Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher owner? Here's another pointy hounds cushion!

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Pointy hounds include-
Greyhounds (Grunds)
Whippets (Whippys)
Lurchers
Italian Greyhounds (Iggys)
Salukis
Afghans
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 :o ).

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.

Cat friendly Lurcher with no prey drive has appeared on LL today. Not many details re size etc, but might be worth enquiring.

I can't believe Lola is still in foster, I looked at her but was told her tail was too whippy for small children! My Lola is mental so lucky that someone was happy to let us have a loony dog with kids around :)

Good luck with your search lovethesea! If you want to pm me I can put you in touch with lady we homed our lurcher through. She lives between Norwich and beccles. We are in Thetford forest too but the Suffolk side :)

Ooooh moose he sounds perfect!

Am joining LL right now to enquire ....

cinnamongreyhound any contacts would be good right now, thank you.

Hmm apparantly the lovely Scooby is in Wales, harder to visit and see if we all click but not impossible at all.

You may find you have to travel to find a dog that fits your needs. We're central Midlands and our pup came all the way from the West coast of Wales.

Just seen where he is. Monmouth isn't that far into Wales, but then I'm not sure where you are.

Just Norwich. I was due to drive teenagers to Llanberis this summer from Norwich til plans changed ... I'd much rather drive a dog!

My hesitation is that he is being put up by an individual so it depends on how genuine and realistic that persons appraisal of the dog is, but I guess many would just put their dog on gumtree or sell it.

He sounds great though, likes cats, doesnt chase much, has RECALL (!) and seems fine with children.

And not too big.

There is that, as there wouldn't be any back up if things didn't go to plan - unless you can get something from him in writing to state that he will have Scooby back if you can't keep him. He does say in his OP that he will keep him if he can't find a suitable home.

It's a good sign that he went through LL rather than just sticking him on Gumtree,but I do understand your concerns.

In your shoes I would ask a ton of questions both online and over the phone and get a feel for the owner and dog. Then if still positive go and visit and then see what your gut says.

Have you seen Evie too. She's a youngster, not a pup and they think she'd be cat trainable.

So peanut went in for his sedated nail clip and they apparently found a small heart murmur do wouldn't sedate him. They now want to do a 'safe' sedation to give him and ECG as well as a blood test to assess the murmer for £244! I always want the best for them but it was kind if weird before he went in she said if we find anything to worry about we'll call you before we do anything. I can see that was a regular blurb but just seemed odd. He's a fit and healthy dog, runs a lot no sign of any breathing problems and he's been castrated and it didn't show up them plus he had his health check at the same vets in sept and no one picked it up then. Any thoughts appreciated :) :(

Evie is with the lady we got Lola from so close to you Lovethesea!

Is there a vet you could go to for a second opinion cinnamon? It does seem a bit odd that he's already had a GA and it wasn't picked up then.

I think Evie is gorgeous. I'd go for her if dh would let me have a bitch to keep these 'ere boys in check.

Cinnamon I've been told by sighthound people that it's not uncommon for sighthounds to be misdiagnosed with murmurs (or other heart problems) because they are very different structurally to other dogs. Apparently they have a larger heart than other breeds of a similar size and that coupled with the proximity of the heart to the surface of the skin can make the heart sound 'odd'.

I'd try and get a second opinion as well, preferably with a sighthound savvy vet if possible, before going for an ECG etc.

Cinnamon - I'm pretty sure if you put a thread in LL forum asking for advice on heart murmurs, there would be several people that would tell you that the vet has said their dogs have them ... but they are perfectly fit and healthy with it and its not causing them to change what their dogs do in the least.

Could you travel to that sight hound chap in Middx Cinnamon?

Knowledgable folks tell me how does it work with ex-workers? Is it just rabbits they hunt or what? Would you need to muzzle an ex-worker? Can you call them off a chase on their trained quarry or accept that there will be casualties?

Peanut - mistlehound is almost certainly a failed worker. We can see why she's failed because she's not caught anything in the 20 months we've had her despite lots of opportunities. When she's 'in the zone' she is very selective - she's only interested in rabbits. She will ignore squirrels even if there's a chance there might be a rabbit nearby. If there are no rabbits within 3 miles, she'll chase squirrels - and have a half-hearted go at magpies, pigeons and crows in the park too. She chases everything out of the garden including the pair of collared doves, wood pigeons and blackbirds.

She's only muzzled when competing (racing / simulated coursing).

She has NEVER mistaken a dog for an animal she might hunt. She tends to look at chihuahuas as though they're something that has been trodden on at some stage - a combination of and . She likes terriers and has played beautifully with a 12 week old JRTx x westie (minute!!!) - she thinks any sight hound is worth greeting positively and most other dogs are worth ignoring.

Can't get over how much Scooby looks like a shorter legged, slightly thicker set Pip. The similarity is striking - particularly when you look at their faces, especially the eyeliner!

More recent photo of Pip than those on my profile - showing his eyeliner and little pink spotted nose that now requires sunblock on a daily basis.

Aaaaaaagh. Evie is gorgeous and local.

DH and I had a chance to have a proper rare kid free chat tonight and decided we had better be grown ups and wait six months or so before we get a dog. My job is still fairly new so not quite sure how an average week looks in terms of home working and out of home meetings. DH is looking for a new job so commute time will depend on location etc.

Really really want a lurcher though. DH happy to go with that as long as it's not the size of a Yorkie or a Great Dane he is happy with anything.

So the cunning plan is get more settled into our new routine in the autumn and then get back onto lurcher link to obviously immediately find our perfect match.

In the meantime I am staring at every lurcher type dog I see with longing, and of course willing DH to get his new job ASAP so we know what his hours will be and childcare/school/my work etc.

I am dreaming of a lurcher sprawled out in the house, taking me for walks, exploring the world with the kids and a dog...

Damn, stupid grown up stuff. Thanks for all the help though, it's crystallised what and where to go when ready, lurcher link is amazing.

Thank you all! I'm not really worried about his health as I'm sure we'd have noticed something with the vigorous running he does, more the fact that they kept him in a cage for 4hrs having been started all night and then wouldn't do the sedation especially if there's a 'safe' version they can use for the ECG. I feel a bit like we're being held to ransom not to mention the insurance for a dog with a dodgy heart. Dh has suggested a different vet but we're not going to rush as the vet it's definitely not life threatening. She also said it's close to the sternum, which I thought was a bit odd as the hearts not that big to be able to distinguish which part of the chest the murmur is, is it?

Hi Cinnamon, it's very common for a non-greyhound experienced vet to assume a heart murmur.

Link here here to a veterinary newsletter which discusses greyhound hearts - size, murmur etc. Lots of journal references - may be worth printing off and taking to yr vet. Greyhounds also have some other significant differences to other dogs including blood pressure, blood values and heart rate. Worth reading up on these so you are aware and able to discuss with yr vet.

Thanks Scuttlebutter, think we are going to take him elsewhere and will take your info with us. Not sure I'm brave enough to go to the vet we saw and say 'actually I think you're wrong'