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).

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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
:)

[Scuttlebutter]

Mistle, that must have been brilliant to see.

The irony is that at home she is a absolute vandal with boxes! Nothing she likes more than investigating packaging and giving it a good munch.

Our tutor was very sweet and was obviously trying to think of something encouraging to say - so said "Well, her settle is very good" as she snored her way through class.

Lost, this weather is definitely "hibernate on the sofa" time!

[mistlethrush]

in terms of boxes...

Mistlehound isn't a 'morning' dog... she gets up to wake DS up with me, then sometimes nips down the garden, casts a glance and an occasional lick at her breakfast and then retires back to bed... sometimes she doesn't even bother coming down stairs!

[Scuttlebutter]

Mistle, that is such a lovely video. Has made me smile and feel all warm and gooey. All joking apart, that is what I love about clicker training - Norty Minx really enjoys it - she loves going to class and when we practice at home.

[mistlethrush]

I think I must look into it and see if mistlehound could get to grips with it. She has managed 'sit' and 'down'... she knows she's not allowed on the bed (and slinks off it when she's made herself comfortable on DH's side (its always his side that has the muddy footprints) before I make it into the bedroom last thing at night. She's learned she's not allowed to put paws up on the counter or table (although sometimes stands on a chair seat to have a better look at the table) and her bond with us on walks is clearly pretty good - she will be free roaming - but every now and then will cast a glance in our direction to check on where we are, which is very reassuring (I'm making sure that DS doesn't constantly call her too). Is there any knack to the clicker training or is it time and treats and practise?

[Scuttlebutter]

It's pretty straightforward. What I found hard in the beginning was the simple physical co-ordination - actually organising my hands, the clicker, the lead, the dog, especially as the treats (hot dog sausages) can get slightly greasy and make your hand slip on the clicker. What really helped me was getting a lanyard (like you get for passes at conferences/offices) with a clip on the bottom and I clipped the clicker to that - so now I always wear it round my neck. However, after a few days of practicing I noticed a huge improvement in my co-ordination and I got much, much better at clicking for the behaviour i wanted.
What I've really noticed as a result of the training is that our bond has strengthened enormously and her recall has improved dramatically, so much so that she now comes off the lead occasionally at our local park (we didn't do this before). The key is to have lots of very short practices - no more than about five minutes at a time and the brilliant thing is that it is pretty much impossible to fail. I've become completely converted. I enjoy going to class as it's really helpful to have tutor there explaining and they can pick up on things to help you improve - but the basics are all there on the internet. Really it is just so much FUN! Minx looks forward to class and goes in with her tail wagging - when class is over though she is exhausted. Every Wednesday night she comes home, climbs straight on to DH's sofa and immediately falls fast asleep.

[mistlethrush]

Hmmm a 5 min clicker session might just be the thing when she gets itchy paws at about 8.30pm then.... She is clearly telling me something about wanting some sort of interraction (which I give) but isn't good at telling me what - just barks (very unusual) and looks expectant, and sometimes prods me with her feet or teeth snaps at me (that's done in a playful way, really! ).

[paddythepooch]

Hi mistletoe. Yes five mins training is just what she needs then. Mr p has this sometimes too.
Any recs here for brushes? Mr p doesn't like his slicker. Think it catches on his bony bits

[CMOTDibbler]

Ours likes doing trick training too, though I haven't started him with the clicker yet (though dpony does clicker). Fortunatly he'll do anything for a bit of chicken, so now does a nice sit/lie/stand/wait/twirl/back. He does fetch, but still sometimes runs around in circles with the object first.

Mistles dog creeping reminds me of my parents collies who weren't allowed in the sitting room, but would ooze in over the course of the evening.

Paddy, we use a soft cat brush - it gets the mud off without scratching

[MrSlant]

Might have to look into clicker training, DH had a clicker and gave it a halfhearted try but he didn't get the timing right and just confused the heck out of everyone.

We had a beautiful puppy to play all afternoon, she was such a darling, I'm having to remind myself that the right dog will come to us with time and shooting off into preloved might give me instant gratification but we do not like those 'breeders' at all.

It's me by the way Whippety pups losty, I have had my first ever name change.

[mistlethrush]

Well clicker training went quite well... had to lure up from a down to a sit - but definite progress.... and got a paw (ish) !!! which is great progress... she's not the brightest spark, but still adorable! (and I think her vertical jumps on the spot would be competition winning if I could get her to do them on command... ).

We have found a rubber curry comb (from horse tack shop) work really well for smooth coats, and not too bad on our scruffy. We've got a kong groomer which is nice and soft on the body with rubbery points

[CMOTDibbler]

Nice name change MrSlant

[MrSlant]

Doesn't Magrat have a pointy as well? There must be some skinny dog/discworld correlation. And thank you

[mistlethrush]

She has a pointy hat.... Perhaps that will do?

[Scuttlebutter]

Ooh, it's like a Discworld convention here, but with better costumes.

Scary namechange, MrSlant.

We use a hound mitt http://www.greyhoundlifesavers.org/shop/ccdata/images/imageMain_6_27.jpg this on ours - Andy loves it. Stands there giving the most funny semi orgasmic groans as I stroke him. It gets masses of hair out - we end up with drifts of it in the garden pond.

[paddythepooch]

You could try clicking every time she jumps mistle. That's how I managed to teach bow. Mind you I still struggle with timing and co ordination.

Think another of paddy's siblings has arrived in the rescue. This one has had an accident. Poor thing. Looks like celia cross will be working their wonders on him so fine. His sister was snapped up.

[mistlethrush]

I demonstrated our 5 min training session to DH when he got home (concert) and she actually lifted her paw up - so something has gone in remarkably quickly (for her).... We will practise the 3 things again this evening and over the weekend and see if we can get somewhat quicker responses (particularly for sit after down - always a difficult one...).

I'm not sure whether the jumping is an entirely sensible thing to have on command... most people are somewhat surprised to see her head at head height (and she's jumping straight up with all 4 paws, so all paws are above hip height)... I think we'll concentrate on some of the basics first!

[TheCunnyFuntIsAGrittersFiancee]

Hellooooo everybody! It's been busy here!

Paddy Sprocket has a hound mitt, one of these and a soft puppy brush.

Lost/Slant how exciting! Do you think you'll be getting a new dog quite soon then? Congratulations on the namechange too :o

What is Discworld? I've seen it mentioned on here a few times.

[MrSlant]

Discworld You either love it and get joy from reading and re-reading the books or find it all a bit silly and the people who love it to be weirdy geeks .

Hopefully we will be a two dog family by the end of the year . I am happy to be patient because I realise being fussy with rescues isn't going to help but a younger bitch would fit with the family and (most importantly) with my beloved whippety boy. My friend is considering re-homing her dog as he finds escaping from their (large perimitered) property easy and legged it again this week but I said we wouldn't really want him because he is very alpha male and bullies my boy something chronic, particularly stopping him eating, and it would feel very unfair to bring another dog into the house on a permanent basis when I know he will make sure he is top dog by any means necessary. They are so different in temperament, we were on the beach and a bird landed (stupidly) close to us and for about 15 seconds they stood next to each other, brother whippet with his ears standing up and out looking for an opportunity and my boy's were practically invisible they were so far back and close to his head whilst he fretted about getting into trouble! They are like yin/yang dogs even to the point that one is dark and the other light coloured!

[MrSlant]

Does that make me sound awful? I know a rescue could have problems but I know how naughty he is and hard work, plus he's stayed a few times and it's not been something I could keep up for ever. I'm too pfb to have another dog aren't I :-(

[Scuttlebutter]

No, I think you will find a rescue dog out there who will "fit" - having two who constantly squabble isn't going to help anyone. Ironically, you always hear dire warnings about having two bitches together yet our two girls get on brilliantly - it's really lovely to see.

[CMOTDibbler]

Not awful at all - you have to think of your existing dog first.

Mrpointy here wanted to play with evil ginger cat this afternoon who was sleeping in the sitting room. So, if you want someone to play, the nice way is to take them your ball, yes? For the next hour, the tennis ball was balanced on Mrgrumpy who was glowering gently while Mrpointy tried to work out what had gone wrong. Bless.

[MrSlant]

I bet that's so fantastic to see, I look forward to scratching them behind the ears if you travel out west this year. How's A doing now you have a totally new 'family' around
him?

[MrSlant]

CMOT sorry but I am having a little at that image!

[MagratGarlik]

Ahh - the conversation is getting all discworldy .. hooray. Sorry, been off MN for a couple of weeks due to too much other stuff going on. I do indeed have two pointys (and a pointy hat). I have a 3 year old whippet who is fast approaching his second gotcha day and a 7 year old (I think the rescue were being kind) grippet (grey x whippy) who is fast approaching her gotcha day too.

Cunny, the discworld refers to a magical fantasy world created by Terry Pratchett. I hate fantasy books such as Tolkein, but love TP's books because they don't take themselves seriously and take the p* out of other fantasy writers. Would definitely recommend a read. The first book is called, "The Colour of Magic" and is about a failed wizard called Rincewind. There is always a character in there that you can relate to, my favourites are the witches, death and Susan. In fact, I feel a name change coming on soon....

[Scuttlebutter]

He has had to adjust, MrSlant but has found it hard. In spite of being so huge, he is actually a giant fluffball, with a wibbly marshmallow centre and losing both Booty and Boola in such quick succession made him quite depressed and withdrawn for some time. He has gradually settled and gets on OK with Mick, but is bossed around terribly by the two girls, so much so that we have to feed them separately or his food gets nicked and he stands there looking timid or he gets very grumpy (understandably) and we get an "incident". Sigh. He is very much a sensitive soul who thrives on routine, so we've found that giving him as much reassurance as we can in that department helps him to be happy. I think we turned a corner around Christmas - before that I was very worried about him - I think he was still grieving (as indeed we were/are) and just found the pace of change a bit overwhelming. I think we all found it hard actually - we went from being a very settled three dog household with three dogs who'd known each other for a very long period ( A and Booty were adopted within three months of each other, so he's practically never known home life without her), to suddenly having four dogs - with a completely different set of characters. Although he'd known C before when we fostered her the first time - that was several years ago, and of course then he had his special comfort blanket alive to guide him. As well, Norty Minx and C are both such confident dogs, and so outgoing - a real contrast to him, who is quite shy and solitary.
We would never have set out to have that rate of change and I certainly wouldn't recommend it, but they were fairly unique circumstances and it was definitely the right thing to do.