Good Sunday Morning,

It's a very white Sunday morning here. We had more snow overnight and they are saying more to come this afternoon. Okay now, we have had enough snow for the season....

Our greyhounds had a mini competition last night. It was quite comical from our perspective to watch how this played out....picture this:

Mandy is sound asleep on the couch beside me most of the evening. Both Onyx and Shadow had expressed wishes to join her on the couch at various times throughout the evening, but she would not budge - kept hogging the entire couch.

Shadow decides to give it one more good try; Onyx is sleeping on one of their dog beds near the couch at this time. Onyx sees Shadow making a good attempt to get Mandy to move and let him up. He is just standing in front of her; she is ignoring him.

Onyx sees what Shadow is doing, hops up and moves to stand in between Shadow and the couch. They remain like this for a good 10 minutes. Mandy squirms a little but does not move.

Onyx and Shadow start jockying positions until Shadow is on the inside, closest to the couch. He eventually gets tired of just standing there and starts to climb up in front of Mandy in the tinyest little space that is available (for all of you that have met Shadow, he is NOT a small greyhound...). Mandy growls but still does not move.
Pictures of Mandy, Shadow and Onyx.

Onyx sees Shadow climbing up on the couch and makes his move to climb up at the other end of Mandy. At the same time, Shadow sits on Mandy's head and Onyx sits on Mandys bottom end. She growls and snarls but still does not move, just pulls her head out from under Shadow.

At this point, fearing a major battle, we kick all 3 of them off the couch. Shadow stands indignantly at the end of the couch; Onyx goes and sulks in the bedroom; and Mandy decides she needs to go outside.

The whole event took place in a matter of approx 15 minutes, almost like a show in slow motion. Unbelievably funny! Spoiled greyhound antics are better than watchin T.V. :-)

Have a Greyt Day!
Joanne

We have a Houdini

Onyx, our 10 year old greyhound, has some "space" issues. For that reason, whenever we go out and leave the dogs alone, we separate him from the rest. We first started putting him downstairs in the family room etc... thinking that he would have lots of space to himself, but he always found a way upstairs no matter how we blocked him in.

So, we decided to try blocking him in another area upstairs where he would be closer to the others hoping that that would stop him from escaping him designated area. The very first day, and everyday since, he has managed to escape and is in with the rest of them when we get home. It doesn't matter how we set up the blockade, he manages to find a way through. So much for that idea...

We have exhausted all idea with the exception of putting holes in the walls and fastening the gate to the wall. The only problem with that is that we are afraid that he will hurt himself trying to find a way to open it,

We are at a loss what to do. He is just too smart for his own good...

What to do????

Have a greyt day,
Joanne

A week in review

This past week has been just crazy...so, what else is new?

Last weekend, our little "Sunshine" girl - our budgie - died. She had been acting a lethargic for a few days, but she had been eating well so I wasn't too worried. Our canary tends to go through short spells of being quiet...
That morning, she seemed fine. Climbing around her cage, and eating like normal. I was busy throughout the day; I went to say goodnight to her before I went to bed that night and found her on the bottom of her cage. What a shock!
I feel terrible that she was all alone when it happened...not that I could have really done anything, but I always feel that any living thing should not be alone when their time comes. I really wish I had at least been in the same room - or had some idea that it was her time.

And to top it off, we think it is "time" for our very senior poodle. He has been "going downhill" for quite some time now and we have been watching carefully and giving lots of love and attention to him. He is obviously in pain; we always said that we would not let him live in pain so now "it is time". This will be one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do; he has been wth us since he was 12 weeks old and he's now 17 years old. He is a wonderful, loving and loyal friend and we'll miss him terribly. All I need to do now is get up enough nerve to make the appointment and say goodbye to my very dear friend and constant companion.

On a happier note, I have been very busy getting ready for our first show of the year. We'll planning our yearly trip to Georgia and Florida to meet up with friends and enjoy a few days of fun and sun.
We have been very busy getting all our plans set for the trip and getting everything planned for the 2-day show that we will be vending at in Georgia.
Then it's off to Florida for a few more days with friends, visiting our pre-adopted greyhound Rowdy can't wait to see him again, a few hours at the farm visiting the many greyhounds living at the farm, an hour or so at the kennel visiting the racing dogs, and an evening watching the races with friends.
We are so excited as this is one of the highlights of our year and it is coming up fast.

Have a greyt day!
Joanne

Ever see a bird with a black eye?

Our canary somehow hurt himself a few days ago. He had a red/black eye that we were very concerned about. Over the past few days, it seems to have gone from red to a dull grey around the eye - it is healing.
We have no idea what he did or how he managed to hurt his eye, but at least it is healing and doesn't require a visit to the vet.

I had no idea that birds could be clumsy too...

On the other hand, after almost 2 years, Kirby is finally getting very used to us. He no longer flies to the other side of the cage when we talk to him, he chirps at us when we call him, he looks directly at us, and he isn't skitterish when we put our hands near the cage. It has taken a long time and much soft-talking, but he is coming around.
I still have a hard time catching him when I want to take him from his cage to the other so that I can clean the cage, but at least he doesn't panic like he used to. I think he realized that I won't hurt him.

Our budgie, Sunshine, is taking much more work. She was older when we adopted her and wasn't socialized at all. We have had her since the spring, and she remains very skitterish and scared of us. I think she will take a very long time to socialize too - if ever. I can't catch her at all (luckily her cage is much bigger than Kirby's and I am able to clean it with her in it).

Some of our greyhounds are Very Interested in the birds when I take their cages down; I allow them to look but only from a short distance away so as not the scare the birds too much and to let them know that they are only allowed to look - not touch. They are learning...

We welcome any comments, insights, stories if you wish to add something to this topic. We love to hear about other peoples adventures, and trials and tribulations with their pets.

Have a greyt day,
Joanne

Home

Today I am working from home; juggling both my regular job and Greyt Inspirations stuff.
I feel a terrible cold coming on, and the weather is not so great either.

We have had a fabulous winter so far (in my opinion), but I have always said that when we do get snow...it will "dump" on us. Well, my prediction is coming true. It started snowing yesterday and is snowing hard today. They are saying it will continue into tomorrow. We should end up with tons of snow.

I'm sure the local ski hill operators are doing a happy dance right now. I did feel for them, most of them had to shut down and it was having a ripple effect on the local businesses. I know that we needed the snow for the local economy...we have many ski hills in the area...but I could have done without the snow.

Is March here yet? We are going to Georgia and Florida again this year for a week of sun and fun.

Have a greyt day,
Joanne

How can you tell when...

a greyhound is mad? She pees in the house twice in the same day.

Our dear, sweet Mandy has had 2 accidents in the house today. This is VERY unusual for her. We think she may be just letting us know that she is mad that we haven't taken her out for a walk yet today even though they have been asking - uh...demanding a walk.

It has been a VERY long time since she has had any accidents in the house.

The last time, she got in big trouble (she hates it when we get mad at her). She is now "sulking" in the bedroom - we probably won't see her for hours.

Oh well, gotta stop the bad habits right from the start.

The lovely trials and tribulations of having 5 dogs...always something going on.

I know we aren't the only people to have every had this happen.

Have a greyt day.
Joanne

Time

Now that the holiday rush is over, I have a few minutes of spare time now and again. I plan to write a new blog at least once a week.

After much deliberation, I finally decided that couldn't sell Greyt Inspirations afterall so I decided to make some big changes instead. Hopefully, once all the changes are complete, things will run much smoother and easier than before.

I have placed many more items in the Bargain Bins...these are overstock or discontinued items and will not be seen again once they have been sold. There is lots there...so take a few minutes and find your "deal".

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Happy New Year to all.

Joanne