I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted to this site.
It's been raining a lot here, so photo opportunities have been limited.
Even our "dog yard" meant for winter use - with wood chips to prevent muddy conditions....has gotten muddy! Jethro and Loretta TRY to get up a good game of chase in this yard, but it's just too darn small. They manage to get a bit muddy though, as you can see a little in the picture to the left. One day it was enough so that they got a quick rinse off in the dog tub and a quick towel dry before being allowed back in.
Jethro and Loretta have proven themselves "game" to walk in the rain on several occasions. Gerry, their owner, tells me that it rains a lot where they lived in New Zealand and it never kept them from running around and having a good time. I woke up to a big clap of thunder one morning in a brief thunderstorm we had, and got out of bed to see how they were faring. They were all snuggled down into their beds, undisturbed.
Our walks have smoothed out considerably. I have a leash with a long coupler attached to a swivel on the leash part that I've been using. We settle into a nice walking pace a lot sooner than we did at the first. The thing I'm still getting used to is no one commenting about Ethan or asking what kind of dog he is, but everyone asking about the Silkens! I have had people say, "that must be some kind of Saluki" and "I didn't know there were longhaired greyhounds". I'm sure Silken people are used to this by now, but I'm so used to answering questions about my Tervs that it throws me for a loop when the question isn't about Ethan!
Though I was concerned at first that they didn't want to eat, their appetites have improved as time has passed. They are still a little "particular" about what they eat and how they eat it, but overall, they tuck into breakfast and dinner with a bit of gusto now.
They're more playful and cheerful overall now that they have been here for a while and are completely over their jetlag. They've started playing with toys in addition to chewing on some of the many bones we have around the house for the dogs. They get along well with Ethan, deferring to him, even though Loretta is a bit miffed that Ethan still gets the place of honor on my bed. If he gets too hot and hops down, she's right up there on the pillow he vacated, while Jethro is content to rest his head on my legs as a pillow at the foot of the bed.
Our biggest adventure so far was a trip to San Jose (poor Jethro got a little car sick) to go tracking with friends. They met my friends three Shelties and a Beagle, and got to walk around college campus - and they have now officially seen SQUIRRELS. Actually, the geese attracted them much more than the squirrels, especially when they flew out of our way.
The first two times I took Jethro and Loretta tracking, I didn't have anyone around to help, so I didn't get any pictures. Each time we went out, they showed more enthusiasm, understanding and skill.
Today, March 4th, 2009, I had the good fortune of meeting with a friend for tracking, and she was willing to hold dogs for me while they watched me lay track, AND take pictures. (Thank you Laura!) This is at a county park just north of Santa Rosa. They have baseball and soccer fields, and some old orchard area that's undeveloped. Since Jethro and Loretta are still doing introductory tracks, we just used a little strip of field grasses between the cars and the start of the trees.
In the photo on the left, I'm shuffling my feet forward, leaving an occasional piece of food (chicken or meatball). In addition, I'm dragging a knee high with some squishy dog food in it, to provide some continuous motivational scent for the dogs to follow. I decided to do this because last time we went out, they weren't particularly interested in the food I left for them on the track. But this time, I had withheld their breakfast, and they were more than ready to have their treats on the track!
I realized that each time before I had taken Loretta out first. Well, today was Jethro's turn! I think he liked going first for once! He did get a little distracted by Loretta barking in the car out of jealousy (our cars were parked just on the other side of the little fence you can see - talk about convenient!) but he decided to ignore her and get to work.
You can't see it in the still photos, but he developed a nice little tail wag at the articles (reminding me of Mocha). Good boy Jethro!