DocsDoctor
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Posts posted by DocsDoctor
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I am so sorry. Tiger and I send you many condolences on your loss
Run free, dear Thorpe - forever once more young and swift and strong
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Sounds encouraging - but where are the photos?
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That sounds like greyt progress - good boy Guinness!
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Greyt news! Welcome home Guinness!
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Haven't managed to watch it on the telly but there's a very nice gallery of still photos in The Guardian this morning, including this group of whippets in matching coats arriving at the show:
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What a handsome boy! Looks as if he's settling in well
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I am glad to see the Dogumentaries acquiring some new fans!
Tuxedo pattern - all to do with genetics, obviously. As I understand it, while a puppy is still in the womb the cells responsible for hair pigmentation spread down and outwards from the crest of their back - and don't always reach the furthest bits, which will then remain white. A full scientific account going into different kinds of markings can be found here.
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What a nice, informative video - very helpful for anyone thinking about adopting a retired racer, I should think. And what lovely ladies Brigit and Lesley are!
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How exciting - we will look forward to seeing photos of him chez vous before too long!
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I don't have wide experience, but the rescue my greyhounds came from is housed within a complex of greyhound kennels of the traditional British kind, which dates back to the 1920s. The greyhounds' kennels are housed within long, well-ventilated buildings and look rather like horse loose-boxes, but with a raised bed platform at the back. The dogs live in those individually or in pairs. They are fed dry food + a meaty stew boiled up in a copper, either in their kennels or on leashes outside them. There are also turn-out areas, where the dogs can go separately or together for some/ exercise while their kennels are being cleaned, and then they will also be taken out for walks and for training.
You might like to try watching some of a series of 'Dogumentaries' on YouTube; these were made in the UK 10 years ago, to promote retired racing greyhounds as pets, and feature real-life footage of their life as puppies, in training, on the track. The voiceovers were I assume done by professional comedians - certainly they're very funny and the production values high. Here's my favourite:
And this British Pathe clip from 1939 was actually filmed at the kennels I mention above - most of the staff will be female these days, and the dogs' teeth brushed with toothpaste rather than peroxide, but otherwise the routines won't have changed that much.
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I am very sorry for your loss. I am sure you gave him a lovely life, and I can see that he reached a good old age, but all the same it feels so very hard always to lose such a beloved companion.
Run free dear Nando, forever young and swift and strong
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Tiger got given one for Christmas; ignored it at first but with a little encouragement decided it was good news. Very hard, it lasted quite a few sessions before I threw away the last piece, in case he tried to swallow it. No digestive issues and good for teeth-cleaning too!
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Glad that was helpful! And absolutely don't beat yourself up for doing anything wrong. Rather pat yourself on the back, because you both did well, like I say. Try to think of him as having been defensive, rather than aggressive - barking and growling to warn you off, but as you say not lunging towards you - or biting. While you had the good sense to stay calm, rather than try and grab the thing, and have 'trade-ups' ready for when he too calmed down.
I've only ever needed to use a wire muzzle here, but hopefully others with more experience can advise on basket ones.
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Just quickly to say don't worry too much - the barking and growling must have felt scary at the time, but actually I think you both ultimately did really well in those difficult circumstances.
Food possessiveness is not an unusual trait and when you think of how greyhounds are reared in kennels rather than in homes, with food being delivered in a more 'hands-off' way and high-value treats maybe having to be guarded from other dogs, you can see why. And scavenging on walks is irresistible to a lot of dogs, not just greyhounds: "look, free food! What's not to like? I saw it first! MINE MINE MINE! "
With time and kind consistent training he should get better about giving stuff up, as your bond grows. Meanwhile if abandoned fast food is a problem in your area (as it seems to be in most places these days) up your management skills by 1) learning to spot it before he does, and steering him away 2) having some high value treats to hand just in case, so you can "trade up" as you were able to do yesterday or 3) walking him in a basket muzzle so he can't grab the stuff.
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Feedem have it in stock - see here. I don't know how that price compares to what you usually pay but I have been buying Tiger's Autarky online from them for ages, finding them both reasonably priced and efficient. Delivery takes 2-3 working days and is free for orders costing more than £45, if you have room to store three bags!
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It might be worth trying dampening it slightly, to make it a bit chewier and smellier, and offering it to her again? A truly dedicated greyhound slave might also try giving it a mock-chew at that point too, saying 'lovely hide bone! yum yum yum!'
One of my friends gave Tiger a Yakers chew for Christmas - a bone-shaped thing containing hardened yak's milk. He was initially sceptical but now a convert - the good thing is, it is so hard that it is going to last ages, even the most enthusiastic chomping makes relatively little impact.
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I went to a local theatre last night, to meet up with friends for dinner and a one-man show. That was called 'Kemp's Jig' and told the true story of Will Kemp's 'Nine Days Wonder', a publicity stunt in which this comic actor (and former colleague of William Shakespeare) morris-danced all the way from London to Norwich, in 1600:
It was a fun evening, and the play made good use of Kemp's original account, as I discovered when I checked that this morning. One quote along the way that I thought you, like me, would all appreciate was this one:
On Monday morning I danced to Rockland ere I rested, and coming to my Inn, where the Host was a very boon companion, I desired to see him; but in no case he would be spoken with till he had shifted himself from his working day's suit. Being armed at all points, from the cap to the codpiece, his black shoes shining and made straight with copper buckles of the best, his garters in the fashion, and every garment fitting Corremsquandam (to use his own word), he enters the Hall, with his bonnet in his hand, [and] began to cry out:
“O Kemp, dear Master Kemp! you are even as welcome as—as—as—,” and so stammering he began to study for a fit comparison, and, I thank him, at last he fitted me; for, sayeth he, “thou art even as welcome as the Queen's best greyhound.”
Kemp wasn't particularly thrilled by this, calling it a "dogged [pun definitely intended!] yet well-meaning salutation", but Tiger and I both feel it was a very fine compliment indeed!
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I'm glad things are beginning to come together for you, even if there's a way to go.
Self-soothing does sound likely, in which case time and patience and care will be the way forward. I mentioned my dear old Ken on p.1, and his tendency to tank water down. He was quite a shy boy to begin with, and we could see that it would happen when he was feeling anxious - e.g. at home he would rush to a water bowl when visitors arrived, on a day out he would drink to excess when offered water, perhaps thinking 'might not get another chance!' The vet and I suspected that was a result of him having had restricted access to water somewhere in his earlier lie, maybe even having had to compete for it
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Tiger has dry kibble which I order online from here - have always found them very reasonable and reliable. I just checked on that, and on the tripe sticks I also buy from there, and so far the price remains unchanged.
But human food prices are undoubtedly on the rise - I have noticed that with my own shopping, and so far as Tiger is concerned he was recently switched from a twice-weekly tin of Lidl sardines at 31p, to Asda's cheapest at 34p, after Lidl's went up to 35p .
There are also of course still quite frequently gaps on supermarket shelves, thanks to the ongoing issues with shipping and deliveries - I keep bigger stocks of some things than I used to, e.g. the sardines and also the nappy bags I use as poo bags, because both will disappear altogether for weeks at a time.
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Happy New Year everybody from me and Tiger!
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Merry Christmas - lovely photos!
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What is the collar made of? It may be rubbing the fur off. Some greyhounds seem to have especially soft, easy-to-rub off coats. As yours is relatively new to you, he may also still be in the process of losing his kennel coat and growing in a new one. Try giving him tinned sardines a couple of times a week (really popular here!) or a daily dose of fish oil to help with that. May sort out the bald thighs too.
You can get satin-lined collars which help reduce the rubbing issue, and collars made from hemp also become nice and soft with wear and washing.
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That must have felt ... bracing!
Tiger assumes that particular lie-down-and-rub-my-face posture most mornings, after his walk - but indoors, on the rug. We're softies down South, tha knowst!
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I am so sorry for you both, and for Mark. Such a short time that she had with you, but as others have said one filled with love, and luck, and happiness.
Run free, dear Diva - no more pain now
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Washing of food bowl
in Food and dietary discussion
Posted
I wash after every meal too. Mind you the dish already *appears* spotlessly clean at that point, thanks to Tiger's tongue - I have been known to say to him "No need to lick the pattern off!" (It's a stainless steel one, with some roundels inside the base.)