Foo Fighters - Walk
Walks
This continues to be our biggest challenge.
Yesterday, the morning walk went awesome (about 90% of the time the leash was loose!) but I tried an early evening walk again and it was the opposite (90% of the time pulling.) I ordered a harness which should be arriving today, so we shall see if that helps things at all. I tried to coax her with some cooked chicken - it worked when we were in the yard and helped her a bit, but once we were on the walk she had zero desire to take any treats.
She still seems stressed by people working in their garages, unfamiliar noises, the rustling wind we hear on the night walk, and especially....the sound of kids. We don't even have to SEE kids. If we pass a house and she hears kids making noise of any kind inside the house, babies, crying, or hell, maybe if she even SMELLS a kid, she goes into "get me the fuck outta here" mode. (She even hates hearing kids outside of our house when we are home - she will start pacing.) Hoping that with time, patience, exposure, and love that it will one day "click" with her that kids aren't so bad after all. Now, this isn't a HUGE deal, considering I don't plan on having any kids, but I do have friends with kids who I would one day like to have over...and we live in a neighborhood with lots of kids....and I'm sure one day some of my other friends will have kids....so, hopefully one day she figures out that kids can show LOVE just like mom does.
She seemed to like when Craig jogged with her last week, so that has inspired me to TRY to start running. I have always wanted to be able to run, so here's my chance. It's not that I see myself as overweight, just out of shape. I did day one of the Ease Into 5K app while on the treadmill where you start out super "easy" - alternating between running and walking with the run parts being 60 seconds long. I seriously found myself cursing at the voice every time she said "Run." One day Gracie will enjoy going on walks, and one day I will be a runner.
I'm trying to still figure out the best time to walk her at night that has the least amount of activity.
I've also started taking the same exact route each time.
I was inspired after meeting another greyhound and her owner yesterday (to make a long story short - dog got loose, good samaritan was able to catch dog, I was called to help take her to adoption group since owner could not be located at first, I arrived on scene, owner was located, they were reunited, dog was VERY lucky not to get hit by a car on Pacific Coast Highway!) Anyway, the owner told me that his dog was also VERY shy at first and would not go on walks or near his friends. He said that after about 6 months of exposure and gentle "pushing" things just "clicked" and the dog became social and now loves walks.
Big Bad Scary Leaves
For some reason she regressed with the Big Bad Scary Leaves in the yard and she seemed scared yesterday afternoon. She kept looking up at them and pacing everytime the wind blowed. Hoping today goes more smoothly when she sees this new gift, thanks to my friends' giving us amazon gift cards!
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| Her foster said she loved laying on this in the yard |
Cat
Béla and Grace continue to live peacefully with each other. I am still SO THANKFUL for this! Sometimes it looks like Béla wants to be a closer "friend" but doesn't know quite how. She will get super close, then scurry away. Grace won't even pick her head up when this happens, thankfully!
Béla is super jealous about Grace being able to go outside, though. Sometimes Béla will sit by the back door and try to sneak out when I go to bring Grace inside. This morning she even tried to block Grace from going out....
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| "Um....if *I* can't go out, then YOU can't either! Phffft." |
(Don't mind the NASCAR kitchen flooring....replacing it is on our "to-do list")
I've also had to reduce the amount of kibble I feed Béla because she expects a treat when she heard Grace's treat bag. Lucky for me I was able to fake Béla out by buying her kibble in a different flavor and using that as a treat :) Random
Did I mention that greyhound farts STINK?
Oh, yeah....
I did.....
Man, they are bad!
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Did she sleep all night? I'm at a lost of why the night walk is such a struggle for her.
ReplyDeleteDoes she go out in the yard when it's dark out? Are your walks in darkness or early eveing when it's still light out? Sorry for all the questions just trying to figure out what could be driving her.
It's amazing that she loves that morning walk but not at night.
She did sleep all night...and she does go out in the yard to pee/poop at night before bed. I try to go on that "night" walk before dusk. The only thing I can think of is that the level of activity in my neighborhood is drastically different at that hour...more kids out skateboarding and playing ball, more children making noises in their homes, more people out walking, more people doing things in their garages. When we go out in the morning, it is early - no kids outside, very quiet, much more calm and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly why I walk mine later in the eveing! I can't stand the noise and people that are out earlier. If I do go early it truly is a pain because our neighborhood is also active and people try to stop me to see the dogs.
ReplyDeleteWhen we go for our walks I want to do just that. Do not want to be bothered by people!
Maybe taking Gracie later after the neighborhood has settled down may help.
Good idea....I was wondering if that might help. Hope Jerzi is having a good night. The harness did not work out. She did not move a muscle with that thing on. At least with the leash I can get her going....oh boy what a challenge.
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