Introducing Takoda!

Meeting Takoda at the breeder's house
Thursday, October 19, 2017.

The night Zenzi died, I had a dream of her. She was romping on clouds above the Earth, happy and free, like she was on the secret trail we walked that day.  She stopped at a hole in the clouds, dancing excitedly with her front feet as though she'd found a ball.  When I followed the hole down to the Earth, I entered a home where a single golden retriever puppy remained in need of a home.  It then went backwards in time, showing me the ad on Craigslist from the small family/hobby breeder to find the puppy.

I couldn't get the dream out of my head in the morning.  Though I had no intention of replacing Zenzi and was determined to go back to being a 2 dog household again, I couldn't get the dream out of my mind.  Sure enough, I found the ad exactly where Zenzi said it would be.  The breeder bred primarily for military families of Camp Pendleton, but any extra puppies were available to the public.  The parents were health tested, rated excellent on their joints, and cleared of heart/eye defects.  I arranged to meet them that night, and was quickly in love.  The Mama met me first, and just laid at my feet, belly up, and grinned while I rubbed her belly.  The Daddy came out second, and while utterly friendly, was most interested in the treats one of the little boys was holding.  When I met the only remaining puppy from this Mama's last litter, I knew he was special, and I quickly fell in love, despite my broken heart.  He passed all my service prospect puppy tests with flying colors.

Dad:  Bumblebee, 10yo, left
Mom:  Rose, 8yo, right

I arranged to pick him up that Sunday (I met him on Thursday), and he had a big day:  first puppy class, meeting everyone in my life that is here in California, and coming home to meet my pack and begin house training.

Takoda has been home just over a month, and has settled in like a champ.  Dolce wrestles with him constantly.  I swear Takoda will keep Dolce young, his muscle tone is already improved!  Maya has been recovering from steroids/MRI/spinal tap and is starting to open up to the puppy.

Takoda is incredibly easy.  He was crate trained in a couple weeks, has since been house trained, and has started obedience training, public access training, and service dog task training.  He's excelling in all of them.  Videos of his training are available on the Hounds in Harmony Youtube Channel.  I intend to document that training here from now on.

Meeting Auntie Linden

Instagram:  @Takoda_golden_SDiT

Together at last, on the way home.

Introducing Maya

Not a week went by after JoJo's passing I realized the entire balance of my household was askew in an unhealthy way without a greyhound, a "normal dog."  I talked to my husband, and we agreed...

We will always need a greyhound in our lives.

It caught me by surprise.  I was ready for the hole JoJo would leave behind.  I was ready for the desire to fill that hole with another dog.  I expected to want to fill that hole, however, with a border collie.  I thought I was making a transition from greyhounds to border collies.  I was wrong.

I applied to GreySave on Saturday morning.  Didn't hear back by Monday, and applied to Greyhound Adoption Center and Fast Friends.  Greyhound Adoption Center got back to me first, so I explained that to Fast Friends and GreySave when they eventually responded to my application.  A couple days later, we were assigned an adoption representative in our area, and made an appointment for the home check.  We passed, and then nothing for weeks.

I started to panic.  Why were they putting us off?  Why were they taking so long?  Why couldn't I request to meet a dog?  Why couldn't they tell me who the short list would be?  I started inquiring at other rescues, but no one would work with me as part of a mutual non-compete the rescues have out here.  I started considering other breeds, golden retrievers in particular.  I even applied for a few dogs and inquired with a couple breeders, but that didn't go anywhere for one reason or another.

Finally, about 4.5 weeks later, we got word late Tuesday evening via email that they were ready at the GAC for us to come down to the kennel and meet some dogs.  Eager as I was, I inquired if NOW there would be a short list?

Nope.  No idea.  Just go down and see what happens.

My candidates included all the dogs that were small dog friendly, + Jonny, a beautiful brindle and white girl who was too newly rescued to have been tested yet.  Jonny's picture captured my heart the moment I saw her, but Lauper's profile was the winner of the bunch.  It described her as small dog and kid friendly, as well as cat workable.  She loved to give hugs, and wanted nothing more than to climb in your lap.

Lauper

Best-fitting profile.

Jonny

Captivating eyes.

So we were told to show up at 1:00 on Saturday, November 15th.  On our way down, we ran into 45 minutes of traffic, which made us 30-minutes late.  I was panicking, but needn't have.  They were just clearing the agility equipment off the field when we arrived at 1:30.  Darren was the guy in charge of handling the potential greyhound(s) and introductions between my two crazy furkids.  He handled Zenzi's alarm barking at his hat with aplomb, and took Dolce's reactivity in stride.  He made both of my dogs feel very comfortable in the big open field and with him before bringing out the first dog.

I inquired about Jonny, and he said she wouldn't be ready for another 6+ weeks.  She needed some time to get healthy, as they all do.  He said that they saw I had expressed an interest in Lauper (I had mentioned that she seemed a good fit on my application), and that she was their top dog for the day.  He just hoped Dolce's reactive noise wouldn't scare her away.  If she could ignore him, we'd be off to a good start, he said.  When the kids were tired from fetch and zoomies, he went to get her from the kennel area.  Dolce was to be off-leash, and he would bring Lauper down to the fence, turn her rear, and let Dolce have a good sniff.

As soon as I saw her, I wanted to cry.  I knew she was the one instantly.  I crossed all my fingers and hoped with my whole being my dogs would agree.  It was unlike anything I've ever experienced before when seeing a dog.  When I've told people this story, they've questioned whether I'd cried seeing any greyhound again, since the passing of JoJo; or whether it was nerves and anxiety about the forthcoming introductions.  I assure you, it was nothing like that.  This was soulmate seeing soulmate, and love at first sight.

Dolce took off like a shot when he noticed her approaching the field, and charged the fence, barking like a fool.  Lauper did absolutely nothing, and tolerated having her rear end turned to the fence for this mad dog to sniff.  She stood like a statue while Dolce sniffed a good long time.  He quieted as soon as he sniffed, and barked again when they started walking.  Zenzi remained on-leash with me, and was so tired from fetch, she couldn't care less there was a new dog coming in.  In fact, she was lying down when we started parallel walking:  Darren with Lauper, me with Zenzi and Dolce (who was back on-leash).

The parallel walk, or low arousal walk as Darren called it, went very smoothly.  We gradually worked our way closer together.  Dolce snarked a couple times when he and Lauper made eye contact, but nothing too serious, and he always stopped as soon as the eye contact was broken.  Zenzi was actually fairly interested in her.  We had a few polite butt sniffs, and then Darren suggested that when I felt comfortable, to casually take off the leashes from Zenzi and Dolce.  I did it as quietly as I could, and they sort of walked with us a bit, then trotted off.  Lauper was last to be let off-leash, and things remained pretty low key.  Everyone was in close proximity to each other, and there were no more snarks.  Darren wanted to go to a medium arousal, and get Lauper doing some zoomies, to see how everyone responded to that.  So he had Rick jog a bit along the fence line with her.  She happily pranced at his side, then took off with glee around the field.  Dolce tore after her at full speed, and Zenzi said "Want to play ball?!" to me.  Dolce had to cut some corners, but eventually caught up to Lauper, and they just sort of stopped together.  Dolce had tagged her, end of game.  Darren said, "That's it, that's what I was hoping for."  So now it was time for some medium arousal off-leash play time, and he wanted to go into a smaller enclosure they have to make sure if something did happen, they couldn't get too riled up speed-wise.

In the smaller enclosure, everyone did great.  Zenzi pooped, Lauper pooped, I cleaned it all up.  It was pretty low key, even with a thrown ball.  Dolce was reactive to some barking dogs and passersby from the kennel, which was very close and definitely in sight now.  So back to the field we went for some high arousal play time.  Darren used a Chuck It to throw a ball for Maya, who fetched it, then did a victory lap of zoomies.  Dolce was having a blast chasing her, and Zenzi continued to politely sniff, but remain more interested in playing with me.  After passing this phase, Darren said:

"So, do you want to see another dog?"

To which I replied, smiling, "No!  I was hoping that'd be optional!"  They'd been talking about possible alternates to bring out, I heard Pajamas and Iron mentioned:

Pajamas

Small dog safe, 2 year old male with a broken leg.

Iron

4 year old male that needs work with cats and small dogs.

But I knew going in Lauper was the one, and I didn't want to put my dogs through another introduction to confirm what my heart already knew.  Lauper was family.  I already had the name Maya picked out, named for Maya Angelou, a hugely inspiring and strong woman for me.  The entire introduction took about an hour, paperwork took another 15-20 minutes, I handed over my check for the $295 adoption fee, waived the included collar and leash (I already had a set and planned to purchase something they didn't sell) and told them to consider it my donation, and we were on our way home.

Here's the photos from the day:

Zenzi and Dolce's hammock in the back seat of my Honda Fit.

Soon-to-be Maya's bed in the back.

I put a blanket up over the head rests

so nobody could bother anybody else on the way home.

Zenzi loved having a big, green field to run in!

That's her true element, and not one she gets to experience often.

Dolce was his typical perimeter checker self.

He also enjoyed a good set of zoomies.

Richard loved her right away. :)

I've waited 21 years for a brindle greyhound.

Fell in love with them when I was 8 years old

at Michigan's Ann Arbor Art Fair.

She was as happy to have someone to constantly hug

as we were to add her to our home.

Introductions ~JoJo

Howdy, everybody! :)

I know I'm late to join the party.  My apologies for my tardiness, but what a wonderful day!  It's so sunny, warm, and relaxing here.

The youngsters have already mentioned me here and there.  That's fine.  I just wanted to let you know a bit about me, and they can carry on.

I was born to a track in a state called Alabama as Phoney Jonie.  I was a terrible racer, had absolutely no interest in competing whatsoever.  World peace is my greatest wish.  I finished 7th out of 8 dogs in my first race, then 7th again in my second race, and the 8th dog had even less interest than I did -- he didn't bother to run at all.

From the track, I was rescued, transported to a state called Michigan, and put in a foster home for a rescue group called REGAP, where I got the nickname, JoJo.  I really enjoyed snuggling with my foster Mom and my foster pals.  We all got along great!  I was adopted about 6 months later by a nice young couple.  I had decent food, a home, family... it was great!  When my human parents stopped getting along, though, my Mom had to give me back to the foster mom.  I didn't mind too much, just tried to make sure everyone was okay.

A few months after that, I was five-years-old by this time, my real Mom came and met me.  I loved how she smelled, and I leaned into her to let her know how much I appreciated the hip scritches!  Her nails are nice and short, so it doesn't hurt my sensitive skin to get really deep ones. ;)

My Mom has taken me to lots of places.  We lived at a house and an apartment in Michigan for a while, and when we were at the apartment, I got to roam in this beautiful dog park.  I loved meeting everybody human and canine alike, but what I really loved was exploring nature!  If a fight broke out, I made sure to interrupt it so everyone could just get along.  Dudes, seriously, life is too short.  Make love not war.

A couple years ago, Mom moved to a state called California to live with my new Dad.  I miss my Mom 2 and first Dad, as well as the fenced in yard they made for me and my sister, Kibeth (RIP), but I do NOT miss the winter.  No flowers to smell, no warm grass to lie in.  Definitely not as good as it is here!  I've walked in the ocean, run in the sand, and even broken up a few fights at the dog parks here; though we don't tend to visit those as often here anymore.  So much anger and hate from the people and the dogs, it's just not a good place to be and fill yourself with peace and happiness.

My favorite things include:  lying in the sun, eating breakfast and dinner, getting treats, playing with my little sister, Zenzi, and going for walks in the local parks.

I'm nine-years-old now, and I can tell that life is a slower pace at this age.  I really like to just nap in my soft, warm bed all day long.  Sure, I emerge for walks and meals, maybe to say hi to the family here and there, spread the love... you know?

Wishing you all love, peace, and happiness!
~JoJo

P.S.  Some of you were worried about me and my dental procedure on Monday.  I'm fine, but thanks for the good vibes!  I could feel the love all the way. ;)

Introduction

I've begun to notice how helpful blogs have the potential to be.  In the dog world, such things can be crucial bits of evidence into what works and what doesn't, what's good and bad, and what's true and what's false.  Gaining in experience, I feel like I have my own point of view and ideas to contribute; so in this blog, I will endeavor to convey these tid-bits as they arise.

First of all, greyhounds are trainable.  Second of all, nutrition IS important.  Third, greyhounds need jobs at home.  Fourth, owners must make a commitment to the health of their dogs:  psychological + physical.

Greyhounds like training.  You have to find their currency, but they enjoy it.  I've never met one who caught on to what training was all about via positive reward based training, and had them sulk for the rest of the time.  It always perks them up.  Their limitations, I believe, are strictly based on our creativity.

I've heard such horror stories about track life for greyhounds.  Greyhounds get thrown chunks of 4D meat at the track, or else a low-quality, bargain/bulk kibble that gives them lots of energy for racing.  No wonder they tend to come home with crappy mouths and skin problems.  Nutrition can help!  I've read and heard so much about raw and its benefits.  I'm starting to try it.  We're switching gradually.  However, I didn't have the stomach for it until recently.  I don't even cook for myself!  For those who feel similarly, remember to brush their teeth daily, have annual dentals, and feed food that doesn't aggravate the problem!  Foods, canned and kibble, that have fillers such as soy, corn, and excessive grains are NOT healthy, no matter how the company advertises!  By-products aren't something you'd ever consider eating, so why threaten to poison your dog with them?  To save a few bucks?  Well, all those bucks you save will end up in the vet's hands when your heart is aching for your pup's tragic condition years down the road.

I recommend:

• Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (CSDLS) Large Breed
• Natural Balance
• Wellness
• The Honest Kitchen (various types of dehydrated raw)
• BARF raw & prey model