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! :)

What's a good name for a grund instead of Robbie? I've read the whole of that dog name thread and the only one I like is Sprocket.

Can I join? We adopted a whippety lurcher from a greyhound rescue in the summer. He is fab. Currently batteling an auto-immune inflammatory bowel and a bit under the weather but getting there.

He refuses to set foot in the garden to wee if the grass is wet. Just stands on the patio looking pathetic! He has commandeered the sofas and loves to snuggle up inbetween us on the bed - he approaches by stealth, one paw at a time with a decent gap inbetween paws to minimise detection!

We have big greyhound sized mattress type beds for our boy. With piles of blankets. Would love to get him the snuggle bed though....

Spag - what about Milgi? It is Welsh for greyhound. Or Gelert? Or Rocket?

Sirius - who was Orion's dog?

Aha, that explains something, a lovely couple have just moved to our (Welsh) village and opened a b&b called oriel milgi, one of the ladies does the most beautiful pictures of pointy dogs and they have three whippets!

Going to see my pointy baby a week tomorrow, squee! He comes with petplan insurance, is it worth keeping this up or is there a better insurer? (Obviously no insurance is not an option but what level of cover etc is a good idea, I know they get cuts that might need treatment as well as other things)

It's hard to be specific Lost, since much depends on what if any excess you are willing to pay, lifetime cover issues, and other variable features.. DO make sure you have third party and legal coverage - that's essential. It also depends on whether you have more than one dog, and if you want to "bundle" it with your other insurances such as car, house etc. and on offers by supermarket insurance deals etc. Have a look at some of the price comparison websites, or sites like Money saver as they often give good features on this.

Ah, yes, greyhound cuts.... When we first had ours we were at the vets with every little scrape. Actually you soon get very blase about it. Bathe cuts gently with warm salted water. Don't use harsh cleaners like TCP. We only take ours to the vet now if cuts are big, or if we are worried about infections (should point out we are super vigilant). One of my friends is a vet nurse, and she was saying they give pointy owners a sort of glue for pointy cuts to help heal and as a replacement for stitches. Looking at ours, their legs are a sort of tracery of bumps,scrapes and scratches. But they were telling me (in one of those special greyhound/owner conversations) that they are great when trying to impress other dogs at the park - you know, the whole Chicks Love Scars thing....

I can just imagine the conversation Scuttle

"Yeah, you see that scar, Rover? That was when I won the Walthamstow Dogs 800m Gold Cup, and I was running soooo fast that my back legs overtook my front ones"

LOTF

Well I'd like to say that we are getting Robbie on x day, but DP is being a pain (seriously, it would be easier to pin down a pointy in full-on run and chase mode!) and doesn't know when he'll have time to go fetch him. Waiting for them to ring me back to say if they can bring him over on monday for us or not!

Oooh Spag he's not getting cold feet is he?

I can see you are excited ( understatement) but maybe he's thinking about the enormity of it. (I had a nightmare trying to convince DH about our guinea-pigs. And I do all the cleaning)

I can't see why one of the rescue people wouldn't bring Robbie over. They'd be pleased to see him settled and say goodbye.

You've got this far, counting the hours now .It's like waiting for a baby in a way

No he's just got a really busy weekend, he's tiling my grandmas kitchen and has to remove the old ones first without damaging the wall behind them, so he doesn't want to put a time on anything as he'll more than likely not make it.

They've just rung anyway, they're going to bring him over on monday between 11 and 1. Shit I can't believe I'm literally a weekend away from getting my own dog! I've waited 15 years (since I was 5!) for this moment! Oh my gosh I still need to get food and a tub to keep it in. There's so much to do!! Oh and a few fleecey blankets, and I need to find out an old towel for muddy paws. What are those door mats that absorb stuff really well?

Oh at least his house collar has just arrived it's blue with brown dots, got it from GRWE

Before you go mad with the shopping, ask if he'll have his rescue blanket (with his own smell) on it to come home with. (That sounds lovely doesn't it, come home )

I got one of those mats from JML (I think Asda, Tesco, Wilkinsons sell them. They're really good for muddy feet too. You just have to convince grey to step on it.)

I bought a catering pack of guinea food and keep some in a Lock and Lock tub, the rest in the pantry with a Quick Clip.
He might bring some food with him to you can carry on with his routine, did they tell you what he eats?

Wheetabix for breakfast.

Spend the next 48 hours putting your wineglass on the coffee table and leaving a KitKat on the kitchen worktop. Because you won't be able to again .

Got the reindeer antlers ready?

BTW still

Spag, this is so exciting!!!

Ikea is brilliant for fleecy blankets, duvets, large flower pots (for food bowls) and very cheap towels, and they do great containers for storing dog food. You might need to make a special trip I've also found Dunelm Mill v good for towels etc too if there is one near you.

any more thoughts on naming?

scuttle much as I would like to, we can't make a 100ish mile round trip for a few blankets and flowerpots I managed to buy a cheap raised feeder off ebay anyway.

Oh and no thoughts on names yet. For now I've bought one of those ID tubes that have a little bit of paper in that you write your details on. I'll get a proper disc when we've decided on a new name.

Re the food I've been told to get CSJ as it's W/G free. He's on a kennel mix at the moment apparantly. Was quite funny really when I went to get his bed at the petshop and the guy who served me asked where I was getting him from, and when I said Jill from LGT he said 'That's my mum!' and when he asked who I was getting he said 'Oh I like Robbie, he's an ace dog.' He seemed quite jealous really

Thanks lotf I'll have to get a couple of those mats tomorrow. Re food tubs I have to get one of those flat under bed ones, as the only place we have room to store his food is underneath DDs changing table and they're the only tubs low enough and big enough to fit!

Where can I get some decent antlers? Wilkinsons sell them but they're all short and stubby and crap looking.

Oh and I've been told he's a pig. He will eat and eat till he literally pops, and also to give him his tea no later than 4pm as he'll poo in the night. And he can't have anything oily, he had sardines once and they went straight through him, anything oily gives him the squits.

Blimey my thumbs knackered! Not easy typing all this on a phone!

Cor, your DH sounds amazing. Tiling your grandma's kitchen? Now that's a real man for you! Mine runs a mile from DIY in any shape or form so I end up doing it all.

Sooo exciting! We have those mats too and if they're the same as ours they are machine washable and come in quite acceptable colours.

I washed my chap's paws today - he'd stepped in something unspeakable somehow, most unlike him. So, I put them in some warm soapy water and gave them a little rub and a dry and he went all soppy afterwards. Just really really affectionate and sweet. I was sitting on the floor with him and he came and laid his head on my chest and shoulder. Aww.

He's started a protest wee I think. The last 3 nights when the kids go to bed and I go to bath them he gets left downstairs for about half an hour. And does not like it. When I get downstairs there's always a puddle on the mat next to his bed in the kitchen. I'm going to start taking him for a wee before we go up but don't quite know what to do about this distress. He never seems to worry when I go out and leave him for 30mins or so to pick the kids up. I guess he'll get used to it eventually.

missbetsy DP is pretty amazing in that aspect, his day job is a roadworker (and first time gritter driver this winter!), but he can do literally any kind of diy (apart from electrics), and what's more, he does it well! You name it, he can do it! A few months ago him and his dad ripped out my grandmas bathroom and fitted a new one, they had to replace all the old pipes and everything!

Sounds like your hound wanted you to clean his paws and was really grateful! bless him!

Re the protest wee, maybe he wants to help with bathtime?

I'm sure he'd love to lend a hand, now I know his penchant for warm soapy water! He is definitely a downstairs dog though. Added to that, our guinea pigs live upstairs during the winter and I don't fancy an intro just yet.

Don't you mean lend a paw?

Hee hee! We are officially unable to hold off the bands of inquisitive friends any longer. He's had 3 visits in as many days, each delegation bearing toys and chews he's not really interested in.

Do anyone's greys have toys they actually play with? Or is it always going to be our shoes, the oven gloves and the kids' fire engine he surrounds himself with?

I guess I sort of feel he might be in need of some more stimulation than we're giving him at the moment. Maybe I should start some training? There aren't really any puppy classes in the immediate area so I guess I could try some at home?

MissBetsyTrotwood my Lurcher sleeps in the same room as our guinea pigs and hasn't even noticed! They arent at floor level though, hate to think,what might happen, but you'd have thought he'd at least smell them or react to their squeaks.

Our whippetty steals the ds's cuddly toys. The cuddly toy dogs are his favourites. I regularly find them sitting in his crate, thoug he never, ever destroys them (he leaves that privilage to the heals of my shoes - 4 pairs since we had him 9 months ago - I am now meticulous about putting my shoes away). He doesn't steal anyone else's shoes. I was told they usually go for the shoes of the person they feel safest with. I must say this does not really comfort me.

Our dog is going to be an upstairs dog (If we can get him up the stairs that is), as upstairs in our bedroom is the only place in our entire house with a space big enough for a greyhound bed. He's welcome to the sofas but his official bed will be upstairs, where DDs crib is still sat waiting to be dismantled.

Training sounds like a good idea, I can't wait to try to train Robbie to sit

Thanks all! He doesn't actually destroy shoes, just surround himself with them! Mostly mine, then DS1's, then DS2's. I guess I have the smelliest feet.

I'm not worried about the safety of the piggies too much - we've had so many fox problems that their runs outdoors where they live in the summer are like Rikers Island. I think after the initial excitement he'll probably lose interest after a while when he realises there is no way he's getting in.

I guess another reason he's a downstairs dog is because my kids are only 5 and 3 and it's nice for us all to have a dog free area. Also our house is a tall thin house with loads of stairs so it is actually his worst nightmare! (5 flights from the kitchen to our bedroom.)

OldMother he has commandeered several cuddlies (the toy guinea pigs and the oven gloves.

NotMost I think that your Lurcher and the piggies probably all sit down together for a meal at night and talk about their day. And the state of the Eurozone.

Ooh if anyone's interested, on greyhound data, robbies proper name is 'Emly Valley', he's won 6 races! Clever boy :) I've never won any!

On the subject of names for your elite athlete :

what about Emlyn from his racing name?

I like Gelert as well (suggested earlier) He was a wolfhound/deerhound who was killed by his owner, falsley accused of killing the baby, when he had protected him from a wolf