Day 3 – Monday, January 25, 2010
I have to go to work. Fred is retired and gets to stay home with Tari. I consider him very lucky. I want to stay home too. I get up a 5:15 am and take Tari out for her first walk of the morning and fed her for the first time outside of her crate. She would only come down the hallway and stopped at the end of the rug, so that is where I fed her.
Working on the wood floor issue
We decided to try placing small area rugs spaced about two feet apart to see if she would use them. She did, but hesitated. Our plan is to slowly move them farther and farther apart. Let’s see what happens. One thing that we have come to realize is that you have to let your Grey come around on his or her terms. Trying to rush the process is not the best practice, it will only frighten the dog and may even traumatize them to the point that they will never get over their issue(s).
My husband took her out for a walk this afternoon; they ran into the neighbor she met when she first arrived. Seems like she remembered him and showed a lot of enthusiasm. Another surprise was while on their walk, the UPS man stopped, got out of his truck and gave Tari a biscuit. I think they will be friends for life!
Training not to beg while we eat
At dinner tonight we are going to start to work on teaching her not to beg or go after our food while we are eating. We figured that this was going to be quite a challenge. So we ate in the great room in front of the TV on TV trays… Pizza. This was going to be a real test. She would approach the table and try to reach for the plate with the pizza. We would gently move her nose away and say "NO”. Not harshly, but with definite firmness. She did keep coming back. Finally I held her back by the collar with one hand and ate my pizza using the other hand. When I felt her not pushing toward me, I let go of her and she walked over to her quilt and lie down. She stayed here throughout our entire meal. We were shocked. This was way too easy. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time we eat off the TV trays. It would be hard to believe that she trained this easily. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Day 4 – Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wood Floor progress
Well, this morning the rug strategy appears to be working. She came out on her own but will not step on the floor. She is also only going one way. We have to get the leash and lead her back the other way. By the time I got home from work, she was stepping on the wood part of the floor and not realizing it.
There have been some additional encounters with the Guinn the cat, nose to nose and actually touching. Guinn did not run and Tari was not chasing. This is good.
Working on the wood floor issue
We decided to try placing small area rugs spaced about two feet apart to see if she would use them. She did, but hesitated. Our plan is to slowly move them farther and farther apart. Let’s see what happens. One thing that we have come to realize is that you have to let your Grey come around on his or her terms. Trying to rush the process is not the best practice, it will only frighten the dog and may even traumatize them to the point that they will never get over their issue(s).
My husband took her out for a walk this afternoon; they ran into the neighbor she met when she first arrived. Seems like she remembered him and showed a lot of enthusiasm. Another surprise was while on their walk, the UPS man stopped, got out of his truck and gave Tari a biscuit. I think they will be friends for life!
Training not to beg while we eat
At dinner tonight we are going to start to work on teaching her not to beg or go after our food while we are eating. We figured that this was going to be quite a challenge. So we ate in the great room in front of the TV on TV trays… Pizza. This was going to be a real test. She would approach the table and try to reach for the plate with the pizza. We would gently move her nose away and say "NO”. Not harshly, but with definite firmness. She did keep coming back. Finally I held her back by the collar with one hand and ate my pizza using the other hand. When I felt her not pushing toward me, I let go of her and she walked over to her quilt and lie down. She stayed here throughout our entire meal. We were shocked. This was way too easy. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time we eat off the TV trays. It would be hard to believe that she trained this easily. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Day 4 – Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wood Floor progress
Well, this morning the rug strategy appears to be working. She came out on her own but will not step on the floor. She is also only going one way. We have to get the leash and lead her back the other way. By the time I got home from work, she was stepping on the wood part of the floor and not realizing it.
There have been some additional encounters with the Guinn the cat, nose to nose and actually touching. Guinn did not run and Tari was not chasing. This is good.
Training not to beg
We decided to eat off the TV trays again tonight. Tari showed interest and Fred only had to say “NO” once and she went over to her bed and lie down. She is trained! (I hope) This is one smart dog. She is surely a keeper.
Tari discovered the cat’s toys! Oh boy! She pulled out each fuzzy or fluffy toy and started tossing them around. It was so fun to watch her. Is that a smile that I am seeing on her face? Sure seems like it…and Guinn, did not seem to mind her playing with her toys… just leave her yellow ribbons alone. Guinn loves her ribbons and drapes them around the house when we are gone as if she believes that they are magic ribbons that will bring us home. Yes, we love our cat too.
Day 5 – Wednesday, January 27, 2010
It is 5:30 in the morning and I take for the first walk of the morning… We come home and she gets fed. I eat my breakfast while she is eating, I just do not eat as fast as she does. And the hardwood floor issue is slowly becoming a non issue. She is now going back and forth from one room to the other with no mind to how often her feet are hitting the wood floor she even at her breakfast with her back paws on the wood floor… but I am not telling her this. I think we can start to move the rugs a little further apart tomorrow.
Tonight, she surprised us by getting up from her quilt in the great room…going to the other end of the house to her crate in the bedroom…getting a favorite stuffed toy, and coming back to her quilt in the great room. Greyhounds are sooo smart!
Day 6 – Thursday, January 28, 2010
Overall a good day. We removed a couple of the throw-rugs, and she had no problem. Looks like the wood floor issue may be resolved. Had to use “NO” a few times, when she decided the baseball cap and a napkin on a coffee table might be fun to adopt. So far, when we say “NO”, she stops what she’s doing and lays down on her quilt. Her stools were still runny, even with us feeding her boiled rice with her food…so we’re switching to a tablespoon of canned pumpkin with each meal. ( just pumpkin…with nothing added.)
Day 7- Friday, January 29, 2010
Would you believe it? Today we took up all of the throw rugs…and Tari acted as if they were never there…after less than a week in her very first house. After her walks, she has a little ritual…First she wants you to sit down so that she can put her head on your lap while you scratch behind her ears. Then she goes to her quilt and plays with her stuffed toys…throwing them up in the air, and generally rough-housing with them, before settling down for a nap. We think she’s starting to react to her new name, and is coming when we call her to go out…most of the time. Guinn is still quite tentative around Tari, but we think she is getting a little closer each day.
Day 8- January 30, 2010
The pumpkin is starting to do the trick helping to firm up her stools. She tried out the back yard by just exploring…She stayed out of the gardens on her own, and got all excited when the neighbor came to the fence. That dog can really wag her tail. Later, friends came by to meet her, and that tail got going like crazy…AND SHE SMILED!!! Really…some Greyhounds do smile. All the time they were here, she was very calm and polite. Of course all the petting didn’t hurt.
It is 5:30 in the morning and I take for the first walk of the morning… We come home and she gets fed. I eat my breakfast while she is eating, I just do not eat as fast as she does. And the hardwood floor issue is slowly becoming a non issue. She is now going back and forth from one room to the other with no mind to how often her feet are hitting the wood floor she even at her breakfast with her back paws on the wood floor… but I am not telling her this. I think we can start to move the rugs a little further apart tomorrow.
Tonight, she surprised us by getting up from her quilt in the great room…going to the other end of the house to her crate in the bedroom…getting a favorite stuffed toy, and coming back to her quilt in the great room. Greyhounds are sooo smart!
Day 6 – Thursday, January 28, 2010
Overall a good day. We removed a couple of the throw-rugs, and she had no problem. Looks like the wood floor issue may be resolved. Had to use “NO” a few times, when she decided the baseball cap and a napkin on a coffee table might be fun to adopt. So far, when we say “NO”, she stops what she’s doing and lays down on her quilt. Her stools were still runny, even with us feeding her boiled rice with her food…so we’re switching to a tablespoon of canned pumpkin with each meal. ( just pumpkin…with nothing added.)
Day 7- Friday, January 29, 2010
Would you believe it? Today we took up all of the throw rugs…and Tari acted as if they were never there…after less than a week in her very first house. After her walks, she has a little ritual…First she wants you to sit down so that she can put her head on your lap while you scratch behind her ears. Then she goes to her quilt and plays with her stuffed toys…throwing them up in the air, and generally rough-housing with them, before settling down for a nap. We think she’s starting to react to her new name, and is coming when we call her to go out…most of the time. Guinn is still quite tentative around Tari, but we think she is getting a little closer each day.
Day 8- January 30, 2010
The pumpkin is starting to do the trick helping to firm up her stools. She tried out the back yard by just exploring…She stayed out of the gardens on her own, and got all excited when the neighbor came to the fence. That dog can really wag her tail. Later, friends came by to meet her, and that tail got going like crazy…AND SHE SMILED!!! Really…some Greyhounds do smile. All the time they were here, she was very calm and polite. Of course all the petting didn’t hurt.
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