Patch is a 4.5 year old blue and white boy. We found him advertised as free to good home - he was blinded in one eye by a hail storm. We have had him about 18 months now and he never raced.
Lilly has been living with us for a little over 2 months. She was owned by my husband and his friends since she was born and we were always going to keep her when she finished racing. However a combination of issues she has (including a recently diagnosed heart murmur) meant she was not fast enough to race so she arrived at our house a lot earlier than we had planned.
We initially had some dogs that raced and hubby was into that but we have since moved away from the track after we have had them as pets. I have done some transport of greyhounds from pounds to rescue groups and we had the intention of fostering.
Throw into the mix a 9 month old italian greyhound pup and it is chaos at our house :) Fostering my come alittle down the track.
Holly
Thanks Bushie and Holly for your responses. My greyhound, Deanna (named after a character from a song), is an ex-racer. However, she has been someone's pet for the past 6 years. She is 10 years old. She was a give away; her previous owner is going to NZ today and was worried about flying her over there.
Yes greyhounds generally have a lovely temperament. In addition, a little-known fact about greyhounds is that they are the perfect height for resting one's elbows on while one is crouching on the ground and using binoculars for birdwatching. Very convenient indeed.
Holly, I used to have an Italian Greyhound named Bruno. They're great, hey? They're also very emotional. Does your IG pup shake continually? Bruno used to shake when he was cold, hot, hungry, not hungry, tired, happy, frightened, neutral...
I had never considered using a greyhound as a binocular stand. I have a bull mastiff cross great dane who is a similar height but considerably heavier at about 50 kg. I don't think I could get her to stand still enough for long enough to use as a rest though.
Iggys really are funny little dogs. Our Oscar is still very much a naughty puppy.
His father is an american import and so through those lines he is a bit stockier than many of the Australian iggies - which is great when he encourages 2 greyhounds to chase him around the yard.
He isn't as big a shaker as other iggies I have met, but he is a big wuss - it takes him a while to warm up to new people. It also takes him a bit to adjust to new places.
He was less than impressed when I put his raincoat on him today before I left for work!
The greys are just lovely though, they would fit in so well to many people's life styles. They love nothing more than just hanging out and snoozing. The ultimate couch potatos :)
Oh look at Patch! What a gorgeous dog! He's absolutely stunning. I love his classic curled-up greyhound pose. Can I have him?
Regarding the picture of Lilly - over the past week (since knowing I was going to get a greyhound) I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on the internet looking for a soft, wide, hot pink, leopard print collar!! So... can I have it?
Is it a martingale? I want a non-leather martingale collar maching the above description, but I suppose I can't have EVERYTHING I want. So you can give it to me even if it's not a martingale :-)
Yes the greyhounds are always napping. It's a tough life. Regarding napping greyhounds: I saw a funny clip on youtube - you'll find it if you search for "Crazy Blaze" or "Blaze are you passed out?". It needs to be viewed with the sound on.
Bushie - actually I do too! I will be the first to admit they are ridiculously spoiled.
Andy all 3 of mine wear martingales - so much easier with greyhounds. I got the furry collars that Patch and Lilly wear from greyhound safety net - they are a greyhound rescue group. They are fantastic because they don't rub the fur from their necks (plus all the proceeds go to the rescue group).
Go to http://www.greyhoundsafetynet.org/martingalecollars.htm
Everyone loves Patch - he is a beautiful looking dog, even his one blind eye doesn't put people off. He is also very quiet and loves a pat. He is a bit of a grump at home though, he is the top dog so puffs his chest out with the others a bit - we have also just found out he has arthritis so some of the grumpiness is due to that.
Aah yes the cockroach. Quite an attractive one, though.
I had found that website last week and was quite excited to see their collars; however I think I remember reading that they no longer sell them. I'll check again.
Bushie, yes I'd heard of martingales only in relation to horses, too, until a little while ago. I won't be able to describe it properly, but martingale collars for dogs have an extra loop. The design of the collar is such that when the dog pulls on the lead, the collar tightens a little bit so there isn't a big gap between the neck and the collar, because such a gap would mean that the dog could back out of the collar. Martingale collars are good for dogs whose heads are narrower than their necks (greyhounds and other sight hounds). They're also a more gentle alternative to a standard choke collar for all breeds.
Let me know how you go Andy - I only bought mine a couple of months back. They didn't have all the colours left but did have some.
And yes that is how a martingale works, basically the collar can't slip over the dogs' neck. Just watch with the fur ones though, they have a tendancy to come a bit loose. I always tighten mine before they go for a walk.
Congrats Andy. I presume he/she is a pet and not still racing. They are one of the most beautifully natured dogs around.
Regards,
bushie.
Oh Andy! My other great interest!!!
I have 2 greyhounds :)
Patch is a 4.5 year old blue and white boy. We found him advertised as free to good home - he was blinded in one eye by a hail storm. We have had him about 18 months now and he never raced.
Lilly has been living with us for a little over 2 months. She was owned by my husband and his friends since she was born and we were always going to keep her when she finished racing. However a combination of issues she has (including a recently diagnosed heart murmur) meant she was not fast enough to race so she arrived at our house a lot earlier than we had planned.
We initially had some dogs that raced and hubby was into that but we have since moved away from the track after we have had them as pets. I have done some transport of greyhounds from pounds to rescue groups and we had the intention of fostering.
Throw into the mix a 9 month old italian greyhound pup and it is chaos at our house :) Fostering my come alittle down the track.
Holly
Thanks Bushie and Holly for your responses. My greyhound, Deanna (named after a character from a song), is an ex-racer. However, she has been someone's pet for the past 6 years. She is 10 years old. She was a give away; her previous owner is going to NZ today and was worried about flying her over there.
Yes greyhounds generally have a lovely temperament. In addition, a little-known fact about greyhounds is that they are the perfect height for resting one's elbows on while one is crouching on the ground and using binoculars for birdwatching. Very convenient indeed.
Holly, I used to have an Italian Greyhound named Bruno. They're great, hey? They're also very emotional. Does your IG pup shake continually? Bruno used to shake when he was cold, hot, hungry, not hungry, tired, happy, frightened, neutral...
I had never considered using a greyhound as a binocular stand. I have a bull mastiff cross great dane who is a similar height but considerably heavier at about 50 kg. I don't think I could get her to stand still enough for long enough to use as a rest though.
Regards,
bushie.
Iggys really are funny little dogs. Our Oscar is still very much a naughty puppy.
His father is an american import and so through those lines he is a bit stockier than many of the Australian iggies - which is great when he encourages 2 greyhounds to chase him around the yard.
He isn't as big a shaker as other iggies I have met, but he is a big wuss - it takes him a while to warm up to new people. It also takes him a bit to adjust to new places.
He was less than impressed when I put his raincoat on him today before I left for work!
The greys are just lovely though, they would fit in so well to many people's life styles. They love nothing more than just hanging out and snoozing. The ultimate couch potatos :)
Patch
Oscar
Lilly
When I come back it'll be as one of Holly's greyhounds!
Regards,
bushie.
Oh look at Patch! What a gorgeous dog! He's absolutely stunning. I love his classic curled-up greyhound pose. Can I have him?
Regarding the picture of Lilly - over the past week (since knowing I was going to get a greyhound) I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on the internet looking for a soft, wide, hot pink, leopard print collar!! So... can I have it?
Is it a martingale? I want a non-leather martingale collar maching the above description, but I suppose I can't have EVERYTHING I want. So you can give it to me even if it's not a martingale :-)
Yes the greyhounds are always napping. It's a tough life. Regarding napping greyhounds: I saw a funny clip on youtube - you'll find it if you search for "Crazy Blaze" or "Blaze are you passed out?". It needs to be viewed with the sound on.
Andy.
Bushie - actually I do too! I will be the first to admit they are ridiculously spoiled.
Andy all 3 of mine wear martingales - so much easier with greyhounds. I got the furry collars that Patch and Lilly wear from greyhound safety net - they are a greyhound rescue group. They are fantastic because they don't rub the fur from their necks (plus all the proceeds go to the rescue group).
Go to http://www.greyhoundsafetynet.org/martingalecollars.htm
Everyone loves Patch - he is a beautiful looking dog, even his one blind eye doesn't put people off. He is also very quiet and loves a pat. He is a bit of a grump at home though, he is the top dog so puffs his chest out with the others a bit - we have also just found out he has arthritis so some of the grumpiness is due to that.
Patch often thinks he is a dead cockroach
Pardon my ignorance but what is a martingale? I've always associated that term with horses.
Regards,
bushie.
Aah yes the cockroach. Quite an attractive one, though.
I had found that website last week and was quite excited to see their collars; however I think I remember reading that they no longer sell them. I'll check again.
Bushie, yes I'd heard of martingales only in relation to horses, too, until a little while ago. I won't be able to describe it properly, but martingale collars for dogs have an extra loop. The design of the collar is such that when the dog pulls on the lead, the collar tightens a little bit so there isn't a big gap between the neck and the collar, because such a gap would mean that the dog could back out of the collar. Martingale collars are good for dogs whose heads are narrower than their necks (greyhounds and other sight hounds). They're also a more gentle alternative to a standard choke collar for all breeds.
Thanks for the explanation Andy, I didn't imagine it was to teach them to tuck their head for dressage or to stop rearing.
Regards,
bushie.
Let me know how you go Andy - I only bought mine a couple of months back. They didn't have all the colours left but did have some.
And yes that is how a martingale works, basically the collar can't slip over the dogs' neck. Just watch with the fur ones though, they have a tendancy to come a bit loose. I always tighten mine before they go for a walk.