So...we Have A Grey?

[Remolacha]

I know I said I was no good with names but while you are thinking you might go with what my friend called the cat that she swore wasn't her cat (for at least 5 yrs ) Sin Nombre

[Guest equestrianerd]

I know I said I was no good with names but while you are thinking you might go with what my friend called the cat that she swore wasn't her cat (for at least 5 yrs ) Sin Nombre

 

Haha, a cousin of mine has one of those. I think his name is either Feral or Cat, because she wasn't going to name him because he wasn't her cat.

[silverfish]

 

 

Is the Droopys name a well-known/common line? I looked through his pedigree but Droopys seemed to pop up out of nowhere (Droopys Fergie) with no link to her parents.

 

We have Droopys at Brambleberry! And I was brought up in Essex.

 

He is rather gorgeous, isn't he? Sid weighs in around 32/33kg with a leg missing. He's a big boy, too. It makes no difference really, except that I can't lift him if I need to. I can just about lift Jeffie, who is as tall, but not as muscular. And of course, you need bigger everything from coats to beds etc.

 

I hope he does well with the cat training. It sounds as if he is at least cat-workable and that you have a handle on it. I have never cat-trained, because we don't have cats, but from others I have heard that muzzling is the way to go until he gets the idea.

[Guest equestrianerd]

We have Droopys at Brambleberry! And I was brought up in Essex.

Your dogs are lovely.

 

He is rather gorgeous, isn't he? Sid weighs in around 32/33kg with a leg missing. He's a big boy, too. It makes no difference really, except that I can't lift him if I need to. I can just about lift Jeffie, who is as tall, but not as muscular. And of course, you need bigger everything from coats to beds etc.

He does seem a bit beefy - though I'm comparing him to a small young female, so it makes sense that he'd be bigger framed.

 

I hope he does well with the cat training. It sounds as if he is at least cat-workable and that you have a handle on it. I have never cat-trained, because we don't have cats, but from others I have heard that muzzling is the way to go until he gets the idea.

Thanks! We've worked up to no leash with muzzle, and baby gate up so that the cats can come in and out as they please (with lots of yummy cheese as incentive to be calm/polite). So far it's going well, though he was very surprised to get smacked through a curtain when he investigated Reia lying on the windowsill. They're currently both lying on their beds on either end of the room, so perhaps a truce has been declared.

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Another safe correction is to use a spray bottle in his face (just water) to tell him he's over the line. We do that in our prison training of greyhounds. They get the memo.

[Guest equestrianerd]

Thanks, we may try that. We have at least one (possibly two) spray bottles already armed because the cat refuses to get the memo about being on the coffee table (or entering the kitchen).

[Guest equestrianerd]

Loose dog + dopey cat = harmony.

He seems a bit more interested (and scared of, thanks to nose-bopping) the other cat, possibly because she's a bit more elusive (unlike Ruby who shoves himself in your face whether you want him to or not).

Vet appointment tomorrow to say hello, get cookies, and find out his weight. We'll probably go back in a week or two for an official check-up.

[bradymom]

I think things are progressing very well!

[Hawthorn]

I think things are progressing very well!

 

Me too!

 

My cat hid in the spare room for three days after I brought my first greyhound home.

[Guest equestrianerd]

 

Me too!

 

My cat hid in the spare room for three days after I brought my first greyhound home.

 

Our spare room is stuffed full of our non-safe DIY supplies (paint, wood flooring, tools, etc), so no safe haven there.

 

He has been barking at Ruby today a bit, seems to be triggered when Ruby changes height (jumps to a higher part of the couch, up on the windowsill, etc). He's not doing anything to him, just wagging his tail and barking, but it's a bit random.

 

We tried out alone time today (thanks to the holiday weekend DH and I have been home all day since he arrived). I put the laptop up high with video chat on with DH and he got to watch the dogs while I went out for 10min to the post office and back. Everything boring while I was gone, so that's a good start. Have a doctor appointment tomorrow, so that'll probably be about 30min alone.

[Remolacha]

Sounds like everything is still going well! I see from the picture that Ruby is an Orange cat, that explains his, um, quirkiness

[Dad2Paisley]

Congrats.

[Potomacpupsmom]

He is such a handsome boy!

[greysmom]

There may be some minor growling and shuffling as your two settle things between them. Nothing to get alarmed at unless it progresses further, which it probably would have already if it was going to.

 

He's a cutie pie! Nothing like a big, black boy! My very favorite!

[Guest equestrianerd]

Thanks everyone!

 

His thoughts about living with us seem to be (in no particular order):

- This is so exciting! I have to check out this corner, and this corner, and pull this thing off that to see what's underneath, and....[rinse/repeat]

- These crying small dog things are very weird. I wonder where they go when they leave my kingdom [the lounge].

- OH MY GOD! The crying small dog thing is now at/above my eye level! I must bark and bark and bark to tell everyone what I think of that.

- Cheese is awesome.

- SOMEONE CAME INSIDE THE HOUSE! HELLO! I'M IN HERE! COME SAY HI! [bark incessantly until said person stops at the baby gate to say hello.]

- There is SO MUCH to sniff! Must. Sniff. Everything!

- All these non-Greyhounds are so interesting! Why are there so many of them?

- The bus is very hard to ride standing up, but there are so many people to sniff at.

- SOMEONE CAME TO THE DOOR! THEY WENT AWAY! THEY SHOULD HAVE SAID HELLO! [bark post-mailman visit until I got back upstairs with the mail.]

- The vet is boring, and has no cookies. [only puppy ones were available, so those were too rich.]

 

All in all, he seems to be settling in pretty well. He did start to chase after Ruby the other day on our bedtime walk (because obviously it's a sensible idea to walk up to a dog, squeak piteously, and then dash away), but hit the end of the leash (and my wrist) and stopped. We've been using the water bottle to try and stop the frantic barking at cat height changes (though familiarity with cat behaviour should help, too).

 

Will have to test him out with more alone time this weekend. DH and I are now both sick, so we're home today.

[Hawthorn]

He (is he still TBN?) sounds quite the character!

 

He also sounds a lot like my boy Sunny, who also thinks every visitor to the house has come specifically to see him, and is also a big barker. Strangely, he never barked at the cat, but he barked at pretty much everything else: curtains, open windows, light fittings etc etc (but don't worry, the first 4 months were the worst ).

 

What works well for us is distract and reward. I keep a small tupperware container full of kibble (or other hard treats that make a nice rattling sound) next to me in the living room. If he is barking too much at something, I just rattle the treat box, which instantly gets his attention and causes him to stop barking, then ask him to lie down and give him some treats. Actually, these days I don't have to say anything, because as soon as I rattle the box he stops whatever he's doing and goes to lie down on his bed to await his treats. It might seem that you would be rewarding the barking, but in fact what you would be rewarding is him removing his attention from the cat and stopping barking. It might also help him to develop a more positive association as regards the cat.

 

Hope you both feel better soon.

[Guest equestrianerd]

So, good news and bad news...

Bad news: My phone got eaten. I went downstairs to tell DH something and came back to the sound of something being chomped on - figured it might be the box of biscuits and went in to discover that it was my phone. We have about a dozen electronic devices in this room, though, and the phone was one of the cheaper ones, so there's that.

Good news: He's ours! Signed all the papers about 10 minutes after the phone-eating. (He's lucky I'm not the type to refuse to keep a dog over something like that.)

Also, he's officially been named Donovan. We toyed around with various computer themed (to match our cats) and beer themed (to match his racing name) ones, but Donovan stuck.

Riding the bus to the vet!


Chilling on the bed (which Ace keeps stealing)

[EllenEveBaz]

RIP phone. And welcome, Donovan! He looks so handsome. And "I'm invisible you can't see me" in the picture of him and Ruby.

 

Now we need a picture of Ace and Donovan.

[ozgirl2]

Does he know his name? If so, how about changing it to Scout?? Cody's name was Cozy, which I refused to keep!! Changed it to Cody (she know Cozy) and I think she just thought I had a speech impediment for awhile...

 

He's gorgeous!!

Just saw the above post... Donovan is a good name!! Welcome, Donovan!

[Guest equestrianerd]

RIP phone. And welcome, Donovan! He looks so handsome. And "I'm invisible you can't see me" in the picture of him and Ruby.

 

Now we need a picture of Ace and Donovan.

 

I'm trying! I have to go into stealth ninja mode to get photos as it is because the minute I notice him in a cute position and grab the phone he's all "heyyyyyy, what's up? if I stick my nose in your face will you pet/feed me?", thus ruining the photo opportunity. He's very inquisitive and wants to be up in our business anytime we so much as twitch.

 

I haven't managed a photo of his markings yet (can kinda see them in the above pic) but he's got a chest spot and an adorable stripe that runs from above his chest spot up through his chin/bottom lip. So cute. And little white hind feet (plus a couple of white toes on his front feet). Ace has white toes as well (though it's harder to tell because his legs are going so grey).

 

Oh yes, and apparently Donovan is an Irish name (fitting for the Droopy stud) and means black/brown (of which he is both, though I'm guessing he'll shed out more black). It passes the PJ test and the "can turn into fun nicknames" test.