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.

She was never confident with them - but she learned that she didn't have to run away, and that we would look after her (and that, actually, she could stand up for herself a little bit).

Someone else on LL must have had a similar problem with a pup - why don't you pose a question there and see how they tackled it?

Personally I think I would be trying to do at least half and half - with walks with Lurcherboy to hopefully get him to realise that other dogs are actually OK and some (perhaps smaller?) trips on his own so that he doesn't become too dependent?

Cinnamon- sounds as though they're getting on like a house on fire which is great! Some of our previous dogs you could set your watch by the time they moved from one patch of sun to the next one. The collie/terrier would even sit up as tall as she could so her head was in it if that was the only available sun!

Ooh can I join in? Back on MN after a 4 year break (just found out pg with dc number 4)..How lovely to have a lurcher thread!
I'm a bit obsessed with this breed. I have two, Skipper a 4 year old saluki/greyhound and Tink a 2 year old rough haired bitch, she was a rescue pup so we don't know her mix, but personality wise I would say deerhound cross, although she is not that big, at 26 ins
I also foster lurchers for a rescue. I have two here at the moment. A little whippet cross with a deformed leg who is going to her new home later today, and a very heavily pregnant fawn lurcher, who came in very sad and broken, and a week later we found out she was pregnant. :(
Have lots of lurcher experience having fostered mostly lurchers for nearly three years, but my own dog Skipper has bee the hardest most complex dog out of all of them!
very nice to meet you all :)

Sorry moosemama x posts. I think I'd be inclined to do more with lurcherboy to show him there's nothing to be afraid of to start with and just a few on his own to gauge how it's going if that makes sense.

Lola spent Saturday afternoon while the sun was in our garden following it! Never seen that before in any of our other dogs it's so cute.

Another x post! Hi SkipandTink :) you have a lot more experience than me but so do most on this thread! Congrats on your pregnancy, very as I'd love a third but dh says no :( perhaps why I have just got a second dog!?!

Hello Skip - its not 'just' lurchers... There are greys and whippets here too.. really anything that's fairly pointy.

I've been following the story of some LL puppies - they are doubly lucky in that their mother was on death row and LL gave her a space - and went off to be spayed but the vet found she was already pregnant, just not showing at all. Despite their traumatic start, 8 lovely pups have largely all gone their separate ways (one has stayed put!)

thank you cinnamongreyhound, I got my second lurcher and told husband I would never be broody again...I was wrong!
yes I see mistlethrush, lots of pointy hounds here, how lovely. They are such a beautiful breed. I have a soft spot for salukis and anything rough haired. My dream hound would be a wolfhound, one day...

That's what I've been doing. A couple of walks a day with Lurcherboy and several very short trips to the park with just Pip on his own. It's reassuring to know that you both think that's the right way forward.

He was much better than this on his own last Friday and a completely different dog out and about with Lurcherboy and the whole family this weekend.

Hoping his puppy classes will help as well, but they don't start until the 16th.

Hi and welcome Skip and Tink. You sound like you have tonnes of experience with rescue lurchers. Throwing you in at the deep end somewhat - do you have any advice about my boy? He's 16 weeks, was socialised lots to everything other than dogs because his vaccinations were delayed due to illness. He was only allowed out for the first time last Wednesday and now, as predicted, is being fearful of other dogs - although is much better when he's with my older dog 'Lurcherboy' (not his real name btw ).

Hi moosemama, ooh sounds from the brief amount I have read that you are doing the right things...he is still young enough to build confidence, although obviously they do tend to be a sensitive breed. Do you know what mix he is?
try to find dogs that are calm and friendly he can mix with. My saluki/grey was a very very fearful puppy and sadly ws attacked at around that age three separate times, and has never really got over it. He hates german shepherds, huskys, anything wolf like. For a long time he would run away from any dog that came towards him. I started fostering to give him company and help him socialise, but that has worked in some ways and backfired in others. He has my other lurcher now, but that has also helped in some ways and not in others (long story)
I do feel i have been through anything with this boy, and have learnt so much from him. Have made mistakes without a doubt, but any lurcher I own in the future will hopefully benefit from what he has taught me!

Moosemama about your doorbell ring if be inclined to speak to the local police of pcso if you have one so they're aware as it may be happening within your locality and better for them to keep a closer eye. Otherwise very odd!

Argh I've just had a 'phonecall from the rescue and my home visit is scheduled for 7pm tonight! Somebody please tell me what I can expect to happen. Will she turn me down instantly based on the fact I have twigs in a vase?! I think the excitement is sending me doo lally

They will check your fence otherwise it's more about you and your attitudes towards dogs and why you're adopting.

Can I ask your opinions on an unsigned related topic?

I signed up as a school governor the last half term of last year. The first meetin of this year was on weds, min we got details of all the committees we were on and told I read as it would be discussed at the meeting.

It wasn't discussed at the meeting and I am on the head teachers performance review committee which is meeting next tues at 10am. Without any discussion as to what suited me I have had an email asking me to confirm I'll be there today. I replied that I will have three children with me, two of whom are minded so only 8 days notice for parents to find alternative care and my loss of earnings, and was told that I need to not bring those children. I've replied saying that's not really possible at this late stage am I being rude/unreasonable/difficult?

Cinnamon - absolutely not. I would indicate that you are unable to sit on any groups that meet during the working day. Surely not all groups will do? I would presume that they are simply deciding that, as you don't work outside the house, you're available...

Tooold - Don't worry, be yourself, don't try to give 'the right' answers, give truthful ones. Ask for advice on what you might need to do to dog-proof your house at the present time. Ask what they recommend in terms of food (that fits with your idea). Use this as an opportunity to get info from a dog savy person that will mean you find it easier to fit the dog into your life seamlessly (I would, seriously, write a list of questions that they might be able to help you with or concerns - ask about crates etc etc etc...

The other committee I'm on that regularly meets is at 8am so will mean finding Childcare for my two plus the 6 minded children I have but it's once a term so I can arrange it in advance and 5 of the 8 are going to school so it's only an hour, but this is so soon and I didn't have any input in deciding the timing, presumably left over from the previous governors to suit their timetables.

The trouble is 10am too late really for parents to go in late so will lost likely be the whole day :(

When are all the rest of the committees - can you see the timing of them?

Thank you Skip and Tink.

We don't know his mix unfortunately, as he was dumped at the side of a road at 24 hours old. There are some pics on my profile if you'd like to hazard a guess, although he looks a lot chunkier in photos than in rl for some reason.

He's very narrow and lots of people have said probably a good dollop of Saluki, but he's a scruffy and we see flashes of collie and terrier in there sometimes too, as have quite a few other people. He's very bright and quick to clicker train - unlike Lurcherboy who is mainly Deerhound/Saluki x Grey/Border Collie with a bit of Whippet thrown in there along the lines - nice but dim is how we affectionately refer to him.

He mixed with quite a few dogs at his foster home. He was surrogated by a small collie/terrier mix and shared a pen with shitzu crosses and retriever crosses as well as there being several adult labs and a large terrier cross something with very long legs! Unfortunately, as he was ill, then we had to restart his vaccinations and we don't know anyone locally with suitable dogs for socialisation, he really missed out on that vital 1:1 interaction with other dogs besides Lurcherboy between 10-16 weeks. He actually seems more confident with big dogs - understandable I think when you consider the breeds he has mixed with. The first dog he met after his vax were done was a tiny Cockerpoo pup and he was petrified of it, same with pure Cockers and a small terrier type dog. He is fine if Lurcherboy says hello first or if Lurcherboy ignores the other dog, it's only when he's on his own that he gets nervous.

Just had a nice walk in the park with the two of them. No dogs there unfortunately, other than right over the other side and giving off clear 'keep away' signals. Pip was a different dog with Lurcherboy alongside again, really relaxed, happy to play and take treats - a world away from his individual walks this morning.

Cinnamon, that's a good point about the local police. I will email them, they're very good at responding to emails.

Haven't time to read your other post, sorry - have kongs to stuff before the school run, but will pop back later.

Too Old - please don't worry about your homecheck. It really is all about how you will suit a greyhound - we don't wear white gloves to check for dust! Usually, the homechecker will be fairly local so they will be a good source of advice on things like sighthound friendly vets, good safe off lead places, local training classes, sighthound events that occur locally etc.

It's more of a conversation than an interview - they'll be trying to get a feel for the rhythms of your household to see which dog might suit you best, so a quiet, peaceful home might suit a more timid dog, whereas a home with lots of hustle and bustle, constant visitors etc. might be better for a confident, outgoing dog.

It's also a good opportunity to discuss some of the fine detail of adoption, follow up support available etc.

Wishing you all the best. I love doing homechecks - I'm doing one tomorrow - the lady and her husband sound fantastic. The person who did ours many, many years ago before we adopted our first grey went on to become a good friend, and I've stayed in touch with quite a few people I've homechecked for, especially if they've gone on to adopt.

I've done a couple of homechecks too - I have a list of questions / topics I need to cover for the rescue and there's an 'any other comments' box too. There are questions on it like 'you know that many sighthounds have a high prey drive?' and 'how long will they be left' and 'what will you do about holidays'.

We've had two homechecks and I was super nervous beforehand both were lovely chats. We love dogs and they loved dogs so we chatted about dogs with some info on our specific home.

Have chatted to the teacher in nursery and she's said she will have my children for an hour as she has 4 members of staff that day but they remain my responsibility. There are some advantages of having been dropping kids off there for four years and doing a terms placement with them :)

Thanks everyone, feeling slightly reassured now will check back to update how it goes.

TooOld - Good luck! I'm sure you won't need it.

Cin - my old boss was a school governor and all of his meetings were evenings. I do think it is U to expect you to be able to drop everything and attend a daytime meeting. Usually all dates for the meetings for the year ahead should be given at the beginning Of the year, eg after the AGM.

Moose - tbh that knock at the door would concern me. The fact that they are assuming they the van has gone means the entire family has too. Someone is a touch observant! Can you tip off your neighbours to help keep an eye?

I have taken cinnamon's advice and emailed the neighbourhood police office to ask their opinion and ask for advice on how to deter it happening again in future.

The camper is going soon anyway, as we're in the process of doing it up to sell. More importantly dh is finally going to get the outside light fixed / replace it with a PIR, which I assume a potential burglar wouldn't like - although have asked the police about that too.

Oddly, our neighbours are away at the moment. They had a caravan on their drive for weeks, then went away last Friday, leaving their two cars on the drive and taking their 4x4, which they only use with the caravan. I'm half wondering if someone was tipped off that the people in the house by the huge hedge are away and they tried the wrong house. Neither house is easy to get into to be honest, but you could climb over our gate, whereas next door have a side lean-to thing, which means you can't get round the back of their house.

Cinnamon, I agree with Peanut, it's unreasonable to expect Governors to be available for daytime meetings - glad you've managed to get it sorted though.

He sounds lovely moosemama, they both do! It sounds like you have an ideal older dog to show him the way, which is probably half the battle. As my older lurcher was so timid, I really worried about this fear and anxiety rubbing off on tink when she was a puppy, so i did take her out on her own also. but i think the main thing that has turned her into such a confident and easy going dog is the fact she grew up with me fostering. She has mixed and grown up with different breeds and sizes and temperaments and it's done her the world of good. I wish Skipper had had the same start in life, but he is a very fearful dog who resorts to aggression to keep dogs away from him. I tend to put him on lead if we see strange dogs, until I can be sure he will be ok with them.
Am currently on puppywatch. My foster dog had a temp drop this morning and is panting heavily on and off. not sure I will get much sleep tonight!

How exciting, could be puppies by morning!

I am slightly paranoid about this because I had a fear aggressive large breed years ago. Similar situation, as he had bone/joint problems as a pup which restricted his socialisation (he was huge, so hard to carry out and about).

We did work very hard with him for years and reached a point where he was happy enough and no-longer reactive, but it was life-changing for us and really restricted our lives for many years. I really don't want to go through that again, although I know so much more about dog behaviour and have years more experience now, not to mention Pip has has a lot more socialisation than that dog did, which makes it less likely.

Can't help worrying though ...