Pack Walk

Today, Chloe, her brother and sisters, and I ventured out bravely (and probably crazily) for a walk on this beautiful day on some trails near our house.

This is the first time we've attempted an actual pack walk since Chloe joined our family. It went better than I expected, but we do need to work on it some. Rio forgets she is on lead and walks under the hounds which creates a tangled mess as you can imagine. Plus, everyone was excited to try and sniff everything.

For obvious reason, no photos were taken on this walk. The REAL test of strength came when walking back to the truck, 3 female deer were walking (and then running and leaping once they saw us). My heart dropped to my stomach because I thought how in heavens name I am I going to hold onto all 4 dogs. The deer were probably less than 50 feet in front of us.

Cori and Blaze saw the dear and froze. Their ears went up and they tried to dash. I held on, TIGHT. Fortunately, Rio and Chloe were just enjoying their walk and didn't see them until they had just gone down a ravine. Phew--disaster averted.

All in all, we had a nice little walk.

Chloe's Latest Outing

Today, Chloe went to watch some of SEGC's Old Mill Stakes (lure coursing) at the Old Mill Farm in Cartersville. She brought Rio along for company and confidence. She LOVES going for a ride so our drive to the Old Mill Farm was a nice, pleasant ride. She got out of my truck no problem. Once out of the truck she became a little nervous.

We had arrived during the break for lunch. Pretty much everyone there knew her story so everyone approached her calmly and from their side, not making eye contact. She sniffed a few folks as long as they ignored her. She would not take treats though, even from me. Although she was nervous, she was not panicked, nor did she try to bolt. She was fine greeting other dogs, so no worries there.

We just walked around calmly and slowly so she could investigate the area. Rio greeted everyone she came in contact with, human or canine, which was great for Chloe to see.

Then lure coursing started back up after lunch. Someone obviously changed dogs on me. Chloe was a totally different dog once the the lure started moving. And oh my heavens if dogs were chasing it, you would have sworn this girl was a lure coursing champ. She tried very hard to go join the dogs running after the lure.

Her ears were up. Her eyes were focused and she even did some happy squealing. She even let people come up and pet her. SEGA's Toni Kane sat on the ground and petted Chloe. Chloe did pretty well with that and one point almost stepped on Toni so she could get a better look at the lure. She would even watch the golf cart going around to restring the line when necessary. After all, sometimes the golf cart had the lure and she just didn't want to miss a minute of it.

The whole fun adventure was confirmation of what I already suspected. Chloe will adjust just fine to a new life full of activities, travel, people and dogs. I could not be happier because I am considering today Chloe's "Gotcha Day." Yes, I am so smitten with this little girl that I am adopting her myself. My dogs and I are thrilled to welcome her to our little family.

Let the fun begin. Hang on Chloe, you're in for the time of your life.

Taking It Slow

Chloe met her first child, Arisallia (3rd grader), since she's been in foster with me. She was quite nervous and stayed "hidden" for the first hour or so. Because this little girl was very calm and gentle, and Chloe's foster siblings were interacting wih Arisallia, Chloe actually came out for a little visit. The little girl sat next to Chloe just petting her, talking calming, quietly and sweetly to her. Chloe did ok as evidenced by the below picture.

Chloe then posed for Arisallia in a cute close up.

Snow Day!

Chloe seems to have enjoyed the recent snow accumulations. Donning a cute little GA Dawgs coat, she and her foster siblings had some fun romps in the snow before the snow got too icy.

When Chloe is comfortable and feels secure, she is playful and adventurous. She is definitely a dog who thrives around other confident, friendly and playful dogs.

Playdate

Chloe and her foster siblings had a fun playdate today with my friend Amanda and her sweet girl Millie. Chloe, Millie, and Chloe's foster brother and sisters, Blaze, Cori and Rio had fun running around the fenced backyard. It was a bit chilly so everyone had their coats on. Millie enjoyed the chance to be off lead in a safe, fenced environment with other greyhounds.

Then we all moved inside to visit some more and celebrate Chloe's foster brother, Blaze's 3rd birthday with yummy doggie birthday cake (peanut butter/banana with strawberry flavored light cream cheese frosting). All the pups seemed to enjoy their cake and fun play date. Chloe enjoyed visiting with Amanda as well.

Chloe was ready for a nap after the playdate. A fun time was had by all.

Busy Girl

Chloe has been on the go this week. She absolutely LOVES to go for a ride. She has been on 2 outings so far this week. Monday she went with her foster sister, Rio to a local feed & seed store, TC Country. Chloe seems to mirror the dog she is with. Rio loves to go places and meet folks. She stays happy and calm. That had a great effect on Chloe. People wanted to meet and greet her, so I just asked that they move slowly and speak calmly. Chloe noticed that Rio was fine these folks, so Chloe did well as well. She was shy but still interested in meeting the folks. It was an all around good outing.

Her second outing was with her foster greyhound sister, Cori to Cori's Rally Obedience class. She was able to watch the class from a nice comfortable, soft sided crate close to the ring where we were working. She came out a few times to walk around and visit. She was a more nervous during this outing which was understandable. There were a more people and as well as different dogs. All the dogs in class are friendly and well behaved so there was nothing to worry about there. She definitely was not as at ease, but she did not shut down. She didn't panic or try to bolt. She just wasn't as sure of herself. Even still, I was pleased with her outing. Progress comes in small packages. The more outings she goes on with her foster siblings, the more confident she will become.

All in all, Chloe has made tremendous progress (when you add it all up) in the 2 short weeks she has been in foster. I could not be happier.

New Year - New Things

This new year, 2011 is going to be Chloe's year. It's going to be her year to go new places, meet new people, try new things and find a forever home.

In a previous post, Chloe had started to pick up dog toys and carry them around. Now she has actually started to play a little with them. She actually picked one up and played with it.

She also had a visitor today. She wanted to greet our family friend, Tracy. She came up shyly but wagging, following the lead of her foster siblings.

She spent some one on one time with Tracy and seemed to enjoy it. The key was moving slowly and talking calmly and sweetly.

It will be exciting to watch Chloe blossom and become more confident. She's off to a great start.