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Movin' on up!

This blog has moved to the far superior blogging site, Wordpress. Keep following at:

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(This blog will still let you know when the new blog has been updated until everyone has gotten the memo)

Well played, dog.

Working in a psychiatric ward, we see plenty of anxiety and neurosis, but rarely did it manifest itself in our home. And then we got a greyhound.

Luna can be the most charming, sensitive, sweetheart of a dog, inviting you to pet her with playful nibbles and nose nudges and pulling out all the toys from her kennel to the living room just to show them to you one by one. She is patient as can be and rarely complains when she needs a bath, her teeth brushed or her nails trimmed. She can be social and outgoing, leading other dogs in playful games and leaning her cheek up to a familiar human for some ear scratches. But despite all the times when Chris and I gaze into each others eyes and say with a rose-colored sigh "We have the greatest dog in the whole world", or "How did we get so lucky to have such a perfect dog?" (this usually happens when she is soundly asleep, much in the same way children are best appreciated) - despite all of that, her temperament has proven itself to be quite fickle. We keep trying to interpret her quirky moods and decipher just what it is that we're doing right or doing wrong, but I fear our attempts at understanding this one are futile at best.

I wanted to sit down and write about some of the amusing things that have happened to us recently. For example, Lu got "lost" at the dog park yesterday after running into the wooded area with Annie on her tail (like they do). Out popped Annie from the thicket at a gallop to catch up to us, and as we waited for the other trouble-maker to pop out, no Luna. Chris, Seth, Jessica and I all searched for Lu in the 25 acre fenced-in dog park, calling her name, making kissy sounds and clapping our hands like idiots who lost their dog. I even ventured into the woods along the tiny little trails broken in by thousands of curious paws trampling the brush over many years, and I even stayed very calm as that little voice in my mind tried to convince me of the catastrophes that could have possibly occurred - the longer I searched, the more creative the catastrophes became. But all I had to show for it was a small, unidentified rashy patch of skin on my arm that still itches. To make a long story short, Lu wasn't lost at all. She had just found a new family to trot alongside, walking in the opposite direction - a discovery she no doubt made immediately upon bursting out of the small thicket behind Annie: "I'm chasing Annie through the woods! Yay! I'm chasing -- Ooo! Look at that dog! I will walk alongside that dog!"

I have been collecting stories in my sketchpad that I carry with me, jotting down tidbits to remember for the blog when I think of them: funny little idiosyncrasies that we've discovered or new words or commands she's picked up on. Humorous little events like when she was sound asleep last night and fell off her dog bed with a loud, clumsy thud and then gave me the most stunned, confused and innocent look that melted my heart. Then 10 minutes later the event repeated itself. But it has been a difficult week with her - her anxious days outweighing her happy, carefree days - so many of my notes were about trials rather than tribulations.

Therefore, I had decided to sit down and share some of these tribulations with my loyal readers, hoping to somehow extract a lesson or two to harmoniously complete the entry. I wanted to share how she reacted to us getting ready to leave for the Twins game (pacing, whining, and staring at me with eyes full of anxious desperation as she experimentally clamped her jaw right onto the wood arm of our futon frame, just to see if that was an acceptable way of expressing her anxiety. It was not). I wanted to share what a complete transformation we witness of her every time she gets a good walk - like night and day. I wanted to express my concern that she had not been left alone for a full 9 hours (for work) in 7 days until today and, even though I came home on my break to take her out, we discovered upon returning home that she had been too anxious to even touch the pig ear she was given when we left.

So I set out tonight to string together all the tidbits I'd been saving, getting my chance to complain and express concern and frustration. But as I was writing the first paragraph of this entry, preparing the reader for a journey through the trials of the week and the tiny pieces of surprising, yet informative, nonsense I've learned, I suddenly skipped ahead and started writing my "end paragraph" which was just then coming to me, and my last paragraph (which you will presumably read last) suddenly shaped the body of my entry. What had started out as an expedition to scatter my witty anecdotes and whiny frustrations into, what would have been, a sufficient outlet for such things, became an answer to my own overly rhetorical questions before I had even metaphorically posed them. It's as if building up the first paragraph, preparing my audience for the crescendo of "Just when you thought you had the worst dog..." was enough to sweeten my bitter words and ease me back into a more compassionate perspective. My heart began to sing her praises once again, thinking of her little origami ears and the cute little sprinkles of individual white hairs that are starting to sprout up on her face and body. How could anyone not love this dog?

Luna is still magic to me. She projects a sort of charming demureness with undertones of both great intelligence and naive innocence. She can be too smart for her own good and dopey enough to warrant all kinds of laughter and eye rolling from her doting humans. When I think of her potential for greatness, I simultaneously understand the great role of responsibility I play in the equation. But I realize that she, too, makes me greater than I ever could have been without her. Despite the frustrations and anxiety (on both my part and the dog's), I always come back to remember that she and I are in this together; I am trying to figure her out just as hard as she is trying to figure me out. I am trying to figure out what in the world she needs as she is trying to figure out what in the world I want from her. I am trying to communicate with her while she is trying to figure out how to communicate with me. I see how far we have come in this journey as a family, and I know that, in the end, we will all three of us be better beings for having helped each other learn about life - together.

So I leave you with this:

World's Greatest Dog (in Training)

My little shadow around the house and the world's best snuggle bug

My dear blog followers, I have failed you; I have left you stranded in suspense through the entire month of June. I do apologize, but life with little Lu is very fast paced, leaving me with an overabundance of potential content for the blog and very little free time and motivation for actually blogging. However, I have been taking lots of pictures and short videos to share with you all and I will try to hit the high points while giving you a general picture of what Luna is like these days. I have more pictures and videos to share so I will continue to post more often in order to share everything I have, including lots of cute stories.

Sleepy girl, but always ready to pose for the camera.

These pictures make her look deceivingly calm and quiet... She is calm and quiet about half of the time.

"Please pet me?"

"Okay, I will wait patiently right here..."

Lu is only a year and 4 months and you can definitely tell. She has such a carefree attitude and can be extremely outgoing and energetic. She loves to play and loves to do tricks. She loves clicker training and treats of any kind. She'll do anything for some snuggles or petting and thrives on attention and physical contact with her humans. She learns very fast and catches on to new words faster than you can imagine. She knows what so many different words mean and she is happiest when she pleases her humans by performing the behavior that is asked. She is extremely obedient and is even pretty responsive when she's off-leash at the dog park.

(Left to right) Annie, Chris, Jessica, Maya, Seth, & Luna at the Bloomington dog park. What a blast!!!

Lu loves other dogs and is interested in meeting and playing with any dog. When other dogs chase tennis balls that their owners throw, she speeds after them and returns back along side them, just to run alongside another dog - that's all she wants. Luna's best friends are Maya and Annie, owned by Seth and Jessica. Annie and Luna are partners in crime. Today Lu got Annie into mischief at the dog park, inviting Annie to run off exploring in the woods (in the fenced in dog park) and pop out the other side while the humans (and Maya) continued walking along the path!

Lu's favorite part of the dog park: the pond! While other dogs explore and drink the mucky water, Luna jumps in and belly flops down into the water to cool off.

Here's Luna and Annie in action

Here's Luna and "the girls", Maya and Annie.

This is also typical behavior for Luna when she's with other dogs: very happy, gentle with others and always leading others in play time and activities

We live next to protected wetlands so there are lots of frogs hopping around in the lawn and parking lot where she potties. It's delightful to see her childlike wonder when a still frog suddenly starts hopping, startling her into a fantastic state of wonderment. She follows them with tiny little hops of her own, like a frolicking fawn, ears perked high and eyes locked on these unpredictable little play things. Soon the frogs figure out that the only way of survival is to hold still, hoping their predator won't see them anymore. But this is the perfect opportunity for Luna to smoosh her wet snuffling nose right up to their bodies and check it out. When she finally gets bored and walks away there is a slick coat of moisture on the frogs' backs from her curious nose.

Tonight she followed a frog excitedly until it stopped hopping, then she stared at it intently, waiting for it to move so she can play again, but it wouldn't move. The solution? After a loooong pause staring at it, she let out a playful "WOOF!" with her mouth only a few inches from the frog. The vibrations (or sound?) of the bark startled the frog into hopping again, which reignited the playful game that she so dearly wanted to continue.

Such a pretty girrrrl. I think she poses.

Lu still LOVES water. She goes out of her way to walk through puddles (and pee in them) and her very favorite part of the weekly Gassy walks at Lake Harriet is the part where we wade into the water. She trots right in and flops down, though sometimes she slowly lowers herself down and her hindquarters quiver as she sinks into the chilly water, depending how chilly it is, but she'll lie in it anyway. Last week there were waves, which made her stop and step back for a second, but I walked right in so she saw it was no big deal. She followed me in and laid right down on my feet with a happy, dopey open-mouth grin, complete with tongue hanging out the side of her mouth (very typical expression to see on her face). She is such a happy dog.

Tonight Luna got a bath. We give her a bath every other week and it has done WONDERS for her skin and coat, which both look extremely healthy now! No more flakes! She has become so soft and the shedding has gone down significantly. Tonight was her third bath and while I was setting the tub up, she knew exactly what was going on. She walked right up to the tub and quietly, gently stepped into the tub all by herself, one paw at a time and then looked at me like "Okay, I'm ready". My heart soared when my little girl did this! All by herself! We have taught her well (and she's very smart).

Lovin' the spa treatment!

What a good bath time!

After her baths she must feel GREAT, because once she is excused from being dried off in the bathroom, she trots out to the living room, does lots of shakes, and then runs around happily, grabbing toys and doing more shakes. The best is her tail shake, seen below:

I love her little cowlick

Another thing I love are her long, thick whiskers that sprout out of her chin and cheeks, like a menacing catfish. And who can resist those floppy, expressive ears? When I stick my finger in her ear to itch the inside (wiggle my finger a little) she will tilt her head to the side the ear is on, then I switch ears and she tilts her head way to the side on that side. Must feel gooooood.

Car rides are the greatest! She'll often try to lead me to where the car is parked, near her potty spot, then look up at me like "Can we go?"

SQUIRREL!

Lu had a blast at Greyfest. She ran and ran and ran, and when no one wanted to run with her anymore, she ran by herself in big circles. Then she'd speed over to the pool and jump right in, flop right down. Often there would be 5 or 6 other dogs trying to use the pool too, standing room only, until Lu came barreling in and splashed right down on her tummy, pushing some of the standing hounds out of the pool. She seemed oblivious of her intrusion.

Back and forth: run run run, pool...run run run, pool.

Pool all to herself! You can see that other pups have already cleaned off in the water.

She is the greatest dog in the world (to us). She is so full of life and energy and personality. She is gentle and sweet, curious and playful, smart and enthusiastic about learning to communicate. We have worked so hard with her to help her settle in to human life and she can still be a little jumpy at times, but we try to be very persistent and consistent, never giving up just because something makes her uncomfortable. For example, a toddler pushing a toy baby stroller for her doll was making lots of noise while walking in the same parking lot as us while on our walk, startling Luna into frantic jumps and yanking on the leash with her gentle leader on. So instead of feel frustrated and embarrassed, I followed through with the opportunity at hand and I took Luna up to a brisk jog as we passed the stroller-toting toddler and her mom. I then kept jogging with her and correcting her every time her attention was pulled to the toddler with a leash tug and a sharp kissy sound, and we proceeded to basically jog in big circles around the toddler and mom until she ignored them on her own. I told the mom "We're practicing," and the mom laughed and said she completely understood. When we're out of the house it can be a constant effort to praise and soothe and correct and it has taken a LOT of practice to be in tune to her, in order to respond appropriately to her and know what she needs in order to keep her moving forward psychologically. But it seems to be paying off.

Here are two of her tricks. She has perfected the "shake", and last night during a clicker training session with her I taught her "high five", or "five". It took about 5 minutes to teach her with the clicker.

Currently our biggest challenge is still just the shyness with strangers. She will now sniff people when they put their hands out to her and she will let about half of the strangers she meets to pet her right away, but if we give her a little time (maybe 3-5 minutes) she warms up to the people we're with and will let them pet her (especially if we give them treats to share with her) and eventually she'll be nudging peoples' hands for some ear scratches. Children are still very peculiar and unpredictable to her. She is more tolerable of them now from a distance, and is letting them get closer in proximity, but still keeps them at a distance. She does not like the high pitched noises they make. But we'll get there someday, I hope.

Pig ears are Daddy's special treat to give to Lu, and there is nothing more sacred in the dog world than a pig ear. She is in the zone when she's got a pig ear in her mouth. But she does like her privacy while enjoying this delectable treat.

We have worked SO hard with Luna. I can't believe it's only been 7 weeks! There have been so many payoffs, though. It makes the hard work worth every challenging moment.

Stay tuned for more from Luna the grey! Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Is it bad if my dog's social calender is busier than mine?

How can I sum up the last few days? Well, Luna is definitely coming out of her shell...maybe a little too much. She is in full puppy mode: exploring, jumping around, jumping up on us, wanting to play play play, running full speed in circles around our tiny apartment, peeing on the floor, peeing on the kitchen floor, peeing in the stairwell on the WAY to go outside to pee, eating cardboard, eating pillows, eating her hair from the brush, eating anything that falls on the floor...

Friday and Saturday were work days for us so it was a work routine day, meaning less time out with us and more time in the kennel, but she did well and I was able to come home on my break to let her out, which she LOVED. She was extremely happy to see me, like "Hey! I wasn't expecting you for a while! What a great surprise!!"

Sunday was a BIG day. I took her to the meet and greet at Urbanimal, which is basically a big play group. Everyone loved her and she tried to get all the other dogs to play by trotting alongside them and rubbing/bumping up against them to instigate. Pretty soon all the other greys were lying around and she was still going - little energizer bunny that she is - trying to get anyone to play with her. But she got plenty of attention from the humans, which she soaked up. She was also the only dog to "do the 2" in the playroom. Of course.

Lu pretty much copied whatever the other dogs did. Here she is up front greeting someone approaching, though I'm pretty sure she had no idea what she was looking for, just as long as she was standing attentively along with the other dogs, who seemed to know what they were doing. She's the black dog in the middle with the green collar.

After the "play group" she and I headed over to the Gassy walk at Lake Harriet, where she had a GREAT walk on the gentle leader (she and I have been working very hard on that - lots of practice paid off). She had so much fun and was so relaxed. I think she is her best self when she is at the Gassy walk. After the walk, I got her in the car and she flopped down and fell asleep before we pulled away. She slept all the way home, but I stopped by my parents' house on the way so they could say a quick hi and she did so great! She went right into the house and was a little tentative for a minute but warmed up very fast and approached both my parents for attention. She even did tricks for my mom (for treats, of course). She seemed to feel very safe.

Life is tough.

To top it all off, after a good hardy nap (for me and Luna), my sister came over in the evening to meet Luna and Luna did SO GREAT! She warmed up quickly and was very cute and relaxed, enjoying all the attention and cooing. We went to take her outside to potty and she stopped at the top of the stairs in the stairwell and peed on the carpet. We only had a dozen steps left to the door, of course. So I used the Mighty Bissell in the stairwell and the carpet there still doesn't look the same.

She just loves her new tank top from Katrina. Can't you tell? ("Why must you make me do these things?")

Pretty new collar, too!

Lu slept the rest of the day and soundly through the night. I even woke up early in the morning to find her "roaching" (or "cockroaching"), meaning she was lying on her back with her limbs sticking up, crumpled in the air. She has been sleeping soundly ALL NIGHT until we get up. Yesss!!

This is an action shot. She was half roaching, half pawing the air in her sleep.

Monday was another work day, though we got in a good walk (as usual). Tuesday was a special day because I got to spend the whole afternoon and evening with her all by myself .We snuggled on the couch (a special treat reserved for my alone time with her) and she slept with her head on me all evening. She was such a good girl, so sweet and affectionate. We really bonded. Later, around 10pm, she was kind of pacing around (which is becoming an excellent warning sign for us) and decided that right in front of the door looked like a great spot to pee. I jumped up from the couch and clapped loudly, yelling "AH AH AH!" She looked up at me and kept peeing. I lunged toward her and she stood upright, hung her head very low and evaded me as she scampered to her bed and laid down, looking up at me with those big brown eyes from under her eyebrows.

Girls night on the couch :)

Wednesday was a work day, but she got a good walk beforehand and I came home on my break to play with her and let her out. After work we did something very special to try to help with the excessive shedding and dandruff: HER FIRST BATH! We'd had her in the bathtub before to rinse her off (after she laid in the puddle) but this was her first real bath with us. She did VERY well. We could tell she completely trusts us. She seemed unsure but she completely went with it and she just...well...trusted us! She seemed equally fascinated and confused by what was going on but she was a champ. When we got her all dried off (she stood patiently while we did so) her alter ego, Spazzy, decided to pay us a visit. She TORE around the house, full speed, running in circles, back and forth, round and round, for a good 3 minutes. She would run full speed through the living room to the kitchen, then trot carefully across the tile floor, then tear through the living room to the kitchen again, then trot carefully across the tile floor, and so on. It is the second time we've seen her run in the apartment like that but it was NOT like this before. This was a full out Spaz attack.

She also took the empty paper towel tube from me while I was cleaning up the bathroom and trotted to her bed proudly, showing off her prize to Chris. Then she plopped down and started to eat it. Sometime in the window of 10 minutes after the bath, after the spaz attack, she performed the grand finale by peeing all over the kitchen floor. Ta da!

Big day.

She has definitely come out of her shell. She is a different dog every day. We still have to constantly work on things with her but it seems more and more like issues related to just being a puppy still. She still walks around and whines for no reason but usually responds to a "shhh!" We have also been giving her Rescue Remedy, which I got yesterday, and it seems to work nicely when she starts getting anxious around the time we leave for work or the time we are trying to wind down for bed.

This weekend Luna has a full social calender! Friday evening we have a playdate with Lori (her foster mom) and her two greys! We are very excited for her to reunite with her foster family and are looking forward to her having some time playing with her greyhound friends. On Saturday we are going to take Luna to the Richfield meet and greet from 12-2, though we will need to leave early because we have to work at 3. We are looking forward to her having the opportunity to observe her greyhound buddies letting total strangers approach them and pet them. She will catch on quickly. Letting strangers approach her is something we've been working on. She's getting it - slowly but surely. Then Sunday is the Gassy walk! Yaay! It's my favorite part of the week and I think it's hers too. She is the happiest dog on Sundays.

Home on my break from work to play with Lu

I can't believe we've only had her for a little over 2 weeks. It seems like months. I really is unbelievable. We love her more every day and we can see her trusting us and getting to know us better every day, too. You can just see her recognize us as "her humans" - her "pack". Whenever Chris and I hug she always tries to jump up try to get in on the hug too. It's very cute (but we still tell her "no" - through the giggles).

It's like having a toddler in the house and we get irritated with her at times (especially when she's being my shadow, following me everywhere, and knowing exactly where to be so she is the MOST in my way), but it's worth it. We're all learning. Tomorrow she will have the whole day with her Buddy (Chris). On a side note, Luna knows that Chris is called "Buddy". I tell her to "go find your Buddy", or "where's your Buddy?" and she goes and finds him wherever he is and goes right to him, then stares back at me proudly. I feel like it's less cliche than saying "where's daddy", which kind of makes me nauseated.

What a special girl. We are so lucky.

Pretty girl with a pretty new collar from my sister, Katrina

God Bless the Bissel

Lu had another potty incident, except this time it seemed out of nowhere, though probably a result of her anxiety this evening. She was lying on her dog bed and I was petting her and brushing her and just having some quiet time together and she couldn't settle. She was very restless and wanted to be up and pacing. She obliged and laid on the bed while I brushed her but very restless and changing positions a lot and not settling in. When I was done I got up to go to the sink and she popped up and followed me. I saw on the floor there were splotches of water and I thought I had just splashed some water on the floor. Then I heard what sounded like someone pouring a large pitcher of water onto the carpet and turned the corner to see her letting loose. I clapped my hands and shouted "AH AH AH!!!" which prompted her to WALK AWAY WHILE PEEING (still squatted, I might add). I got her to stop after another sharp "NO!" and she hung her head low and sheepishly scurried to her bed. But the second she got there I snapped the leash on her and dragged her outside to her potty spot where she immediately finished pottying, after which she got lots of praise (which was hard to fake). So we kenneled her when she got back in. She seems pretty comfortable there if she can't see us - safe - and it is good practice for her. It feels really nice to have a break from her. We should do this more often.

This is Really Hard.

I have to add that this anxious, fussy behavior has only really developed in the last couple of days. Multiple people have said how great it worked to get another greyhound, which I'm sure would solve the problem because when we went to the Gassy walk and there were other hounds there, she was a different dog, letting everyone pet her and greeting everybody, which is not like her otherwise.

We took her for a walk today at Medicine Lake and we had to cut it short because she was too jumpy. There was a lot of commotion - kids swimming, people playing volleyball, kids at the playground - and she would start hopping around like a scared rabbit, pulling on the leash and trying to escape the situation. We hung in there, staying calm and quiet and not letting her escape from the situation, instead just stopping and letting her settle/regroup before continuing on. Finally we just sat on a bench near the playground and once we just sat quietly she started to become more relaxed, though still pretty alert. Kids make her nervous, but generally she is very shy when meeting other people. She backs away and seems really unsure. We try to encourage her or have the people offer her treats and wait until she comes to them but she usually doesn't warm up in the short amount of time we have as we are usually just greeting people in passing, so she gets away with not having to let anyone else pet her.

But like I said, at the Gassy walk she was so happy and comfortable with everyone, wanting attention and feeling comfortable greeting everyone, and we have not seen her like that since then. When she's timid and shy or freaked out by noises she does NOT want treats. She is too focused on whatever it is that is bothering her. When we meet people she is more likely to eat a treat, especially if it is just tossed near her on the ground, but when she's stressed by an overstimulating environment or things that are making her nervous there is no way to reward calm behavior because even when she gets calmer she still doesn't want treats. She doesn't even sniff them.

I know another greyhound would be great for her and would probably solve our problems, but I cannot convince Chris to get another one right now. I know it would not be more work having two, but it does double the cost, which is where we would probably get stuck. Also, we live in an apartment so she has to go potty on lead and having two dogs to potty on lead would be tricky.

Is it possible for her to still be happy and well-adjusted as a single dog? Or will she always be neurotic and anxious being the only one? What if she absolutely can't handle being the only dog but we can't get another one?! I feel very discouraged and stressed out. This is really hard.

World's Saddest Dog (i.e. Drama Queen)

Yesterday and today Lu has been acting like the worlds most pathetic, neglected dog. She has been so needy, wanting constant petting and attention and starts whining when you stop giving her attention. She wanders around the apartment and starts whining randomly. The whining and pathetic sounds have gotten out of control. Could it be in response to us being gone at work more in the last few days? We had a few days off so maybe she got used to having us around more?

We have been getting her on good walks every day, feeding regularly, pottying regularly, giving lots of playtime and attention and we do our best to ignore the whining. She has lots of toys and we try to engage her in play, which works about half the time. But we're starting to wonder if she has general anxiety or separation anxiety. She will not leave us alone and she has to know where both her humans are at all times, usually following me around everywhere. This has just developed in the last couple of days, and we have been working the last two days, meaning she was kenneled for much of the day, which we're working on getting her to realize is not so bad.

Last night we tried putting her bed next to our bed but she could not settle in. She was too anxious. She was clearly tired and her eyelids were heavy and kept closing partially but she was fighting it, trying to stay awake. When I got up to brush my teeth or go grab something she was right there next to me. She wanted me to pet her while laying in her bed (which I could reach from my side of the bed) and when I stopped she would just whine, which I would then ignore. She kept tossing and turning, making these loud exaggerated sighs and throwing her head down to the pillow dramatically. Then after a minute she'd snap her head up, whine and then throw her head back down to the pillow with a heavy sigh. We finally had to put her back in the kennel and she settled in much better there, going to sleep very soon.

Sometimes when she's lying on her dog bed in the living room she keeps getting up to go get some petting from us on the couch, then lying back down on her bed but she can't settle. So I have gone to lay on the floor next to her bed with my computer or whatever and I will rest my head on her or give her lots of reassurance and she settles in once I'm close. She is definitely happier when she's physically near her "pack" (us). Could her confidence be low since we have eased up a little on the constant verbal reassurance and praise? Any suggestions for this problem?

We've started asking her if she is the world's most pathetic dog and have started calling her a drama queen, but in reality there is clearly some anxiety going on there. Her nose has also been especially drippy, which can be a sign of stress. I think a long walk at the lake will help a lot but we'll see.

On a side note, I am lying on the floor next to her bed, typing on my computer, and I can smell urine in the carpet. It happens to be near the "site of the accident" from Sunday. We used a pet cleaner with the bissel (special pet odor and soil formula) and then sprayed Nature's Miracle on there but it seems to have maybe soaked very far into the carpet. Yuck!! Suggestions?

She is also lying next to me looking at me and whining/fussing, pawing at me and tossing her head around. Could she be bored?

I can also be reached at seckberg@inbox.com if you have suggestions.

The Simple Joys of Being a Puppy

Monday morning Lu started out her day by taking a nice long pee right in the middle of the living room! She had been kenneled for about 9 hours and Chris had just let her out of her kennel and just turned his back for a second to grab her leash and she squatted and let it flow! Boy did she have to go! She looked up from under her eyebrows pathetically, as if to say "I'm sorry! I can't stop!" Even with a firm "no" she could not be interrupted. What can ya do? We just sort of shrugged and laughed about it. I then got to use my handheld Bissel carpet cleaner, which works just great!

Sunday night, into Monday morning, was the first time we didn't take Lu out to potty at 6:30am, as we were advised she is perfectly capable of holding it. We ignored the whining and when she got anxious and was trying to rip apart her bed in her kennel again, I told her "ah ah ah" and told her sweetly to lay down. She did exactly as told and I praised her verbally from the comfort of my warm bed, then went back to sleep. She was such a good girl (with the exception of the post-kenneling potty incident)!

Last night, Monday night, into Tuesday morning, we used no melatonin and she did great! Also, no house pottying! She has been getting anxious and nervous when we start getting ready for work, particularly when I start drying my hair. So we're going to have to do some more random kenneling (short periods of time in her kennel that are not related to us being gone for very long periods of time) and I'll have to get spiffed up on non work days as well, so she doesn't associate my primping with being left alone for 8 hours. We gave her her Kong with frozen yogurt and peanut butter, along with some kibble. I like the idea of having special treats JUST for the kong.

Luna has been shedding a lot so we have been brushing her and lint-rollering her a lot. She is very patient while we do this, though she'll do anything for a little attention. I have also been vacuuming every couple of days, which she doesn't mind at all! She seems to be passed the phase of getting real scared or anxious about things and is now more "briefly spooked" on occasion, which she moves on from almost immediately. Not many things really bother her, she is more curious now.

Last night after work she had fun playing with the frogs and toads that occupy the wetlands we live right next to. After walking through every puddle, she was sniffing the pavement for the perfect spot and a "rock" in her path suddenly sprang out - it was a big toad! She was certainly startled by this new experience, befuddled even. Her ears perked and her eyes popped open. She then followed it with her nose innocently - incredulously - and when it sprang up again, she was startled once again, taking a quick step back before continuing to sniff it. One of the toads stood very still as she sniffed it with her nose touching it. She continued following the toads as she kept finding new ones. She also sniffed right by a teeny tiny one that managed to hold very still and evade her attention.

Both yesterday and today Luna went out of her way to walk through every single giant puddle in the parking lot near her potty spot (since it rained a lot). She will swerve and tug on the leash to be able to trot through each one and it makes a little "pit pat pit pat" sound. One of her favorite things to do is piddle in the puddles. Maybe she likes the sound.

She has not been as responsive to commands outside, seeming more distracted (this is true of inside behaviors too, actually) and she likes to try to pull the leash-holder anywhere she wants to go, which we try not to let her do. I think she is testing limits. She has been doing SO well ignoring other dogs barking, though. When her attention goes to a bark and she tenses up, I just say "ah ah" and sometimes give a gentle tug to the leash and it snaps her attention away from the exciting noise. She still gets excited when she sees another dog but is fairly redirectable.

Today Chris and I both took her for a walk at the apartment complex across the street that has two ponds on the property, both with fountains and lots of grassy shade. It was very blissful and we sighed as we walked hand in hand: our little family. Suddenly there was a gaggle of geese waddling towards us anxiously - about 6 or 7. They were honking obnoxiously (as they do) and Lu stopped dead in her tracks and perked up, eyes locked on the alien creatures approaching. I think they were even taller than she is - they were very large. Then they all flew in a frenzied unison and landed in the pond with simultaneous splashes. This was also very exciting for her to witness. It's so funny to see her little brain trying to comprehend what she's seeing.

When we walked through the parking lot of this apartment complex, two guys from the third floor balcony called down to us asking "Hey, is that a greyhound?!" He asked if it was a certain kind of greyhound and I said no, she's just a black one. Other people have asked me this while walking her. They are so impressed by her majestic physique and her graceful, lanky prance, but they often ask "What kind of greyhound is she? I've never seen a black one before." Maybe people are just not familiar with greyhounds. Either way, I feel so proud when I have her with me. You know how some people look like their dogs? Well, I think she looks perfect trotting next to me and/or Chris because both he and I are also tall and lanky.

Tomorrow we want to take her to the lake, either Lake Harriet or Medicine Lake, for a nice long walk and maybe a little dip (or more just lying down in the lake water). We hope to continue to keep socializing her and I've been bringing treats with me everywhere she goes to give to people to offer her if they want to greet her. We both have the day off tomorrow so we hope to give her lots of attention and playtime, which is becoming more frequent and WILD! She likes to wrestle wildly with her pillows, dominating them with intimidation and pouncing, and she is getting very good at tug-of-war. Sometimes she gets a little too excited, though, and lets out one loud, sharp bark, to which we immediately respond with a "no!" or "ah ah!", especially since playtime is often at one in the morning after we get home from work. On a side note, I really miss her when I am gone at work and I look forward to our return home after every shift. We can tell she misses us, too.

On another side note, Luna has been jumping up on us, sometimes up with her paws on our backs, at surprising and unexpected times. We are trying to teach her that this is not an appropriate way to express excitement or affection. One of the other greyhound owners at the GASSY walk said that Lu may have learned that from her brindle girl while dog sitting. I think she tries to sneak up on us to do it sometimes: SURPRISE! Or maybe she just gets bursts of excitement and overwhelming affection for us and she just explodes: I LOVE YOU AND I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF I'M SORRY LET'S PLAY WILL YOU PET ME?!!! She still has the impulses of a puppy. A puppy with ADHD.

She reminds me of the dog (named Dug) from the movie Up (Disney Pixar). I like to imagine her saying things like "I do ever so want the ball!" or "I just met you and I love you." or "Hi, my name's Luna and I - SQUIRREL!!"



Tonight Luna could NOT get enough attention. She was acting like the world's most love-deprived, isolated dog. Drama queen. Lu was getting a good ear scratching when she suddenly noticed a flying bug spastically flying around and she followed it intently until it got close enough to jump up and snap at. She gave it 3 good tries but never did catch that bug mid-air. Maybe next time.

We are so glad she is coming out of her shell more every day. It has become a little more of a challenge in terms of obedience but it's worth the occasional frustration. It's great to see her personality. I can't wait until she is more comfortable with other people. I want others to see her personality soon, too. I'm secretly looking forward to seeing what other kinds of trouble she gets into. But don't tell her I said that :)

The Dog Days of May

Picture taken as I'm writing this entry. I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world :)

Boy is it humid out! Is it May or July? Luna does not seem to like the heat, but still loves being outside. Today when she went out to potty she just hopped from shaded spot to shaded spot and even went out of her way to potty in the shade instead of her usual spot.

I slept in today and Lu got up with Chris. She kept coming over to the open bedroom door and looking in at me to see if I was still sleeping. I would hear her collar jingle and then stop in front of the door, which would prompt me to open my eye just enough to see her staring. She didn't come in and bother me or anything, just kept checking at the doorway to make sure I was still there or maybe to see if I was awake yet. She'd see me move or see my eyes open and her ears would perk up: Are you awake yet? How 'bout now?! The moment I'm awake she is right in my face ready for snuggles. I feel so loved!

Something very funny happened today. When Chris was standing by the door to leave for work I got up from the couch to say goodbye. When I hugged him, Lu got very excited and ran over to us. She then proceeded to jump up with her paws on my back, panting excitedly, and I said "Group hug!" We both got a kick out of it.

Today Lu was also more affectionate and close with Chris. She even started whining when he left for work! We're glad she's bonding to both of us more equally. After Chris went to work Lu was very restless and not sure what to do. She'd play with her bunny toy for 20 seconds, then pick up her bone, then drop it and start exploring, then play with her bottle... ADD puppy! I invited Lu on the couch with me and we both took a little nap.

This evening around 8pm I took her for a walk. I heard a horror story from Carrie on the GASSY walk (Carrie has dog sat for Lu before) about Lu backing out of her collar while on lead and running away from her! I could easily see that happening when she gets spooked, so I used the gentle leader for our walk. We've tried it before and it usually takes her until about halfway through the walk to figure out that it feels uncomfortable when she tugs on the lead. Today it took about the same amount of time for her to get used to it but once I took her to the back parking lot for laps around the lot she went into super-show-dog mode! She maintained a perfect heel for the whole 15-20 minutes we walked laps! She has done this before but never as good as today and never for this long without breaking her concentration. She was completely in the zone - head down, ears back, steady pant - walking very close to my left side, just slightly behind me, the lead dangling loosely from her "bridle". I was so impressed and so proud of her!! We usually go to that parking lot about halfway through our walk because there are only a few cars that park there and it's very secluded and quiet with minimal distractions. Then we practice things that require her full attention. Once we left the parking lot, however, she snapped back into curious puppy mode and got jumpy a couple of times in response to some unexpected noises.

We had so much fun on the GASSY walk and she loved it so much, I rearranged my work schedule to have next Sunday off so I can take her again! I am pretty sure I can arrange to have every Sunday off to make sure she can go see her friends. I'm very excited! We are also going to try to make the Meet and Greet on Saturday.

Today I got her some little training treats that look like kibble but they are liver flavored. I heard that dogs go nuts for them and she definitely likes them. I also got her another Kong so we can always have one in the freezer, and another toy. I could spend my whole paycheck on stuff for Lu! I will have to save a little money to set aside for Greyfest, (http://gpa-mn.org/greyfest.php) where there will be lots of specialty items sold.

Lu politely approached a neighbor dog this morning and let the owner pet her just a little tiny bit under the chin. The owner said that her dog used to be just as timid as Luna and now she loves people and is very social, so that was really encouraging to hear.

We still had to give her melatonin this morning at 6:30am because when she got back to her kennel from pottying outside she was very anxious and whining. She was also trying to tear apart her bedding. I have been reassured, however, that melatonin is okay to give to her if this is a problem. I have also been advised to make sure we are adapting her to OUR schedule and not the other way around, so I think we will stop letting her out at 6:30am. We are told she is perfectly capable of holding it until we get up later in the morning. Earplugs were recommended to us, though. It has also been suggested that we let her sleep on her dog bed in our bedroom but just keep the bedroom door shut. I think she would enjoy this more and be calm, as she is always most calm and quiet when she is near her humans.

She has become very attached to us and she follows me around everywhere - she always has to know where I am and get her nose right in whatever I'm doing. She is such a cutie little girl and I love snuggling with her. Although, it's probably similar to how children are cuter when they are asleep. Now I am sitting on the couch and Lu is dozing with her head in my lap. How lucky am I?! She keeps nudging me for more attention and when she sat up i wrapped my arm around her, giving her kisses on the head and she laid her head on my shoulder. I pretty much melted. It's moments like these where I think how much I love having a dog and I realize just how much I love her. She is the greatest little girl anyone could have asked for.

Even though I feel discouraged sometimes, like when she doesn't want to let people pet her or she gets spooked and jump, I have to keep remembering that she is very young, still a puppy, and we have only had her for 9 days. On top of that, I have to look at how far she has come in such a short amount of time. That says a lot about her. I can't wait to get to know her better and for her to open up to us even more.

Happy Lu in her first car ride on the way to the GASSY walk on Sunday! So many smells!

We are looking for ideas of toys and activities to keep her busy and avoid boredom, especially when she's kenneled while we're at work. Any ideas for homemade toys or other suggestions are welcome!

And Puppy Makes Three

I finally have a dog. Let me rephrase that: I FINALLY HAVE A DOG!! And it only took 3 months! Well, 3 months and 25 years. Chris and I adopted a greyhound from Greyhound Pets of America (GPA) on May 16th, 2010. We waited so long for a grey and we felt like parents expecting a baby. We had the kennel all set up in our bedroom, complete with bedding and stuffies to play with, and we had all of our greyhound necessities neatly stored in a plastic container: 6 months of Frontline, grooming tools, toys, treats, toothpaste, and toothbrush.

We were expecting to get a grey from the recent haul of dogs that came from Sarasota, FL, and were thinking it would be well into June before we could take one home from foster care. But we got an even better deal. As luck would have it, there was a little girl in foster care since the haul from February who was being held for someone but it fell through on Wed, 5/11. On Thursday we were contacted about meeting this little one-year-old named O Ya Angel, or Angel. We were a little apprehensive about this, but we agreed to meet her with an open mind. That same day we talked with her foster mom, Lori, and the adoption coordinator, Luana. The more we learned about her, the more we loved her and the more perfect she seemed for us. We were especially glad she had been fostered for 3 months, which is very uncommon for a grey to be fostered that long, but apparently she needed those 3 months to work on her manners and learn about life as a house pet.

I decided to start a blog about our experience with her, as it is a very special time. Exhausting, frustrating, and challenging, but worth every minute. I will try to summarize the first week, which was a complete whirlwind. Also the longest week of my life. But it's better every day, tenfold, and becoming extremely rewarding.

DAY 1: ADOPTION DAY!

Foster mom, Lori, and adoption coordinator, Luana, brought Angel to our apartment on Sunday 5/16 at noon. We were anxiously waiting outside the building, watching each car that passed: "Is that her? Is that her??" It was a really special moment for us and I don't think we'll ever forget those final minutes of life as we knew it, just the two of us. We were acutely aware that our lives would forever be changed, but unable to fully grasp what that meant. And we didn't care. We were finally going to have a dog.

Lori's SUV pulled in and we could see Angel in the back seat anxiously needle-nosing at the tinted window in the back. When Lori opened the back to take her out, she immediately decided "No, I don't like this. I don't like this at all." She cowered in the back of the car, refusing to budge. When Lori finally coaxed her out, she went into panic mode. Lori said it was most likely due to the big day she had, having stayed at a friend's house all weekend while Lori and her husband were out of town, and then getting picked up from the friend just a short while before coming to meet us. There were also people talking loudly and laughing on a nearby balcony and it was scary for her, not knowing where the voices were coming from.

She scooted around anxiously in the parking lot, tangling herself in her leash with her tail between her legs, adrenaline pumping, her brain clearly trying to decide between fight or flight and her body just trying to keep up. We decided to give her space and not force her to greet us. We led the way inside the building and she stopped dead in her tracks just outside the door and sat back on her haunches like a stubborn mule. Lori pulled and pulled and she was not having any of it. "No, I do not like this at all." Same routine when we got to the apartment door, her brain locked into FLIGHT! FLIGHT!

With enough encouragement and pulling on the leash, she came inside. The deck door was open, exposing just the screen door. She entered the apartment, ears straight up like little satellite dishes, eyes wide, nose in overdrive. She spotted the open deck door, quickly trotted right up to her supposed escape route and ran right into that screen door, her head bouncing right off the screen, leaving her startled and confused as she stared inquisitively at the invisible barrier, feeling quite let down by her elusive escape route.

That whole first day is a blur to me. We signed the paperwork while seated on the floor with our new houseguest stepping all over the papers and sprinkling them with droplets of saliva as she thoroughly explored the living room. She explored very carefully, as if at any moment some inanimate object in the room was going to spring to life, jump out and eat her.

During the signing of the papers, she decided that the couch looked like a good place to lie down, so she stepped up with her front paws before she heard a sharp "no" that startled her back into hypervigilant pacing. As she calmed down more, Angel warmed up to Chris first, coming over to him and giving him sweet little nudges to his hands, asking for some petting. I knew she would come around to me. I had been observing her eyeing me cautiously, trying to decide if I would give her attention or jump out and eat her. She eventually decided I would pet her, which I did. And that's when I fell in love.

When Lori and Luana left we all three just sort of stood around looking at each other: "Now what?" Then it started to sink in: Oh my gosh, there's a dog in our apartment...and we are solely responsible for her well-being for at least the next 12 years. What have we gotten ourselves into?! Actually, Chris was much more calm and laid back about the whole thing. She was very quiet and still tense but also wanting our attention. After a few minutes she jumped right up onto the couch, stretched out to 2/3 the length of the couch and let out a deep sigh. I sat down next to her quietly and she looked up at me, then nudged my hand to get some head petting. Then she laid her head in my lap heavily, accepting me as a safe human to lay on.

We decided on the name Luna, Lu for short, and it only took her a couple of days to learn her new name. She also took over the couch so she is now restricted to her dog beds, though I occasionally invite her up with me when Chris isn't around :)

The rest of Sunday was very stressful, as I was by myself with a nervous nelly and Chris was at work until midnight. It was up to me to teach her everything for the first time; to break her in - and get her to potty outside, which was more challenging than you'd think. She was very nervous, antsy and vigilant, and above all she had yet to grasp the concept of pottying while on the leash (at foster home she had a yard). She didn't potty (number 1) until late at night, after one kennel accident. I think we took her out about 10 unsuccessful times a day for the first couple of days, even though she was clearly on the verge of exploding. She finally did the big 2 the next day with Chris, on her way back inside. She couldn't hold it anymore and laid it right on the pavement, which has began a trend of ONLY doing the #2 on pavement, not grass. I guess we'll tackle one step at a time. At least she's not going in the house.

Later in the evening on Sunday I was so stressed with an anxious dog, wanting so badly for her to just understand that she's safe and that I love her. I felt like I didn't know what I was doing, she wouldn't potty, she wouldn't relax, she didn't know if she was here to stay or here to stay for the weekend. I felt like I was taking care of an infant by myself. It had been a very long day that had no end and required constant attention and patience. I knew it was going to be challenging but this was so hard it was almost comical. I finally hit my breaking point on unsuccessful-outside-potty-trip number ten, and had my first doggy meltdown at about 7pm. I could not wait for Chris to come home so I could get a break! I even considered calling him at the hospital and begging him to come home. But I had a ways to go until midnight and I realized that this was hard for her too, so I decided I had no choice but to keep going.

At about 7:30p I took her for a walk and while she was spooked by a lot of things she eventually settled in and relaxed on the lead. She heeled well and stayed calm, with the exception of being afraid of the fire hydrant that jumped out of nowhere: she was sniffing around by the fire hydrant and all of a sudden she became aware of the tall red and white poll that extended from the top, which apparently was very dangerous to her. This sudden awareness caused her to jump back and twist up in her leash. She had been by that hydrant at least 6 times prior to this, but this time it was a serious threat. She still does that, suddenly developing acute awareness of something that has been there the whole time and she gets startled. However, now she is more curious than nervous and startled.

When we got home from our first walk that evening we both laid on the couch and watched TV and pretty soon we were both sound asleep. There was a doorbell on the TV show that kept ringing, and every time it rang she would snap her head up and eyes open, looking around for the source of the noise. Whenever she heard anything that day she would immediately look at me to gauge my reaction in order to determine if something was worthy of anxiety or not. She did this constantly (using us as an anxiety gauge) for the first few days and it took a lot of acting to help her realize that all those little things and sounds are just normal parts of her life now (e.g. the off-limits bed, the neighbors walking upstairs, the door closing, the washing machine running, the cupboard shutting).

When we woke up from our nap she seemed very different - more relaxed and calm, nudging me for petting and wanting lots of attention. That's when I knew that things were going to be okay and we were in this together, she and I.

THE REST OF THE WEEK

How can I summarize the rest of the week? Well, I'll say that waking up at 5am to let her out after all 3 of us have slept for only a few hours is super fun! Not. She still gets up at about 6:30am to go out but today it was 7:30am so that's an improvement. She wakes up early after sleeping very little and then she's been wide awake in her kennel until we get up at about 11am. However, she doesn't sit quietly in her kennel, waiting patiently for us to sleep. She whines and moves around restlessly, even chewing on the kennel bars. Most importantly she is WIDE AWAKE. We tried putting pillows over our heads, listening to the iPod with earbuds and I even resorted to moving out to sleep on the couch. Twice.

We are still working on the boredom and anxiety in the morning while we are still sleeping, for which we have discovered a temporary solution: melatonin. We read that it was very helpful for a lot of dogs who have anxiety. Turns out, it works! The morning we gave it to her after taking her out at 6am, she sat around in her kennel calm and quiet, happy as a clam. She was "smiling" and panting and completely content to just sit and lay around quietly. It was only 3mg of Melatonin, which is what the literature recommended, but we decided maybe half a tablet would be enough. I'm not sure if we'll continue this, but it helped us FINALLY get a full night's sleep. We were so sleep deprived and exhausted that we had to take turns napping and sleeping. Hopefully that is in the past.

Neither of us can remember much of this week, but we know that today she is a completely different dog. Every day she would become more calm, confident and affectionate. Last night she had this burst of puppy energy and decided to attack her stuffed toy, which we'd never seen her do before (we've been trying to encourage her to play but she hasn't done as much play as she normally did in foster care). She started acting completely nutty and jumping and wanting to play play play! I call it her alter ego, Spazzy.

Not only is she now calm and recognizes us as her leaders and her caretakers, she also has a potty schedule! Every day she does goofy entertaining things and shows more of who she is and we love her more every day. She is SUCH a fast learner and very food motivated. She remembers everything she's been praised or rewarded for and when the treats are out she will go through all of her tricks/commands that she remembers getting rewarded for. For example, she will sit, get a treat, stand up and then sit again. Then she will paw at you (trying to "shake") thinking that's all she has to do to get a reward. If she gets praise for laying down in her bed in the living room, she will get up and go lay on her other bed too! And all she needs to learn that something is not okay is for a gentle but sharp "no" or "aaah" and she stops what she's doing and usually won't do it again.

GASSY WALK ON SUNDAY

Today we took her on the GASSY walk, which is a weekly walk for greyhound owners and their dogs around Lake Harriet. Lu has been to many of these with her foster mom, and we wanted to continue to socialize her so she could observe the other greys doing greyhound things. She could also see how much attention they get from humans and hopefully approach humans confidently as well. It would also be her first time in our car, which we were nervous about and had a very well thought out plan of how to get her in the car if she resisted. We were nervous as we approached the car but when the door opened she hopped right in! Turns out she loves car rides! We underestimate her sometimes.

Dogs truly are pack animals. She did beautifully on the walk. She fit right in with the other hounds and owners. She walked with the pack and was visibly happy and smiling the whole time, gently brushing against the other hound owners for a little ear scratch. She approached people like she'd done it a thousand times before, even approaching a fisherman with his back to her, greeting him with gentle sniffs and nose nudges from behind to his surprise. Maybe she was getting a little too comfortable with strangers.

At one point all the greys and owners went down to the water and the hounds went right in the lake and laid down in the water - plopped right down - so Lu did the same! One grey, a little brindle girl, laid right down in the water and Lu watched and copied her. When the brindle girl got up, Lu got up. When the brindle girl shook herself off, Lu shook herself off, and so on. It was so fun to see her learn from her new friends. I have to add that Lu LOVES puddles. She loves to walk through them and piddle in them. She will go out of her way to walk in water, no matter how dirty.

When we got home from the walk we went to her potty spot, where there are usually puddles in the parking lot from the sprinklers. She splish-splashed her little paws as she pranced happily through the puddles. Then she piddled in the puddle (typical Lu). Then she squatted and I quick tugged her leash to keep moving as Chris and I laughed and shook our heads. Chris insisted she was going to "do the 2" in the puddle but I insisted she was going to try to lay down in the puddle. So just to prove my point I led her back to the puddle and sure enough she sat down. Then she laid down and stretched out in the dirty water. We both burst into laughter, and just as she was about to lay her long neck in the water to cool her head and ears, I pulled her up with a quick "let's go!" That water was a whole lot filthier than I thought. She was SO DIRTY and smelled like it too. We brought her to the bathtub and somehow got her in there (she had no idea what we were trying to get her to do but was very patient with us) and we rinsed her off. She tolerated it. She tolerates most things if she is getting consistent praise for it (brushing, drying her feet, etc) and she stood very still while we dried her off. She pretty much just waits until she is excused from whatever it is we are doing to her and then trots away happily.

She is a completely different dog than she was a week ago and I am so proud of all three of us for getting through the week. We are especially proud of her for how brave she has been and how hard she has worked. It is so wonderful to see her change and grow every day. She truly just wants to please us and works really hard to try to understand what we want her to do, and then repeats it. She is so smart. You can just see the little wheels turning in her head. She still has a ways to go and so many things to experience. We have been reassured that she won't always be shy and apprehensive, so we will just keep working at it. I think we are all three learning together through this process and that makes us a family, I guess. Our little family.

Most recent picture of Lu, taken Sunday night, with her favorite squeaker toy. Like I said, she tolerates whatever we do to her :)

Please feel free to post comments and suggestions to this blog!