OK, just because his name is Living History, obviously that doesn’t mean that I know my history! That should have been Daniel Boone in the previous post (referring to the raccoon tail). We have actually been calling him Duke as I saw a note at the kennel that this may have been his call name. He has made great progress these past couple weeks. He now answers to his name, and will come immediately when called. Well, that is immediately unless the neighbor’s 2 little terriers are out and socializing through the fence.

He has really changed and mellowed quite a bit and is developing some very nice manners. With just a little reinforcement at the very beginning that the humans are alpha, he is very respectful. He will stay out of the kitchen during meals and meal-prep without questioning. Although he is still interested in following me from room to room, he quickly zonks out where ever he is. Comfy dog beds are simply HEAVEN! Stairs have not been a problem since the first day, but he has learned to slow down a little, especially coming down them. All of ours are carpeted, but I don’t imagine that uncarpeted ones would bother him either as he does the 5 open steps to the deck just fine. Walks have gotten much easier too. I still end up with some zig-zagging when I walk them both, but he is much better at not pulling toward other dogs we see along the way now. Other than my one potted plant on the very first day, he has shown absolutely no interest in marking or peeing in the house.

Duke/History does not interact much in the house with our grey, who is more on the timid side. But outside they will occasionally play chase. We are still working with sharing toys as Duke prefers not to. However with people he is perfect teddy bear - complete with thick fuzzy fur everywhere, unlike our grey who has a very bald belly and butt! I can take anything out of his mouth without a single protest (food, chewies or toys). He is really a very lovable fella who does not seem to mind anything that I do to him: trimming nails, pulling his ears, tugging on his tail, checking out his teeth, picking him up with his chest off the ground, wiping paws when coming in from the yard, great big bear hugs... And when you pet him, he leans into you so hard that if you move too quickly he nearly falls over! All the while looking at you with gorgeous brown eyes surrounded by dark brown “eyeliner”. Even his eyebrows are little darker and make his face very expressive!

First few days as a foster.

What an exciting few days it has been. Living History is our first foster although we have had our grey Aspen for 4 years. I was expecting a rather shy insecure creature when we brought him home. History, however is a very confident, curious, inquisitive fun-loving fella’. He is afraid of nothing, although I have not yet tried the vacuum cleaner. On top of his beautiful red coloring, he has black tips on the longer hairs in his coat. This gives him a rather unique look as if he has been sprinkled with soot. And his tail, that adorable tail! It is rather thick for a greyhound, and has raccoon-like pattern of dark patches. That combined with his adventurous nature leads me to think that Davey Crocket might be a more appropriate name!


The first day was spent exploring and learning the house, the yard and finding the oh so comfy dog beds. But the best thing in life, second only to dinnertime, is squeaky toys! He will squeak and toss and run and shake them and skid across the kitchen floor until he is out of breath. He will chase anything you toss, a ball, or toy, or pine cone, although he doesn’t really bring it back to you, at least not yet. The joy he has for life is much like a puppy, and it brings a smile to you face no matter what.

He is curious about everything, and wants to “help” you do whatever you are doing. Open a cupboard door and he is there, in up to his shoulders checking out what is inside. Open a closet door, and there he his checking out what good things you have sucked up into the vacuum cleaner, or where your shoes have walked the last time you were out. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not obsessive, just a quick look around and he’s off to the next thing to explore.
He’s been staying in his crate while we are at work, and loose in the house while we are home. He has been wonderful in the house, no accidents. He showed a little extra interest in some potted houseplants at first, but has been ignoring them since that first day or so. He and our grey Aspen sleep on dog beds in our room at night with us and other than sorting out who is sleeping on what bed, they are perfectly quiet all night long.

History needs a little work with leash walking as he is easily distracted by sights and smells and sounds of the neighborhood. But with practice, each walk he is getting much better! His strong food motivation is also perfect for focusing on basic obedience. He has mastered ‘down’ and 'sit' is a work in progress. Little bits every day and soon he will be far ahead of our own grey.
Stairs at first were, well, comical to say the least. He managed to go up on the second try, but down was a little scarier. (See the picture of Aspen (on the left) and History (on the right) looking down the scary basement steps). Scary that is until my husband squeaked a toy at the bottom, then the fear just strangely disappeared! Over the next couple days stairs become less of a comedy show of scrambling and leaping up them, and basically surfing down them, to a more relaxed one (or two) steps at a time. In fact, the last day or so, he has relaxed in general. Dinnertime still produces “pogo-ing” (front legs bouncing up and down with joy!), but no longer does he actually pounce on ME.

History gets such joy out of everything in this new life. He gives no indication that anything bad ever happened to him in the past, and embraces every new experience with enthusiasm!

I see you have your Blog!!

You are a lucky hound to have your very own Blog and such a fine foster mom. Angela is a wonderful greyhound lover and you will be very happy in her home until you find your "forever home"