Why We Call Her "Snuggle-Butt"

This is Roxie:

We were waiting for my niece and her boyfriend to get off the plane in this picture. There were people at the airport, so she was nervous. 

When Roxie gets nervous she always backs her butt into one of us. Even in the above picture, she sat with her butt towards Rhett. 

I find that it just melts my heart that she backs against us when she's scared, because she knows we will have her back. She can't watch both ends at the same time, so she backs up until her butt is pushed against us, (to the point of occasionally making me lose my balance) where she can look out at one end, and know her other end is protected. She used to hide underneath her brother, Bob, when she was scared, which was all the time when she first entered American Greyhound foster care. While she's come out of her shell, and has "protected" us, she's still a scaredy-dog at heart.

We will always protect you, Roxie. 

She doesn't always do this when she's nervous. She likes to be close to us, and I think her favorite body part to snuggle up against is her butt. It's got some bald spots, so maybe it gets extra cold. or maybe it's cuz she's nervous all the time (which wouldn't surprise me). Or maybe she just really likes having her butt touched. Either way, she's a snuggle-butt. 

She also loves to lay her head on pillows, or use your lap as a pillow. Her most favorite is when she has a pillow and someone to snuggle her butt against. Then I think she's in doggie heaven. Our little girl really trusts us to watch her back. At home or at the airport. 

Two more bonus pictures because she's so freaking adorable!!!

Mar

Treats for Me?

Roxie has been learning tricks. She's getting confident enough to ask for food, and is somewhat treat motivated. She has to be completely comfortable with her surroundings to be treat motivated, but it's a start.

It's really cute to watch her, actually. It took us forever just to get "sit" down. As it turns out, greyhounds don't naturally sit like other dogs because of they way they are built. So "sit" isn't necessarily the best command to teach them. She learned it anyway, our smart girl.

After "sit" we moved on to some commands that have been said to help shy dogs gain a little more confidence. The first is "say hello" and the other is "watch me." When we tell her to "say hello" we hold out a closed fist, and she has to bump her nose against it. When she does that, we give her a treat out of the other hand. This is so they aren't just bumping their nose against a hand that smells like a treat, but rather they are following a command. When we say, "watch me," we hold a finger to our nose, between our eyes, and she has to make eye contact with us for more than a millisecond. Haha really we try to keep her eyes on ours for about 2-3 full seconds. Then she gets a treat. Eye contact is an Alpha-dog thing, so learning she can make eye contact with us lets her know there is mutual respect. It's also a great way to bond.

Moving on we started to teach her to "shake." That one took her awhile as well, though so far has come much faster than the previous tricks. Our Roxie is a lefty, and always puts her left paw up to shake.

What I think is the cutest thing though, is how she'll ask for treats now. She never really used to. She would sniff at something, but if you didn't give it to her she'd just stand there and look sad. Now if we have food in hand she'll come over and sit in front of us. Sometimes she'll bring that left paw up just to see if that will work. My most favorite thing she does though, is when she bumps Rhett's hand if he's eating something. He often leans against the counter and will eat an apple with one hand, and leave the other hanging. We often get caught up just chatting in the kitchen, until Roxie decides she wants a bite, and will come over and start nudging Rhett's hanging hand with her nose. Once he looks down, she sits. It's so adorable we just can't refuse!

Our newest trick is "down." She's picking up on this one fast, too, but like the others it's also a hit-and-miss trick she doesn't quite have the hang of yet. We'll get there.

If you ever come over for a visit and she nudges your hand while you're eating a snack, you probably won't be able to say no to her little face. And that's okay with us. I really have seen a confidence boost in this pretty girl.

Until next time! "Sit" tight.

Mary + Roxie

A Single Bark

Hello, dog lovers!

I have some amazing news to share... After 8 months of having our sweet Roxie, I finally got to hear her bark.

Just once.

It was amazing.

Here's the story:

Rhett and I went to Wisconsin for the weekend so Rhett could go on a fishing trip with some of his buddies. I stayed with one of the friend's wives (Courtney) and their dog, Korra. Korra is a year old, and extremely high energy. We hoped Roxie might take a lesson in "playing" from her. Courtney was hoping Korra would take a lesson in relaxing from Roxie. Neither happened.

Saturday morning we took Korra and Roxie to the dog park in the Madison area. It's quite lovely. So we get the pups in the back seat of the car and start driving over. It's not a long drive. On the way, Korra was apparently doing something to annoy Roxie, and from the back seat I hear a sudden, big, deep, loud bark. I looked back in shock, my first thought being, "Wow, I didn't know Korra had such a deep voice!" Then I saw Roxie, eyes wide, staring at Korra, mouth puckered in a bark position. Then it hit me, Roxie gave one warning bark. That was all it took. For the next few minutes, Korra stayed on her side of the car. I was stunned. In 8 months we've never heard her bark once. She's so passive, that we didn't know if we'd ever actually get to hear her bark.

Sadly, there was no replicating it. She's just too chill. Rhett didn't get to hear the beautiful, big-dog sound come out of our sweet girl. To be quite honest, I'm not sure I want to ever replicate it. She scared even me for just a moment. I think she may have scared herself a bit with it, too, hahaha.

Hopefully this means she's gaining more confidence and won't put up with as much crap. Nothing else has seemed to change, though, so I'm just not sure. I was, however, really excited to share the news of her bark with Rhett, and now with you!

Til next time!

Woof!

 Miss Roxie at the dog park in Madison, WI.

 Roxie (the tall one) with Korra (the fluffy one) and Courtney (the human) in Madison, WI. Wish I had a better picture of Korra, just to show the relationship between the two of them. Haha.

Midnight Snacks

It's a common occurrence that we sit down somewhere together, or get busy doing something, and about 10 minutes later say, "Where's Roxie?"

Most often she's sneaked into our bedroom and hopped on the bed. She loves to lay on our pillows. Second most common is the guest bed. She likes to treat that one as her day bed. Third most common is the couch, followed by her kennel. She's just so quiet, and so dark, we lose track of her so easily. Occasionally, though, she's found lurking somewhere else.

We used to feed Rox on a schedule, but found that she did better free feeding. So we fill up her bowl twice a day, and she eats when she wants. She stops herself when she's full, so we never really have to worry. The past couple of evenings, she's left food in her bowl at "dinner" time only to come back to it around 12:30 and finish it off. I guess she likes midnight snacks before going to bed.

So the other night, Rhett was trying to get into bed, Roxie wanted to be on the bed at the same time, and we were all just trying to say goodnight. Rhett can't exactly get under the covers with Roxie on top of them, so we have to tell her, "Off the bed," and she hops down so we can lay down. This night, though, she was kind of putting up a fight. She'd hop off the bed, just to hop right back on before Rhett could even cover up. Finally after the 3rd or 4th time kicking her off (Rhett had to do it cuz I was laughing too hard at her stubbornness), she left the bedroom. Rhett snuggled in and we said our nightly prayer together. I kissed him good night and we both then wondered where Roxie had gotten off to.

We figured she had just jumped on the guest bed out of spite, and was sulking there. So I checked. No Roxie. I look over to the couch, fully expecting her to be there, but still no Roxie. Our apartment is not that big, she couldn't have gone far. So I start walking up and down the apartment and peek around the corner in the pantry. What I find is Roxie, with her head in her food bag, eating her midnight snack. I guess it's just something she can't miss now. She just looked at me as she chomped her food loudly (she's a very loud eater), leaving crumbs all over the pantry floor. Then she stuck her head back in the bag for another mouthful.

At least she knows where her food is.

Stay hungry, my friends.

The bed, with pillows.

The guest bed/day bed.

The couch (hog).

Bonus bed pic cuz she looks hilarious here.

A Guardian Angel

There are benefits to having a vlecro dog. Sure, I may not be able to go to the bathroom alone, or walk into another room alone, or do yoga or shower alone. I have to say that I like not having to eat, sleep, or watch TV alone though. However this post goes beyond just having a velcro dog. This post talks about a dog's sense of what goes on around them. They know when something is wrong.

A time when my dad fell ill, and his blood sugar dropped, Danni laid on the bed with him the whole day. Really, she laid on his belly. She kept looking at the rest of us with worried eyes. He was alright a day or two later. The whole time he was sick, Danni stayed by his side. Dogs are the best companions when you're sick.

I've always known Danni could sense something wrong. She even went so far as to avoid me a few times when I started crying. On purpose. If I was physically ill, though, she'd stay with me all day. She does love to snuggle, and who better to snuggle than a sickly captive audience?

Fast forward a few years, and I'm in Chicago, having just adopted Roxie the Greyhound 5 months ago. She is my little velcro dog. We haven't had any major illness or incident up to this point, so I never really thought about a dog's sixth sense. Until I came into contact with a cross-contaminated cupcake. Grab your tissues, now, you're going to need them...

This particular story I shared with Roxie's foster mom, and ended up putting Roxie Hart in the American Greyhound monthly newsletter. Here's what the little write up about her said:

It's always good to hear from our adopters after our dogs go into their forever homes. Knowing that we have made a difference, not only for an unwanted greyhound, but also for the family who adopts them gives you a warm feeling and validates what we do.
Recently, we received this message from Mary Hildebrandt, who adopted a little Lurcher named Roxie, earlier this year:

I have the sweetest story to share with you that happened just last night. This pretty girl helped me out last night. I had eaten a cupcake that had been cross contaminated with peanut-something (I have a very severe allergy). After my first dose of medication wore off, I headed to the bathroom in extreme pain and by the time I got there I could hardly function. Roxie followed me, then left and woke up Rhett, and came back to the bathroom. Rhett followed her, found me, and was able to give me the next dose of medication then take me to bed. I was so grateful she was there and could sense that something was wrong. I'm just fine today, and she's been by my side everywhere I go. She's been a blessing in our lives in more ways than just this. I wanted to share so you remember what a sweet dog you saved for us :)

Now if that doesn't cause a lump in your throat, I'm not sure what will. But, let me add a little more to the story. You may remember hearing about Roxie before. We featured her and another lurcher named Bob she arrived with in our year end mailing. When she arrived she was extremely shy and reserved. About the only thing that gave her any comfort was Bob. And she clung to him like a magnet. He was her guardian angel. Gradually, she came out of her shell and now lives with Mary and her husband Rhett in Chicago. Now when Mary needed some help, Roxie has come full circle and is Mary's guardian angel!

Mary, thank you so much for sharing that wonderful story. And, Roxie, GOOD GIRL! 

So there you have it. Our pretty girl, Roxie Hart found me help in my time of need. She didn't whine or bark at Rhett, but she went in the bedroom, shook herself off (flap-flap-flap of the ears, and makes her collar jingle), then left. Rhett figured while he was awake he may as well use the bathroom, then started to think about how odd it was that Roxie didn't just jump on the bed, since bed is her favorite place in the whole world. When he found me he got some benadryl in me right quick, and let me lean on him as he walked me back to bed. We let Roxie sleep in our room at the foot of our bed that night so we could all be near each other. 

To read the monthly newsletter where Miss Hart is featured please click here. Roxie, the guardian angel greyhound animal. A good girl.

Affectionately,

Roxie's mom

P.S. (De-worming treatments continue, and seem to be going well. Not many relapse symptoms of worms for awhile now. Just a few more weeks of medication, and we can retest. Poor wormy-butt Roxie.)

Worms!!!

Well you know Roxie was a sick little puppy awhile back. Just as it seemed she got better, we left her with some greyhound sitters for a week long vacation. I was nervous. Her last full day at their house she ate part of their palm plant and threw up again. 4 days later she was back to dehydration, vomiting, etc. I was so nervous. We took her into the vet. They ruled out any sort of blockage, so we tested for worms.

She had been dewormed when she entered foster care through American Greyhound, but sure enough, the test came back positive for both types of worms she had before. That is, hookworm and whipworm. It was a relief to at least have an answer for why my baby was so sick. Stress can trigger symptoms of parasite infections, and lets face it, Roxie is chronically stressed. We did a round of worm medication, and a bolus of fluids inserted subcutaneously for her dehydration. They also sent us home with an anti-inflammatory and some forti-flora packets to give with her dinner to help her symptoms improve by restoring her gut to it's natural state. The medication got rid of the whipworm. We're still working on hookworm.

She's got 12 weeks of medication to take, the vet said it's the best way to kill the worms short of taking a blowtorch to them. She's not allowed to eat dirt (ew), not that we let her anyway, but she will occasionally try to eat some of the thick grass at the park. Since starting treatment, her symptoms have pretty much disappeared! Hooray! The only thing that still concerns me is her poop. It's pretty mushy. Although that's not uncommon of Greyhounds, so who knows if it's her or the worms at this point.

Hookworms and whipworms are non-transferable to humans from dogs. We're halfway through our 12 weeks of worm treatment. I'll keep you posted.

Let's all strive to live a worm free life!

<3 Mary and Roxie

We Have a Roacher

When we got Roxie, we thought we had done all our research. We knew we wanted a greyhound. We knew we wanted to rescue a greyhound. We knew it would be a learning curve for the dog as well as us. We knew we'd have to teach them how to be a dog, because most of them never learn what it is to be a dog. We knew living on the 3rd floor of a walk-up apartment might be a little difficult. We were okay with all of this.

Roxie broke all of our expectations.

We are also okay with that.

Our research led us to find a great dog for apartments. A dog that will be quiet, and adaptable, and loving, and snuggly. Roxie melted our hearts. We weren't totally prepared for her when we got her (the kennel we bough on amazon hadn't arrived yet), but we made do. We let her explore the house. We ended up having to take her out the front way instead of the back for potty breaks, because the front stairs are much easier to manage. We watched as she slowly came to trust us.

Rhett was excited to get a greyhound in part because he thinks they're cute. He loves when they "roach." Roaching is when they roll on their backs in their sleep and stick their paws up in the air. Google "greyhound roaching" and see the hilarious results. When we got Roxie, we were told she wasn't a roacher. I won't lie when I say we were both a little bit disappointed because we wanted to have a funny dog. However, it was not a deciding factor when we got Roxie (if it was, I hope someone would question our adoption motives). So home she came, and she was still funny and cute.

She got scared at the noises she would make as she backed into stuff. Her spatial reasoning isn't all that great. It's sometimes really hilarious. She even found her own reflection and became really confused at that. She's learned quickly, though, and does okay now.

As we've seen her learn to trust us, we saw something we were told we wouldn't see in her. One morning I woke up and rolled over to find Roxie on the bed with me, roaching. Full on, back legs stretched out, front paws bent over, neck extended, belly up, roaching. I laughed out loud and snapped a picture to send to Rhett before she moved.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Roxie, the roacher:

Her foster mom was thrilled, and told me they only turn their bellies up when they are truly comfortable.

Our dog loves us. The more she shows us, the more our hearts melt.

Everyone kiss your dog today! Tell them you love them.