Adopt a dingo!

By Fatima |

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cute little Opal (Skidaddle) is our Christmas foster greyhound! She has been with us for just under a week  - she is a playful unraced greyhound puppy given to GAP by the lovely Maxine and Mike Lozell.
However, we think that Maxine and Mike have given us a dingo, not a greyhound!!!! :)
Just check out her ears! (you can click on pictures to see full size)

In case you are wondering, Opal is NOT brown color! She is black, but she still has her
 soft brown puppy coat on :) I have been slowly taking it out with a FURMINATOR, so
that is why she looks all patchy :) She has a lovely black coat underneath ...

Opal is very young (she is only just over 1 yr old :) and VERY playful! She wants to explore everything and is very active :) Greyhound puppies are not like your average retired racer -they are way more active and require more exercise and a regular run.
As Opal is so young -she will need some training in her new home. She is very playful and investigative! :) She loves stealing cushions off the couch (we are working on leaning that that is a no-no) and is completely obsessed with stealing shoes and chewing them LOL (we have totally shoe-proofed the house !:)))
Opal is a FUN dog suitable for a busy/active home, and for someone with a sense of humour! She will need some training in her new home, and lots of stimulation.  However, she is very clever and picks up things very fast! She has never had an accident inside, comes to us when called and sleeps through the night.
She is very cute, small girl with a lovely smile :)
As it has been so hot recently, we have installed a paddling pool in the garden for the dogs to cool down in. Opal  has the BEST time there, she throws herself into the pool at full speed, splashing water everywhere, and she also 'digs' in the pool to make it splash even more:

Excuse the mountain of mulch in the background! :)

Opal LOVES her soft toys  too :)

In action!

Rachel teaching Opal how to play with the Kong

Having a snooze on her bed :)

Update 25/12:
We took Opal to the velodrome and the river yesterday :) She loves water and had a great time 'helping' Frankie retrieve sticks :

Update, January 12th:
Opal is learning SO many things and is just delightful! :) I have taught her recall - when i let her off for a run and call her back, she gallops back with a huge grin!
She is lovely in the house, has settled into the routine, and is so low-maintenance, happy to sleep on whatever bed is free. :) She has learned to leave the couch cushions alone, and we are doing very well on overcoming her shoe obsession!
It has been very hot recently so she sleeps a lot during the day, and in the evenings it is all on -she loves swimming in the river! She is great with all other dogs -she can get a bit scared of BIG dogs, but that will change in time.

During the recent heat wave , Opal simply went and flopped
in the river for a little break :)

We got her coat much better too, most of her puppy coat is now gone. Here she is today:

Opal with Rachel and our other foster greyhound Tommy (National Debt)