I mentioned how we've taken in a foster greyhound. Sierra is wonderful. She's pretty and smart and FAST fast. She has literally awesomely torn up the yard with her speedy lap running. She's not quite two years old and pretty fresh off the track.
She's used to being kenneled with bunches of other greys. She's used to being turned out with several dogs at a time. She's used to racing.
She's not used to a house with floors and windows and mirrors and other people things. She's not used to being alone. Part of our job as foster parents is to help her transition into her retirement, to get ready to be adopted, to get used to floors and windows and mirrors and other people things.
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| Sierra posed for this pic to show off her impressive booty |
And she's doing really well. She's (sort of) figured out that the sliding glass door is a barrier between inside and outside. She's learned that the dog run is the "ladies" room. She's really figured out that the dog bed and toys are for her.
One thing she's still working on is being alone. I feel for her, I really do. She follows us from room to room and pretty much always wants us within sight. She readily and comfortably goes into her crate, but when she can't see anyone, she cries.
Like right now.
I say I'm training her. I'm helping her be adoptable. It's only day 4. I've been leaving her alone in the crate for a couple of hours each day and getting her used to the idea that I always come back.
But it's still a foreign situation for her. So she cries. And I reassure her. And I blog with the cat in my lap, because he's feeling a bit neglected too. And then I put in my earbuds.
To help with the guilt.
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Linking up again with Mama Kat for the prompt:
2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: guilty
18 comments:
First off - how do you find these weird Youtube videos? That one was really interesting though. I didn't know brain tones was a thing.
Poor Sierra! What an adjustment. It sounds as hard as letting your baby cry themselves to sleep. I tried that one time and just couldn't do it again.
*Sort of* figured out that the sliding glass door is a barrier?
You're doing a great thing for Sierra.
I don't remember how I found that youtube, but there are several similar ones. All part of my how-can-I-be-smarter-without-working-too-hard-for-it efforts. Plus, I can't blog and listen to music with lyrics at the same time...
It's EXACTLY like having a baby "cry it out". It's easier with sleep deprivation.
Apparently that sliding glass door thing is a real problem for some of these greyhounds, particularly if they see a furry thing in the yard, and we have lots of furry things around!
This is a good thing you are doing for her, I am sure it is a confusing time for her and I can see you are going to help her transition just fine.
It is so great what you are doing. And quite the commitment. Sierra's a lucky girl. Even if she doesn't always feel like it for those few hours.
If Homer Simpson can do it, so can we!
It's an impressive network of volunteers that make all this happen. We're total newbies!
We've used kennel training over the years and once they get used to it they really love it. She will quit crying after a while as she realizes that people are coming back all the time.
You are doing a great job with her! Once it clicks that you will always come back to her, she will stop the whining and crying and be okay! She is super cute and she looks tall.
First of all... Herb! Long time!
It's nice that she's already crate trained from her time as a racer. She's fine going in the crate and will spend all night there quietly. We're just dealing with the separation anxiety, which is a common thing with newly retired greyhounds.
She's got so many nice traits, this whining is a final hurdle I'm sure she can overcome. She is rather long and "leggy", but really, I was expecting her to be even bigger.
Thats noble work Abby!Sierra looks healthy and relieved to have found a home.
Good for you for taking in Sierra. She's just another tutee, right? Congrats to Wolfgang!
I did not realize you were fostering!! This makes me so happy! We get our next foster on June 3rd I believe and I just absolutely love them. It is really hard though. The transition a foster home provides is not a painless one. I had one foster who really hated be crated during the day, but did well at night. Our foster coordinator said since they're sight hounds, if I'm crating her during the day, perhaps make sure the windows are not covered so that he can see things. The room his crate was in did not allow for that and he was actually breaking out of it so our coordinator recommended giving him a whole room and just gating it off. I allowed the Grey to have full access to our living room, gated it off and kept his muzzle on during those first trials and he did SO much better. I felt better not having to crate him when I knew he didn't like it and he didn't do anything destructive once he could relax on his bed in a bigger room. Keep those suggestions in your pocket just in case crating during the day is just not something she's going to warm up to!
Thanks, Sara!
Thanks! And yep, just another tutee :)
Aren't they the coolest dogs? I'd been thinking about adopting one someday, and we got on the foster bandwagon for now.
People were advising me to cover her crate on the top and sides, but that really seemed counterintuitive to me, but I tried and it didn't help. Once I took all the covering off, she seemed happier. I think, like your foster, she wanted to see everything. They're all unique!
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