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.

How exciting FiscalCliffRocksThisTown! Welcome :)

Peanut lost lost of fur YourHandInMyHand but his coat looks much healthier now despite being thinner. He was quite flaky before but it's all cleared up now too.

I know someone else with a lurcher who is almost bare in places - but clearly very healthy.

CMot - those are naughty spots! We had a collie terrier cross who had black spots that appeared in the summer as they were effectively freckles that she tanned in the sun!!!

Fiscal - how exciting!!! Have you got a puppy class etc locally that you can get her booked into asap - you will need to work on the socialisation by the sound of it.

Oh, thanks for asking.

Regarding jacket, she has not had one I don't think, she has been outside mostly snd has a flat but thickish coat. Will ask when I pick her up!

Yes, mistle, I was thinking she will need to meet other dogs. She has been living with some dogs but being bottom of the pack she got her food and bed taken at times ( and so is a bit too thin, and at the first night back at the breeder was too fearful to take a bed, and slept on the stone floor. She is now in a nice bed though, and we will obviously spoil her a bit when she comes here.

She was very happy to be with us, and our kids, and not at all fearful of humans. Just a bit worried about other dogs.

I was thinking a big puppy class might be too much for her, so will let ger settle in a bit, then maybe meet some of the calmer dogs of my friends, and take it from there.

Have any of you found puppy classes useful? I have been told that lurchers have a slightly different psychological make up from other dogs...

I would think that a puppy class, if carefully run, would be realy helpful - you need to get her out there, meeting nice dogs, as soon as possible - the early weeks are really important for socialisation, so if she's had a bit of a hard time, you'll need to put in a lot more work to make sure that she copes well in the future.

Your Hound, the thin coat sounds very normal. What you may find is that in time there may be a bit of regrowth over the thighs - it looks like a teenage boy's face - sort of fluffy and patchy.

Fiscal, I agree with Mistle that a good puppy class will do her the world of good. The work/foundations you put in now to build her confidence will pay dividends for the rest of her life. Yes, lurchers and pointies in general are a bit different, but these days good dog trainers are used to having them in their classes. Puppy class will also help to strengthen the bond between you and it's never too early to work on issues like recall, sit etc. For sighthounds especially, working on a solid recall is really important, and again will pay dividends handsomely when she is older.

Look for a APDT trainer. Alternatively, look up your local greyhound rescue and ask if there is anyone they particularly recommend. There are also a number of active FB groups for lurcher/sighthound owners, and a very good board over at Lurcher Link which might also be worht a visit.

Once she gets a bit bigger, you will be able to think about lots of lovely activities with her.

Thanks Scuttle!

Isn't the weather just awful, by the way! Especially for housetraining pup...

Ooh fiscal she sounds lovely! I agree about puppy classes, make it part of her new life with you from the start. Look for a good trainer with organised classes.

Thanks all for reassurance on shydog's coat, the description of fuffy patches on thighs is spot on. My house is always warm as I hate the cold, and shydog has a lovely housecoat for if I do brave turning the heating off, and an outdoor coat as she hates the cold too. Pampered pooch.

One of my friends upon hearing I was getting a lurcher: " why on earth ?! They are soooo ugly !"

I am still shocked and obviously will have to reconsider the friendship .

Have any of you ever had reactions like that? To me they are quite gracious, regal almost.

Lurchers are so varied in their looks you can't generalise like that!

I think they are gorgeous - from big and hairy to slim and sleek. But then people like chihuahuas which I loathe, so its all down to taste

Ugly!?!?!?!?

I've people say they're too skinny and they wouldn't want a skinny dog or they always look sad or just that they don't like them but never ugly :(

I agree with Mistle! Can't stand blatant rudeness.

Mine's rather on the portly side at the moment

Fiscal I once posted on a pointy thread in disgust after a guy described greyhounds as "like big worms with legs". Some people just have no taste. Or manners.

Shydog's new collar has arrived from HoundStuff, it's gorgeous!

Which one did you go for Yourhand?

I think anyone that says anything like that hasn't actually felt how much muscle pointy dogs have when they're well exercised. When we went in with the post injury the (not regular but Saturday morning) vet thought she looked swollen - then discovered it was muscle, matched on the other side, then felt the back of her hind legs and was rather at the quantity of muscle.

Some of the Greys up for rehoming on Greyhound Gap are muscle machines! Absolute athletes. Gorgeous too. I shall not stand for this worms on legs insult. Pffttt!

Have put some pics in my profile mistle.

ShyDog looks like a lean racing machine, all lean and toned. I wish I could put away that amount of food and still be slim! Despite looking athletic she would however only win the title of world's biggest snoozer! I think she is gorgeous but am rather biased.

That looks lovely on her! I can't get away with anything that elaborate on mistlehound because of her rough coat... would like something in turquoise though as it would suit her. Not sure I could smuggle it on without DH seeing it though

Did you all read the news about the greyhound cross pup that blew up the house with a can of deodorant?!

Omg!

He looks exactly like my new pup too!

Fiscal - you had better have a new rule in your house - no spray on deodorants, just in case!

Thats a lovely collar, and dog!

Cmotdog is solid muscle - his hind leg definition is amazing, and when I see him running up and down the side of hills you see how it develops. He does a fabulous extended trot which just floats along. When we went running this afternoon he was so happy pootling along with his tail curved right over.

Have solved my dog sitting problem as our cleaner offered to have him to stay with her, which is fab as he loves her deeply

My two are in disgrace for eating dinosaurs! Peanut doesn't chew and Lola hasn't for ages so was a bit shocked to come in from the kitchen to find each of them chomping happily on a dinosaur. Ds1 is very sad as one was his favourite!

CMOT, pray tell what kind of hound have you?

Cinnamon, luckily Pooch is not a chewer. She does like to pick things up to show you when you come home. Everything and anything is fair game.

Helloooo everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all.

Pip is 7 months old and doing really well, with a few mishaps along the way. He's legs are faster than this brakes are strong and we've had a couple of emergency trips to the vet to deal with injuries, but fortunately nothing serious - just lots of blood, which was scary enough.

He's doing much better with other dogs now, although still very nervous of new dogs, he calms more quickly and will go forward and say hello and he loves the other pups in his training class. He even has a girlfriend - a rather cute little golden Cockerpoo called Lottie.

Dh and I have just measured him and he's grown an inch since the beginning of December. There was me about to order a coat 2" too big for a 24" dog and he's already just over 25". He's all legs though.

Last night we folded his crate up to see if free-ranging will help with the racket he makes as soon as he finishes his kongs when left. We've only managed to get him to stay quiet for an hour once so far, but don't think it's SA, more "Oi! I finished eating, so come and let me out!". He slept the kitchen without his crate for the first time last night with no mishaps or yelling - so fingers crossed.

Anyway, we decided with the weather forecast being as it is, we'd probably better order him something warm to sleep in. We realised we needed to do this when he was walking around the kitchen doing a great impression of a racehorse with his blanket draped over his back at bedtime last night. If he's going to start wandering about in the night, that means he's probably also going to start calling us to tuck him back in when he lies down again and I need my sleep too much for that sort of nonsense.

So Scuttle we have been perusing your website and want to order one of the gorgeous turquoise 'Owls' housecoat for him. I was going to order a 26" - thinking a couple of extra inches might last him through the worst of the winter, but having measured him today, am now thinking we might need to go to a 28 to allow for growth (although I have no idea how much longer he is going to keep adding an inch a month). If he suddenly decides to stop growing at 26" will the 28 be absolutely massive on him or do you think it will be ok?

Scratch that - just found your sizing guide. He's still only 24" in length so we do need a 26" after all.