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.

The raised feeding bowls reduce the risk of bloat, which is serious (can be fatal). We use these www.petsathome.com/shop/ergo-raised-dog-feeder-by-savic-13795
which are not very raised, but a little bit so, but then our two are smaller than greys.

When we go on holiday we tend to use metal bowels which we balance on top of e.g. an upturned bowl to increase the height.

I cant link from my phone but we are looking at a raised feeder on amazon and ebay that has storage underneath, it is approx 8 inches from the floor. Would that be suitable?

The issue of bloat is very serious for all deep chested breeds, like Greyhounds, Great Danes etc. The latest research I've seen suggests that raised feeders are not recommended to avoid it - we only use one for one of our hounds, the other three eat from the floor. This list here discusses the risk factors and prevention. We feed twice a day and make sure we have walks first, then they have breakfast when we return home. There have been a few papers discussing risk factors, breeds with higher incidence rate etc.

Thanks for that link scuttle; will give it a read now.

I def err on the side of caution wrt feeding and aim for feeding 60-90mins after exercise. Def nearer 90mins if hardcore full on mad panting exercise. Mines not a pointy and not prone to bloat but I figure you can never be too careful.

I presume this applies to the 'full' meal and not treats or nibbles while out?

Yes, otherwise lots of us wouldn't have a reliable recall!

Bloat is a real issue - one of the LL dogs died of it, despite all precautions on exercise and feeding being followed, and the first signs spotted and dog immediately taken to the vet. I think that dogs that are prone to wolf their meals are probably more likely to get it than ones that eat some and come back for a bit more later - ours tends to do this, and rarely finishes a meal in one go (its mainly dry kibble so this doesn't cause any problems). She did wolf down to start with but has slowed down now that she's aware that her food won't be taken away or get eaten by another dog.

I didn't know that about the raised bowls, I always thought they helped in deep chested dogs. You learn something new!

Ours are fed twice a day after walks though. One of ours actually wouldn't touch her food when we first got her, especially not if it was raw. I think she hadn't been allowed raw meat in the past . I'm assuming it goes together with possibly being worked, she probably had to bring meat back untouched.

We use a green to feed our dogs. It slows them down and can help prevent bloat.

I was thinking about getting one of those green feeders for my pup FiveHours. How long does it take your dogs to empty one?

Pip is a food bolter, as a result of being starved on nutrients due to illness when he was tiny. I use kongs and treat dispensers, but think those green feeders look really good - though pricey for what they are.

We have two, had them for about a year and they have lasted well and haven't been chewed at all!
The lurcher takes about 5 minutes to eat her cup of dried food from it but our GSD X( the bolter) takes about 3 minutes.
It's not just the time, but also the fact they have to work for their food too and they aren't just gulping down air as well.

Thank you FiveHours. Not quite the 20 plus minutes shown on the add then. Can they flip it up if they paw at it a lot or is it quite heavy?

I've just found it with almost £10.00 off, so am really tempted to get one now. I really worry about bloat with him as he's deep chested, skinny and really bolts his food.

Even if it only slows him down a bit, it would be another tool in my arsenal of treat dispensing toys I can use when I have to leave him at home.

Actually, I timed the GSD this afternoon, it was more like 5 minutes and the lurcher took 7.
The reason it takes 20 min in the video is they use a little wee dog who has to use his tongue to move the food to the shallower parts of the bowl. Bigger dogs, like mine can lick the food out from the middle.
The feeder is not particularly heavy but neither of mine have ever flipped it. I don't think they have ever tried.

Getting excited now... Peterborough and simulated coursing for the first time not long off now... Weather looks grim though. I'm very glad we're not camping and have a nearby hotel room - at least we'll be able to dry out and get warm.

You need to talk to Cinnamon as she has recently. My 2+yo lurcher wasn't housetrained when we got her last autumn and it wasn't easy, but we've got there and she's very good now.

Yes I had my first 9 years ago who we lost in May. She was a breeze, never had an accident unless she was ill. My boy who we rehomed in June has had some accidents but generally good. Our main problem is that he doesn't make any noise when he wants to go out just stands at the back door which isn't great if we're not in the room!
Both were a bit weary of the TV, vacuum cleaner etc to start with but very soon got used to those and both took some persuading to climb stairs. They're both fantastic on a lead and very loving dogs. My current one had a bit of separation anxiety but I did lots of very short (some 30second) trips outside and he soon realised we would be back and has settled well. We moved them both off soaked kibble and onto just dry but kept the cereal breakfast. They don't need a lot of exercise and my old girl got to the point where she really didn't want more than 2x10 min walks but Peanut will walk for a couple of hours no probs and happy with his 2 walks a day. Any other specific questions let me know :)

My first one was fine, and peanut took a while but only a few weeks really. Has he been sharing a kennel?

I would also say, make sure you start going out, even if only for very short periods, right from the start so that it doesn't get lulled into a false sense of security that you are going to be there all the time...

molldingsunbeams - my GH came to me from the same situation, 3 years old and always been in kennels. She did well settling but was so nervous at first. Things like the washer and the TV were all new and strange to her.

House training was fine, she never had an accident in the house! She also did well with other breeds of dogs big and small but then mine has zero prey drive so small fluffy dogs weren't a worry.

Mine has had seperation anxiety and we are still working on that, do you currently have other dogs?

Just read those reducing bloat factors - I bought a raised bowl as I was under the impression that reduces chance of bloat! So I actually would be better with normal floor bowls???

Picking Bob up tomorrow

Very excited and nervous in equal measures. We cant get him til 3.30 then hours drive home so will be fairly late homecoming for the fella. Any first day settling in tips appreciated as always

I'm a bit confused too YourHand. Everything ive read says to use raised feeders but this article is saying bowls on floor. Wonder which is right

Hello girls, I am a novice at this whole Dog Thing but we have been talking about a dog for ages now and are teetering on the brink of a whippet puppy

HOWEVER...my big worry is the whippet love of company and (I am told) sense of grief/devastation/heartbreak upon being left alone. Is this your experience? I am wondering if we have to think about a different breed if so (though we do love whippets, and think they sound like a fabulous family pet - our kids are 12 and 10).

I work part-time, two long days a week. I could hopefully come back at lunchtime for a short period and arrange for someone to drop in if I couldn't on those days. But is this just too much loneliness and angst to inflict on a gorgeous little whippet?! How do other people manage? Thanks for all your input