The Daisy dog has been with us for seven months… how time flies. Up to now, I haven’t talked about her much on here and as yet she has shown no interest in blogging herself. ( Such as our previous greyhound, Misty did.)
The new improved Write Dorne will include a link to The Greyhound Posting posts. I’m not much improved yet and so this is being published without the link thingy. You know how you want everything to be just perfect and it all to work? Well life isn’t like that, is it? Just of lately there have been a few very big spanners thrown into the works and I’ve had to adapt.
I could wait and wait…and wait some more until this perfection thing is achieved. But then, life rolls on and if we wait until we’re ready – we never do it.
So, this post comes to you a little wanting…but, more or less there.
Back to the Daisy dog!
We seem to be making good progress with her training and then sometimes, as with a child, it all goes pear-shaped. You know how it is? You think you’ve cracked it and then there’s a little accident and a bit of naughtiness…and the Daisy dog also plays up as well, sometimes.
Daisy is four years old now, so a bit like a teenager. One that won’t come out of her bedroom , is quite mouthy and won’t always do as she is told. And don’t even get me started on the unmade bed.
Every dog is different and it’s no different with greyhounds. As a breed they are easy-going and gentle, but, they do each have their own little idiosyncrasies.
As I write this, our slightly larger than average for a greyhound bitch (oh, isn’t she like a tiger) dog is subjecting one of her favourite toys to a good thrashing, in our bedroom. When listened to from downstairs , it sounds like the ceiling is about to cave in, or that we’re having an earthquake, such is the force of the lunges and charging around.
There’s a lot of power residing in our loveable pet, as I found out to my detriment, the other night. I foolishly got involved in a game of I’m going to get your teddy, oh yes I am! Only I didn’t, because as I bent over to get teddy, the Daisy dog grabbed it and at that precise moment rammed her head right up into my forehead. Ouch! Yes….there was a loud thud as two skulls made contact and an usual quiet descended on the room.
The pain and formation of the bruise and swelling of my forehead was immediate. I examined the Daisy dog and she loved it… oooh- a head massage, again mummy, please! She seems to be just fine.
So, I now have an even healthier respect of her powerful form and I keep my head well out-of-the-way, during our rough and tumble sessions.
Daisy is coming along fine with her training, although the recall needs to be worked on. We call her and she has a good long think about it and then just carries on with her more interesting dog stuff. But, then there’s food.
Food helps…doesn’t it with all dogs? When I’m out with the Daisy dog I have an unusual aroma of either cheese, beef, sausages or bacon. I use tiny pieces of meat to get her attention and for training. All goes well…unless I need to shake hands and then I have to explain why I can’t. A greasy, beefy hand. Most folk get it and the ones that don’t…well, they haven’t lived, nor trained a delinquent teenager of a dog!
My daughter is giving me quite a few useful pointers with the Daisy dog. She has successfully trained quite a few dogs and is one of those folk that have a natural connection with dogs. They are drawn to her – and the beef!
I’m hoping that one day we will have perfected the recall, if the Daisy dog has decided to take part in it. There’s a totally enclosed paddock, near to where we live. If she can be trusted she’ll go off the lead, preferably with some other greyhound friends. No doubt they will all do an imaginary anti clockwise circuit of the field. Which, is rather fabulous to watch. And if I get my act together I will film it and stick it on here.
Don’t hold your breath though…she will have to learn to come when called first. We may be some way off that at present.
But, greyhounds don’t need to be let off the lead. Some folk have this idea that it’s cruel to not let a dog off the lead for a run. Well, which is the cruellest, a dog safe on the lead, or a lost/dead dog? Greyhounds cover a lot of ground in very little time. No one can catch them, but, if your hound is receptive to returning to you…for a titbit, then you may be able to let them off. However personally, I would never let Daisy off in an open area. I just know that a rabbit or hare would make an appearance and cock it all up.
So, life with the Daisy dog is fun, fascinating and fabulous.
As for the separation anxiety when we leave her home alone? We think we’re finally getting there. We get our coats on and then don’t go out. Then we take them off and go out. The plan is to totally confuse her and then she’ll just give in and chill out. It’s easier in the summer months…we can just shoot off through the door, with very little messing around. The winter months are a dead give away that we are LEAVING her home alone, as we try to sneakily get kitted out like Eskimos (it’s grim up north!). Try sitting for any length of time in a thermal coat with the central heating on, attempting to be chilled and the resulting heat stroke is a bit of a give away that this is not the usual routine. Dogs aren’t stupid..
But, we don’t give in easily and our new member of the family is being gently allowed to adapt to her new life as our much-loved family pet. And needless to say we would never leave her home alone for hours on end.
All things considered it’s quite a big ask when she has being surrounded by people and dogs all of her life. And now she has to live with a rather suspect vacuum cleaner!
I’ll let you know how we get on.
Here’s a tip.
If you have a dog that bolts its food and then positions itself in the middle of the lounge rug, to bring it all back up again – try this.
Place a ball in with the food. We use quite a big one, as you will note. This slows down the eating, as they move the ball around to get to the food.
Result: your rug/floor is safe and your pooch remains fed.
That’s it for now. It’s back to blog admin and working out how to get things where they should be, for me.
Thanks for reading.
Dorne x
Tech Tips for Writers is an occasional post on overcoming Tech Dread. I’ll cover issues that friends, both real-time and virtual, have shared. Feel free to post a comment about a question you have. I’ll cover it in a future Tip.
