The Thing About Walker

Walker, our first foster hound, is beautiful! 

 

He's young.  Walker won't be two years old until December.  Since he's so young, he's also very playful.  He loves to play with stuffie toys.  Unlike Truly and Maggie, he just plays with them.  He doesn't tear them apart.  This long, purple tug toy is one of his favorites.

However, just like Truly and Maggie when they first came home with us, Walker loves to gather things and shred paper.  He first got this discarded label out of the trash can.  I guess he figured the label was on his new dog bed, therefore, the label was his.

Then, he took this mailing package off the sofa and put it on his bed.  Thank goodness he chose not to tear it up!

Then, he signaled his distaste for the latest issue of People magazine by doing this.  Yes, that is was my favorite pair of flip flops also there in the pile of shredded magazine.

He's gentle and loveable:

Here's the thing about Walker - he's been diagnosed with idiopathic fear.  That is fear or anxiety for which there is no known cause.  He takes 60 mgs. of generic prozac every morning, as prescribed by a vet with LOTS of experience with greyhounds.  His first foster Mom told me that you can just see in him the dog he wants to be, but his anxiety usually stops him in his tracks.  She's right on the money.  You can't approach Walker from a standing position.  You can sit on the floor and eventually he will approach you to be petted.  Any time people are walking around, Walker's walking around to see what's going on.  He's always looking for a way out of the room.  Entering exterior doors is a barrier for him.  Fortunately, we've discovered the secret to getting him to come back in the house.

I've learned so much about greyhounds from my blogging friends.  I'm hoping someone out there will have faced this situation and have some words of advice for us.  This boy deserves a good life -