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Are you a Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher owner? Come and have a seat on another new pointy hounds cushion!

999 replies

WhenSantaGotStuckUpACunnyFunt · 16/12/2013 19:32

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
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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
20
PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 14:12

Hello pointy fans!

We are enquiring about a lurcher Grin Trying not to get too excited.

mistlethrush · 19/01/2014 14:17

Oooh you'll have to provide a picture if you meet them!!!

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 14:23

I have a photo of him already but no idea how to upload on here. He sounds ideal but they have had quite a bit of interest and he is not local to us. I fear we may not get a look in.

moosemama · 19/01/2014 14:31

Is is a LL dog? G'wan, give us a clue. If it's a LL dog I think I may have guessed. Wink

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 14:39

I don't think he is! He's in Devon.

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 14:40

I don't want to say any more in case someone else is closer and whips him away from us! Grin Wink

moosemama · 19/01/2014 15:02

Aw, ok then, I understand. Grin

Good luck. Hope he's the one for you. Smile

PatTheHammer · 19/01/2014 16:35

Exciting peanutpatty!

Is he in Honiton per chance? If so that's where we had to travel to collect Dee.

We did an hours walk at local arboretum/ informal dog social club this morning. She did about 30 mins off lead and had a whale of a time with lots of other dogs, including a boy greyhound, they had an extremely quick game of chase!
I had to put her back in the lead though as she ran off and started running alongside a runnerBlush she didn't come back on the first whistle so I put her back on lead. I felt a bit mean but I don't want to teach her to ignore me.
Was this right recall experts?

mistlethrush · 19/01/2014 16:53

Pat - you need something really good in your pocket... like garlic sausage or similar. And that doesn't come out every time - but particularly good recalls get rewarded with it.

Peanut - have you contacted LL at all - the thing to do with them is to get homechecked and then they'll work out whether there is a dog that they have that would match your requirements and family circumstances - we got offered the choice of 2 ! Grin

PatTheHammer · 19/01/2014 17:10

So of she doesn't come back till the second or third whistle, but she does come back from a distracting/exciting situation, is that classed as a 'good' recall?

I did treat before I put the lead on but DH said I shouldn't have done. I argued that she came back, even if not immediately, therefore she should be treated.

I apologised to the runner as it used to annoy me when I was running and dogs ran with me. He was fine though.

Question also about stinky sausage or similar in your pocket. How do you stop other dogs mugging your pockets for it? I had some cocktail sausages in my pocket last week and there were some dogs that would not leave me alone!

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 17:50

If you don't reward her all the time then she won't recall all of the time as there's no motivation for her. There is no point getting cross with her. I'd start reinforcing the recall at home with the whistle and a treat. Saving partic yummy treats for the whistle/super speedy recalls.

If other dogs mug me I turn my back on them and I expect their owners to retrieve their dogs. If they don't I get vocal.

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 17:52

She still recalled so it's not excellent but it is still not bad. Tbf you had to compete with a runner who is obviously more exciting than you to her at that moment in time. As time goes on you won't always have to treat her for a recall but in the early days it's really crucial.

Mistle - we've not contact LL yet. I think our young children might be an issue. It's only because we saw this dog and he fitted our criteria that we applied. Which dog were you thinking of?

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 17:53

Pat - all I know is its Devon. Bit vague but that's all I know.

mistlethrush · 19/01/2014 19:09

I ignore the mobbing dogs and show them your empty hands, and don't have your hands in your pockets. Yes, a recall from a really interesting situation is a good come back, even if it wasn't immediate - and should be treated - but I would also try to not put her back on the lead immediately after coming back from that sort of issue - call back, treat, and allow to continue as long as not immediately heading back into the same situation. That way coming back to you from an interesting event is positive - they get a nice treat ND don't get their offlead time curtailed. Obviously, sometimes that's not going to be possible and you will need to put her back on the lead again, but if that can be the exception that would be a good thing.

mistlethrush · 19/01/2014 19:12

Peanut - why do you think your young children might be an issue? I know that they would be extremely careful which dog they might suggest, but I'm pretty sure that they would not rule you out because of it.

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 19:59

I've been advised by other rescues to come back when the youngest is 4/6 so I'm hazarding a guess that LL has a similar policy.

If we are not successful with this pointy then I will proactively approach a couple of hound rescues.

moosemama · 19/01/2014 20:02

When you are training recall, reward every single time she comes back. She needs to build the association between returning/arriving back with you and getting the reward.

If she's not reliably coming back, it is easier to have her on a long-line so you can reinforce the cue, as you're right, repeating the cue is undermining the 'I call once - you come straight back to me' message. You don't hold the long-line, you let them run and trail it behind them, then you can stand on it if it looks like she's gone recall-deaf and is heading off on her own agenda.

I would do things slightly different to how Mistle does it. I'd call her back, put your hand in her collar, put on her lead, treat, then re-release. That stops any negative associations with the lead being put on, as you do it whether she is going to be released to play again or not and she gets the treat after the lead is clipped on. Otherwise you end up with a dog that does the annoying 'you can't catch me' dance, just out of arm's length if they see their lead come out of your pocket or your thumb on the clasp. (I had never really thought that much about this before, but this is the way they do it at Pip's puppy classes and it makes a lot of sense to me.)

Do lots and lots ... and lots of call-collar-leash-treat-releases, at home in the garden, as well as during every walk and try to minimise the level of distraction if possible, then build it up gradually. If she's ignoring you when there's something more interesting going on, she's not reliable enough for that level of freedom just yet and you need to go back a couple of steps in your training to where she was reliable, reinforce that, then move on to higher distraction levels very slowly (only moving up a level when you'd happily bet money she'll return).

You only shift onto intermittent rewards when she is spot on with her recall. It sounds counter-intuitive I know, but it actually makes them keener, as they never know when to expect a super duper treat, so they have to keep trying their best, whereas if they get something lovely every time, they tend to get a bit blase about rushing back to you, as they know they'll get it anyway.

Pip's recall has gone a bit wobbly now he's hit the hormonal stage, so I'm going through a similar process at the moment.

As for being mugged by other dogs. Being a veggie, I hate having dog food in my pockets, but also hate the bum-bags that some dog walkers use, so I bought a very cheap canvas across the body bag off ebay a bit like this and use that. It's been really useful, as I can fit poo bags, hand cleaner, my mobile, clicker and extra treats in the back section and I use the front section for top-grade treats. I use tie handle sandwich bags to keep the treats in and then when I'm not using them they can be tied up and zipped shut, which helps keep the smell under control. I wear mine either across-body style or round my waist, depending on what sort of walk we're on and whether or not I mind looking like a green wellie brigade dog-obsessed numpty! Grin

I had to cut the flap off my bag because it was in the way at dog club, so something like this might be better.

moosemama · 19/01/2014 20:05

Peanut, LL doesn't have a child/age policy. Each family is assessed against the dogs they have in at the time. If there's nothing suitable then they go on a list and are considered each time a new dog that may be suitable comes in.

In fact I have just been reading an old thread where someone with a baby and cats asked if they would be turned down for fostering and Kaye said no, but it might limit which dogs they could take.

Kaye is very fair and fantastic at matching dogs to families, if she has a dog in that will suit, she won't turn you away because of some arbitrary age-rule, like some rescues do.

I believe Evesham are the same, each family and dog are assessed on their own merits and matched if they suit each other.

moosemama · 19/01/2014 20:07

Dh has just informed me that while I was out all day yesterday Pip finally sussed that if Lurcherboy can leap over the dog gate, then so can he. Hmm

Apparently it was anything but graceful (unlike Lurcherboy who can vault it from standing in a really graceful deer-like stylee) but I guess now he's done it once ...

PatTheHammer · 19/01/2014 20:31

That bag looks great moose. I'm sick of having bulging pockets and I like to take hand gel out with me too......few accidents with less than great quality poo bags have led to that!

She has been fab up until now and I do always treat and usually let her back off for a bit. I think I just didn't know what to do as I guessed she was just going to run off and bother the runner again and I didn't want the embarrassment!
A long line sounds a good idea next time we go there. She's great in the fields we go to, but very rarely any distractions there, certainly not any runners ( they're not crazy enough to run through the muddy bogs).

Funny that people should be more of a distraction than other dogs.

Oh dear to jumping the dog gateGrin

CMOTDibbler · 19/01/2014 21:02

I keep my treats in a little neoprene bag designed for the job - no smelly pockets. I got it from the Dicky bag people. Which is a fabulous item for putting full poo bags in so you don't have to swing it from your hand, and has a section for new bags and a thing of hand gel

PeanutPatty · 19/01/2014 21:11

I have a neoprene bag too and put the treats inside a plastic sandwich bag so the bag doesn't get mucky/smelly.

Those Dicky bags look great CMOT! Smile

moosemama · 19/01/2014 21:33

I really want one of those dicky bags for beach and field walks, but dh nearly choked when he found out how much they cost.

I use a standard dog training treat bag with a drawstring top in the summer, but the bag is great for fitting over big coats in the winter, when there's nowhere to attach my treat bag and now I've been using it I think I prefer it, as I can fit all my essentials into the separate pockets.

PatTheHammer · 19/01/2014 21:33

Ooh, I like the dicky bags!

I will pm you soon CMOT about getting the hounds together, got a bit side tracked over new year but a weekend meet will be good. Seeing Dee with another pointy today was wonderful, they certainly do prefer their own kind!

We've just booked a dog friendly cottage in August for our holiday, we're going with my family (10 altogether)so needed somewhere large. We're going to a place in Shropshire which looks fab, has its own horse paddock so plenty of exercise for DeeGrin

mistlethrush · 19/01/2014 22:53

I think Moose's comment about putting the lead on and treating and taking it off is good.

I agree on LL child policy - I think that is what it appears to be to me - certainly there are foster homes where there are very young children - and in fact, the home that got the other dog that we were offered has a much younger child than we have.