Roxie also has this stretching routine she does when she wakes up. First she goes downward dog, stretching her front paws, then she does her back paws (upward dog?), then she shakes off. She'll do this 4 or 5 times in a row first thing in the morning when it's time to get up and go out for a potty break. Once she didn't shake off after stretching front and back. I sat in my seat cringing until she finally did. Haha. Oh how we get so used to routines.
Well, Roxie has started a new thing in her sleep. It's happened 2 times in the past week. She wags her tail. That's right! She is sleep wagging her tail! I've always wondered what she dreams about, and I've always hoped they were good dreams. With her past, you never really know if it comes back up in her subconscious. I hope not. However, now I know she's having at least partially good dreams! Just the other morning I was laying in bed next to her, and I hear this thump. Then a quick thump thump thump thump right in a row. Then she was done. I didn't even get to roll over to see it, I just heard it. The sound alone made my heart melt.
Rhett was the first to notice her sleep-wagging. He said it went on for a few minutes, and as soon as he had his camera up to grab a video, she stopped, of course.
Let me tell you something about Roxie's tail. It's docked slightly. Sometime before we got her, she broke a tooth and last 1/4 of her tail got docked. We don't know how or when, but it doesn't seem to cause her pain or distress. You may notice that a Greyhound's tail curls up at the end. Her's doesn't. No biggie. We love her just the same. Now let me tell you something else about her tail. She rarely wagged it when we first got her. It took a few weeks to see it wag, and a few months to see it wag for more than a few seconds. Now she wags it every time we come home. I walk in from work, waggy tail. We walk in from church, waggy tail. We walk in from date night, waggy tail. Rhett walks in from grocery shopping, waggy tail. You get the picture :)
Most greyhounds will wag their tails in big circles, I don't know if it's muscle memory or now permanent muscle contractions on her behind, or if she just doesn't know how to properly wag her tail, but Roxie's tail stays down when it wags. For the first few months we had her, the tail was almost constantly tucked. She still tucks it a lot, but not when we're inside, safe from all the scary things that happen outside (let me tell you, EVERYTHING outside is scary). So her tail wags side-to-side, just staying off her back legs. She sure can get some speed on it, though. The only time I've seen it go in circles like a "normal" greyhound, is when she gets to sprint on the beach. I think that's a balance thing for her, though; the tail kind of has to go out back, and it circles just because she bounces when she runs. Then at any sign of distress, it goes right back between those legs. That is just how her tail does.
This was the tale of Roxie's waggily tail. It's the most adorable tail I've ever seen. My Chicago Dog <3
Mary
Here's photos for comparison of tails: Roxie's is quite a bit shorter than Tory's, as you can see, and it doesn't curl up at the end (it looks like it's starting to), she also keeps her tail more pointed down in general. In the second picture she's slightly tucking her tail, a fairly normal position for it.
