icebergblitz

A friend commented on a photo of Mack, telling me he'd love to come and visit him. I said sure, come up whenever you like, he'd love to meet you! To that, he responded "I'm gonna wrestle him!' Ah, no. No, you're not. I responded that wrestling is not something we encourage at home as its not something we want him to consider acceptable, but he has plenty of toys he loves to play tug with. The response I got from that was less than pleasing, almost butthurt, like I'd told him he couldnt play with the dog at all :laugh: Mack is a young, impressionable boy who doesn't quite know his own strength. He's a big boofhead and loves to play, but we dont encourage rough-housing, wrestling or play biting because we dont enjoy that sort of thing due to his size. He's very smart and is learning quickly that toys are for flinging around and we are for cuddles. I suppose my questions are, how did you approach this situation when your dog was young and/or in training? Did you have people want to come over and do as they please with the dog? Did you or do you tell people to treat the dog as you yourself would when they first walk through the door, as in only greet you first/turn away or push the dog off if they jump/ignore the dog until its calm or whichever method you use?

What a tragic event. Your Husky will be in your heart forever

Hooo, okay! I read through the first seventeen pages (skip to the end, impatience :laugh:) and feel like I've learnt a teency tiny bit... I'm interested in feeding raw. My partner and I just adopted a one year old 36kg Bullarab cross, his last weigh in was the 8th of April so I'm going to get him weighed again soon to see where he's at. I personally think he looks a little underweight (can see his ribcage under his coat) so would I be correct in saying I would need to feed him at 3% of his bodyweight just to put more condition on him? Do the ratios still sit at 80/10/10 if I'm feeding at 3% or does it change, my maths is terrible! We have a Lenards near us and have just ordered 10kg of their minced chicken frames which we are picking up on Thursday. He currently gets a cup of Optimum Puppy kibble in the morning and 1kg human grade chicken mince per night, this is what his foster carers were feeding him to put a but more weight on him, which it seemed to. I have read that commercial food as well as raw chicken mince fed together can potebtially cause Salmonella poisoning because of the rate at which they differ in digestion...any truth to this? So much learning and reading to do!

Well, I'm going to chalk up his first night in a new home as a moderate success. He had a little outside time while we ate (VERY food focussed so we'll need to work on his training there) and picked up quite quickly that whining wouldn't get him anywhere, and that alone time isn't going to hurt him. We're working on making sure he doesn't get too over excited at play, we had a bit of that last night. His giant bunny toy is going away at dinner, as after that it's settling down time. We had a few play-biting incidents which resulted in him being put outside, and he soon got the picture. No whining during the night! Which we were happy with. Only one accident on the tiles, going to pick up some white vinegar later and mop back over it again. He's been great with toileting outside other than that, we just need to limit his water intake overnight (are a handful of ice cubes okay to keep him hydrated but not busting?) and be more vigilant with toileting right before bed and in the morning. Off to take him for another walk, which is going super well!

Its hard to type with half a horse on your lap, but here are some pictures :laugh: Plum tuckered out after a big day. Comfy even with his head wedged against the door :laugh: Taking to the car like a champ (and generally being adorable) Making himself at home with his kong! In his partially constructed sandpit just after we got him home

The very same one Terri! He's absolutely adorable. Going to try and get some pictures up shortly!

A few of you may remember me from a few months ago, I posted about my girlfriend and I before we moved to Bendigo and was seeking information on greyhounds for adoption. Well, we made the move and after falling head over heels in love with this giant goofball, he came home with us today! Mack (formerly Couda) is a Bullarab x Dane, and he's just turned one. We met him at the dog park and I got giant slobbery kisses straightaway! His on-lead attitude and recall need a lot of work, being a giant meathead he's as strong as an ox! But we're prepared to be super patient and consistent, as he is our Furever Dog. We bought a gentle leader this morning and did a bit of training with him this afternoon, and SUCCESS on our first walk! Probably helped that he was getting tired after a big day, but we'll get there. Last night I sat there cutting the eyes out of some soft toys, which he gravitated to straight away! Carrying them daintily around in his mouth and placing them gingerly on the mat before he went outside :laugh: We had the washing machine on, he didnt bat an eyelid. Rang the home phone a few times, didnt bat an eyelid. The only thing he baulked at was an Obama moneybox we have, guess hhe's politically minded :laugh: I know this thread is useless without pics, so I'll upload some later! He is currently zonked out in front of the TV after a big day :)

Thanks! He's a big boy, still thinks he's a lap dog and has been known to bring people teddies :laugh: so that'll be interesting! He's great off lead apparently with excellent recall, not so great on it though, so I'm looking forward to getting some training started with him. We have a big open plan kitchen/living area so it'll be easy to start off inside. Been a while since I've had to do any of this!

I guess this counts as waiting for a pup...! A couple of months ago I posted in the general discussion forum about adopting a greyhound once my partner and I moved to Bendigo. WELL, as the universe would have it, I decided not to limit myself by breed and started checking out some rescue organisations in the local area, and I fell in love with the most gorgeous looking Bull Arab pup, who's between eight months to a year old. He has the most thoughtful eyes and is apparently a big loveable goofball, which is exactly what I was after. I kept my eye on him as the time grew nearer for us to adopt, and they kept updating the facebook page with more photos of him, and of course I fell further in love! He got adopted by a couple with another dog at the end of March, and I was happy to see him off to a good home (if not a little disappointed). But he was back in care within two weeks, their other dog had hip dysplasia and when the two dogs played it was almost like WWE Wrestling! So as much as they liked him they just couldnt risk further injury to their current dog, so they returned the pup. And thats when I knew. Something in me just said yes, it has to happen now. My partner and I started to plan, and think about how life would be with this dog in our lives. I contacted the organisation at the beginning of this week and had a LONG chat to one of the girls who runs it, and we are meeting the pup tomorrow :D SO EXCITING! I'm off work sick today with a cold so I can hardly wait, I'm going to get everything prepared tonight because everything going well we're going to be bringing home our new member of the family tomorrow. I've had a long history with dogs, worked with greyhounds, staffies and my dad bred boxers many moons ago, and I miss the relationship we as humans have with them. Poppy the greyhound was my heart dog, I used to run home from high school to my trainers place and she would be so excited to see me. I'd let myself into her pen, climb into her bed, she would climb in after me and rest her head on my lap. I dont suppose she ever knew how much she helped me back then, and I dont think I knew either, but she did. Sometimes I would cry, but she loved me without judgement. My mental health hasnt been the best lately, this is partly the reason why I'm looking forward to getting a dog, so I'm probably going to cry tomorrow! Sorry for the thesis :p I promise to post an update tomorrow!

Off to the GAP PR Greyhound Walk tomorrow at Fed Sq, will any other Victorians be there? Would love to meet some of you and your pooches!

Just been doing some reading on bloat as I've heard that greys can be susceptible. I've read about it happening with Great Danes but never heard about it until now, even when I was working with greys some years ago I never heard about or saw it, so I thought I'd try and find out some more from you guys... I've read that feeding them on a slightly raised surface (ie bowl on top of a crate) helps, is this a done thing? And also not exercising 1 - 2 hours before or after feeding? I'd assume GAP would inform me if the dog I was going to adopt is a speedy eater (can increase the risk of bloat, is that right?) and I obviously would take steps to slow the dog down. I'd put it on a 'questions to ask about the potential furbaby' list anyway. Any other info would be greatly appreciated! You guys have been so helpful already, sorry about all the questions I just want to make sure I'm covering as much as I can :)

Thanks so much for that Brandiandwe! All excellent info and something I'll keep on hand when we get around to looking for our perfect pooch. For me temperament is always number one on my list, I've worked with horses in the past and it has always been my first priority. We have no kids, no other animals (and wont be getting any more). We'll certainly give full consideration to a special needs dog if it has the right temperament and personality! Age, sex, colour etc isn't a big deal. I mean ideally I'd LOVE a big black boofhead boy who thinks he's a lapdog at 30kgs but I'm not going to stamp my foot and say thats the only dog I'll consider...as long as the temperament is right and their personality is right then they'll have a forever home with us! (Last night we even had the 'if we ever break up, I get the dog' conversation...she told me it was never in any doubt I'd take the dog haha)

That would be amazing, how lovely! Whereabouts in Vic are you? This is the link to the Greyhound Walk (held by GAP)

I'm not in that area but I hope she's found safe and well soon!

:laugh: I think thats exactly what I'm headed for! Was just making a cuppa and thought how nice it would be to have a grey leaning against my legs like they enjoy doing. And as for fostering...I think it would be safe to say that they'd all end up as foster failures, I couldn't bear to part with any of them!! My poor wallet is having conniptions as we speak :D

Thanks so much for that! Looks like we're going to the PR Greyhound Walk on November 3rd! Are any DOLers going to this? Would love to meet some of you :)

Hi guys! Long time lurker, may have posted once or twice a few years ago. Just after some general advice and also to hopefully meet some new folks. So, the story goes that my partner and I have recently had discussions about moving to regional Victoria next year (currently live in St Kilda), most likely Bendigo. The company she works for has a branch in Gisborne so it would be pretty much perfect for her. I have a hospitality background and have already fielded a few job offers up there but its a bit too early just yet. I'm a country girl from way back, my time in the city is done and she's up for a tree change so its all looking pretty good so far, looking like we even have a house lined up to move in to. We've been discussing the possibility of getting a dog for the last couple of months. She's highly allergic to cats, but hardly bats an eyelid with dogs, so thats a plus. She hasn't been around dogs much but we've been spending a bit of time with our friends staffy lately and she's told me that's really endearing her towards getting a dog. The other night we were looking through photos and she said to me, I know you love greyhounds so why don't we look into getting one once we move? I used to be a greyhound catcher many years ago for a South Australian based trainer so I talk about my love of the breed a LOT! One particular fawn bitch Poppy used to let me climb into her kennel bed and would lie with her head on my lap after I came home from a difficult day at high school, and it honestly made life just that bit better. She loves that story, and also the stories about me helping the same bitch during the whelping of her two litters. Of course this is all just preliminary for now, we've still got a bit of a way to go, but she's definitely leaning towards it. We've started doing our research to make sure having a grey would fit in with our lifestyle, I've told her about them always needing to be on a leash and explained why, I've explained about the fact they have thinner skin than other dogs but have also told her how loveable they are and how they'd fit in with us because they like to lie around the house and so do we ;) I would love to introduce her to some greys so she's more familiar and comfortable with the breed, but not sure how to go about it?