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Hi everyone, I'm probably saying what all new greyhound owners say - so apologies for that! I've had my lovely big lad Samson for 10 weeks now. He is an ex-racer who was rehomed but unfortunately attacked by the new owner's greyhound, and so came to me for fostering a few days later with a large stitched up gash on his face. Poor chap. Not the best start to his non-racing life. I foster for a local charity (jack Russells, staffs, terriers) and he was foster no.7. A forever home with prospective new owners fell through after several meets (He's 36kgs and pretty big - they decided they wanted a smaller dog) and my little heart just couldn't deal with waving another dog off, particularly this gorgeous big meek chap, so I decided to adopt him myself. I know greyhounds are VERY different to other dogs but until he came along I didn't know quite how much. He was very introverted, nervous and statued a lot initially. He's come a long way with walking outdoors and can now walk past another dog without panicking, trying to go in the opposite direction and dandruffing everywhere (where does it all magically come from!), but still has quite mixed reactions - he either looks away and ignores other dogs completely with no friendly signals, OR if it is a small fluffy dog moves towards it very quickly! I am lead walking with muzzle several times a day. He's also gradually discovered a delightful love for squeaky balls so we head to an enclosed dog play area a few times a week so he can chase around after a ball. His feet still get quite sore though when he's charging around, poor thing. I was curious as to muzzling and if owners continue to use them all the time? Or should I be doing more to socialise him (difficult during coronavirus times!) and aiming to be able to walk him safely without a muzzle in time. Indoors he is becoming a real sweetie. He's still pensive with excessive or overzealous stroking and playing, but does tail waggle and run around like a lunatic if I have been out. That said, he gets very excited and then looks surprised at his own reactions :-) He has learned "down" - took a lot longer just to train this basic command than for any other dog. He can also manage "wait". "Come" is sporadic. That's as much as I have managed and all are carried out only if a treat is forthcoming. He's such a lovely gentle chap that "no" is rarely necessary. But I would like to do more training with him just to bond and engage. He sleeps a lot, of course, and seems to spend his days snoozing close by (he will settle in another room but prefers to come and lie down in whichever room I am in) and waiting for food. I've never known a dog so food obsessed, but on the plus side he isn't fussy - he will eat ABSOLUTELY anything. I'm feeding twice a day and giving treats for training, but aside from that I'm hoping the regular food routines will mean he becomes slightly less food obsessed (but I'm doubtful!). As I am training and engaging with him I am worried about his weight. I know that ex-racers tend to fill out a bit. He's not overweight at all and I'm keeping an eye on it, but does anyone have any good training treat suggestions that are healthy instead of the usual shop bought treats? And lastly are there any good tips for games, playtime and keeping him stimulated? He's gradually started enjoying to play so I'm trying different toys and games to see which get him interested. Obviously, being a snoozy grey, he's not keen on prolonged periods of play. But it would be nice to find different things to try so that when he does want to interact we have plenty of fun things to do. Any hints and tips gratefully appreciated! Fee

Join Greyhounds Make Great Pets on Friday, August 30, 2019 as greyhound historian Charles Blanning, author of the recently published book, "The Greyhound and the Hare" (about the history of the greyhound breed} returns to GMGP to discuss his choice of the 10 Greatest Greyhounds in History. Charles will be interviewed by our guest co~host John Parker.You won't want to miss this interesting and informative hour about our favorite breed. https://www.voiceamerica.com/promo/episode/117054 Greyhounds Make Great Pets every Friday at 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern only on VoiceAmerica.com All shows are available on-demand on iTunes, Spotify or download #gmgp3 #houndsoftheworld