Yesterday was my girl’s first day as a pet. Previously, she was raised in kennels with other working dogs, or kenneled at the Greyhound Adoption center. She did extraordinarily well. We didn’t have any problems worth mentioning. She didn’t try to get up on my furniture, she didn’t potty in the house, she ate all her food. She’s just a bit disoriented by the sounds of the neighborhood, which include a daily piano lesson, a baby crying, and basketball court nearby. The squeaking of sneakers on the pavement must remind her of a squeaker toy, because she seems to get excited and wants to go out to investigate and play.
My car, Mini Lee, is a hatchback & racing greyhounds view the hachback lid as a starting gate. So her training would tell her to jump out never to be seen again, without a lot of new training to undo the old training. To solve the problem, I bought a harness and a 2-sided clip leash & clip it to the tie-down loop that is exposed when the back seats are folded down. This way she can’t get very far as I maneuver to get a handle on the leash.
Anyway… this dog loved the car ride. She didn’t seem to be at all frightened. (Apparently, the racing greys are fairly accustomed to driving since they get transported around for races.) She loved the windows and the speed. She kept slobbering on my shoulder trying to view and sniff out the window. Totally, flippin’ adorable. I can’t wait till she is lead-trained enough that I feel comfortable taking her to different parts of town for walks. People are totally drawn to her, she’s the center of attention wherever we walk, though some kids thought she was a doberman pincer when they saw her from afar. I corrected them and invited them over to meet her.
Yesterday was quite an adventure for her. She met a few other types of dogs. Racing greyhounds don’t usually have the opportunity to meet any other type of dog. So she was particularly interested in meeting other dogs. She met a golden retriever, and a pug up close (butt sniffing = meeting)… and she saw a pit bull, boxer, cocker spaniel, and cock-a-poo. Boy she thought that little white fluffy dog was pretty interesting… but I wasn’t ready to have her meet anything that looked that much like a rabbit!
Speaking of rabbits…she’s definitely got a significant prey instinct and is very, very interested in bunnies. She saw a bunny on the grass this morning while we were taking an early-morning potty break. She looked back at me as if to say “Please, mom! Let me go get that bunny!” I told her “No, that’s work! You’re retired now. Let’s take a break from chasing bunnies for a while.”
Labels: dog