Hello From Ireland

[Guest Marie_Imbrium]

Someday I'd love to visit your kennels, GreyOrchard! It sounds like absolute heaven! And I agree with another poster up-thread, here in the UK it's important to work with the RGT if you can, because they have an excellent setup/network/vetting process, and their support is wonderful. I'm not saying every group is perfect, but I've found RGT to be easy to work with, and I'd highly recommend them (the RGT Hexam branch, in particular).

 

And by-the-by, my Deacon is an Irish lad, born and bred

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Someday I'd love to visit your kennels, GreyOrchard! It sounds like absolute heaven! And I agree with another poster up-thread, here in the UK it's important to work with the RGT if you can, because they have an excellent setup/network/vetting process, and their support is wonderful. I'm not saying every group is perfect, but I've found RGT to be easy to work with, and I'd highly recommend them (the RGT Hexam branch, in particular).

 

And by-the-by, my Deacon is an Irish lad, born and bred

Sorry for the delay in replying. I should first say that there are no kennels here and never were. The dogs lived in small, carefully monitored and carefully selected groups where they learned about interacting with other dogs, and this in turn led them to be very good about interacting with people. I am in the process of downscaling considerably due to health reasons, but if you are ever in Ireland you should feel free to contact me for a visit. I am less than 2 hours from Dublin, 1 hour from Limerick. If you come on the ferry, bring your greyhound so he can have a good runaround, as there are about 2 acres of grassy fields here, all enclosed.

 

Have had little contact with the UK RGT, though a few years ago I took in one of their bad cases....they'd had him for months, he was an older dog who had been living alone in a small low kennel for maybe 7 years before they got him. As a result, he had a strange way of moving which at first looked like neurological damage. He did not know what touching was. He wasn't fearful, he just did not know what touching was. That RGT branch was not in a position to improve him and they had no experienced fosterers. So we arranged for transport from the east of England to Holyhead. A friend picked him up at Holyhead, took the ferry to Dublin and drove him to me, and he stayed here for 8 weeks for some basic socializing and freedom, etc. My friend who had driven him from Holyhead adopted him and he died 2 years ago, a very happy old fellow, Have had some good collaboration with other rescues in the UK over the years, too. Greyhounds as pets are so much more accepted in the UK than here.

[robinw]

Your book arrived! Haven't had time to read it but I love the cover.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Your book arrived! Haven't had time to read it but I love the cover.

Hi RobinW, and thanks for ordering the book. Did you get it through Amazon.com or Amazon.ca?

 

Someone just told me today there is some problem in the Table of Contents. I have to check that tomorrow and apologies if there is a mistake. I used an automated table-of-contents function, so can't understand how it could be off. No matter, the book is well enough organized so things are easy to find. Thanks again! M

[smurfette]

I am less than 2 hours from Dublin, 1 hour from Limerick.

Hey, my boys are from Limerick. In their EU passports Greyhounds for pets Limerick is mentioned as their previous owner.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Hey, my boys are from Limerick. In their EU passports Greyhounds for pets Limerick is mentioned as their previous owner.

That means they were from the Irish Greyhound Board's rehoming programme. They get the racing greyhound owners to agree to let their dogs be adopted rather than put to sleep, and then find places for the dogs in EU greyhound rescues they have some agreement with. Thanks to you, 2 Irish greyhounds are alive and well!

[smurfette]

Thank you for the explanation - I have 3 beautiful irish hounds. I would like to foster when we get the chance. But as long as Andy lives here we won't do it because he does not take kindly to invaders in his home. He gets very quiet and when he feels overwhelmed attacks the unknown dog severly.

I don't want to put either the other dog or Andy through this experience. He loves visitors for maybe a week and after this time it gets complicated.

So I help my organisation (Greyhoundhilfe Deutschland -losely translated greyhound help Germany) with visiting potential new greyhound owners and keeping the greyhound owners in my area connected through organising walks and meetings.

[Guest Amber]

Hi and welcome

 

Although im in Scotland , all three of my greyhounds have been Irish bred and most of the few dogs i fostered were irish too. All great dogs but sadly they are or were considered pretty much as livestock in Ireland, is that still the case? I know it used to be almost impossible to find pet homes for retired racers in Ireland.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Thank you for the explanation - I have 3 beautiful irish hounds. I would like to foster when we get the chance. But as long as Andy lives here we won't do it because he does not take kindly to invaders in his home. He gets very quiet and when he feels overwhelmed attacks the unknown dog severly.

I don't want to put either the other dog or Andy through this experience. He loves visitors for maybe a week and after this time it gets complicated.

So I help my organisation (Greyhoundhilfe Deutschland -losely translated greyhound help Germany) with visiting potential new greyhound owners and keeping the greyhound owners in my area connected through organising walks and meetings.

That's very good work you are doing. Not everyone can foster, but most people can do something!

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Hi and welcome

 

Although im in Scotland , all three of my greyhounds have been Irish bred and most of the few dogs i fostered were irish too. All great dogs but sadly they are or were considered pretty much as livestock in Ireland, is that still the case? I know it used to be almost impossible to find pet homes for retired racers in Ireland.

It's improving here but still not great. The dog landscape in Dublin has improved a lot, and you can see lurchers and greyhounds as pets everywhere. But in most other places it is still pretty dreadful. The other day a woman who used to race and breed was commenting on an Irish forum how greyhounds and whippets don't like to be touched.....WHAT? Then after some photos were posted of greyhounds with their families, including children, she said she would never let them that close to children "because of their instinct." WHAT? I asked her if she meant the instinct to bite children. She couldn't really say.....her comments were so typical of the Irish mythology about greyhounds. Several years ago a friend of mine living in Dublin often walked her rough coated lurcher and her greyhound through one of the parks. They were off leash but always stuck close to her. She often passed an older man with 2 leashed Irish Wolfhounds. They gradually came to talk more and more with each other. One day he asked her if she thought it would be "safe" to pet her greyhound. So here's this man, with 2 gigantic wolfhounds, has no problem petting her lurcher, but a greyhound...well that was another thing. She said "of course you can, why not?" He told her that he had always been told to never offer your hand to greyhounds, as "they'll take the hand off ya, so they will." Will never forget taking in a magnificent blue greyhound with what I would call stellar bloodlines for temperament. About a week later his old owner phoned to see how he was doing. I said the dog was doing great, that he was learning his name and some basic commands, getting to know the other dogs, getting housetrained etc. Dead silence at the other end of the phone, then "whaddya mean, housetrained?" "I mean he is learning to only pee and poo outside and not to do it in the house." Dead silence. More dead silence. Then..."are ya tellin' me he's going to be livin' in a HOUSE?" "Yes! All my dogs go to live in houses." Dead silence. Then "You're JOKIN' me, so you are!" Took me a good five minutes to convince him I wasn't joking. The dog went on to become a therapy dog and got an award for his work. So that's Ireland.

[smurfette]

Not only in Ireland. Andy had to be rehomed because his first mom got pregnant and feared that he would bite her in the stomach or later creep into the nursery and kill the baby. She thought that he inherited ths behaviour from his wolf ancestors.

He is such a sweet and gentle dog and he was so sad when he came to live with us that he needed almost two years to come out of his shell. And talking about stellar bloodline he is one of Droopy's Maldini's sons and my beautiful sweetheart.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Not only in Ireland. Andy had to be rehomed because his first mom got pregnant and feared that he would bite her in the stomach or later creep into the nursery and kill the baby. She thought that he inherited ths behaviour from his wolf ancestors.

He is such a sweet and gentle dog and he was so sad when he came to live with us that he needed almost two years to come out of his shell. And talking about stellar bloodline he is one of Droopy's Maldini's sons and my beautiful sweetheart.

 

Droopys Maldini is from Droopys Kewel, whose father is Larkhill Jo. Over the years, any time a trainer contacted me with a greyhound with Larkhill Jo in its background, I quickly learned to just say yes. Fabulous greyhounds, incredible temperaments, big personalities.

[DocsDoctor]

 

Droopys Maldini is from Droopys Kewel, whose father is Larkhill Jo. Over the years, any time a trainer contacted me with a greyhound with Larkhill Jo in its background, I quickly learned to just say yes. Fabulous greyhounds, incredible temperaments, big personalities.

Ah, you've just prompted me to check my Ken's pedigree and sure enough, Larkhill Jo is his maternal great-grandfather . When I adopted him three months ago I put up a little post saying 'welcome home Boomtown Ken' on the greyhound-data forum and had a lovely response from his breeder, wishing us lots of good times together and saying that Ken's mum always throws pups with lovely placid people-loving temperaments.

 

I've just bought and read your book and have very much enjoyed it. Lots of good advice there, which I will be using to work on Ken's recall - which will probably take some time as at the moment he still finds squirrels in particular so exciting. Meanwhile we both enjoyed me finding his 'mommy spot'!

[smurfette]

Droopys Maldini is from Droopys Kewel, whose father is Larkhill Jo. Over the years, any time a trainer contacted me with a greyhound with Larkhill Jo in its background, I quickly learned to just say yes. Fabulous greyhounds, incredible temperaments, big personalities.

 

Larkhill Joe is in all my three boys' background and Top Honcho or Head Honcho, too. I love their incredible characters.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

Ah, you've just prompted me to check my Ken's pedigree and sure enough, Larkhill Jo is his maternal great-grandfather . When I adopted him three months ago I put up a little post saying 'welcome home Boomtown Ken' on the greyhound-data forum and had a lovely response from his breeder, wishing us lots of good times together and saying that Ken's mum always throws pups with lovely placid people-loving temperaments.

 

I've just bought and read your book and have very much enjoyed it. Lots of good advice there, which I will be using to work on Ken's recall - which will probably take some time as at the moment he still finds squirrels in particular so exciting. Meanwhile we both enjoyed me finding his 'mommy spot'!

 

Yes, Larkhill Jo temperament does seem to get passed down. They tend to make you smile. Working with your dog to go offleash is a long term project, not something that happens in a week or so of training. As he gets better AT it, YOU get better at expressing recall. Glad you two are enjoying the mommy spot!

Larkhill Joe is in all my three boys' background and Top Honcho or Head Honcho, too. I love their incredible characters.

Yes, Larkhill Jo and Top Honcho is a powerful combination. That is also part of why your three get along with each other.

[smurfette]

After reading your posts I came to realise how incredible my organisation choose my first dog, Colin, for me. I had never seen a greyhound before, only on TV but I read about them and decided that I wanted to try my hands on such a dog.

I called this organisation and a woman talked to me and invited me to come over to a walk to get to know greyhounds. I made the 4 hour drive, walked with the hounds, interacted with them. There were several nice ones to adopt. At the end of the walk the woman told me that she was sorry but she didn't have the right dog for me. I was stunned. There were several and they were all nice, friendly, typical grey. I drove home again.

After some weeks I got a call. It was that woman and she asked me if I was still interested, she had the perfect dog for me.

Of course I was, went for the 4 hour drive (one way) again and met Colin. She was absolut right. He is the perfect grey for me. We still are in touch and chose Andy and Paddy in a simliar way. I later foud out that they are related.

This woman walks her 15 greys, her own and fosters, always off leash and they stick together. Anyone would wander off or just run away without looking back.

I can't describe it but there is such a relaxed feeling as if it is as it always had to be this way, a security. It has to be the training and the personality of this woman.

[Guest GreyOrchard]

After reading your posts I came to realise how incredible my organisation choose my first dog, Colin, for me. I had never seen a greyhound before, only on TV but I read about them and decided that I wanted to try my hands on such a dog.

I called this organisation and a woman talked to me and invited me to come over to a walk to get to know greyhounds. I made the 4 hour drive, walked with the hounds, interacted with them. There were several nice ones to adopt. At the end of the walk the woman told me that she was sorry but she didn't have the right dog for me. I was stunned. There were several and they were all nice, friendly, typical grey. I drove home again.

After some weeks I got a call. It was that woman and she asked me if I was still interested, she had the perfect dog for me.

Of course I was, went for the 4 hour drive (one way) again and met Colin. She was absolut right. He is the perfect grey for me. We still are in touch and chose Andy and Paddy in a simliar way. I later foud out that they are related.

This woman walks her 15 greys, her own and fosters, always off leash and they stick together. Anyone would wander off or just run away without looking back.

I can't describe it but there is such a relaxed feeling as if it is as it always had to be this way, a security. It has to be the training and the personality of this woman.

Thanks for that! I don't know who she is...do you recall her name or the name of her rescue?

[smurfette]

Of course I do. Her name is Iris Rutschmann-Wittig and she is with Greyhoundhilfe Deutschland. We keep in touch over the phone and meet once or twice a year.

She is the one I call whenever I have a question or need an advice. And I am the one she sends to look at eventual greyhound parents and their homes in this area because she trusts my judgement.