Going, Going,Going, Gone!

TDS Avery, now and forever more known officially as T-Bone has a new home. He has been adopted by a wonderful family. He will join 2 other SEGA Greyhounds (in fact one is my former fosters, Sissy). He will have his own child to play with--a sweet, smart, funny, active 6 year old girl. She and T-Bone were already sharing secrets by the time I left. He will help his new "dad" not feel so outnumbered in a house full of women :)

When T-Bone and I arrived, we did the "meet & greet" in the family's fenced backyard--muzzles on all the dogs. He and Sissy instantly clicked and they started running around the yard together. Their other Greyhound, Katie even joined in some. She's only 4, but she is truly the "queen" of the dogs. She even decided T-Bone was ok and gave her stamp of approval on him joining the family.

T-Bone made sure he sweetly and cheerfully greeted his new "mom" too.

T-Bone will make a wonderful Meet & Greet dog, which is a good thing because his new family hosts one of our monthly M&Gs.

I think this will prove to be a wonderful match for dogs and humans alike.

I will miss that sweet, loving face of his, but I could not be happy with his adoption to this family. As usual, I forgot to take a family photo before I left. I always get so caught up in everything when doing an adoption that I forget to take a group photo. Maybe one of thee days I'll remember.

Sweet dreams and a happy life to my sweet T-Bone.

Kid Tested and Approved!

T-Bone is officially kid tested and approved! A neighbor and her 5 year old son stopped by today to meet T-Bone.

As soon as T-Bone saw the little boy, his whole body wagged and he went over to meet and greet the little boy and his mom.

What a cutie!

Quite the Gentleman

T-Bone is quite the gentleman. He likes to hang out with my female dogs (Greyhound & non greyhound). If one of them wants to go outside, he usually likes to escort them outside.

Anytime I leave a room, he gets up (even if asleep) to come check on me. Once he's sure I'm ok, he'll go back and lay down. It's very sweet.

He enjoys hanging out with my male greyhound Blaze, but always defers to Blaze (smart boy). He does seem partial to the girls.

Outside, he's a boy who will occasionally lift his leg outside, but 3/4 of time he prefers to squat :)

He cracks me up when he play bows to my 16 year old cat, PJ, trying to get him to play. Needless to say PJ looks at him like he's crazy.

T-Bone doesn't mind plopping himself down anywhere. Dog bed, throw rug or floor--doesn't matter to him. I have even seen him lay on the hardwood floor. He's not picky.

He really likes to look out the windows to see what's going on outside. My window are long so they are close to the floor. I even saw him sit once while he was looking outside. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo. But it was cute.

He's still learning what things are toys and what aren't. Last night, he picked up a big flashlight that I keep by the backdoor. He took it into the living room with all the other toys. I told him no and put it back by the door again. He hasn't touched it since.

He is learning all about different kinds of treats too. So far he has not turned his nose up at anything he's been offered. He really seems to like cheese and of course, rotisserie chicken as treats.

He's gotten very comfortable with the routines here. He stays on his bed at night and doesn't get restless like his first few nights. He likes to nap where he can see me and keep an eye out for his dog buddies.

He's not overly fond of crating, but here at my house that's the rule when I leave the house, especially when I have a foster. Everyone gets crated. My dogs are used to it. Everyone gets a chew or a kong. Everyone knows the drill. T-Bone is just not a fan. I sometimes have to gently hold his collar, take him to the crate, release him and point to the crate. Then he'll go in, but he's not thrilled. So far, he hasn't displayed any separation anxiety while crated, but he's never been crated a alone. He is always surrounding by his dog buddies in their crates.

I've not heard him bark and I've only heard him while a few times. Nothing dramatic or annoying.

He's happy to entertain himself with toys. His favorite playtime seems to be in the evening. He's a little frisky on the morning when he first gets up also. That's usually when he tries to get my cat to play with him. I've tried playing with him when he has a toy and he just quite understand that yet. I think he will in time, because he is playful.

T-Bone is just a very good boy. I could not ask for a better house guest :)

Every Day is a New Adventure

Avery a.k.a. T-Bone nevers knows what the day holds for him. Yesterday we took a little ride to the Petsmart near me. He wasn't keen on jumping in the truck to go. Once he was in though, he was fine and anxious to see where we were going.

We got to Petsmart and he jumped out like a champ. We went in the store and he was clearly overwhelmed. He wasn't panicked, but you could tell he was incredulous of all the sights and sounds. T-Bone is a very strong boy. He would sometimes try to pull me down an aisle, in which case I would come to a complete stop until he got himself back under control.

He and I picked up a few things and then headed back out into the parking lot. He stopped dead and told me in no uncertain terms that he wasn't ready to get back in the truck. He and I went back and forth on our little power struggle. Needless to say, I won. He actually jumped back in the truck no problem.

No pictures because I was hanging onto him tightly! He was pretty pooped after we got home.

He enjoys going out in the backyard and now joins Cori and Blaze and their race for the back part of the yard.

Today, he feels even more comfortable in the house. He discovered toys. I squeaked a few toys at home and his ears went up as if to say, "WHAT is THAT?"

I would squeak a toy and he would joyful take it and go mouth it a little trying to figure it out. Then I got out a tennis ball. I bounced it and rolled it. He couldn't wait to get ahold of it and to play.

A little later on, while I was working in my office, I heard all kinds of racket. I looked around. Rio, check. Blaze, check. Cori, check. Chloe, check. PJ (the cat), check. I got up quietly and lo and behold, T-Bone was having a grand old time rolling, pouncing and picking up the ball. I just stood out of his eyesight and watched and tried hard not to giggle. Needless to say, no pictures. As soon as he saw me, he came over to me, tail wagging.

I would say that T-Bone likes toys, especially balls. I tried gently throwing some in the yard today for him. He wasn't quite ready for that. He'd watch them but wasn't ready to chase. It's only a matter of time :)

Tonight I gave him a squeaky snake that he played with some and carried around.

I would say that T-Bone is enjoying learning all the cool new things in his life.

Avery has Arrived

Avery affectionately know as T-Bone or T for short, went into foster with me a couple of days ago. He was trying to figure out what was going on when we were on our way home, but settled down nicely and enjoyed the ride, getting up only when we stopped.

When he arrived home with me, he as greeted by my pack of 3 greyhounds and a lab mix. I'm sure it was a little overwhelming at first. They're was a couple of small growls between he and my boy, Blaze. That's why muzzle are our friends when integrating a new dog into a pack (for long or short term). Once they meeted and greeted, though no more growls. He especially seems to like my female dogs and feels comfortable enough to lay near them.

He slept in a softsided crate in my bedroom the first night. He did a little whining. I gotten on to him about scratching at the crate. He settled down and slept pretty well the first night. When he woke up and started crying, I took him out to potty. Then back to bed and he slept the rest of the night. Since the first night he's been sleeping on a dog bed in the bedroom. He gets a little restless in the morning when he wants to get up. But the rule at my house is that no one gets up until I get up (except to potty). He's starting to understand that though.

He's been trying to learn the ropes of living in a house. I always restrict access in the house when I bring a new foster in. The first evening, he stayed in the living room/kitchen area while everyone chilled out with him before bed. I kept him on a leash in the fenced backyard the first evening and 1st day. He did great and every since then has been off leash in the fenced backyard. He seems to like to explore and enjoys that little bit of freedom. He keeps a close eye on the other dogs though and when they come to me, so does he. He still only has access to a couple of rooms at a time (wherever I and my dogs are), but he has done well. He's very good about going outside to potty.

He learned the steps pretty easily. He had the deck steps to the backyard down day one, and by day 2, he had the carpeted steps upstairs to bed and dowstairs to the dog room down fairly well.

He's not gotten comfortable enough to play yet, but I know that will come. He likes to keep an eye on me and if awake follow me if I leave a room.

He is starting to take treats from my hand. He enjoys a greenie or dental treat with my dogs (under close supervision).

He really likes being part of the group. He likes to wander around the rooms he has access to sniffing and checking things out. It's fun to watch a hound who's never been in a house look at and sniff everything trying to take it all in and figure out what everything is.

He's shown mild interest in counters and trash. Nothing that preventatives and verbal corrections haven't taken care of. He's been pretty good with my 16 year old cat. The only time he's been interested in PJ is if PJ runs. A strong verbal correction gets the message across.

Next week I'll take him out and about to a couple of local stores for more socialization.

Overall, he's just a very good boy.

I'M LISTENING

Avery has a wonderful spirit and is such a love. He has so much fun for a short period and then it's time to walk nicely on the leash and be a good boy.He was turning on the afterburners last night, so much fun to watch him play. He'll make someone a great companion.