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As a lover of retired greyhounds, I often assure people that the breed in general is populated with laid back, eager to please, affectionate dogs  and yet – each dog has it’s own personality.

People probably want to believe me, but often it’s pushing it just to break the myth that these elegant racing dogs aren’t hyperactive.

But our current foster dog, the yearling from the ‘oops’ litter proves my point.

No, at a year, he’s not the most laid back of hounds. He has a nap time limit (90 minutes) that you could set clocks by. Of course with a dog that needs to play every hour and a half, you really don’t need a clock…but I digress.

Aside from the play issue, the puppy is a normal greyhound: curious but willing to obey, quick to learn and adapt to the routine, and happy with all the love we can give.

What makes him most unique is his preferred treat:

Ice cubes

Yup. It’s true. Ice is nice! We discovered his passion when someone dropped an ice cube in the kitchen. He ran off and before we knew it, he was crunching and chewing and quite happily content.

Ice cubes have become our go-to training tool. Greyhounds learn best by positive reinforcement and how cool is it that I don’t have to worry about high calorie treats? (though in a puppy it’s not such a big deal)

If he’s not ready to come in from the yard, but we need to leave…shake the ice cube bin or crack the tray.

The daughter was injured again recently and needed the cryo-machine which needs oodles of ice refilled at regular intervals. The puppy was my helper and ultimately delighted when I let him choose his own cube from the cooler.

I think he even tries to nose hot pots on the stove, in a bid for more ice.

So while the puppy is all greyhound in so many ways, he’s his own special self too, which makes him just like the other hounds we’ve known. It’s a circular sort of concept…on and off the race track.

Live the adventure!