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.