Spice’s favourite activity is just “hanging out and snoozing” where-ever “the Boss” is.
She is keen to be in the same room as you, but will accept being put outside. She is a calm,
sedate dog, who seems to take everything in her stride and she has not become overly anxious with
any new experience. She is affectionate in an undemanding way and will come looking for a
quiet pat if you move to another room. Often if I am working on the computer, I will suddenly
notice that she has quietly followed me to the study and curled up on a dog-bed, so that she can
stay close to me.
She has spent a lot of time inside, including sleeping inside at night, and has had no
toileting accidents in the house. Twice she has whined vigorously during the night, presumably
to go to the toilet and when put outside, she has quietly slept outside on the dog bed on the
verandah for the rest of the night.
In the morning (7.5 to 8hrs after going to bed), she whines to get out and toilet.
She is very happy to go for a walk and does a “prancey dance” when she sees the leash. She
normally gets over a 1/2hr walk, but is not as sprightly on the return part, so I suspect that even
20 mins would be enough to keep Spice happy. She just wants to get out and see the world! She
doesn’t pull on leash.
She has been indifferent to new dogs when we are out, and has only today begun to show an
interest and wag her tail when meeting dogs smaller than herself. When in the park, Spice is happy
to get a pat from a stranger, but in general she is not very interested in the other dogs. She has
never shown aggression towards other dogs. When outside she follows my greyhound around the
house and generally likes to be where he is. For the first two weeks she did not participate
in zoomies in the back yard, but by week three should was more frequently playing “chasey”
with my greyhound.
When it is hot, I ensure I have a full bucket of water outside as Spice loves to paw in the
water with her front feet, like horses do, often immersing most of her face, then standing
with two front legs in the bucket. It’s very cute! This is obviously her fast way of cooling down.
If no bucket, she will use the outside dog water bowl! I let her dry off before she comes in, and
she has never done this inside the house.
Spice happily jumps in the car and lies down immediately. She is a great traveller.
She is basically a very agreeable dog, and not demanding. She really enjoys human
company - so a retired person or family would be the best situation for her. I think she would be
fine as a solo dog, as she mostly seems to want to be around her boss. She has shown no signs of
separation anxiety when I have left her “home alone” or outside, while my greyhound was inside.
Although, she gives you a very excited/happy greeting when you return / let her inside. |
