Piccolo is an Italian Greyhound I brought into my life on the 1st of January, 2009 - a great way to start a new year.  He was born on the 25th of September, 2008.  He is a purebred and AKC registered.

This is his life, through my words:  (Insert: Theme music of Law and Order: GUN-GUN)

Little Piccolo, My Little, Beautiful Piccolo

It has been a long time since I had a dog in my life.  With work, travel, and just personal stuff, I didn’t have the time to train a dog.  I also did not have the patience of one major thing – potty training.  Images of me stepping in cold urine with my bare feet first thing in the morning would flash in front of my eyes.  Where did I get these images?  Well, all I had to do was go to my childhood.

In 1980, we didn’t have the Dog Whisperer telling us how to manage our pooches – I was in grammar school at the time, what did I know?  And we had a lassie dog, she shed all the time, it was horrible.  The thought of having one hair on my black suit let alone many, freaks me out.

Then came Piccolo.  I can’t explain it, because, he came to me and put his paw on my hand.  And he has taken this trait of his and now charms the pants out of everyone.  He loves everyone  -  and everyone loves him.

I know, I know, I’ve become one of those dog owners who is absolutely smitten with his pooch.  My pooch is the cutest, my pooch is the smartest, my pooch, my pooch, my baby.  I know, I am guilty.

But there is something to say about having an Italian Greyhound, and maybe someone who is contemplating of getting one, might read this and make a decision.  So, if I can help one person, then this entry was worth it.

     Piccolo has two little hair swirls on each "cheek."

POTTY TRAINING

This was the most challenging.  I got Piccolo on January 1^st, so I had plenty of one-on-one time with him.  He was so green, he didn’t know what to do with the stairs in the house.  The good thing was he stuck to me the whole time.  I placed the dog pads strategically in different rooms.  The moment, I mean, the moment I saw the creature squat, I picked him up and placed him on the pad.  During the month of January, the first month I had him, there were only THREE accidents.

However, the dog has a small bladder and needs to relieve himself often.  Patience (meaning the LACK of it) is usually the reason why people bring them back and eventually end up in an Italian Greyhound shelter.  It’s a sad thing, because these dogs are incredible.  Once you get over the whole relieving situation, you are good to go.  Now, he would not go poo where he pees.  This was a big issue, so I set up two stations (laughing).  Eventually he got it.  Now, three months later, if he does have an accident, it is because he doesn’t want to leave a situation and miss anything.

What do I mean?  For example, if I’m in the kitchen talking to someone, he doesn’t want to leave the room.  This has happened only twice.  Speaking about not wanting to miss anything, this dog is extremely curious.  He wants to know EVERYTHING around him.  And him being a hound, has an incredible sense of smell.

Sometimes, I will hide (play hide and seek) and he’ll go on a search for me.  I would be propped up on a counter away from his eyesight, but he would find me with his nose.  Just awesome.

Dreamcatcher:  I woke up on morning and found Piccolo sleeping on my head.

ELECTRIC BLANKET

The Italian Greyhound, and his larger cousin, the greyhound, were used in the old days as bed warmers for royalty, and boy do these creatures know how to emit heat. 

To have this dog sleep in another room would be an insult to the breed.  They give out so much heat, for having a little bit of hair, that to not use this characteristic on a cold winter's day would be a shame.  Initially I was afraid of having Piccolo sleep with me on my mattress and having a mistake.  I am so anal about my bed (my shrine) I don't even sit on it with my street clothes (forget about having anyone else sit on it).

For the entire month of January, I woke him up three or four times during the night to see if he needed to go.  Eventually, he began to lick my skin if the need arose, then he learned to hold it throughout the night.

It also helped to stop giving him water after 8 pm.

To be continued...

Little one waiting for me to take him to Starbucks...