Breeze is so happy in her new home - lots of walks with her Dad and her dog brother Elmo. Breeze being a shy gal needed someone who was willing to work with her to get her out of her shell; her Dad is that person! He came to the kennel on his lunch breaks most every day to walk her and spend time with her - all dogs should be so lucky!

"We brought Breeze home on Friday, June 26. She slept in her crate until 9 when I took her out for the last potty break. I moved her crate next to the bed and she slept in it through the night without incident. After breakfast on Saturday morning we took her and Elmo, out yellow lab, onto the rail trail and went for a 3 mile walk. When we returned, she went back into the crate, which I had moved back into the dining room, and she slept the rest of the day. I spent the day next to her working on various projects.

She started Sunday the same way – breakfast, a long walk, then sleep. My wife and I decided to go into St. Albans for the greyhound reunion, but left Breeze at home so as to not stress her out anymore. We moved the crate into another room, next to Elmo’s crate. When we returned, we just placed a dog bed next to the kitchen table, and to our surprise, she left her crate and went to sleep on the dog bed. Since that Sunday, it seems that she would rather be with us than in the crate.

I had taken a vacation day on Monday to help her get accustomed to our schedule, then I was back to work on Tuesday. That week I came home at lunch to let her out and worked up how long she was in the crate. By Thursday, she was in the crate for 6 hours.

The following weekend was the July 4^th weekend, and I started building the fence around the back yard. I’m sure she will love being off-leash back there once it is finished. As she was doing the stairs yet, it was a bit of a juggling act to continue with our normal routine in the house, with me working outside. I did figure out that I could set up her crate outside in the shade and she was happy to be near me. Elmo was on a long lead out could hang out with us.

She loves watching the squirrels run across the road on our morning walks, and has seen several of the neighborhood cats, and one deer. I think she really liked the deer, especially when it bolted into the woods! Let me tell you – I’m glad I saw it first, because both dogs were ready to chase it, and I was able to shorten up their leashes and brace myself.

So far, we have had some aggression issues over food and toys. Luckily, each time she snapped at Elmo, I was next to her and was able to correct her immediately. She is much less likely to snap at Elmo than before, but we are still watching her closely. To Elmo’s credit, he is a smart dog and now avoids her at meal times unless I am standing between them.

On her best days, she is playful with us and Elmo and is a wonderful dog. On her bad days, she is a little stubborn and shy, but we’ve noticed over the past 3 weeks, that the best days outnumber the bad. Last night she made it up the stairs, and only slipped once – she has made great progress! We’ll have to start training her on how to go down the stairs. At 68 pounds, carrying her up and down the stairs is not much fun!

I am looking forward to seeing her outside in the completed fenced yard and am sure that given the room to play, she and Elmo will become best buds. I’ll let you know how it works out!"

"It's been 2 months since we brought Breeze home and she had the biggest test for her this past weekend. Friends of ours were visiting and they brought their 6 month old, their 2 year old and their German Shepherd, Viggen. They arrived Friday afternoon, and we could tell that Breeze was nervous about these strangers. Once they were in the house, she settled down a bit, but wasn't too sure about Viggen. We wouldn't let her run off-lead in the back yard with Viggen because we thought she would chase him and bark at him, which he wouldn't like very much. She did very well with the children, but we kept a close eye on her just to be sure. She did growl at Viggen, but only when I pet him - I guess she was jealous!

I took Breeze, Elmo and Viggen for a walk Saturday morning and they walked liked they had been doing it for years. It sure was a sight! I could hear the neighbors in their houses as I walked by - they seemed impressed! That afternoon all the dogs were moving freely about the house without a problem. It was a great weekend and Breeze surprised us with how well she has adjusted to our home."