Strange sitter

First Morning & Afternoon

Hawk slept in our bedroom last night. Pharaoh chose to sleep in the living room. We gated the two rooms apart so Hawk wouldn't go wandering. He didn't even try to go wandering. He slept pretty well, but he did make some wierd noise that scared me. I thought some man came into the room and said "Hey!"

This morning Rachel walked Hawk. He didn't poop for her like he did for me last night. She came back and went back to sleep. When we both woke up awhile later, we went into the living room to say hi to Pharaoh. We couldn't find him. We thought maybe Rachel's sister lost him. We eventually found him hiding behind the couch in the tiniest space. I have found him there a few other times throughout today, and each time I have pulled him out of there. I want to discourage his hiding.

I took him for another walk this afternoon. When he walks he looks all around at everything. Seems like NYC is pretty distracting for him. When we arrived at our destination, I told him to sit, but I had to repeat the command with a push down on his rear until he sat briefly. I heard more whispers today. Two homeless guys were debating if Hawk was a great dane or not. Two people asked me if Hawk is one of those "running dogs." One guy was excited to see Hawk, thinking that I found the whippet that escaped at the airport a few weeks ago.

Hawk met a little girl today. She pet his nose and he was very calm with her. That makes me happy.

Rachel fed Hawk this morning, but he didn't eat until 1 pm. When he ate, he ate quickly. I need to get out of the apartment and let him get used to being home alone.

Here is a picture of him lounging this afternoon. He follows me all over this apartment. I must truly be his pack leader.

Hawk arrived!

Rachel and her sister picked up Hawk from Lisa today. He was a little anxious during the car ride home, but after he farted, he got a little more comfortable. When they brought him to the building, he was a little nervous of the elevator.

They brought Hawk inside, as I sat petting our cat. When Pharaoh first spotted him, Pharaoh tensed up and watched Hawk intensely. Hawk noticed Pharaoh, but then continued to explore the apartment. We kept Hawk on the leash to make sure he didn't lunge for Pharaoh, and then later disconnected it but kept a watch on them. Pharaoh made a few moans and hisses, and Hawk walked away. Pharaoh didn't run away into the bedroom though, like he did when he met his last greyhound.

We gave Hawk some water and 2 treats. He wasn't interested in the Greenie. We gave him his stuffed pink flamingo, but he didn't seem too interested in that either. I think he was just a little anxious about his new environment to focus on anything for too long. We showed him his bed, but he lied down on the floor instead.

I took Hawk on our first walk together. He peed a few times and pooped once. I didn't have to go at all. But more importantly, we bonded. It is strange walking a dog. With Hawk, I got a lot more attention from strangers than usual. Pre-Hawk, when I walked around the city, I just anonymously floated, trying not to draw attention. Tonight, I actually ignored people staring at us. I probably shouldn't do that as much again, and I should enjoy the attention and meeting new people. I met a man who said that for Hawk's first day in the city, he is doing very well. A few girls smiled at me. I heard whispers of "he's so big" and "he's so beautiful" ... I assume they were talking about Hawk and not me. A double-lab-owner walked and talked with me for two blocks. Walking a dog was such a foreign experience for me, so I'm planning on enjoying the newness of it until I become a little more jaded. It'll probably start to get old when I have to keep waking up at the crack of dawn so he can relieve himself.

The most interesting thing I discovered on our walk is that he doesn't like the metal cellar doors on the sidewalk. So I tried walking him across them as much as possible so he'd get used to them. We didn't meet any dogs on this trip... I didn't stop to let him. This will change though.

Now he is gated off in the bedroom to keep him out of the living room. Pharaoh's territory is the living room for now. Until we are comfortable with the dog/cat relationship, we plan on separating them when we are inattentive. Hawk is sleeping on his bed and blanket now as I write this. He isn't sleeping very soundly, though, being easily startled at every noise I make. Rachel is asleep. Abby is sleeping over tonight and she is asleep. I plan on working for a few more hours, trying not to let my thoughts wander to the wonderful future adventures with my new dog.

The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

So by now, with the aid of DVR and reruns, I've seen over 15 hours of this show. I think I've seen almost every single episode. Seems like there are some common themes for improving your relationship with your dog. Some of these might even be applicable for everyday life, such as in the business world.

• Be the pack leader. Be dominant. Be in control.
• Have calm, assertive energy.
• Be tenacious/persistant.
• Set rules, boundaries, and limitations.
• Dogs are not humans.
• Dogs need exercise, discipline, and affection... in that order.
• The dog's personality is not necessarily a result of its breed. There are no bad breeds.
• When you see the dog being obsessive, break his concentration. Tug up on his collar, snap your fingers, make an annoying noise with your mouth, tap him... whatever it takes.
• Love isn't going to rehabilitate a psychological problem. Dogs don't follow emotional/lovable leaders. "Leader before lover." Lead the dog before you love the dog.
• Share affection only at the right times.
• Walk the dog at least 45 minutes per day. This will help drain your dog's energy and help establish a trust-bond between you and your dog. The walk helps establish your leadership.
• Correction is not punishment. Don't worry about hurting your dog's feelings.

Injury

I got home from vacation today and found out that my class tonight was cancelled. I figured that since I had the evening free, if Hock is ready and available, I could pick him up tonight.

Lisa said that Hock recently got injured in the foster parent's yard. He got a deep 2-inch cut on his leg, and got 25 stitches at the Vet. The cut was severe enough he needed anesthesia. They don't know exactly how he got cut, but perhaps on a branch.

Lisa prefers that we pick up Hock after he has had some time to heal. Perhaps this weekend or next week.

New toasty coat

We ordered a new coat from Kris Koats. We ordered the Gray Ghost Cat pattern.

We meet the dog

We got up early, foregoing our usual Sunday sleep-in and subsequent brunch, to drive to Levittown and meet Hawk. We arrived at Lisa's house, and Hawk wasn't there yet. But there were enough other greyhounds to keep us busy. Lisa must have about 6 greyhounds running around. It was pretty wild.

John Knowles' daughter stopped by with her father's dog. I tried to get a little history about the previous owner. Mr. Knowles had a martini everyday, and every time he had one he gave Hawk an olive. Mr. Knowles got Hawk after he came back from a December 2002 cruise with his daughter. Apparently, his last greyhound died young of cancer. When he got Hawk, Hawk was 3 years old. Hawk must have been a great racer to stay at the track so many years (the bad racers leave the track at an age no later than 2 years old). His racking name was Hockey (or Hocky or Hockie?), but Mr. Knowles shorted it to the first syllable, or "Hock."

Mr. Knowles loved Hawk, especially since his wife died and the dog was his constant companion. Hawk gave him a reason to wake up everyday. Mr. Knowles went to a hospital and participated in pet therapy. Being an elderly gentleman, he didn't often walk or groom Hawk, but he did send Hawk to the groomer and let Hawk frolic around his fenced-in backyard. Hawk loves his ears rubbed and his favorite chew toy is a pink flamingo.

I walked Hawk around Lisa's block. I've never walked a dog before, so having it sniff around and pee on things was a little new to me, where I was the one in charge. I've been watching Cesar Millan in The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel a lot now, and Cesar doesn't let the dogs sniff around on the ground. He makes them walk attentively with their head held high. Should I let Hawk sniff around, or should I increase our walking pace and prevent him from sniffing around?

We tried a coat on Hawk, to get his size. We also checked out Lisa's dog beds, dog treats, and dog feeding bowls. She has some neat greyhound statutes and merchandise