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Griffin...
"Each
month we have the privilege of adopting to wonderful folks and sadly
saying goodbye to dogs who have stolen our hearts. Griffin was such a
dog and that day as I walked away, I did so holding back the tears but
telling myself, "This is the right home for him..." As soon as the
emails and the pictures came in, the tears started again. But this time
for a different reason. We had found a home that truly understood our
meaning of "making a dog part of the family." We could not have asked
for a better home for Griffin and we're so grateful they chose to make
one of our dogs, part of their family...."
Wow, I can't believe we've had Griffin
for two months. In some ways it seems like he's always been with us
and in some ways it feels like it was just yesterday we brought him
home.
He is now definitely one of the family.
He knows the sound of all three of our cars and when he hears one of
them he gets excited and starts barking and running back and forth
from the back bedroom to the front gate. He hears the cars before
they even turn the corner! No one can sneak home anymore--Griffin
sounds the alarm. :)
Griffin loves to run at full speed in a
figure 8 in our backyard. Ginger will stand in the middle and bark
each time he passes her. We call it Griffin's crazy run.
Ginger and Griffin are inseparable.
When we first adopted Griffin, we would give Ginger some alone time
with us each day so she wouldn't feel like her life was too
disrupted. She no longer allows us to do that. If she's separated
from Griffin, she'll start whining--she wants her buddy!
We still have two cats that are afraid
of him, but the rest ignore him (much to Griffin's dismay). Five
cats were sleeping in the living room the other day when Griffin
came barreling in--and not one budged. (In the old days, they all
would have scattered.) Griffin then pranced up to each one in
hopes of getting one to run, but the cats did nothing except open a
sleepy eye at him then go back to sleep. He gave a little whimper
and looked at us as if to say "Why won't they play?" :) A week or
so ago, one of our cats actually chased Griffin in the backyard.
Griffin tried to get the cat to run and the cat turned the tables on
him (although it's possible that Griffin decided if he can't chase
the cat he might as well let the cat chase him). I wish I had the
video camera with me!
Oh, and we brought Griffin to the
groomers the other week. Attached are a couple of pictures of
Griffin with his new look. :) He was already a cutie, but I think
he may look even more adorable with the new 'do.
Griffin just completed Week 5 of his
PetSmart beginner class. He's a quick learner and follows the
commands very well while at home, but as soon as we get to class,
everything he's learned goes right out the window. He's more
interested in everything around him, never follows the commands, and
has no interest in the Pupperonis or any of the treats the trainer
offers. Each week I tell the instructor that we practice several
times a day and how well he does at home--but I'm sure she had
doubts based on his in-class performance. Until this past Sunday,
that is.
The only dog treat we have found that
Griffin likes is Pupperonis. He loves them at home, but he has no
interest in them when we get to PetSmart. So last Sunday, I
brought out the big guns for training class--hot dogs. ;)
The "wait" command was his first hurdle
on Sunday. The instructor works with the dogs first, then the
owners take over. When it was Griffin's turn, he wasn't interested
in the treat the instructor offered, so he didn't listen. After
several attempts, the instructor exclaimed to Griffin "Oh, you are
SUCH a Chow." She finally got him to sit and wait (without the aid
of a treat). Then my son took his turn and brought out a slice of
hot dog. You could immediately see Griffin's focus turn to the
treat and he performed the command perfectly the first time. After
that, the instructor asked us for a hot dog piece whenever it was
her turn to work with Griffin. :)
We practiced the "wait" command a lot on
Sunday. Picture Griffin sitting still in the store, with no one
holding his leash, watching you walk away from him and not moving
until you tell him to "come." Yes, it's hard to believe, but the
little escape artist did it--MANY times. Griffin did so well
Sunday, that I'd say he was probably the top student that day. It
only took 5 weeks and a hot dog!
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