03-18T14:24:00.006-04:00

I flop on my back on this patch of grass here and then I get belly rubs! It's clearly a magical patch of grass.

Tra-la-la - aren't I adorable?

Grr! Get out of my picture frame!

Anywho - now where were we?

We received a pretty good report card regarding Coltrane this past weekend. He whined in his crate on the first night and whined a less on the second night. He was acting kind of shy (per usual) at the open house and fumigated his hosts' home with nervosus fartus. Otherwise, Coltrane was his goofy, sweet self.

The experience is a good indication of how Coltrane will act in his adoptive family's home. Most greyhounds whine in their crate during the first couple of nights after being adopted. This can be remedied by placing a crate in the bedroom. If the family does not want to keep a crate in the bedroom, then ignoring the whining will work just as well (but make sure that the whining is not due to the dog needing to potty!). It is very typical behavior and will normally quell on its own after a few nights.

1 Month Update

2008-03-11T15:13:00.005-04:00

Ho-hum. Where is my forever family?

First of all - I apologize to whomever might have been looking for Coltrane at last week's Chantilly Open House. We missed the hubbub due to a sudden change in our schedule.

Therefore, Coltrane is sleeping over at Sasha's house (see Feb 16th) this weekend. He will go to at least one of the two open houses and not miss out on the butt-sniffing:

Open House at Wylie Wagg
Date: March 15, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: Fairfax Corner Center 11889 Grand Commons Ave. Fairfax VA 22030

Open House at the Falls Church Petsmart
Date: March 16, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: Falls Church Petsmart 6100 Arlington Blvd Falls Church VA 22044

Meanwhile, Jon and I are going to be in the suburbs of Philadelphia visiting his family and sitting through his little sister's middle school musical. I got her a little gift to show her that I love her in spite of the fact that I hate musicals and will have a unfortunate grimace on my face throughout the whole presentation.

What does not make me grimace is Coltrane! He is a total love. Coltrane is bouncy and playful, and is now perfectly adept at sharing toys with the other dogs. Iris even snatched the wool turtle toy right out from his mouth the other day! He happily let her take his toy and grabbed another toy instead. Coltrane has a hilarious helicopter tail and has even charmed his way into Burnie's (a.k.a., "Miss Boys-Have-Cooties") good graces.

OK. I admit it. Coltrane is our fifth foster and the first that we seriously considered adopting. He is just a great dog: a great family member, a great animal sibling, and has a supremely velvety forehead. We finally decided against it because Coltrane would make the perfect greyhound introduction to a first-time greyhound owner or family.

Plus, he smells like sugar cookies

2008-03-06T10:32:00.003-05:00

Coltrane's bumper sticker reads, "I'd rather be on a walkie."

Greyhound adoptions, too, ebb and flow throughout the year. There is usually a sharp rise in adoptions starting off the new year and then they slow down right around... now. This is the only explanation as to why Coltrane is still with us because he's the perfect, classic greyhound. Coltrane is playful during playtime, sleepy during crate time, hungry at meal time, and sweet during petting time.

At any other time, Coltrane would have been snapped up by now. Well, I suppose he could sell himself better at open houses, but the open houses have been sparse in attendance lately. Thankfully, we love having him around, so we are in no hurry to see him off!

You can meet Coltrane at the following open house this Sunday:
Date: March 9, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: Chantilly Petsmart 13866 Metrotech Drive Chantilly VA 20151

We're back from hiatus

2008-03-02T21:00:00.006-05:00

Through the persistence of Greyhound Welfare's PR spokesperson, Sally Adams, we garnered spots on local news networks (NBC, FOX, ABC) this weekend to bring attention to our continued search for Haggis. She persevered for three months and her efforts finally came to fruition in widespread media coverage of a very successful search rally.

Thank you, Sally, and thanks to all the volunteers who came out yesterday!
You can find the FOX news clip online here.

In the meantime, Coltrane continues to blossom. He is showing interest in toys for the first time (especially kitty toys) and even roached on the cold grass in the middle of our backyard. He is very waggy and happy at home, and enjoys chasing and being chased by Iris.

Coltrane is also getting used to standing around at open houses and takes advantage of the friendly people offering pets and scratches. Tiny, snarling dogs scare him quite a bit, although small, friendly dogs are worth sniffing. He does not enjoy halting drives (who does?), as he gets motion sickness. Today wasn't his fault, however, because I drove wildly in attempt to get to an open house that we were already late for. Sorry, Coltrane!

Dremeling Coltrane is a dream once again now that he understands the routine. He even swallowed four large Drontal pills yesterday without any fussing. He was so good that we had to make sure he hadn't cleverly tucked a pill under his tongue. Coltrane would make a great greyhound for first-time adopters due to his laid-back attitude. Naturally, he would be a breeze for greyhound veterans and would be the perfect dog for those who are concerned about any small animals already living their home.

An Oxymoron

2008-02-22T23:56:00.002-05:00

Why, hello. And yes, I understand your desire to kiss my forehead.

I have a hard time explaining Coltrane to other people because he's a bit of an oxymoron. He seems to be working on a slight delay. Things that most fosters do, Coltrane does four days later. For example, most fosters howl and whine in their crates on the very first night. Instead, Coltrane gave a miniature rendition of this several days later. The first Dremel session is usually brief with frequent interruptions by the foster desperately trying to pull his/her paw away. Coltrane was a dream the first time I used the Dremel. Of course, it occurs to me that he was simply scared stiff! Now he will struggle a little, but remains very manageable. Coltrane is like one of those stoic children who like to pick up things at their own pace and express mild indications of the various stages of their maturation.

This is quite a contrast to our last foster, who apparently read "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" before leaving the racing kennel. She taught herself everything - leaving her foster parents nothing to do - and practically adopted herself out. With Coltrane, we are glad to be of use and perplexed by his extreme mellow behavior. He is not shy or sulky, by any means. Rather, Coltrane is quite gregarious and quick to learn certain things, like his name and how to eat biscuits. I guess he is simply taking the philosophy of retirement to heart.

Before I forget to mention this again - Coltrane has no dew claws! They were probably removed when he was a puppy or following a racing accident. He certainly doesn't miss them, and I find it convenient when Dremeling his nails.

We will be at the following open house this Sunday. We will probably leave Burnie at home this time since this store is small and Burnie is huge. Iris, our spook staghound, will be dragged along as always.
Date: February 24, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: a.k.a. Spot 2509 Franklin Road Arlington VA 22201

Coltrane J. Frog

2008-02-20T21:35:00.003-05:00

I am starting to feel like Coltrane is the dancing frog from Looney Tunes. He prances about, wags his tail, gives kisses, and does wiggly jigs... but only when we are at home! Granted, the open houses this past weekend were Coltrane's firsts; but even when we have visitors at home, Coltrane stands stock still and simply absorbs pets. Then again, he is the cuddliest foster we've ever had.

So, let me assure you that Coltrane is as sweet as he is jolly.

As a matter of fact, being the Seabrook ex-racing dog that he is (i.e., New Hampshire), Coltrane loved the flurries we received today. He chomped at the snow with his mouth and hopped around in circles, which undid his coat and got it wet and muddy. But he was very pleased with himself.

Coltrane continues to behave very well in his crate. He is happy to leave his crate and go for walks, but he also depends on the fact that he will return to his crate after each outing. Otherwise, Coltrane gets nervous, starts panting, and sheds dandruff. Our rescue group advocates crate-training (and subsequent crate-weaning) anyway, but this guy really needs it. His future adopter(s) will need to respect that.

"Brief" Interlude by Burnie

2008-02-18T13:15:00.003-05:00

This is Burnie (Ch. Ladyburn d'Lux), our female deerhound-on-loan.

Burnie would not let me post the picture of her wearing men's white briefs, so here she is wearing striped boxers instead. She should go into heat in another week or so. We are hoping that she will be able to lure our missing deerhound boy, Haggis, out of hiding somewhere in Bowie/Lanham, MD.

Wylie Wagg Open House

2008-02-16T18:37:00.005-05:00

Can you find Coltrane in this picture?

As predicted, Coltrane shed, sprinkled dandruff, sniffed some doggy bottoms, and leaned on people who offered pets. He was also keen on continuing the walk that otherwise would have been - if not for the interruption of the Meet-and-Greet. Thus, Coltrane spent the bulk of his time staring intently at the door and the fresh air outside.

We learned a couple of new things about Coltrane today: he is perfectly gentle around small dogs and babies, but he does not like my parents' pushy bulldog. He didn't know what to make of the assault of snorting and panting and drooling. Coltrane reared up like a panicked horse and tried to run away. He calmed down after the bulldog took offense and decided she wanted nothing to do with Coltrane.

Most of the greyhounds in attendance, like Sasha, were Open House professionals

But there's no need to gloat about it, Kenya

Pecan gets sweeter every time I see her

Zaire will break laws of greyhound physics to get cookies

Salem is embarrassed to be seen with Brian and his sweatshirt

Coltrane's Debut

2008-02-15T22:37:00.003-05:00

Coltrane's calico feet

Coltrane will be making two appearances at Greyhound Welfare open houses this weekend:

Open House at Wylie Wagg
Date: February 16, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: Fairfax Corner Center 11889 Grand Commons Ave. Fairfax VA 22030

Open House at the Falls Church Petsmart
Date: February 17, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Location: Falls Church Petsmart 6100 Arlington Blvd Falls Church VA 22044

Coltrane is currently a happy puddle in his crate following a visit from potential adopters who are making their foster rounds. He was a complete love sponge, which leads me to think that he will do well at the open houses this weekend. Given his behavior at home, Coltrane will likely shed a little dandruff, lean on people, be affectionate, and then collapse.

We graduated to the Dremel today and I couldn't believe how easily Coltrane handled it. I didn't need Jon's help at all and finished his nails to my satisfaction (normally, the first Dremel session is a short introduction laden with tasty treats). Coltrane also put his paws up on our table today, but a loud clap and a "No!" did the trick and he hasn't tried it again. We'll see if this sticks or if he will need a confirmation that, that is indeed not the thing to do.

Questions about Coltrane's activity level arose tonight, to which we answer, "medium to low." Coltrane is showing more of his personality every day, so it's hard to say definitively. He is adaptable and will adjust to however long of a walk we want. He doesn't shuffle around much in his crate and doesn't run around when loose in the backyard. However, I think the latter point is due to the fact that Coltrane is still searching for the few remaining spots that he hasn't peed on yet.

Another question was whether or not Coltrane would make a good "only" dog. We think he would absolutely make a great only dog, as he is currently not too interested in the other hounds. And yet, Coltrane gets along with our shy staghound, Iris, and also our bossy deerhound visitor, Burnie. He hasn't exhibited any food aggression since that Greenie incident, and doesn't mind Iris's nose poking into his crate now. We don't yet know how he would act around children, but we know for certain that he has shown no prey drive whatsoever.

I still firmly believe that Coltrane will become his adopter's "heart hound" (ie, favorite, unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime dog).

Settling in, Getting comfortable

2008-02-13T13:23:00.006-05:00

Hooray! I'm no longer creating spontaneous dandruff!

Well, I've been sick and missed work and school this week. The dogs are happy nonetheless to have me around, so they can sleep on the people bed instead of the dog beds. I leave Coltrane in his downstairs crate so that he doesn't get used to having other dogs around all the time. He will whine about being left alone, but he does it quietly and in short bursts - nowhere near the caterwauling that some fosters are known to do.

Coltrane is settling in wonderfully on the whole and is a poster boy for the crate/ignore method. Although he may act like he wants to be out of his crate, Coltrane pants nervously and starts sprinkling dandruff during the brief trip from his "downstairs" crate to the "upstairs" crate, and vice versa. The leash is the magical antidote to Coltrane's anxiety for reasons I can only guess (it prevents him from suddenly floating off into space?). He is appreciative of any human attention, even when it comes in the form of nail clipping, ear cleaning, and teeth brushing.

I'm also receiving some unsolicited help from Burnie, our slightly-bossy visiting deerhound; she is quick to growl at Coltrane when he tries to jump up on people. He does not yet play with the other dogs when loose in the backyard, although he loves trailing them so that he can cover their pee with his marking. Coltrane is still staying clear of our two cats, so I think he is quite cat-safe.

This is Coltrane's impression of the "Pedigree Adoption Drive" commercials

Coltrane continues to learn important things: How to eat a Greenie

2008-02-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

Coltrane's serious face

Coltrane's silly face

It took a couple of days, but Coltrane is settling in comfortably now. He braved the stairs by himself this morning, gobbled up his breakfast, and even let out a puny little whine from his crate. Given his one-liner description from the kennel, I get the feeling that he was far from the kennel favorite and may have even blended into the background. Perhaps for that reason, Coltrane isn't bothered whether he is left all alone on a separate level of the house or whether there are people, dogs, and cats milling about. He quietly watches the activity around him or simply snoozes.

Coltrane walks very well on lead for a "know-nuthin' bumpkin hound," although there is a bit of slow zig-zagging. He doesn't pull and is not afraid of passing cars. He finds passing people and dogs utterly fascinating, but could hardly care less about squirrels. Coltrane is also a typical boy in that he must pee on every bush, tree trunk, flowerbed, blade of grass...

Another relief for us is that Coltrane is going potty on a regular basis. He did not poop at all on the first day, no matter how many times we walked in circles. He just kept passing gas and turning us green. He is not interested in toys yet, but really enjoyed his Greenie last night. Coltrane didn't know that he could chew on it and spent a good twenty minutes licking it instead.

In fact, he really surprised us when he growl/barked at Iris for sticking her nose in his crate. Fortunately, Coltrane's food aggression did not apply to us in the same way. We cautiously swung some stuffies near his face and the Greenie from outside of the crate. Coltrane stopped licking the Greenie but did not attempt to guard it whatsoever. And then we slowly waved our hands from outside of the crate and made small motions to grab the Greenie, and he was okay with that - if not a little sad and worried that he may lose his treat. We didn't want to try taking away the Greenie since Coltrane was inside his crate, and we wanted to assure him that the crate remains his sanctuary.

Aside from this one faux pas, we are quite proud of our staghound, Iris. She was such a shy spook when we first adopted her. She has since become a friendly hostess to our greyhound fosters. She welcomes them with a wagging tail and unimposing sniffs. /end parental brag :)

And this is why we love to foster

2008-02-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

Stairs 101

Coltrane was a very scared pup when he first arrived yesterday morning. He shook like a leaf during his bath and had no interest in food. He did not want to draw any attention to himself and stayed stone silent in his crate. We still don't know what his voice sounds like. He was too traumatized to even sniff our staghound's bottom!

And yet, Coltrane is everything that I love about greyhounds. In spite of his world turning upside down in a matter of hours, he stiffly moved from the bathroom to the crate and all was well again. He is so utterly trusting of us even as we tug at his paws and manipulate him up and down the stairs. There is no aggression, no annoyance, just compliant greyhoundness.

Today was a new day for Coltrane. He ate his breakfast, did not tremble, and held his tail high when our visiting deerhound, Burnie, tried to play with him. Coltrane has not yet received the customary welcome swat to the face from our boy cat since he dares not even make eye contact with him. But Coltrane isn't a timid boy. His tail is never tucked under and he is not difficult to retrieve from his crate.

We had a laugh when we first saw Coltrane because he looked just like our last foster, Strauss. He is a lighter fawn brindle than most and truly looks like a bengal tiger due to his white belly and white chin. Suffice it to say, he is striking. It appears that he ate a little too well while waiting to be deployed from the racing kennel, so we are working to slim him down a pound or two.

We are quite fond of Coltrane already and have no doubt that he will make very good progress in the coming days.

Do I really have to keep going?

News on incoming foster

2008-02-06T23:08:00.000-05:00

Coltrane (How it Works) brindle male, 10/1/05, 105E 34938. cat trainable, nice boy.

The information is sparse, but he sure is handsome!

And they drove off into the sunset...

2008-01-25T22:22:00.000-05:00

Strauss's last Dremel session in our home.

Strauss, now Abby, happily went home with her new family last night. They are a perfect match! We are super pleased at how everything worked out. I always think about how silly Jon and I must look when we are standing in our driveway, smiling and waving good-bye to our fosters.

Our rescue group's next greyhound haul is February 9th. Please check back then!

The countdown begins

2008-01-23T16:58:00.000-05:00

"Let me in! I've peed!"

The odd couple, Strauss & Iris

Despite their limited interaction, Iris has improved dramatically since Strauss came on board. She wags her tail at us, lets me Dremel her nails, and no longer shrinks under an approaching hand. Strauss, of course, went from sweet and goofy to... sweet, goofy, and well-versed in leash-walking, stair-climbing, cat-respecting, and not-jumping.

Thanks for being so good and funny, Strauss!

Sousa the Fortunate

2008-01-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

Sousa is missing a bit of her lip on the left side of her face. She was probably bitten as a puppy by another dog, as that is usually how these situations occur. The old injury doesn't affect her in any way and gives her face a naturally lucky grin.

I have no qualms about Sousa's adoptability. She was supremely personable at her first open house and the cute smirk factor boosts her appeal. Sousa is probably not small-animal friendly given her interest in the tiny pomerian/poodle/noodle that was squiggling past the greyhounds. Provided that one does not share a home with squirrels, Sousa will make a great single addition or sibling for an existing hound.

23-JAN-08: Sousa was spoken for and will be going home with a really nice couple. See? Didn't I say she was lucky?

Pecan the Misunderstood

2008-01-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

Pecan says, "I'm good. Really."

Pecan is one of our group's older fosters. She has been returned twice due to territorial behavior. She is super sweet and very cuddly - except on her dog bed. Her bed is her space, and she would like to be left alone when she is sleeping in her space, thank you very much.

There is nothing nutty about Pecan (pardon the pun). She just needs to be respected in her space and not allowed on the furniture. Perhaps it will take an experienced dog owner, but Pecan is ready to find a permanent home and to be a very good greyhound.

Pecan crates very well and revels in human affection (say it with me now, "except on her dog bed."). She loves belly rubs and neck scratches. What kills me is how she wistfully stares after the people who have pet her at open houses. She remembers each one and goes to the end of her leash to get more pets.

I hope Pecan will be adopted soon by someone who understands her and that she will stay adopted.

Strauss is adopted!

2008-01-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

Only a week after leaving the track behind, Strauss has found her forever home! She was spoken for by the couple who came to visit yesterday afternoon. We took Strauss to her second open house today, and the deal was sealed before I could straighten the "I'm Adoptable" handkerchief around her neck.

Here is Strauss getting pets from the couple's son.

Strauss's new family will be picking her up on Thursday evening, so that they can have a long weekend to acclimate her to their home. Strauss is extremely lucky to have found a greyhound-savvy family with tendencies to spoil (in the good way).

Much to Strauss's chagrin, we remained at the open house afterwards so that Iris would receive some more gentle love-bombing from strangers.

Today's open house was hopping! There were at least three sets of families looking to adopt, and a good turnout of both fosters and ex-fosters.

Foster ("Pecan") and ex-foster ("Cookie")

Iris is still super shy, but she felt loads better after finding the soft blanket and cookies.

That is Strauss's new mum in the background with Strauss's bum.

Teyla amused herself and everyone else by parking in the Dogloo (TM).

Everyone wants Strauss!

2008-01-19T23:02:00.000-05:00

Strauss has three families inquiring about her already. One couple stopped by to visit her today. They seem very interested in Strauss and will probably make a decision tomorrow at the next open house.

In the meantime, Strauss continues to be cute, funny, and loving. Here she is, quietly listening to my conversations with her ear sticking out of her crate:

Hygiene and training

2008-01-18T15:19:00.000-05:00

Lately, Strauss has been getting alone-time training; she is left in her crate downstairs without the companionship of Iris in an adjacent crate. She howled the first time we did this on Wednesday, but it was for a significantly shorter time than when she first arrived on Saturday. Perhaps it is due to the fact that Strauss is more people-oriented than dog-oriented, but she adapted right away. Now she just watches quietly as we (including Iris) come and go.

Upon her arrival, I noticed some plaque on the upper right side of her teeth and a bit of odor in her breath. Thus, I have been making it a point to brush Strauss's teeth daily. Thanks to her young age, she still has very white teeth. She puts up very nicely with the brushing and now there is practically no bleeding from her gums. Strauss also arrived with a bit of muck in her ears. The wax and dirt build-up cleaned up right away with a few ear cleaning drops and some cotton.

A potential adopter asked about whether or not Strauss has any spacial or sleep aggression. I can't say exactly either way, as we haven't had the opportunity to "sneak up" on her. Nevertheless, Strauss has put up kindly with all of our poking and prodding thus far, and allowed us to take away toys in the midst of play.

Speaking of which, Strauss loves stuffed toys. She mouths and tosses them about in her crate. She is so gentle, however, that she still hasn't found any of the squeakers in them. I guess she thinks humans are so amazing that they can make her toys squeak.

A caveat

2008-01-17T16:29:00.000-05:00

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:

Wake up, go out to the backyard to potty
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...
Breakfast (1.5 cups of kibble, mixed with 1.5 cups of warm water)
Just before we leave to work (~8:30AM), Strauss is let out one more time to potty
We usually give her a Milkbone, a stuffed Kong, or a Greenie before we go
Around midday, our dog walker arrives and takes Strauss out on a 30-minute walk
We come home from work at ~6:30PM and Strauss is let out to the yard for a potty break
Repeat Step 2...
Dinner (1.5 cups of kibble, mixed with 1.5 cups of warm water)
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"

Strauss says, "Hi"

2008-01-16T16:49:00.000-05:00

No time to post today, except for this:

A nice surprise

2008-01-15T11:48:00.001-05:00

I mentioned previously that Strauss was too tired to whine in her crate following the open house this past weekend. Well, I guess it stuck. She hasn't howled, barked, whined, or whimpered at all since then. She's a strangely good girl.

That said, Strauss has a few bad habits right now that we're working on fixing: jumping up on people, pulling on leash, and counter-surfing.

To curb the jumping, I fold my arms and turn my back to her. Thankfully, Strauss is a good-time gal; she likes for everyone to be having a good time. As soon as she realizes that I am not having fun and not even looking at her, she stops. She then walks around to look up at my face and then wags her tail. Afterwards, of course, Strauss gets lots of praise and lots of love. Who can resist such a considerate girl?

On lead, Strauss is far from the worst I've seen. She tends to pull in the beginning, which can be easily corrected by saying, "No pull, " and then abruptly changing direction. After a couple rounds of this, Strauss becomes much more in tune to me and is careful to see where I am going. So far, she has received good report cards from our dog walker, who described Strauss as, "very friendly! :)"

Ah, counter-surfing. This is the plight of many greyhound owners with their tall, long-faced dogs. We allowed Strauss 10 minutes of free time after dinner last night. She made a beeline to the kitchen, where Jon was cooking, and jumped up on the counter out of excitement. Unfortunately, she soon saw that there were many fascinating objects on there and tried it again on the kitchen table. The good news is that she was quick to jump down as soon as she heard us shout, "No!" The potential bad news is that the little hamster in her head is spinning its wheel now, so we will have to pay extra attention to end this behavior.

Considering that Strauss has been off of the track for a grand total of three days now, she is still making record time to becoming a well-mannered retired racing greyhound.

Stand still!

2008-01-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

Strauss is notoriously difficult to photograph.

We finally managed to capture not-so blurry photographs while she was drinking water and getting scratches.

Iris is in the background - enjoying a scandalous time in Strauss's crate!

First Open House for Strauss

2008-01-14T00:20:00.000-05:00

Normally we give our fosters a week to acclimate before taking them to open houses. Strauss was so easy-going that we decided to take her to one today. She did very well and charmed the pants off of several potential adopters.

Strauss is an odd whiner. She will whine and howl at maximum of 30 minutes before settling down in her crate. If we clap or make some other loud noise, she will pipe down right away. I guess this is the best way to have a whiner.

Of course, the open house pooped her out so much that Strauss hadn't made a peep about being in her crate today. We also Dremel-ed her nails with no fuss. If anything, I had to keep pushing her leg down because she wanted belly rubs. Her calm demonstration was terrific for showing our staghound, Iris, that dremeling could be a wonderful, relaxing time. As a matter of fact, after watching Strauss receive a delicious spoonful of baby food after her Dremel session, Iris bravely accepted the noisy, grinding thing without any fidgeting for the very first time!

Strauss and Iris play very well together. They take turns chasing each other in the backyard. Indoors, Strauss would play bow to Iris and then place a paw on top of her. I can't tell if this is because Iris is so submissive or because Strauss has alpha tendencies. So far, she has been very respectful of us, and most of all, the cats. Well, truth be told, Strauss is absolutely terrified of the cats. She purposely makes wide arcs around the cats and slinks further back in her crate when a cat walks by. Naturally, our boy cat, Günter, takes advantage of this and will sit on top of the stairs, daring the dogs to make it past him.

Why, yes, Mr. IKEA was indeed our design consultant for the basement. What of it?

We won't have this one for long

2008-01-12T14:48:00.001-05:00

Strauss is charming, gregarious, confident, and beautiful. She isn't fazed by much and took her first bath without any apprehension or trembling. She also came prepared with a healthy appetite and happily gobbled up her first meal of retirement.

While Strauss is amused by her foster staghound sister, she truly only has eyes for the two humans in her household. Her bottom wiggles uncontrollably and her tail spins like a helicopter at the slightest eye contact with her foster parents.

Unfortunately, Strauss learned to use the stairs in a trial by fire when the resident cat gave her a welcome swat on the face. Nevertheless, she can now easily maneuver the stairs both upwards and downwards. Strauss quickly solved the mystery of the mirror and has no fear of shiny floors.

Uncommon for a greyhound, Strauss is also a natural sitter. She plops down on her hiney to garner pats on the head. This is mostly a ruse to draw you towards her, so she can jump up and kiss your face.

Strauss is a young thing at 2 years and 2 months. She is still very much a puppy, but only in the best ways. Her racing name is a perfect description of her personality: "Lady Adora" Not only is Strauss ladylike, she is also adorable. She has a gorgeous, regal face with cute envelope ears that flop this way and that.

Change of plans

2008-01-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

Now it appears that our new foster will be a brindle girl named, "Strauss." Here is her description:

Strauss (Lady Adora) 9/30/05, 34936. Brindle female, nice, happy, outgoing, cat trainable.

She has a lovely racing name that is actually sensible. The switch is due to the fact that Beethoven happens to be the least cat-trainable of the bunch.

Strauss arrives at 5:30 AM tomorrow morning!

Beethoven (Cold B Gamma)

2008-01-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Here is the first blip about our incoming foster greyhound:

"Beethoven (Cold B Gamma), 7/28/05, 34035. Big brindle male, 85 lbs, personable, outgoing, great dog. Cat trainable."