MerseyGrey

I wouldn’t trust a new greyhound off leash in a place with so many distractions but I think that once they get to know that you’re their human, taking them for long lazy afternoons watching the world go by sounds like bliss. They are intelligent enough to know you’re their source of food (so will probably come back to you eventually) but really have no common sense so won’t think twice about chasing a cat/squirrel/crisp packet into traffic. Like someone else said, it becomes second nature -like watching a toddler - and you’ll find plenty of other things which will displace the ‘are they going to escape’ worry. When we’d had Buddy for a few weeks, I let him into the back garden to do his business. A few minutes later, I couldn’t see or hear him, so wondered outside to find that someone had left our garden gate open. I ran out to the front to look for him to find him standing patiently at the front door, waiting to be let back in. It was tea time, after all (clever enough to wait at the front door, not clever enough to find his way back through the gate )

I’m sorry to hear about Zeke and Toodles. I hope the fact that they had lovely lives with you gives you some comfort

I love the mascara, the eyebrows and especially the ring of white around her nose. But why do all greyhound pups look like they are just about to get into mischief?

Well, who can blame them?

I took Brolly for another walk yesterday so he would be a bit more familiar with me before we brought him home for the weekend. He’s not really shown his cuddly side yet but he’s only been with them for about two weeks so I think he might be a bit shelll-shocked from the change of situation. Enjoy the video! https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5B7_qhINzy/?igsh=MTNnZWI4a28zOHo0bg==

Well, that’s because when we last volunteered ourselves we got a wonderful response…they didn’t have any dogs that they could give us for the weekend - they were all out to foster with a view to adoption! Merlin and Sammy both look like their adoptions will go ahead, which is great news. You might remember that we had Ami with us for a weekend, who was perfect except for about 30 seconds where we feared for our lives. We got some more information about him and how he was treated, which wasn’t particularly nice, and the news about him is mixed. He is currently in long-term foster through the rescue’s vet, and they are going to spend time trying to work out what his triggers are for his ‘unfavourable’ behaviour, and they are going to try and see if they can iron out his issues. Him being with someone who has experience with dog behaviour is going to be essential, and they are going to assess him in a few months before possibly putting him back in the rotation for adoption. That is the good news. If they can’t work these things out, his future is a bit less certain. They can’t put him out for adoption if his behaviour can’t be changed - the rescue is quite small and they can’t risk him biting someone again. There was some talk of him becoming a sponsor dog, so they would keep him in kennels and raise funds for him. But it’s not much of a life for him - for any dog really. We will keep an ear out for him. We have a long weekend here due to Easter and we have a guest. I was advised to keep this quiet specifically from you Jan - I have it on good authority that the minute you know, you’ll be booking a flight to see our handsome brindle boy Brolly. This will be his first time in a home of any kind. I took him for a walk last week, and will probably do so again before he comes here on Friday. Here’s a link to his picture on Instagram. I’ll get the spare room ready https://www.instagram.com/p/C4x1IG3I5_E/?igsh=ZGJvajQ2a3dkbW1q

That snow looks like quite the workout. I bet, like most of us, the girls love the snow for a day or two, but are looking forward to normal [walking] service to resume.

Gorgeous girlies

Doolin, you can get the valet to tuck that back in for you

Happy birthday and congratulations! She looks like she’s going to keep you on your toes!

Ouch! Buddy was clumsy and broke one of his nails a couple of times. He limped a bit but once the nail came off properly it didn’t seem to bother him much although it must have hurt. The car looked like a crime scene when we took him to the vet. I hope Gracie isn’t too bothered by her impromptu manicure

I’m sorry, I’ve missed all this! Punkin, you look like you’re doing really well, still as beautiful as ever

I’m surprised that treat wasn’t set alight by those laser eyes on the way to it’s final destination!

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes

I’m sure his smile will be just as beautiful and his breath will be even sweeter! My fingers are crossed for an easy dental and lots of soft treats afterwards

It does sound like it was meant to be. Welcome home Steve (for the weekend!)

Thank you. Good tips for his management!

Sorry for the lateness but happy birthday gorgeous girlie! Cue the strains of Frank Sinatra ‘when I was eleventeen, it was a very good year…’

That face and what a beautiful song

Congratulations, whatever you’re doing must be right! We cleaned Buddy’s teeth almost every day after an expensive dental in 2020 but by the end one of his lower canines was wobbly and most of his teeth were stained

I might be able to get to him after work for a walk from the kennels. Since we’ve been dogless, we’ve started to make plans and having a permanent foster, especially one that has the potential to adverse reactions like Ami, doesn’t necessarily fit in with those plans, which is why we have been having them for occasional weekends. We also both work full time and although Dan occasionally works from home it’s not guaranteed. I will speak to the charity owner again. We all want the best for the dogs we are involved with. We are still relatively inexperienced and will be guided heavily by advice from others.

The kennels know they will be keeping him there for a while as his needs are quite specific and finding a permanent home will be harder than with most. His previous owner already has a greyhound and the people at the kennels don’t think he had these issues before he went to her. We heard that he was becoming shut down in kennels so we wanted to offer him a break for a weekend and thought we might be able to help with seeing what his reactions are. But maybe we are doing more harm than good.

What a sweetheart!

I see what you mean. I think he is in a kennel on his own, but they say that they don’t really go into his kennel, they open the door and make him come to them so I don’t think it’s been an issue. They did tell us yesterday that the behaviour we described - the snap and then following his victim rather than just letting it go - is what his previous owner had experienced, but they weren’t sure whether or not to believe her as she was a bit inconsistent. They said they would talk to a behaviourist to try and work him out. Sounds to me like he’s a grudge-bearer and that maybe he has found a home with kindred spirits! Yes! Ami lures you in with a paw of more or whining for attention…then it’s like a shark attack!

I will talk to the kennel lead when we take him back and let her know what happened and what we’re doing. I don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes and how they interact with the dogs there. I think their policy of ‘let the dog come to you’ is a blanket one for all dogs. They said they hadn’t seen any of the behaviour that had been described by the owner but, like you @EllenEveBaz, they hadn’t let those situations develop. Maybe the home environment is the break in consistency so if we stick to the NILIF training, he will start to expect the same at home as he gets in kennels. I don’t know. We can only try!