"Enough watching, I want to run too!"

Had a great time at the dog park yesterday. I was wondering if Daisy would be bored with no greyhounds there but she ended up having fun anyway. After sticking to me like glue for awhile she got more comfortable in the park and started venturing off. She was fascinated by a great dane and quickly went to check him out. Probably because he was the closest shaped dog to her. But obviously, he was huge and made Daisy look like a lap dog. Later she started playing (yes, playing!!!) with another medium sized red dog. He came up to her and they did the stare down stance thing. The owner assured me they weren't being aggressive. Pretty soon the dog took off with Daisy running after him. They did a couple circles around the park with Daisy almost knocking someone over that was in her path. My dog is fast and I loved seeing her run and enjoying herself. Hopefully this is the start of many more happy park visits.

Greyt Walks

Daisy and I have been out enjoying the great warmer weather and sunshine. Today we went for two long walks and saw some interesting things. In the morning, we wandered down to the Aurora bridge where the Rock and Roll marathon was happening. The streets were closed to traffic. It was also the "turnaround point" for the runners who then headed back into downtown. They had cheerleaders cheering the people who made it there and music was playing on loudspeakers. As a greyhound, Daisy was probably thinking "awe, humans are so cute when they try to run." Actually, at this point, no one was running. Everyone was at a slow jog or walk. They must have been exhausted! One couple admired Daisy while I admired their choice of running attire: matching tutus!

Later in the day it was off to the GPI sponsored meetup at Greenlake. 22 hounds and their owners were there. At different times during the walk, we spotted 1 Superman, 2 Incredibles, 1 Green Hornet, 2 bumble bees, 1 pig and a couple other characters pass by on bikes. Odd yet humorous. It was nice to meet other greyhound owners and to enjoy the sunny and warm day!

Egyptian Daisy

Guess who has finally achieved the "down" sphinx position?! (The photo is a placeholder until I can get the real thing.) Yes, after 4 weeks of obedience classes Daisy was able to get fully down into this position. She did it three times! Next step is to get her to do it without the guidance of going under a chair and using treats. Today was a great class for her as she made a lot of progress. She also learned to "leave it", "come", and walked effortlessly on leash around cones. I'm so proud of my girl!

Play Command. Check.

About a week ago, Daisy finally discovered that stuffed toys were fun to play with. She now frantically chases, shakes and chews her bunny, monkey and green/purple jacks toy. It is great to see her personality continue to come out. She is no longer stoic docile Daisy. She is becoming playful, sometimes mischievous Daisy.

Notice that she is almost in the sit position (see hind legs)! It is week 3 of obedience training and she is gradually learning to get low enough for a "down" command. (Which is greyhound equivalent to "sit".) Although all the other dogs can sit, stay, down and recall, Daisy is doing her own thing (or on the slow track depending on how you look at it) and can only "touch" your hand while waiting for a treat. Oh yes, and she also shows off her envied leash walking. Daisy is very good at walking with a loose leash!

Tastes like chicken.

It has been interesting to see Daisy's prey drive start to kick in. I can only imagine that it isn't very strong since she was retired at an early age. She also tested as cat-safe at the adoption kennel. On our walks I have noticed that she reacts differently to different animals. So far, here are the results:
Cats = no interest
Crows = worth a look and quick jump
Squirrels = hit and miss. If they are running across the road she is interested, otherwise not.
Chickens = loves chickens. A neighbor had about 5 of them hanging out in the yard. Daisy ran up the side of the yard and lunged at them. They scattered and fled into other yards. Will have to remember not to walk by there again. Although I found it secretly entertaining. My bad.

Congratulations, Fern!

Daisy and I were at the local pet store's meet and greet, hosted by GPI. Quite a few people stopped by the booth to learn about how greyt these dogs can be as pets. I loved showing off my sweet girl. There was a good variety of greyhound colors there.

While many of Daisy's racetrack friends have already been adopted, there are some dogs from the same Oklahoma "load" that are still available. Fern is one of these available dogs who was at the meet and greet. Sure enough, the owner of the pet store fell in love! He already has two dogs but really bonded with Fern. Pretty soon he was filling out an application. See what happens when you least expect it? Behold the power of the greyhound!

Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks

Earlier this week, Daisy and I attended the first Basic Obedience class of six. Many of the dogs were about one year old and all of them already knew how to sit and lie down! Sheesh, Daisy barely knows her name. Luckily the owner of this establishment knows greyhounds very well and gave her trainers tips on how to train Daisy. Since it is anatomically awkward for greys to sit, they are having her learn to first lie down (sphinx style) and eventually raise her front end until she achieves a sit. She was able to get a bit lower but never got low enough to lie down. Other things we worked on was getting your dog to look at you when you call its name. This was done by holding a treat in front of your nose and saying the dog's name. When they look at YOU, you give them the treat. Of course, Daisy's focus was transfixed on the treat. Things aren't lookin' good so far!