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.

We have a lurcher who is cat/dog/child friendly and goes off lead without a muzzle. He's a failed hare courser who came into rescue at 6 months having shown a definite lack of prey drive.

Mine came from EGLR

I've found pointy owners to be lovely, and we often stop and chat to others when out, and for the last few weeks have been meeting up with some other pointies at our local park on a Saturday for zooming purposes

Thanks CMOT, I've just had a brief look on that website you linked to and will look again properly later. Are you local to that rescue? I can't see any info on there about how they organise home checks etc- we are in the South West.

I am local to them, but they have a really good network of people who do home checks, so don't worry about the distance.

If you like the EGLR page on fb you see the dogs as they come in - ours never made it to the website!

Thank you! Will do that

Our lurcher has been fine with our existing dog going off lead whilst he stays on lead. We did it from day one and so he knows no different. He plods along happily on lead whilst Pooch goes off unless he spies something he thinks he ought to be chasing.

I muzzle him on and off lead because it seems other people cannot be bothered to prevent their off lead dogs from introducing themselves. The brightly coloured muzzle on Blue doesn't even seem to register with the owner at all that he might not be dog friendly or possibly because he is a Grey x they assume he is an ex racer.

I muzzle him in case he were to slip his lead or when off lead spy a cat and catch it. Also Blue can be a bit growly when other dogs introduce themselves if they whimper/bark when they meet and he reacts. At the moment I am not sure if it's because he wants to play, zoom or kill the other dog. So for all parties safety I muzzle. Plus my peace of my mind stays in tact.

We are building up our off lead time and recall. So far so good. As long as I have grub he is keen to stay with me.

This morning I got lurchered. By flipping Pooch. Almost hit the deck didn't I? She was chasing Blue and having a great time. As usual running blind and straight into me.

Mistle, thanks for the advice. I need to trim his claws regularly too so it becomes the norm. We do a fair bit of pavement walking as well as woods/fields etc too.

Lurcher LInk - you pm one of the two people who have the threads under 'home checks' - I think Bonniesmum does the south (and there are people in the SW)(indeed, there is a regular gathering at Berrow that people go quite some distance to join in with - if you look under chat you might catch one of the recent threads with pictures.

ELGR - I'm sure there must be something on their site about adopting one of their dogs and first steps - there certainly was for GRWE when we were looking.

I have a greyhound and whippet x, they both have selective hearing when it comes to recall but wouldn't get lost I just worry about them being the over friendly dogs that peanutpatty is talking about!! The greyhound was terrified of my cats and because they are good friends now has been swiped by a few non-friendly cats while out and about. He generally only chases my whippet and pretty much nothing else, although he will prick his ears up at things in the forest. She will chase things but looses interest very quickly and comes back and has never caught anything. She will try and play with my cats if she gets over excited and gets a hiss and then finds a toy instead.

He would probably whine if I let her off and not him because he wanted to play but wouldn't pull as he never pulls! We got him from RGT and they recommend that all their dogs wear muzzles, I didn't because I felt he didn't need it, just because they're used to wearing one I can see they may as well but no other rescue that I know of suggests it. I did with my previous greyhound just because it was recommended despite her being afraid of her own shadow but soon stopped. You will have to do what you're comfortable with. GRWE wouldn't home to me as I was too far away in the south east but LL home checked us no probs via bonniemum and EGLR would have had they had a suitable dog. Tally is gorgeous and dog, cat and child friendly but she's very playful and they felt she'd drive my greyhound mad!

I cut Lola's claws every other week peanutpatty but I can just do it while she lays on my lap. As you may have read up thread I decided to take peanut to the vet for his and he's due again now which is a month.

Pillow - EGLR have a nationwide network of homecheckers - I've done checks for them, and I know other MNetters who have too. Their foster network is very widespread too - please don't let distance be a barrier as they are an excellent rescue who really know their dogs and have a lot of experience with lurchers.

We met up with a friend yesterday at Berrow/Brean beach - it was lovely. She has a GRWE dog, plus our gang, and the sun shone for us. Lovely walk on the beach with hounds sniffing/zooming, then back for a relaxed, sunny picnic - bliss. Hounds all conked out last night.

Our boy is from GRWE South East they have a FB page. Also worth checking out are Hounds First also on FB. Lozza's Lurcher Rescue tends to have ex workers so won't rehome with cats.

CMOT - Blue never made it onto GRWE SE's website either.

I have a bull lurcher, does that count. Think hes a cross between a greyhound and a red staffie. I got him out the local pound 3 year ago. Hes lovely

Bull lurchers definitely count. I love the nature of nearly all of the bullies I meant - they tend to be so friendly!

Pillowpets - are you hoping that the new dog will play with your existing dog?

Thanks all- I will have a good look at and probably make initial contact with the rescues you have mentioned. I have actually had an email from one- GRWE I believe- who I did send an exploratory message to. It's a little (a lot actually) on the negative side with regards to cats (I know this has to be thought about carefully) and suggests taking on a puppy might be one of the only ways it is possible? I was hoping for an adult. Mistlethrush- no not really expecting them to play together out on a walk. If that could ever be the case that would be nice, but I just like the idea of having two dogs in general. I actually like the idea of having a dog that is a very different kettle of fish to my existing dog. He is a high energy, hairy and fidgety boy who finds it difficult tPlus I work from home and I felt that this could be a real advantage in terms of rescuing as quite a few of the dogs I've seen so far on websites state that lots of company is required!

Sorry, missed out a bit in the middle-
Should say that my existing boy finds it difficult to settle sometimes and although I know it can't be guaranteed, I think having a pointy, who are renowned for settling down and being calm in between exercise, would be a good idea for a second dog rather than getting another high energy dog. I haven't explained that very well I think- I love my dog, he is fab. But I think having a second dog with different traits would be interesting and probably work well.

There are cat friendly / trainable hounds around but seem to be in the minority. Blue is supposedly one of those however he seems a bit keen on the cat and I'm not convinced of his intentions.

Bull lurchers are lovely. I really like Staffies too. A friend's mum had the most wonderful Staffie. I absolutely loved him.

Pillow... I wonder whether you have considered a lurcher rather than a grey? I have a feeling that more lurchers would be willing to play with your dog - which could well take some of the pressure off you when you're working - and having a dog to tear around the garden with and to chase on walks might do your dog the world of good. The greys I have met tend to be (although there are always exceptions) more aloof and don't want to play for long periods of time. ELGR have lurchers as well as greys. LL have just lurchers (well, there is the odd exception to that).

I have the Bull Lurcher and a full staffie, he definately has come out with traits of both breeds. He is much calmer in the house and spends a lot of time on his back with his legs in the air, very lazy. He has a very high prey drive which the staffie hasnt got, he would kill a cat, shes scared of cats. They are both submissive to other dogs the bull lurcher more so to the point of shying away. Both of them love the kids, the staffies 10 and hes about 4 but shes definately more hyper round people and in the house, she would sit on top of you licking your face, he would come have a quick head pat then go an lie . He is a big powerful dog though and can pull quite hard, its a bit of a nightmare if you come across a cat on a walk or another furrie, he will try and kill it so hes leashed at all times but needs loads of exercise. The staffie walks heel to toe without a leash with excellent recall.

I love staffies too, my neighbour has 3 and they have become Dee (my greyhounds)best friends. She absolutely adores them and loves nothing better than a good run chasing them all. Interesting you should say about submissive dogs as they all let her take charge and when she runs full on pelt at them they run and hide behind my friend. My brother has a bull Lurcher and she is ridiculously soft and submissive around other dogs....but a real ball of energy and very playful!

There were a couple on GRWE website that said cat trainable....I'm thinking Gem but she may have been rehomed. They are not necessarily pups but young Lurchers and hounds who have never been raced therefore not taught to chase a lure. So don't give up hope but I think they probably meant the chances of a cat friendly adult successful ex racer are slim.

Dee is a lovely dog and has made the ideal pet for us, she is a happy, affectionate and playful hound but does like to rest....a lot.....in between exercise. Still I can say there is no chance she would have lived happily with a cat. She finds cats and squirrels just far too interesting and was hunting a vole or something in the long grass last week. She was a successful top level racer though so I can't expect anything else.
Weirdly her recall is fab, so she can go off lead with no problem in secure fields around here. But I don't take the risk in wooded areas or anywhere where I haven't checked boundaries as I'm sure instinct would take over if a small furry were to appear.

A friend with a bully walks him in a headcollar to give her some control as he's such a powerhouse (he's a big, strong 28"TTS) - and he's completely fine with it. I know some people with pullers use a harness with a D ring at the front so that if they pull they turn themselves around to face you which doesn't help much to get where they want to!

Really interesting what you say about prey drive Pat! My lurcher isn't cat safe. However, I have lots of friends with cat safe cats - many of whom also race / go simulated coursing - and whose dogs chase squirrels and rabbits (some are experienced pot-fillers). Mine has a chinchilla in the front room - but will chase rabbits and squirrels (but not equally small puppies) in the park.

Yes puppies and small hairy dogs don't get chased she knows they are dogs instinctively somehow.......perhaps it's the bushy tail of cats and squirrels? The hairier and fluffier the cat the more interest it seems to get!

Squirrel and rabbits may move in a particular way too which may attract a sight hounds attention. She does seem to rely much more on sight it's quite funny really after being used to sniffy scent orientated dogs.

I have also got a yorkie i got last year as a puppy. I consulted a rescuer who has 6 bull lurchers as i wasnt convinced he would know a fluffy puppy yorkie was a dog and was worried as his prey drive is very high. She said he would know. I done very slow intros and within 2 weeks she was sleeping on his head, they are the best of friends now

That's so sweet! My fil has a yorkie cross and when Dee stayed with them a few weeks ago they were inseparable, sleeping all cuddled up in his bed which she squished herself into

Yes thats what mine do, she will sleep as close as she can to him all cuddled up. She wont sleep in her bed alone, instead for some reason he will get in her tiny bed and she sleeps on top of him, i dont know why they dont both get in the big bed and prefer being squashed in the tiny bed