Thinking about adopting a greyhound

Tarry

I'd share you some photos of our grey than

tylersbabe

user55 wrote: »

We need photos of Millie!

Hi guilty secret here I don't have a camera and would have no idea how to post photos :rolleyes:

BUT will pop off and get the link to website where Millie is from and post it.

We have had an intressting day today been out to local(ish) park for a walk, and upon return got shouted at because our dog it too thin :eek: (she is underweight from stress of kennels) am now thinking of getting her a coat until she bulks up a little to spare her feelings and my temper.

Right I hope this works here is my new little girl Millie

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o419/tylersbabe07/millie.jpg

today we also discovered that ducks are not that intresting but squirels look lots of fun to chase......

user55

Oh she is a sweetie!

Yes, squirrels are most excellent fun for a greyhound to chase. My Lola spent a stupid amount of time stood under a tree this evening because she had seen a squirrel run up there. Would have made a stunning photo actually, had I had my camera with me. But the dozy dog clearly thought if she waited patiently long enough the squirrel would come back down and straight into her paws :rotfl:

Tarry

Millie is a little darling

foreign_correspondent

ooh she is lovely - really pretty face and colouring!:smileyhea

lostinrates

She's beautiful! I love that golden colour!

Re thin....my never stressed in her life grey is hard to keep condition on, I hope Millie is a good little eater! (My grey is unpredictable...the only thing she is sure to eat is the cat's food, lol). Thin is not attractive, and looks worse to our eyes as we are so used to seeing overweight pet as normal. She should show just a whisper of rib...so don't be tempted build her up too much at that point. Once the parasites are gone it will help a lot I imagine. Do whats right fo you and her re coat. She might well be ued to wearing one- mine hates coats though, prefer to shiver..silly dog. If people get iffy explain she's very recently rescued...it will do peole good to have their assumptions corrected

Congratualtions on such a beautiful new friend.

Slimcilla

Oh she is a darling! I've been away for a week so having just collected Speedy from the kennels I thought I would log in and see how you have got on. Sounds like you are getting on great!

Don't worry about mistakes in the early days, she is bound to be just as confused as you at times and will forget them and settle pretty quick. I ignore Speedy when I come into the house and that has helped to solve problems with ripped shopping bags and clothes. Having just collected him from kennels I was aware I could be jumped all over but a calm Hello and soothing strokes took most of the bounce out of him as he knows I can't stroke him if he is leaping all over the place. Speedy loves kennels and this was helped by taking him to "doggy day care" there a few times which he utterly loved.

A few more tips you might not need:-

Duvets from charity shops make great beds, the covers can be washed and even coordinate with your furniture.
I adore the coats and collars from http://www.kitschcollars.com/ Read the advice on measuring though as I am sure I'm not the first Greyhound owner to have a few coats that don't fit/rub/fall off. Straps for coats should be of a soft, non rubbing material - preferably fleece as their tummies can get rubbed raw.
Raised food bowls are useful to aid digestions for long legged dogs, our raised food bowls came from Ikea, the stand was about £7 and the bowls were 49p and have lasted for years. Other cheap places to get them are E-bay and Argos or even an upside down bucket which is what my Mother uses when Speedy visits his Granny.
Don't use extendable leads, Greys are too fast for them! If she goes off-lead keep her away from dog owners that use the string type extendable leads as Greys go too fast to see them and get horribly tangled with much screeching.
Greys are usually total wimps, screeching mostly doesn't mean they have lost a leg/ear/tail. Speedy screeches when he scratches his ear - the daftie!
If you don't encourage or even discourage your Grey from chasing cats/rabbits/squirrels then walks will be easier. Sounds boring but I'm afraid it's true.
Go to training classes, it should help you understand each other better and also help to socialize her with other shapes and sizes of dog.
Take her to the vet, ask other dog owners which they recommend if you aren't sure. Make sure her teeth are ok and inoculations are up to date. Most charities either pay for Speying or have had the dog done before you adopt it. Same for Identi-chips, a chipped dog is safer if it's handed into a rescue place. Your Vet also needs to understand Greys and know that some anesthetics used on other dogs are lethal to Greys.
Dog id tags for their collar/s (Speedy has 4!) are cheaper on E-bay too. Some key cutting places charge as much as £7 but the smaller independent ones charge about £1.50. I put the address and phone numbers on but not his name. He lost one on the beach the other day and some kind bloke found it and pushed it through the letterbox . That was an expensive collar but if the dog had been lost he would have been returned quicker than having his name and telephone number on as not everyone has a mobile in their hands 24/7..

Sorry to blether on but the more prepared you are the better time the two of you will have together. I know you aren't a numpty but I learned so much AFTER I got Speedy and it was all stuff I wish I'd known BEFORE even though I had done masses of research.
If you join a Greyhound forum as mentioned you will get masses more good advice but you need to get a camera and learn to upload pictures as they will demand piccys of your beautiful girl!
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

One last thing - It took me 3 months to totally trust Speedy off lead and the improvement in the last month was fabulous. New years day 2007 he bully-played with a puppy on a deserted (!) beach and wouldn't leave it alone - February 1st he returned at 40mph every time he was asked to! I haven't had to tell him "bad dog" "Leave it" or "no" for ages now as he knows what is allowed and what is not. He prefers to hear "good dog" any day - and I say it every day. He is my Star!

BridgetJones_2

tylersbabe wrote: »

Hi guilty secret here I don't have a camera and would have no idea how to post photos :rolleyes:

BUT will pop off and get the link to website where Millie is from and post it.

We have had an intressting day today been out to local(ish) park for a walk, and upon return got shouted at because our dog it too thin :eek: (she is underweight from stress of kennels) am now thinking of getting her a coat until she bulks up a little to spare her feelings and my temper.

Right I hope this works here is my new little girl Millie

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o419/tylersbabe07/millie.jpg

today we also discovered that ducks are not that intresting but squirels look lots of fun to chase......

My late nan got yellled at 2 days after she collected her rescue dog. He had cigarette burns all over him him and was so thin you could see through his legs so I can understand their initial reaction but they didn't give her a chance to speak and she was in her eighties at the time :mad: .

We bought him a little wooley jumper until he bulked out a bit....which he did a little bit too much!

tylersbabe

Thanks for all the great advice slimcilla :beer: hope you enjoyed your week away.

Well we are going to doggie training on Monday and Millie's personality is starting to emerge.

She is starting to become a total Diva, and does not like being left on her own and to further evidence the abuse of being left alone she treats the neighbours to a howling and barking session :doh:(and I'm a mid terrace house!) . So am now being a really cruel greyhound mommy and ignoring her when I leave, and, immediately upon return.

Ohhhh the acusationary looks aimed at me are pure torture :rolleyes: , but I am back at work next week and I refuse to hand her back to her patrons, she is part of our family now warts and all. So lots of work for us at the moment

foreign_correspondent

good luck - keep on with the leaving her and returning frequently throughout the day, for random lengths of time, (anything from a couple of minutes upwards) - with no fuss before or on your return... it will soon become commonplace and boring to her!!

Do you leave her in one room or with free run of the house? I would suggest one room with a bed in a comfy secluded corner, where she also sleeps at night, as this feels more secure to the dog.