gazehund

You did everything you could Julie. Baby boy knows that. Rest well sweetheart. I am so sorry.

I am so sorry for your loss. Rest well Psi.

My broken record advice for any new hound off the track. Tape up any and all full glass doors or low to the ground glass windows. Your foster has no idea he or she cannot walk (or run) to what he / she can so clearly see. Other than that enjoy helping the dog interpret his new and often very scary world in a way he / she can understand. Relax and have fun with him / her. I have not had a dog come from a foster home since Kia way back in 2000. I love watching a new hound experience his new environment for the very first time. Often times very comical and always a lot of fun for human and hound. Good luck, you will be great!

Oh Kim, no !!! I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful girl. Much too young. Rest well and wait for your King Bebe.

To answer the question, yes I do feel comfortable walking all three (or four when I had four) together. My guys are pretty well behaved and get LOTS of exercise. They are a pleasure to walk.

I loved your pictures Kari. What a long and happy life Mel had with you. I am very sorry he had to leave. Rest well Mel.

Prayers for a smooth and uneventful recovery for Aladdin. I would surely want to know what happened too.

What a terrible stretch you have had. I am so sorry for your losses. Rest well beautiful sparkly Diamond.

Scofflaw! :lol

When I drove down to Alabama to pick up Pooter I drove a large imported car (Land Rover) with only a NY transporter plate which had to be put on upside down so the date of the plate was displayed correctly. I didn't talk much either. Continued safe travels.

An excellent read for new hound owners. What his new life looks like from Badger's point of view. Author, Kathleen Gilley Of all breeds of dogs, the ex-racing Greyhound has never had to be responsible for anything in his life. His whole existence has been a dog-centered one. This breed has never been asked to do anything for itself, make any decisions or answer any questions. It has been waited on, paw and tail. The only prohibition in a racing Greyhound's life is not to get into a fight----------------or eat certain stuff in the turn out pen. Let us review a little. From weaning until you go away for schooling, at probably a year and a half, you eat, grow and run around with your siblings. When you go away to begin your racing career, you get your own "apartment," in a large housing development. No one is allowed in your bed but you, and when you are in there, no one can touch you, without plenty of warning. Someone hears a vehicle drive up, or the kennel door being unlocked. The light switches are flipped on. The loud mouths in residence, and there always are some, begin to bark or howl. You are wide awake by the time the human opens your door to turn you out. A Greyhound has never been touched while he was asleep. You eat when you are fed, usually on a strict schedule. No one asks if you are hungry or what you want to eat. You are never told not to eat any food within your reach. No one ever touches your bowl while you are eating. You are not to be disturbed because it is important you clean your plate. You are not asked if you have to "go outside." You are placed in a turn out pen and it isn't long before you get the idea of what you are supposed to do while you are out there. Unless you really get out of hand, you may chase, rough house and put your feet on everyone and every thing else. The only humans you know are the "waiters" who feed you, and the "restroom attendants" who turn you out to go to the bathroom. Respect people? Surely you jest. No one comes into or goes out of your kennel without your knowledge. You are all seeing; all knowing. There are no surprises, day in and day out. The only thing it is ever hoped you will do is win, place or show, and that you don't have much control over. It is in your blood, it is in your heart, it is in your fate-- or it is not. And when it is not, then suddenly you are expected to be a civilized person in a fur coat. But people don't realize you may not even speak English. Some of you don't even know your names, because you didn't need to. You were not asked or told to do anything as an individual; you were always part of the "condo association?; the sorority or fraternity and everyone did everything together, as a group or pack. The only time you did anything as an individual is when you schooled or raced, and even then, You Were Not Alone. In my "mobile abode," the Greyhounds each have several unique names, but they also have a single common name: it is Everybody. We continue to do things as a group, pack or as we are affectionately known in-house, by Kathleen's Husbandit, "The Thundering Herd." Back to those who have not been permanently homed. Suddenly, he is expected to behave himself in places he's never been taught how to act. He is expected to take responsibility for saying when he needs to go outside, to come when he is called, not to get on some or all of the furniture, and to not eat food off counters and tables. He is dropped in a world that is not his, and totally without warning, at that. Almost everything he does is wrong. Suddenly he is a minority. Now he is just a pet. He is unemployed, in a place where people expect him to know the rules and the schedule, even when there aren't any. (How many times have you heard someone say, "He won't tell me when he has to go out." What kind of schedule is that?) Have you heard the joke about the dog who says, "My name is No-No Bad Dog. What's yours?" To me that is not even funny. All the protective barriers are gone. There is no more warning before something happens. There is no more strength in numbers. He wakes up with a monster human face two inches from his. (With some people's breath, this could scare Godzilla.) Why should he not, believe that this "someone," who has crept up on him, isn't going to eat him for lunch? (I really do have to ask you ladies to consider how you would react if someone you barely knew crawled up on you while you were asleep?) No, I will not ask for any male input. Now he is left alone, for the first time in his life, in a strange place, with no idea of what will happen or how long it will be before someone comes to him again. If he is not crated, he may go though walls, windows or over fences, desperately seeking something familiar, something with which to reconnect his life. If he does get free, he will find the familiarity, within himself: the adrenaline high, the wind in his ears, the blood pulsing and racing though his heart once again--until he crashes into a car. Often, the first contact with his new family is punishment, something he's never had before, something he doesn't understand now, especially in the middle of the rest of the chaos. And worst of all, what are the most common human reactions to misbehavior? We live in a violent society, where the answer to any irritation is a slap, punch, kick, whip, or rub your nose in it. Under these circumstances, sometimes I think any successful adoption is a miracle. He is, in effect, expected to have all the manners of at least a six-year old child. But, how many of you would leave an unfamiliar six-year old human alone and loose in your home for hours at a time and not expect to find who knows what when you got back? Consider that if you did, you could be brought up on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Yet, people do this to Greyhounds and this is often the reason for so many returns. How many dogs have been returned because they did not know how to tell the adoptor when they had to go out? How many for jumping on people, getting on furniture, counter surfing, separation anxiety, or defensive actions due to being startled or hurt (aka growling or biting)? So, let's understand: Sometimes it is the dog's "fault" he cannot fit in. He is not equipped with the social skills of a six-year old human. But with your love and help, you can make it happen.

HOW Did I miss this? Welcome home Pinky!! Congrats she is beautiful.

Oh thankfully Dick came in. He knows how to read a race card correctly. Me? Not so much. Same info displayed differently. Thanks Dick! http://www.dogwager.net/how-to-read-a-dog-race-card.html

Red Badger ran way more than 19 races. He ended his career at B'ham but started at Lincoln with a trip to Victoryland in between. Here ya go. Greyhound data is nowhere near a complete data base. http://www.trackinfo.com/greymatter/ Where it says dog name over to the left, type in Red Badger. All his races will come up.

Welcome downstater from an upstater! Badger is gorgeous.

Oh Jey. (((((((((((( HUGS))))))))))))) to you. I am so sorry. Rest well darling Zema. We will miss you so much.

Lucy, Dewey Beach 2004 was my all time favorite Dewey of the 7 trips I have made there. It was the year I got to meet you and Riley. What a clown your sweet boy was ! That memory is one of my most enduring memories of all the many people and hounds I have met over the years. Thank you and Riley for it. I will never forget you or your boy. Rest well Riley. You had a life well lived and well loved. We miss you terribly.

Thats what I'm getting at. ... you don't have 100% in the present, and that is where I and my dog lives... Agreed.

To answer the Poll question, YES, ALWAYS. See my opinions in I'm Starting A Touchy Subject To answer the above question. All of the above, plus, hand signals, small gestures, and tone of voice. You have to have 99.9 % percent success,(100% does not exist in all reality) Oh right, I forgot about hand signals. We work on that every day as well. Hand palm up facing them means wait / stay. I train and reinforce verbal WAIT on a daily basis also.

I meant for the poll to allow folks to essentially answer two questions in one. I originally asked whether people did recall training with the answer options of: "Yes, always." and "No." I added the options on reliability so that folks could indicated whether their training has resulted in reliable recall in response to a post indicating that the posted had tried training it, but that her dog wasn't reliable. I probably should have split the two questions up instead of adding the options and allowing folks to select more than one option. It's my first poll, sorry. Ahhhhhhhhhh, I see. Still a good job and a good poll.

I voted reliable. The "always" put me off from voting yes. Are they recall trained? Yes, they are. The 2 long time kennel hounds began re-call training with their racing trainers and continued here by me. We work on it every day. The spook was "trained", by me only. Of the three hounds I have now Pearl (the spook) has the best re-call of the three of them. Might be because she has been here the longest and it might have something to do with her trust in me. Dunno, I ain't no trainer. To this date, I have never had a problem with re-call with my hounds. Just as I never say never, I also never say always. Good poll and topic.

(((((( Lucy)))))))

Welcome back ! I remember you . Best wishes on your continued road to recovery.

I am sorry Kristin. I have walked this road twice now. Many of us here have. You are not alone. Here is the info you asked for. C. Guillermo Couto, DVM Diplomate ACVIM Professor Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences The Ohio State University 0032 Veterinary Medical Center 601 Vernon Tharp St. Columbus, Ohio 43210 Ph: (614) 292-3551 Fx: (614) 292-0895 e-mail

I have been thinking of you all morning. I hope you felt my presence. I too, wish I were able to drive to Philly to be there for you. I am so, so sorry my friend. I am here if you need me. Rest well beautiful Zeus. I am so thrilled I had the chance to meet you and stoke your soft fur. No more pain now.