Greyhounds leave paw prints all over your heart!!

Paulwall Walker
"Trusty"

Trusty's Graduation from Trainers Academy
Click here to see Trusty's progress

“Good things come to those who wait" Trusty is a beautiful, large tuxedo male with a very gentle disposition. Right now he’s finding the transition from track life to home-life a little overwhelming and is displaying an extremely shy demeanor, bordering on spookiness. He seems most comfortable with other greyhounds and so far interacting with my dogs is the only thing that gets his tail wagging. Trusty will only come out of the crate if he thinks no one is looking and when I enter the room he retreats either into the crate or behind a chair: whichever is closest. I have found I can lure him part-way out with treats lined up on the floor, but he will not take a treat from my hand yet. He makes eye contact and I believe he wants to be more trusting of humans and may warm up more as he becomes accustomed to all the new sights and sounds. Besides being beautiful, he is cat-safe, eats and drinks with gusto, whines if he has to go potty and sleeps all night quietly in his crate.
Trusty did not race due to an unusual front-leg break. The bones have fused together, but he has no limp and this will not affect his suitability as a pet.

Update: 02/10/09 - Trusty is warming up quite nicely. He seems to still be afraid of new things until he gets used to them, but after 2 or 3 introductions to new stimuli he's fine. He's spending a lot more time outside his crate now, playing with toys, hanging out on dog beds, wagging his tail and he even comes to greet me when I come into the room. But he still likes greetings to be on his terms. If I approach him, he will back away - he's still a little hand-shy. He readily accepts treats from my hand though and we are working on petting him all over while giving him lots of yummy treats to get him to accept touching better. Occasionally, he will approach me to ask to limited petting. He's an extremely happy dog who likes to explore in his own time and loves to collect toys (socks, slippers, books, remotes) in his crate. He loves to steal things when I'm not looking.
He is reliably house-broken and eats and crates well. Trusty complains loudly when he's left out, for instance if I take one or two of my dogs out for a walk and leave him behind. He's very happy when his turn comes and goes potty on lead as soon as we get outside. He's walking quite nicely and really enjoys being outside. He's still not too keen on car rides or scary parking lots.
Check Trusty out. He pays off patience by learning to trust and it's really fun to watch him blossom!

Update: 3/10/09 – Trusty is completely comfortable with us now. He enjoys petting and snuggling together when we are watching TV or just hanging out. He’s also started learning a few basic obedience commands. He has learned to lie quietly in his crate when I say “lay down” and waits to be released or until food is given before getting up. He has also learned “wait” at doors and doesn’t go out until released. And he is most proud of learning “sit” and will happily do it over and over for a treat. Trusty knows his name and is making great eye contact. However, new situations, environments and strange dogs/cars/kids on our daily walks continue to be stressors for Trusty. He doesn’t mind riding in the car, but is really anxious in new places, preferring instead to stay at home. I believe he will be happiest in a home with another confident dog and will thrive once he becomes comfortable. His main limitation is going to continue to be new, scary things, people, and places. He would be perfectly happy to be a stay-at-home dog. He is very well behaved and mostly low-key in the house. He does love to pick up a stuffy and shake the dickens out of it and still collects his treasures in his crate or on a bed. He will probably never outgrow his little stealing habit.  Trusty’s greatest hope is to find a family of his very own who will love him as he is.  

Update 6/19/09 - Trusty just completed six weeks of Greyhound Only Class at Trainer's Academy and has his diploma to prove it! GEM felt that an obedience class would help him gain some confidence. Although Trusty is still terribly shy and has a great deal of difficulty in new environments/situations, he did beautifully in class after he got past the initial fear. The first week he was so terrified he had to be pushed and pulled through the door and by week 6 was entering the classroom willingly with little encouragement. He got to know the other dogs, trainers and handlers in class and really got into the swing of things there once he realized that there were lots of treats to be had!
Trusty is very intelligent and highly food motivated. He proved to be an apt student as he learned many commands, including sit, down, wait, watch, touch, come, stop, stay, go to your bed (crate) and he even knows how to take a bow on command (this is very cute). I am really proud of the new things he has learned and Devene Godau at Trainer's Academy did a great job of making learning fun and low key for Trusty so he could become comfortable in class.
Trusty still has a way to go, but has shown a great deal of interest in learning new things and will continue to grow in confidence and ability with an experienced dog owner who is patient and willing to introduce him to new things slowly and who also realizes that he will probably never be completely comfortable in stressful environments and situations.
Good boy, Trusty!!!

For more information on Trusty, contact his foster mom Allison.