Are you a Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher owner? Come and have a seat on the new Pointy Hounds cushion!

[TheCunnyFunt]

Pointy hounds include-
Greyhounds (Grunds)
Whippets (Whippys)
Lurchers
Italian Greyhounds (Iggys)
Salukis
Afghans
And any others I have forgotten. If you are a new pointy hound owner, an old and experienced owner or looking into getting one of these fabulous creatures, come and have a seat (that's not taken up with a hound).

Share advice, stories and shopping tips!
AK Creations
Bonnie dogs
GRWE shop
Our very own Scuttle's Milgi coats
Silver Peacock

Jake
I didn?t really want you,
I wasn?t really sure,
And I?ll admit I had my doubts,
When you first came through that door.

Not small, or cute, or fluffy,
With big, soft puppy eyes,
But tall, and thin, and bony,
With bald, pink, bulging thighs.

You weren?t the kind I had in mind,
Not in any way,
?Perhaps it would be better if I took you back today,
Before we know each other,
It really won?t be kind,
To keep you here for one more day,
And then to change my mind.?

But against my better judgement, I decided you could stay,
And quickly I discovered you were kind in every way,
Your gentleness and patience, they really stole the show,
?Why these dogs are wonderful, I must let others know!?

For you?re my gentle giant,
Who just needed the chance,
To show us all what you could be,
To wipe away that history,
And dispel our preconceptions, which put us all to shame,
And so we come to know and love,
What lies beneath that frame.

And now I?ve come to understand,
What I missed right at the start,
That greyhounds need that great deep chest,
To house their great big hearts!
By Denise Dubarbier
:)

They are both neutered so definitely no chance of being in season!

Oh Scuttle that's such a shame for her :( that's what happened with Sprocket's old owner, unfortunately she had a stroke and is now in a nursing home, she had 4 greys, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have to make that kind of decision.

Wrt stupid reasons for returns, Sprockets old housemate has been returned for chewing a pair of shoes :( she'd gone from being in a 4 hound household, to kennels for 2 weeks then had to adapt to a new family as a single dog :(

Thanks for letting us know Cheddar, I was only wondering yesterday how you were getting on, good luck in your search. And if you ever need a fix of pointy chat don't hesitate to come back :)

Spicy I'm pleased to hear his first class went well! Let's hope he keeps up the good work :o

The collie/ terrier puppy we got at 4mo - we were her 3rd home by then. Goodness knows why they didn't want her - she was very cute then (and didn't chew half as much as the other collie cross).

Our last dog we got at 8 months - I think that she just needed too much exercise for her owners (what did they expect?) - she hadn't been properly socialised.

Current dog has been in the pound at least 3 times - I guess she wasn't good at hunting probably.

TisI you are very welcome here, whether you have a pointy or just want to talk pointy :) I saw Iggies at the Great Greyhound Gathering, they're tiny! I think I'd be too scared of breaking it if I had one :o I can't think of any specific nice stories at the moment about Sprocket so I'll just tell you about him instead if you like?

He's 6 in January, large male Greyhound. Black and white with 'tuxedo' markings, he may be nearly 6 but he acts like a teenager :o he drags himself from his pit at the last possible second in the mornings before his walk. He chooses to wander downstairs when DD and I are all bundled up ready to go. He can walk upstairs backwards and he's daft as a brush :) he is also the brother of one of Scuttlebutters greyhounds! Photos of him here.

mistle that's really sad :( a 4mo puppy with 3 homes? I bet the poor thing didn't know if she was coming or going :(

She was a very funny puppy to look out - we didn't have any idea what she would turn out - we thought something rather round with shortish legs. She turned into something very elegant, and lost the look of having wet her nappy too (luckily!). She was just exuberant and wanted to play - and probably needed a decent garden to do that in. At least she hadn't been so badly treated as the other collie cross - who was never 'normal' for the rest of her life (we got her at 10 mo) but we managed to deal with the worst of the behaviours and lived with the others - for instance, if she had been given one of those food aggression tests I'm sure a rescue centre would have said she wasn't safe to rehome - but she was, completely - she did make a big noise, but wouldn't go for you aggressively and as we never actually tried to take her food away it wasn't an issue (in fact the other one used to steal most of her bonios on a regular basis without any issue).

We had a break through in two ways last night - new dog slept on her duvet downstairs last night (her other bed was in our bedroom in case she wanted it or wanted to move up later) and she came to ask to go out at 3am (I know that doesn't sound great, but she was really hungry last night so got some extra food, so I'm not really surprised) - the thing is that she asked (she came into the room, visited both sides of the bed and then went downstairs immediately again) and then waited for me to come down and take her out rather than finding the front door mat (again).

I've been following this thread with interest as I am looking to rehome a lurcher or whippet in the new year. I've been stalking Scruples, Lucher Link, Lurcher SOS and Southern Lurcher Rescue for a few months too!

Can I ask some advice? I'm in East Anglia. Is it best to register our interest with these rescues now? Can I register with more than one at once? I realise it may take some months for a suitable dog to come up that is fostered in our area. Plus I work. I work two days per week. Would that rule us out?

Any advice would be wonderful.

Hi Bryte, Yes, registering your interest is always a good idea, especially if you have special requirements for a dog e.g. cat friendly, does stunts etc.

Bear in mind also that many rescues suspend homing in the run up to Christmas.

Working a couple of days a week is not usually a barrier (except for puppies) though obviously the rescue will want to see that you have put arrangements in place for those days e.g. a dog walker, family member etc. If you see the perfect dog that is not fostered inyour area, please don't worry. All the charities get together and have regular volunteer transport runs to get dogs to where they need to be. There are quite a few systems in place for this, so don't let this put you off.

I'd make contact with the rescue now, as it may be that they can arrange for your homecheck shortly so that you are all ready to go in the New Year when a suitable dog comes in.

Personally I would be prepared to have a day trip to somewhere to see a dog if it looked as though it was going to fit the bill.

I had contacts out with LL, GRWE, Southern lurcher rescue (we had a holiday in Kent) at the same time - GRWE decided they needed their own homecheck rather than relying upon the LL one and then someone from LL turned up to do it (!!!). If you let them know what you're doing, I wouldn't think that they would be worried as its all about getting the right family for the dog. None of them would do the homecheck before we were actually ready to adopt though - although if the timing is not critical I would contact the charities and suggest a home check so that if the right dog comes up you can act promptly rather than having to wait for a home check at that stage.

Working - what do you plan to do on your working days - it is unlikely that a dog is going to be able to go 8 hours so you need to have something sorted out to cover this. It will significantly affect your opportunities for dogs because (particularly if you're getting just one) quite a few dogs are unhappy if they're left alone any significant amount of time. However, that is not to say that there isn't one out there that would be completely laid back about it.

LL appear to suggest that you have a trial foster of the dog before formally adopting it (which I think is a good idea as it lets you find out what the dog is going to be like after its settled down a bit and got into the routine).

You might even find that some of them have events at which several of the 'available' dogs might be attending - we certainly met a couple of dogs at an event in Peterborough in October.

Thanks for your responses. I wish I didn't have to work the hours I do, but I do. I would use a dog walker for an hour. The dog would get a long walk int he morning. I realise that we'll be looking for a not very typical dog, if we want one that is okay being left those hours. Are greyhounds any more likely to be happy left alone, or are they worse, as they've been kenneled in pairs?

I'd prefer to be able to visit the dog first, so would be looking for one fostered within a two hour drive. Do the events you speak of occur during the winter months? How do I find out about them? I could easily reach Peterborough, for instance.

Should I fill out the pre-adoption forms for each of the rescues or just send an email outlining our family and what we can offer and see what they say?

To clarify, we'd walk the dog int he morning and then have a dog walker come for an hour in the middle of the day.

I would do a full email and send the form at the same time - but let them know that you're contacting several because of your specific requirements, and that you realise that your circumstances are such that you're going to have to wait until the right one comes along.

Some dogs (both greys and lurchers) are actively seeking a one-dog household - its the working days that are the issue, but I'm sure that you will find one who is happy to adapt to your set up. Our previous dog certainly would have been.

LL have an 'events' section on their forum - and there are things going on through the winter, and I saw at least 2 foster dogs at the event near the beginning of November. I know that they do have dogs fostered nearer to you though.

Calling pointy experts... I've put up a couple of photos of my guys, maybe time limited, not sure yet!

Wondered if any lurcher ladies had any idea what the little mutt will turn out like (JRTxWhippet)?

Hot news from the Butter household!! Our lovely Mick is now a famous hound. He is Mr. 1st December on an online advent calendar, for Avid microchips, as worn by many of our woofs. link here
I think we ought to have the dog equivalent of a proud mum emoticon ! They asked for some pics on Twitter, so I sent two, including one of Sara as well, so will keep my eyes peeled.

I saw it on FB well done Mick!

How's everyone getting on with their christmas shopping? DP and I must be mental. We're getting rid of DD for the afternoon and night next saturday, and we're off to MeadowHell to blast all ours in one go. It's a massive shopping mall in Sheffield and it's going to be packed.

Mind If I join in? I have an 8 month rescue of uncertain parentage, most probably greyhound/saluki. He can flop his ears together in the middle of his head, so looks unbelievably cute for such a big lad! Any clues as to what to expect from that combination? He's a lovely boy but a bit messed up as his previous owner left him on his own all day while she was at work.

You are very welcome toast if he's part greyhound you can expect him to be very lazy, 18+ hours a day spent upside on the sofa, legs akimbo fast asleep, because they are so tall they are very good at counter surfing so you can expect very clean worktops I can't think of much else at the moment as I'm really tired (getting DD to sleep) so I'll pop back tomorrow with some more.

Just to add, I don't know much about Salukis apart from they're surprisingly smaller than greyhounds (I always think they look quite big but they're only a bit bigger than a whippet!)

Not sure if i can join, i have a bull lurcher who acts nothing like my staffie. Hes like a greyhound on steroids and very lazy

Of course you can fifi welcome to the cushion! What is he crossed with?

Toast you may have already found this out, but greys and salukis are sighthounds and if they spot something small and fluffy in the distance they want to chase it (my grey does anyway!) so letting them off lead unless in a fully enclosed field can be quite risky incase they spot something and zoooooom they're off. How long have you had him? Is there any chamce of a photo? I bet he's beautiful!

You've just reminded me actually, at our christmas market last sunday a couple came to chat to us and they told me they had a 'Whaluki' (Whippet x Saluki) and I asked if it had the fluffy ears and they showed me a photo, it was gorgeous!

Well hes a rescue but the vet thinks he's a staffie x Lurcher. He looks a bit like scooby doo. He looks like a staff across his head and eyes but other than that looks like a stocky hound. He has not got the robust friendly in your face nature of a Staffie. He just sleeps like you described, massive legs in the air lol. Very laid back and calm and very sensitive

www.mumsnet.com/65041.Ups

Not sure if you can see it from that link if not he's on my profile

Haha I see the Scooby resemblance they're gorgeous!

Hi Guys - I'm back after a bit of a MN break - life kind of took over and things have been busy!

There are lots of new names on here though since I've been away. Fifi - I think I might know you though (though your name sounds like you are much further north than me), but your dogs look like the spitting image of one of my neighbours dogs.

My hounds are currently gently snoring away, having had a good run this morning, but I am currently trying to convince dp that no, we don't have the time, space or money for even a little foster whippet. I think he's getting dog broody.