The Last Week Has Arrived

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that the last week always seems to get here way too soon.  Ritchie has been amazing to work with and has shown progress every week.  Ritchie picks up commands very fast as long as the training is consistent.  

Ritchie is a very laid back guy who enjoys running and playing as well.  He’s a big ole goofball sometimes.  His inmate trainer is certain that Ritchie is going to make a great pet.  He’s gentle and well behaved.  You’ll find yourself smiling even on your bad days!  

Training Away Swap Week

It’s swap week time and Ritchie did great spending time away from his primary inmate trainer! Ritchie’s alternate inmate trainer said that Ritchie is a smart, fun, and laid back boy.  He knows all of his basic commands and really enjoys the yummy treat rewards.  After each training session they’d have a little playtime.  At first Ritchie wasn’t really into playing with toys but after his third for fourth day he started warming up to the toy idea!  

Ritchie is friendly with the other inmates, Greyhounds, and staff.  His alternate inmate trainer says that he really enjoyed his time with Ritchie.  He believes the Ritchie is going to make a great addition to his new forever family! 

Walking the Retirement Path

Ritchie has been working on the duration of “stay”.  He does really well for the first few minutes then seems to get distracted.  He knows all of his commands as well as a few extras with verbal and hand signal cues.  His inmate trainer is proud to report that Ritchie now knows: bow, kiss, shake, leave it and drop it! 

Ritchie’s inmate trainer believes that Ritchie is going to make his new family very happy!  

A Little Treat Reward

Hey this is Ritchie.  I can be a little shy with new people, but I warm up fast especially if you have treats!  I’ve been working with an inmate trainer on these basic commands things.  He pays me in treats so they must be pretty important.  I know all the basics and have been working on “jump” and stairs.  I don’t mind coming down the stairs, but climbing up makes me a little hesitant.  They just seem so daunting.  

I enjoy running with my fellow Greyhounds and I’m not possessive of my toys.  I enjoy learning new things and working with my inmate trainer.  He was telling me that I’ll be going to a forever home after training is over.  I’m not sure what that is, but it sounds great!  So I’ll be dreaming of soft beds, loving humans, and treats from here on out!

Smart, Curious, and Amazing

Ritchie’s inmate trainer is proud to report that Ritchie knows all of his commands!  He’s a little slower with “stay” and “jump” but he understands and is following through.  When Ritchie first comes out of his kennel he is very motivated to do his commands.

Ritchie doesn’t get very excited over toys.  He will grab a toy and run away with it.  He seems to want to bury it somewhere or retreat someplace where he can play with it on his own. Ritchie is a very curious boy.  The old saying “curiosity killed the cat”, yea well Ritchie should be glad he’s a dog!  So far Ritchie hasn’t shown any aggression which makes his inmate trainer very happy!  

One Wonderful Boy!

Ritchie is making progress!  He’s figured out that following through with the “sit” command rewards him with dinner!  Ritchie could care less about the bed so his inmate trainer is working to make it a rewarding place to be.  He’s doing really well with all of his commands and his inmate trainer believes that he is going to know all of his commands in plenty of time for graduation.  “Bow,” “shake,” and “kiss” have been recently introduced.  He’s still a little slow responding, but will have them figured out soon.

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that Ritchie has a way of touching his heart without even trying and he loves spending his days with this wonderful boy.

Gentle and Loving

Ritchie is showing great improvement!  This week he and his inmate trainer have been working on: sit, down, bed, and stay.  Ritchie is doing really well with the recall command with a treat reward.  

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that while Ritchie is a funny goofball he also is a very gentle and loving boy.  He hasn’t shown any interest in toys yet, but his inmate trainer believes that day is coming because his ears shoot up whenever hears a squeaky.  So far he just sniffs them and moves on.  

When Ritchie arrived at the prison he had Happy Tail.  His inmate trainer is proud to report that it is healing very well!  This week Ritchie got his nails trimmed and it wasn’t his favorite part of the day.  His inmate trainer believes this will improve as they trim his nails more and he gets use to the process.

New Years!

Ritchie and his inmate trainer had a great week!  They stayed up together and watched the Ball Drop and rang in the New Year in style!  They all have New Years resolutions and his trainer's is the very popular resolution to lose weight.  Ritchie said he would like to try and cut back on the treats, but his inmate trainer told him that he really needed to learn most of his basic commands first.  His inmate trainer says that her really just gave Ritchie a good excuse not to back off his treats!

Ritchie worked on stairs this week and wasn’t too crazy about them. No worries though, they'll keep working on the stairs and Ritchie's confidence will improve!  Ritchie is doing really well with the “wait” and “kennel” commands as well as with his leash manners.  He’s a little slow responding to “here,” “sit,” “down,” and “stay” but he’ll have these figured out soon!  

His inmate trainer says that he’s having a great time working with Ritchie and believes he’s going to make a wonderful pet.  

Changing Their Futures

Ritchie and his inmate trainer are having a great time getting to know each other!  His inmate trainer says that Ritchie reminds him of his son when he was two and wanted to touch and see everything!  He says that he does not wish prison on anyone, but he can’t think of anything better than training Greyhounds.  He says that he loves what he does and prison seems non-existent when he’s spending time with the Greys.  

So far Ritchie is doing great and showing no signs of aggression.  He is an energetic boy who knows his name well and is doing a good job leash walking.  He’s doing great with waiting at thresholds and his response to the heel and sit commands are improving!  

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that it is really amazing to watch all the Greyhounds come in for 10 weeks of training.  It’s rewarding to see a dog that only knows racing to learn how to become a loving pet!

Welcome to Training!

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that he loves the first week watching the Greyhounds and getting to know them.  Ritchie is an easy going guy who doesn’t mind having his teeth brushed or his fur groomed.  When he arrived at the prison he had a slight case of happy tail, but it seems to be healing fine.  (Happy tail is an injury that occurs when a dog wags its tail rapidly knocking it against a hard surface, like a wall or door.  Sometimes the tail will split and bleed.  It doesn’t happen to all Greyhounds and healing can take a little more time since it’s a constantly moving body part.) 

Ritchie’s inmate trainer says that he is looking forward to the upcoming training days with this sweet boy!  His friendly and loving personality won his inmate trainer over in just a few short days.  His trainer says that he can tell that Ritchie is going to make a great pet for some very lucky family!