Happy Birthday, Reagan!

Reagan turned a year old today and so far I still like her as of this week.

We visited MIL and FIL (mother and father-in-

law) this weekend. They have decked out their garage just for the dogs. It has been insulated and they have added a heating and A/C vent. We set up crates for the trouble makers and a large ex pen for Katie, Allie, and Julie.

Reagan was able to get some training practice in. We did lots of practice with her dumbbell.

And we also did some sit stay practice with lots of distractions....... notice the duck in the background.

The Good Twin

I would be remiss to not mention that I have actually been thrilled with Reagan this week and wanted to brag before her evil twin came back.

Having Reagan work for meals and food stuffed toys has greatly increased her drive and motivation for both this week. She is retrieving toys and touching targets much quicker than prior. Overall, she is much eager to work.

Secondly, I have been wanting Reagan to make eye contact with me when she wants something such as throw the toy, open the door, and so on. I want her to know that I control these things and for her to ask for them by looking at me. She is figuring that out. She is also arguing less and less about the crate and I require her to lie down while I open the crate door and has to wait for me to invite her out. She is catching onto this as well.

Also, she has been very good about putting stuffy toys in my hand when she retrieves, but when we work with the dumbbell, it has been limited to her just putting her mouth on the bar while I was holding it. Well, suddenly the toy work has transferred over to the dumbbell and Reagan is now picking up the dumbbell and holding it long enough for me to take it from her. This progression was very seamless. Katie, who can retrieve anything she can put in her mouth, had a hard time learning the concept of holding the dumbbell. She wanted to pick it up and drop it immediately. I had to eventually hold her mouth or put my hand under her chin for her to learn to hold it, so I am very pleased that Reagan progressed through that step so quickly without my help.

Lastly, I have started Reagan over low jumps and finally this week she seems more interested in doing that.

"Like" Is a Strong Word

When people meet Reagan, the often ask "how is she coming along, do you like her?" Well, "like" is a strong word when you are referring to a fiery-redheaded-sassy-bratty-obnoxious-monster puppy. Its nothing alarming. I have disliked them all from time to time, but this week is definitely one of those times for Reagan. Overall, she is just being a brat which is fine because I didn't want an easy, push over of a dog, but she is showing more fear lately. Fortunately, we have always ended on a good note, but she has had some strange episodes this week. I returned to one of the old training haunts. It is a fenced in field with agility equipment that members of my agility club are allowed to use. My personal set up is in my old horse arena at my parents' house in Cartersville. It is spacious, the footing is perfect, and my equipment is in good shape. Plus I don't have to share unless I invite someone over. For the last several years, most of Travis' agility training and practice happens here because he does not need anymore proofing. He does not need to see other fields, new people, different equipment, etc. He is a super star running every course as if he were at home. But during early training, it is important to seek out all the different places you can. Everywhere you go is an opportunity for training. The more places you go and the more people, dogs, and animals the dog sees, the more the dog will begin to generalize all situations. A dog that generalizes well is one that you do not find yourself saying "well.... he does it at home."

So back to Reagan and the new (but old) agility field. She started out fine, but then she looked up and noticed the tree tops blowing. She couldn't do anything at that point, so I brought out Katie. I had Katie do some little jumps. Katie was completely obnoxious. You just can't give her a treat for doing something simple anymore. She can do an entire agility course, but give her a treat for jumping one 12 inch jump and she suddenly knocking them all over because she is so frantic for her next treat. I love her food motivation, but I do wish I could tone it done just a smidge for her retirement. Otherwise, Katie did a find job of demonstrating that she was having a good time and wasn't scared. Reagan started to join in and forget about the trees.

The next day, we came back. The wind was not blowing, so the trees remained unnoticed, but there was a strange sounding bird in the woods behind the agility field. It freaked Reagan out and she could not concentrate anymore. I put her away and worked with the Katie and Travis. She was then eager to come back out and play fetch.

Today, she spooked at an overturned bucket that she moved across the driveway when she pulled her leash tight against it. This was at least a situation I could manage. I tossed treats on top of the bucket and slid it across the driveway while Reagan and I followed it. I clicked when she would take a treat from it or move towards it. I picked it up and showed her the inside of it and she got over it. If anyone has any ingenious ideas about how to work with tree tops or strange sounding birds.... let me know :-).

P's and Q's

The redheads and I enjoyed another 3-day weekend of agility at Wills Park. Travis ran beautifully and earned 2 more double Qs with at least 1 first, 2 seconds, and a third. I honestly can't remember his placement from Jumpers yesterday..... whoops. His only non-qualifying run was Jumpers on Friday. He missed his weave pole entrance and skipped the first pole. Otherwise, he is running very consistently and smooth. It feels so good to guide him around a course. Some people feel really rushed and look really out of sorts out there. Some handlers sound really desperate or harsh with verbal commands even if they don't mean to. Others just can't put it together. So its nice when you and your dog finally put it together and run clean more often than not... when the run looks as smooth as it feels... when you are so in sync that your dog knows where he is going and you aren't constantly pulling him from incorrect obstacles. Travis is just such a super star.

Today everyone saw him in his penguin PJs because I was short on time..... so he got made fun of :-). But that's ok, he still ran clean :-).

Reagan earned a triple P on Saturday and a double P today. It was like she finally understood that she should take this opportunity to potty. She is working really well amongst all of the distractions. My best friend, Anna Rhodes from California, would like to predict that Reagan is going to my best greyhound yet......in fact her exact words are "I think she just might turn out to be your best dog in terms of winning a ton of different titles. I predict it NOW". So there you have it, Anna. Its in writing. I think it will be neat to look back ten years from now and read Reagan's blog with some young obnoxious greyhound (red, of course) at my feet. I will be wondering how this new dog will ever compare to my wonderful Reagan :-)...... dare to dream :-). Now if I could just get her to stop chewing on the old bed sheet's elastic, not stand over and stare face to face with Travis while he is resting (thanks for not killing her, Travis), and to not make a nest on top of Katie......... she might just see her first birthday.....stay tuned.

Katie looked good this weekend. We did some obedience work and she got to hunt squirrels at the end of a 4 foot leash. No catches, but it does make her strike a pretty pose.

Now, Katie's leopard PJs have special meaning. They belonged to Kate Crawford's Mandoid from Marz. Mandoid was the pioneer greyhound of agility and Kate's super diva. Katie later surpassed Mandoid's accomplishments and when Mandoid passed away, Kate wanted Katie to have her coat. So it is a very special coat and keeps Katie snugly warm in the van on cold days.

We also met a lady named, Kathy. She is adopting an 11 week old greyhound this week. This will be her first greyhound and she hopes to do agility and obedience with him. He is coming from a farm that was shut down due to a bad situation. He is supposedly the trouble maker and most outgoing of the litter. She hasn't seen him yet, but he is red (at least she got the right color :-). I told her she must email me pictures and updates. She lives in Gainesville, GA.

Brat

Well, the little brat (Reagan) decided to test me today. Test really isn't the right word. I'm certain that she is not doing this on purpose, but it is frustrating nonetheless. I haven't been able to get her to tinkle on any of our hikes so this time I filled her up with canned dog food flavored water (hmmmm... my favorite too). We went for a nice long hike. Katie and Travis demonstrated their abilities to eliminate during hikes numerous times, but nada for Reagan. So when it was time to leave, I circled her around on the grass just trying to do something boring, so she could focus on going pee. I finally loaded Katie and Travis into the van and walked Reagan around the van over and over again. I think I spent an extra 30 minutes just trying to get her to pee. Finally, it was time to leave. I went to the gym while the dogs slept in the van. By the time we arrived home, it had been about 3 hours since she drank her flavored water, so she had to go by now and we had already had multiple successes with going potty in the front yard so I thought that this would be a piece of cake. Nope. So I put her in her crate. I tried again after 30 minutes. Nada again. I was very tempted to just put her in the backyard because I knew she would pee as soon as she stepped off the patio, but I was determined to win this. Finally at 7:55 (her last chance before Survivor) we have success. I cheered, praised, and gave her some cheese. She was obviously pleased with herself and now she was allowed free time in the house.

Later on, she was sleeping on her bed when I decided to pester her to test out her reaction. She was hard to wake up, but when she did come to, she looked at me and gave me a "leave-me-alone-I'm-resting" growl. So I verbally scolded her and slipped the bed out from under her and she suddenly found herself lying on the hardwood floor. "Its my bed and I just happen to let you sleep on it, Ms. Reagan." I think she got the point.

Stinker

Well, the little Stinker (Reagan) is starting to grow on me. She is showing signs that she is going to be a good little worker. She is offering sits when we are standing around. She is retrieving stuffy toys fairly well and is just about dropping the toy at my feet for a treat. I started her on the plastic dumbell a few days ago and she is readily taking it into her mouth for a brief second. She is offering to pick up the stuffy toy and then I click & treat when I take it with my other hand because I want her to learn to put it in my hand. When I try to let her wander around, so I can practice recalls.... I can't get her to leave me alone. She is very interested in what I am doing and where I am going........ which is a good thing when you are training a dog. I have her stepping or hopping over 8 inch jumps. Sit and down stays are coming along, but I'm trying not to be too rigid since it is hard for her to sit still. Even when we get home, she is still ready to go and full of energy. At least now with the fetching and the recalls, I can get her running a little more than before. She is such a handful though. The other day she almost knocked over a bookshelf because she noticed something sitting on top of it (who looks up there?). Today, she started to eat the carpet and a button she found. I literally cannot let her out of sight. Overall, I am really happy with her progress over the last 3 1/2 weeks. I can't believe its only been that long. She seems to be learning so fast. I am in no rush, but I don't want her to get bored doing the same thing over and over again, so that is why I keep repetitions to a minimum and introducing something new.

The Agility Trial Must Go On!

Rain, sleet, and snow can't stop the agility competitor in pursuit of a Q. Yesterday, started out with pouring rain and I had to get to Wills Park an hour early to secure a highly prized parking spot under the arena cover. Once the rain stopped, we enjoyed rather comfortable temperatures. Travis went on to win both of his agility classes earning double Q (qualifying score) #32.

Reagan took in all of the sights, sounds, and smells. I brought her out early while it was still quiet and folks were just getting set up. She handled all of the new stuff perfectly, was patient with ill mannered puppies, enjoyed meeting new people, and even peed once (remember that is still an important accomplishment). One thing that is really funny and enjoyable about Reagan is that when she is excited about something and can't contain herself, she literally leaps with all 4 legs off the ground. Its very silly.

Today, I started the day by putting on my long johns, lined pants, snow pants, 2 long sleeve T-shirts, a fleece, a sweat shirt, coat, gloves, and wool socks..... yes, all at the same time. Over the years I have learned to dress for standing around in the wind and in the shade at agility trials. It was raining when we left the house this morning. The three red-hounds were dressed in their finest fleeces and were tucked into the crates in the van. Katie is the most affected by the cold, so she was snuggly warm in her Seseme Street belly warmer fleece and her leapard print fleece coat.

As we drove to the trial, the rain turned to sleet and eventually the sleet turned to snow. I just couldn't believe it was snowing at an Atlanta agility trial in March. It was so ridiculously cold and the wind is always twice as strong at the Wills Park wind tunnel (aka covered arena). Travis' first class was the standard class (has the climbing obstacles) as usual. I was glad that he was required to do a sit on the table instead of a down today. The dogs have to run naked and most run without collars, Travis included. Since it was snowing pretty hard and blowing into the ring, I didn't want him to wear his fleece PJs outside of the van and get them soaked. Plus, in all honesty, the PJs are pretty silly looking and I prefer that we limit the number of people that see him in his penguin suit. I tucked his blue fleece lined coat under my sweat shirt to warm it up and when it was time, I was able to switch his coats inside of the van. After a quick potty break, I jogged, jumped, and stretched him until it was his turn. I wanted him to be nice and warm and didn't remove the coat until the very last second. Travis ran perfectly... another first place run in 42.26 seconds.

Later on, my friend Carol with the 2 fittest looking labs on the planet (greyhound-like wastelines and even a hint of ribs at the right angle) came up to me and explained that Brisk had knocked the first bar and so Carol stopped her immediately and pulled her out of the ring. Brisk loves agility, but she can also be careless. If she won't keep the bars up, she isn't allowed to continue. As Carol was leaving the ring, she noticed that the bars were set at 26" instead of 24"..... the ring crew had not adjusted the height prior to Carol's run. Ultimately, it is the agility handler's responsibility to make sure the jumps are the right height, so Carol was not going to say anything. The judge was very nice, so I decided to say something and the judge agreed to let Carol run again, this time with 24" jumps. Well, Brisk ran clean and knocked me out of first place with a run that was 0.04 seconds faster! Can you believe that? You would think after getting her another chance to run that she would have at least stopped her dog on a contact obstacle or kept her on the table an extra second...... just kidding :-).

Anyways, we both went on and qualified again in Jumpers, but this time the greyhound finished on top. Brisk can knock a lot of bars, so the double Qs are coming slowly.... so I was glad I could help her get 1 more..... I think she owes me dinner or something :-). Travis now has 33 double Qs. He needs 7 more to be the first MACH2 Greyhound.

As for Reagan, she learned about disappointment today by waiting in the van most of the day. I got her out once and she did very well with all the noise and movement caused by the wind and oddly dressed people. She did a few airs above ground.

Glimmers of Hope

Little Reagan is offering glimmers of hope and is making some good progress. Frequent, but short training sessions are working well and she has been a little more motivated and is a tad more studious. I am so spoiled that Katie and Travis will just keep going and going with as much gusto as they start with. I am used to working with them for about 20 or more minutes at a time. When I work with them, I simply accomplish what I set out to do. With Reagan, I am limiting myself by only grabbing 10 treats and when I run out, I'm done. Or I throw the toy 2 or 3 times and then put it away while she is still geared up.

So as of now, Reagan will usually quickly sit and down from hand signals without being lured by food (she still gets a treat though). She is learning that I want her to step and stand on a dogwalk board. She appears to know her name when she is listening (that is the key :-). She comes when called. And she is offering to pick up the stuffy toy more frequently.... she even sort of retrieves.... sometimes.... might be just an accident :-). Today, I popped her over some little jumps and lured her through a chute without the fabric (very short, hard plastic tunnel). She also seems to be getting more comfortable with off-the-premises peeing. I've been loading her up on watery canned dog food broth before we go places so she really has no choice, but to finally go.

So I would say she has earned a couple of days.

How Many Days?

Katie is so wonderful that she has earned at least another 100 years that I'm willing to keep her....... this continues to multiply since she continues to be wonderful. Travis is probably set for life even if he never has another good day. It was a rough start for Travis and we took it day by day, but eventually he started to earn some weeks, months, and years.

Reagan was kind of good today. Not so loud. Nice to all new dogs she met. She was willing to work and pleasant to be around..... at least part of the time :-). So I am going to keep her another day. If I can get her to pee in the front yard (instead of the back yard) tonight, I'll make it 2 days for the Munchkin.

Brat

Reagan has gone from Munchkin to Brat. The honeymoon is over, I think :-). She is having to learn to be patient and to wait........... something that racing greyhounds have lots of experience doing. Think about it, racing greyhounds spend 20 hours a day in a crate and no one responds to any crying about it. The racing greyhounds learn to handle the boredom by sleeping it off. Reagan cries when she is frustrated and not getting her way. Now that she has tasted freedom and fun, she wants to be doing what she wants all day. I am doing lots of putting her in her crate and taking her out when she is quiet and settled. In the last day or 2, that can take quite awhile. I also want her to learn that I am the source of all the fun stuff. I have all the food and toys. I have put the house toys away because I don't want her to play by herself anymore.... I want her to play with me. Katie and Travis have me incrediably spoiled. They are so high drive. They can work at something for a very long time. They always want to play with toys. I always end the game simply because I think they'd just keep fetching a toy until death. With Reagan, I have to get better at leaving her wanting more. I'm in the habit of training/playing for too long. With her, I literally need to play or work with her for just a minute or 2 and stop it before she is ready to stop.

Munchkin

The Munchkin (Reagan) is doing well and settling in nicely. I am back to working full days and she has had no problem crating up to 10 hours. She had one other housetraining accident (my fault), but to her credit she did make into a bathroom and peed on the bath mat. I did catch her doing it and was able to scoop her up and take her outside. She is doing very well eating chicken backs and hasn't had any trouble with any of the veggie mixes, training treats, or extras. I love a sturdy gut on a dog. She is getting along with the other dogs and enjoys meeting new ones. She is calm and friendly in her interactions. She appears to have let go of protecting her crate from the other housemates and is not as touchy about sharing dog beds or mattresses.




My only complaint is that she does cry more than I would like for her too. It is not horrible, but she squeaks when is is excited or tired of waiting. She does make me appreciate Travis, Katie, and even the stepdogs. The step dogs don't have a lot of training, but they know their names, they can do down stays in the house, come when called, and don't do a lot of running through the house. Working with Reagan really puts into perspective how much Katie and Travis have learned over the years. I look at her and wonder if it will ever all come together. I have to remember that Katie and Travis knew nothing 6-7 years ago.



Reagan still scares me all of the time because she's running from room to room with toys across slippery floors. I usually cut the house in half with a baby gate to minimize her running to half of the house and runners strategically placed at stopping and turning points have helped also. Her coordination skills have improved quite a bit from those days running in straight lines on sand. It is fun to see her play. I have started teaching her to retrieve since it is such a good way to tire out an active dog. Indoors, I click and treat when she picks up the toy and I'm working towards clicking & treating when I put my hand on the toy that is in her mouth. She seems to be catching on that I want her to pick up the toy. The hard part is keeping her from bounding off with it. Outdoors, I toss the toy and then see where she takes it. I move to that section of the yard and trade her a treat for the toy. I throw the toy and generally she will tend to return to that particular section of the yard. This works on a lot of greyhounds that like toys and food.


She has tinkled 3 times in the front yard now. Yes, I do think its exciting since we spend a lot of time away from the house. Next weekend we will be going to a 3-day agility trial at Wills Park, so I am hoping she will get some off-the-premises-pee-practice since we will be there all day.



She had her first experience in PetsMart yesterday. It was nice and quiet. I took Katie along as the model greyhound. I am happy to see that Reagan appears to be born brave. Since greyhounds are pretty much raised the same and are not exposed to life outside of the farm, kennel, and track, I feel that they are either born cautious or born brave. Cautious greyhounds were not abused, but they tend to approach new things with caution. They play it safe and tend to avoid. Brave greyhounds approach things with curiousity. They want to check out all of the new stuff and ask questions later. There are lots of variations in the middle, of course. Travis is definitely an example of the extremely brave type. He is 100% fearless. Katie was pretty much the same way up until a year ago. I'm glad to see that Reagan seems to be the same way.



Reagan is an expert at jumping in the van now. Now I need to teach her to wait to jump in the van.



Reagan's sits and downs are pretty good. It appears that she is comfortable sitting which is a big plus for showing in obedience. The Open level requires 3 minute sit stays which is a very long time for a greyhound not comfortable sitting. Reagan is learning to wait until I release her which is usually a big leap out of position that makes you laugh. She is learning that it is worth it to respond to food-less hand signals. The trick is that when you start training without food in your hands, you have to give them a bigger reward for responding. If I use a food lure, she gets 1 piece of kibble. If she responds to just a hand signal, she gets 3 higher value treats. I don't do much training at home, so she is learning to deal with distractions already. She still does not know her name and recalls still need a lot of work.......... but heck, its not even 2 weeks yet.

Tracking at Old Mill

Today, Stephen and I took Travis and Allie tracking at Old Mill Farm. We met Kate Crawford with her Jack Russell, Indy. We take turns laying tracks for each other. Travis did awesome. He did 3 tracks - 20, 40, and 80 yards long. On his last track, I always use his favorite toy, a bumper, as the last article to find and his reward is to run around with it.

Katie fetches her toy for fun and exercise at Old Mill.

Reagan practiced her sits, downs, and targets. She did really well. We also did some van loading practice. It was fairly good today. I also finally got her to pee somewhere other than the backyard. She peed at 7 AM in the backyard this morning. She ate and drank. Had lots of training treats. Never peed at Old Mill Farm. Got home and she wouldn't pee in the front yard, so I put her in the crate and went to the gym. I took her out front again, but no luck. I put her back in her crate and I waited another hour and again no luck, so back in the crate she went. Finally at 4 PM, she decided to pee on leash in the front yard. Yeah!

Decorating for Puppies

We have made some decorating changes to our home. We have added blue runners to strategic stopping and turning areas to reduce slipping.

And we have added decorative counter surfing booby traps. This one comes complete with a smelly bait bag attached to an empty diet coke can. So far I can't get anyone to take the bait. There is a Pupperoni sticking out of it, but I haven't been able to entice anyone yet.

I taught two greyhound obedience classes today. We got to the training building an hour early to do some training ourselves. Reagan was awesome. I was not sure whether or not to have her in the building. I did not want her to make a lot of noise. She was great. She quietly cried a little, but I think she slept in her crate during both classes most of the time. She also worked really well. She is luring into a down position and maintaining it for a period of time. She is making some good eye contact with me. She understands touching the cup, but she is not very intense about it. I do have to remind myself that she is only 10 months old. There is no rush. Katie and Travis were well over 2 and 3 years, respectively, when I adopted them. I think right now, it is important that nothing bad happens. Everything should be fun. I want to encourage her to be high drive, condident, and fearless. Noises, people, dogs, and everything in the enviroment are all good.

My biggest problem has been loading Reagan in the van. She is very resistant about it. Yesterday she loved peanut butter and eventually was convinced to get in the van. Today she had no interest in peanut butter. It was very strange. When it was time to go home, I used Tyson roasted chicken to get her to move towards the van, put her front feet in, and so on. Finally she got in, I gave her some chicken and had her get out again. We repeated this several times. Each time she got better and better and was easily hopping into her crate in the van after several repetitions. I think I will continue this protocal for awhile. The most important things is to give myself plenty of time. You just can't be in a hurry. You've got to take your time.

Lastly, I am happy to report that Reagan is now flea-free. The sticktight fleas have fallen off. I am not going to give her the final dose of Capstar and I do not plan to bath her again. I am sure she is happy to report that she is much less itchy now.

Everything is Fun

A youngster is a lot of work, but it is fun. Reagan needs constant supervision. Thank goodness for crates. She snarks everything with her nose. "Snark" is a fancy word for rubbing your nose on everything and leaving nose prints. I never understand why dogs with a highly developed sense of smell have to actually shove their nose into or on something to smell it. Reagan seems to use her nose more than the other greyhounds...........especially poor Katie :-). Maybe I will have to try tracking with her.

Reagan is crying much less now. I think the anxiety of being in a new place, with new people, and new greyhounds is wearing off and she is starting to have some fun. In fact, she finds everything to be fun. If I am cleaning the house, fixing dog bedding, dressing/undressing the dogs in collars and muzzles, wiping feet, etc. she is in the middle of it trying to have some fun. It just makes you smile. Its been a lot of fun to see her youthful approach to everything. Even though she is pretty much full grown, she still looks like such a soft baby to me...... immature. She has the best greyhound coat coverage.... furry neck, furry buns, and furry belly. Only one scar. I always thought that Travis looked so young and he does at 9 years old. But Reagan really shows how mature and masculine he is. She is cute, but he is still the gorgeous one, in my opinion. Katie is, of course, just the plain favorite............ once you earn a utility dog obedience title, you can do no wrong.

Yesterday, in the pouring rain we went to a dog training facility, so we could play indoors. The facility is also a day care and we were there as it was closing up for the day. It is amazing how much noise Katie, Travis, and I tune out. We do not hear the vacuums, the dogs barking, the gates clanging, and doors slamming. But Reagan does....... which makes sense when you are coming from fairly quiet, country living. At one point she was definitely concerned about all the noises coming from the other side of the wall, so I took Reagan and Travis (brave model greyhound) to investigate the noises. She immediately relaxed when she saw that it was just a person, some funny looking dogs, and nothing scary to be found. We returned to the training side and I rotated working with Katie, Travis, and Reagan. Reagan did lots of cup touching with her nose and worked on downs. Eventually, some other people came in and she earned treats while they brought in chairs and cleaned. Then she got to meet a Ridgeback and 2 border collies. It was exactly the kind of meeting I wanted. All three dogs were polite, not overly interested, and were fairly calm. Initially, she didn't have any interest in playing with toys, so I kept her on leash while Katie fetched a stuffy toy. That perked Reagan's interest and I got a stuffy out for her to play with and she had a great time. It was nice to finally let her run around with a toy for a few minutes. I don't really have a great yard for that sort of thing and I've come to realize that I do a whole lot with Travis and Katie in unsecured areas. I will be seeking out the old haunts and training grounds that I used to train at when Katie and Travis were unreliable and needed fences. Overall, I was really pleased that she went from being a little bit scared of all the strange noises to being happy and playful. She also maintained her food motivation the entire time.

Name That Red Dog

Can you tell my red heads apart? They really are all very similar in color.

Well, my parasitic puppy is doing better. All the flea samples I have picked off are dead and it appears that many fell off during the night. I was thinking about sedating her with some ace given orally and just pick them all off with tweezers, but I don't think its necessary. She's still pretty itchy. I will probably do the oatmeal conditioner again in a few days.

Reagan went on her first hike today. She is walking very well on leash and also with a hand on her collar. She is yielding very nicely to the pressure. The hike was a very good leash walking test with all the smells and having to cross creeks. She was a trooper.

Reagan is also a sassy BEOTCH. Katie or Travis must have touched her while lying on the mattress and she gave a big toothful warning and then the alpha beotch (ME) came down on her about her ugliness. She is protective of her space and the crate. I won't tolerate it outside of her crate especially since she practically sits on everyone's head, lies down on their legs, and sniffs their heads while everyone else is very polite. I'm not really sure how to handle the crate. I think I'll need to set up some challenges regarding that.

She is crate training and housetraing great. No accidents (except that totally unavoidable one during the storm on day 1) and she has crated for up to 8 hours. I couldn't be more pleased. She wears a muzzle like she's worn it all her life. She actually seems to like having it put on which is kind of funny. She cried much less today. I finally got her to take my counter surfing booby trap. On the first day or 2, she was all over the counters with me catching her immediately. I have been trying to get her to take the bait for 2 days now. I finally placed it on top of the garbage can since that was attracting the most attention. It worked and she set off the can alarm and it scared her a little. Clicker training is going well. She touches the cup (and the paperweight now :-). We worked on downs which she's very easy to lure into a down and then she was pretty good about maintaining the down position for a little while. She's having a hard time catching onto eye contact, but she'll get it soon.

I actually kept her around while I made dinner and ate. I had to disagree with her numerous times, but all in all she did fairly well.

The one thing scary about having a puppy is that they run in the house and I have slippery hardwood floors. I am so afraid she is going to hurt herself because she has already fallen a couple of times.

Other than that, all is well.

Here is my first attempt at putting a little movie on the blogger.

Ooouuuu..... Gross :-(

Well, my puppy is a parasite palace :-(. She has tape worms and hook worms. I expected that, so no biggie. But those mysterious "clogged pores" are actually sticktight fleas and yes they "stick on very tight". I asked the vet about them and she has never seen anything like it so she put one under the microscope and it was a flea. After some internet research I found out that they are fleas found on poultry generally. I have since learned that the greyhound farm is next door to a emu farm. So now Reagan is being Capstared for 5 days. I bathed her again tonight and applied Frontline to all of the dogs. Once they die, they will probably continue to stick and I'll have to pick them off :-(.

And to top it off, I tried a new vet clinic. I love my vet, the techs, and the facility, but there are no weekend hours and its just so far away. The clinic is in Canton and as Canton adds traffic lights, neighborhoods, and more cars.... the drive just keeps getting longer and longer. At times I feel that I neglect going simply because its a good 45 minute drive now. Well, I was at this appointment at the new clinic for 2 whole hours! And that doesn't include my drive time. I could have gone to my regular vet in the same time amount of time. Its just 2 hours I can never get back.

Its Scary Being a Puppy

Reagan has been pretty brave about seeing and trying new things. She even went up and down our front steps and got in and out of a crate in the van. BUT tonight she discovered an offending paperweight on a bookshelf. It was lurking in the shadows..... no doubt about to pounce on her. Travis touched it with his nose, but she still wasn't sure if it was friend or foe. I guess we'll be incorporating it into some clicker training soon. That's the nice thing about teaching them to touch an object using the clicker. Generally, the hounds love learning how to make you "click" and "treat". Its a fun game and it makes them feel good about themselves. You can use it to your advantage later when you are investigating new things.

Time to be Quiet

Reagan's first night in a crate went smoothly. No accidents and she was very quiet. Even Travis was fairly quiet in the morning which was a rare treat. Maybe he's trying to make a good impression or at least keep himself #2 on the dog list (Katie is #1). She did her potty duties quickly and enjoyed her turkey neck and chicken backs this morning.

I worked the first few hours at home, so I could shorten my 10 hour work day to about 7 hours. She did fine in the crate again. Although she cried and howled a lot when I came in the door. I changed clothes, washed my face, and waited....... for her to stop. She finally quieted down, but started up again as soon as I move. The other dogs were being good and they needed to go out, so I just ignored her and let everyone out of their crates and just kept my back to her until she was quiet and lying down. I finally did win and everyone got to go outside.

I can see why greyhound puppies can turn into little monsters. She is so much more affectionate and cuddly than many of the adults initially. I have to admit that even I think its cute, but I think its important to resist her especially when she's being demanding. I don't want to create a needy, helpless creature. So she earns my attention when she is calm, quiet, and independent. Also, puppies (or at least mine) is so into everything. I am sure that mine is worse since I picked the confident, food motivated one.

Travis and Katie are being very good, of course. They'll earn lots of treats for being patient and staying out of the way. Today I started clicker training Reagan to touch a cup with her nose and she did really well. She was very food motivated and very free with her movement. Its easier to clicker train a dog that moves. The other dogs in the house earned treats if they remained laying on beds and didn't hang their heads over the baby gate........ kudos to Allie and Katie for 100% success. Everyone else received an honorable mention for a 50% success rate. All except for Blondie (babysitter dog, Ali..... we renamed her at our house since we already have an Allie). She never did figure out the out-of-sight-on-my-mind-here's-a-treat-for-you game.... maybe next time.

On closer inspection I found out that the "flea dirt" wasn't flea dirt. They were tiny black bumps between her toes, on her legs, and on the edges of her ears. Pam said that they were basically clogged pores from being out in the dirt and sand. I had seen black heads on their chests before, but these things kind of looked like eggs

Introducing Reagan

Stephen and I left for Cairo, GA at 5 AM this morning. We thought it would take 5 hours, but we got there in a little over 4 hours. Reagan and Jessie looked good and had behaved themselves. The farm had wormed them and applied Frontline to them a few days ago. They also were placed in the kennels and started getting used to being crated. Glen and Pam brought Jessie and Reagan to their house on Friday and bathed them both yesterday. Even so, I think she could use another bath. Luckily, she did not have any fleas due to the recent Frontline treatment, but she has tons of flea dirt in between her toes and and on her legs.




She walks a little better on leash now and she was perfect for the 4 hour car ride. She laid down immediately and I don't think ever got up. She eventually started to relax and fall asleep. I was glad to see that she did not get car sick. I know its a few and far between, but I would just hate to have to work on car sickness. My guys literally ride in the van almost daily.... its just something I want a dog to be able to do happily right off the bat.





Introductions went fine. She has only ever socialized with her littermates of which she was in charge. She was a little overwhelmed with 6 adults (we are babysitting Ali Boyd). Stephen let out one dog at a time..... Katie, Allie, Julie, Ali, Travis, and then Stacker. She tucked her little tail and was a bit nervous, but she took it all in stride and started to relax. She did great wearing the muzzle. I thought she would fight it more, but she really didn't. We use muzzles on our greyhounds when we turn out and she will be no exception.




I would have liked to have stayed outside for awhile, but a huge thunderstorm blew in and we had to all go inside....... of course, without Reagan going to the bathroom first. She passed test #2 of the day.... storms. I also do not like storm phobics either. I have had 3..... Sandy (childhood mutt), Teresa, and currently Stacker. Teresa was the worst and I think she had to endure some of Georgia's worse thunderstorm seasons. I just want to avoid it if I can help it and Reagan was obviously not bothered by it.








I would say that test #3 is slippery floors. I have known a few dogs (several being greyhounds) that really freaked out on slippery floors. Our entire house is hardwoods and tile. I don't particularly want to have to work on overcoming a fear of slippery floors. Reagan did great! We have a really easy house for greyhounds because it is a ranch style with only 2 steps. She followed one of the greyhounds up those 2 steps and back down again with no issues. She also laid down on the hardwood floor...... good future practice for downs on the agility table :-).




She investigated the house and seemed pretty brave about all the new stuff. The hardest part is that if you try to lead her by the collar, she still freezes. This makes it difficult to move her from room to room, but we'll get there. She checked out her crate and she also wedged herself between and behind the crates and back out again. She does not appear to be claustaphobic and she seemed bright enough to figure out how to get herself out of the situation.


She did finally pee on the tile floor in the kitchen which I simply scooped her up with my arm around her waist to stop her. It was still storming and she wasn't particularly interested in doing her business. It just is not a very win win day for housetraining. It eventually stopped raining and I took her and Katie outside and she peed twice for a very loooonnnggg time.

Right now I am taking a break. I put her in her crate along with everyone else. I gave her a turkey neck since she hasn't eaten much today and the others got rawhide chips. I hear her crying down there occasionally, but I expected that and plan to just ignore it for now.

Last Day of Peace and Quiet

Well, I hope its not the last.......... but today is the last day without Reagan and with dogs only over the age of 7 years. Pam has reported that Reagan and Jessie look good. After being confined to a dog trailer for a few hours, they went crazy out in the yard running around and jumping up on Pam and Glen. I was told that Reagan was definitely more confident and followed Glen back to her kennel run with no problem. That's my girl.

I think Jessie's home has fallen through. The people just have too much on their plate and just adopted another greyhound just last weekend. I'm not sure if that means they have 3 or 4 greyhounds now. It just sounds like a busy situation already and to add a 10 month old greyhound who isn't crate trained, housetrained, leash trained, etc. sounds even more insane. She wanted to see if someone could hold Jessie for a month, but I would rather see her get to a new home as soon as possible and not pass her around. Pam is still working on that situation.

Unfortunately, I have a terrible sore throat. I sure wish I felt better this weekend.