Greyhound/hound owners - can I ask some advice?

[gerbo]

We have our new beautiful boy home from Dog's Trust. He's 4 and in good health.

I have a few questions and the net seems full of contradictory opinions!

1. He came with a martingale collar (wide) and harness. Should he wear this collar all the time, or just a house collar? (Haven't bought yet) Do you put the martingale on for each walk and attach lead to it, or attach lead to the harness?!

1. He has sloppy poos. I know this is probably nerves, but we're wondering about his diet. He's on Wainwright's complete dry food. Is the packaged raw food much better for them? Is there a better quality mid to high price fry food which is better and may result in less mousse like poos?!

1. Do we leave terry brushing for a while as it may be too much stress? He's been here only a couple of days.

He's seemingly settling well, is toilet trained, seems calm and relaxed and loves his duvet beds! I think his foster carers did a great job....

Any advice gratefully received.

Honestly you won't go wrong with James well beloved dry food with some wet food mixed in crappie tin or Aldi dog pate trays my lurcher loves and keeps his poos just right !!

Congrats on your pointy hound! Any pics you'd like to share?

Here he is. Hadn't taken the harness off yet! He's doing well, I think. Snoozing now on his kitchen bed (one of 3!)

I don’t wish to derail the OPs thread but as there are lurcher people here anyway I thought I’d introduce Sophie who arrived this morning from the local pound. She was a stray and they think she is about 9 months old. She is an absolute sweetheart. Walked in and made herself at home instantly. Likes food!

Likes food is as obvious as having legs in a Lurcher!!
Our previous living outdoor working Lurcher has quite a selection of favourites now.
Including tinned mandarins, toasted marshmallows and vegetables of any variety!!

@UhtredRagnarson she's beautiful! Congratulations!

Thank you @gerbo. How is your boy settling in? Are you any less nervous now?

Yes, he's more chilled. Lots of lying around on his back (comical!) and napping properly rather than being watchful. His poos are firmer, a sign of less stress. I'm feeling tons better! Feel I'm getting very attached now, it's like having another child! Very happy. Although I do sometimes double take at his size

the legs just mesmerise me. They go on forever!

Btw I came across this amusing blog type website today and found it very amusing!

greydogtales.com/blog/lurchers-for-beginners/

Hes beautiful @gerbo glad he's settling in well.

Jealous of all the roaching hounds, ours doesn't at all - think he'd get stuck on his spine!

Thanks @Parkandride .

We had a scent marking episode this morning tho, first one, on day 4.

He did it against a washing airer which was up for the first time.

Anyone have any advice about this? I caught him at it snd said 'ah ah' in a loud tone then whizzed him out the back for a wee. Was that right?!?!

@gerbo

We find that coats fit fine over the ruff wear harnesses, yes. Just make sure you get a coat with a harness hole for the lead (some don't have a hole, or just one at the top for a lead from a collar rather than harness).

Thanks for the tip @fliss444

Thinking about it you probably wouldn't need a 'made to measure coat' for a pedigree Greyhound. My boy is a funny shape --looks like a greyhound but is an awkward shape as he has a stockier tummy!

Glad everything is coming together @gerbo

Thanks everyone! He's a sighing, sleeping, happy boy.

Fingers crossed no more scent marking-!

And top tip re his coat having a hole for the harness lead.

My dogs have more coats than I do, but their walking coats are from Milgi. Ddog1 has a highly comical dinosaur onesie from Spuds dog coats which I recommend for raising a smile

We've had ours for 8 months.

I didn't like the martingale as I'd heard of necks being snapped.

She has a house collar with a tag on, that will come off over head. We have a cosy dogs harness which is very soft.

Has yours ever raced? Ours hadn't so she's no prey drive. See how reactive he is to cats, rabbits, squirrels etc.
She totally ignored them so we didn't bother with the muzzle but kept her on a lead for a few months til we were confident of her recall.

She has Harrington's with some frozen mince or tinned fish eg sardines on it. I just buy the meat from the supermarket. It's free flow and she likes it. We rarely get sloppy poo

I see you’ve had lots of good advice but just in case - I’d definitely recommend teeth brushing once you’ve got to know him better. Our old girl, despite semi-regular brushing and a daily dental treat, just had a few teeth out aged almost 12.

Would second Milgi coats - best ones we have for ours.

We only use a harness and not a martingale - our dog is a bit nervous and can dart out of the path of other dogs and I hated the idea of any pressure on her neck.

I would really recommend Burns Pork and Potato sensitive food. The RGT branch that we got our girl from only ever fed their dogs this. We’ve never had any dietary issues using this. We supplement with the odd tin of sardines or a topper of a small amount of James Wellbeloved senior wet food as a treat.

Also, If your dog has any bald bits, a little bit of salmon oil on the food daily has always restored our dogs fluffy bum!

Oh, and as an antidote to the lovely but eye-wateringly expensive Ruffwear harnesses, I've also been recommended these Aldi ones, which have just come back into stock - they have the y-shaped front and third tummy strap. Might buy one as a back-up.
www.aldi.co.uk/blue-adventure-dog-harness/p/710488451776900?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg_Sxjera7wIVVODtCh2MAQeBEAQYASABEgIMu_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Sight hound owner on her fourth rescue here - I would recommend perfect fit harnesses, they're very helpful when if you ring them to check measurements or have any questions.

Congrats OP 😀

Thanks everyone!

He's doing really well, I think. Sleeping and lying on his back on his beds, dry in the house, not reactive at all on walks.

It's just the poo!!! (And perma-gas!!) Sloppy, huge, bright yellow, impossible to clean up.

Vet has recommended a probiotic to bind it, I'm trying that tomorrow.

I investigated Natures Menu, raw, and due to his size (38kg) it would cost £4-5 a day! That's probably just too much sadly.

I'm going to try a top end kibble soon (Eden?) and we'll see if time and TLC plus better kibble help....

It should get better as he settles in, even with a cheaper kibble.......But even then it might come and go e.g. it’ll likely be splottier later in the day or when he’s excited or with the 2nd or 3rd on a walk.

if you want to feed raw food ,definitely less mess try Landywoods . They do bulk deliveries that work out quite cheap , i have a 36kg large German Shepard it costs about £2.00 a day its worth it for the small poos. And they are 80.10.10 so no mixing required they also do bones etc.

Our whippet had terrible runny yellow poo and the worst smelling farts ever. Tried her on various things, and probiotic, without any change. We feed her Millie’s Wolfheart now and her poo is normal, only sloppy when excited on an energetic walk, and she virtually never farts! They’re seriously good, I really recommend giving them a ring.