Happiness is a fluffy yellow bunny.

Turk is our new foster hound and we are in love!  He came to our home a few weeks ago so that Dr. Carol could foster several other greys.

This is a precious little boy!  He is a little shy at times but warms up quickly and is super confident when he is sure of his surroundings.  He LOVES his stuffies and gathers them around his bed.  Turk runs up and down our stairs while our other two greys are carefully tip toeing up and down!

He is a snuggler and loves to lean in for a head scratch.  He is a happy little boy!  Photos and more to follow!

Turk meets small dogs and a kitty

A friend visited here for a couple of days and brought 2 small dogs and a kitty cat along with some greyhounds.  It was the PERFECT chance to check Turk's tolerance of small critters!

He'd met cats and small dogs at the clinic and at M&G's but, since he was nervous and anxious, it's hard to know if he was just too distracted to show his "real feelings".

Here at the house, though, he's a lot more relaxed, and he really saw them and really knew they were little critters.  Perfect testing time!!

First he met a beautiful fluffy chocolate-colored cat - yum yum, chocolate, lol.

 Please don't let her bite me!

If I stand real still, maybe she won't see me.

You don't smell like chocolate.

If I don't look at her, maybe she'll just go away.

 OK, so the cat-testing went well!  Turk showed no interest in Chocolate (yes, that's her name), and was never fixed or focused on her.  Turk appears to be cat-safe!

The next day, we let Turk meet the two small dogs.  Only Annie came over to meet him.

Whassat?

Rug rat?

Annie wanted to get to know Turk.

Sniff sniff...

Turk was not as interested in getting to know Annie.

Are we done yet???

Turk showed no aggression or interest in the small dog.  He appears to be small-dog safe as well.

Yea, Turk!

Always remember, though, that how a greyhound reacts to a smaller animal INDOORS can be very different from how they react to THE SAME animal OUTSIDE. 

Even small-animal-safe greyhounds may not recognize an indoor companion when they're outside.  Sudden movements or odd sounds by small pets can trigger the prey drive in an otherwise "safe" hound, and it can quickly lead to tragedy.

NEVER trust your greyhound outdoors with a small dog or cat!  

Settling

Turk's settling in well.  He's sure a different hound from the unsure and timid boy that came home with me 2 weeks ago.  He's more confident here at the house and he's much better about me walking up to him.  He's showing his fun side with stuffies and attention seeking.  He's learned our "routine" and has adopted it as his own... like treats!!

When I leave the house now, he's loose with my hounds and not muzzled.  Normally that's very risky with a 2 year old.  They can get into EVERYTHING and can be full of mischief.  Turk has been perfect.  Time will tell if this is a "honeymoon" period but his first full week out and loose has been flawless.

Away from home, he's still pretty anxious.  We went to his 2nd M&G today.  He loads and rides great in the van - lays right down now and relaxes.  Car rides are not a problem for Turk!

At the M&G he was better about meeting people than last week, but still panting.  He met 2 small dogs and did well with them.  Yea, Turk!  He seemed pretty uneasy around the goldfish, though!! 
::: shaking head :::    GOLDFISH!!!   Scary little piranhas!!!

Turk is such a loving boy.  Every day now, he says good night... and good morning... like this...

Good night, sweet Turk.

First week - how'd I do?

Turk's first week here has been a good one! He's been amazingly well-behaved for a 2 year old, and has a growing list of accomplishments.

His housebreaking has been perfect...ly amazing, lol.  No "accidents".  Period.  Even when left loose in the house while I'm gone.

Despite his nervousness in new places, he will "go" on lead!  He'll be much happier in a fenced yard, but it's nice to know he can be walked as well.

Turk didn't like the stairs much at first, but he quickly learned from the other hounds and he now flies up and down them fearlessly.

He's shown no interest in counter-surfing.

He's made no effort to chew things - except stuffies.  So far, shoes, books, furniture have all been safe..

He does like stuffies and nibbles at them, so I'm keeping an eye on that.  Some greyhounds really chew their toys and can hurt themselves by swallowing pieces.  Mostly, he just carries them and moves them around.  Look what he did in the middle of the night last night!!  I woke up to an empty stuffie-box!

Like many shy dogs, Turk wouldn't take a treat from my hand for the first few days .  I had to gently open his mouth, and actually put his nightly treat in his mouth, and then close his mouth around it!!  After about 3 days of that, he decided to risk taking it, lol, and now he's as eager as everyone else to get his nightly chew treat! 

Also, at first, it was hard to get him to his food dish in the kitchen.  Too scary.  Too new.  Too many thing nearby.  He ran to the back of the house.  Now?  He waits in the kitchen and goes to his dish without help!  From his first meal, he's always cleaned his bowl.  He eats great!


He's very comfortable with all my greyhounds, and follows their lead.  He just enjoys being with them.

The heavy rain today didn't bother him at all!  Instead of making a quick U-turn and running back inside, he followed Rising down the stairs and they were out for several minutes in the downpour.  He was a soggy doggy when he came in!!

So... what hasn't gone so well?  Turk does not crate well all by himself.  He went from "fine" on day 1, to bending the crate door and breaking one of the carabineers I was using to help keep it closed on day 4.  In his original home he crated well with other greyhounds nearby but, since I don't crate mine, he was alone and hated it.

My solution has been to not crate him.  I've left him loose in the house with my own hounds for the last 3 days.  The first 2 days, he was muzzled.  Today he was not muzzled.  It's been very successful so far.  He's much more relaxed and he's been very good - no soiling and no damaging mischief - even with my 5 hour absence.

Also, Turk is still very uneasy being approached.  He comes right up to me if I'm sitting or laying down, but not so much if I'm standing.  People standing up seem more intimidating to him than if they're closer to eye level. 

This shy boy has made far more progress than I was expecting for just a week.  Each success will lead to another.  Watching him grow will be like watching a flower bloom!!

Will close with 2 of my favorite pictures from his first week...

Turk's first M&G

Going to a M&G is a routine thing for some greyhounds, but for a shy dog it can be a very scary experience.  I'm delighted to report that Turk handled the event better than I expected!

He was nervous at first - both in the car and when we first arrived.

But, as more hounds arrived and more people touched him, he relaxed more and we stayed a full 2 hours!

Way to go, Turk!!!  Score! for his confidence level, and he was a happy boy heading home!

I might have a girlfriend!

Ummm,  It's me... Turk. 

On my first day here, I met this cute little fawn girl, Essie.  ::: blush ::::  She said she was real shy, too, so she knew how everything was pretty scary for me.  She made me feel better about all these new things.

Then we went outside, just the two of us, and she asked if I wanted to run with her.  Ummm.  I'm a greyhound, sweetie, and I love to run!  {{{ As long as I feel safe, of course }}}  So I said "yes", even though I was still a little nervous with that human so close.  

We had the best time!! 

That's me.  I think I'm pretty handsome ;-)

 

By the time we stopped, I felt better.  Maybe things weren't as scary as I thought.

 

And I might have girlfriend  ::: blush blush :::