Nellie update

Nellie's been with us for almost two weeks and is gradually becoming more and more confident in her new surroundings. She's still shy and still startles easily, but she gets over it quickly. Nellie is comfortable enough now to come and hang out/lay down in the living room with the family, something she didn't do at all during her first week here. Nellie is trying to actively seek out attention but her natural shyness only allows it in fits and starts. Even so, she's making good progress and has even rewarded a lucky few of us with several doggie kisses, and has even started greeting us at the door with her tail a-waggin'. At this point, and for those with no greyhound experience, we're thinking she'll do better in a household with another dog or dogs present. She's much more relaxed when she's part of a pack versus when she's by herself. For those with previous greyhound experience, however, she'd do well as an only dog given time, patience, and a gentle hand - she's really a sweet dog and the shyness will start to dissipate gradually over time.
As noted in the last post, Nellie likes to go for walks and is pretty good on the leash. I took her for a jog of approximately 2 miles last weekend and she did well and she should make a nice running companion if that's your thing. Nellie also did steps last weekend and didn't have any issues there. At this point we can also say that she's 100% housebroken, so yay for that! :-)
All in all, we're very happy with her progress and if you think that Nellie would be a good fit for your household please give Denise a shout. If you've got questions, feel free to submit them in the comments section here on the blog.

Whoa Nellie!

This is Nellie (track name, Regall Sit -n- Spin), and the picture just doesn't do her beauty very much justice. Nellie is a sweet, sweet girl and a strikingly beautiful 4 year-old brindle hound in surprisingly good physical condition for an ex-track dog - full coat, good weight, no fleas, ticks or other nasty bugs that some hounds come in with. Nellie is, however, a bit on the shy side. She's not a spook by any means but she can be a bit skittish sometimes. As is usually the case with most of the shy hounds, time and patience will lead to the emergence of a bolder and more confident dog. Nellie is no exception. In the five days she's been with us, she's made good progress towards being comfortable in new surroundings. She's started taking steps towards us for some petting and ear skritches, although she waits 'til her foster brother Coastal is getting some attention before she decides to inch her way towards us rather than us going to her, as we did the first two days she was here. Nellie is a very quiet dog - she hasn't barked once and she hasn't done any whining, either. She kennels up well and is doing great with the housebreaking. Nellie has done well on the leash so far and seems to be small animal safe (she's not taken notice of the household feline as of yet, that we know of, but we'll do a face-to-face with both of them in the future to see how she reacts). She's eating and sleeping well and is starting to get the hang of general household living. I expect her personality to really blossom over the next week or so as she gets into a regular rhythm. Nellie does not seem to be overly dependent on her foster brother - though she does follow his lead on potty breaks and such - so she might be suitable as an only dog, if the right circumstances present themselves. Patience and steady gentleness will be the key in her successful transfer to her eventual forever home. I think she's going to make a really nice companion for the right person(s). Though she's never going to be a gregarious, life-of-the-party hound, she will still be a real sweetheart in her happy, quiet way. Nellie has not done steps yet, but we'll be addressing that over the weekend. I have a hunch that she might make a nice jogging companion, so I'll take her for a run this weekend and she how she does with that. As always, drop Denise a line if you think this is the hound for you.

The Decline And Continuing Fall Of The Washington Redskins

Pity Jim Zorn, he's a dead man walking but hasn't quite realized it yet. The Washington Redskins are the worst team in the NFL, bar none. Forget for a moment that they actually won two games. One against perennial doormat St Louis and one against doormat wannabe Tampa Bay. They were lucky to get out of both of those games with a win and they've allowed 3 previously winless teams to beat 'em like an old rug. Why, though, that's the 64,000 dollar question on everyone's mind.
While there's a myriad of reasons, from under-performing players, to questionable coaching and time-management decisions, the real blame lies strictly at the feet of the Redskins' ownership. Daniel Snyder and his personal bootlicker/racquetball partner/Vice President of Fantasy Football Operations, Vinny Cerrato, have meddled and mismanaged their way to the NFL basement. Neither one knows the first thing about running an NFL franchise, nor does either one have the ability to evaluate talent. Throwing uncountable millions at every big free-agent available just means that you have deep pockets. It doesn't mean that you have a clue about what you're actually doing. Perhaps it's time to mention that selling a lot of jerseys with recognizable names embroidered on them doesn't equate to a winning season. This undynamic duo have been screwing things up for a decade now. That's right, ten years have passed by and what do 'Skins' fans have to show for it? A large bowl of mediocrity with a heaping helping of losing sprinkled on top, that's what. Snyder and Cerrato haven't the slightest idea on how to go about creating a football team that can win in the NFL. Snyder, despite having no knowledge about anything related to football, fails to realize this is somehow a hindrance and continues to inject his egomaniacal football fantasies upon Zorn just as he did with the last gazillion or so coaches that have come and gone during his reign or terror. Cerrato, meanwhile, is such a poor evaluator of talent, that he couldn't find a widescreen TV at BestBuy, let alone land a good player by researching his merits in concordance with the 'Skins actual needs.
At the end of last season it was well known inside the front office that the team's most pressing need was the Offensive line. Coach Zorn even went so far as to admit they couldn't call deep strikes because they were afraid Jason Campbell would get hurt waiting for the play to develop. When your Offensive line couldn't collectively stop your grandma from crossing the street last season, how are they magically supposed stop hungry Defenses this year when your management team ignored the problem completely. It's inexcusable and indefensible. The NFL is an Offensive league. You cannot win in this league without pass protection or run-blocking. You. Just. Can't. Getting to the end zone means having an Offensive line that can do their jobs. They're unsung and mostly unrecognized, and I'm sure that they don't sell a lot of jerseys, but they're the the underlying reason a team's able to score points. That "The Beast With Two Heads," Snyderrato, fails to understand this is why the 'Skins are now the laughingstock of the NFL. Any idiot could've - and did -
sign Albert Haynesworth and re-sign DeAngelo Hall to big contracts, but only a special breed of idiot would do so while completely ignoring their most pressing needs; revamping the decimated Offensive line. Forget the arguments over JC -vs- TC at QB. Forget the lack of depth at WR that allows defenses to concentrate on Cooley and Moss. Forget the fact that FB Mike Sellers has apparently forgotten how to block for Portis, or has just given up on it this year for some reason. Forget the fact that Mr. Fair Catch himself, Antwaan Randle-El is still, mysteriously, pretending to return punts. Forget the fact that last decent kick-off return for this team probably happened before Rock Cartwright was even born. All of those problems would be severely lessened if the 'Skins had been paying attention to the Offensive line. They'd still be issues of course, but the 'Skins wouldn't be watching NFL doormats come in and wipe their boots on the Burgundy and Gold like has been happening the past few weeks.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out where the fault lies. Jim Zorn ultimately got stuck with the Head Coaching last year job because nobody else would work for the meddlesome two-headed monster that runs this organization. Think about that for a moment. The front office rejected the best person for the job, former assistant head coach and defensive genius, G Williams, because he wouldn't have quietly acquiesced to their interference. Here was someone the players were passionate about and after the passing of Sean Taylor would've played their hearts out for, but the Beast With Two Heads wanted no part of that. Instead they wined and dined everyone else available to no good end because all of the candidates realized their Head Coaching duties would largely be a sham under Snyderrato. Now it's even worse. Things have righteously blown up in their faces this year. All the unfavorable media coverage of the decline and continuing fall of the 'Skins has most people wondering why any coach would want to come to DC and work for these meddling buffoons. Anyone really think that J. Gruden or B. Cowher would come to an organization that is known for hamstringing anyone wearing the headphones? One look at soon-to-be-gone Coach Zorn in the linked pic above (credit: the Washington Post) should be enough to scare any right-thinking person away from taking this job. Zorn is too nice of a guy to be hung out to dry the way he's been.

Dan Snyder has always claimed to want to be part of a winning team. Well, actions speak louder than words, and if Snyder truly wants to be part of a winning team, he needs to do what every successful owner in the NFL does: hire a real General Manager/Head Coach and get the hell out of his way. If Snyder truly wants to muck around with a football team, there are plenty of leagues on Yahoo and ESPN to allow that kind of yearning to happen.

RJ gets comfy

RJ has transitioned into home life like a champ! Simply put; RJ is a sweetheart of a dog and someone is going to be extremely lucky to have him in their home. RJ is completely housebroken and has no issues with anything. He walks well on the leash - and is excited to go for walks when the time comes to do so - does stairs, is cat-safe, is friendly, happy, sociable, and loves people. As noted in the last post, RJ is a leaner. If you're standing there and RJ happens by and you reach out to give him an ear skritch or a quick petting, well, be prepared for him to close the gap and snuggle up to you. Visitors are just as likely to receive this attention as family members are - RJ doesn't care who you are, he just wants some lovin'!
RJ is finally putting on some much-needed weight and his fur is starting to fill in nicely, though his rear-end and back legs are still mostly bare. RJ will be done with his medications in a few days and will be soon going in for his dental, and boy does he ever need one. He has the stinkiest breath - and the worst tartar/plaque build-up - of any hound we've ever had here in the house, so the teeth cleaning will provide benefits for both RJ and his future adopters! For those who like to trim their dog's nails at home, we clipped RJ's nails this week and he didn't put up a fuss at all, so no worries about that aspect of hound upkeep.
And yes, RJ still likes the chair and the sofa, but is also sleeping more and more on the floor or dog beds. Anyhow, to say we're happy with RJ's progress would be a severe understatement :-)

RJ's 2nd chance

The adorable hound all curled up on our chair is RJ. Through no fault of his own, 9 year-old RJ had a long and rough patch of bad luck that saw him relegated to a basement for a period of several years. That's right, RJ was stuck in a basement for an excruciatingly long period of time. He committed no crime, yet he was held like a prisoner. RJ was malnourished and had flea dermatitis so bad that he lost a significant portion of his otherwise beautiful brindle coat. Why? Because sometimes people just suck. All this bad news is now in the past, however, and we won't be dwelling on it any longer. Suffice to say, RJ now has a 2nd chance at retirement and finding his forever home.
RJ is a very, very nice older dog - he's an absolute sweetheart, in fact - and is remarkably quiet, pleasant, happy, and social considering his past confinement. RJ is currently 15 or so pounds underweight and is in the process of regaining his coat. He's currently on medications to alleviate the conditions forced upon him by his previous situation. RJ is eating well, sleeping well and looks to be well on the road to a full recovery. RJ is definitely a couch potato and will crawl up on any piece of soft furniture available if you let him. RJ walks well on the leash, is housebroken, is cat-safe, gets along with his foster brother Coastal, and is very smart. RJ has not shown an inclination for toys as of yet, though he has taken a blue washcloth out of the laundry basket several times to bring to his bed like a favorite "woobie", also, he's a leaner!
RJ is going to be with us for a while before he's able to go to his forever home, but if you think RJ would make a good addition to your home, don't hesitate to contact Denise. He needs to put on some weight, finish his current run of medicines, and get a dental. While all that's going on, we're going to be giving him some much-deserved TLC and constantly evaluating his progress. We really, really like this old boy, and considering what he's been through, we'll be looking for a special forever home for this distinguished older gentleman to spend his twilight years in.

Dude reaches the beach!

Dude, handsome, laid-back hound that he is, found himself a home where his name fits right in: Rehoboth Beach. Duuuuuuude! :-)
Keep your toes in the sand, Dude.
Oh, a quick shout-out and special thanks to Charlie for providing transportation so Dude could make the picnic on Sunday. High five!

Duuuuuuude!

The handsome hound at left is Dude. Yes, Dude. Hard name to live up too? Nah. Dude is, as you'd expect from the name, laid-back and cool. Dude's only been with us since Sunday morning, so I'll just give a quick rundown. He's a friendly sort and is unafraid of new situations, whether jumping up into my truck or climbing down the steps into our pool. Yes, Dude is the first hound here that's ever voluntarily gotten into our in-ground pool! He decided to cool his feet off after a long walk on Sunday afternoon by stepping down into the pool and just chilling out for a few minutes. Quite funny as most of the hounds avoid the water like the plague.
Dude walks well on the leash and has done some steps w/out any difficulty. Dude also kennels up well and hasn't needed bribing to enter the crate. He's been sleeping just fine at night in our bedroom with his foster brother Coastal close by. Housebreaking has been going well, so far, and his appetite is good. In short, he's a really nice hound and I expect his personality to really blossom in the next few days as he settles in.