Lottie's "we need homes€ page stated:
I'm pretty unsure of everything at the moment and the transition from racing life to pet life isn't going to be as easy for me as some of these other hounds. I need a fairly uncomplicated home - no young children or boisterous dogs for me and cats make me uncomfortable. Cuddles and reassurance go a long way and my naturally playful nature is busting to come out.
This turned out to be a very accurate description. When we bought Lottie home she was a very reserved dog who was withdrawn and frightened on the journey home in the car. She managed the steps down to our house with no problem and was shown the back yard and a couple of rooms in the house. She was obviously quite nervous and was panting a little. We showed her her bed and she sat on it with some relief. We had bought her a squeaky duck, and she was quite chuffed with this as well. She was very quiet over her first few days, and it took over two weeks before she first tentatively climbed on the sofa, longer before she wanted to try to use the stairs.
What a contrast to the dog we have now. She is totally at home in our house and spends much time snoozing on our sofas and charging confidently up and down the stairs. She has shown a predilection for murdering soft toys (her duck has long been silent and she was very excited to receive a green dinosaur with about eight squeakers in it - not that we had much choice in the matter after she picked it up in her mouth at the vet's).
She is normally very laid back, but lets us know when it's time for her walk, bouncing around, play bowing and charging about the house. She wasn't too happy about the earthquakes, but now anything less than a 5 is ignored. She loves to walk - checking each path we go past in case there might be a cat or other object of interest - and she absolutely adores to run. If she has a play date with one or more of the greyhounds she knows, she's often the first to charge around the field, normally anti-clockwise, mouth wide open in the hugest grin as she gallops.
She has demonstrated many skills we didn't know she had. She is an adept and subtle counter and table surfer and has managed to make off with fillet steak, chocolate, tomatoes, capsicums, a raw onion, a bulb of garlic, a raw kumara, two raw green capsicums - fortunately we were able to remove the chocolate, onion, garlic and tomatoes before they were eaten.
She likes interior design, and if we go out, she moves our shoes and coats around the house to places she likes to sit. She loves to rip up paper, although she's very obliging about confining her attention to paper towels, newspapers and bags, rather than textbooks and work documents. She is totally au fait with the quickest way to empty a Kong full of biscuits.
She loves to meet new people and is wonderful with children of all ages. She has totally come out of her shell and is the most brilliant pet, office dog and companion - we can't imagine life without our greyhound now!