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My ex-wife managed a boarding kennel for a few years, and then worked at a racing kennel for a year after that. So I have been around grey's on both sides of the fence. On the racing side the dogs were treated very well, ate quality food, were looked after medically about 1000 times better than your pet at home. They were able to get out of the kennel multiple times a day for bathroom breaks and general running around. They seemed to enjoy to get out and run, some more than others of course. However it was a bit of a solitary life for them, they did spend most of their time in the kennels. The Kennel workers did pet and love on them, some dogs enjoyed that more than others. In my experience I did not see dogs getting mistreated. Injuries of course happened, a couple injured dogs had to be put down, which is sad. But they usually made the effort to get them back to race, or treat them so they could be adopted. If you are from the non-racing crowd, don't believe all the negativity out there about racing. While bad things certainly happened in the past (and still do in other countries), modern racing here in the US is defiantly not at that level anymore. We also saw quite a few retired racers at the boarding kennel, and they were my favorite breed. The were generally well behaved and chill. Some you did have to watch around other animals, but that's mainly because they aren't socialized with other animals. I just got out of the military and after years of moving around, im finally settled. So hopefully ill be able to adopt a couple in the near future. Besides i like the idea that my dog had a job, better than that freeloading bassett hound i had as a kid 
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May 25, 2014 02:16
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| # ? May 17, 2024 19:48 |
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I've taken Remy to the farmer's market the last couple weeks, and get comments all the time on what a great/calm/beautiful dog he is. One guy even asked about how much they were and on the precise spelling of the name. He's been fantastic around other dogs, doing some sniffing and tail wagging if they're friendly, and ignoring/avoiding them if they aren't. I also finally got him to run at work, I just need to take him (afterhours) to one of the long carpeted hallways at work and start running down it to catch up, then run with me back to the our team's area. He probably would have done this from day 1, but it took a little while to confirm he was good with all dogs. Have a couple pictures.  
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Jun 1, 2014 04:08
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I just wanted to say that I filtered for your posts in this thread and read them all in order. Such a lovely little story.  I'm so glad Remy is settling in so well with you, please keep us updated!
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Jun 1, 2014 14:13
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Remy looks very nice. Love those ears. I think I said it before, but Greyhounds are wonderful. I was bored the other night and flicking through channels and I came across a Greyhound Race thingy. They're really fast. Like I knew they were fast but to actually see it is something else. Also they did like a whole extra half lap before stopping, they really seemed to be enjoying it. Also also it said something about a hurdle race and the mental picture was just brilliant.
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Jun 2, 2014 17:34
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Does anybody know if greyhounds ares predisposed for problems with their eyes/ head maybe? My bf's pointydog-mix is a wonderful dog, almost two years old, and one of the sweetest dogs I know. But stupid as a doorknob. He often runs into things. but really, runs into things. His skin is pretty thin as well, that isn't helping either. Two days ago, when we went biking with him he took off after a rabbit, we heard him yelp, and he just came trotting happily out of the bushes, only five minutes later we see he has a hole in his head. (Doc fixed it already, three layers of things stitched back together and he threw up, but he's fine He doesn't let on if anything is wrong with him. We went camping a month ago, and we let him out of the car in the morning, and left him alone for five minutes. He had managed to make a hole the size of an eye in his chest. We didn't even hear him yelp or anything, My bf only noticed after petting him and accidentally stirring in it with his fingers, wondering if he had been rolling in the mud, until he saw it was blood. Ringo the stupid but good dog 
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Jun 2, 2014 21:25
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Is that a pure breed or a mix? Reminds me a lot of a staghound.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:03
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He's a lurcher. I don't know what he's mixed with..
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Jun 3, 2014 18:28
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I know, greyhounds are at risk for pannus, which is an eye disorder (Mona has it, and we treat it with eye drops), so there may be other eye things that may pop up.
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Jun 4, 2014 12:18
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Discovered over the last couple days that Remy is food possessive. If I try to pet him or get near his bowl while he's eating he'll growl and bark, which is a shocking mainly because it seems so unlike him. He doesn't seem to do this over treats/scraps, and will wait to dig in until I say "go eat", but once he starts eating he gets very defensive. I could probably accommodate this and everything would be fine, but I'd like to address it. Googling suggested to split the meal into several parts, and refill the bowl by the handful each time he finishes, so he associates me coming close with a refill; I suppose I'll start there. Anybody successfully deal with similar issues? Other than that everything is great, I was out 24+ hours yesterday and it seems he did fine, so that's a good sign. I also let him offleash and run around the office when most people are gone, and he'll dash at first to catch up, but then pretty much just match pace with me. e: Problem since I posted that: My roommate was messing with Remy, patting him on the head, running away then back, patting him on the head, etc. Reasonably standard playing with most dogs. After a few loops though, Remy started barking and snapping at him. Obviously he was more or less provoked, but that sort of reaction isn't something I can ignore. I'm not really sure what to do about it... Lhet fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Jun 9, 2014 |
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Jun 9, 2014 03:36
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Robyn posted:Does anybody know if greyhounds ares predisposed for problems with their eyes/ head maybe? My bf's pointydog-mix is a wonderful dog, almost two years old, and one of the sweetest dogs I know. But stupid as a doorknob. I love greys but they seem to be made out of glass. Had one at my local dog park injured to the tune of a broken rib, punctured lung, and abrasions requiring 21 stitches externally and 12 internally from a knock that any other dog wouldn't have noticed. The poor thing just got caught up chasing a ball. Other than yelping once it didn't make any fuss at all.
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Jun 9, 2014 11:32
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Lhet posted:Discovered over the last couple days that Remy is food possessive. If I try to pet him or get near his bowl while he's eating he'll growl and bark, which is a shocking mainly because it seems so unlike him. He doesn't seem to do this over treats/scraps, and will wait to dig in until I say "go eat", but once he starts eating he gets very defensive. I could probably accommodate this and everything would be fine, but I'd like to address it. Googling suggested to split the meal into several parts, and refill the bowl by the handful each time he finishes, so he associates me coming close with a refill; I suppose I'll start there. Anybody successfully deal with similar issues? For the resource guarding, pick up Mine!. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=dtb740 Resource guarding is completely normal, but obviously not something we can tolerate. With training you can reduce resource guarding to imperceptible levels. You just have to be consistent and manage the situation outside of training sessions. Regarding your edit, your roommate was being a dink. It doesn't sound like standard play because clearly the dog was not enjoying it. Dogs do not have to happily accept the poo poo that we feel like doing to them for laughs. It's stupid to push a dog to the edge where it feels like snapping is its only recourse. I would be very concerned that the dog will forgo intermediate warning signs in other aspects of its life if you keep it up. So, as for what to do, listen to his warning signals and back off. Give him a quiet place to retreat to. You can start introducing him to boisterous play gradually and stopping before he gets overwhelmed, if being boisterous is really important to you. But for now, it sounds like a dumb idea.
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Jun 9, 2014 12:27
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a life less posted:For the resource guarding, pick up Mine!. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=dtb740 Resource guarding is completely normal, but obviously not something we can tolerate. With training you can reduce resource guarding to imperceptible levels. You just have to be consistent and manage the situation outside of training sessions. Ordered. Until it arrives I suppose I'll just let him be to prevent it from escalating. For the snapping, he was on his bed in my room, so I suppose he didn't really have anywhere to retreat to. I guess I'll just make sure everyone knows to not push him when he's lying down. I might consider getting a crate to give him a space to retreat to, but I don't think he'd ever use it. Thanks for the advice! e: I tried feeding him directly from my hands, taking small handfuls from the measuring cup, and there was zero drama or roughness (only dirty hands), so maybe I'll try that until I receive the book). Lhet fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 9, 2014 22:07
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Oh yeah don't gently caress with with a greyhound when they're on their bed or in their crate; that's their safe place. My hound will put up with all manner of annoyances from me but if I try to shove him off a sofa when he's lying down the reaction is scary. It's an aggressive gently caress off bark and snapping teeth. It's the one thing I have to warn people about with him because it's shocking how fast his demeanour turns.
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Jun 11, 2014 04:54
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I've had Rory almost four months now and her resource guarding has diminished significantly. She'll still growl sometimes at the cats if one of them walks behind her while she's eating, but with us, if we tell her to "leave" something, she'll comply 95% of the time. Even when she doesn't right away, she'll gladly trade up for a treat or a heel of bread. A week or so ago I was walking her around the fine arts museum near me (where I used to work in security, incidentally.) They have a beautiful sculpture garden that's open to the public 24/7 and people walk through with their dogs all the time. Rory and I were walking alongside the reflecting pool and all of a sudden she jumped in.  She stood there up to her chest in water and refused to get out on her own so I eventually had to take my shoes off and go in after her! Talk about mortifying. I wondered if anyone I knoew was working the control room at the time and saw me on camera trying to fish my dumbass dog out of the water.
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Jun 12, 2014 12:29
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I love the mental image of her jumping in and being like hey come on in the waters fine! Who knew they were such water dogs? Reese loves being in the water, especially lying down in it. 
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Jun 12, 2014 12:44
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Vastra's minor resource issues have pretty much evaporated as well. She's letting the cats sleep on the sofa near her these days, which is great. And she doesn't growl if they walk by when she's on her bed with her bone, which was the one that concerned me a little. I think she finally figured out that the cats don't want a big gross bone. She's still weird about other dogs trying to get in her crate, but only if she's inside. My friend's toddler climbed in with her and I was really afraid of what might happen, because she's snarled and snapped at other dogs for that, but she was perfectly happy to let the little one in there. (I know, I know, it should never have happened, the kid's mom was the one in the room with them - I never would have let the kid climb into the crate.) I wonder if she would like a pool to splash in? Husker only ever went in and stood in the water to cool his feet off, but he didn't really like being wet much. Vastra happily runs around in pouring rain, so maybe she would have a different attitude toward water.
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Jun 12, 2014 16:58
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I take Abby on about a mile walk when I get home. This gets her very exhausted of course (obviously this happens with greyhounds in general, but she will be panting heavily for up to half an hour afterwards). I'm wondering if it's best to wait a bit before giving her food after we get back? I only ask because I've fed her right after a couple times and she's thrown up.
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Jun 12, 2014 17:01
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Holy crap the most ridiculous thing happened. I took Lana out to poo, and she did so in the usual area... however one turd gets stuck halfway and she couldn't seem to get it out. She started pacing back and forth, squatting every few steps, then just kind of gave up and ran over to me like nothing was wrong. I was like oh poo poo no please don't brush that thing up against my leg and led her toward the back of the house to find a stick or something to poke it. As I walked back there, she sprinted ahead of me and ran down a hill and squatted again - this time firing out several poos with a really loud yelp. When I took a closer look, I noticed there was some red in it. It wasn't blood. It was the leg off a stuffed giraffe chew toy she ate while at my friend's house at least five weeks ago. Dogs are loving crazy.
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Jun 12, 2014 17:42
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Another WTF DOG thing: Rory loves the lawnmower. She gets so excited if she hears it running. I've started locking her in the house now because I'm afraid she's going to get hurt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ofACGHGj0
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Jun 12, 2014 18:55
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Aww, I haven't seen Greyhound zoomies before.
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Jun 13, 2014 19:31
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Are there any audio clips of the sound the thing that launches the fake rabbit makes at the track? I'm not sure what it's called, but I wanted to see Abby's reaction.
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Jun 13, 2014 20:13
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actionjackson posted:Are there any audio clips of the sound the thing that launches the fake rabbit makes at the track? I'm not sure what it's called, but I wanted to see Abby's reaction. They probably used a gas engine at the training facility to run the 'rabbit' down the track. All the Lure Coursing one's I've seen are electric, but if you're running dogs all day every day... Or maybe they ran a Gator around for feeding, who knows.
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Jun 14, 2014 01:31
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Feeding has been going a lot better. I've been putting just a bit of food in his bowl repeatedly and he's now even backing up when I come up to give me room to refill his bowl. Had a bit of an incident last night because I tried to test him with a dental chew, and he got pretty defensive/scared (tail was between his legs), growling and barking multiple times. He stopped the instant I looked away from him, so not sure what that means, I guess that's how you diffuse fearful aggression? Afterwards he seemed to be moping, even after I went out for a couple hours, so I guess he felt bad. I mentioned the issues to the greyhound group, and they suggested I should be able to firmly grab him, say "mine", and take the bowl, before returning it. I'm not sure that seems like a good idea. Ignoring everything else, it seems like it would backtrack on the whole 'my arrival=neutral/good things happening' association. Have a couple photos: Getting dried after a bath  Running after another greyhound (who had been adopted the day after I got him) 
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Jun 15, 2014 05:36
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Eye contact is threatening to dogs. Gannon is pretty sensitive about it. I can put him on edge just by staring directly at his doofy face.
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Jun 15, 2014 06:24
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I wouldn't take the groups advice, seems like there's a high likelihood it would make things worse. The main thing is not to rush with the training. Mona was really possessive about raw hides when we first got her. We stayed away from them until we taught her leave it. Mona values bread above all other things, so we would just keep trading up for the raw hide until her possessiveness basically disappeared.
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Jun 15, 2014 12:12
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Lhet posted:I mentioned the issues to the greyhound group, and they suggested I should be able to firmly grab him, say "mine", and take the bowl, before returning it. I'm not sure that seems like a good idea. Ignoring everything else, it seems like it would backtrack on the whole 'my arrival=neutral/good things happening' association. That's pretty dated advice. It might work sometimes but it can also make things worse. You can have a dog and work with him without using intimidation or the threat of violence. If you ordered Jean Donaldson's "Mine!" you'll see what I mean. You basically want to pair your approach/arrival with good things like extra special food. In this approach you're using classical conditioning and desensitization and, unfortunately, these tactics take a while to change behaviour. You just pushed it too far too fast. You should have worked a few more weeks with lower value items like kibble. The dental chew was just too valuable for you to use to test anything yet. I imagine that your plan to test the behaviour involved approaching, taking the item then giving it back? That's kind of a jerk move on your part as far as the dog is concerned. We should be able to take anything from our dogs, yes, but I always like to trade them for something and leave the taking the item for actual emergencies.
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Jun 15, 2014 13:52
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a life less posted:That's pretty dated advice. It might work sometimes but it can also make things worse. You can have a dog and work with him without using intimidation or the threat of violence. If you ordered Jean Donaldson's "Mine!" you'll see what I mean. You basically want to pair your approach/arrival with good things like extra special food. In this approach you're using classical conditioning and desensitization and, unfortunately, these tactics take a while to change behaviour. You just pushed it too far too fast. You should have worked a few more weeks with lower value items like kibble. The dental chew was just too valuable for you to use to test anything yet. Yeah, testing him was kinda stupid on my part. I'm still going off the installment feeding, and he's doing fantastic. I've just been shaking the measuring tin as I approach, and he'll back up and let me pick up the bowl and put more in, even if there are still some kibbles left. I've also been able to brush my teeth by the sink without him caring, where a week ago he would growl if I even walked by the bathroom door. I still need to move towards fewer refills and more high value treats, but things are going well. e: My roommate got an aggressive reaction from him again somehow. He was petting Remy on his bed, then stood up (while still maintaining eye contact I suppose), and for whatever reason, a few seconds later Remy stood up and barked 3 times at him. He didn't snap at all this time, and Remy seemed pretty apologetic afterwards, and my roommate was much less upset. Maybe he reminds Remy of somebody abusive, or maybe he's just subtly giving off threatening vibes? I kinda feel like this might just be a "respect his space" type of deal that doesn't need action as much as awareness, but I'm happy to hear to any other thoughts. Lhet fucked around with this message at 07:52 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jun 16, 2014 20:07
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 I feel like most of the pictures I share of Tess are of her lying down, curled up in a ball.
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Jun 20, 2014 00:53
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Lhet posted:e: My roommate got an aggressive reaction from him again somehow. He was petting Remy on his bed, then stood up (while still maintaining eye contact I suppose), and for whatever reason, a few seconds later Remy stood up and barked 3 times at him. He didn't snap at all this time, and Remy seemed pretty apologetic afterwards, and my roommate was much less upset. Maybe he reminds Remy of somebody abusive, or maybe he's just subtly giving off threatening vibes? I kinda feel like this might just be a "respect his space" type of deal that doesn't need action as much as awareness, but I'm happy to hear to any other thoughts. You need action in terms of training your roommate. It's important particularly for resource guarders to have an area to retreat to where they won't be disturbed. That means no one touches Remy when he's on his bed - and preferentially everyone gives the bed a couple foot berth.
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Jun 20, 2014 02:51
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Vastra has decided she really likes oranges
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Jun 22, 2014 17:30
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I need video of Vastra eating an orange.
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Jun 26, 2014 15:26
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RazorBunny posted:Vastra has decided she really likes oranges On another note, he's figured out that when I pack my bag we're about to go home, so now he gets really excited and runs to the elevators. Have a (low quality cellphone) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxkFaIH3XII
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Jun 27, 2014 04:39
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Lhet posted:I haven't tried oranges, but so far Remy's happily eaten everything I've offered him; including things most dogs won't touch, like celery, carrots, olives, pickled onions, kimchi, etc. That is absolutely adorabel. For me, when I get my ID badge to head to work, my two go nuts looking for a treat. Apparently I've trained them to understand that me leaving = treats!
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Jun 27, 2014 04:45
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In the meantime here is Abby getting part of a banana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia-gcrf9JPA
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Jun 27, 2014 05:54
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^^^Casey goes crazy when either of us eat a banana. He usually gets a chunk. He'd even rather get a banana than go outside, and he loves going outside. Some shots from a few days ago. Dogs joined me on the couch, then saw something out the window.   So majestic! Until you see Tessie's ears. 
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Jun 27, 2014 07:19
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Rory has had a big ole busy week. Last weekend my husband and I spent a few days at the beach and she stayed with my mom and her two pitbulls, and then our friends (who happen to be RazorBunny's sister and brother-in-law) stayed the night at our place with their two dogs, Murphy and Browning. It was the first time Rory had ever encountered other dogs in her own home, but luckily she handled it very well.      Murphy and Browning, however, completely ignored poor Rory when she desperately tried to get them to play with her. They were only interested in playing with her toys. She was like the kid that nobody actually likes but is the only one on the block with a Nintendo so everyone only hangs out to play with it.  I think they were mostly tired from their long weekend at the beach so I'm hoping when we come up to visit them they'll be more social towards her.On Friday evening, one of my coworkers came over to hang out and brought her dog, Sammie, who was much warmer to Rory than the Aussies were. Rory was great about sharing her toys and space with another dog.   Yesterday I met up with a friend and her two huskies at the dog park near her house. It's much farther away from me so I'd never been there before, but I'll probably start going there. They actually had grass, not woodchips like my normal one, AND they had kiddie pools and agility equipment! Rory had an absolute blast and went back and forth between playing chase with the huskies and making an rear end of herself in the pools. I didn't think to take any pictures sadly, but I'm sure I'll get some next time.This morning I noticed she wasn't really interested in her breakfast and is favoring her left front leg. I was pretty concerned, but it looks like it's just a soft tissue sprain in her shoulder from overexerting herself yesterday. I'm gonna make her take it easy this week and it if persists, maybe think about putting her on an anti-inflammitory and taking some x-rays. If it really progresses, I may have to do an MRI and possibly Shockwave therapy. 
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Jun 29, 2014 18:45
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I hope Rory heals soon and it is nothing serious! Here is Reese trying to distract me from Getting out the door to work this morning....ETS alert 
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Jul 1, 2014 12:41
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Hehe, Extruded Tongue Syndrome?
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Jul 1, 2014 15:57
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Abby does that too. Not very ladylike.
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Jul 1, 2014 16:00
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Close, escaped tongue syndrome! It's so adorable. Like they are so relaxed they just can't be bothered to keep it in their mouths.
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Jul 1, 2014 16:29
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