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 ).

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.

Well I ended up sleeping on the sofa as Jack was anxious about being left alone and kept coming up the stairs and whining! We will carry on introducing him to the crate, he seems more relaxed this morning and after a good early b morning walk was happy to be left alone downstairs while I showered.

He has got some tummy troubles though. He had very runny poo when I walked him at the rescue last week; they thought it was down to change of diet and when I called them midweek they said it had cleared up. I think that might not have been entirely accurate as his poos since being here have been totally liquid (sorry tmi). I had got some complete dry food as that's what they said he'd been having. But think I will switch him to rice and boiled chicken to see if that helps.

Meg - sighthounds are prone to sensitive tums - and stress can have that effect upon their digestion as well as things like a change in diet. Boiled rice and fish or chicken is a good idea for getting things settled though (we spent probably 4 months going through dodgy tum issues but since then haven't really had any problems as long as we stick to sensible food and avoid turkey).

Racing was fun yesterday - it was warm which was really nice. Mistlehound wasn't on top form, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Racing sounds fun Mistle! Bet its a sight. Would love to come along but until Blue has recall established I'm not sure it's wise or possible.

Blue has randomly vomited today. All yellow, frothy and with bits in. Not sure why but hoping its one of those one offs. Perhaps he got too hot lying in the sun?

I can't decide what is a suitable house coat? What do you have? I can't remember if I've asked this before. If I have SORRY!

Mistlehound doesn't have a housecoat - she really doesn't need one as the fluffy does help a bit and she's got some lovely snuggly beds - and a bed on the sofa too...

The first time I took mistlehound racing we were still fostering her - we had only had her 2 weeks by then and had never let her off. She was also down as having a reputation for escapology so I think everyone was worried about catching her and hoping she didn't jump the fence - but everyone was briefed and the bloke that puts the bucket over the lure at the end was asked to catch her if he could and she was absolutely fine. Lots of people have issues with selective hearing from their dogs when at the track! Some dogs manage several extra circuits because its fun.

Meg, cmotdog has a v sensitive tummy and has liquid poo if he eats wheat. Burns sensitive+ is easy to get in Pets at Home and seems to work well for us.

Ours has a Milgi fleece and a Meggie Moo jumper for indoors. He's very fine coated, and during the day when the heatings off he does get cold. We also use them when he's been out for a big run as a drying off coat in the car so he's all snuggly.

Thank you both.

I've received a flyer from our vets promoting a Pet Health Club and I'm wondering whether they are worth it. It includes annual fax, health checks, nurse clinics and parasite protection (fleas and wormers) for the year. It also includes discounts on consultations and dental treatment. The cost is based on the dog's weight and works out for us at £170 a year per dog. Any thoughts? Any of you part of a similar scheme?

Mine don't have housecoats because they're both scruffies and are warm enough during the day.

Re Pet Health Club. Depends what flea/wormers etc. It costs us over £10 pm for each dog just for Advocate, so that's £120+ per dog straight off, plus vaccinations it probably works out roughly the same. Nurse clinics are free for aftercare or worming prescriptions anyway at our surgery and health and dental checks are done every time the dogs go in, plus at every annual vax. I know we worked out the one our vets offer wasn't worth it for us, but I know some people who have benefitted from schemes where you don't get charged consultations fees at all (which ours doesn't include) and with Pip's accident prone nature, that would probably have made it worth the while for us.

We don't use flea treatment during the winter - mistledog was only treated occasionally during the summer when we were going somewhere she was likely to pick things up (eg Dartmoor) - mistlehound gets a spot on during the summer but hasn't needed it all winter. Clearly if the flea situation around here changes we will need to do it more often - but generally the less she has to have the better.

Thank you for all your advice :) I took him to the vet today for his kennel cough fax (they didn't do it at the rescue for some reason) and the vet gave him some medicine to settle his tummy. He recommended the Wainwright salmon & potato when he's ready to move on from the chicken and rice so we'll see how that goes.

What toys do your pointies like? So far Jack isn't interested in playing with, chewing or chasing anything!

Blue likes balls and anything that squeaks. We have to play separately with them as Pooch gets a bit upset about sharing her toys understandably. She tells him off and he shouts back so we will keep play sessions as 1:1 time for the time being.

Mine loves squeaky toys and balls. He also has a rope toy that is much loved, and always has a very solid cow leg bone on the go which gets carried round the house.

Lurcherboy loves balls, favourite being tennis balls.

Pip will play with anything, but his absolute favourites are soft toys with squeakers inside and plaited/knotted fleece/jersey toys (which is great, because I can make those myself). He also loves shredding cardboard and gets all the old toothpaste boxes, inner rolls from foil or clingfilm. We fold/seal up the ends and put treats inside and he has a ball ripping them up to get at the treats.

Both dogs love their split deer antlers to gnaw on.

Lovely that mistlehound loves her racing :) and that it was in the sun!

Ours do a similar club but as we rarely use flea treatment every month I don't think it's worth it for us. Also while they are young dentals are unlikely.

Toy wise peanut had one ball with a squeaker that he loved but Lola has stopped it squeaking and now he doesn't play with it. He only wants toys she's got and then quickly loses interest and Lola will play with anything, she loves balls and squeaky soft toys and anything ropey.

Mistlehound likes toys - but they have to be lightweight as she throws them around - so all solid rubber balls have been banned from the house. She likes squeaky toys and has managed not to rip them apart yet. She also likes balls - a treat ball with food in inside, footballs and tennis balls - but she's not good on the retrieve and will fetch and then play on her own for a bit....

I'm a bit worried this evening :(

DS1 (allergic to cats but been fine around dogs up to now) has developed red itchy eyes and started coughing and wheezing (a bit last night, more so today after school). My fear he might be allergic to Jack :(

Oh no MegBusset that would be bad! My dh is allergic to animals but he's ok with our two as long as he washes his hands after he touches them and I vacuum daily. Could it be hay fever with the few warm days we've had and lots of blossom out?

I don't know if you remember the dog that followed us home a few times when Lola was in season? Well I met him with his owner yesterday. I had a chat with him, he still insisted he didn't need a collar because he has a microchip but he did give me his number to call if happens again. He reckons his dog must have followed us for 2.5 miles to catch us up based on where he lost him from! He also said if I text him when she's in season again he will walk another way. He said he's often after female dogs :-/

He does have hay fever so it's hard to tell. If his symptoms stay the same then I will try to get a private allergy test arranged quickly. (He has a consultant for his allergies but it can take time to get an appointment and we have to travel to a hospital 90 minutes away.)

If the wheezing gets worse though I fear Jack may have to go back :( We would all be totally gutted. He is a lovely dog :(

Hi. I am new to mumsnet and just found this thread.

I have a lovely Greyhound called Billy Whizz. I've a couple of Jack Russells to. We did have a Saluki until just before Christmas too but he sadly died. He was pretty ancient though.

I've had a pointy for years and used to foster. We don't have the room nowadays. We've downsized since DS left grew up.

Hi and welcome Fandango.

I have two Lurchers, one is 8 years old and is Deerhound/Saluki x Whippet/Border Collie. He's a real scruffy boy, grey/blonde brindle and 24" to the shoulder. The other, Pip, is 9 months old and his mix is anyone's guess, but probably some Saluki and either Terrier, Collie or both. To be honest he's probably a good old Lurcher x Lurcher and was found in the gutter at the side of a road with his sister at less than 24 hours old. He's still growing and currently just a touch over 27" to the shoulder.

I'd love to foster sometime in the future but can't just at the moment for a variety of reasons.

We have just one lurcher - she's just under 23" (I think...) but rather long for her height... She's a scruffy to - probably about 3.5 but rescued so rather uncertain.

too

I'm allergic to cats and at one time had 4! I found that no carpet downstairs helped. As did daily hoovering, handwashing immediately after touching the cat. Cats weren't allowed upstairs/on beds due to my allergies. Over time I got more tolerant and I think the exposure to the cats actually helped. Fingers xd Meg!!!!!

Ooh, we get photos here now! This is my lurcher boy, 20 months oldish

He looks all snuggly in that coat CMOT!