Cuz

Wizard found a new best friend in the house to play with. A green "Good Cuz". They squeak like crazy and I catch him playing with it all the time now. He absolutely loves them. Here he is with his Cuz:


Back on the kennel issue. I left Wizard out of the crate when I left the house twice this past week. Once for 20 mins and the other for 1 1/2 hours. He did AMAZING! Not a single peep out of him, he just went to the dog bed and laid down. What a perfect cutie.
He really loves life out of the kennel and has zero separation anxiety at all.
Some dogs are just happier out of the kennel; Lucy hated the kennel from day one and I raised her from an 8 week old pup! I forced the kennel for a year before I completely gave up and declared her the victor.

Those were just tests to see how he is outside of the kennel, I still kennel him(and feed in there) just in case his new owner wants to kennel him.
Wizard has been with me for 2 months and he has been an absolute gem.

Sounds

Wizard has a silly array of sounds that he makes. He grunts in bed when he gets comfy. He snorts on walks. He pretends to hiccup. He teeth chatters when I'm prepping food. I like to call his form of teeth chatter "motor-boating."
Turn up the volume to hear it:


I also catch him puffing his cheeks daily. It is a mild example in the video, but usually when he is laying down and does it, it is very audible.




Wizard is close to being a perfect dog. The only issue is that he cries/whines because he doesn't like the crate. I crate him everyday and he is vocal, but he doesn't poop or pee in there. If I leave him for more than 5 hours he does start to destroy his bedding. I have left him out of the crate as a test for 10 mins when I quickly ran to the gas station and he did perfect( he went and laid down on his bed the whole time without a peep)! I feel he would do great and be much happier out of the crate in a dog-proof home since he has not tried to destroy or eat anything, no counter surfing attempts and he has greyt potty habits.
I really love having him in the home, he is such a fun foster.

Bed Head

Wizard continues to come out of his shell and I've been catching him pick up toys several times a day. He only plays with it for a couple minutes though. I feel horrible that I don't have soft squeaker toys in the house, but the weims *cough* Lucy *cough* destroys every soft toy instantly... Even with that in mind, I decided to order some stuffing less toys for them (especially Wizard). Can't wait for the delivery.

Why do dogs like to sleep with their heads off of a comfy bed? Wizard is the master at this. These beds are huge(30X54) so there's plenty of room, and usually he's the only one on them since the weims prefer the couch.



There is a whole wall of dog beds in the bedroom, yet he still chooses to put his head on the ground.



And a non bed fail

Week 5

Wizard did not get adopted this past weekend. But two other hounds from NLGA went to their forever homes; one of them being Debbie! Good luck in your new home sweet girl.

Wizard loves to go for car rides. He gets super excited and his tail goes into helicopter mode. He is wonderful in the car and his favorite thing to do it stick his head out the window. His nose usually bends back and forth as he sniffs the breeze. Sorry the video is not the best, I was just guessing where to shoot because I kept my eye on the road. Also, he is secure in the back with a harness, so no worries.

1 Month

Wizard has been here for 1 month and is doing greyt. He has settled in well, but has not played with any toys. He picked up a couple toys in the past month but would drop them right away. So I tried to entice him into playing yesterday and it worked! He was having a blast with a stuffing-less/squeaker-less snake. Most of the playing was not recorded because if I got up to grab the cam, he would've stopped playing to follow me. I did manage to get some footage at the tail end.





I think his personality is starting to come out because he also had his first zoom session in the house yesterday.

Wizard will be attending some adoption events this Friday and possibly Saturday. So keep your fingers and paws crossed for him to find his forever loving home.

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Please help with a missing greyhound named Hannah. She is 55 lbs, brindle with a hot pink collar. She was last spotted in Chaska. Please do not chase but call 612-508-5465 or 612-310-0765. Here is a news story on her:
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/volunteers-search-for-missing-greyhound-april-19-2010

UPDATE: HANNAH WAS FOUND TODAY! YAY! She is in okay shape considering how far and long she has been running.

Sunbathing Sunday

It was a beautiful spring day; sunny, 68 degrees and no wind. Perfect day to catch some rays in the backyard.

As a comparison, how does a weimaraner sunbathe?

Lucy


Leroy


And how does Wizard sunbathe?







He does like to lay directly in the sun if it is cooler(especially in the house). Silly Wizard, what are you going to do when it hits 90?

Yesterday I clipped his nails again and decided to try out the dremel. When i applied it to his nails, he shot up and ran away... No big deal since he is very good about getting his nails cut the traditional way. He has super clear nails, so it is easy to avoid the quick.
I also ran the vacuum. He didn't like it too much and would get up to move away. He wasn't scared, just didn't want to be near it.

Velcro Dog

I can't believe Wizard has been with us for two weeks already. Time flies with this fun boy. He has completely settled in and is loving retired life. Wizard is so easy going and the weims adore him. It makes me wonder why he has not been snatched up already.

Wizard is not like any other greyhound I've fostered. All the others like to do their own thing, hang out and once in awhile check on me. Not Wizard. He likes to follow me around the house. When I get up to leave one room, he immediately gets up and is right behind me. Reminds me of my weims and their tendency to be velcro dogs.

So, who wants to snatch up this handsome, sweet, and well behaved boy?

Wizard's backyard pics this weekend:

Pet Store

We went on a socialization trip to the pet store this weekend and Wizard did greyt! At first he didn't like the slippery floor, but got used to it after a few minutes. He explored the whole place and loved getting pets from everybody. We also picked up a couple treats for him too :)

Checking out the Cats:


Wizard is a smart shopper(sorry about my silly giggle):


Check out:

Day 5

Wizard is quickly learning about home life and is a joy to foster. He is perfectly house broken and has not had a single accident and holds it all night long. The first night with Wizard was a little rough; he would fall asleep and wake up anxious and pace the bedroom because he didn't know where he was. But by the second night he was able to sleep through the night with the help of a light and fan for some noise.

He is the easiest foster to teach how to use the stairs. After the second day he can go up and down on his own. He also gets along fantastically with the weimaraners. He has no space issues whatsoever with me or the hounds, is not afraid of new sights or sounds, lets me clean his ears, brush his teeth, brush his coat and clip his nails(have not tried the dremmel yet) without a single fuss.

The only thing Wizard needs to work on is being in his crate. Hopefully, he will learn to like it in there.

This boy is the biggest food hound ever. He loves to eat everything and will try to beg for my food. Silly boy.
A pet store just recently opened up in town so I will be taking him this weekend, so stay tuned for the report.

FYI, Wizard will not be running laps in the backyard because he has a old broken hock and is most likely not small animal safe.


Here is a vid of Wizard enjoying his first frozen kong, YummY!

Welcome Wizard

Our new foster Wizard is here! I picked him up earlier today and he is settling in nicely. He's so handsome and has been a complete gentleman. He is not shy at all and prefers to hang in the same room as us. Noise (baby gate falling, TV, music) does not bother him. He is a complete food hound and walks like a dream on lead. After all girl fosters (my husband's preference) we finally get a boy (my preference), so I'm very excited to be fostering Wizard.
He is too cute for words:




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