Jet's Furkid Palace: Mouse in her first weekend of domesticity!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Mouse in her first weekend of domesticity!

Mouse has been here for four days now and she has already provided a lot of entertainment.

She is doing pretty well with the cats, Froufrou has decided that Mouse is definitely cat safe. Mittens is pretty mean to Mouse still, and Bumblebee does not like her at all.

Like a lot of Greyhounds who come straight out of a racing kennel, Mouse likes to collect things and put them on her bed.

She stole my sock right out of my hand while I was trying to put my shoes on.

She stole my PJ pants off the back of a chair and gingerly carried them to her crate.

She stole quite a few of Bender's toys and buried them in her bed so that he wouldn't come and take them when she wasn't looking.

We took her out for a walk in Guildford and when she was a bit overwhelmed, she stopped and plopped her little butt down on the pavement. She met a pug but I think she was a little bit scared of him.

She was really good at the cafe where we stopped for breakfast. The people sitting next to us admired her, and even saved a bit of bacon for her. She didn't eat it though, as she wasn't really sure what it was.

The house was full of new experiences for her, like a big, flashing thing in the lounge room with big talking humans on it. She watches TV actively every now and then.

She was scared of the ceiling fan when it was first turned on, but settled down after 15 minutes of intermittent staring.

She was scared of the vacuum cleaner for about 2 minutes before she decided it was fine and curled up on the couch with Bender and Barbie.

photo by Bender's favorite person, Kim P

We took all three dogs on a couple of outings, they all came along to my friend's wedding rehearsal. The Greyhounds were very well behaved, but Bender did get a bit overexcited when he recognised one of his favorite people, who was going to be photographing this big day.

photo also by Kim P

I had the Greyhounds, and so we lined up in our positions to practice for the Big Day. Mouse saw her opportunity to cosy up with the bride and get some attention.

photo by Kim P

Mouse needs a lot more leash time as at times she is like walking a trout down the street. She settles down and walks in a straight line if she has Barbie with her, as Barbie is such a good calming influence.

photo by Kim P

I have to go back to work today, and so things will change a little bit and Mouse will get to adjust to the regular, hum drum, life of dogs of a 9 - 5 worker. Hopefully she is so tired after these last 4 days that she doesn't mind.

Comments (11)

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Georgia Little Pea · 625 weeks ago

I just caught up with your fostering of Mouse. I feel so sad reading the story, to be nervous of everything and to feel the need to hoard stuff. In case they disappear? Like a homeless person? But then, I think when she settles and stop fearing so much, the world is going to be one big exciting adventurous place for Mouse, full of new things to discover like bacon! Good luck with her. I hope she finds a happy home soon x

3 replies · active 625 weeks ago

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houndstooth4 82p · 625 weeks ago

Our second Greyhound was a hoarder, but I never thought of it as a negative thing. It just made him happy to have stuff that smelled like us in his bed. It used to crack me up that he'd steal our shoes from by the back door, and he'd take one to Treat's bed and one to his. We never ever scolded him for it, because he wasn't destructive with them. He didn't chew or slobber on them at all. But if we made eye contact as he carried it through the kitchen, he'd drop it and walk off like he never had it in his mouth. It was a game of his and I missed it when he got so old that he gave it up.

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jetsagenda 82p · 625 weeks ago

It is a bit sad that she has missed out on a lot so far, but it's a joyful experience watching her discover new things. It is a credit to Greyhounds as a breed that so many of them are so adaptable are such excellent pets after an adjustment period. It does go to show what is wrong with the racing industry though. Someone once said to me 'what more does a dog want apart from food, kennel mates and a place to sleep?'. I said, adventure, freedom and to know the world! They were a bit taken aback by that answer.

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Georgia Little Pea · 625 weeks ago

Good on you for saying that. Sounds to me like that person doesn't believe that animals have emotional lives.

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houndstooth4 82p · 625 weeks ago

I am even more smitten with her now! Mouse is adorable! She was born to be a blog star, but don't tell Bunny I said that!

3 replies · active 625 weeks ago

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jetsagenda 82p · 625 weeks ago

I think so too, really the sky is the limit for a dog like Mouse :)

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houndstooth4 82p · 625 weeks ago

Perhaps you could make keeping a blog a requirement of her adoption? *wants to reach through screen and steal her*

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jetsagenda 82p · 625 weeks ago

ha! ha! ha! I will just go get the adoption contract and add that clause right now

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jan · 625 weeks ago

It's so cute and challenging to help a dog adjust to living in a human household. Mouse seems to be making great progress. I think it's sweet that she needs to steal and bury things like they are going to disappear from her world.

1 reply · active 625 weeks ago

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jetsagenda 82p · 625 weeks ago

Hah Barbie still does it sometimes too, usually with my shoes. Mouse will take just about anything at the moment so I have to keep an eye on her. In the kennel nothing is truly theirs, even the leads and muzzles get swapped around. I think she will get over it to an extent but still like items of clothing that smell like us. She has stopped 'saving' her bedtime treats now and started eating them. She realises that she will get a new one every night.