jetcitywoman

Tired of the countdown? So are we! So we're opening one day early for all y'all! The Facebook link for te GRTB Convention Center Shopping page is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/921249895026663 You can also shop through the email that GRTB (Larry) sent out this morning.

And nowwwww.....

I take back my last post. It's now

4 days to go! Larry will be emailing a list of the participating vendors for everyone who does not use Facebook. If you get his GRTB and Grapehounds emails, you'll get this one. Keep you eyeballs peeled!

Yep, we'll send out a list or something for non-Facebook people also.

The official announcement just came out so I wanted to share it here, too. Since the Greyhounds Reach the Beach(tm) event was postponed due to the pandemic, the vendors decided to come together to offer the shopping portion of the event online, via Facebook. If you participated in the Greyhounds in Gettysburg Virtual Vendor Weekend, this will be much the same. The Facebook page (to be announced) will the the "virtual convention center" where you can browse all of the merchandise. The photos will be linked back to each vendor's shop website, or have instructions for how to purchase. Many of your favorite vendors are participating, and many of them will be offering special discounts or donations to adoption groups when you make a purchase. The Virtual Convention Center shopping event will take place starting Thursday, October 8th and end on Sunday, October 11th. Further details coming soon!

OMG, It's been too long since I updated this thread! But I do have news and some new items to tempt you guys with: Sliding glass door decals - because sure you can use painters tape but isn't that hideous? We have 5 different pretty designs in matte white. Subtle so as to not detract from your decor but clearly visible so the dog knows that the door's not open. (Apply them at doggy eye-height.... or at human eye-height if you have humans in the house who also tend to walk through doors! ) Iggy muzzles! You heard that right, I have iggy muzzles in stock in two sizes. They're so eensy they're adorable. New design of whippet muzzles that has the bottom blocked out for some pica protection. "I need space" warning badges. They come in pairs, the back of each in a pair is one side of Velcro. So you can stick them back-to-back on a leash or you can put them on both sides of a harness with a little strip of velcro on each. They're bright and are clearly read from a short distance - before people get too close to your anxious pup. Leash safety straps - a lot of people use a carabiner if they think their leash clasp may fail. Ugh, so ugly. Use our leash safety strap instead! I also now carry a few bright safety colors with reflective strips of the Houndstown spook harnesses and split leashes in matching colors. Total protection of those spooks! Click on the url in my siggy to go browse these items.

Hmm, can't edit or delete my post so i need to make another post to fix a mistake. Only vendors who had already been approved to vend in Gettysburg are allowed to participate in this event. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that until I was told just now.

I think it would be too hard to organize an event this size with less than a year to go. However, we're organizing a Virtual Vendor Weekend, basically the shopping part of Gig that same weekend done online. We're looking for vendors to participate and also starting to publicize it far and wide for attendees. The fantastic advantage of this is that nobody has to travel to participate! If you want to vend, the only fee is the 10% donation to Nittany. The central "showcase" or entry point to the vendor shops will be a Facebook page (although I'm tossing around ideas for people who HATE Facebook - let me know if you are one of those so I can gauge the need for it). The page will not be opened up to attendees until all the vendors are set up (likely April 29th or the morning of the 30th).

It's been a couple years since I've been to it (vending with Diane from Scooby North America), but I'm coming back this year as my own vendor. (Yay!) I'm super looking forward to it!

Hi Robin! Sorry, I don't. It is an idea that I play with every now and then, and have asked a few people who make them if I could sell them, but it never seems to happen. I have found some really cheap ones at wholesale distributers but don't like them. Always on the lookout for ones that are nice, though!

So based on some feedback on the Facebook GiG group, I'll be bringing more rental muzzles and setting up a 2-day rental option for the hotel people. I'll have signs posted around also.

I just saw this info about muzzles being required in the Eisenhower. As some of you know, I sell the Irish muzzles with the leather nose padding and was already planning to offer muzzle rentals for the dog-sitting and play area. If you guys think it would be helpful, I can make sure I bring enough rentals so you can have them in the hotel also. (The rentals are also the double padded style, but I mark them as rentals so that I don't accidentally sell them or people don't want to keep them.) I already have my system set up to offer a one-day rental, which I was envisioning as "pick it up today, keep it overnight and return it tomorrow". Would this be helpful?

I'll be vending there again, but using my new business name (Sit. Stay safe!). I can't wait to show you guys the new safety gear we have in stock. I was leaning in that direction last year but didn't have very much stuff yet. Now I have full product lines of reflective jackets and leashes, rechargeable lighted jackets, collars and leashes, life jackets and of course the padded muzzles that everyone loves. Watch for Dave to be walking our ninja dog (Loki, all black greyhound) around the hall to show off how he can't be a ninja anymore. LOL!

Hey all, I have reflective jackets, leashes and "overcollars" in stock now! I will of course be bringing them to Gettysburg so you all can try them on. The overcollars are cool... they just slip on over your dog's normal collar and has a large buttonhole where the leash goes through. So it doesn't replace your dog's collar, it just adds reflectivity! And the jackets are made out of amazingly light, soft fabric. I'm in love, I hope you will be too!

Hey, I'm running a Holiday Giveaway contest. Check it out!

That's a good suggestion, too. I know that when I get lazy and do the same route for a week or so, my dogs start to anticipate where we're going so that when I change the route, they're like "oh, we're doing something different today, ok!" LOL It's kind of adorable that they learn the route and anticipate where they're going next as if they would just walk that route all by themselves if you weren't there.

With the toothbrushing, I recommend you start with baby steps and include it in his daily routine. Same time of day, every day. Later you can relax the routine a little. But the baby steps go like this: First week or so, just let him lick the paste off the brush. don't restrain him in any way. Give him a treat for doing it. Ignore my husband who thinks that you can't give him a treat after his teeth are already clean, at this stage the goal is to turn this event into something fun and/or rewarding for him to voluntarily participate in. Next week or so, while he's licking the the paste, gently rub the brush against his canine teeth (because they're generally most prominent and easy to access while he's licking. Don't scold or prevent him from licking, it's natural that he do that. After a few sessions of that, then as you continue sessions, rub the brush quickly against a few more teeth each time. Again, no scolding or preventing him from licking. You need to learn to brush around his licking. It's not impossible, just think of it as a special technique for dogs. Keep treating him every time. When you get to the point where you feel the need to hold his head/snout just to steady him, you start by just gently lifting one lip with the fingers of your other hand. That sounds ginger when I read what I wrote, but when I do it I'm firm but gentle, not ginger or tentative. Simply lifting a lip isn't the same as holding his head because he can still back away if he wants to. That will inspire trust and confidence in him. After he's used to that, then you can gently hold his snouth with your other hand to brush his whole mouth. I use this technique with fosters and new dogs. After only a few weeks they come running to me when they know it's toothbrush time! (And then you can switch to treating before brushing if you're my husband, and treat him only randomly instead of every time if you're me.)

I think it will take time (in addition to using the other advice you got here). I found that the first entire year and sometimes longer depending on the dog, is all about building a relationship with the dog. Specifically he's learning who you are just as much as you're learning who he is. And you're also learning how to communicate with each other. Over time and going through the same thing you are with my greys, I learned that it helps to let them occasionally decide the walking route. Of course you know things they don't, like if you have time for a longer walk or longer route, or if somewhere isn't safe to go, etc. so you do get final say. And that's part of the relationship-building, too. He needs to learn that you're a nice owner who occasionally lets him go where he wants, but when you don't, then he needs to accept that. Over time, mostly with my beloved Capri who is our first, I learned to read their body language. It took me a long time to realize that she wasn't just being stubborn or stupid, she was actually trying to express an opinion. What I learned was this: if she turns her head to look at something, she's mildly interested or curious in it, thinking about turning the corner down THAT side street but doesn't feel strongly about it. If she turns the front half of her body, she REALLY wants to go that way. If she turns her entire body, like the time I tried to walk her in a mild snowstorm but she wasn't having any of it, she's saying "TAKE ME HOME THIS INSTANT DAMMIT!"

I'm curious what everybody else thinks of Petsmart participating as a vendor.

Since the title is perfect for general news/discussion of the event, I hope it's okay if I piggy back onto it? For those who aren't on Facebook, Sarah has been rocking it out on the logistics and other planning for the event. For just one example, she has arranged for grey-sitting with the local Jungle Jim's Total Pet Care (dog daycare and spa). GRTB attendees' greyhounds will all go into one room, separated from other customer's dogs. Muzzles are required of course. To help out, I am going to offer muzzle rentals from my tent at the Hyatt. That's only a few short blocks away from Jungle Jim's and I'll have signs posted at both locations and in the event booklet to let everyone know where they can rent a muzzle. I'll be renting some of the popular double-padded Irish muzzles, $5 for a 4 hour session or $10 for all day, your choice. (Someone on Facebook asked: yes, I will sanitize the muzzles in between rentals.) I will have another exciting new product to sell, or rather a service. But I don't want to spill the beans until I practice a little to make sure the results are high quality and good looking. I can hint that it's something people have been asking me for. Everybody who loves the double-padded muzzles will love it! Question: anybody here interested in renting whippet muzzles also? I can offer that, but I'm puzzling over how to mark them as rentals. They don't have the lovely nose padding that I can label. But if there is demand, I will find a way!

So Fosters and Smith customer service replied back to me today to say that they haven't made any decisions about which products to discontinue. And even if they did, their manufacturers are proprietary information so they can't tell me who they are. LOL! Sheesh, how very corporate!

Yikes. Last year I tried so hard to find out who their supplier for these was and couldn't figure it out. Maybe now they'll reveal that information to a competitor. Let me look around a bit...

Sorry, I'm doing safety, not grooming. I have a lovely new product in stock! High quality leather muzzle keepers, just like I've been asking about here somewhere. They came out wonderfully!

Thank you cleptogrey but sorry. I am keeping clear of all consummable items because I can't control the quality. I've been so disappointed with all the recalls lately of dog food brands that I always thought of as high quality (like Blue Buffalo, etc.) That does give me quite a challenge, though, because I don't have any products that people come back for. I'm storming my little brain out trying to find something to draw repeat shoppers. Some day I'll find something.