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Hello From Iowa Newbie


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Hi everybody-- I've been enjoying lurking here for several weeks but thought it was time to step up and introduce myself. I'm a (female) college prof who at the age of 45 is about to get my first dog, a greyhound of course! I've always been a passionate cat lover, but in the past five years got thoroughly indoctrinated into what I call Dog World by my best friend and her friends, and started wanting to join in. I knew I would wait until one of my two cats, Quinn, passed away as I felt he would be very stressed by a dog--my other cat, Carey, is a bossy little girl who never shows fear of anything. Well, unfortunately Quinn was diagnosed with cancer at age 12 early this summer, and by the beginning of this month was beginning to fail. A neighbor of my parents also adopted a greyhound last winter, and spending some time with Gracie while visiting them really solidified my desire to have one!

 

A couple of weeks ago I decided to go to Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption just to talk to folks there about the process and cheer myself up by getting to see some dogs. Well -- you can probably guess what happened. I felt a real bond with one sweet girl named Beth -- petting her I felt very calmly "this is my dog." The folks there seem to think she has a bond with me as well. I wasn't sure if the timing would work out, but as it turned out I had to put my cat to sleep this week. So to make a long story short, I'll be bringing her home on Labor Day weekend. And fortunately my friend who got me into all this is coming out from California to help me with the first few days. I can't believe I'm getting my greyhound with the semester already underway, but I don't want to wait until next May!

 

So here's Beth's info (with pics), and some pictures I took are below (I visited her a second time the week after I met her, and am going a third time tomorrow, even though the kennel is over 130 miles from my house!). http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1416989&z=Q8tXaC

 

Isn't she purty?? She has the most amazing layers of ticking and shading within her white parts. And the softest, most dreamy brown eyes, like she's thinking faraway thoughts. She seems pretty mellow and people-oriented and likes to be petted, although she has still some puppy energy too, and is very nosy!

 

Anyway, I've been reading like crazy but I'm sure I'll have lots of questions! I'd be especially interested in hearing from other people who've had the experience of dealing with a new greyhound while being the only human in the household. I'm a little worried about having only two hands and not being able to be all places at once, especially in regard to disciplining hr around my cat -- she was cat-tested twice and the adoption coordinator described her as "easily correctable," but still.

 

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Beth-1.jpg

 

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With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Welcome for someone who has adopted and fostered many greys from QCGA. :wave :wave

I think I have meet Beth a couple of times and she is just sweet. I hope you enjoy. There are several people here who have hounds from QCGA.

There are 5 QCGA hounds sleeping on my sofas and pillows even as I type. :lol :lol

 

I hope to meet you at the reunion on Sept 20th.

Edited by Cully

waiting at the bridge Connie Van Teddy & Jojo, Cobra

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Oh Hi, Cully! Yes, I am excited about meeting greyhound people in the area, and do plan to come the reunion if Beth seems up for a gathering like that after only three weeks (but it shouldn't be stressful for her to be around a bunch of greyhounds, right? and she doesn't seem spooky about people or activity). So cool that you may know her! I don't have a lot to compare her to so I really like to hear others say she's nice. :)

Edited by PrairieProf

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Guest houndstooth4

Welcome to GT. :wubsite We just adopted our newest (Bunny) from QCGA a few months ago. Not to mention our first and second pups too. Anyway, welcome again, and hope to see you at the QCGA reunion in Sept.

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Welcome and congrats on a beautiful girl! She shares the same daddy with my Lucius. :)

 

Not only that, I see she has the same grandpa on her dam side! Lucius is very beautiful, btw -- amazing color!

 

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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:welcome Hi and welcome from So Cal! Congrats on your beautiful girl.

 

I don't have cats (Zuma would eat them :chow:lol ) but there are plenty of others here who have cats and can give you advice on how to handle the two together.

Paula & her pups--Paneer (WW Outlook Ladd), Kira & Rhett (the whippets)
Forever in my heart...Tinsel (Born's Bounder - 11/9/90-12/18/01), Piper, Chevy, Keno, Zuma, Little One, Phaelin & Winnie
Greyhound Adoption Center ~ So Cal rep for Whippet Rescue And Placement

For beautiful beaded collars, check out my Facebook page: The Swanky Hound

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Hi everybody, thanks for the welcome! I spent about three hours with Beth today, AND I filled out my adoption paperwork, so she is mine, although I won't bring her home until August 30th!! I can't believe it!

 

She is just so darling. I'm really getting a sense of her personality by this third visit (she really is the nosiest pup ever). And everyone at QCGA seems to like her a lot -- I notice no one can resist petting her and cooing to her as they go by, and she really soaks it up!

 

So here are some things we did today:

 

I had a chance to take her on a leash walk outside the kennel with one of the volunteers:

 

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I gave her treats:

 

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I watched her being a social butterfly with other visitors:

 

08-16-08_1247.jpg

 

And I finally saw her lie down on the couch after she grabbed a stuffie I threw for her (I was beginning to wonder if she ever did lie down outside her crate!):

 

08-16-08_1312.jpg

 

I don't know how I'm going to wait for the next two weeks! Although I'm glad to have this time to spoil my remaining cat, too, and get the house all ready. :wub:

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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You'll be amazed how well it all comes together. Carey may be miffed for a couple of days but with a little extra loving, hopefully she and Beth will be good buddies! She's a pretty girl; I love brindle and whites. Wait until you give her her first bath and see how many more spots she has!!! I look forward to seeing lots of pictures in September. Congratulations!!!

siggie50_1.jpg

Blair, Stella (DND Heather), Lizzie (M's Deadra), Hitch (Hallo Dominant) and House (Mac's Dr. House)

Missing my handsome men Lewis (Vs Lowrider) - 11/11/01 - 3/11/09, Kevin (Dakota's Hi Five) - 1/1/06 - 4/18/11 and my cat, Sparkle Baby - ??/??/96 - 4/23/11

"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is, in fact, the most precious and valuable possession of mankind." (Theodorus Gaza)

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Guest greytgrandma

congratulations,Beth is beautiful.And so sweet. I have met Beth at a meet & greet :wub:

Hot Rod is from QCGA.

welcome to the wonderful world of houndies :confetti :confetti

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Hi and welcome to GT! :wave Your new girlie is a beauty! Love those cow dogs... :wub: I'm single and have cats plus two hounds. When I bring in a new foster, I use extra babygates to limit where the gh can go plus gives the cats an escape route. Also, be sure to do introductions with the dog leashed and ideally wearing a muzzle. :) Give her yummy treats for ALL the behaviors you want; looking away, paying attention to you, etc. That way, she associates her exposure to kitties as a positive event. She has so much to learn about home life.

Jeanne with Remington & Scooter the cat
....and Beloved Bridge Angels Sandee, Shari, Wells, Derby, Phoenix, Jerry Lee and Finnian.....
If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again.

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Thanks again for the welcome and advice, everyone. It is so fun and amazing to me that I'm a total stranger but there are folks out there who know my dog!

 

And Beth'll show more spots after a bath?? Whoa. Didn't think she had room for any more. ;)

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Guest houndstooth4

I'm pretty sure we met your girl when we went up and found our Bunny. She's a beauty!

 

Hawk has ticking, too, and the older they get, the more the ticking ususally shows, too, not just after baths. She'll be home before you know it!

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I'm pretty sure we met your girl when we went up and found our Bunny. She's a beauty!

 

Hawk has ticking, too, and the older they get, the more the ticking ususally shows, too, not just after baths. She'll be home before you know it!

 

Houndstooth, I looked at Bunny's Dogster page. Do you know that her brother, Bank on Bloke, is at QCGA now? There was a family with kids there yesterday that was looking at dogs and he was I think their top choice -- he's very sweet and gentle!

Edited by PrairieProf

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Guest SillyIzzysMom

She is beautiful. . .she looks a lot like my angel Izzy with the brindle patches and the ticking on her white.

 

Best of luck to you both, and welcome to greytalk. You will get tons of information, support and amusement on this forum

 

Melissa

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Guest houndstooth4

I did know that Bloke is up there, and I really have my fingers crossed that we get to meet him at the reunion. The funny thing is that we also met Bunny and Bloke's mom up there when we were looking at hounds, but we didn't realize she was Bunny's mom until we got home and looked at the website again. Bunny is on her way to become a therapy dog, and I'm sure that her brother is just as sweet as she is!

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