Next Adventure...Forever Home

Missy. Missy. Missy. Where to start.  Missy’s trainer said he’s enjoyed every minute with Missy! She’s a true sweetheart!  It’s amazing the transformation she has went through.  She does her commands with no problem.  Goes up to so many people with her tail wagging, wanting to be petted, rubbed and loved on.

Missy is such a happy dog and is always up for a new adventure.  Now she is about to have the biggest adventure of her life.  I hope that you enjoy your time with Missy. She’s a sweetie pie!  Best wishes from her trainers.  You are going to love her!

Magical Missy

Greetings from Swap Week Island! This week the greyhounds spent their time with another trainer to test for separation anxiety, and Miss Missy had none at all! She is a very sweet girl and really playful. She loves to go in the training room and is great at performing all of her basic commands. She did an amazing job during show and tell. I gotta tell ya, Missy is the missing link in your family! She will make a wonderful family pet; Missy loves to give kisses and shows so much affection. Running on the big yard is another favorite activity, and especially if she gets to run with her greyhound pals. Eating yummy treats (peanut butter kibble, marshmallows) is always a blast for her - who doesn’t love to eat!

She’s a very calm, gentle dog and likes to lie down next to her human pals and watch TV. Friendly and sweet, she has shown no signs of aggression whatsoever. Final testing is coming up soon and she is going to pass with flying colors! Well, closing up for now - stay tuned for the next entry in the life of Missy!

Lust for Life

The training team had a few visitors come by this past week to see how the hounds are progressing, and to hear all about the program from the perspective of the trainers! Missy did so well on her commands. Sit was the hardest to learn (always is for greyhounds) but she did it easily on the first try, and even did another one on her own without her trainer even having to ask! She also did down, leave it, stay, let’s go, heel, here and bed with no problems at all. Missy has come a long way and is doing great, especially these last few weeks.

She also got to run a lot this week, which she LOVES to do. She is energetic and easily excitable, so running and playing with toys help her burn off some of that lust for life. She is a very happy dog who enjoys meeting new people, getting food and being petted and rubbed. Ah, the simple joys of greyhound life.

This coming week she will spend an ENTIRE week away from her trainer with a new one to test for separation anxiety. Hey, is this some kind of early Halloween prank?!

Stay tuned to hear how she does during swap week! Her trainer can’t believe she’ll be leaving soon, but he is so grateful that she will be going to a loving home - yours!

Sitting Pretty

Missy’s inmate trainer says that it’s still amazing and surprising when one of the greyhounds he’s trained “sits” and “downs” for the first time without assistance.  He says it’s such a rewarding feeling!  It makes him want to jump for joy.  

He explains that the “sit” command is a little more difficult for the greys due to all the muscles they have in their hindquarters.  He says that “down” is a more submissive command which they need trust in order to follow through.  The treats never hurt either! 

Missy is doing well with her training.  She knows all of her commands and is a little slow following through with a few, but she’s just thinking them through.  He says that by the time she graduates she’ll have them down pat.  

Love Bug

One thing Missy’s trainer has been working on a good bit with her is being on her day bed, either out in the room or in the training area and leaving her while he goes somewhere else - he is trying to make sure that she stays on the bed even when he is gone. She has gotten so good at this! It will help when you adopt her and don’t want her following you every time you get up to go somewhere (we all know greyhounds are Velcro dogs… “hello, I see you are in the bathroom. May I help by staring intently at you?”). Missy is such a good girl!

Hot tip: Missy looooves it when you rub and pet the side of her neck or chest while she lies down. Don’t be surprised if you do this and she rolls onto her back with all four feet in the air! She is a little bit spoiled, I can’t lie. Once you stop petting, she looks up at you with those big sweet dinner plate sized eyes and asks “why’d you stop?!” You are going to love having this sweet baby in your life! She is such a love bug.

That’s all for this week, so tune in next week for more updates on Missy the Wonder-Dog!

Gentle Gal

Well this is week five with Missy, and everything is progressing just perfectly. She is working diligently on the sit command and seems to understand the concept. It's just a matter of making it happen, which is tough for greyhounds. Her primary and secondary trainers work on commands daily but usually at feeding time is the best time, because she's a food-motivated gal. She is an excitable dog who loves to play and enjoys being around people. Her trainers have also noted that she shows no aggression toward any of her fellow hounds when playing. She is a great girl with a lot of love to give back!

Sweet Girl

This week was Missy’s first show and tell and she did goo! She was a little distracted (understandably) with all the dogs around her, but has already made improvements since show and tell.

Overall, Missy is doing really well. She already knows let’s go, heel, leave it, stay, bed, etc. Now it is just a matter of refining these, getting her to do them better. She is still working on sit and down, which are two of the toughies, but it is only week four. And since they’re normally the hardest commands, it is normal for them to take longer to master. Look at those long legs! It’s not easy to sit down with those toothpicks.

Missy has also been working on stair training and so far she goes up and down stairs with no problem. She still loves to run with the other dogs and play with toys, which helps burn off some of her energy.

Well, this is all from this week! Stay tuned for more of her adventure, and take care.

Outgoing Girl

Picture it… Missy in a room with 15 other Greyhounds…. distractions galore and Missy nailed her commands like a champ!  The ladies from SCG stopped by to see how training was progressing and Missy brought her A game!

She’s learning a few new commands and picking them up fast.  Sit and down are usually the hardest for them to learn so her inmate trainer is saving those for last.  

Her inmate trainer says that training Missy is a real treat.  She’s happy, eager to learn, and loves meeting new people. You know, it could have something to do with all that attention humans lavish on her.  There’s nothing shy or reserved about this girl! 

Friendly Faces Everywhere!

This week, Missy got introduced to a LOT! She got to go to the big yard and run with the other dogs on her team. She likes to run and play with her fellow lengthy classmates. She also got to play with toys, and it did not take her long to figure out that these are something you can chase when someone throws them for you! She loves to toss them in the air and grab them and chew on them. Some of them even make noises! That’s a bonus for Missy.

Missy is learning that when her trainer says “give”, if she gives the toy she gets a treat in return. In the end, the treat will fade out and the reward will be a rub on the head or scratch on the neck.

She was introduced to a few more commands this week. She is doing well on “heel” already, and she is so cute when she does it! The way she does it, it looks like you pressed a reset button on a robot greyhound. She also has been working on “wait” which you can use at any threshold - she’ll stop and wait until you tell her or give her a signal that it is okay to keep moving.

Missy is such a beautiful, happy, friendly and curious dog. She loves to meet new people and is the furthest thing from shy imaginable. Well, this is it for this week, but stay tuned for more adventures! Take care.

Tail Wagging, Happy Girl

Missy had a busy first weekend.  She came into her new temporary home with her tail wagging, happy and curious.  She seemed to take to everything in stride. She got a bath, ears cleaned, nails trimmed and teeth brushed, all without a fuss.  After all of that she settled into her kennel nicely.

After all of that, Missy got to walk around the entire dorm exploring and getting used to her new home for 10 weeks.  The first few days are mainly getting to know each other and to work on simple things. She is a very good leash walker from the start and learning “let’s go” means we are moving together in the same direction.  

Kennel training was also introduced this week.  Her trainer is working with Missy on going into her kennel and “waiting” to come out when the door is opened.  She’s catching on and her trainer said Missy is a sweet girl and is going to be fun to train.  Check back next week for the adventures of magnificent Missy!