Bombers 1 Year Gotcha Day

Where has all that time gone? In a blink of an eye an entire  year has shot past. What a year it was! In 2013 we became the (failed) fosterers of our black greyhound boy Bomber (aka the Black Piddler otherwise known as Tinklebertwoofledink).

Over the course of the last year he's settled in and become best buddies with our girl greyhound Lottie (AKA the insinkerator). We are of course besotted!

Things did however get off to a shaky start.

A year ago to the day, we picked up Bomber and drove him home in a car we'd bought the previous weekend. Our original car was a sporty model with just enough room in the backseat for a single Greyhound, two would have been a really tight fit. Not so with the  new car - it was a hatchback with plenty of room for two greyhounds.    

Two thirds of the way back home, Bomber did the unthinkable and threw up in the car we'd only had for just one week. It was an auspicious start. We'd originally planned on fostering Bomber - And while puking in the back of our new car didn't endear him to us, he was with us for better or worse.

As we headed home I began to wonder if we'd done the right thing. Was this an omen? Would he and Lottie get along? The smell of dog sick in the back of our car was overpowering - it was a particularly hot summer afternoon.

After getting home, we cleaned up the car and took a very excited Lottie and a slightly nervous Bomber to our back lawn where we'd set up a blanket for them to lie on. Our neighbours chickens started crowing and both Lottie and Bomber  were up instantly to check things out. Amazingly, it was a case of two dog that appeared to be using the same brain. A pack had spontaneously formed and they've since become inseparable.

Bomber also slotted into our home and lives and hearts seamlessly and has become a part of our family. Im pleased to report that we failed completely and utterly as fosterers. We adopted Bomber a mere 4 weeks later. Nowadays, I simply couldn't imagine life without him.

When we picked Bomber up from Greyhounds as Pets, they said he was a special boy. They weren't kidding. He has a heart of pure gold. In fact it'd be fair to say that he hasn't got a bad bone in his entire furry wriggly waggly body. Here's looking forward to many more years to come!

The Lean

If you've read any of this blog before, chances are good that you already know we are besotted with Lottie and Bomber, our two greyhounds.

They of course know this (and milk it for all its worth) -  especially when it comes to scoring treats or getting attention. We don't mind at all.

Amazingly their Greyhound PR apparatus is both extensive and effective. Not only do they know when to deploy it, but they also know which method will be most effective given a specific occasion.

For a start there is "the look" - Bomber (AKA Tinkbert woffledink or the Black Piddler) has perfected this to an amazing extent.

He can give a sad hound dog look with his soulful dark brown eyes from across the room and it is pretty darned hard not to be at his beck and call.

Another great method of getting attention is the nudge. Lottie (AKA the insinkerator) will walk up to an unsuspecting human and gently nudge their hand with her nose. Subtle and even starting if its a cold day (who'd have thought a greyhounds nose could be so chilly??).

Perhaps the most effective tool in a Greyhounds public relations arsenal is the "lean". This is the canine equivalent of a hug. It involves the hound walking up to the human who they wish to give their affections and leaning on them.

The funny thing is that the more they trust you, the more they lean.

Greyhound leans are both flattering and humbling. Having a hound wander up to you and bestow such an act of affection is all but guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Ours often lean on us to the extent that they'd fall over if we moved away. This is pretty humbling stuff given the sheer amount of trust they're putting in us.

Both Lottie and Bomber are not super licky or vocal dogs. That's fine with us as they have so many other methods of getting our undivided attention. I guess this is also why Greyhounds are such a hit with non dog people, kids and the elderly.

Remember, remember the 5th of November!

As a pet owner I always feel really conflicted at this time of the year. Yep that's right its Guy Fawkes. That crazy time of the year when pyrotechnics and house fires always seem to happen. As much as I love watching a good fireworks display, I do worry about my hounds.

What isn't talked about so much are the crazily large amounts of traumatised animals who escape and get lost over Guy Fawkes..

This was driven home abruptly last night whilst out walking our two hounds. Up the road from us was a tiny Sydney Silky Terrier. It was dark, cold and windy. It was also not a good time for a small lapdog to be out on the street.

Handing Bomber's lead back to my ever patient wife, I walked up to the terrier trying to entice him to come over so I could check for an owners tag with a phone number, hopefully reuniting it with its owner.

Unfortunately the terrier had other ideas and took off. I followed, keeping a discrete distance so not to further scare what was an already terrified small dog.

Sadly the little terrier was also a cunning wee dog. It had completely vanished. I suspect that in addition to heading behind some cars, it'd also wandered into someones property.

I headed back to my wife and the hounds feeling like I'd failed this poor wee dog who probably just wanted to get home to its comfy dog bed and an owner who'd no doubt be frantic with worry.

I tweeted on twitter about the dog and checked on several websites to see if anyone had reported this dog as lost. sadly I didn't see a thing.

I just hope this poor wee thing is safe before fireworks start flying (they went on sale today so I'm not terribly confident).

So whats the moral of this rather sad tale?

1) Keep an eye on your pets. This wee dog clearly has escape expertise, so be especially vigilant and check for any gaps, holes etc in your properties fences.

2) Get tags made up with your phone number and the dogs name on it. Fit them to your dogs collar. That way if someone does find your dog they can at least call you and you may get your dog back.

3) If the worst happens and your pooch does give you the slip, don't panic. Place an advert on sites such as petsonthenet.co.nz which is a website for listing lost and found pets.

4) place flyers on lamp-posts, corner store windows and go door knocking around your neighborhood. You'll be amazed at what your neighbors know about the exploits of your dog. They'll also be aware that it is lost and provided you've supplied a contact number, they'll also be able to call if they sight it.

5) Don't give up - keep looking!

Since Guy Fawkes is coming and fireworks have gone on sale today, keep any pets inside, ideally in the quietest room of the house. They may need reassurance from you if the noise from fireworks gets too much. Put some soothing music on so the noise of fireworks doesn't upset them so much too.

Tender loving care

One of the really great things about Greyhounds is that they're a purebred dog that comes with very little in the way of genetic issues due to in-breeding or over breeding. They're bred as athletes and because of this, they suffer from few of the health issues that plague other similar sized breeds.

This said, eve the most healthiest of greyhound needs maintenance and proactive going health care.  Here's what we do with our two hounds. So far it has worked a treat

One of the least considered yet most important health concerns of any dog is dental health. Many older dogs end up loosing a huge amount of teeth and this can affect what they can and can't eat.

Thankfully dental issues can be avoided by regular tooth brushing. This is such a simple and dead easy way to ensure your dog has quality of life in their later years. It'll also help counter stinky dog breath.

The tools needed are incredibly simple - just buy a soft bristled kids toothbrush fro the supermarket and dog toothpaste from your vet.

DO NOT under any circumstances ever use human toothpaste on a dog - While harmless for humans, it'll burn a dogs digestive tract and stomach. Doggy toothpaste also comes in a variety of flavours, including chicken and fish, our two hounds love it.

We brush their teeth every night and give them dog safe treat bones or rawhide chews on a daily basis. This not only means they don't have really strong dog breath, but will also have healthy teeth even in their senior years.

Getting your hound used to teeth brushing and building it into their routine can also make for far less canine stress too.

Another biggie with greyhounds is joint care. As ex racers, greyhounds like any other athlete can suffer from joint pain and arthritis in their later years.

One method we've adopted to keep the joints of both hounds supple and pain free also has the added benefit of making their fur incredibly soft and shiny.

We've been using New Zealand Hoki fish Oil from Newflands (www.newflands.com). It isn't cheap but its benefit vastly outweigh any costs. Since using it, both hounds have developed incredibly soft and shiny coats, clear eyes and there isnt a hint of any joint issues either.

We add a couple of squirts onto their morning dog food.

Staying on the topic of their coats, regular nightly brushing also does amazing things. Not only does it help keep their fur fantastic, but it is also a great opportunity for us to check for cuts, scratches and anything else untoward. They also love being brushed too.

We use two brushes, a furminator which can remove loose undercoat fur and a standard grooming brush which also massages their skin. Done nightly, the results are shiny and fantastic looking fur.  

Straying on the high tech front, we have also fitted both Lottie and Bomber with Heyrex fitness monitors. Just like those smart watch pedometers, Heyrex tracks movement but is smart enough to know when they're walking, running, sleeping and even scratching.

Heyrex sensors fitted onto our dogs collars with a few simple modifications (unlike most dog collars, those used with greyhounds tend to be wider and don't have a catch so they wont slip over your hounds narrow head).

These sensors store up to 7 days data on your hounds movements and when your dog come within range of a wireless Heyrex receiver, the data is transmitted to heyrex where is it is analysed and accessible to you via an easy to grasp collections of charts online.

So there you have it - a beginners guide to a healthy shiny and happy hound.

Adopting - what you need to know

Its been some time since we adopted Lottie and Bomber and I'd forgotten just how much we'd adjusted to them, and how much they'd changed to accommodate us.

This was abruptly bought home a short while ago when a friend decided to adopt a greyhound.

It didnt go well. After only 24 hours, the poor hound was returned back to Greyhounds as pets. This got me thinking. Perhaps their expectations were not terribly realistic, after all the dog needed time to adjust to its new home, and they needed time to adjust to life with a greyhound.

It might also have been a matter of the hound not being a good match to their lifestyle, but either way, I'd have hung in there for just a little longer than a mere 24 hours.

Thinking back and reading earlier blog posts, Im probably not being totally fair. We'd had a few minor mishaps both with Lottie (the Brindle Rocket, or insinkerator) and our big black boy, Bomber (tinklebert woofledink). Looking at them both curled up snoozing the sun after an afternoon stroll, It seems so utterly implausible that these two laid back  hounds could have created any mayhem at all, yet it did happen.

This said, I am so glad that we persevered. We now have two excellent hounds who are not only fast friends with each other but are also our best buddies too.

So what lessons we can take out of this:

Greyhounds take time to settle in - Most ex racing hounds have  never lived in a household before (it took Lottie and Bomber ages before they could master the stairs and other rudimentary household things). There's a huge difference between being a racing dog and a pet.

They're also sensitive wee creatures - telling off a greyhound can leave you feeling like a complete monster, even when you know you're in the right and that the hound has been naughty. Greyhounds are very sensitive dogs and are incredibly intelligent. Telling them off usually results in being given the "stink eye" and feeling guilty - even though you know you've done the right thing. We try encourage positive behaviour with rewards and praise whenever possible.

Perfection takes time and some work - From the get-go we decided that we'd train both Lottie and Bomber. We were also lucky to have such an amazing obedience class trainer, Shelly who  gets Greyhounds and has an uncanny ability to teach dogs and their owners. This said, before obedience neither Lottie or Bomber knew how to sit and a whole lot of other things we now take for granted. We put the time in and did the obedience work (it wasn't really work - it was an incredible amount of fun) and now have two (mostly) well behaved dogs. The moral here is that you get out of a pet is exactly what you put in to start with.

So if you're looking to adopt a greyhound, don't be put off. They're amazing dogs that'll reward you both as a pet and as a companion. The greyhound community is fantastic and we've met some  great fellow greyhound owners. 

If you're thinking about adopting a greyhound, remember the following:

Be realistic - set some realistic expectations - there will be the odd bump in what is a usually smooth road with your new hound. These typically happen in the first few months as your newly adopted greyhound adjusts to its new life and works out just where the boundaries lie. 

Be practical - if you lead a chaotically busy life, have kids and/or cats think about the practicalities involved with adopting a greyhound.  A greyhound won't automatically slot in with your lifestyle, and you'll probably need to make a few changes. Make sure any hound you adopt is a good fit to your lifestyle - adopting a hound that has separation anxiety is never going to work if they're being left at home while you are out at work. 

Its a 2-way street - don't expect the hound to do all the adjusting, your lifestyle has to change too. Ask yourself, BEFORE you adopt, are you prepared to make the required changes, remember that the changes are often for the better. Realistically there will be times when you need to take a long term view.

Be Patient - All good things take time, including training and getting a routine set up for your new hound. Look at the big picture and things should work out wonderfully, even if you do have the odd hiccup along the way.

Do the time - This is a biggie. If you own a cat and have adopted a cat trainable greyhound dont expect instant harmony. Cat trainable means the hound can be taught to live with cats. This will take some work but the results are definitely worth it as many a cat owning greyhound owner will attest. 

Love - Most important of all, greyhounds need affection and love. Its a great investment that they'll pay back tenfold with loyalty, laughter and smiles and affection. 

Cult of the Greyhound

The Oxford online dictionary defines Greyhounds as

“A person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society: the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK”

I bet that the Oxford Don who authored the above is in fact a Greyhound owner. 

You see in a cult there’s a group of people whose aim is furthering an agenda or purpose. In the case of Greyhound ownership it involves being besotted with ones hound. 

The funny thing is that after a year or so with Lottie (aka the brindle rocket) and Bomber (aka the black piddler), I've happily come to accept the fact that I am now a member of the cult of the Greyhound.

Nothing quite prepares you for membership. It usually happens not long after adopting an ex-racing Greyhound and opens up a whole new doggie perspective that connects with a group of fellow cult members who're equally mad about their hounds.  

Greyhound owners tend to have a their own language for anything relating to their dog’s behaviour. I sometimes forget this when talking to non cult members. I often get mystified looks or raised eyebrows as I talk about derping roaching and rooing.

The cult pervades your social life. There's a heap of  events like BBQs, walks and other events all organised by our rather amazing GAP (greyhounds as pets) co-ordinator, Sally. 

At these you’ll meet fellow cult members. You’ll also  spend an entire afternoon talking about your hounds and this is completely normal, even expected.  

There is a good reason for this. There's something indescribable about Greyhounds. They exude a calming demeanor and stillness that make them dead easy to be around. 

Their ears are like a crazy circus show that can’t make up its mind which act is next. Then there's their ultimate weapon – their deep brown soulful eyes. 

Non-pet owners often see animals as chattels. I think they only need look a Greyhound in the eyes to realise just how wrong they've been. There’s more soul in a greyhounds eyes than the entire contents of a footwear factories annual output.  

Oh and did I mention that Greyhounds are amazingly cute? 

I am of course unashamedly biased, but this is also borne out each  time we take Lottie and Bomber for a walk around town. We usually end up getting stopped by heaps of people. Most want to know if they are ex racing dogs, many simply ask if they can have a quick pat. (Greyhound fur is also incredibly soft)

Their effect on humans hasn’t entirely escaped the attentions of Lottie and Bomber who know all too well how effective a hold they have over us, their human servants. 

It isn’t that unusual to see fellow cult members buying designer coats, collars and PJs plus treats for their hounds, often spending more money on their Greyhounds than they’d usually spend on their own wardrobe. 

Perhaps the best part of being a member of the cult of the Greyhound (dogs aside) though is the people. If we have a question about our hounds, we’re usually inundated with answers and support. We’ve made some amazing friends. 

So if you’re considering a dog as a pet and want one without the health issues that plague most purebreeds, consider an ex-racing Greyhound. By adopting you're making a huge difference and If you’re not 100% sure, you can foster to adopt. 

Once you join the cult, your life will change completely - and for the better.

Greyhound Names

Whats in a name?

It turns out that with greyhounds there's plenty. 

Take our two adopted hounds for instance. By day our 5 year old brindle girl's handle is Lottie and our black 4 year old boy goes by the name of Bomber. 

The thing with retired racing greyhounds is that they often have several names. For a start there's their racing names. Then there's a kennel name and more often than not a demented pet name given to them by their loopy adopted owners (that's us). 

This shouldn't be a big deal, but Lottie's racing name was Lotto Profit - Its not exactly a great pet name. Imagine trying to recall her by yelling "come here Lotto profit!"  

Doesn't work does it?

Her Kennel name was Prof, an abbreviation of profit. It was still not a great name, so we renamed her Lottie as soon as we adopted her. It sounds close enough to her racing name that she didn't have to work hard to learn it. Her name was also one easier to learn as she was already dealing with learning to climbing stairs, and not running into sliding doors).

If it stopped there it'd be fine. Like most greyhound adopters we soon came up with a bunch of silly names as her goofy yet extremely loveable personality began to surface.

Lotties first silly name was Brindle Rocket. After all she zooms off like a rocketship when running with other hounds and she was of course Brindle. This was soon followed by the equally silly name of Insinkerator, named after her waste disposal-like tendencies. Other silly names have tended to be rhyming plays on Lottie such as blottie B. She loves them all and responds to all of them with equal enthusiam.

Bomber is a little more straightforward. His racing name was Lochinvar Elle. It turns out that Lochinvar is the small town in New South Wales, Australia where he came from). 

Either way it's not exactly something you'd be yelling out at a dog park either.

Given he loves being super full-on like his dad (who's racing name was bombastic shiraz), his given kennel name was Bomber. 

We didn't change it because it's suits him, he is a bomber - he'll dive into anything that looks fun.

Then there's his silly pet name. Being a boy dog he pees on everything when he's out for a walk. 

His Tardis-like bladder (larger on the inside than the outside) makes for a far longer walks than you'd think, and a super silly pet name.  

Based on his sprinkler like propensities I call him Tinklebert Woofledink. Yeah I know its just silly - Once again, not a name that we'd use at the dog park.

So there you have it, greyhounds and names, who'd have thought?

 What crazy nicknames do you use for your pets?  Do share.    

730 madness

Greyhounds have a reputation for being total couch potatoes.

Its all true. At least until 7:30pm

Ours will sit and snooze for hours and only need 30-40 minutes of walks a day.

But at 7:30pm all bets are off.

Lottie (our brindle girl greyhound) goes completely bonkers at precisely 7:30pm.

Things usually kick off with a brief "wuff" and a play bow (where she'll lean down on her front paws and eyeball her intended playmate in an invitation to play).

Accepting her play invite usually results in some pretty hilarious antics. Most funny of all are Greyhound spins.

Greyhounds are incredibly fast and graceful animals, but when they get really excited they love to do high-speed spins. The more spins Lottie does the loopier she seems to get.

She'll chase, play and spin for for all of about 10 minutes and then just as suddenly as she starts, she stops and its back to more sedate snoozing for the rest of the evening.

This is both incredibly cute and pretty darned hilarious The really funny thing is that this happens like clockwork at precisely 7:30 most evenings. Who'd have thought greyhounds could keep such precise time?

Our Dog Unfriendly Council

What a night! I was out walking Bomber, our big black boy greyhound when two small Jack Russell puppies who were about 20 metres ahead wandered out onto a busy road. There was no human, they weren't on a lead. Traffic swerved and the puppies were unhurt, wisely deciding that the footpath was a safer bet.

Heart in mouth I approached and the two pups who thankfully came over to sniff Bomber. I grabbed their collars and crossed the road along with poor Bomber.

So far so good - at least until one of the puppies started to try and wriggle out of his collar and my grip. Bomber began to get stressed. With two high energy small dogs and one stressed out Greyhound I was wondering what on earth to do next.

All I knew was that these dogs wouldn't last another 5 minutes on this busy road.

Thankfully a passer by kindly stopped and offered to help. An extra set of hands makes handling canine carnage just that so much more easier.

Then I called the council.

Both dogs had collars and one had registration tags. I was hoping the council would be able to track down their owners via the registration tag number and arrange for them to call me to pick up their escape artist dogs.

Note - I wasn't wanting to obtain the owners contact details, I was however willing to give out my mobile number or address details out so I could do the right thing by these poor pups.

No such luck. For some crazy reason the council had to call out a dog handler based on the other side of town. The handler would take 20-40 minutes to get to my location and the council wanted to know if I'd be able to stay put with the dogs until they arrived.

Exasperated I explained that I had two high energy escape artist pups and one increasingly irritated Greyhound plus an bitterly cold southerly was closing in . Making matters even more complex, I only had one dog lead. Waiting that long on a windy and soon to be rainy busy street simply wasn't going to work.

The poor council  receptionist explained that contacting the dogs owners based on the pups registration tag info simply wasn't allowed and that council policy meant that she couldn't access the relevant databases. Policy was policy and rules had to be obeyed, no matter how batshit crazy they were.

Thankfully the  kind person who stopped to help had a handbag whose shoulder strap could clip onto both collars to act as an impromptu lead. We agreed to take the pups back to my place which was dog proofed and wait for the animal control officer to turn up.

Eventually the dog control officer (who was a very decent chap who happened to be stuck in the middle of doing a very difficult job) arrived, picked up the pups and took them to the dog pound.

This sad situation is appalling on too many levels to name.

The councils reluctance to contact the dogs owners and pass my contact details is just bizzare.

Consider what happened instead:

A dog handler had to travel for 20-30 minutes across town and pick the dogs up. How much time and money wasted with that exercise is bound to add up when multiplied across the sheer number of call outs the council must get.

That the dogs were then deposited in the pound for their owners to hopefully pick up later must also be deeply distressing for the dogs and expensive for their owners.

What really galls me is that the simple common sense option of putting the dogs owners in direct contact with me so they could pick up their dog at zero cost to the council wasn't allowed.

Now our already over crowded dog pound has two more dogs to deal with and a sizeable amount of time and money that needn't have been spent in the first place was wasted.

Isn't it awesome to see ratepayer funds put to such good use?

So what learnings are there?

1) Get engraved name tags for your dogs - this way good Samaritans can call you directly instead of getting wrapped up in the bureaucratic nonsense that is the Wellington City Council.

2) Get your dogs microchipped - that way even if they slip their collars dogs can still be reunited with you

3) Triple check your section for dog proofing. These wee jack Russells were total escape artists, but sealing off that hole in the fence that may have seemed too small or too hidden could have prevented this situation from happening in the first place.

4) Don't blame the owners - accidents can happen and even the most conscientious owners can own sneaky dogs.

5) Do get involved. If you see strays, stop and help. Just don't expect the council to be all that flexible. Your actions can mean the difference between life and death for a dog.

What is wrong with people?

What an interesting day. My wife as out walking Lottie and Bomber this morning and was accosted by a man about our dogs daring to pee on the street in front of his house.

Thankfully my wife can handle herself. The guy ranted at her about how disgusting he thought it was and asked how we'd feel if he peed outside our gate.

He'd obviously never been out in the wee hours of a Friday night and seen what drunks do when they've had too many pints and their bladders are bulging.

My wife dished up an XXL serving of sarcasm and said "well I'm deeply sorry", turned on her heels and walked off - hopefully leaving this man feeling like the complete and utter tool that he obviously was.

Last year when we first got Lottie, someone also left a typed note in our letterbox saying "please clean up after your dog"

This was particularly galling as we like to think of ourselves as responsible dog owners and we carry biodegradable plastic bags designed specifically for picking up after our dogs. Bizarrely this seemed to be neither here nor there to our ill informed anonymous note writer.

The funny thing is I do sympathise with the note writer to some degree. There is nothing quite as gross as stepping in some particularly pungent dogshit. Cleaning up after ones dog isn't terribly onerous nor is it particularly difficult to do. It is something we've done from day 1 and will continue to do.

Dogs peeing however is something we have little control over.

What I take issue with is cowardly nature of both people. If I'd been walking the dogs with my wife would this gentleman have approached us? I doubt it. As for dropping anonymous notes in our letterbox, that is simply beneath contempt.

So lets ask the question - if dogs peeing (Lottie tends to discretely pee in the gutter) on the street was banned, where would dogs go to spend the canine equivalent of a penny?

Would we need to fit them with daipers? Perhaps the council could set up public dog urinals and offer dogs special training sessions on how to use them??

Clearly this is an issue that will polarise people and there is no single simple answer. As a dog owner I get that. What I don't get is the completely gutless and tactless way that some people have chosen to communicate the issue.

New Zealand has a reputation as being a clean and green place that is safe and easy to live in. Our attitudes towards animals however is terrible. The more I know about people, the more I like my dogs.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Its been a crazy month travel-wise. One of the occupational hazards with being a freelance journalist (we in the trade call it flea ranching on account of the awful or non existent pay) is frequent overseas trips. Over the last 6 weeks I've spent time in Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Korea.

While the air-points are great, the big downside is having to say goodbye to loved ones as I jump on a plane and head away. Lottie and Bomber, my greyhounds don't really know what is going on until I get my suitcase out.

Once they've cottoned on, all bets are off and they tend to do one of two things. Depending on their mood they'll either get clingy and not let me out of their sight or they'll decide that I am persona non grata and will ignore me right up until I leave.

Leaving is the hardest thing. The saying goes that people who don't believe animals have souls should look into a Greyhounds eyes. It is even harder to do when you've got your passport in your pocket and have just said goodbye to your wife as a taxi is waiting. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't shed the odd tear when saying goodbye to Lottie and Bomber and seeing the "don't go!" look in their gentle brown eyes.

Being away is even harder. Thankfully my wife is amazing and emails photos of Lottie and Bomber.

If there's an upside it is this. Getting home is nothing short of brilliant.

Getting to the front door with luggage in tow, the sound that greets me once Lottie or Bomber spy me through a window is that of hysterical dog excitement.

Opening the front door I am greeted with two furry tornadoes complete with whip like tails that have more in common with a helicopter rotor. Licks and frantic cries of happiness ensue - Lottie and Bomber even make some of the noise.

Perhaps being away isn't always such a bad thing as it reminds you about what is so special at home.

Happy Birthday Lottie!!!!

Amazingly a whole year has passed since we adopted Lottie, AKA the brindle rocket. She's now also 5 years old (we adopted her on her birthday).

Looking back at my first blog entries, I can see how nervous we were about getting a greyhound and the changes that it'd entail for our relatively care-free lifestyle.

In the end it turned out that our fears were unfounded.

A Nervous Start

Lottie was initially very nervy (she trembled all the way home when we picked her up), but she quickly adjusted and slotted right in. I remember writing in one of my first blog entries "In just 6 weeks she's settled in and started to come out of her shell"

It now seems really funny to think that she struggled with alien concepts such as stairs and believe it or not sofas. Nowadays of course she owns our sofas. Stairs are not a problem in the least - they provide access to the upstairs bed for canine sprawling purposes.

Instead of waiting downstairs as we go up the stairs, whining pitifully, Lottie is usually first up or down, bolting past us and waiting at the top or bottom of the stairs, just in case there's a walk or treat up for grabs.

Another unexpected bonus of adopting a retired greyhound has been the amazing community of greyhound owners we've met.

There's a real Greyhound mafia - Most greyhound owners tend to stay in touch. Best of all, Lottie has a lot of regular playmates that she likes to zoom around the dog park with at improbable speeds. Many greyhound owners have since become firm friends.

Ninja Food Thievery

In the early stages of Lotties adoption, counter surfing was a common occurrence. (I had even considered calling her insinkerator given her penchant for ninja-like food thievery). Having only ever owned small dogs before, we were completely unprepared for the giraffe like necks of greyhounds, not to mention their uncanny ability to reach food on benchtops.

One particularly epic counter-surf saw Lottie stealing some fillet steak,packaging and all. We caught her chomping into it and realised to our horror that she'd eaten the clingfilm wrapped around the steak.

We rushed her off to the after-hours emergency vet, who promptly gave her meds to induce vomiting.

Lottie duly complied.

Even though partially digested and chewed steak materialised, there was no sign of the clingfilm.

Stressed out, tired and several hundred dollars poorer, we headed home - only to find the clingfilm had been bundled into the trash with the mangled and chewed steak packaging.

Perhaps the biggest milestone with Lottie was obedience. No matter what any greyhound expert tells you, remember this: The way to a greyhounds brain is through their stomachs.

Like most greyhounds, our girl is food obsessed and will do anything for a treat. Once we learnt this there was no looking back and Lottie passed obedience with flying colors. The fact both Shelly and Sonya, the instructors are also amazing with dogs and people also made a huge difference.

Bomber: Best Friends Fur-Ever

In what must be the ultimate endorsement of Greyhounds, we decided we liked life with Lottie so much that we'd adopt another greyhound. Not so long afterwards Bomber, a big black ex racer boy originally from Australia arrived. Lottie and him bonded really quickly and are now inseparable best friends fur-ever. It isn't unusual to see then curled up on a sofa together or snuggled up in the back of our car.


What really amazes is just how fast all this seems to have happened. the year with Lottie has literally flown past.

This scares me more than a little because each and every minute I spend with Lottie and Bomber is so unbelievably precious. If only there was a way to slow time!!

If there's things I've learnt from Lottie over the past year, its these:

Live life in the moment. Love what you do and who you are with. Food on the counter is fair game.


Happy Birthday Lottie! We both love you heaps you mad dog!

WTF Copenhagen Zoo??????

A while back I wrote about Copenhagen Zoo's sickening decision to kill Marius, a baby Giraffe. The move angered many animal lovers, myself included and I actively promoted an online petition calling for the resignation of the zoo's director, Beng Holst.

He's still at the zoo and now it seems history is repeating. Yesterday the zoo killed two adult lions and two lion cubs to make room for a new male.

The zoo says they failed to find new homes for the lions and that the new male would have soon killed the other cubs.

I wonder what on earth possessed the zoo to commit such an act when the killing and public dissection of marius was still on the minds of many. Did they really need a new male lion? Were they that short of space that they couldn't rehouse the lions and the cubs in a different enclosure to keep them separate from the new male?

These questions aside, many would be forgiven for doubting that the zoo couldn't find a home for the lions - Copenhagen Zoo said something very similar about Marius before he was killed yet it wasn't long before it came to light that they'd been offered a large sum money to cover Marius's re-homing costs and that a Yorkshire animal park's frantic calls to the zoo, offering to take Marius were ignored.

Although the zoo has agreed not to perform a public dissection on the killed lions, or to feed them to other animals, there are some pretty big questions that need to be asked

Who is doing the public relations for this zoo? Why haven't they been fired given the abysmal job they're doing? Did the zoo's management team even think about the public relations angle given the damage they're doing to the reputation of zoo's all over the world? With the world media spotlight still on them, why invite even more controversy?

Why hasn't Copenhagen's local government stepped in and investigated? There is obviously a clear need for this to happen - Copenhagen zoo must be overcrowded and underfunded if euthanasia is the only option open to them. How many other animals have to die before this happens? Aren't zoo's supposed to be about conservation?

An investigation could at least reveal issues such management incompetence, funding issues or poor resource use.

The bigger issue however is this. Zoo's have long positioned themselves as safe places for animals and they've long been the only places in which some animals can be found as their wild populations have been wiped out.

Yet Zoo's such as Copenhagen all seem to struggle to manage their animal populations - perhaps the focus now needs to become how to re-introduce animals back to the wild rather than killing them because the zoos are out of room/funding or run by psychotic nutters?

Proud Owners!

Last time I wrote, Bomber, our black sweet greyhound boy was still getting to grips with beginners obedience training. His big black furry heart was in the right place, he really wanted to please, but even more importantly, he REALLY wanted to play.

What a difference a few weeks makes. Lots of biscuit training  later the penny (erm dog registration tag) dropped and he started to get the whole sit thing, within days he's figured out "down" and to our astonishment, he even got "stay".

Turns out that Greyhounds like most dogs are poor generalisers, he easily figured the whole sit thing out on a comfy sofa (its what he'd normally do but we added a command and treats), but extending that beyond the comfort of a sofa was one sit too far.

At least until we started to get him comfortable with sitting on the rug, then the floor and then the lawn. since then he's taken to planting his furry butt instantly because he knows he'll be praised or even get a treat.

Eventually obedience class grade out came round. I'd pretty much resigned myself and Bomber to a well earned fail, but then something amazing happened.

He had an irrational urge to be the worlds most obedient greyhound.

First up we were tested on lose lead walking - this is when the dog walks besides you without pulling the lead. Bomber tends to be A.D.D on a lead (or anywhere for that matter), but today he was glued to my side. I'd taken to tickling behind his ear and praising him when he did walk beside me, and it appeared to have paid off.

I was utterly and pleasantly stunned.

Next was sits and downs - Bomber instantly dropped like a stone, planting his behind and giving me an "aren't I good" look.

Once again I was gobsmacked, I gave him a treat, praised him smiling from ear to ear.

He must have heard the smile in my voice because the next grade out exercise was one that I'd been dreading and pretty much knew we'd probably fail on. The dreaded stay.

For grade out he had to sit or stand in the same spot and stay put for at least 10 seconds as I walked away. Trying this at home usually resulted in Bomber going "oh look! [insert distraction here] lets play/run/walk/mooch or do anything but stay put".

Not today. Bomber sat, flopped down on his side and stayed put. Looking perfectly content with his lot in life he was so chilled out he wasn't going budge.

I certainly wasnt complaining and 10 seconds later he's executed the perfect stay. I walked back and praised him, gave him a treat and a cuddle.

Then the instructor said ok lets go for a 20 second stay - I was floored - lightening never strikes twice, would our boy remain flopped out on his side?

40 seconds later (I was so stunned, I actually counted), bomber was still contentedly laying on his side, calmly watching the world pass by. Now I  really was speechless

The final grade out exercise was what is called a recall. An instructor would hold his lead and I'd walk 10-15 metres away and call him. If he ran directly to me without stopping enroute to a) sniff another dogs behind, b) play c) take a leak on something and I could catch his collar, he'd pass.

Having woken up expecting to have a puppy school dropout on my hands that afternoon, I was mentally unprepared for how swimmingly it was all going. Now however it all came down to one final exercise. Would Bomber race to me without getting distracted on the way? Could I catch his collar? Or would he just wig out and go for a zoom around the training compound?

It turned out that my worries were completely unfounded. Bomber raced straight up to me, almost bowling me clean over.

He'd passed! I could almost have cried I was so proud of our previously untrainable boy.

Looking back I think several things figure in Bombers decision to be the worlds most obedient Greyhound on obedience pass out day.

1) Bomber loves to please. Praise is his nectar. He mightn't be super food motivated like our other Greyhound, Lottie, but give him a cuddle, a pat and some kind words and he'll move heaven and earth to get similar attention next time

2) Shelly, the trainer. She is awesome. Not only does she really get dogs, she's also amazing with people. Moreover, she uses plain english to explain how it all works so even a complete ignoramus such as yours truly actually got it.

3) Relationship. Bomber is really bonded with me and my wife. We have got to the stage where we can just about read his mind (he seems to almost have telepathy when it comes to figuring out when a walk or dinner is about to materialise). A good relationship equals trust and comfort and we thankfully have that in spades - the classes also really helped it to develop and blossom too.

So are Greyhounds trainable? Yes, they're really smart dogs.

Proud but sleepy and slightly bored Greyhound and his doggie diploma, held by his well trained treat dispenser.

Greyhounds and training

Bomber our big black greyhound boy is amazing. He's been with us just under 5 months and has become a firm fixture of our household. Our Girl Greyhound, Lottie gets along famously with him and he is an affectionate cuddler. In short, my wife, Lottie and I are all besotted with Bomber, he's the bomb!

Things started getting more fun after we'd entered Bomber into beginner dog obedience classes. Lottie has already passed these classes, and they're a great way to get more connected to your dog.

At least that'd be the case if Bomber wasn't as thick as a (well intentioned) plank. Actually that isn't all that fair. Bomber really wants to please, but like a lot of Greyhounds, he also really REALLY wants to play.

With Lottie we were able to overcome this because she was so highly food motivated. We could keep her focussed with a treat and eventually she'd cotton onto what the command was and what she was being expected to do.

This hasn't quite been the case with Bomber. Getting a greyhound to sit is incredibly difficult and some just refuse to do it. Lottie eventually got it but with Poor wee Bomber its taking a lot of effort.

At first I'd utter the command "sit" and lure him with a treat over his head (starting at his nose so he knew it was something yummy). The plan being that he'd back up his behind and hopefully low it into a sit.

Unfortunately I'd get salivation, an incredibly cute hungry stare but nothing approximating a furry dog bum planting itself on the ground.

Persistence and a lot of treats later we had our first real breakthrough.

Turns out that like many Greyhounds, Bomber has an aversion to sitting on any surface that isn't soft and warm. Who'd have thought that Greyhound behinds were so sensitive? Luring Bomber up onto a sofa and issuing the sit command whilst gesturing with a treat from his nose over his head so he backs towards one of the sofa arms resulted in a sit. I was pleasantly gobsmacked and rewarded him with lots of treats and praise.

He now plants his ass everytime he gets up onto the sofa.The next steps have however been a tad more tricky.

While Bomber will automatically sit when on a sofa, getting him to sit on a normal floor is still a work in progress.

 He so clearly wants to please and like most Greyhounds has a heart of gold. The big question however is can he and will he get sit figured out? With only 2 classes to go before he's graded out it'll be interesting to see if he becomes a puppy drop out or an educated greyhound.

Last year I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with a bunch of Giraffes, in fact I did it twice - the first time was at Sydney's amazing Toranga zoo. As part of a stay over package called the "roar and snore" - I got up close to these gentle giants and fed them, it was a special experience.

This was probably why I leapt at the chance to do it again at Wellington zoo (which is also a really well run zoo). One look into a giraffes big gentle and intelligent eyes and you're hooked - they're really sweet creatures. If you don't believe me, just check out the picture of Marius, a beautiful 2 year old male giraffe formerly at Copenhagen Zoo.

The reason I write this is that I've just heard the sickening news this morning that Copenhagen zoo executed Marius and then publicly dissected him in front of a shocked crowd before feeding his remains to a lion.

Animals being fed to animals mightn't be terribly unusual at zoos, hell animals have to eat, but the really sickening thing about the sensless killing of Marius the baby giraffe was that it was avoidable.

That Marius's days were numbered at Copenhagen was no big secret. The zoo had been petitioned for months by tens of thousands of people. A donor even offered 881,000 euros towards the cost of transporting Marius to another zoo.

The PR flacks at Copenhagen zoo say that there were no zoos who could have taken Marius as he didn't fit the reqirements for genetic diversity (avoiding inbreeding is a huge issue for zoos as wild populations of animals begin to vanish).

Trouble is this has since been proven to be utter bullshit as Yorkshire wildlife park had been frantically trying to call Copenhagen zoo to take Marius. They were ignored and Marius was killed.

So lets just recap.

1) Copenhagen zoo had a surplus giraffe (the refuse to use contraception so inbreeding and over crowding happens)
2) They decided the kill this animal even though tens of thousands of people begged them not to
3) A donor offered a considerable sum of money to cover the cost of transporting this animal to another zoo (881,00 euros is the figure commonly quoted)
4) The Yorkshire wildlife park had offered to take Marius, yet their offer was ignored
5) Marius, a 2 year old male giraffe was executed using a bolt gun
6) His remains were dissected in front of a crowd of startled people, many of whom were young children
7) Marius's dissected remains were then fed to lions

If  like me you are utterly sickened by this revolting PR stunt when this death was avoidable, you are not alone.

A petition has been started that is calling for the official who authorized Marius's death to be fired.

I say that is probably a good start and Copenhagen zoo should be held to account for this obscenity. If you feel similarly sickened, you can sign the petition here

Please share the petition link with everyone you know as this despicable act cannot go unpunished and a clear message needs to be sent so other zoos think twice before doing something similar in the future.

At the time of writing over 120,000 people from around the globe have already signed it. Perhaps there's hope after all. Me, I am off to hug my greyhounds as this whole affair just makes me feel incredibly sad.