Pointy hounds thread! For new, old and prospective owners!

[SpaghettiTwirlerAndProud]

Share stories, advice and ask for help if you need it! There are a few resident hound experts (myself not included) in the doghouse, so, feel free to share! :)

Well the original plan was always for him to sleep upstairs as our room is the only place big enough for a grund sized bed. But he does NOT like the stairs. DP had to carry him down this morning :( I have a feeling we're going to get even less sleep tonight, I don't like to force him upstairs but can't leave him to bark! What can I do? :(

Spaghetti - wonderful news, welcome to the club - including the sleepless nights!

It may not be everyones preferred method, but when mine arrived we didn't go down to him when he barked at night. It took about two or three nights for him to settle down, which was hard going but good in the long run. We do get the occassional howl these days, but usually just as we've gone up to bed and have had to turf him off gently remove him from my lap. I suspect he's just moaning about lack of cuddle.

All those talking about chicken wings, what about the bones? I thought that you're not supposed to give them cooked bones, or do you take them all out?

Most I can't leave him to bark. We have a 7mo DD and an elderly next door neighbour. It's not fair on either of them.

Re the chicken wings, they are served raw.

I took him for over an hours walk today, dropped him off at home and me and DD nipped round to the DRs, got back 15 mins later and he's done a poo. He obviously wanted to save it for the warm indoors. It was solid though at least :o

Spag - bear with him over the first few days. Remember this is the first time in his entire life that he hasn't been with other greyhounds 24/7. Also bear in mind that a house is completely alien to him - he simply won't know what to do with things like stairs, washing machines, glass doors etc. Ours got the hang of the stairs quite quickly and now charge up and down them without a second thought but give him time. The first few times it may be worth putting a little trail of sausages up them to help/encourage.

Also completely normal for a few odd marking wees/stress poo in the house the first few days - nothing to worry about there, just clean thoroughly and keep encouraging him to go outside at regular intervals and praising lavishly when he does perform. He will gradually develop a way of telling you if he needs to go out, but at the moment you need to do the thinking for him and to help him settle into his new routine. A few broken nights to begin with -again, normal, and you will probably find he will settle much more easily if he can see/smell you even if he is not in the same room, so on the landing or an adjacent bedroom might work very well, or in your bedroom.

Solid poo is an EXCELLENT sign - runny tummy often happens in a new home as they get a bit stressed by all the changes. Welcome to the wonderful world of long conversations about poo colour, consistency and frequency.

NMP - raw chicken wings are fine. It's cooked ones that are lethal.

Lock, what you're sugggesting sounds fine. One of ours eats cooked chicken with his meals (poached in the slow cooker), along with the other bits and pieces. For instance we had couscous on Saturday night and all three enjoyed having that on Sunday morning with raw lamb chunks mixed in. Mind you, the mess on the kitchen floor afterwards - Similarly whenever we cook rice, we usually do extra and cooled leftovers go into dog's next meal, and often also with cooked pasta.

Scuttle he has lived in a house for over 2 years, his owner had a stroke and is now in a home. Her family couldn't manage all her 4 greys, they sent one to a family friend, one they are keeping, and the other 2 (penny and sprocket) were sent back to LGT. Sprocket came almost straight to us yesterday from his family.

He was ever such a good boy on our walk though, we met several other dogs and he wasn't fazed. I must say though, what most impressed me was when a blackbird flew out straight infront of him and he didn't bat an eyelid!

He also answers to sprocket :)

Aww he's just clambered up onto the sofa and snuggled his nose behind my back :)

It's astonishing how small he folds up. He reminds me of those waterproof jackets you get in those tiny pouches. You get it out and unfold it and it's actually huge!

That's so sad about his previous owner. And poor Sprocket being separated from them and from his "pack" (not in the CM sense but you know what I mean). Darling boy will still be all at sea.

But solid poo, and now sofa clambering - Sprocket is definitely coming home.

I am very jealous of the solid poo. Long may it last! He's a lucky boy to have been rehomed so fast. That poor lady, what a wrench for her.

It is sad isn't it Scuttle? He seems happy enough though considering. If I leave the room to go to the bathroom or something, when I get back he comes to greet me tail wagging and shoves his head at me for a fuss :)

I've turfed him off that sofa now, he was hogging mine and DPs sofa, now he's sprawling on his own one.

He does have a bald bum and belly though bless him. Caused by stress apparantly :(

His own sofa.

I too am very jealous of that solid poo. Sam was squidgy at Celia Cross and was always on the soft side before falling ill. Currently his poos are wet and grainy, think wet sand. Impossible to pick up...

just a pity it was on the dining room carpet :o

I measured him earlier, his back is 30", and shoulder to floor he is 29" tall. Is that big-ish or about average?

Bill's just back from the vet. No breaks (vet wanged his legs around a lot) but a bit clicky. He thinks it's a sprain and Bill has to take doggy ibuprofen for a bit. Short walks and often (10 mins apiece as many times a day as poss.) And less food as he's put on over a kilo since moving in with us .

I'm glad he's happy and enjoying his food and I am sort of glad he's gaining weight, especially given all the tummy issues but chubby hound with clicky legs and a sprain won't be fun. He's no porker just yet but those back ribs have rather disappeared recently. So food cut down for now (while the walks are shorter.)

DH took him out on the street so the vet could see his limp and Bill stopped for a wee outside a hairdressers. The woman came out and started tearing strips off DH about 'moving his dog along' and 'keep it away from my shop'. Like, how can you shift a weeing dog? He does do a lot of wee but I thought wee was acceptable? Poo no, clearly, but wee? I don't know. He even wees like a girl so it wasn't as if it were spraying up her window or anything. The delights of living in gobby Hackney.

I feel for you Lock about trying to pick up the sloppy poo. It's like combing the grass with poo and your own fingers. Eww.

And Spag I don't know if he is large but Scuttle turned her expert eye to Bill's family and guess what? They are related! Bill is Sprocket and Andy's nephew!

Spag I just spat my tea at those measurements then I remembered you have a grund and I have a whippet

Lock have you seen this food. Many apologies in advance if someone more experienced than me can jump in and say otherwise but Silver has had this and improved loads. It's got ground up bone in which is supposed to help with runny poo but the meat is cooked. It seemed to me like a halfway house between chicken wings and chum! There are some good testimonials anyway. I hated sloppy poo on the lawn.

Spag - he's biggish. I got a 30" coat for Andy when up at Olympia before Christmas. 28" is average for boys and our girl is 26" but you do meet some bitches who are as big as the boys and the occasional smaller boy too.

Betsy, so glad Bill's OK. The embarrassment of leg-wanging! Now he can go back to showing off his scars and telling stories down the park..

Must say, it's so lovely that Bill, Andy and Sprocket are related. I told Andy about this and he liked the idea of a Brett Lee descendents meet up but pointed out we'd probably need Wembley stadium, filled with several thousand comfy sofas and as many sausages as could be procured for ready money.

Pointed out :o :o :o I like it.

Well, I'll be doing poo patrol at night when it's freezing from now on, it's so easy to pick up! It's just like picking up rocks :o whether it was squidgy or not, it's frozen solid!

Ok I need to get him some PJs asap. It's 13.1c in our bedroom now, sprocket has just curled up on the floor next to me, his teeth are chattering and he's shivering, poor love :(

Poor Sprocket! Yes, definitely an emergency purchase needed. Of course, he had to time his arrival with the onset of the really cold weather
Our darling girl went out today with her coat and her snood, made by a very nice lady who makes them as a fundraiser for grund charities. Kept her neck and ears toasty warm in the cold wind. When I untacked her at home she was like a little radiator underneath.

How's he settling in otherwise? Our three are sending best wishes especially Andy.

DH had TURNED OFF THE HEATING this morning and when I got in poor old Billy was shivering! I put his coat on and turned up the heating straight off. Poor chap. The thermostat said 14 in the kitchen!

Billy sends best wishes and happy thoughts to his brethren.

Scuttle he's doing ok. Although he won't touch his kibble. I've heard him and his pointy crew ate better than their owner did, tuna for breakfast, cooked chicken, mince etc for tea. Turns his nose up at plain kibble, he did eat them when I mixed sardines in though. The vet said just to keep putting them down for him and not to indulge him like he's used to. He weighes over 37kg! On the upside, so far there has been no horrific, or otherwise, flatulence, and all 5 poo's he's done so far have been solid. Or frozen solid :o

DP doesn't want him to have jammies, he said he can sleep next to the radiator instead. But that'll cost us a fortune to keep the heating on all night!

Went to the vets today, he had a booster (he didn't make a fuss), frontline and the vet checked his paw as he woke up yelping on his front right last night and hobbled around on it a bit. There is a nail missing on that paw and the vet reckons he just knocked it. He did the 5 steps up and down into the vets though!

Was reading the greyhound book i got given by jill, and there's a tip to teach them the stairs. A bath towel under the belly and hold the ends, like a big support sling, and lead them upstairs, supporting them in the towel 'sling'. Do you think it might work?

I've got to leave him at the vets all day on monday :( he's having his teeth scraped and polished and has to have a general anasthetic for it!

Sprocket just asked me to tell scuttle and betsy to tell Andy and co (but especially Andy), and Billy that he says hello and thanks for the wishes :)

House coat? You can get some pretty manly ones. Keeping the heating on all night long will cost an arm and a leg! DH had a collie x unknown breed when he was a kid and it took him a while to adjust to Billy not being as tough as that! Thankfully he has finally embraced the rainbow house coat.

Our chap just sleeps in that, though I'm considering full leg jammies now I know he's been so injured in the past.

Spag, Andy is 38kg. It's great his poo is still solid. DH was asking after him earlier too. Personally I think the vet is fighting a losing battle. A grund who has previously been indulged (as Sprocket rightly has, following his retirement) will not take kindly to a diet of plain kibble. That's like suggesting he should only sleep on a dog bed A little kibble so honour is satisfied and then a nice selection of dietary treats. Tuna, pilchards, scrambled egg, mackerel fillets, poached chicken or gently cooked liver will all meet his exacting standards. What Sprocket didn't tell you is his part time job as a Michelin restaurant inspector. Andy has offered to accompany him if he ever needs a hand.

When I used to dog walk for the Cinnamon Trust, I used to visit a wonderful lady and her gorgeous dog who lived entirely on Campbell's meatballs !

Betsy, the only problem with the full leg jammies is that if there is stiffness or pain in legs and shoulders, putting on and taking off can be a bit of a problem, hence why our girl wears her coat rather than the legged garments.

Mmm, Billy's had his first tastes of leftover roasts etc and has developed a sixth sense for when the oven opens for dish up time. He's a good boy - sits and waits in his kitchen bed but as soon as we get up to leave the table he springs up, ears pricked, head on the side for the scrapes. If it's suitable, he gets them and we take our chances with the odd bit of runny poo. Now I know there's nothing causing it, just a sensitive tum, I figure he's allowed the odd treat?

Does each leg have a seam up it in their legged PJs? If so, I could cut up the seam and put in a fastening like a zip or something so the PJ leg closes around the leg, instead of having to be a big step in, iykwim.