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.

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.

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.