Ziggy is the (perfect) black one. Zeus is the (goofball) blue and white one. This is everything we'd tell you at the door, written down so you don't have to remember it.
Two Italian Greyhounds, on the big side for the breed. Zeus is 28 pounds and Ziggy is closer to 20, and most of that is neck and leg. What they want out of a day is a good walk, then a long snuggle, then another walk. They are sensitive to overheating and can be finicky about drinking, so water is something to keep an eye on rather than assume.
Seal, which reads as black, with a tiny white patch on his chest. About 20 pounds. Almost perfect. His quirks are being a total diva and doing inexplicable things for reasons known only to him. He pees on walks. Poop, more often than not, happens on the towel in the bathroom.
Blue-grey with a white blaze down his face and a white chest. 28 pounds, a big Italian Greyhound. More of a jock: brings you balls, wants to run, has opinions about other dogs and joggers (see other dogs). He'll pee and poop outside, you just have to walk him a while before he gets around to it.
They know the words and they know the hand signs. Most of the time the hand is what they're actually watching. Treat after, always.
It's about distance. He mostly wants to play, but his approach is not always polite, and this is the one real weak point in his behavior. He's improving. We still don't test it.
Fine. He'll notice and carry on.
He wants to bark. This is the line.
When we see a dog coming, we take a few steps to the side and distract him with a couple of dropped treats: Find it, or One, two, THREE. Moving away or stepping off the trail is usually enough to settle him.
Worst case, scoop him up and hold him until the trigger has passed. He's 28 pounds, so it's a proper armful, but it works.
Zeus is sometimes reactive to joggers too. It's pretty random, so watch for them even when he seems calm. Keep him close, make room, and use Nice with a treat when he looks at you.
Ziggy isn't the reactive one, but he'll yell in solidarity. Ignore that too.
They eat freeze-dried kibble and, while we're away, they free feed. They may not eat much of it. Treats are a different story.
The reliable reset for both of them is the thing they'd choose anyway: a good walk, then a long snuggle under a blanket. If the weather won't allow a walk, the blanket on its own gets you most of the way there.
Sometimes Ziggy decides we've been kidnapped and runs for the door. He needs to be scooped up and distracted, with a blanket or a game. It passes.
When we travel, we leave a towel or a pee pad in the bathroom. It's completely normal for them to use it, so please keep one there.
Zeus will pee and poop outside; he just needs a longer walk before he gets around to it. Ziggy pees on walks, but he poops in the bathroom more often than not. Neither of these is a problem to fix.
Italian Greyhounds have almost no coat and no fat under the skin. They can't hold heat and they can't shed it. These aren't preferences, they're where a dog this size gets hurt.
A wet Italian Greyhound at 55°F in Bellingham wind can be hypothermic in twenty to thirty minutes. If they get rained on, the walk is over: home, towel them off hard, pajamas, blanket. Shivering that doesn't stop once they're dry and warm is a call to us.
They are sensitive to overheating, more so than the cold numbers might suggest. Over 90°F they stay in with the blinds down; when it's really hot out the walks need to be brief, early or late in the day, with water offered when you get back. If there's wildfire smoke, check AirNow for Bellingham and keep outdoor time to the quickest possible pee trip when it's orange or worse.
Call or text either of us, for anything. We'd rather get ten unnecessary texts than miss one. A photo is always welcome, and usually the fastest way to tell us what's going on.