the chicken

Surrender....

The Chicken has gone into hiding.

He put his paws up in defeat to Ginger.

Seriously surprising, he managed to keep Banjo more or less in check and little scaredy cat Ginger has him beat.

She is fixated on him, and even Chicken in her face, hissing and trying to scratch her to death doesn't make her back down. Abnormal behaviour, even the toughest dog usually realises that he is dangerous at that sort of range, especially when I am holding him there!

I think that Ginger just needs to be more secure in herself and then cats may not be an issue. She is kind of ok with me, hasn't ventured anywhere near the boys or strangers. Tried going for a walk, she saw people coming towards us and tried to back out, realised she couldn't so just sat down and shook.

She has a massive personality hidden under all the fear. Watching her play with plushies that have noise makers in them is interesting. Random noises stress her out, for example, the click of the fish tank light coming on scares her (???!) and Patch's helicopter has her bouncing around the room, determind to get a hold of it.

Given a bit of confidence she will be inciting riots in no time. She is starting to play, and trying to make it look like Patch started it...

Fraidy Cat

Oddly enough she is not afraid OF the cat.

Chicken is capable of making a well adjusted greyhound quake in their (go-go) boots, and yet Ginger flinches if you look at her sideways and still will get up and chase him.

The sad part is that as soon as you raise your voice she practically drops to the floor shaking. Handy at the moment but makes me sad to do it. Hoping she will learn that Chicken is off limits fairly quickly.

Patch is keeping an eye on her, showing her the ropes.

I got tail wags and licks yesterday, big step. She seems to be fairly comfortable with me and still very nervous of the boys. She is also an excellent guard dog...

Got home at 3am and she scared me senseless, erupted into violent barking. Don't often get that from greyhounds. She was just protecting what has become her sanctuary. I like that, she is allowed to bark if someone comes into the yard at that hour. Once she realised it was me she calmed down.

She is always watching her surroundings for potential danger. She looks at you with a wrinkled up little forehead and sad eyes.

I think she will end up being very much a one person dog, and she will be totally devoted to that person.

On the positive side she has a healthy appetite and and hasn't had any little accidents inside. She would have probably been one of the dogs I would almost have expected that from, but no, she waits till she can slink outside.

She had a bit of a run and play with Patch today. Patch is a bit of a nut case sometimes, she is also a very sensitive dog and seems to realise that Ginger is fragile. She has been subdued and gentle with her.

She still barrels up and down the side of the house full tilt, Ginger isn't brave enough, you never know what might pop out from around the corner! So for now she is content to watch Patch playing silly buggers.

I look forward to the day she joins in, hopefully it won't be too far down the track.

Alice through the looking glass

Alice is outside, never mind the state of my windows...

She wants to be inside..

After a few fruitless but comical attempts to climb through the window she came back in through the old fashioned door thing for one last night at Chicken Manor.

This morning she went to another foster home. Usually this would result in Patch throwing a sulk.

Not today! With Alice safely in the car I magically produced a greyhound I had prepared earlier.

Ginger had actually been in the laundry since I picked her up last night.

Before you think that I am horribly mean for keeping her there while the other two were inside I must explain a few things about Ginger.

Firstly, when I picked her up it was a matter of physically removing her from the furthest corner of the Ute that she was hiding in. Then half an hour of coaxing to get her OUT of the car at the other end. She is basically petrified of everything that moves, makes noise or looks at her sideways.

I didn't think unleashing Alice and Patch on her would be fair. I want her to settle in and feel safe. That would have been too much for her. So she spent the night in the laundry. I found her this morning with a little penguin soft toy next to her head... small comforts for a scared puppy.

We have had some interesting dogs. There was Blaze the Lazy

So laid back I kept checking that he was still alive.

And Little Dory, the pretend greyhound. She was quiet but nowhere near as timid as Ginger.

We have had over the top dogs, Banjo who made me laugh so much I pulled something.

And a whole range of those in between. They have all had their own little personalities and quirks, all have been gorgeous dogs. Giving up fosters is always hard, some more than others. I think Ginger will be a tear jerker. She has such a long, long way to go, and each little milestone will be rewarding. This is going to be hard work and require patience. If she comes out of it with a waggy tail then it is all worth it.

Ginger's journey will be an experience, for all of us. Patch is doing her bit by being sweet and kind and showing her that life here is pretty good.

She is even allowing her to have her toys. This makes me proud as she DOES NOT share toys.

Given time I think Ginger will be just fine.