Darryls' Halloween Costume

Here are photos of Darryl in his Halloween costume. Its hard to see in the photos but the lights are flashing.

Darryl is dressed up as the "Fun Police". His job is to supervise the other dogs at Friends of Greyhounds.

The Intelligence of Greyhounds

It seems that there is a good deal of variation in the intelligence of greyhounds. On the high side, there is Darryl. At the other extreme is Tasha.

Darryl

Darryl has a good memory. He also learns from his mistakes and tries new things. I have noticed that all of the dogs are unable to understand that what they see through a window is what is happening outside. If it is raining outside, they can see the bad weather through the sliding glass door, but until they go outside they do not seem to understand that is is raining. Recently, Darryl has learned that what he sees outside is real. Now, when it is raining out, Darryl only has to look outside to know that he really does not want to go out and get wet.

Tasha

Tasha is an example of the other extreme. Every morning when she wakes up she is just as happy to see me as when I return home. The other day I called the dogs into the kitchen to give each one a dog biscuit. When I gave one to Tasha she did not grab it firmly enough and it slipped out of her mouth and remained in my hand. To my surprise, Tasha trotted off to the bedroom to eat her "air cookie". She did come back for seconds.

Protect Your Dog from Overheating

Summer in South Florida means rain, more rain, high humidity, hurricanes and extreme heat.

If you think dogs can handle the heat you are making a fatal mistake. Dogs do not perspire, they pant to stay cool. If the surrounding air is hot then they cannot cool down. The slightest exertion can cause their body temperature to rise.

Here is a link to Friends of Greyhounds with more information on how to protect your dog from overheating. Also, there is information on what to do if your dog gets too hot.

If you think is okay to leave your dog in the car with the windows down, I recently noticed that the temperature in my car with the windows open was over 105° F.

We need to be very careful and protect our dogs. After all we are the smart ones and our dogs have less sense of their well-being than a 2 year old child.

Jimbo Understands "Four"

I have four dog beds in the family room. Today I was there watching TV and I noticed that one of the dogs had piled 2 of the beds together to make an extra thick and soft bed. It also meant that there were only 3 beds available.

All of the dog beds were occupied when Jimbo joined us. He kept staring at the dogs and the beds, In the past when there were 4 dogs on 4 beds he would just find a place on the floor, but today he just kept looking and looking. After a few minutes he walked over and laid down on the doubled up bed next to the dog that was already there on the bed.

Darryl's Roadtrip

I just got back from my nephew's high school graduation in Lima, Ohio.

Darryl in Lima, Ohio

On previous visits there would always be someone suggesting that I should bring my dogs. Since this was the last time to visit for a high school graduation I decided to take Darryl along.

Bella Plays with Darryl

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I was worried about how Darryl would react to the 2 small dogs at my brothers house. When we first came in both dogs barked at Darryl. This helped Darryl to understand that they were not rabbits with bad haircuts.

Deer in the Backyard

Darryl also got to see a deer. Based on his reaction I think he thought he was looking at a greyhound.

Tyler & Parents

I brought along a folding crate borrowed from Friends of Greyhounds and the few times that I had to leave Darryl alone he spent his time in the crate.