Hi Patti,
I usually take pics of the pups I overnight and give an overview of the nights and travels we've spent together. However, since Cheyenne is blessed enough to already be in her forever home, it seems a bit odd for me to write about someone else's dog. But I'll do it anyway.
I must admit that I had gotten used to the pit bulls. A meandering stroll for a pit bull and me would take an hour or so, whereas the Italian greyhound can do the route in half the time. She really does walk at quite a clip, as if she's slicing through space and time with that extraordinarily thin body. It really was a much more aerobic exercise for me.
Opposites
And she can jump! I like to block off the doorway between my bedroom and office when I have overnight guests of the canine persuasion, just to keep them in one room when it's time for bed. Even with the medium-sized dogs, using a half-opened lounge chair laid sideways works well. This time I used an eighteen inch wide shelf I had handy, thinking since she was smaller, I could use a smaller hurdle. But as if to mock me when I placed it in the doorway, I heard a quiet rustle, turned, and found Cheyenne atop my bed, having done a three foot vertical leap from the floor.
The Princess
The Princess and the Ball
She may have a pink collar and someone thought it proper to paint her toenails, and although I admit she is a beautiful dog, she by no means is a lady. Oh sure, she crosses her front legs when she lies down atop her giant leopard print blanket, but that growl is a little deeper (thank goodness! I hate yippy barks) than a lady's. And I was surprised, but glad, to see that the large dog toys I had were no problem for her. The last pittie I had destroyed a few, so I had bought large ones to replace those. Fittingly, one of them was pink; a large pink sheep that probably outweighed Cheyenne, but no matter: she attacked that with the fury and determination of any large breed dog. She was the first dog in some time in my apartment that really loved fetch. She might even be into the agility games if given the chance. She really enjoyed taking a flying leap to catch the rope or sheep. It actually was the first time in months I had a dog who liked the game "chase the toy" better than the game "destroy the toy".
"Oh yeah, that's good sheep."
I laid her giant blanket down for her to sleep on, but you were right: nothing beats being under the covers. She did burrow under a towel I gave her on the blanket so she could make a neat little sleeping bag for herself, but she was only content with that for an hour. My goodness, I have gotten so used to the sixty-pounders clodding about on the bed and refusing to give me space that I barely registered it when she lightly sprung up onto me.
I did however register that it wasn't that she wanted to be cuddled so much as she just wanted to be warm. I stopped her from getting way down to the end of the bed because I really was concerned that she might suffocate (and the general rule is I sleep under the covers while they sleep on top of the covers), so instead she huddled under two pillows I wasn't currently using, and fell asleep. She really didn't care if I was there or not.
She proved that point in the morning. I am get out of bed quickly in the morning with the shelter dogs who crash here for the night since I don't want them to pee in the bedroom, and because in general, they are pretty quick to alert me that this is the first task of the day: going outside. Cheyenne, however, didn't need to. I lifted the pillow to make sure she was still breathing under there, she blinked a sleepy eye at me and then fell back to sleep. I got up, and once fully out of the bed, she moved over to the newly vacated hot spot under the covers, circled five times, and lied down so the only evidence of her was the white tip of her tail poking out from under the sheets.
Once I was out of the bathroom though, she was ready to go outside. Again, the fast-paced trot cut back on the time needed to walk her. It truly was a different experience than what I've been used to. Having "who's more stubborn?" contests with the pit bulls who feel like sitting down instead of walking or want to go in the opposite direction using the force of gravity to their advantage is quite different than walking a dog who I can barely feel at the end of the leash and looks like she's moving quickly even when she's stationary.
Thanks for letting me overnight her. Aside from it working out for the best in timing and convenience, I really do enjoy the opportunity to spend more than an hour and half car rides with these pups.
Here are the pics from our overnight; transport pics to come shortly.
-stephanie.
