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Fergal is now part of a very nice family in the countryside near Kenmare, where he is excelling as usual and helping his new owner write his next best-seller!
This
is Fergal, who arrived at The Orchard Greyhound Sanctuary in Ireland in early
December.
About 3 or 4 years old, Fergal is a very affectionate and biddable boy who is
learning to get along with all the dogs and doing so quite well.
For now, he is fine with his "roomies", 2 females and a male, and all
the other dogs here, but he is still not 100% integrated into the pack.
Fergal is quite clever, already knows his name and "chewies"" and
"cookies" and is pretty good on the leash and excellent in the
car.
He arrived quite thin and a bit lost, but is coming along very quickly. His coat
and skin still need some time to improve after living a probably spartan
life.
Neutered, vaxed, and wormed, Fergal at this point in time needs someone who is
willing to invest a little effort into a bit more socialization in the house. He
is, in short, a big friendly boyo with very good potential!
Update
He
is doing really well, so well that I actually smile at his willingness to do
what I ask. He clearly had been used for hunting, and so is quite good at
squeezing through places and jumping over things that the greyhounds just can't
manage.
So I caught him and Josef - I couldn't believe it - actually scaling the
low part of a stone wall the other day- a place where the ground is a bit higher
and the wall is a bit lower and has some fallen rocks piled at the bottom to
make it even easier. Anyway, they got out, went nowhere, and came back in
through the gate. I "set them up" to do it again, sharply said
"FERGAL NO!" as he began his ascent, and he turned his head, looked at
me, and I swear he thought "oh! I'm not supposed to do this? Ok." and
just stopped climbing and just stayed in the garden. I have something there now
to block him, and will get a neighbour to dig out the earth there and lower it a
bit and move the rocks.
He does find spots here and there to get out, but he just does not go anywhere.
Josef chooses not to follow him most of the time, and the others are unable to
do so.
The other day I went out to the car to go somewhere, and there was Fergal,
outside of the gate. So I opened the car door, he leaped in (and it is very
high!) and he was as good as gold while I took him on some errands with me. I
remember actually thinking "as good as gold" when I was driving and
saw him reposing rather elegantly in the back.
He is turning into a lovely and quite biddable boy. I was quite proud of him
this morning as I walked the property and he just chose to stay with me. He has
adapted beautifully to home life - sleeps through the night, no marking in the
house, etc.
Fergal
has also recently been exposed to cats and seemed to want to avoid getting too
close to them. More cat socialization is planned for Fergal, with photos to
follow!
At a local fun dog show, Fergal was entered in "best child's pet" with my neighbour's daughter Grainne.
Here she is trotting him out for the judge, here keeping him at the trot as she negotiates a turn....
...and Grainne and Fergal got first prize! A bone-shaped dog food bowl, a brush, and a red ribbon! Well done!
Afterwards, Grainne and her sisters (who also brought OGS dogs) stopped to rest a bit, and a friend of their's sat with them too....
she was not at all intimidated by our friendly Fergal.....
...and as she talked, felt comfortable enough to unwittingly begin to wrap her hand around his leg.
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