So...we Have A Grey?

[Guest equestrianerd]

(Sorry for the novel!)

 

I contacted a local branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust this week and planned to go meet a couple of unraced dogs this weekend. Its kennel closer to us (one town over rather than 4) phoned to say they'd just gotten a dog in who looked like he'd work well with cats, and did we want to meet him (along with an older dog who'd been in kennels for a while)? Of course we said yes, so they and the kennel woman came by today. She needed to do a home check anyway, so this would also 1) save us the hassle of trekking out to the kennels via holiday-schedule public transport 2) see how the dogs reacted to our house/dog/cats.

We started off with Stout, a 3 1/2 year old black boy (the one who'd just come in). I was a bit skeptical, given that they don't officially "cat test" (just observe what the dogs react to on walks), but he was really, really good. Sniffed Ace politely, figured out the stairs pretty quickly, and just chilled in the lounge being petted and fussed over. We eventually brought our cat Ruby (the dopey one) in, and Stout was very, very interested. He stared quite a bit, but wasn't trying to approach. After a few minutes he did step a bit closer to sniff (while we kept Ruby in place with a hand on his back, as otherwise he was very keen to dash away and I didn't want to encourage a chase response). Ruby let Stout sniff at him but then took a swipe at him, which caused Stout to back off sharpish. We let Ruby retreat at that point and Stout was fine with letting him go.

We hung out with him a bit more, chatting with the kennel lady about what he was like and what to expect with him. Then she suggested she could leave him on trial today, so after a moment of stunned silence between DH and I (we'd been previously assured that we absolutely HAD to have a 6ft solid fence installed before we could keep a dog, and that won't happen until the end of this month), we agreed! (We were going to meet the older dog, but the kennel lady said he'd be trickier to house-train with our stairs.)

So, we tentatively have a dog. Not sure what we're going to name him yet, but Stout isn't going to cut it. (His racing name is Droopys Stoute if anyone knows his family connections.)

He's had soo many adventures today. We went on a long walk with Ace after the kennel lady left, during which we saw other dogs, got VERY excited about a loose dog chasing a ball, saw some horses from a distance (some quite far away, one pony about 10 feet away), got a bit confused by small children/baby strollers, and was the only one of us who knew the way home (to be fair, the route we originally thought of would have worked, but that wasn't immediately obvious).

We'd planned to introduce the cats to him once or twice more this afternoon/evening, but they've had other ideas. We (dogs/humans) are all hanging out in the lounge with the doors closed (so the cats have the rest of the house to themselves). Because Ruby is a dope, that means that every time we leave the lounge, he's right in the way. He also stands right on the front step when he wants to come in (he can't always figure out how to use the cat flap), so he got a thorough sniffing-over at the end of our walk. Reia (our non-dopey cat) got observed through a glass door for a bit and then encountered in person post-walk (she was not going to be put off by anything at dinnertime). So a little more sink-or-swim than I would have liked, but so far Stout has been a perfect gentleman (granted, with lead/muzzle on whenever the lounge door is open).

He's obviously a bit unsettled by everything, but seems happy enough with his new bed on the far side of the room. He ate his dinner well and has had two walks so far (will have one more potty break before bed). He went a bit nuts when we brought in our dinner (the kitchen is full of DIY stuff so no room for a table down there at the moment, plus we prefer to eat on the couch together), but settled down pretty quickly. He's been a bit whiny this afternoon, but that's to be expected with such a new environment. Poor guy, he's gone from racing kennels to retirement kennels to new home in the span of 3 days.

Apologies for the picture quality, he didn't really stop moving until a little while ago (and now it's dark, so not ideal lighting), and whenever he was close by for petting he was right in your face. Will try to get more this week, assuming his trial goes well.

Photo time!

Handsome boy (along with pink/purple-ish coat that came with him)


Love the face! He has a tiny white stripe on his nose, too. He's a bit grey already, as Ace was (got him when he was 3 1/2, too - lucky sign?)


Who are you?


Panting, but lying on his bed (also ignoring his dental chew to his left, which was quickly discarded - Ace was happy to have it later, though)


Settling in a bit

 

Fingers crossed he continues to settle in well, he's a charmer.

 

We're still pondering names, will post once we've decided.

[XTRAWLD]

Looks more like a horse! Just kidding. What a big strapping lad! Congrats!

[Feisty49]

He's a big, handsome boy! I hope it works out because he sounds so nice.

[ramonaghan]

Gorgeous boy! Fingers crossed all works out. (Don't wait too long to change his name...we took so long to make up our minds about Sweep that no other name but the one she came with seemed to fit anymore--so Sweep she remained! )

[greytpups]

Hope it all works out for you and this handsome boy.

[schultzlc]

He's gorgeous! Fingers crossed it all goes well!

[galgrey]

He's quite the looker! I hope he settles in well and does well with the cats.

[socalgreys]

Love! Love! Love!

 

Not that you want an unsolicited opinion.....

but I would name him Goliath....if I were so lucky!

 

I hope it all works out...

[BatterseaBrindl]

[greysmom]

 

Congrats!!!! He's a very handsome lad!

 

What about "Porter?"

[FiveRoooooers]

Does he have a mohawk through his shoulders?! I love his fuzzy tail.

 

How about "Tonka" or "Fonzie"? Congrats!!

[RhodyGreys]

How about Honcho, in honor of two of his fairly famous ancestors?

 

He's beautiful: I hope it works for all of you!

[scullysmum]

He looks lovely

 

His mother is a half sister to my boy Johnny, also a droopys dog. As for names what about Guiness or Mackeson, Mack for short?

 

I hope the trial goes well, seems pretty good so far.

[Guest equestrianerd]

Thanks, everyone! We just went on a morning constitutional and - because they're dumb - the cats came along. Seeing them in the field was very interesting (but he made no move towards them), and then he was a bit confused when they walked ahead of/behind him on the way back to the house (Reia does usually escort us the last few feet in, so as to ensure Quality Control with subsequent feeding, but I didn't expect her to do it with him around).

 

Looks more like a horse! Just kidding. What a big strapping lad! Congrats!

 

I know! My frame of reference for "big dog" has been drastically altered - before yesterday I thought Ace was pretty big but now he's dwarfed by comparison. To-be-named's head is probably about mid-thigh on me, which will take some getting used to (Ace comes to just above knee-level).

 

 

Does he have a mohawk through his shoulders?! I love his fuzzy tail.

 

How about "Tonka" or "Fonzie"? Congrats!!

 

Thanks! No, that's just flea treatment. His winter coat is soooo soft and fuzzy, though, I'm a bit sad that he likely won't grow one again in our toasty house.

He looks lovely

His mother is a half sister to my boy Johnny, also a droopys dog. As for names what about Guiness or Mackeson, Mack for short?

I hope the trial goes well, seems pretty good so far.

 

Is the Droopys name a well-known/common line? I looked through his pedigree but Droopys seemed to pop up out of nowhere (Droopys Fergie) with no link to her parents.

[Guest equestrianerd]

I just remembered that yesterday would have been my heart horse's 21st birthday. She sadly died when she was 8 (broken leg from a kick in the field), but the date is special to me.

Edited April 5, 2015 by equestrianerd

[Hawthorn]

Congratulations - he looks lovely! And you didn't have to wait too long either.

 

Hope it all works out - sounds very promising so far.

[DocsDoctor]

What a handsome chap! It sounds as if the trial is going well, so I hope it all works out!

 

Love! Love! Love!

 

Not that you want an unsolicited opinion.....

but I would name him Goliath....if I were so lucky!

 

I hope it all works out...

I think Goliath is a great name - some other unsolicited ideas that popped into my head when I saw him, on the giants/heavyweights theme: Hercules, Samson, Cassius (for Cassius Clay/Muhammed Ali)!

[Guest equestrianerd]

Congratulations - he looks lovely! And you didn't have to wait too long either.

 

Hope it all works out - sounds very promising so far.

 

Fingers crossed. We've progressed to unleased (but muzzled) with Ruby able (and willing, 'cause he's a dope) to come and go through a baby gate. Thus far, lots of sniffing and squeaking (Ruby) but nothing dramatic. Reia (unsurprisingly) has yet to make an appearance (the bedroom is her domain in the mornings). As I type, Ruby is chilling next to me on the sofa and To-be-named is lying on his bed 10 feet away, unperturbed.

 

Thanks for all the name suggestions. We'll have to try them out and see what pass the PJ test (am I willing to stand on my front step at 2am in my pjs shouting this name?) and what seems to fit.

[Hawthorn]

Choosing a name is such fun.

 

Often if you wait a while one jumps out at you. I originally called Sunny something else, but it didn't really seem to suit him, and the name Sunny just seemed to fit his looks and personality. Now if I were lucky enough to have a big black boy, I'd maybe call him Benson, or Bruno, or Shadow or Ash or .... the list goes on!

 

Can't wait to see which one passes the PJ test!

[Guest sireltonsmom]

How handsome he is! And how quickly he's settling in! His behavior with the cats says he is cat tolerant. Good that he still knows they are pack outside from inside. How lucky you are! I agree that he looks like he needs a masculine name - lots of fun ones to choose from. We have a really big 83# red boy and a smaller girl greyhound. I specifically picked the biggest boy greyhound in the prison program that session. I just love them - easy to reward with a back pat for good behavior and easy to correct if needed. Hope it works out.

 

Beau Mindy

Edited April 5, 2015 by sireltonsmom

[kronckew]

remembering robin hood and little john, you could call him 'tiny' (or even 'little john' ).

[Remolacha]

No help on the names (I am terrible) but congratulations on your gorgeous boy! The cat interactions sound like they are going well. I am impressed that he didn't react outside, so often that makes a big difference. Looking forward to more pictures!

[Guest equestrianerd]

I'm really impressed that he hasn't reacted to the cats outside. Ruby's taking advantage of that by just being absurd - saunter slowly inside (then dash off upstairs), then 30 seconds later come wandering back outside, rinse/repeat. Lucky for him To-be-named is being so awesome.

 

I think he's settling in a bit, he's been jumping a bit when we come into the lounge (we were doing DIY today so in/out of the house all afternoon). He's reasonably quick to chill out when we correct him (and stop coming into the room until he's quiet). We all had a bit of a rough night - I'm sleeping like crap because I have a horrible head cold, and TBN was a bit nervous/confused/whiny in the bedroom - he mostly settled down once we put a LED candle on, but I hope he learns to sleep in the dark soon.

 

Ace has been very surprising today - he's usually super submissive, but this afternoon I caught him on TBN's bed instead of his own, and he seems to be taking charge a bit. Go him, if that's the case, but it's very out of character. Maybe it's taken a bit of sibling rivalry/jealousy to get him to assert himself a bit, finally? At least it means that he's not just standing in the background looking sad/jealous and is instead coming close to us for his own pettings.

 

Will try and get photos tomorrow - between holding the lead to this horse ghound and using the daylight hours to work on our kitchen, I haven't had any chances to take photos today. Bad new greyhound mom - will try better tomorrow!

[scullysmum]

What a handsome chap! It sounds as if the trial is going well, so I hope it all works out!

 

 

I think Goliath is a great name - some other unsolicited ideas that popped into my head when I saw him, on the giants/heavyweights theme: Hercules, Samson, Cassius (for Cassius Clay/Muhammed Ali)!

Is he really that big? His racing weight is recorded at 33kgs which isn't massive, Johnny was that weight when he came to me and he's the smallest (as in height) Grey of the four I have had.

 

The Droopys stud in Ireland is one of the biggest and most successful breeders of Greyhounds in the UK http://www.droopys-stud.com/

 

Hope the trial is continuing well

 

Btw. Are you in the South East?

[Guest equestrianerd]

Is he really that big? His racing weight is recorded at 33kgs which isn't massive, Johnny was that weight when he came to me and he's the smallest (as in height) Grey of the four I have had.

 

The Droopys stud in Ireland is one of the biggest and most successful breeders of Greyhounds in the UK http://www.droopys-stud.com/

 

Hope the trial is continuing well

 

Btw. Are you in the South East?

 

I just measured him (kinda - he wasn't super cooperative on staying still) and got 73cm at the withers, which is about average if Wikipedia is correct. We'll find out his weight when we head to the vet to say hello.

 

We're in Essex.