Since she's been home she's been an absolute angel! Albeit a very lazy one. She spends all day and night just sleeping or at least lying down.
The first day she was in her crate all day and only came to the bed I had set up for her in my room in the middle of the night.
Day 2 I got her up on the sofa but she was slightly reluctant. Might be due to the fact that to get off it is a little tricky for her as I have wood flooring which she seems to just slide all over. It's kind of funny actually but I don't think she sees it that way. She's still very nervous and gets shaky when she hears new sounds or experiences new things.
Pepper is a 2.5 year old retired racing greyhound and the weird thing is she's really nothing like other dogs I've had before. Of course, that is exactly why I adopted her. Because greyhounds have only known track life in which they spend all their time in kennels except the 2-3 times a week when they race, they are very lazy and know nothing of domesticated pet life. They are also used to being handled by humans all the time and are generally very obedient. Pepper is so polite and easy to walk on the lead. She's really sensitive and lazy and has absolutely no interest in toys whatsoever. She hasn't even attempted to pick up any shoes in her mouth or do anything like that. I'm sure this will change as she starts getting more confident and curious, but at the moment, doesn't matter how much I wave the soft chewy toy in her face, she just stares at me as if I'm a fool! It's great having her around. She's soft, cuddly and warm and I feel an obligation to take her out. It motivates me to get out and get some fresh (cold) air. Also, when I'm out I often have people compliment me on how beautiful she is or I strike up a conversation with fellow dog walkers. She's like a social lubricant! I might start taking her to dog friendly pubs and using her as my wing man :)
Although I've been wanting a dog for years, it wasn't an easy decision to make because I know they are a lot of responsibility. It also didn't help that several of my friends and family weren't very supportive of my idea because they worried that it would be too much for me to handle. Though I appreciated their concerns, I also found it quite upsetting that they didn't feel I was responsible or mature enough to live with the consequences of my decision. I spent months researching what my options were, what the best breed of dog would be, how much it would cost to take care of her, what facilities were available to me with regards to kennelling or dog walking if necessary, etc... I did so much work on this I could have probably written a report on how to adopt a dog! So when I heard things like: but you know you have to take it out for walks, etc. it just annoyed me that they assumed I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I wanted to remind them: "Hey! I've done a BSc, a Masters and am now doing a Doctorate, all this living on my own and with a rare hormonal disease. Don't you think I can handle a dog!?" Especially since millions of people have dogs and I'm sure that the majority of them aren't stay at home students!!
In the end, it boiled down to the simple fact that it was MY decision and I chose to go for it. Now is the perfect time for me to have a dog as I spend a lot of time at home and am able to care for her and train her properly. And the way I see it, she will actually aid me in my recovery. After surgery, you feel like absolute crap and are exhausted all the time. Knowing that I owe it to her to go out so she can relieve herself will give me that little boost to make an effort. And because she is so calm and sensitive I know that she will be ok with my pace and lack of stamina.
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