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

[TheCunnyFuntIsAGrittersWife]

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!
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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
:)

These upstarts eh, no respect for their elders!

Yes, Billy gets fed first and I gate her out of the kitchen when he gets fed. We don't let her stay between him and us when he's getting cuddles but she's so insistent! I think it will calm down when she is bonded with us. Although then some other issue will probably develop, always seems the way!

Have you got a sofa big enough for one of them on either side????

We do have a large 3 seater. Billy is erm... rather long through.

We have a large 3 seater - you can get three adults on it comfortably. However, if she stretches out mistlehound can stretch from one end to the other... and she's under 23" to the shoulder!!!

Hope they're getting on better now Betsey.

When I was walking Sprocket yesterday he stopped for a poo (as you do) so I got a bag out ready and there was an old guy walking towards us. He called out "Oh I wouldn't bother with that, just kick it under the hedge! It's what everyone else does!" so I said "Well I'm not everyone else, and I'd rather not break the law if it's all the same to you." then he did that huffy snorty thing and said "Oh fine. Suit yourself then!"

They're doing OK thanks Cunny. We've had a few more grumbles but nothing to write home about. We've asked to extend the trial (they suggested a week at first) but we need a bit longer to be sure for Billy. We all adore her though! She plays with balls! And squeaky dog toys!

Good for you re. the poo. What a weird man.

hi i have a girl lurcher who is now 6 months old she is house trained but when she see's people and they make a fuss of her she wee's and people say dont let them fuss her untill she has calmed down but it dont work as the people she knows she just wee's when she can see them has any one got any advice please

Hi Mandy, welcome to the cushion.

Is this happening in the house or when you are out on walks?

Mandy - the lurchery dog we had when I was little (5) was just like that. We saw someone coming to the front door and had to rush her out the back to avoid the accidents. Friends with 'perfect' lab and spaniel puppies that had been 'housetrained from age 10 weeks) looked down their nose a lot. However, she did grow out of it - and its wasn't a housetraining issue, it was pure excitement.

Hi Everyone. I have been lurking and reading the cushion for ages and enjoying eveyone's updates and news so thought I would introduce my hound.

I have an ex-racing greyhound, aged 9. He's called Ed and is black ( although going very grey now he is a bit aged !)

My friend has a collie like that mandy, she just loves people so much she can't help herself! I'm sure she'll grow out of it soon. Blippety Ed is a great name, I have a friend called Ed and he's quite like a greyhound now I come to think of it .

We may have started actively looking for another dog again, , for when we get back from our tour of Europe this summer.

Hi mandypants and Blippety.

We know an elderly Eddie greyhound. He's lovely. Pics anyone?

Hooray Lost!

When I say 'dog' I obviously mean whippet or whippety lurcher (or, of course, a Very Tall Whippet)

Any Italian greyhound owners on here?

I wish! I'd love an Iggy, do you have one?

Lost - there's a 4yo Grew looking for a non-sheepy household - cat friendly - on LL at the mo....

LittleJack - I've seen a post from someone, but not seen them for a bit I think - but don't let that put you off!

Hello all, waves at Blippety. Ed sounds lovely.

Just been into Andy's room and retrieved three tins and my slippers. They had pilchards for breakfast (special treat as he won a rosette in an online dog show) so he decided to make a collection. DH usually refers to his room as Steptoe's yard now because of the strange assortment of objects that end up in there.

Lost, at what point can we officially start sending pics of adorable hounds needing homes to you? Is the family heading to a Tour stage, by any chance? I'm getting pre-tour anticipatory excitement ramped up of course by the imminent Giro.

Betsey, how are your two continuing to settle? Well, I hope.

I saw the Grew, gorgeous but as I am sitting on my bed right now looking at the Abbey fields with cattle and sheep on them I don't think we are a suitable home . Can't do anything until we are back from holidays now so no adorable pictures until August please. Not actually going I see the tour this year as it is in term time (boo hiss!), we are driving to Italy instead, should be fun!

Whippets boy's bed is a celebration of everything no one else in the house wants. Looks like the tip!

OK, so non-reactive to stock is a requirement! What else is a requirement - are you looking for something whippety or is it just lean - and would it need to be young or not - bitch or dog? I promise not to send pictures, but I could keep a little mental pigeon hole to stick possibles in to bring to your attention when the time is right... otherwise you will have to read all the lovely dogs that are, realistically, incompatible with your requirements, and do a massive sieiving exercise!

Hi. I know I have not been very active on here since I introduced myself months ago. I've been busy. Very busy with our newish dog.

We've had our 3 year old rescue lurcher for about 3 months now. The whole family adore her and couldn't imagine her not being part of our family. But we really need to do some consistent training and I would like to hear from others how they have trained their sight hounds, especially if they got them as an untrained adult dog. Where do we start? What do we start with? I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of information out there.

I've lost confidence this week as I thought she was doing well (the dog) and then we took her away for a night to visit unfamiliar family, in unfamiliar surroundings and she was like a completely different dog. She was probably nervous in a strange place out of our routine and on top of that we probably oozed stress signals as we worried about the dog's behaviour and lack of good manners.

A few weeks ago I found a local trainer who does one to ones but she advised squirting our dog with water if she barks at other dogs, and to stop her pulling on the lead suggested we get a lead/collar that fits over her nose. Probably not the ideal trainer I was looking for. I wanted someone who has learnt about dog psychology and could tell us why she is barking at other dogs (because she doesn't do it all the time, and actually not that much at all, and we cannot recognise a pattern) and advise us accordingly. I've not been successful in finding another local trainer who could come to our house, so may have to do it all myself.

Can I do this myself? Do you have some words of wisdom to share?

Hello Bryte. You've done the right thing in walking away from the trainer who squirts - really bad idea. Best place to find a good positive trainer is on APDT website - they have a searchable database. Also google dog training clubs in your area - this can throw up some suggestions and you can find out more.

I'm someone who's experienced with dogs but find working with a good trainer is absolutely invaluable. I had previously done Bronze, Silver and Gold with one hound but last year found a local APDT trainer who was doing classes in clicker training and was pointy-friendly. You'll find clicker training is great, and the thing I really couldn't get over was how quickly it strengthened and deepened the bond between us. Norty Minx arrived with us last August and we started training at the end of NOvember - it didn't take long at all for me (and DH) to see a remarkable difference. That's been a real joy - I'm so much closer to her now and we really enjoy each other's company - difficult to explain but it's there.

I've followed up with loads of practice at home and i really enjoy reading too which has been very helpful as I'm the sort of person who likes to understand the background theory. Using the same trainer, we did BAT with another of our greys who was reactive with other dogs.. Again, we started this late last year, and he has been making steady progress over the winter and spring. It's not an instant fix but it really works and again, it's been a delight to see this old boy who came to us as a rather confused foster gradually settle in and blossom. He's now settled, got his paws under the table and is a funny, lively, hugely affectionate dog. So the other point is that settling in does take time - you wont' crack everything at once, but just working on basic confidence, building routines, helping them feel relaxed and secure with you - there is no magic bullet but good solid groundwork will pay massive dividends in just a few months.

I particularly found clicker training helpful in that you can't fail, and the dog will tell you when they have had enough - Norty Minx had definitely got a cut off point. Also, it's great fun! Minx quickly learned where she was going every Wednesday night and would leap into the car with her tail wagging like mad and then race into the church hall for class (and promptly wee everywhere! ). In the early days it's very helpful to have a third party there to advise on timings, and simply juggling everything - the dog, the lead, the clicker, the treats, you feel at first that you don't have enough hands (well, I did). After a bit of practice though things really improved, and after six weeks she was jumping through hoops. We had an utterly adorable lurcher at our training class who was gorgeous and also made great progress.

Hope this helps.

Hi LostinWales, we've got seven of the little Italians. We have shown some of them. But they a bit old for the showing now.

Oh how lovely!!! Seven iggys! I'd love an Iggy, but I think they would be to delicate for our house. Our grippet seems to think she's an Iggy when she tries to be a lap dog.

Bryte - whereabouts are you based - I have heard that Jim Greenwood is particularly good with sighthounds - but you certainly did the right thing walking away from that trainer - that's not going to get you anywhere with a lurcher!

We got ours last autumn - failed worker, about 2+ ish. Not housetrained. Unknown recall. Anticipated high prey drive. Its taken a while but we've now got a dog that's fairly reasonable on a walk - sometimes difficult to recall if there's a game going on that she wants to join in, but getting much better.

I think our biggest issue on a general day-to-day thing is DS and me sitting on the sofa with her - its fine if I'm on the middle, but she doesn't like it if its DS, even if he's being very good and not touching any of her, she's still not relaxed (actually, don't blame her really, I'm not sure I particularly like sitting next to him quite a bit of the time!)

I think we're lucky with the ones we have got because they are little tough ones. They play like mad when on walks. But you do hear of some of the breed breaking their legs from jumping off the sofa!