A New Year, A New Home For Nellie!

I'm happy to report that 2010 is off to a rollicking good start with our Miss Nellie finding herself her forever home today! Nellie will be living in the Baltimore area with several other canine companions to cavort with. So, yay for 2010 and yay for Nellie discovering her forever home!
If you missed out on adopting Nellie and are still in the market for a greyhound, Denise has dogs available, so give another hound something to shout about by giving Denise a shout.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and here's hoping everyone also has a great New Year! Nellie had a very good Christmas and her New Year is hopefully going to go splendidly as well. She had an absolute blast playing in the snowfall we got last weekend, although she did spend a few minutes barking at that crazy white stuff falling all over the place and covering up her favorite places to pee ;-)
Nellie remains ready to go her forever home. She's learned about all she can here; she does steps, knows the "go potty" command, walks pretty well on the leash, has learned to play with toys, will accept treats from our hands (most of the time - she relapses into skittishness occasionally), has no issues with routine doggie maintenance such as toenail clipping, grooming/brushing etc.
As noted in previous posts, Nellie is always going to have some shyness issues, although they will fade somewhat into the background as time passes and she settles in and learns the daily routine. Nellie is particularly happy in the morning when the family gets up. She's quite the tail-wagger in the a.m. and will come up to the bed and stick her cold, wet nose right into your face to let you know that it's time to get up and have breakfast!
For those who like having a dog that's aware of its domain and surrounding area, Nellie will bark when strangers approach/walk by the house. This is not to say that she's a watchdog by any means, but she will let you know when someone is close by when she spots them.
A brand new year is just around the corner and Nellie would like nothing more than to start 2010 by finding a forever home with a loving family, a fenced-in yard, and another hound to another to hang around with. If you can make that happen for this sweetheart of a girl, please give Denise a call and get the ball rolling.

Nellie, Nellie!

Hey all!
Once again, my apologies for the lack of updates (and pics). We recently purchased a laptop to supplement our aging pc, and due to some issues with our old DSL modem not playing nicely with our router, we were occasioned by some access outages.... Anyhow, all those issues have been fixed and we're now back to our old internet surfing selves. Pictures of Miss Nellie will be forthcoming, I promise.
Nellie is doing absolutely great! She's become very, very comfortable here at home. In fact, she's turning into a "regular" dog, a far cry from the skittish hound who first walked into our house a little over a month ago. Nellie now happily greets us at the door, barks at strangers, plays with toys (she's even been spotted chewing on sticks outdoors), takes treats from our hands, eats her kibble all at once instead of meandering around, enjoys leashed walks, etc, etc. She's still shy around strangers and has a tendency to turn away from other people when out for walks, but all in all, she's made some serious progress.
We still think she'd do best in a home with another hound or other medium-to-larger size dog. Nellie doesn't care much for small dogs, so those with dogs under 20 pounds or so will want to look elsewhere. Nellie would probably be fine as an only dog for someone with previous greyhound experience, but as noted in an earlier post, she takes her cues from the presence of other dogs, which considerably cuts down on acclimating to a new environment.
Nellie is straddling the border between being cat-safe and cat-trainable. She generally leaves the house feline alone unless they inadvertently cross paths, in which case she'll sometimes chase after her a bit, but we haven't noticed any seriously aggressive behavior towards the cat. YMMV, and as always, all initial interactions between even those hounds who are/were previously cat-safe, should be closely monitored.
We're very happy with her progress and we think she'll make an outstanding companion for a family that understands how to address those few needs related to her shy personality and are patient enough to allow her to bloom on her own as she's done with us.

Not-quite-so-nervous-Nellie

Sorry for the lack of updates on Nellie. I was going to update on Sunday, but the stunning surprise victory of the Redskins over the Broncos left me at a loss for words, and that doesn't happen often :-) So kudos to the 'Skins for managing to win a game everyone expected them to lose. On to Nellie:

Nellie's doing very well and has really started to come out of her shell. She will now stand still for some petting and other types of attention and has really started to get that tail going a mile-a-minute when she's happy. Nellie's house manners are good - no crawling on furniture, no counter surfing, etc. She likes to go for walks and generally does very well on the leash, but sudden noises still scare her and she hesitates to do her business on the leash. She can go potty on the leash, but she rarely does, so those with unfenced yards may want to look at a different hound. Nellie does NOT like small dogs as they scare her for whatever reason. As of now, for potential adopters that already have hounds, Nellie would make a perfect addition to those looking to add another greyhound to their pack. She loves other hounds and really follows their lead. She could be an only dog in the right situation, but potential adopters would probably need some previous greyhound experience to make it work.
As noted previously, Nellie is always going to be on the shy side. That doesn't mean that she won't make a fine companion, however. After a few weeks here she's settled in and made herself an adorable, happy part of her temporary family and she's sure to do the same in her forever home. Nellie is a sweet, sweet dog and she's pretty much ready to go, so give Denise a shout is you think she's suitable for your household.

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.