Dog Trainer's Log

Saturday, September 11

I just had to put the girls in crates for a few minutes to settle them down. Now that they are trying to play with each other, I have to spend more time on manners – no full-roar racing up and down the stairs, don’t play with teeth, and this morning “play quiet!” They were each bouncing up and down into down-dogs, wagging butts in the air, seeing who could bark louder. 9:30am on a Saturday morning – this is not a good way to keep townhouse neighbors happy. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Monday, August 30.

My first day, my “practice” day at staying home writing all day. The girls spent the day peaceably in their crates after a really long walk this morning. Now it’s almost time for another really long walk before it gets dark and the kamikaze bunnies come out.

While I was waiting for articles to publish so that I could promote them on FB and Twitter, I googled Splash by her registered name: Starz Lee Splash.

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Sunday, August 29 – day 4

Splash discovers the couch

Busy days yesterday and today. I tried for the first time yesterday (Saturday) to leave Splash crated for about five hours. I hope to work up to being able to leave her happily crated while I or her new owners are working all day long. She managed five hours just fine while I went to cover the Alan Richman appearance at the NY state fair. Then when I got home, I let her and M. be loose until almost 10 pm. One more exercise for the night and to bed.

Sunday, she discovered 1) the couch, 2) little kids swimming, 3) stairs, 4) squirrels (not necessarily in that order.)

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Friday, August 27

No problem getting Splash to eat her food when it’s doused in Panacur(R), so the first dose of the hookworm protocol is in. I upped her meal to a heaping cup and a half. She’ll get that twice a day until I can get 5-7 pounds on her. She’s really track-lean.

Splash slept all night, like a little curled-up rock. When I woke up at 4:30am, she woke up – but was patient enough to let me use the bathroom and eat her breakfast before going out. She is willing to pee on the six foot lead, but hadn’t pooped at all until this morning. Very subtly, she stepped off the sidewalk into the wet grass, squatted and relieved herself. On lead.

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Thursday, August 26

Splash the retired racing greyhound foster dog arrived at 10:15am. Cindy drove down to Ithaca this morning to pick her up from the people who transported her up from Florida, where she was released from the track earlier this month. The greyhound people call this a “haul.” I have a whole new dictionary to learn. Splash just fits in my 400 folding side door, the ancient crate that was Bard’s and that I got second-hand from Jean Nocilly. But she looks a lot better in the crate when she’s laying down, curled up. When she’s standing up, it’s obvious I need to go get her a taller crate!

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