Monday, August 19, 2013

An update from Calamari from his forever family

Just in!  Calamari, now named Phineas, is doing GREAT with his new family.  They sent this wonderful update to us this weekend.  We are so happy for them.

Laura

*****
Hi Laura and Christopher,

I've sent a couple more photos of Phineas, that's him outside enjoying
his backyard.  We take him out on a very long leash, he plops down on
his blanket and lies there while we relax.  He loves shady area under
trees, on walks he has plopped down on the grass underneath a tree and
just watch people and things.

He's getting used to his life in a home, there's so many new things.
The stairs continue to be a challenge so I only

 let him go up and down

when I'm with him.  He is an extremely smart dog, and probably the
smartest greyhound I've ever met.  He learned "down" the first day we
got him home and just recently taught him "sit".  He knows the words
for "bed", "food", "outside", and "treats".  He is intensely
food-motivated, so much so that we are working on "shake" and all he
looks at is where the treat is, and forgets to look at my hand.  His
brain goes into short-circuit when a piece of bacon or some grilled
chicken is held out.  This is sort of back-firing on us a bit because
he will do ANYTHING to get that chicken, so he goes through all the
things he knows, runs to the bed, come back to me, sit down, lie down,
sit up again, ANYTHING so he can get this piece of chicken.  I'm not
sure if he can distinguish between "down" and "sit" because he does
one or the other until he gets the treat.  LOL!  He also loves fruits.
 Isn't there anything he doesn't like to eat?  I gave him a lemon
wedge to taste one time and he actually wanted more of it, he's such a
goof.

He sleeps frequently on his back, still likes his crate but he has
figured out where the sun is and will go lie there.  This guy is part
rooster, he goes to his crate very early, 9PM, and wakes up at 5AM!
Then he pads into our bedroom and huffs and lies down and starts
whining softly so there's no staying in bed.  He is a very vocal
little guy, when he's excited and happy he makes a mixture of barking
and rooing.  Getting a little bit used to getting his own way, he will
cry and whine at me until the food appears.  We'll have to have a talk
about who's the boss.  The stubborn streak is still there, but I think
it's because he's still a big puppy and hasn't figured out how to
behave in every situation yet.

He is a very smart, very sweet and loving dog.  He will come to me and
tuck his head under my chest for head rubs and ear rubs, although he
does not like to be smothered with hugs for too long.  He still likes
to lie by himself most of the time.  We're really happy to have him,
he makes us laugh, and we love him very much.  After Phineas has
settled in we'll be looking to get him a greyhound friend sometime in
the future.

Sorry this got a little long-winded, there seems to be so much to tell
you about our little guy.  I'm so glad you're getting a new foster.  It's
an adventure isn't it?  I hope the foster will find a good permanent
home soon.  We'll keep in touch and good luck with your new grey!

******

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