I'm so smart!

I have a big brag about Ziplock. It's no secret that I took Jen's clicker training class and taught my girls so much from it. Today, I worked with Ziplock on touching the cup to get a treat. When the light finally went off in his head that if he touches the cup he gets a treat, he was so excited and, I have to admit, so was I. Now he knows that if he does something that makes me happy, he will be praised, get food, etc. He has also learned to bring his ball back instead of hiding it. He knows when he brings it back to me, I will throw it again and he can run after it AGAIN. Yea! Now it's so much fun to play with him. He also will get his ball when you tell him to. He is tailor made to play now. He's all set to fetch for you.

My only problem now is, he's afraid of the camera. Not the camera exactly but it's the red light that comes on in front of it that scares him and he runs and hides. I'm afraid I won't be able to get a lot of pictures now. I guess I can make him forget about it with some treats. LOL

He's the whole package

I truly cannot believe that Ziplock hasn't been snatched up yet. Is it the black dog syndrome? It's always the black dog that lingers longest in the kennel because people prefer another color dog? If that's the case, it's a huge shame. This dog is just a wonderful boy. He plays and loves stuffed animals, runs, does tricks, chases a frisbee/ball (doesn't bring it back yet but we're working on it), exercises himself (he runs in the backyard if he builds up too much energy), sits for his food, is a wonderful bath taker and leash walker, barks but very little, likes other dogs, is very smart and learns very quickly. I just can't think of anything that is wrong with this boy. This is the first male dog that I've had in a while and I had forgotten how loving the males are. He is much more affectionate than my girls have ever been.

If you are reading this blog, you've obviously gotten past the black dog syndrome. Come and take a peak at him. You'll understand why we have fallen in love with him.

Mr. Z is a love

Zip is a lover. He loves to come over and just lean his head on your lap, chest, arm or whatever is available to lean on. He likes when you hug him or just lay on the floor and pet him. I don't think he has an aggressive bone in his body. I filed his nails yesterday while he was standing up. I usually do my dog's nails once a week and he's on the schedule so when his name came up, (when he walked by me), he just stood very patiently for me to finish. I usually do it when they're laying down but his didn't need much so I got him on the way through the kitchen. He didn't even try to get away and he was very patient.

If I had room in my house for another greyhound, (is there any other breed?) Zip would be snatched already. He's a keeper.

Zip with a squeaky tennis ball

He likes his squeaky tennis ball. As you can see at the end of the video, it was dinner time and Jessie and Roz and were ready to eat.

Two pals?

Zip is laying on the same bed as Roz because he wants to lay on the bed and Roz won't move. It's not because they particularly love each other. She doesn't get up when he's standing there looking at her so he moves in and claims part of the bed. She doesn't seem to care.

Training

When Zip first came to my house, his first fostermom told me that he needed to learn some manners so that is what we've been working on. I think I mentioned in previous posts that he now sits for his food. What he has recently learned on his own is to sit about 10-feet away from where I'm preparing his food until it's ready. Then he follows me into where he eats and sits before I tell him and doesn't move until I tell him it's okay to eat. He has also learned to stay out of the bathroom when I'm getting dressed in the morning and to gently take his bedtime treats from my hand.

Zip is a big boy who rushes to do things because he is so eager to please. He has these beautiful brown eyes that are always trained on you to tell him what to do. He is going to make his future family an excellent companion. Oh, and he walks like a dream.

My girls don't listen to me but Zip does. He will sit for me almost everytime that I ask him to. If you look at this video, you'll see that Jessie and Rozlin don't. He is a fun dog who likes to run in the backyard. This morning he got Rozlin running and they didn't stop for 10 minutes. After that they were down for 1/2 the day.

He loves other dogs

What are you saying about me?

It's so funny, when I sit down to type something in Zip's blog, he comes over to read what I've written. Then he helps me edit it. What a smart dog he is, huh?

My daughter and I have started calling him Mr. Z. He doesn't seem like Zip to me but Mr. Z sounds like a rapper's name. Anyone have any ideas? Maybe his forever mom and dad can come up with something soon.

He just couldn't figure out that the rooing was coming from the computer. He wanted to find the rooing dog. He watches TV too and looks at himself in the mirror. That's smart!

Sleeping in the sun

This is Zip sleeping with Roz, Zip sleeping next to Jessie and sleeping in the sun. Zip likes to sleep. But then all greyhounds like to sleep, everywhere. He usually likes to lay down in our bedroom which is darker and cooler but today he blessed us with his presence. He looks pretty comfortable, doesn't he?

Zip outside and at the spa.

Zip loves to play outside. Sometimes he goes right out and right in. Other times he'll stay outside and check out the whole yard. He's happy anywhere and loves to chase a ball and Frisbee.

Zip had a spa day at our house the other day. I gave him a shower which he handled very well. He started to do the greyhound slide, where they end up laying down because their feet slowly slide out from under them but I helped him right himself and he finished up just fine. Then we cleaned his ears and trimmed his nails. I used a Dremel and waited until he was laying down. He seemed a little concerned at the beginning but finally ended up just laying there letting me dremel away. He didn't have any problem with it at all. When I was finished I gave him a back rub to reward his good behavior which, he loved too.

Where's Ziplock is learning tricks

Ziplock has been with us for three days now and seems completely at home. He was nervous when he first got here and walked around panting but that stopped after a little while. He slept the whole first night without getting up once. We crated him the first couple of days when we went anywhere but left him out today for 2-1/2 hours and he was perfect. He is completely housebroken and hasn't lifted his leg to do his business once. My two greys, Rozlin and Jessie, get along with him without any incidents at all. I took him and my two girls (yes, all three) for a walk yesterday and they walked great together. I can only walk three at a time if they're all good walkers and they were perfect. My daughter (she's 12) took Zip for a run this afternoon and she was amazed at how good he was on the leash. When he got home, he sacked out in the bedroom. He loves to chase the frisbee but then takes it over and hides it. It's funny. He will sometimes runs with it in his mouth until he remembers his hiding spot. This dog is the perfect greyhound. He's smart and food motivated so he's going to be easy to train. He already knew sit but learned down very quickly and does it with just hand signals AND without a treat. He really wants to please. I am going to work with him more to see what else I can teach him. I'll bet it won't take long before he's jumping through a hoop. Zip will sit and stay for his food until I tell him it's okay but I do have to remind him occasionally.