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

[WhenSantaGotStuckUpACunnyFunt]

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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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.

That's what I worry about! When Lola is laying on my lap I just do a tiny bit regularly but I can't with him. Dh won't help me anymore as he's too stressed by it, I have to put his muzzle on so he knows it's coming and I've only managed two at a time before he snaps at me and runs away and then he won't come near me for hours so I couldn't do a couple a day or I fear it will affect our relationship, hence why I thought I'd let him hate someone else but I had to stay with him as she had no one else to help so he was still upset with me. Luckily they are almost all white so you can easily see his quick.

mistlehound has black nails - and it definitely makes it more difficult but a little bit off regularly seems to work for her. She just looks very interested and it can be difficult to do it because I don't like doing it 'blind' with her ears or nose in the way! I'm trying to take her out in the evening for a road (pavement) walk because that definitely keeps them down.

I didn't realise quite how flexible their feet were when they were running until I saw some action shots of them racing - mistlehound sometimes has her foot in a ball at the back, and they almost bend 'up' forward too!

Askern on saturday - and no DS to amuse at the same time either. I might drop in on the person up the road who has a newish lurcher and see if she would like to come...

I think you're right to get the vet nurse to do it Cinnamon, as you say, you don't want it to affect your relationship. I know my old girl used to run as soon as I picked up the bag we keep the clippers in.

Pip has the most amazing ability to cut the tops of his feet and all up the upright part at the back of his hocks on almost a daily basis. I'd love to get some shots of him running full pelt to see how he does it.

Dh was relieved to be let off the hook by ds1's school suddenly announcing it's Open Day this Saturday - it wasn't on the school calendar for some reason. So we can't come now even if we wanted do which clearly dh doesn't.

Cinnamon - if two is the limit, what about starting (with no muzzle) and having the most tastiest treat available and simply touching his nail and giving him a treat - perhaps once or twice. Then stopping. Then the next day doing same but perhaps on two different feet etc.. gradually building up to having the clippers near his nail or touching them but not doing anything and immediately really tasty treat etc etc... Try to desensitise and also make it something that is rewarded? But certainly not a chore or something to be worried about.

I think mistlehound nibbles her own nails sometimes too... Our last dog certainly did (and could make a real mess of them). Moose - I have seen a photo of a pup jumping down onto sand and it almost looks as though the dog has 'feet' that are bending at the 'knee' joint but the wrong way...

He growls at me even if I touch them though, as I've been trying to stroke his claws when we have cuddles to show it's not always bad but haven't tried treating.

Oooh definitely try treating then - even if he gets happier with his feet being touched it will be a benefit to you - what if you need to look at it properly if he's cut it or got a thorn in it or something? Take clipping claws completely out of the equation and just work on the feet issue.

Mistlehound, I'm very happy to say, has no problems with feet... We didn't give her much of a choice really as she is rarely vocal - and we simply wiped them every time she came back in the house when we first got her. She will lift individual feet up for me now, although still thinks she can get away without one of her back feet being done (I don't think she can count to 4)

I can touch his pads and put my fingers right between each of them it's just the claws themselves that makes him growl.

Going well peanut patty, he sounds lovely!

I had to laugh at mistlehounds paw wiping as Dee is exactly the same. She stands brilliantly on the doormat and then only let's me wipe 3......

I also came on to moan about fox poo......I seem to have an addict and she is actively seeking it out. We have managed to stop her from rolling the last few times using the emergency stop whistle blow which is great but I am on high alert the whole time.
Why do they do it?

I think counter-conditioning is definitely the way to go if he's that sensitive Cinnamon.

As Mistle said, start by just treating him for touching one claw, then two, then three etc. Keep this up in lots of very short sessions until he's totally relaxed with you touching them, then do the same again, but with the clippers on your lap or something. Once he's ok with that, try just picking up the clippers with one hand and putting them towards his foot, without actually touching one claw with it while simultaneously feeding him something super tasty. Next step, touch but don't clip, then open and close clippers without touching, then hook the claw, but don't clip, then when he's totally ok with all the rest, try taking the tiniest sliver off. If you keep pairing it with something super tasty and go really slowly, only ever moving on when he's totally ok with each state it should work. It may take a very long time, but it would be worth it in the long run if you consider how many times he would have to go to the vets to get his claws clipped in his lifetime.

I am sitting here whiffing of shrimp after accidentally covering myself - and my hair in catfood while stuffing the top of Pip's school run kong. No time to wash and dry it now, so will have to smell like a fishwife on the school run. Guess I'll have to stand downwind of everyone else and hope no-one notices.

Definitely worth a try he's 3 next month do a lot of years of clipping!

I haven't been clipping nails? Should I be?
I do make sure she has some pavement time everyday to help wear them down. How long is too long?

It depends on the dog, not all of them need it done. Oldgirl never seemed to need hers done, but Pip and Finn do. Many/most sighthounds have either a 'cat' or 'hare' paw, where the angle of their feet is a lot more upright than many breeds of dogs and if their claws aren't kept short it can stretch the ligaments causing flat foot, pain and knock on issues further up the leg and back.

This article is actually about how to use a Dremel for trimming claws but also covers the reason's why and how it can affect foot conformation.

PeanutPatty your new chap sounds lovely :) Are you crating him at night? Still undecided what to do with Jack when he comes home on Saturday, whether to shut him in the crate overnight or risk him in a normal dog bed...

Meg - he's never been crated and we don't really have room for one so he's left loose in the kitchen with Pooch.

Blue and Pooch are snuggled up on the sofa together. Blue is smiling in his sleep. MrPP said "PP Look at him???" I explained that is was perfectly normal!

He's pretty bald in places and very thin skinned, almost translucent! He has a sore scabby bit on his tail and when we came back from a walk earlier he had knocked a scab on his side and was bleeding a tiny bit. I think I'm going to need a First Aid kit.

How do you know when it's coat or no coat walking weather? I figured cos he was on lead he wouldn't be getting v v hot and so a coat would be suitable for today.

We also think he may have been kicked at some point as he is very foot shy. Not that we have been waving our feet at him. MrPP was shaking a stone out of his shoe and Blue backed off.

I've never met such an affectionate dog before. MrPP said the reception he got when he got home was untrue!

Cat has been AWOL so we've yet to introduce them.

I will sort out photos. Once I figure out how and actually take some.

Peanut - mistlehound has been kicked and is foot shy. The first time DH tripped over her it was clearly really scary for her - she got lots of treats and apologies. I think she's now worked out that just occasionally she gets tripped over and we really don't mean it.

Mistlehound is fluffy on top but her undercarriage is very fine coated. At the moment she is not wearing a coat for walks as long as its not raining. On sat when we go racing I shall take a (rather short) thin waterproof with me that keeps the wind off - and have her thicker fleece lined waterproof with me - the thin one is much easier to get off ready for racing so I prefer that - but its important that she stays warm between races and doesn't get chilled for obvious reasons.

Ours are still wearing coats on walks. Unless it was super sunny, and very still, ours generally wear coats between October and end of March. Our skinniest girl who feels the cold will have a lightweight coat for longer than the others - our big male is a superheater so is the first to go coatless. One of the many joys of greyhound ownership is the coat/no coat/in that case, which coat? decision tree

Between April and September they would wear either a very lightweight coat (especially if it was windy) or a raincoat if wet. Currently three of the four are in their housecoats still at night. Mr Superheater is as usual the first to sleep without his.

It also depends on what you are doing. If a steady walk or run, then less need for coat, but if standing about or out on a street collection or attending an event, then a coat definitely needed. Mistle's example of day out racing, yes definitely coat weather. Sometimes, ours travel in their fleeces, then go naked for the walk then if necessary back into fleeces for travelling. I have to say though that all ours are elderly, two have mild arthritis so I am super careful to keep them warm and probably err on the side of caution.

In any case, you will soon end up with a better selection of coats for hound than you have yourself

I will be having the same dilemmas as I used to about rugging my horse up!

This boy is going to Lurcher me! I'd put money on it.

Talk to me about running with your pointy. How/when did you introduce it? Feel free to share any tips and don't's.

I don't do much running - but mistlehound is very happy to simply lengthen her stride when I do. If I go flat out she can break into a run and apparently its VERY fun and we get bounces all over the place - so its actually much easier just to go for a gentle start - if I do that she just carries on along side me. However, she is normally VERY good on the lead and rarely pulls at all.

Mine both took to it very quickly although peanut had to start at a lower mileage. Lola did have peanut to learn from so was probably easier for her. I'd just go for 3 miles to start with and don't expect too much! If he takes to it well then sort out a cheap belt and line from Amazon or something because it's really bad for you to hold a lead and run, I was luck that I had a friend who had a similar size dog so I borrowed hers when I went with peanut but I got a very sore shoulder very quickly while I waited for Lola's harness and the double line to be made :(. All the dogs we run with have taken to running very quickly and learn how not to trip you up! Mine are on for a bit and a off quite a lot although it depends how far we're going as peanut wears himself out quite quickly when off lead and I end up having to drag him home, whereas on the line he can go over 6 miles now, I don't have that problem with Lola so you'll probably be fine with blue

Assuming no coats or does the weather determine it?

Mistle I hope we can get to a loose lead walking situ with these two!

i would suggest its probably similar to what you would think for yourself - although if he's running close to you he won't be exerting himself as much as you! If mistlehound is roaring around she's not wearing her coat. If its cold she'll wear a decent coat, if its wet but warmish I would consider a lightweight raincoat to keep the worst off but no more than that - I think that what you will need to ensure is that if it is wet and he has been running you get him dry or into a coat that will warm him up and dry him out quickly and stop him getting chilled when wet. Some fleece coats are good for this - or a towelling one - ideally give a good towel down before you put it on to get the worst off.

Cmotdog has a coat if he was just walking on lead, but none if running or offlead. He gets a coat on straightaway when we finish, and likes to have one on in the house during the time that the heating isn't on.

We started running together, so built up the distance slowly. He doesn't like intervals as gets carried away.

I use a harness and lead for running - we run by the side of the road so I want to have my hand on the lead all the time. He doesn't often pull when we run, so it doesn't hurt.

We ran 10 miles yesterday, and he'd have gone further quite happily

I don't think it's the pulling it's just holding a lead, although Lola did pull. It can lead to long term injuries if you hold anything in your hand when running, although I realise a lot of people do. With a belt and line the line has a handle on it so you can rein them in if you need to.

Can't help on the coats as mine don't wear them ever but I don't wear a lot when I run so I'm guessing you wouldn't for a dog either, although as mistlethrush said they're not excerting themselves anywhere near as much as I am. Peanut definitely feels it more as he will stop and drink from any puddle whereas even of you try to give Lola a drink she won't until she's been home for a bit.