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.