Ear Cleaning- - No, Frozen Stuffed Kong- - YES!

I have tried to clean Lemans' ears for the first time 4 weeks ago and then just this past Tuesday. She really does not care for it one bit. Over the past few days She's gotten so much better at teeth brushing. This is because she has learned the verbal "down" command and will do it when I ask her to (such a smart girl!), making her stay put as long as I have treats for her. She still doesn't do/understand sit *scratches head*. I also tried dremeling her nails (after a long hot walk) and overall, she did great!

When it gets hot out I like to give my dogs frozen stuffed kongs. Lemans enjoyed it for the first time on Wednesday and she had a wonderful time figuring out how to get the kibble and peanut butter out. The funny thing is I've had kongs laying around the whole time but she has never shown any interest in them. Now, after having them stuffed with goodies, she likes to chew and play with them even when there's no treats inside.

She now loves to hang out and play down in the basement(it is about 10 degrees cooler down there)but she also likes to run up and down them like a maniac. This has added to the swelling in her leg, so I've put the baby gate back up and limit her use of the downstairs :(

Lemans really is an energetic goofy 3 year old once she comes out of her shell. She has been a complete joy to have around. She's stolen our hearts with her beauty and great personality, and she'll steal yours in no time! If you would like to give Lemans a loving forever home please contact NLGA.

Lemans says: "Frozen Kongs are great!"

Sweet Spunky Lemans

It has been over 3 weeks with Lemans in the house and everything has been going great. She continues to blossom and grow. We live in a one story house with a walk out basement. In the past few days Lemans has decided to follow me down the stairs; and even goes down there on her own to explore and hang out on a sleeping bag I set up for her. She also hangs out in the back yard as I garden, enjoying the shade and snacking on grass.

Lemans is a very spunky girl. She loves to zoom around the house and play with her toys. She also constantly is looking for rubs and gently paws at me when I stop petting her! She also loves to steal clothes and bring them to her bed to play with (looking so proud the whole time). Now that she's completely adjusted she's really a happy energetic dog.

She always enjoys her daily evening walk with Lucy and I. Sometimes she'll get nervous when there are loud/large crowd of kids, but as soon as you walk past she is fine. She also has gotten a lot better with teeth brushing! I will attempt nail dremel this weekend to see how she reacts. I've also started to do short training sessions with her, she does "down" with a treat lure super well(doesn't respond to the verbal yet), but "sit" has been tricky.

There's a couple of small issues we are having: 1)some constant soft/loose stool, I think maybe switching to a different kibble would take care of this issue, and 2) all 3 dogs were playing kinda rough and she got a boo boo on her bald thigh! It is very minor but she keeps licking at it so it's taking longer to scab over.

Lemans is a sensitive sweetie pie and if you are interested in giving her a loving forever home please contact Northern Lights Greyhound Adoption.

Hanging out in the backyard:









She is always eager to respond to my call

Happy Birthday to Yooooouuuu...

Lemans turned 3 today!

She had a fun filled day with an awesome birthday party!
After many years of making regular birthday cakes with baby food meat and flour, I decided to make an all meat cake; since dogs really only care about the meat. Lemans had a delicious turkey "cake" with yogurt frosting and carrot puree "icing". We sang Happy Birthday and then let her go at it. She gave two paws up and gobbled it down quickly!

Then it was onto the presents: squeaky toy and a bully stick . She had a blast playing with the squeaky toy; pouncing, biting, throwing it in the air and catching it. Lemans also had the zooms for a few minutes and was racing back and forth from the living room to the bedroom; it was funny to watch. The bully stick is being saved for another day so that her tummy doesn't get upset.

We had a 30 min walk in the afternoon and then it was back to the house for more snoozing. She will also get her daily evening walk later on... I think we threw a fantastic party for the baby girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday Lemans! We love you and are so lucky to have you in our lives *smooch*

Getting ready to enjoy her Turkey "cake"




Close up of my culinary skills


Enjoying her squeaky toy

Home Again...

Lemans was at NLGA (Coon Rapids Blvd. Animal Hospital) for the past couple of days meeting potential new owners and to get her sutures out. Her spay site has not completely healed yet so I will try to keep her quiet for a few more days. Right when we got home she was excited and wanted to play. I was so happy to see this because it means she considers this home after only 2 weeks here; I'm so proud of her and how well she has settled in

One of the best things about Lemans is her willingness to share her bed with my Weims. Some greyhounds have personal sleeping space issues, but Lemans will let Leroy and Lucy sleep right next to her, and sometimes even with a paw or head on her.

I will be switching back to a regular bowl for Lemans because she no longer eats as if it's her last meal. I guess she has gotten comfortable enough to take her time with her food.

we're planning a sweet little birthday party for Lemans on Sunday so stay tuned!

Wacky!

We've been fostering Lemans for 10 days and she has settled into home life beautifully . As her comfort level grows so do her off the wall antics. She gets along wonderfully with my Weimaraners, Leroy and Lucy. Lemans and Lucy have become very close. They share sweet moments together (sleeping side by side/nuzzling) as well as crazy moments (mouthing/barking/wrestling/tearing around the house with each other). Lemans gravitates toward Lucy because she gets excited and is eager to play; unlike Leroy who is super laid back. Lemans has also started to play with toys! She likes the knotted ropes, tennis balls, small towels and balled up socks. She'll twirl them around and pounce on them in very jerky movements which make her look nutty. She also loves wrestling and biting with the blankets I put over the dog beds.

Lemans is feeling great. Her spay is healing nicely and all the bruising is gone. She is eating/drinking/pooping well. Sadly, her hind leg still looks swollen. Since she is feeling better she has been running around the house acting batty, especially in the mornings. When I let her outside first thing in the A.M. she always hops up over and over again and tries to take off running. She does all this while being leashed which makes her look silly. It is tough to stop her crazy antics in the house. I try to calm her down but it proves to be a difficult task with Lucy egging her on. Since she is still healing, I sometimes have to put up a baby gate to separate them which causes her to whine for Lucy :(

She is becoming more loving and wants to be massaged/rubbed a lot more than before. She's also mouthing and pawing at me more to entice play/attention. At night when I brush her teeth she tolerates the back teeth being brushed but still fights when I try to do the front. I always dispense yummy treats while I brush in hopes that she'll accept it faster.

Being just 2 years old (turning 3 on June 14th!), Lemans definitely has a lot of energy and has hyper moments. Once her leg heals it will be great to see her play more and go on long walks again. There's very little traces of the shy and timid dog left. She's no longer afraid of the daily commotions of life in a house(the only exception is when I accidentally drop heavy things). It surprised me how quickly she adjusted to life in a home. Lemans has blossomed into a sweet, energetic, funny, and wacky dog. I completely adore her and will be crestfallen when she goes.

All three snoozing on the dog bed


All three waiting for a snack


She often listens with one ear up

Resting Up

Lemans is back home and healing from her spay surgery. She is eating and drinking well(she's still a piggy) and enjoys sleeping outside of her crate. The only problem is some loose stool and she sometimes licks at her sutures. The day before she went in for her spay surgery she ran full speed up to me in the backyard. This caused her right ankle to swell up. I tried cold compressing several times but it didn't help. She got an x-ray at the vet and it turns out she has an old fracture there that flared up. She'll have to be on leash in the backyard from now on. Hopefully, the leg will return to normal soon. She also had a full dental done and her teeth look great. She still dislikes brushing them, especially the front teeth.

Turns out Lemans does not have separation anxiety. I left for three hours today and she did great. She actually has "come and go" anxiety. The other day when she was in her kennel she started barking after an hour because when I got home I started doing housework and left her in there since I couldn't keep an eye on her. Turns out she does not like being confined to the kennel while I work around the house and yard.

There was a fear biting incident this past weekend. I tried to move her into her kennel for bedtime. After calling her a few times with no success, I gently pushed her shoulder to get her up. After a few seconds she got scared and bit me (it was not hard and did not break skin). It was totally my fault and I felt so bad it happened. Lemans will sometimes yelp when you try to get her to do things she does not want(forcing medicine or suddenly grabbing her collar to move her). I've learned that she is really food motivated; so from now on if I want her to do anything I bribe her with yummy treats and she does great.

Lemans still doesn't like too much commotion. She runs into the bedroom when I play fetch with my other dogs. At first she was afraid when I was doing some exercising stretches, but now she learned that it is not a threat.

Lemans is pretty good at sharing the large bed most of the time. Once in a while she would growl at my other dogs if they try to squeeze in next to her.

I have solved her eating too fast problem by putting her kibble in a muffin pan. She eats much slower and rarely chokes. :)

Lemans' silly side is starting to come out. She stole a pillow and was playing with it. Sometimes when I pet her and stop, she'll paw at me and gently mouth my hands to get my attention for more loving.

I can't wait until her spay and leg heal up so we can get back to taking our nightly 30 min walks. She definitely has a lot of energy and can go for even longer if I was up to it. Here are some pictures I've taken over the past few days.

Hanging in the backyard with the Weims


Looking like a deer


Sharing a bed with Lucy


My pillow!


Resting up after surgery


Sweet face