Poor guy

Khan is probably 28 inches tall at his shoulder.  He is black with a Red undertone.   He is starting to get white hairs all over him.  Khan has really long top K9 teeth.  When he got here he weighed 63 pounds, he is now around 70 pounds.  Khan has bonded to Bill, as my dogs believe Bill is the protector, so does Khan.  Khan would be a lap dog, if he could get on the furniture.  He loves to be cuddled, stroked, and gently spoken to.  His ideal place would be right next to a human with a hand that just gently rubs on him. He has a gentle soul.

This Blog is about the hard part of fostering.  Similar issues probably occur with non greyhounds, but all I know is greyhounds.  Khan is 3 years old now.  He is starting to have separation anxiety, but not bad yet.  We can work on that.  But this little guy, has been severely mentally abused, I’ve decided.

It appears that whoever worked with him in his formative years were bullies.  I believe the abuse occurred at the hands of his handlers. Khan will not walk past you unless he can see both hands and you are at least 3 feet away.  If we reach for him to reassure him that everything is ok, he backs away, tail tucked, head down trying to find an escape route. But his eyes never leave the person.  They must grabbed him or hollered at him every time they let him out or tried to feed him.

He literally snatches treats out of my hand, just missing me with those huge K9s.  If Bill tries to give him a treat, Khan is scared.   He paces and comes quickly, snatches the treat and runs to his bed, where he feels safe and he can watch what is happening.  So the other day, Bill tossed the treat to Khan.  OMG! He tucked his tail and ran to his bed and stood on it and shook.  It was very sad.  Bill felt bad. I felt bad, and Khan felt betrayed by the protector.  Bill gave him lots of love and kindness and Khan is forgiving Bill and becoming comfortable with Bill again.  One simple gesture that works for other dogs, undid 3 weeks of work. 

I am concerned that he may accidentally bite my finger when I give him a treat.  He is getting to the point where he stands with the pack and waits for a treat.  He is even coming for more treats, as my dogs do.   My dogs take treats so gently that a baby could give the treat to them. So, I decided that he is comfortable with us, and I would hold the treat as he took it from me, to show him I won’t hurt him. A mistake on my part.  OMG!  He had half the treat in his mouth and I had the other half lightly in my fingers.  When I didn’t let it go he started crying.  Crying like he was going to be tortured.  He let it go and he was whimpering and backing up while looking at me.  When he made it around the corner, he just stood there, shaking.  I  told him it was ok, and (stupidly) tossed the cookie near him.  That sent him running, as far as he could. (why didn’t I learn from Bills mistake?)  He found his safe place, next to Bill.  I went to pet him and he hung his head and winced, like he was going to be hurt.  I said to Bill, with tears in my eyes “what did they do to this poor guy??” 

Khan on his safe bed

I suspect they used to grab him when he walked by.  Probably by the neck and scream at him or something.  There is no sign of physical abuse. I have also decided they would throw things at him or on the ground and then run toward him screaming or something to harass him. They may have double teamed him and let him pick something off the floor and then ran toward him while someone behind him caught him.  Terrible treatment this guy must have endured, it breaks my heart.  Khan is by no means an alpha dog, so this treatment destroyed his confidence and made him a scared guy.  I don’t understand abuse of  any kind. Mentally abusing an animal would result in what?

He is still arched in the back.  He eats if people are still.  If I move or Bill moves, he leaves the food and runs in another room.  He does; however, love to walk on the leash, with dogs, without dogs it doesn't matter.  He is a strong confident happy guy while on his leash or alone in the yard.  The trainer would have been working with him for this stuff, which is why I don’t think the trainer abused him.

The treat event, damaged the confidence he was gaining with us.  He is better today; he came with the pack for a treat this morning.  He is not as confident as he was, but he is better.  

Play?

 My dogs are spoiled. They have a box of toys.  The box of toys is near their downstairs beds.

Ace likes to play with toys, so periodically, he’ll dig one out and toss it around and play with it.

Khan is still learning what retirement is like, so he watches what my dogs do, and learns from them what is acceptable.  My dogs are warming up to him.  Khan is frightened by unusual noises or movements: introducing toys was not going to happen for a while.

Ace in his younger days, was a player.  Now that his playmate is gone, he doesn't play so much, but when he does, he spins and tosses toys and chases after them, and occasionally, it is ok for Mom to toss the toy for him.

So, Ace had a squeaky toy and he was chewing on it and tossing it around and running 4 feet to get it.  A little while later, Khan got up and pranced his happy self over to the box of toys.  He gently took one out, and promptly put it down.  He went and laid down in what he believes is his bed.  I went and got the toy he got out of the toy box, and gently put it by his bed.  This particular toy doesn't squeak.  It is an elephant that crackles when chewed or tossed, I figured it wouldn't scare him, if he chewed on it.  I went about my business and soon heard crackling.  I peered around the corner and Khan was gingerly chewing on the toy.  Well, this inspired Macho so he went and got a toy and started throwing it in the air and catching it on the fall, and then spinning and doing it all over. Macho puts his heart and soul into playing, which right now is way to intense for Khan. Khan watched from the safety of his bed.  Soon Khan was carrying the elephant around the house. 

Later I let them all out and in through the patio doors. Near the patio door was a red stuffy bone, that is about a foot long and 6 inches wide.  He smelled it, looked at me and quickly ran in.  I took the bone and put it near him.  He grabbed it and pranced around with it.  He put it on his bed and in greyhound style, invited the toy to play with him. He decided he could chew on it and when no one said no, or moved to take it away, he gleefully laid on his bed and chewed and chomped.  Soon Ace came in and showed him that you can play with one toy for a minute and then get another and another and no one says anything. 

We have Kong toys.  They are heavy and are generally for heavy chewers.  My greyhounds love them. Every foster dog has found the Kong toy has managed to do some serious damage to the toy and or their teeth.  Khan found the Kong softball.  Fog had found the kong softball and was in the process of taking the bright yellow cover off of it, before he got adopted.  I looked at Khan, and he was carrying the kong softball all around the house, by the partially removed cover.  It looked like a Christmas ornament hanging from his mouth! He dropped it and it scared him so he ran to his bed.  Ace got up, grabbed the ball, tail wagging, and took it to his bed (nearly 20 feet away).  A little later, Ace moved from his bed to another bed, and Khan, got up, and stole the ball and took it to Khan’s bed.  This was deemed a challenge by Ace, so when Khan was looking for more food in the bowls, Ace stole the ball back.  They stole the ball from each other the rest of the day.

Now when Khan is feeling especially good, he gets the big red bone and chews on it.  The yellow kong ball is missing, it must be under something and I haven’t found it yet.

A side note, the boys are taking turns playing in the yard.  Khan invites Macho to play, so they chase each other, then Ace runs with Khan, and Macho stops, and then the three run together.  I noticed yesterday, that Khan is now inviting River to play too.  While she does not play with him, she does not stop him from running in the yard.  I watched him run in the yard after he talked to River. (boy is he speedy)  River went and stood near the deck and pretended to not notice while he ran a couple laps.  When Khan came in, he found his elephant and chewed on it, then found his big red bone, picked it up and dropped it in front of Ace, trying to get Ace to play.  I think Khan is gonna be a dog that plays!

Fog and Khan

So, I noticed with Fog, that he had an arch in his back for the first couple weeks and Khan has a similar arch.  With Fog, the arch came out when River finally accepted him to the pack. We’ll see how long it takes for Khan’s arch to go away. 

But my dogs aren't excited to have a foster dog in the house. They are not inviting Khan to be part of the pack.  I showed Khan where to lay the first night and that is where he stayed when he wasn't following me or jumping at every new noise or movement in the house.  My dogs are ignoring him, except Macho.  Macho is not inviting him to hang out with him, but he is tolerating Khan hanging around Macho, leaning on Macho and stealing Macho's favorite bed.  River stayed upstairs for two days after he got here, and Ace laid on his bed and just watched what was happening. 

Khan is just looking for a dog to tell him what is happening.  I figured, Fog recently went through this, maybe Fog would be able to explain to Khan what is going on.  And they came from the same kennel, they may know each other.  So I called Fog’s parents and arranged to borrow Fog. When we got off of work, I drove over and got Fog.

Fog came over and greeted River, then Ace, and lastly Macho.  Macho was not impressed, someone ELSE to take attention away from him.  Then Fog discovered Khan.  Sniff, sniff and all of a sudden both of them back up and their hair is standing on end.  I told them to stop.  A little paw stomping and huffing continued, but Khan ran off.  Soon Fog got done talking to the pack and I took my eyes off of them for a minute.  When I looked up, Fog and Khan were walking right next to each other, like a team of reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh.  Same pace, almost as if they were tied together. It would have been a terrific picture, but no camera at the time.  Fog spent some more time hanging out in the yard, but Fog didn't want to run in the yard. And, he wasn't too interested in hanging out with Khan or River; although, he and River had a conversation which made River sad.  I let them all back out, my dogs came right back in, and Fog and Khan stayed outside.  “Good” I thought, “they’ll play now”.   I came in to get my phone to capture the perfect picture of them hanging out together.   This is what I got. Fog standing and Khan lying in the yard!

I took Fog home. When I returned, Khan was prancing around the yard.  When greyhounds are happy, they prance, it is sort of like a fancy horse trot.  When my dogs prance, I know that they are happy with themselves.  He came galloping to me and proudly took himself into the house.

Although they didn't get to run or play in the yard, the short time Khan and Fog spent together had a positive impact on Khan.  I suspect Fog told Khan that this is a good place, and he doesn't have to run any more or live in a cage.  I think Fog told him that it is good here. 

Khan has not had any “accidents” in the house since Fog left.  He sleeps through the night. He is still jumpy, but Khan will now take treats out of human hands.  And Khan really likes Bill!

Khan- the first 12 hours

Khan’s first hours of retirement in a house were pleasant.  He and his 7 companions arrived just after 5 p.m., after traveling for approximately 20 hours.  They were all happy to get out and stretch.  Fortunately, there were plenty of volunteers on hand to help get them off the hauler and attached to leash with a human at the other end.  All was well. 

After a couple hours of microchipping, bathing, pictures, romping in the yard, and food and water, 7 dogs and their responsible humans, departed to start their retirement life, leaving Khan with us. 

River of course was snarky.  Ace was tired cause he had been with Bill at Petco for 4 hours, leaving Macho to fend for himself with this dog, that is a skinny version of Macho.

Khan is not shy.  He is just not brave.  Any sudden movement, or unusual noise sends him 20 feet away from the fearful thing.  Tail tucked and a look of panic in his eyes.  A simple gentle touch and some kind words relax him and all is well. 

I fed him last night after the people left.  He ate 2 cups of food and drank a tablespoon of water.  Then he ate the rest of Aces food and then polished off Macho's.  He would take a break between eating.   He is eerily thin, so he can gain 20 pounds.  Soon he needed to go somewhere to poo. Ace came and yelled at me, so I figured Ace wanted to go out.  I got up and the 3 boys followed me:  only Macho and Khan went out.  Macho showed Khan all the good spots for a guy to pee, and then Macho showed Kahn, Macho's favorite place to Poo.  Since it was dark, Macho waited for Khan and they came running back.  Good Macho.

Bill carried Khan up the stairs so Khan could sleep with the pack.  Eventually, after River snarked and Macho growled, Khan laid down on the bed I had shown him after he got upstairs.  At 3 this morning, all  four dogs started moving around, which woke Bill up.  He got up, carried Khan down the stairs, waited for him to finish his dog business, and then, carried him back up the stairs. Once Khan got settled, they all slept till 730 this morning.  Yay!

Ace and River bounded down the stairs this morning.  Khan stood at the top of the stairs, so I decided to see if he could come down without waking the elevator.  Sure enough, Khan let me move each of his feet, down each stair, and together we made it to the main level, which allowed him to happily trot outside with the others.

No one wants to eat this morning.  Macho and River abandoned us and went back upstairs to sleep with Dad.  Ace claimed his downstairs bed and has not ventured off of it. Khan, well, he paced, he snacked, he drank 3 cups of water, he marked, he paced, he went out and in 20 or more times, drank some more water, and finally laid down next to me and appears to be nearly asleep.I think he is waiting for Macho to tell him what is happening but Macho is still sleeping!

Kahn will not leave my side. He will stay with Bill, but he knows who has the softest heart, and 

he can wrap me around his toe.  I can't get a good body shot cause he is with me when I am moving.For those that know Macho, this is NOT Macho.

Coming Soon!

Tomorrow afternoon, around 5 the new foster dogs arrive!

I am getting a black greyhound whose racing name is PG Khan.  He is roughly 3 years old.  I looked him up on some racing greyhound website and his racing weight was 71 pounds.  This tells me he is a big guy, just the way I like them.  I believe he may be between 27 and 30 inches tall at the shoulder.  We’ll see.

PG Khan

When he retired, nearly 2 years ago, he was what is defined as a Spook.  As near as I can tell a Spook is so afraid of everything he/she rarely seeks attention, and actually shuns it.  The kennel manager tells me they worked with him for a year and a half, and he is no longer a spook.  So, we’ll see.

Ace was defined as Shy when we got him.  We couldn't pet him, when he walked by I would touch him.  Eventually he would let me pet him.  A lot of patience and love along with Oliver and Mindy, brought him out of his shell.  I am hoping that a lot of patience and love and my three dogs allow Khan to become the confident dog that lives within all of the greyhounds.

I asked the kennel manager what they did to help him, assuming they had a dog psychologist or pet psychic work with him.  She tells me that lots of attention and treats brought him around.  No outside help.  She said just give him treats and talk to him, he should be fine. Well then, he is coming to the right place.  My dogs almost live on treats!  They prefer treats over dinner, but I make them eat most of their food before they get a treat. So, free-flowing treats it will be.   I asked the kennel manager what she thought the trip in the trailer would do to him.  She said he should be ok. 

We are looking forward to having another foster dog.  He may be more challenging than Fog was.  The next blogs will be about Khan.  Here is the picture they kennel sent me of Khan, the foster dog.

They're coming!

Blaze

Foster dogs are coming.  7 no, wait 8, foster dogs are coming to Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio on October 26.  And yes, I volunteered to foster again.  Since River doesn't like girl dogs, we are gonna get another boy.  Probably a black greyhound. Ollie was my first official greyhound, and he was black.  Macho was one of my foster dogs, a black greyhound. I sorta have a soft spot for the black dogs.  Since adopting Macho, I've had 2 other black greyhounds, one for maybe a month and one for a week. And I believe the black greyhounds are more centered, and confident  and just want to make the humans happy.  Maybe it is just what I expect out of them. They are also very attentive and need human touch.  I like that in a dog.  The other greyhounds I've had in my life that weren't/aren't black don’t seem to have the passion that a black greyhound has.

Macho

My dogs adjusted pretty well to Fog.  But he worked real hard on River.  I am not sure she will feel the same about another foster dog.  Especially a black one, she really doesn't like Macho.  But time will tell.

So I am again going through the feelings of OMG what did I get myself into, and Oh boy another dog to love and find a good forever home for.   In my heart and head, I am hoping for a big boy.  I like the big ones; I treat them like spoiled dogs. The smaller greyhounds, I treat like baby dogs.  

Since I don’t know too much about the dog I may be getting, I have posted pictures of the black dogs that have been in my life.

Olliver (Ollie)

How I started Fostering

In 2004, the e-mail from Sally, the director of Lake Erie Greyhound Rescue read, something like:

“Winnie has been diagnosed with cancer. She has been undergoing chemotherapy for 6 weeks.  Her greyhounds, Twiggy (11) and Kacey (7) have been at the vet in the kennel for 6 weeks at a cost of $1500.  Winnie is getting ready for a second round of chemo.  The vet has said the dogs can stay there again, but Winnie is hoping they be fostered while she goes through this chemo.  She has had Twiggy for 7 years and she would like to occasionally be able to see both dogs, but specifically Twiggy. They live in North Olmsted.  If anyone can foster for her, please let me know.” With tears in my eyes I read this message to Bill.  I said, can we take them? He said yes.

Twiggy

I cannot imagine what those  dogs thought while they were at the vets office kennel.  Those cages are meant for short term stays.  So I called Sally. Told her we would foster.  She was silent, then she said, ‘thank you so much.  Winnie will be delighted.”  So after a few more calls, we went to get Twiggy and Kacey.  Twiggy I learned from Winnie, was a champion and retired at the age of 5, and she and her husband got Twig about a year before he unexpectedly died.  Kacey she got to keep Twiggy company about 3 years ago.  Twiggy was a tiny previously Champaign brindle, but at the age of 11 was now gray and black, brindle.  Spunky as could be but was on Rimadyl for pain as needed.  Kacey, was a stunning boy. He had the markings of a husky, but the body of a greyhound.  He was an incredible dog.

Kacey

We arranged to keep them for at least 6 weeks with weekend visits, when Winnie felt good enough.  I talked to Winnie every week.  The 6 weeks turned into three months, with a couple of visits.  I almost had to insist they go home, but they did.  She called one day, a few months later and said she was going on vacation and could the dogs stay with me.  Of course they can.  I went to get them and when I walked in, they were very glad to see me.  Winnie said they had not greeted anyone like that in many years.  They liked what I came to call their Country home…

About 6 months later, Winnie called, another cancer.  “Can you take them?”  Of course we can.  I really don’t remember too much about them, except Kacey was a very nice dog.   But when there was snow, he was a coward.  Ollie, Kacey and Ginger would look outside and see the snow and turn around.  Twiggy, the tiny old greyhound, would go out without a coat, and put her head down in the snow and just plow through it and return.  Then the others would go out.  She was the leader of the pack; although, she let Kacey think he was.  But when he failed to lead the way she wanted, she would yell at him.  And he would hang his head and tuck his tail and scamper away.  She was an amazing dog.

Winnie died while the dogs were here.  Twiggy knew when Winnie died.  At 1038 p.m. Twiggy stood up and just started howling.  I looked at the clock, and thought ‘that is weird, she’s never done that before’.  Then I thought, uh oh.  Winnie must have passed.  The next morning, Winnie’s son called and said she died last night.  I asked what time, and he said it was around 1035. 

In one of many conversations, Winnie had told me that if she died, her son was coming from Colorado to take the dogs to Colorado with him.  He arranged for me to keep them for a couple more months until he could come back and get them.  We kept in touch for awhile.  In 2009, twiggy died.  She was 16.  Twiggy was cremated and put with Winnie’s ashes. Kacey died shortly after, he was 9.  Although I don’t remember a lot of stories, they were my first foster dogs and they hold a special place in my heart.  I  cried when they died.