steerpike

Hi, I tried out a Gencon figure of 8 head collar on my 5 year old leash reactive boy today. It seemed to work wonders. It does tighten obviously by design and a couple of times he let out a tiny yelp when too tight so I'm using cautiously until I decide if it's right for him. Just wondered how others have fared with this system? It's more restrictive for him as he's closer to me and can't roam as he once did ( I had a rope lead and harness before), but he can be extremely reactive to small dogs so I hope to use this, especially when in busy areas, then perhaps use harness in open fields and countryside. Wonder if anyone has experience of the Gencon v Halti? TIA

He loves a ride in the car - usually cos he knows he's going somewhere fun. I guess ultimately there's only one way to find out.

Does anyone have any experience of taking a Greyhound in a camper van? Do they adapt well and come to see it as an extension of the home? Or does it make them anxious?

really interesting video, thanks for the links @DocsDoctorand @FiveRoooooers I did a double take because the grey/blue dog in the video is *almost* a spitting image for mine. Even the white patches on the paws. It's only the white on the nose that finally put it to rest! Otherwise, he's absolutely identical. Astonishing, although perhaps this is a common colour passed down through breeding (grey/blue with a white 'tuxedo').

by way of a general update, we've found an excellent trainer locally and are now using a waist, hands free harness with a strong rope and carabiner style lead. In addition, we have a lead to his martingale collar and this is the main means of controlling his tendencies. When he reacts badly, he is swiftly distracted so he's facing away from the 'threat'. No harsh punishment but he's gently admonished for bad behaviour and we go overboard with affection and treats when he passes another dog without bad reactivity

I wonder if anyone has the insight into the industry to sketch out a typical life for a racing dog? I have a rough understanding and I'm sure standards of care differ from place to place, but I think it might help me understand some of the behaviours my 4 year old male displays. I am in the UK and our male dog raced here - about 40 races in his career and a strong performer. He was born into the industry and raced until he was about 3.5 years and is currently approaching his 5th birthday. He has some nicks in his ears which I assume is down to other dogs biting - either through aggression or play. I wonder how dogs tend to live when not racing - i.e. in groups or individual kennels?

Thanks for all the responses - apologies I've been late to respond. Very useful and appreciated. @Bee good to hear! We are making good progress too with positive reinforcement. I will look out for your posts.

Thanks all for the excellent advice as per usual. @MerseyGrey - I've decided to go with a Ruffwear. I didn't mention that he also has a martingale collar so intend to get a double ended lead I think, or two separate leads, and attach one to his head and one to collar. As you say, it looks like there's an option for a panel free front too which will help with his sensitive skin. We haven't specifically used 'Watch me' but have done quite a bit of recall training on a 10m long lead and he's improved hugely with this. Currently, when we approach a dog that's within his 'bubble', I will move him as far away as possible and will go down to his level and calm him. I then reward directly afterwards with a treat if no reactivity so there's a strong connection. If he does react - no punishment, just no reward. @greysmom - thank you - I have the book on order - it looks like it will be very beneficial. @Remolacha- thanks, appreciate the advice and we're going to proceed as mentioned with ruffwear harness and another lead to his martingale Thank you also @BatterseaBrindl , @JenniferS, @palmettobug, @BandM - all much appreciated opinions and good advice. @HeyRunDog - good idea, we are aware of a Greyhound Walk local to us - we did have one failed attempt to meet up with them before (wrong park!), but in the process we met up with another Greyhound and our dog got on great with him so it suggests he's not a lost cause! I do think it may be sensory overload to take him on a walk with 20+ others right now but we might build up to this. He has definitely got worse in terms of reactivity so I think there's an element of becoming familiar with his surroundings and maybe territorial. It's stark how non-reactive he was when we first brought him home. TBH I think he was just totally confused and overloaded in the beginning but for the first month at least, we could always walk past other dogs without a reaction.

We are 5 months into adopting a retired racer (UK). While he's made great progress in most areas, he remains wildy reactive to other dogs - and I mean ALL dogs regardless of size. He is at the larger end of the scale - around 38kg and with strong muscle definition. When we adopted, we were given a leather collar and lead. It soon became apparent that whilst this was great for moving his head away from any potential triggers, it was also half throttling him and we felt it wasn't a good control mechanism. We moved onto a generic but strong harness. The harness has 2 points - one for the back and one at the front but we've only ever used the back attachment with a strong, carabiner type clip and a rope lead. This works in the main but it does enable him to pivot and bolt towards other dogs - this can be dangerous for us let alone the other dog as he's so strong and has pulled us over before (I'm 6ft and 12 stone) when he acts without warning and catches us off balance. The other downside to this harness is that it covers most of his chest and is causing fur to rub off and skin irritation. I'm looking for to find the holy grail of leads/harnesses which ideally fits 3 criteria: - removes risk of him slipping his lead completely (some kind of sure fire bodily attachment to us) - allows us to manoeuvre his head AND his shoulders so he cannot swivel/pivot and face the trigger - a Halti perhaps or harness with 2 leads and connection points. - less important but good for his fur - one that doesn't cover his entire chest area to minimise the rubbing and irritation We cannot allow him to continue to present a risk to pulling us over nor being able to get to other dogs while we work on his socialisation. I realise this kind of question has been asked a hundred times, but I wonder if there are any good suggestions for as foolproof a system as possible for our scenario. We are UK based so would need to be able to source a product here. TIA

Thanks for the useful responses. I realise I gave a very limited sample! This may be a one off due to supply issues at this vet practice.

Has anyone in the UK noticed large increases in food costs recently? 1kg tub of Natural Instincts meat pre Xmas = £3.20. Same tub yesterday = £5.20 This might be unique to my supplier but I hope it isn't a sign of things to come.

Thanks both, useful tips! I'll check out the shampoo and collars

Thanks for the advice. The collar is fabric but I will search for a silk lined one, good tip. He does get oily fish every other day. I think you're right, this might just be a standard winter moult since coming from kennels. I'm looking at some medicated shampoo and might try that if it worsens.

My 4 year old boy (rescued 4 months ago) has started to lose some hair around the back of his ears and where his (Martingale) collar sits. It's only started in the last few weeks. I just wondered if this is normal? It's nothing drastic, just can see thinning patches and wanted to halt anything that might be going wrong. He is dark grey in colour and has the usual bald thighs and tummy as standard.

@DocsDoctor Thank you, really useful advice and the website is a handy reference. I will indeed take him to the vets as they have walk on scales for dogs so I can see how much he's actually put on. Based on the link you posted, he's well short of obese.