Are you a Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher owner? Come and have a seat on yet another 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 stories, advice and shopping tips!
AK Creations
Dog O Nine Tails
Doggy Bags Bakery
Kitsch Collars
Meggie Moo
[[http://www.milgicoats.co.uk/ Milgi Coats
Silver Peacock

Come The Day
Come the day I take that final bend,
Can I count on you to be my friend?
To see I?m treated just and fair,
It means so much to know you care.

For, what the future holds in store,
Now that I can race no more,
Should be addressed for every hound,
Who parts the punter from his pound.

Tell them I don?t ask for much,
A kindly word, a gentle touch,
Somewhere warm to lay my head,
A meal each day to keep me fed,
Not just life- but quality,
This is how it ought to be.

Do not see me swept away,
I long to live another day,
With peace of mind, tranquillity,
And those who care surrounding me,
So tell them all- you have that choice,
I beg of you to be my voice.

By Denise Dubarbier.

[WhenSantaGotStuckUpACunnyFunt]

Hello everyone, I can't believe it's at the end of this thread already! Sorry I've not been around, I had a lot of RL stuff going on and just lost the thread. Can anyone update me in bulletpoints?

Here's the new cushion.

[PatTheHammer]

Will Mistlehound have to wear a little doggy boot?

[PatTheHammer]

Hope Mistlehound is feeling ok

Dee has her first vets appt tomorrow about this claw. I wanted to get it checked in case of infection and also she is due to be flea and worm treated in January so I will chat to them about it tomorrow and get some stuff.

So I think I've caved in on the sleeping downstairs front. Last night she was petrified of the wind so I let her upstairs with me and we slept in Dd's room which appears to be her fave.
Anyone else a softy like me? I just couldn't deal with the crying and panting. Anything for an easy life, I was the same with my kids when they were babies.

[TooOldForGlitter]

Positive vibes being sent to mistlehound. Hope she makes a speedy recovery.

[CMOTDibbler]

Fingers crossed MT.

[mistlethrush]

Can I have some get well soon vibes for mistlehound please? She's had a lump off her toe today and I think that she's taking a while to come round properly... and I want it to be a totally harmless lump and heal up really quickly.

[cinnamongreyhound]

You will also need to be prepared for other peoples reaction, you will most likely be asked how dd hurt her face. On a lighter note I'm quite jealous that you get to go to the toilet on your own, I'm followed by children and dogs almost every time!

[mistlethrush]

You're still early days with settling him in too - you're not used to having him there, he's still new to home life.

Mistlehound is having a lump off a toe today - I hope its going to be nothing to worry about - but it needs to come off sooner rather than later.

[TooOldForGlitter]

As always mistle you are the voice of wisdom and experience . Reassuring to read your posts and make me feel less of an unfit mother I must say.

We have talked all night and agree that what happened was a horrible accident. I should have been there to prevent it but I was in the toilet! DP should have had his attention in the room not in his sewing and DD should have remembered me saying, leave him alone when he's in bed. Her hurting him as she stood up is just unfortunate but the opportunity for a repeat will NOT happen. Mistakes all round but we are all OK and we will all take the advice given and get past this.

And breeeeathe!

[mistlethrush]

I have heard that a dog's reaction is a lot quicker than ours - so if a dog snaps at a dog, they get out of the way in the time given - but a human won't manage to. I would suggest to your daughter - and in fact, anyone coming to the house, that, if Bob is in his bed, he shouldn't be disturbed - you can talk to him but not approach in any way.

I also agree that Bob was probably feeling unsettled if he didn't have all of his 'normal' bed (for understandable reasons).

[TooOldForGlitter]

Oh poor girl! I admit I don't really know what should be done with her nail. Presumably if she isn't in pain and happy to walk then the old split nail will drop off? Or would you trim it yourself? Hopefully one of the experts will be along soon because I am clearly clueless!

[PatTheHammer]

Aww, don't be too hard on yourself. I think that is a reasonable summation of events. He was feeling unsettled and then entirely accidentally your DD hurt his paw and he reacted. It was all accidental, your DH was in the room so you didn't leave Bob unattended with your DD and it also sounds like she was doing the right thing, backing away when he barked.

Poor Dee has a split nail on her back paw. It's not causing her too much grief except when she jumps up and down from the sofa, she yelps a bit. She still wants to walk and is otherwise happy. The split is quite far up her nail so I'm just monitoring it at the moment, keeping it clean and checking every now and then.

I'm presuming just like humans she will be having healthy nail growth and the split bit will eventually fall off? Or am I wrong to assume this? I don't know much about dogs claws but its certainly not too sore as she lets me handle it and clean it thoroughly without complaint.

[TooOldForGlitter]

and he was 'out of sorts' all evening. He has a big fluffy mattress bed and a beanbag at the front or 'head end' which he pulls up to make a sort of wall that he can hide behind and rest his head on IYSWIM. It had a tear in and DP.was sewing it so he (Bob) was unsettled at not having his beanbag there to hide behind. I dunno if that contributed or if i'm clutching at straws.

[TooOldForGlitter]

Thanks for all the advice and support from you all, I do appreciate it hugely.

DD is fine today, her face is bruised and she has a cut above her eye but is fine otherwise and happy to be around Bob.

Before it happened I wouldn't have imagined myself even considering keeping a dog that had bitten a child in my home, let alone a bite on the face but the reality of it is different I think. Having spoken to DD calmly she says when she went down to his bed he barked just once so she went to stand up and leant on his front paw while pushing herself back to her feet, thats when he barked again and she was bitten. I didnt see it so i'm summising but it seems he warned her out of his space, she accidently hurt him and he reacted. Whether he snapped at the air and caught her I don't know. I just know I don't feel right with the thought of sending him back for something that I should have prevented. I know the views would be different in AIBU!

[Scuttlebutter]

Hello CMOT, it was lovely to meet you and CMOThound today .

Glitter, this is very sad news. Hope you and DD are OK today. It will be completely understandable if you decide that Bob should go back to the rescue - there will be many people on MN who think that Bob should have paid with his life for what happened.

If you do decide to keep him, Mistle is right - just make sure DD knows and understand's Bob's boundaries. Looking back on my post to you last Sunday, I'd reiterate what I said then - Bob is on a steep learning curve, this can't be rushed, but will come right with time, patience and training. I really hope this has not put DD off being involved with Bob - but if she has been, there is nothing wrong at all with Bob seeking an alternative home via the rescue. It's difficult on MN, as by definition most here are parents, but there are a lot of childfree homes out there and some dogs just do better away from DC. We have one who'd be terrible in a childed home - he just finds DC too small, noisy and stressful. Also, it's not fair on DD if she is no longer comfortable around him.

Whatever you decide, you'll get support here. And a virtual gin.

[CMOTDibbler]

Might moving Bobs bed so its not so in the middle of things help? Then he'd get a bit more warning of people coming too.

I met Scuttlebutter today . Cmotdog got a new coat and two new bandannas

[PatTheHammer]

Oh no glitter, hope your dd feels ok today.

I agree with what has already been said, make the bed an off limits zone to everyone. I think it's quite common for dogs to snap in these kind of circumstances. Don't forget that lots of greyhounds sleep with eyes open, Dee does a lot of the time. The lady who did my home check told me that one of her greyhounds went for her once when she approached her, she thought she was awake on the sofa and she wasn't. This was a hound that she had had in her home for a few years so not even recently rescued.

[mistlethrush]

If you're not sending Bob back, you need to reinforce the rules with your DD - if Bob is on his bed, she can say night to him, but keep away from him. I would also be working on Bob's relationship with DD when he is awake - if DD is confident enough after this, I would be getting her to do some 'high value' things with Bob - do some basic training with him, getting him to listen to her and do what she's asking - and getting rewarded (immediately) with good treats. You will need to supervise this so that she gives clear commands - with hand signals if you use them - and then rewards immediately. (DS has a tendency to ask for something, then something else without remembering to give the reward in between). If Bob likes being groomed, I would also get her to do this for short sessions, again under close supervision - but if he doesn't, definitely not!

[TooOldForGlitter]

Thank you for all your replies. Really very appreciated.

[TooOldForGlitter]

DP does feel bad, hard to describe how close he was/is to Bobs bed but he was sewing head down, did the kiss goodnight and she bent down and next thing it happened

[TooOldForGlitter]

She knows not to invade his bed space but she describes it as kissing dad goodnight then moving to the side of his chair and kneeling down to stroke bob. Feel like im blaming her and im NOT but i feel she got in 'his space'.

[TooOldForGlitter]

Im 100% not taking Bob back. I dont know what that says about me as a mother . I probably sound stupid but I feel I know him, as best as you can know any dog. I am devastated I didnt see it but my heart is telling me he was either dozing off and she frightened him or she got in his space and he didnt like it. She has said he barked first then turned his head to her. God I dunno im all over the place.

[TooOldForGlitter]

From what she has said he wasnt asleep though. My instant reaction was he must have been asleep but both she and DP say he wasnt.

[cinnamongreyhound]

Sorry that was massive and general thoughts as they came into my head!

[cinnamongreyhound]

Clean very well and ice will help.

Give it time! Let it settle and see how you feel in the morning. You don't want dd to feel frightened of him and not feel happy in her own home but you also have invested in Bob and he's starting to settle. I had never considered being bitten by a dog (probably sounds very naive) until we rescued billy after we lost our nelly. We had had him 3 weeks and he'd taken toy from one of my minded children I tried to take it back and he didn't let I don't want to rip it so left it and then went to take it again and he bit me quite badly on my arm and finger. One of my parents collected a child just after it happened and said you'll have to get rid of him now so we took him back. It broke our hearts and he cried as we left him.

We then got peanut and he does snap at the older children if they get very bouncy and noisy. We think he gets worried and that's his reaction. Luckily the one child he bit had a very understanding mum and as long as we muzzle him with them around she's happy. He hasn't grumbled at mine but has at minded children but then our house is busier then. It's very stressful worrying about it but they know how to behave with peanut and he seems to be more tolerant of mine and I don't want him muzzled all the time.

The children know NEVER to go to the dogs when they're on their beds or even if they are on the sofa alone as they consider that territory. I can sit with peanut on the sofa but I always kind of warn him I'm coming. He has grumbled at a friend who sat with him and then I make him get down so he knows it's not longer his space and then he's fine.

Before I was bitten and peanut bit my minded child I would have always said you can't have a dog that bites around children but I think that especially a dog that has so many new things to learn about as ex racers do if you can work out triggers and know how to manage it in a way that everyone is happy then you can. Don't be cross at dh he will most likely feel very guilty himself, it probably didn't even cross his mind that it could happen. I blamed myself when I was bitten by Billy and felt so bad for him not myself. I felt that it was my fault (which it probably was) and that he was suffering.

Just take some time and talk calmly between you all and don't rush into a decision x