Rescue lurcher

[Hemlock2013]

Morning everyone.

I’ve been after a dog for years, timing is right, youngest in pre school two days a week, oldest in school. I work from home and two days in a dog friendly office so can have a dog with me all the time. We also live rurally in a beautiful area for walks.

My intital feeling was to get a terrier cross but there was a greyhound charity in town yesterday and the more I read about grey hounds and lurcher the more I think they are perfect for us. I made the mistake of looking at the website and there is a gorgeous lurcher that I think would be amazing for us.

The only issue is my other half doesn’t want a dog. He previously said we could when the time was right, this was a year ago. But he’s back tracked and says a flat no. I can’t get to the bottom of his concerns yet to counter them.

But assuming I can convince him, is there anything I should know or any pertinent experiences you can share with me? I had dogs as a child but not as an adult. I have dog sitted for friends and just loved the whole experience. Also, we don’t holiday abroad and have Mum as stand by dog sitter if necessary.

Thanks in advance!

Phillpot, she's 5 months ish and most def a puppy! Rather endearingly, in her case this means she collects everything she can get and piles it on the dog bed rather than chewing it. And does zoomies off the walls once or twice a day. And requires me to stand under an umbrella in the garden with her when its raining..

They get a lot better at 12 months, and even 9 months puts you outside the worst of the chewing phase which I find very trying - and even if they haven't been previously housetrained they learn very quickly and bigger bladders make the intervals longer

She sounds v sweet, collecting things to hoard! Our house is busy already and we are working hence the decision to avoid a pup. Happy to put plenty of work in to training/recall etc. Just not wild pup antics. I will keep an eye out in case you get a slightly older pointy hound in a couple of months...

Update, oh says we can get a rescue lurcher at the end of June when work is quieter for him!

Very happy

Fantastic news. Hope the right dog is available then. Good luck.

They were all so lovely, I’d have taken any of them! Or all of them. I’m over the moon

I got my retired grey from Celia years ago when my children were 3 and 5. She was a fantastic and very child tolerant dog, very easy to walk on a lead and learned recall very quickly. She was very good with other dogs except she was terrified of other greyhounds, maybe a reminder of her racing days? Celia are very good at matching the right dog.
I've since had 2 saluki x lurchers, one from the breeder as she was a bit deformed as a pup (and was destined to have her head whacked between 2 bricks ) . She was PTS a year ago at 13 yrs. My other girl is still with me, she was abandoned by travellers, picked up by my odd neighbour who "rescued " animals (but in reality abused them, my girly ate the baby's nappies as there was no food for her, and was left alone in the flat with the baby ) until SS said she had to rehome the animals or baby would go into care.
Saluki x's can be harder to train as the prey drive is strong, the pup was much easier to train and both were/are fine with cats and children.

Thanks cherry, I think a big draw to Celia cross is that they match you to the dog rather than us picking.

Thats great! Mine is a little lurcher about the size of a large collie, she looks quite collie-like but with nice brindle colouring. She is quite soft and gentle and even though she was a rescue loves people, especially older kids. We often walk in a park behind a school and she always wants to follow groups of teens and give them her ball to throw.

I have three whippets, all sighthounds make amazing pets.

Why not foster a greyhoung/lurcher for a while so your husband gets an idea of what having a dog is like

We’ve had all our dogs from Celia Cross. Jane is a star and great at matching you with the perfect dog.
So excited for you. Sighthounds are lovely!

Update.
All going through, oh says not to wait. We’ve seen a lovely podenco maneto we like.

Just waiting on a home check...
I have a couple of questions.
1- how long between requesting a home check and them booking it in? Not sure if to chase them up.
2- I’ve noticed in one part of the garden the fence is only 5ft. They request 6ft. How strict are they? Especially if we are looking for a smaller breed of sight hound?

Thanks

Not sure how strict they are. Could you put trellis or something up? I imagine they will make suggestions if they think fencing isn't secure enough.
Exciting!!

These are my girls.
And here they are folded up - in the cats beds!!

For the rescue I foster for, the fence height requirement will depend a lot on the dog in question - my current foster isn't a big jumper, so 5ft would be fine. A recent boy was very boingy and needed a full 6 ft plus extra trellis on top where there was something he could jump from.

That’s what I’m hoping. I just don’t know if it’s a flat out no... or whether they would say, ah you’re ok if you only want a small one and sign us off... I think the bamboo style fence would work as a cheaper alternative.

Those doggies are beautiful! I’m getting so excited

Still no home visit booked in... 😕 how long does it take do you think?

When I organise a homecheck, the people will usually get a call the same day or next to book it, though obv logistically it can take a few days to fit it in. Give them a ring and chase it up - sometimes messages do go astray!

I have chased, last week. Should I chase again? I don’t want to seem pushy

Yes, chase again. Pushy means you really want the dog :-)

I might pop in tomorrow... have another look and a chat x

Good luck.

They are usually very strict re the fence height so if you have time to add 1ft or it can be a deal breaker.

(Home checker for them 5 years ago)

Valhalla, the one I want is a podenco maneto, he’s tiny, does that make a difference?

Also, what’s a normal wait for a home check? X

We went for a visit today. The lady that runs it said the dog we liked isn’t gonna be suitable for us as he’s too territorial with food and toys.

It’s such a shame as my oh fell in love with him too and doesn’t want a grey hound so I’m back to square one really...

Oh no. Good luck with your hunt.