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

[EasterBunnyFuntStoleAllTheEggs]

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.

I hope he's OK Moose.

Mistlehound's been out chasing rabbits this evening with small dog. Its difficult to have a quiet approach with a small mad terrier bustling about very busily - as a result I think she's more inclined to chase rather than stalk so she had some very good running and one fantastic course of a rabbit - its amazing how fast she can go when she really wants to. Small dog was too yappy at other dogs this evening Its very annoying and very embarrasing... particulalry when her yapping results in the other dog thinking that she's a threat so small dog then thinks that she needs to get in an attack first.. then mistlehound bets pulled in to back her up just for good measure - not good.

Lovethesea - Colin looks gorgeous! Have you phoned about him? They might be able to prioritize some cat testing if they know someone is interested.

I'm just ordering cmotpuppies first big boy collar .

That's the thing though - he's most un-Lurcher-like in his lack of drama-queen activity. Pip on the other hand is a big girly squealer!

Still hedging my bets. He seems ok-ish, but there's just something not quite right about the way he's moving and behaving. Will sleep on it and if he's not back to normal I'll take him over the road to the vets.

Mistle your walks sounds a bit like mine have been lately. I've actually started taking mine out separately now, so I can concentrate on sorting Pip's lead-reactivity out. Lurcherboy has always been super laid-back and friendly, but he started barking first the last time I took them out together and that was the last straw for me. I think he just gets hyped-up and over-excited from the vibe Pip is giving off and I can't handle two big dogs doing the whole bounce and bark thing at the same time.

CMOT - we need more puppy pics!

I ordered Pip a new collar from Barefoot Leather this weekend. He's so rough in play with Lurcherboy that he just shreds his lovely embroidered ones, so I've bought him a celtic embossed fishtail collar, similar to Lurcherboy's instead. They start off quite bright but age beautifully into a lovely deep tone. Lurcherboy's has lasted years now and still looks lovely. I don't do anything special with it either - when he got it all salty at the beach on holiday I just rubbed some of my handcream into it and it came up like new. Just hoping Pip's skin isn't too thin for it. If it is I'll have to pay ££s to get him a sheepskin lined one instead.

I have phoned about Colin and messaged the fosterer for more info......

The new collar looks very stylish. It was such a contrast when my parents went from staffies with the strongest necks on earth to their lurcher with his lovely wide collar collection!

Sorry lurcherboy is still not 100%, at least if he isn't a drama queen you know it's not just to get more fuss and treats.

Gosh Colin does need a bit more weight on him doesn't he. Lovely markings. Mistlehound is just under 23" but she's a remarkably big dog still - she's 27" long collar to top of tail and quite solidly built. This was one of the reasons we picked her in fact because she looked as though she would cope with robust play with DS.

Yes, we too must have a dog bigger than my very large cat as well as being ok to play with the kids and snuggle with them if it wants without being squashed by my hefty 4 year old. The skinny 5 year old would be fine, she's still a lot lighter than her wee brother

Lurcherboy still isn't right, but I can't get a vet appointment until first thing tomorrow morning.

I think I've managed to work out it's his nearside shoulder that's the problem. He's struggling to push himself up from lying down and cries whenever he tries - also lying in an awkward position and doing a strange walk, where he holds his head down, takes a couple of steps forwards then back up again. He didn't jump over the baby gate when dh arrived home last night and then didn't bother greeting my Mum when she popped round earlier. Both those occasions would usually have him up and excited.

Dh is away in London and I don't drive or have a babysitter, so can't get him to a different branch or I'd take him as an emergency to the main surgery this evening. Our local branch is very convenient, but has limited opening hours and no emergency appointments, as it's not manned 24 hrs a day.

I don't think he's done anything major as it was only a little 13" macbook that literally just fell against him, having been leaned up against the wall while it charged. It's most likely to be just bruised, but I feel awful not being able to at least get hold of some anti-inflammatories for him. He's so miserable. We've run out of blooming arnica as well - typically.

Poor old thing, sounds very sore and as someone who has bruised or fractured her coccyx recently I sympathise. Sometimes a small injury can really cause a lot of pain when you have to move!

I know exactly what you mean - I've broken my coccyx twice. You'd think I'd have learned the first time! Mind you, I never wore roller boots again after the second time.

He has me totally confused now. Time for the school run, I shut the laptop to get their kongs out of the freezer and he started running around excitedly. Either it's intermittent - or he's such a pig that food even trumps bad pain.

Hope the vet is helpful Moose.

Hello pointy ladies. Haven't been on the thread for a while but after months off consideration we finallygot our lurcher pup on Sunday. He's a lurcher collie cross and totally gorgeous!

Just wanted a bit of advice from he hound experts. Do all of your hounds go on sofas? I've only had terriers before and they weren't allowed on the sofa except by invitation -because they were like tiny emperors- but I'm not sure if it's different with lurchers.

My main concern is thqt the pup is still at that bitey stage and very jumpy and I'm concerned about the DC getting bitten or scratched by an excitable pup who can leap onto the sofa from a standing start (he's a fantastic jumper!)

All advice and comments welcome

Cancelled vet appointment as he was right as rain yesterday morning, then Pip jumped on him to initiate play in the afternoon and he was obviously stiff and painful, struggling to get up from lying down again - again, no vet appointments available for that evening.

He seems fine again this morning, danced about happily waiting for his school-run kong Think I'm going to give him a couple of days rest and if it hasn't resolved then take him in for a check-up.

hairy congratulations on your new pup. Photos are obligatory you know!

Re dogs on sofas. None of my dogs have every been allowed on the furniture. They get to go on the sofas at our holiday home, because it's a family owned house and everyone else's dogs do it there, but they still understand that the sofa is a no-go area at home. We have a small house and no enough seats for people, let alone large dogs sprawling on the sofa, plus dh is actually allergic to dogs, so it's best to keep them off the cushions. We don't allow them upstairs either, for similar reasons. As long as he has a lovely comfy bed (or two) of his own I don't see it's necessary to allow him on the sofa at all.

Thanks Moose. That's really helpful. Have seen lots of photos of hounds on sofas and thought maybe it was just the done thing! Will persevere with the training to keep him on the floor

Will post the obligatory photo in a minute!

Our lovely lurcher boy

Aw, he's gorgeous.

Not one of the ELGR Musketeer pups by any chance?

Definitely a musketeer surely!? I've been seeing them on my Facebook thread thinking, no, no puppies but he looks gorgeous.

Home check now arranged for Saturday. A puppy is coming to test the kids out as his adult dogs will eat the cats :-)

Moose is impressive, but I wouldn't say she's the norm!

Nearly every pointy owner I know usually has a hound either on the sofa, or the bed, or both. Ours have beds as well, so there's usually various hounds on various surfaces. We have throws over the sofas and I love snuggling up with a hound when DH is away, especially in the winter.

A big part of getting a lurcher is cuddling on the sofa or bed with it when it wants and is settled. I know one who was never allowed on sofas but then had a huge bed which would take up half our lounge, and the human then sat on the floor with the dogs head on her lap which seemed a bit uncomfortable for both of them when she was leaning on an empty sofa! I plan to buy lots of cheap fleece throws :-)

Should say, big part of getting a lurcher FOR ME is cuddling up etc. YMMV :-) My parents one used to lean so wonderfully on you and so gently.

No, I know I am far from the norm when it comes to pointy hound people. I think it's probably because we had lots of other breeds prior to getting our first Lurcher almost 9 years ago and still had two other breeds when he arrived, so we just carried on the same way we had with them.

I have to admit, we all enjoy having sofa snuggles with our two when we're on holiday.

I did try letting my guys upstairs when dh was working away, as I don't sleep well when he's not here - and they were so unused to it they whinged and asked to go back downstairs.

Pip likes the idea of going upstairs and thinks it's a great game to try and sneak through the hall door and charge up there. All he does when he gets to the top is just stay on the landing in a big play-bow, waiting for someone to come up so he can pounce on them.

None of our other dogs have ever bothered, I think because they just didn't get into the habit from pups - we never needed to be careful about not letting them through the hall door, because they didn't even attempt to go upstairs.

Do all of your hounds go on sofas?

I think my three whippets would pack up and leave home if they were denied access to the sofa. They've currently got three beds (two Tuffie nests and a Tuffie mattress) in the living room but the sofa is still the place to be, regardless if there's a human on it to cuddle up to or not. I've just poked my head in to have a look and DWhippets1 & 2 are cuddled up at one end of the sofa and DWhippet3 has pulled one of the back cushions down and is lying on that looking very pleased with himself

We're giving in soon and replacing our current sofa with two new ones and doing away with the dog beds completely!

Thanks for all your responses. Will need to talk it over with DH. We were thinking sofa by invitation but not 'presumed' because of the DC. Ddog jumped up on our sofa this morning and stood on DS shoulders nuzzling
his ear which is okay until he nips it and there's tears.

Yes, he is a Musketeer (impressive spotting!) He's Porthos.

Aha - I thought so!

All of them are just scrummy. I noticed Porthos had gone to his new forever home. Congratulations!

I should add to my earlier posts that whilst Pip isn't allowed on the sofa he often plonks his rear end down and sits on it a bit like a human (bum on the sofa, front paws on the floor). If the sofa is full he just chooses the nearest lap and reverses onto that instead.

Both of mine lean and will flop their necks giraffe stylee onto your shoulder or lap for a proper hug. Pip also does the most adorable chin rest, where he comes up and rests his head in your palm, then works his magic staring adoringly into your eyes. Works every time!

Their favourite place, despite having several beds to choose from, is stretching out along the bottom/front of the sofa just under where I sit so I'm trapped on the sofa with my feet up and have to climb over them to get off.

Ds2 can often be found lying on the floor with them. I think he was a Lurcher in a former life.

my ds likes to lie on the dog beds (not the crate one obv) with the dogs.

We get leans, but Oz's fave thing is to reverse up to you while you are sat so you can fuss him. We all make lorry beeping noises

Mine both sit on the sofa, but in the few house rules for animals (basically otherwise it boils down to 'we don't eat our friends') is no zoomies onto the sofas, and def no snapping/play fighting there either.

Ours goes onto the sofa too. And the terrier comes up by invitation (although if you're not there she goes up anyway). They do have plenty of beds on offer too. Small dog sometimes lies on mistlehound's big bed - even though she has her own (from original home) bed on the other side of the room.

Home check tomorrow. Very excited. Feels like one step closer to finding our hound.

Also looking forward to meeting the 14 week old staffie puppy coming to check the kids out. But only if they take him away after, those puppy threads are terrifying!