Bee has very silly ears!!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Happy Gotcha Day!
Bee was adopted today, yay!!! His new owners are greyhound savvy ladies. He is one lucky pup. Many Blessings in your new loving home Bee, I really enjoyed having you as a foster and you'll always be in my heart. *smooches and many head/ear rubs*
Bee has very silly ears!!
Bee has very silly ears!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
3 Weeks
Bee is settling into home life nicely. He has so many wonderful qualities. There has been zero accidents in the house and has an iron stomach/bladder. He sleeps the whole night through until it's time to get up. He is good with teeth brushing, coat brushing, ear cleaning and nail trimming(I've only used the clipper since he has very clear nails). He loves food, does celebratory zooms in the yard after taking a poop, and some toy playing. Bee has no space issues at all with me or the weims; he is such a good boy.
Bee is really great on walks. He no longer is afraid of loud engine sounds. Once in a while he gets startled and pulls, but otherwise is perfect on lead. Bee is such a lover; he comes up to me several times a day just for some pets. He'll stare deeply into my eyes and do the lean.
He enjoys car rides once we get rolling. Bee does have some issues with leaving the house and going into the garage to load, but after a few tugs he walks to the van to load. It still takes Bee a couple minutes to kennel up, but now if I wait with a cookie he will walk in there on his own. He is perfect once in the crate, not a single whine or chewing things up.
After just a few days he has gotten the hang of the stairs. He sometimes needs encouragement to go down, but usually will follow me.
Bee is such a sweet gentleman and I've enjoyed having him in the house.
Just got back inside, Bee says it is hot out there! Isn't he such a cutie?!
Bee is really great on walks. He no longer is afraid of loud engine sounds. Once in a while he gets startled and pulls, but otherwise is perfect on lead. Bee is such a lover; he comes up to me several times a day just for some pets. He'll stare deeply into my eyes and do the lean.
He enjoys car rides once we get rolling. Bee does have some issues with leaving the house and going into the garage to load, but after a few tugs he walks to the van to load. It still takes Bee a couple minutes to kennel up, but now if I wait with a cookie he will walk in there on his own. He is perfect once in the crate, not a single whine or chewing things up.
After just a few days he has gotten the hang of the stairs. He sometimes needs encouragement to go down, but usually will follow me.
Bee is such a sweet gentleman and I've enjoyed having him in the house.
Just got back inside, Bee says it is hot out there! Isn't he such a cutie?!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
1 Week
Skeeter Bee continues to grow and become more comfortable everyday. He'll come up and take treats faster than before. He still backs away when I walk toward him (or if he is between me and where I'm headed). He usually will head to the bedroom if I continue. But when I come and sit down next to his bed, he'll walk right up and lay down next to me and then I can touch him/do things like putting on collars, attach leash, or teeth brushing.
Bee turns out to be a huge love bug! He likes it when I approach him to pet/love on him while he is laying down, or if he is next to me already. He loves getting head/neck/body rubs so much he'll lean on me while I pet him. He will look at me with his sweet amber eyes the whole time (this is amazing since just a few days ago eye contact was scary), never looking away unless I hit the magic itch spot on his neck. If I stop, he'll remain next to me, leaning more and more until I continue to give him rubs.
I often take the dogs for a joy ride before going for a walk. This helps fosters and my own dogs learn that van rides mean fun/walks and not just to the vet. Bee will go into the garage, but walking around into the van is still scary, so I attach a leash and he'll follow me, stopping for a few seconds and then continuing with little protest. He doesn't like the sound of the van doors closing or the garage door going up, but gets over it pretty quickly.
Bee usually has his tail between his legs for the first few minutes of the walk, but then settles in between the weims. Loud construction/vehicles still scare him, and he is fine with people as long as they don't approach and pet him. When he spots pesky squirrels he tries to take off after them.
I've read tons of stories about greyhounds that back out of their martingale collars or leash clips failing. Due to these risks, I have many safety procedures in place to ensure that my greyhound fosters never get loose. I know it looks a bit over the top, but unless you have 100% recall with your dog; a loose greyhound will not hear your call and will not be able to find their way back home. If you do manage to find your loose greyhound, a shy one like Bee will get scared, take off and run further away.
For walks Bee wears his 1 inch martingale attached to a 2 inch martingale attached to the leash that is attached to a leather belt around my waist. The leather belt helps keep my hands free and also avoids accidentally dropping his leash and him taking off. I prefer to use the harness and the 2 inch martingale, but the harness rubbed the inside of his legs :( I double check everything daily to make sure it's in greyt condition and the collars are on tight.
Close up of the extra attachment and leash clip carabiner.
Bee modeling, he was moving too much so his ears got cut off. The leather ID collar is the only thing he wears at home due to chocking hazards with martingales.
Bee turns out to be a huge love bug! He likes it when I approach him to pet/love on him while he is laying down, or if he is next to me already. He loves getting head/neck/body rubs so much he'll lean on me while I pet him. He will look at me with his sweet amber eyes the whole time (this is amazing since just a few days ago eye contact was scary), never looking away unless I hit the magic itch spot on his neck. If I stop, he'll remain next to me, leaning more and more until I continue to give him rubs.
I often take the dogs for a joy ride before going for a walk. This helps fosters and my own dogs learn that van rides mean fun/walks and not just to the vet. Bee will go into the garage, but walking around into the van is still scary, so I attach a leash and he'll follow me, stopping for a few seconds and then continuing with little protest. He doesn't like the sound of the van doors closing or the garage door going up, but gets over it pretty quickly.
Bee usually has his tail between his legs for the first few minutes of the walk, but then settles in between the weims. Loud construction/vehicles still scare him, and he is fine with people as long as they don't approach and pet him. When he spots pesky squirrels he tries to take off after them.
I've read tons of stories about greyhounds that back out of their martingale collars or leash clips failing. Due to these risks, I have many safety procedures in place to ensure that my greyhound fosters never get loose. I know it looks a bit over the top, but unless you have 100% recall with your dog; a loose greyhound will not hear your call and will not be able to find their way back home. If you do manage to find your loose greyhound, a shy one like Bee will get scared, take off and run further away.
For walks Bee wears his 1 inch martingale attached to a 2 inch martingale attached to the leash that is attached to a leather belt around my waist. The leather belt helps keep my hands free and also avoids accidentally dropping his leash and him taking off. I prefer to use the harness and the 2 inch martingale, but the harness rubbed the inside of his legs :( I double check everything daily to make sure it's in greyt condition and the collars are on tight.
Close up of the extra attachment and leash clip carabiner.
Bee modeling, he was moving too much so his ears got cut off. The leather ID collar is the only thing he wears at home due to chocking hazards with martingales.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Cautiously Curious Bee
Bee has made great strides in the first few days here. He is a cautiously curious hound. He wants to see and smell everything, but wants to do it at his pace. Every time I am carrying something in my hands he has to come and check it out, hoping it is something yummy for him.
Bee is only 2, still a young teenager, so it is understandable that he is unsure of everything but very interested at the same time. I figured out that if I open things or make things available, he will explore it on his own time and feel safer. For example with the backyard I now just open the door and leave it open for him and head outside. After a few seconds he comes out to be with us. Sometimes he goes back inside when he hears sudden noises, but he'll usually come back out. Last night he had a zoom session outside at last turnout in the dark! This boy has an iron stomach (no soft poo, yay!!) and has had no accident at all.
I used the same method with the garage and van; leaving the door to it open and letting him explore, and cautiously he did for many minutes, then coming back into the house, and back out again. I'm happy that this way works for him because I don't like forcing him in or out of anything if I can avoid it.
He still refuses to go into the crate, and since he is 100% housebroken, I am taking it slow and not making him go in there. If I need to, I just baby gate him in the bedroom. Unlike most people, we live in our bedroom, so it is surprising he likes to be with us and the loud TV/computers instead of a different room that is quiet.
There is so much to report with handsome Bee, but I will keep this post short(ish) and end with some vids; sorry that some of it is dark, the bedroom corner doesn't get as much light.
Bee's first kong (not frozen because he doesn't know how to eat a frozen one, lol) Notice how he pulls away when I try to place the kong closer to him, but then continues to enjoy it when I move back.
This boy loves toys. For now he is afraid of the squeakers, so good thing Lucy removes them all!
A toy playing roach :)
Bee is only 2, still a young teenager, so it is understandable that he is unsure of everything but very interested at the same time. I figured out that if I open things or make things available, he will explore it on his own time and feel safer. For example with the backyard I now just open the door and leave it open for him and head outside. After a few seconds he comes out to be with us. Sometimes he goes back inside when he hears sudden noises, but he'll usually come back out. Last night he had a zoom session outside at last turnout in the dark! This boy has an iron stomach (no soft poo, yay!!) and has had no accident at all.
I used the same method with the garage and van; leaving the door to it open and letting him explore, and cautiously he did for many minutes, then coming back into the house, and back out again. I'm happy that this way works for him because I don't like forcing him in or out of anything if I can avoid it.
He still refuses to go into the crate, and since he is 100% housebroken, I am taking it slow and not making him go in there. If I need to, I just baby gate him in the bedroom. Unlike most people, we live in our bedroom, so it is surprising he likes to be with us and the loud TV/computers instead of a different room that is quiet.
There is so much to report with handsome Bee, but I will keep this post short(ish) and end with some vids; sorry that some of it is dark, the bedroom corner doesn't get as much light.
Bee's first kong (not frozen because he doesn't know how to eat a frozen one, lol) Notice how he pulls away when I try to place the kong closer to him, but then continues to enjoy it when I move back.
This boy loves toys. For now he is afraid of the squeakers, so good thing Lucy removes them all!
A toy playing roach :)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Welcome Skeeter Bee!
We got our new foster: Bee. He is 72 lbs, brindle and oh so handsome. Bee is on the shy side. He is definitely not a spook because he will let me pet him, settled in for the car ride after a few minutes and has not hidden in the kennel at all... In fact, he doesn't really want to get in it.
He paces a lot. I think he paced about a mile in our 900 sq. ft. top floor (I like to wait and introduce the stairs and walk-out basement after he settles in for a day or two).
Bee came to us on a bad day for a shy dog. We had a work crew in our backyard installing the city's new fiber optics so there was a lot of noise.
He is afraid to go outside and potty (I think because of noises like motorcycles, cars, lawn mowers) so I have to drag him out there, but he would only pee and not defecate. After several attempts and many hours later I decided to let him off leash outside. He went back to the door to be let in, but after a few minutes he did trot around and go #2, yay! I guess he doesn't like to pooh on lead?
There are pros too. The cutest thing is the fact that he smelled everything in his reach several times and takes his time checking the item out. He is not afraid of slippery floors because he walks in the kitchen and bathroom a lot. He uses the three steps into the house wonderfully (hopefully this will transfer to the stairs inside). He did greyt on a short walk with the weims; he didn't even flinch when he saw a girl riding her bike past us. He is not afraid of TV and computer sounds. With every passing hour Bee is relaxing a bit more. It will be fun and rewarding to see him come out of his shell. I did not take pictures of him, just stills on my flip cam so that I didn't scare him with the camera flash.
Bee would do best in a home with another dog to give him confidence.
The weims give Skeeter Bee 8 paws up thus far.
He paces a lot. I think he paced about a mile in our 900 sq. ft. top floor (I like to wait and introduce the stairs and walk-out basement after he settles in for a day or two).
Bee came to us on a bad day for a shy dog. We had a work crew in our backyard installing the city's new fiber optics so there was a lot of noise.
He is afraid to go outside and potty (I think because of noises like motorcycles, cars, lawn mowers) so I have to drag him out there, but he would only pee and not defecate. After several attempts and many hours later I decided to let him off leash outside. He went back to the door to be let in, but after a few minutes he did trot around and go #2, yay! I guess he doesn't like to pooh on lead?
There are pros too. The cutest thing is the fact that he smelled everything in his reach several times and takes his time checking the item out. He is not afraid of slippery floors because he walks in the kitchen and bathroom a lot. He uses the three steps into the house wonderfully (hopefully this will transfer to the stairs inside). He did greyt on a short walk with the weims; he didn't even flinch when he saw a girl riding her bike past us. He is not afraid of TV and computer sounds. With every passing hour Bee is relaxing a bit more. It will be fun and rewarding to see him come out of his shell. I did not take pictures of him, just stills on my flip cam so that I didn't scare him with the camera flash.
Bee would do best in a home with another dog to give him confidence.
The weims give Skeeter Bee 8 paws up thus far.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)