The Final Week

The final week is coming to an end.  Ferris has come for far in these past ten weeks.  Her inmate trainer says that it has been a wonderful privilege to see her personality to come to life.  She is a fun and loveable girl who is going to excel outside of the prison environment.  She is doing great with her commands and will perform them for anyone.  She has become very playful during yard time.  The yard is her favorite place and she loves to run and play with toys, well until she gets bored.  Early in the program she didn’t like to give up her toys, but after weeks of working on the “trade game” she doesn’t mind giving them up now. 

Her inmate trainer believes that the biggest part of Ferris becoming happy is giving her time to adjust and trust.  Once she becomes comfortable her happiness will shine through making her truly hard to resist.  Prepare yourselves to fall in love!   

Ferris is very good about her kennel.  She will “sit” and “wait” to go in!  She will also “sit” and “wait” at meal time!  While exiting the kennel she will “wait” until told she can exit.  Her inmate trainer says that he can reach into her food bowl while she’s eating and she doesn’t protest. 

Ferris is most playful in the mornings and loves to chase small and medium size balls.  Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is a great dog who is fun and loving.  He’s going to miss her and hopes that her new home offers her more love and attention that she ever dreamed of.  

Graduation Countdown

Ferris and her inmate trainer have continued to work on all of her commands.  Her inmate trainer is proud to report that Ferris will sit in a loud environment and is doing great with the “sit” and “down” commands!  She is also doing all of her commands without treats! She recalls well in a quiet sitting, but has a hard time with this command outside.  He says it is great to see her becoming more playful.  She is shy with new people but after spending some time with them she opens up with them. 

Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is a loving and happy girl.  He’s going to miss her when she leave, but is thankful for his training time with her. 

Running And Playing

Ferris spent the week with an alternate inmate trainer.  She was a bit shy in her new surroundings, but adjusted well by the end of the week.  She gets along with the other Greyhounds and enjoys running, playing and digging holes in the sand.  She gets along with everyone, but she is not a fan of the loud radios and keys.  

This week her alternate handler went over the basic commands and worked on leash skills.  Ferris is doing really well with her commands!  Her inmate trainers believe that life outside of prison will be much easier for this sweet girl.  They hope that she finds a family who will shower her with love and attention.  

Discovering Toys

Another great week for Ferris and her inmate trainer goes in the books!  For the first time since training began their bond has come alive.  Ferris started seeking affection from her trainer!  Her favorite thing to do is to put her head in his lap for attention.  Another big accomplishment is that Ferris has discovered toys!!  Her trainer says that he may have been more joyful over this discovery than Ferris was.  He was so happy over the toy discovery that he called anyone nearby over to witness the event!  

Ferris is doing exceedingly well with her sit, down, and stay commands.  Her inmate trainer has been working to replace the treat reward with a praise reward and Ferris continues to perform really well! 

Her inmate trainer says that prison offers very little joy in daily life, but training Ferris has changed that for him.  He has a family member who has been sick and Ferris has helped to keep his spirits up and a smile on his face.  

Well Mannered

Ferris is starting to let her personality show!  She is becoming more bright and playful!  Her inmate trainer is working to keep her training happy and fun and is enjoying watching her grow and change into a truly wonderful girl!  

The first of the week started off with an upset tummy for Ferris. Her trainer backed her food down to 1/2 a cup three times a day to try to help her feel better.  She was feeling much better by the end of the week and back in training mode! 

Her trainer has been working to wean her off the treat reward, but Ferris is not so sure this is a good idea.  She can complete all of her basic commands with ease and will "stay" and recall from about twenty feet!  They worked on the stairs again this week and as expected Ferris went crazy over them!  She loves the stairs!  She also loves humans and toys!  When she is laying in her bed she's not a fan of other dogs walking to close.  Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is so well mannered and lovable that you can hug and play with her in any way!  He just knows that she is going to make her new family very happy!  

Calm, Sweet And Loving

This week Ferris spent some time with her alternate handler and she accepted the transition with ease!  While in her environment she is relaxed, calm, and mild mannered.  When she's taken out of her comfort zone she becomes shy.  She is still not a fan of loud noises and takes her time warming up to unfamiliar people.  With that being said she is very capable of adapting to new experiences.  Once she becomes comfortable she is not afraid to stick her nose in for some love!  

Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is becoming more playful everyday!  He says that when her ears perk up and she tilts her head to the side that there is no prettier dog.     

Her inmate trainer says that the secret to successful training is treats!  He works two sessions a day; one with kibble treats and the other with turkey treats. He says that an unquestioned level of eagerness is given with the turkey treats  are part of the reward!  Ferris becomes a different dog when the yummy turkey treats are up! 

They are currently working on extending the range for "here" and "stay." She gets excited to do the stairs and to jump on and off the bench.  "Paws up" works best near the windows because she's so interested in what's going on around her.  She loves to approach other dogs and lay her head on them.  She is showing some interest in toys!  

Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is a very sweet, calm and loving Greyhound.  He believes that she is going to make some lucky family very happy!  

Playing and Learning

Hello friends!  My name is Ferris and I've recently retired from racing.  I'm currently learning new things so that I'm ready to retire as pet in a forever home.  I'm not really sure what a forever home is, but my inmate trainer tells me that I'll receive lots of love there.  This has me pretty excited so I've been working really hard to learn everything I can.  This week I figured out bow, jump and off!  I also played fun game of tennis with one of my fellow Greyhound buddies this week.  My inmate trainer says it was too cute to watch us moving the ball around with our paws and muzzles.  

I'm getting used to the noises and movements here at the prison.  I'm still a little shy, but I'm coming around.  

Sweetheart

Ferris has had an amazing week!  She is starting to become more active during recreation time, playing, running and interacting with the other greyhounds in a playful manner. 

Her inmate trainer says that Ferris has a remarkable ability to learn!  She is becoming more relaxed in her environment and her attention is becoming more focused.  This focus allows for more productive training.  Her sit, down, and recall commands are getting much better! They're even up to 20 feet with the recall command! She understands the wait command at doorways.  Her inmate trainer is working to teach her to wait at the threshold even after he's walked through the doorway.   She also knows to wait outside her kennel in a sitting position until she's given the command to enter and eat!  

Her inmate trainer says that she is a very gentle greyhound.  He believes that she is going to make a wonderful addition to a lucky family! 

Moving Forward

Wow! What a great first full week of training!  Ferris is a beautiful, smart, alert, and shy girl.  Her inmate trainer is enjoying watching Ferris emerge from her shell.  She is starting to socialize with the other Greyhounds and will now lay down, relax, and stay on the beds made for them in the dayroom floor.  A week ago she wouldn't even think about laying on them much less staying in the busy dayroom!  

She has adapted to her new schedule perfectly, eating all of her food at meal times and potting during potty breaks.  Ferris is not a runner and does one good sprint around the field during recreation time after which she wants to lay around and take it easy.  Her inmate trainer says that can be a little lazy!  

Ferris is making great progress with training!  She is sitting on command, waiting on command and doing great with down! She already also knows let's go, kennel and release really well!

Her inmate trainer is looking forward to the weeks ahead with Ferris!

Preparing For Life Beyond The Race Track

Ferris is an alert girl who responds well to her name.  She already knows the "kennel" command and is doing well with "wait" and needs very little coaching with the "sit" command.  She doing great with leash walking and responds well to "Ferris, let's go."

Her inmate trainer says that Ferris is more than just a beautiful Greyhound, she is a very smart sweet girl who seems a little shy.  She hasn't shown any interest in toys yet, but this may change as she becomes more comfortable.  

Her inmate trainer is looking forward to the training days ahead!