Monday, July 1, 2013

He has a new toy!



I bought a new toy for Giles- it's a stuffed elephant but all the stuffing is gone- it comes that way so all the fluff inside won't be all over the living room if gutted. It has a squeaker in it that he really likes!

a girl and her grey


Sunday, June 23, 2013

What's in here?






We don't usually have the shed door open but it was and Mr. Nosy Pants had to look inside! I finally had to close the door so he would actually pee!

A girl and her grey

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Comfy spot for a nap


He spent 5 minutes fussing with the blue blanket to shape it into the perfect pillow before he commenced napping!

A girl and her grey

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Monday, May 13, 2013

Roaching napping

I know I've post pictures of him "roaching" before, but it still makes me laugh when he naps like this!


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Out for a walk





Giles loves a short spring walk and this is his favorite tree lines spot!




Monday, February 25, 2013

You can't see it!



He's squatting over a toy and each time I tried to get into front of him, he turned and kept his butt to me! Silly Giles!!!

A Girl and Her Grey

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Take your Grey to school day


My Greyhound loves to go to school with me, especially when he gets treats!

A Girl and her Grey

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Where is that beast?









As I have mentioned before, Giles is not a friend to the feline world. After he was off the track he went to a foster home which is awesome. Traditionally dogs off the track have to learn to adapt to being a pet rather than an employee. One thing that happens is introducing them to small house pets like cats and small dogs. This is done in a very safe way for the small pet and for the Grey. After the foster parents are finished, the adoptive parent will know if their Grey is cat friendly. Giles is not. At all. Not even close.

So, each time I get ready to let him out, I do a check of the to make sure no stray cat wondered in. My eyes are not as good at Gile's eyes are, apparently. I didn't see any cat. BUT he did. His whole body went rigid, the ears were up.. his body contorted into a hunched over position and his whole body was trembling. He sunk down to the ground and growled. Meanwhile, I'm yanking on my boots and grabbing his leash and trying to get out the door to stop him.

Yeah, right I know. He weighs 69 pounds and can run up to 45 mph in 3 strides, like I could really "stop" him but in my moment of crisis that was my brain's processing.

Thankfully the cat must of figured out it was going to be attacked and run out of all its 9 lives and it made it under the red shed you see in the pictures.  Giles was going nuts and circled the shed over and over, growling and yelping.

And he kept doing it every single time we went outside. I finally had to put him on his leash and and take him on the other side of the yard. Until today and it's so damn cold that he just goes out and comes right back in as soon as he's done, not taking time to stalk the cat.

He might catch a cat someday and it's going to not be pretty... ick. Ah, the things I'm not looking forward to.

A Girl and her Grey


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Sock Monkey friend





He's playing with his Sock Monkey. He has one and I have one- we have matching toys! However, mine stays on a shelve. You can see what he does with his.

A Girl and her Grey


Monday, January 21, 2013

What got into him?

I don't know what got into Giles tonight, but he has been the frisky, fabric stealing dog! Tonight alone he played with all his fabric toys, which is great! They're his toys so it makes sense. And speaking of toys- he doesn't gut his stuffies; he just likes to chew on them and now his stuffed hotdog is officially 3 separate toys: 2 pieces of bun and the hotdog.

However, he has also been so funny with his other antics. He has been commandeering other things that are not his. He doesn't chew on them or do anything that would damage items. He just grabs stuff from where ever its placed and then runs with it, and then flips it in the air or tackles it.

So far tonight, he's done the steal, run, flip and attack thing to one of dad's sock hats, my prayer shawl (pink),  my afghan (pink), his blue blanket, his giant dog pillow, his sleepy-time afghan, a towel, and a pillow. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen!

Then there's the grand finale: he stole a hat off my head. Yes, you read that right. I was freezing cold and since my hair is so short, I was wearing a hat in the house, which isn't unusual this winter. I was picking up all the toys, and crawling around on the floor to do that. He then stole the hat right off my head- he just ran by me and swiped! Of course I don't have pictures of the steal but I do have the aftermath of him (and I'm sorry one is blurry!):




I was shocked and stunned. I have no idea what came over him tonight but it sure was fun!

A Girl and Her (crazy) Grey




Sunday, January 20, 2013

Maybe pink is his favorite color?


I think Gile's favorite color could be pink. Not just because it's my favorite color but I really think it's his, too!

Evidence: First, the toy he plays with most is his pink sock monkey.

Second, I was doing laundry and sorting clothes. I had three loads sorted on the floor and the one he chooses to lay on is the pink load.

Third, he pulls all the covers off the guest bed so he can lay on the pink sheets.

Fourth, I have a pink purse. Every day he gets the pink purse out of the pile, sticks his nose in in, flings it around and then lays on top of it.

Fifth, when he stole my pajamas the pair he picked was pink.

All the evidence proves his favorite color is pink, too!

A Girl and her Grey



Saturday, January 19, 2013

I couldn't sleep like this

This is still adorable and hilarious to me! Sleeping like this! So cute!

A Girl and Her Grey

Friday, January 18, 2013

Making himself at home


This bed was made before Giles decided to sleep in it. He likes to nest and arrange things to his liking when it comes to blankets. I make it back and in a few hours he has it all "nested" again. And yes, I think it's cute!

I didn't show him the guest bed. Oh it's there, he walks passed it every time he goes upstairs. He just decided one day to sleep on it. I think he likes it because right beside the bed is a window. I raise the blind so he can look out while he's laying there.

He likes to just chill out!

A Girl and her Grey

Thursday, January 17, 2013

CLOSE UP

If Giles could talk I think he might be saying...

"Enough with the camera already!"

A Girl and her Grey


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Sphinx-ing

Another lingo lesson in the wonderful world of Greyhounds...

Because it's hard, virtually impossible, for Greyhounds to sit like a normal dog, they half lay/ half sit so they looking like the famous Sphinx. And Greyhound-ists (I might have coined a new Greyhound phrase there!) call this pose Sphinxing.

And it's true. They do it. Evidence:




I don't care what anyone calls it; all I know is he looks darn cute and so "serious" when he's in this position!

A Girl and her Grey



Monday, January 14, 2013

Things that scare Giles

My Grey is a doll baby, I swear. He's so sweet, gentle, easy-going, and laid back. And he's a big chicken. (I must say I feel sorta mean just writing it down...I'm sorry, Giles! And he's not a chicken, he's a dog; hence the name of the blog. Otherwise it would be "A girl and her chicken". )

He's scared of 2 things, that I know of anyway. First, he afraid of the dark. I wrote about that here.

The other thing he's scared of, apparently, is my mobile phone. Yes, he scared of my cell phone. He likes music and the sound of TV. I even leave the TV on when I'm gone so it seems like he has company (and to help drown out neighborhood noises that might agitate him into barking). He's frightened of my phone. He seems to do okay when it rings; he just looks at me. But when my phone vibrates and he hears it, he stands up and walks around and whimpers. And if I get a text...! Well, he hates it. The alert sound I have for texts is the sound of Samantha's nose wiggle on the old television show BEWITCHED. When my text alert goes off, he whines and cries and walks around; he jumps and whimpers. He won't settle down. And this goes on for more than a minute or two. He gets "upset" for 10-15 minutes. I even changed the tone but it still scares him. I finally had to turn my phone on silent.



I love him to pieces, fears an all!

A girl and her grey



Sunday, January 13, 2013

He's a happy dog! I have proof!

Giles has been such a delightful house guest he gets to stay a little while longer! Yay!

He's loving it here, actually. He loves the carpet in the house so he walks around freely. He's eating well (he ate well at The Man's house, tho). He ADORES the backyard. He runs from one side to the other and prances around. Yesterday it was 60 degrees and sunny here (such a weird January!) so we spent a lot of time outside. He LOVED that and ran all over the place, prancing and just being a great dog.

As a matter of fact, he's so comfortable, he likes to relax in a position called "roaching" in the Greyhound world. Oh, all dogs do this but us greyhound lovers are apparently nuts and have our own lingo and we call this roaching.





I had the giggles so bad watching him sleep like this for 20 minutes! I could barely contain myself. And yes, he was truly asleep!

Also, apparently, when a grey sleeps like this it mean he's completely comfortable and happy in his surroundings. So, the experiment of visiting my dad has been a good one.

A girl and her (silly) grey



Monday, January 7, 2013

Giles the house guest

I'm looking for a new job and The Man lives in one city and I work in another so I commute. I work Mon- Thurs so I live at my dad's house during that time, then I go to The Man's house Thurs-Sun. Giles has been staying with The Man- until yesterday.

Dad wasn't sure he wanted a dog in his house and I don't blame him. He had new carpets and furniture so I completely understand and respect that wish. I knew that when I decided to adopt Giles. The plan was Giles would stay at The Man's until I could get a job and move there.

Well, Dad took pity on me and said Giles could come visit for 4 days, shorter if he was a knucklehead of a dog, meaning The Man and I would drive halfway and do a dog switch if Giles was an ill-behaved guest. (Also, just to be clear, if Giles was miserable at Dad's house then we would also do the switch). So far so good!

As a matter of fact, I thought he was a big adorable baby before, but now he's just a bigger and even more of an adorable (and spoiled!) baby! Dad has all carpets so he LOVES to be able to walk all over and sniff and investigate. He also sleeps off his pillow; The Man only had hardwood flooring so it can be cold. Giles loves the carpet and snuggles down anywhere. He also loves dad's fenced in backyard, being able to run and prance around freely. Now, I take him out on a leash and look for cats (Giles is not a friend to the feline world) and when I make sure no stray neighborhood cat is sleeping one off in the yard, I let him off his lead and he loves to play.

So far the "no furniture" rule has held. He hasn't even tried to get on chairs or the couch at dad's, which is a good thing since he is not allowed.

Last night we did have to make some bedtime adjustments. First, I have closet doors in my bedroom that are floor to ceiling mirrors. Giles spent the first 20 minutes growling at his own reflection. I don't know if he figured out it was him or not. I finally got him to touch his paw to the mirror and he stopped.  Also, when I turned out all the lights, he whined. He was in bed with me but still whimpered. I talked to him and pet him. I wasn't sure what was wrong because that was unusual. I turned on the light to see if I was laying on his tail or something and as soon as the light came on he stopped whining. Light off, whine. Light on, stop. I finally dug a night-light out of a drawer and plugged it in and then turned off all the other lights. He was fine. Apparently Giles is afraid of the dark (The Man's apartment his a security light which happens to shine in his living room window at night, never making is completely dark, and the same thing, ironically, happens with a security light through the bedroom window!)!


Finally, The Man's apartment is very warm all the time (to the point where we keep all the windows cracked. The heat is controlled on a master switch for all the apts. in the entire building complex because it's such an old place so we can't control how hot or cold the place gets) and dad's house is not. Dad keeps the thermostat around 68 during the day and 60 at night. Giles started out sleeping in my bed last night (like he usually does, even when at The Man's) but I must have tried to pet him in the night because he growled and got out of bed (Big Greyhound "no-no" is petting them while asleep. They feel threatened; I know better but my subconscious didn't agree). He laid on his pillow on the floor but he must have been cold. I woke to find him wrapped in his blanket plus an afghan that was on the spare bed. He must have claimed it in the night! One thing he does love to do is make a "nest" of blankets when he can so he did, and then slept the night away!

Otherwise, I think he's adapting very nicely to his mini vacation at dad's place. If he continues to be such a wonderful house guest, he might be invited back (especially if I could teach him to vacuum since I really should do that daily!!) 


A Girl and her Grey



 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

He should be able to go everywhere

I know this going to sounds nuts but I wish there were public places I could take my dog to hang out with me. There. I said it. I now sound officially like a crazy cat lady but with a dog. (Why is it that no one ever talks about "the crazy dog lady down the street"? It's always "the crazy cat lady"? Sorry, I digress.)

Giles is really good. I mean, really, really good. He doesn't jump on people. He doesn't bark. He doesn't smell crotches and his favorite thing is to just lay at my feet. He likes people but if I tell him "no" he stays away from whatever I told him to stay away from. He would be a good dog to be able to go into public places.

I wish Giles could go to the movies with me. He would curl up at my feet and sleep the whole thing. He MIGHT get on the seats if I would allow him but if he did, he'd stretch out and sleep. I'd like to take him to bookstores. He would just curl up at my feet and sleep, again. I'd like to take him to a coffeehouse. Oh, I know the rules about food/animals and such, but I'd like to have him go. I'd have him on a leash, of course. I wouldn't allow him to just roam free. I'd make sure he wouldn't need to go to the bathroom but if he did I would take him to do so, and clean up after him, just like I do now when I walk him. If he was disruptive, I'd leave.

I realize if there were open pet laws then everyone with a dog, even those that would NOT be well behaved, would be allowed to take their dogs in public places. That would suck. Most people's dogs are NOT nice, I've learned.

I dunno. He's a sweet dog, and I'd like to be able to just hang out at my fav bookstore and read, with him snuggled up with me.

I'm excited about this summer because he can sit at my feet at any place with a patio. I spend most of my weekends in a really quaint, eclectic neighborhood with lots of outdoor patios that welcome dogs so we will be able to hang out together. Until then, we enjoy our home!

A Girl and her Grey



Saturday, January 5, 2013

Lounging around


He's so adorable, and I love that he finally makes himself at home! And the tongue out is also super cute!

A Girl and her Grey



Thursday, January 3, 2013

I miss him so much!

Since I live at my dad's house during the week, he wasn't sure he wanted a DOG in the house so Giles stays with The Man during the week and I  go to that "home" Thursday- Sundays. This is this is the first time I've left for the week since I got him.

I've missed him terribly and I call/ text/ email The Man (not the dog!) several times a day to check on Giles. I ask for updates and descriptions of what he's (the dog, not The Man) doing. And I've made sure The Man sends me a Giles picture every day.

Here's today's:

"Is mom under here?"


Do you think he's looking for me????

A Girl who misses her Grey


Wednesday, January 2, 2013