Ella farewell

This will be a somewhat bitter sweet update about Ella.  One of our previous adopters fell in love with her last week at the Meet and Greet, and after talking it over decided to make her part of their pack!  I'm so happy for her and for them.

Maybe it was the fact that she flops over for belly rubs, or her beautiful face, or her waggy tail and sweet temperment; but she found her 'fur-ever' home.

You can have the same "Love sat first sight" experience too!  Check out our calendar of events for a Meet and Greet near you.  You'll know instantly, as they seem to know you need them as much as they need you!

So farewell, sweet girl.  You will love your new family and greyhound siblings and I know we'll see eachother again.

XOXO

Fostering Ella

Ella joined my Floody and I on Thursday evening, after she graduated from our Prison Partnership.  As you can see from her previous blogs, she is an adorable, little girl.  She looks so much like Floody that my neighbors have been a little confused!

Here are a few first impressions:  she mastered going upstairs by Friday morning; a little reluctant going down, but she's figured out if she wants to be with us, she needs to learn.  She already follows foster brother, Floody's lead in standing by the front door for her leash to be put on so we can take our walks.  She is very good on leash, which is important as I do not have a fenced yard.  She is a chow-hound and the slow feed bowl is ideal for her.  She loves belly rubs and will roll over onto her back automatically for one.

I do need to work with her on her commands.  It isn't unusual for the pups to take a bit of adjustment from their usual routine, but she will, sit, down, shake, heel, stay and bed just fine.

She is a happy girl, waggy tail and content in her new environment.

Today we will be at the PetCo in Buford, across from The Mall of Georgia from 2-4, so please stop by to see her and our other available retired racers.

7/21/13

Sweet Cream brings happiness to so many. In the mornings, when the inmates are waiting to be released for work, she will be lying in the middle of the floor in a roach position and no-one can resist patting  her tummy as they go by! Everyone leaves the dorm with a smile on their face. There isn't a person that Sweet Cream doesn't like. She has a great, outgoing, friendly disposition. She's a playful girl. She's great at catching pieces of kibble and she's up to 12 in a row! Her handler says Sweet Cream is her perfect and ideal greyhound. She has no doubt that her forever family will quickly fall completely in love with this sweet girl.

7/14/13

M's Sweet Cream is an absolute joy and will be hard to say goodbye to. Whoever adopts her is getting "one of the best greys ever"! All of her commands are good. This week they added "speak" as a way to get her to understand "quiet." She learned it very quickly and also responded to quiet. Her handler uses the verbal speak or a hand signal (moving hand in a talking motion). This girl can be prone to excitable greetings but if ignored she calms down. If she tries to jump, a stern "no" will usually put her in a sit position. She does great with the other greyhounds. She also loves to play with toys and will entertain herself by throwing a toy around and in the air, catching it!

7/7/13

Sweet Cream is continuing to do great with all her commands. Now another has been added to her repertoire: sleep. After going into a down, she will flop over! The signal is her handler moving her hand toward the floor, to the side. She had already mastered lap (handler pats lap), and paws up (handler points to surface). This girl can be lively at toy playtime or mealtimes, but if it's too energetic, she responds well to correction. She went to another dorm for the weekend switch this past week and the girls there loved her and all commented how much fun she was.

6/30/13

M's Sweet Cream has a long list of commands she knows well, including lap, paws and settle. She's a bit slower to shake paws with you but will do so. She's certainly not slow at responding to here, which she sometimes does with zeal, or at greeting her handler when she's been out.  She corrects well by being ignored and made to sit, which she does immediately to get her treat! The family that adopts Sweet Cream is going to be so happy to have her. 

6/23/13

What a perfect pet M's Sweet Cream is going to be, says her handler. She follows virtually everywhere and even if she wanders off, she comes immediately on being called. A favorite game now is catching kibble. She's really good at it and concentrates hard on her handler's hand. Her record right now is 12 catches in a row. She's doing well with her training, though is reluctant to shake paws so far. Her down/stay was a challenge, so she's started by learning stay from her bed and will now stay from 20 feet. Her handler is going to start working on the same but from her lying on the ground now. Sweet Cream is fearless. She's very enthusiastic about the jump command on the jump tables and has since seemed once or twice to be looking for other things to jump on or over! Her handler has kept a watchful eye to make sure she is good. She's firm, and Sweet Cream responds really well to correction. This sweet girl is easygoing and tolerant of being touched in any position. She also doesn't pay any attention if another grey walks over her or lies close to her. She's very friendly and playful, but calms easily. She's exactly the dog her handler hopes to have when she goes home and adopts her own greyhound.

6/16/13

M's Sweet Cream is a peppy girl and enjoys her walks. With treats, she is great at all of her commands and she's now being weaned off that kibble incentive. She now does a few extras including lap and paws up. Her excitement when ready to get out of the kennel has really calmed a lot. If she's standing, her handler won't let her out until she's lying down (using the settle command) she's getting really good at automatically lying back down on her own. Sweet Cream continues to be so sweet and fun. She is full of personality.

6/9/13

Sweet Cream has had a great week. She continues to be such a joy. She's her handler's ideal greyhound and has all the characteristics her handler is looking for in her own greyhound pet when she goes home. She's very friendly with everyone and super smart. She can be playful but also is just as happy lying on her bed and going to sleep for a couple of hours. Her training continues to progress and she has started to work on the lap command, which she's starting to get. Sweet Cream loves to show her tummy, no matter where she is, and she's starting to do so on command ("show me the belly!"). This past weekend she visited another dorm and they were excited to have her. She's loved wherever she goes.

6/2/13

Sweet Cream is very smart. She responds quickly and positively to training and has perfected her sit, with bed and down underway. She pulls a bit but will correct herself to a heel position when her handler stops. For calming this girl's excitement before she gets out of her kennel, her handler uses the command "settle," then she is not permitted to move until released with the OK command. She's picked up on this quickly and will correct herself while her handler stands and waits. Sweet Cream continues to be very friendly, easily approaching everyone. She also gets along well with the labs she has met. She responds well to "here" when she goes wandering in the dorm. This girl has loads of fun with toys and entertains herself tossing plush toys in the air. While her handler is busy, she spends a lot of time just lying quietly near her, though she's always ready to roll over on her back to invite a tummy rub if someone walks by! Her handler says she is her ideal greyhound.

5/26/13

M's Sweet Cream is very friendly and her training is coming along well. She gets excited when it's time to come out of her kennel, so is being trained to stay lying down until the door is open, her leash is on and she's released. She's picking up on it quickly. She sits easily on her bed and is now being trained to sit on the ground. Her stay, shake and wait responses are going well, just a little slow but she follows through. Sweet Cream spent two nights next door in the other dorm and she did really well. Everyone there fell in love with her.

First Impressions - 5/19/13

M's Sweet Cream is one of the friendliest dogs they have at the  compound. She loves everyone and her tail wags a mile a minute. She really enjoys having her tummy rubbed and will roll on her back at any time to achieve this. She is fine with grooming and especially likes the massaging while her ears are being cleaned. This happy, outgoing girl is eager to please, enjoys hugs and is a sweet, lovable hound.