Brandiandwe

Princess! Sending both of you love and hugs.

I've just seen this. Sending jingles and white light for Myrtie.

We moved into our place nearly 12 months ago and I think it's time to think about the lawn and some landscaping. We have about 20 m square of 'lawn' out the back, but part is under a large pine tree and is struggling to grow any grass. We have a nice boggy patch from run off from our neighbour's place up the hill, and Brandi has a running track which is making the rest of the grass pretty bare. What I would like to do is cover the entire area in dog friendly mulch/ ground cover, with some native grasses (the ones in clumps), ferns, a sun dial and other odds and ends. But I'm a bit stumped as to which ground cover - bark chips? Pea gravel? I want something that won't hurt the dogs (who will still have some lawn, though they mostly enjoy lying on their beds on the concrete - grass is prickly), that is going to drain urine away and not smell and look attractive. Ideas?

I like muzzles. But greyhounds have them as standard..... One thing I've used for anxiety has been an Adaptil collar. It really calmed Brandi down and let me work more consistently on separation training with a lower level of arousal. It helped but is only as good as the training with it.

Off species, but I have always wanted a ginger tom cat called Andrew.

I'm not looking! Last time I dud, we ended up with number 4!

We cruelly prised him off that bed, took him outside for a pee then forced him into his sleeping coat and into a bed with his blankie (or two), pillow and stuffed duck toy. Then I brushed his teeth. His life is very difficult. For anyone interested, he will probably be heading out to Winterfest the first weekend in July as long as it isn't too cold or wet.

One more from tonight. We are worried that he might not be completely settled and a bit anxious. Views?

I would love a borzoi called Storm Front or Barometer Falling. I will probably end up with another greyhound who needs a home. But not for some time!

Benny after his Sunday afternoon walk. He has scored the memory foam bed directly underneath the heater which explains the smug expression. Walking this morning. It was a properly cold morning today and we almost had frost. So everyone rugged up before heading home to a warm breakfast.

So, a friend of mine has checked Benny's tattoos and established that he's 9, not 11, born February 2005. Unfortunately, his tats aren't online, so that's about as far as we can go with him, but it's something at least. A bonus two years less on our lovely boy!

Corns suck, although I'm not sure if what we dealt with was a corn, a small corn or a very painful callous. It started off with a small visible circle on one of his pads which was more visible when wet. I started off with moisturising the pad to soften the corn then applying duct tape to it with a Dr Scholl corn pad over night. This contains salicylic acid. After a couple of days, the corn (or whatever) was much more prominent and I was able to peel off a layer and kept up the treatment. Then a couple more days and I could actually dig it all out. I didn't take any photos, but it left a little crater in his pad and a ring of hard skin. I kept moisturising and his pad is back to normal now. I'm just keeping an eye on it because I'm scared or recurrence but he isn't limping any more. There are some good information sites for you and your vets. I was told today that here the most usual treatment is surgical. I don't think it is necessary to put the dog under in order to treat the corn, and if the dog is in pain, the vet is digging in too far. But there's no hard and fast treatment. What I was planning to do if this didn't work is to keep the pad and corn moisturised and soft, buy a therapaw boot to cushion the paw and the corn and keep on duct taping. As for whether it is a corn or not, the area should feel hard and unlike the rest of the pad. It is probably painful if you squeeze it from the side. The best site is: Grassmere Animal Hospital There's also a Greyhounds With Corns group on Facebook where there is a wealth of advice and help.

Double post removed.

Today Benny came along for the Hills Hounds walk where he met 8 new greyhounds, saw a pug and had a lovely walk. He did really well, and is now collapsed on a bed and is snoring softly. We're chasing up his tattoo but it looks like either his tattoo is wrong OR he is only nine and not eleven. I'm quite pleased - he's certainly very spry and happy. Hopefully we'll know in a few days.

I found Labadore's photos interesting because at first glance I thought 'too fat'. Which REALLY serves notice to me about how much my eye has been educated by my breed, greyhounds. So all the points on the body I use to check my dogs for weight and condition (hip bones, spine, ribs, tuck) as well as visible muscle (short thin coat) are missing because I'm not looking at a greyhound or other sighthound so he can't be judged by me on that basis. So my eye is lost and I'm left with wanting to touch him to feel for muscle tone, ribs. He's lovely though!

I wonder too about add ins. If the food smelt a bit more attractive would she go for it? Cheese? Parmesan chese? Tuna?

Just, yeah.

No idea. One dog good, two dogs better perhaps. She's always astonished that I manage to walk three (now four) greyhounds at once without issue, but when I tell her what I've done and how much work and training have gone into my girls particularly to settle them down and make them responsive to me, she just shrugs and tells me that her dog just won't listen so what's the point? So she exercises it by letting it run off-leash not by spending the many many hours and many many kms I've had to wish dogs on leash walking and training and walking and training until I've got where I have (free-range cats notwithstanding). I think she things I've got some sort of magic trick I use rather than considering that it was very careful breed choice, careful choice of dogs, and a couple of years of consistent, devoted training. Mine won't win obedience trials and aren't perfect, but I try hard. So, no. Not rehoming a dog there (if at all :D ), and attempting to avoid at all costs these days.

What has annoyed me recently (in addition to the above attitudes) are those who get a dog, don't train the dog, are deaf to suggestions until they escalate to very loud and annoyed comments and criticisms about the need to control the dog and train the dog, who then suggest that they would like to have another dog. I think I offended someone recently like this who, over the past 12 months, has refused to contain and control her dog to the point that it runs off-leash, sees mine, and barrels straight at their faces. I know it wants to play, but mine don't like it and it doesn't listen to calming signals, growls, snarls, barking and being pinned to the ground. It just comes back for more, and my dogs are leashed so all that happened was mine became increasingly leash reactive. We have more or less solved the problem by my having to text ahead when I'm approaching the park she's usually at so she can try to catch her dog before I walk through. And it isn't a leash-free area. Then I saw her when Ben was with us. Her dog was leashed, but wild, so I kept walking away till she got it under control. She then asked about Ben and said that she'd be happy to take him on if I was going to rehome him. I'm afraid my response may have been blunt bordering on rude, but why would I be prepared to rehome a dog who I have grown very attached to to a home where obviously little or no time or attention was given to the existing dog? And no thought is given to the need to train the dog if only to protect other dogs from it? Apparently she's waiting for the brain to grow in her dog (it's just turned 2, so presumably when it matures completely). I've not had the heart to tell her that brains grow only alongside consistent training, interaction and time. Maturity alone won't do it. Sorry. Rant over.

Would she eat the meat if it was like a broth or a smoothie? Still would be using her tongue, but it might be a little easier?

I was just popping in to say good luck with your search. And to keep in mind that whatever dog you get, it will be the dog you fall in love with anyhow. It's just that its much better to fall in love with the right dog for your family than the wrong one (as I learnt to my cost with horses. Better to get the right one!).

Question (for information and out of curiosity only): would you expect dogs of different ages to have different coverage? I know someone mentioned up thread that the dog may have been in a veteran's class - so as a dog ages, would you expect weight to be distributed differently (as is happening to me) or for the dog still to be fit, but perhaps heavier? Or a young dog (I'm thinking especially of giant breeds here, I guess, but others too), to be a bit lighter and perhaps a bit leggier or out of proportion as they grow into themselves?

When I bring a new dog home, I try to find out as much as possible about their existing routine, rules and habits then work out what will kind of work or not work for me. Then I establish my routine as fast as possible. Mine have all thrived on having things as predictable and regular as possible, so setting up 'their' spots where they can always go to chill out or sleep, feeding 'here' at these times, walks,play times and potty time 'now' are important especially at the start. It gives them a few things they can build their lives around. Try to keep the same food but don't be surprised if she doesn't eat at first. Our most recent addition didn't eat for two days but he drank plenty of water. I was giving him three days before starting to panic! :D As for pining, I don't know. I have one who won't eat for anyone else, but Benny, who apparently lived with someone else for 8 years or so before going to the pound hasn't shown signs of pining per se. You'll just have to wait as see.

It's a gun that will be fired anyhow. I hope he'll stay but DH must agree and we've got to be the right place for him. He deserves the best possible home. If we aren't it, for whatever reason, we'll find him where he needs to be. The beds are awesome. Everyone here loves them, the inner scare water resistant and they have stood up to Paige nesting and attempting to rip them apart.

We're not sure about keeping him or not yet. Officially anyway!!!! My plan is to get him right health wise and Greencollared so if he does get rehomed, his new parents will have nothing to worry about. But he is very special, and he really fits in very well! We're calling him a foster, but we adopted him last week to get him out of the pound. As for the Kirkland beds, they are from Costco and are The Bomb! The only place they still have them us at The Crissroads, but if anyone wants to meet me there, I am a member. The donut one was about $38 and the memory foam $63.