New Poster and Her Dogs: Introduction

The home my MiL is in has a lady who visits with her retired grayhound. She is the sweetest dog, happy just to stand with her head on someone's knee, and she knows where all the residents keep their biscuits.

Crimson,Crimson, please reassure me you haven't really gone.I find you the funniest and most original person on Gransnet

Video !

funnily enough, the vidoa recommended by Crimson is the second music video recommmendation that I tried today which is very unusual for me.

Crimson, I treid the video but could not hear the words. I am one of those unfortunates who regularly uses subtitles for TV. I must seeif Gransnet users can recommend how to upgrade the sound on flat TVs.

Actually, you know, Kitty's name for everyday use has metamorphosed into a four syllable version. Dogs' names do change, have you noticed?

They are so susceptible to barbed wire injuries .

Years ago I had ex racing greyhound Silver he was a gentleman with my other small dogs & cats eventually but when out walking if a small animal ie rabbit etc he was deaf to anything I remember when he went after a rabbit who went under a 6ft fence with bardwire on the top and I could see him bunching up to jump it at the very last minute he decided not to I nearly had a heart attack

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1hVKHOrEio
heard this and thought of 'Kitty'; hope it works....

alexa glad you enjoyed the Walking Ollie book - always hesitate to recommend a book or a film as everyone has their own views.

Alexa - so do I. You may, however, find that it's all been said already about apostrophes.

alexa - I like your style!

OOh I must visit pedants corner and have good rant about apostrophes. Apostrophe could be agood name for a dog that doesn't know its place

Sorry - that should be one for pedants' corner. Please get back to the dogs!

I too have kept my aspirated wh. I think it's a pity it's dying out even in Scotland because it would save a lot of confusion which I found it hard to understand when I first started teaching in England - for example, 'where' and 'were'.

Crimson I am glad that your whippet did not come to harm when she followed the jogger. Maybe he had his Sony going in his ears.

My D in Law finds it hilarious the Scottish way I aspirate the wh in whippet. My son has copied this Scottish habit so I guess they have lots of fun with whales and wales

I was walking my last whippet many years ago when a jogger jogged past me. her eyes lit up and she was off after him. I was screaming 'please stop' not to my dog but to him because he was heading [eventually] towards a road. He didn't stop but, thankfully she got confused when he ran along a path that was different to her usual route. I was in a complete panic, though, and have never forgiven him. All he had to do was run back towards me; he must have heard me screaming . I must get that book.....interesting cross, grey/Dobemann...a cat breeder I knew had Dobermanns because she said they were very 'cat like'. By the way, have any of the dog lovers on here watched the film 'Up'? The dogs in it had me in tears they were so funny.

I hardly put Walking Ollie down until I finished the book.
Kittly lurcher revealed a new to me side of her personality this afternoon. I met two people with their dog whom I knew, in the long grass field where Kitty is now safe enough off lead . She has been keeping close to shep a lot of the time. We all stood about talking and Kitty met and flew about in circles with a newcomer lurcher across the field . Then she did her disappearing act and I settled down to wait for her. The man who had stopped to talk appeared from the other side of the field leading Kitty, He explained that she had followed him and his wife and their dog and as they planned to cross a road he had brought her back for me.He was so kind. I was surprised Kitty had let herself be caught. I realise now that she is so excessively friendly that she will accompany friendly people when she is out of sight of me and shep, so i will have to watch out for this so it does not happen again.

One of the local dogs is a grey+Doberman and seems to be a great cross, He is obedient, friendly, fit, beautiful and a good guard into the bargain.

crimson my grandpa had lurchers for many years and they are a particular favourite of mr glamma's he was also told that the name translated from thief many yrs ago,to lunge/grab/lurch towards objects.Could be true couldn't it ?

I'm loving this thread! Love reading the sight-hound stories, making me want another one more and more!

My greyhound used to charge back to me but never knocked me over, just went shooting past, rapid turn and back to me. She had a very strong prey drive for cats unfortunately and once one had strayed into my back garden unnoticed and she spotted it, the cat naturally ran for it - straight through my back door, into the kitchen and leapt on top of the cupboards hissing and howling! In the meantime I'd shut Santa into the garden shed out of the way and it took some time to coax the cat down and back out of the garden to safety! I always made sure I did a thorough cat patrol thereafter.

crimson - lurcher's head is half my height-ish (slight exageration but there may well be some deerhound to account for his shagginess) - but he weighs around 30 kilos so a largish dog! - I know when he is barrelling towards me to stay where I am and he will side-step me nicely. I have tried shouting 'stop' which he does with paw skid marks on the grass.
alexa - hope you enjoy the book

I'd always be a bit concerned though when they're outside and off the lead. We take ours on a beach quite often but always put her on the lead when there are other dogs around. I do worry that, if a smaller dog ran away from her she would chase it and hurt it by bringing it down. In the same way she has sometimes played with much larger sighthounds, and I've been worried for her. But, in all other ways she loves dogs, people and children. I read that it's almost unheard of for whippets to bite anyone. I was also told [this was by someone who sold them although I have also read it elsewhere] that they are the only dogs where the males are, if anything, even more sweet natured than the bitches who [and this is what the breeder said] 'keep a little bit for themselves'. The dogs are totally devoted to their owners; I've only had bitches so I don't know how true it is.

Mollie65 thanks for the recommendation . I have just bought Walking Ollie from ebay and am sure I will enjoy it.

Yes, I will have to have a rethink about vinyl on the stairs. I have my house pretty well dog friendly washable and that is what the vinyl(non slip) on the stairs is all about. I always make my dogs wait at the top of the stairs while I am descending, Kitty lurcher has seemed nimble enough on the carpet, and I will take careful notice of her ability before going ahead with any new stair covering. It is true that a sprinting dog is easy to exercise as it does it itself . The recall is all important of course. There is not much need to worry about greys and whippets not being safe with people or other dogs. We had a 15 week terrier puppy in the house at the weekend and whippet was very careful and quiet with it

I didn't know that lurcher meant 'thief' but it doesn't surprise me. Do watch out for your knees. Hattie ran into mine in the house when she was a puppy and I think that's what caused my ongoing knee problems. When she runs towards me I use my poop scoop carrier bag in a matador type way to guide her round my knees. Sweet natured as she is she only likes toys that have a squeak to them [ie I'm killing a small furry creature] but I gave her a cuddly dog with a squeak last year thinking she would rip it to shreds and she now sleeps with it. She's the first dog I've had that I've crate trained, and she loves hers; a cover with a little window so she can see out and two, sometimes three duvets inside; it's her little cave. They are a joy to snuggle up with at night on the sofa, aren't they! When I had spaniels they were never allowed on the furniture. Many years ago I met some people at our local country park with a whippet and a spaniel. I commented that it was a strange combination, but they said the dogs complimented each other so, when my spaniel had a last litter of pups, only had one and then died [it was awful] I bought a whippet as a companion to the spaniel puppy and they were the best of friends for many years; the whippet being much easier than the spaniel. I hate having Hattie as on 'only dog' as they love other dogs, but I can't afford to insure two dogs. I'd so love for her to have a pal, though. She'd be over the moon. I have a friend that has an Akita. Now they are difficult dogs in the wrong hands, but she knows them inside out and hers is a pet dog at local hospitals. Heck; I must go to bed as I've got to be up at 7!

Thank you all for the nice welcome.
Crimson, I estimate that my Kitty lurcher is a whippet+grey with a small streak of Jack Russell. Her tail is not always elegantly between her legs when she is excited, and also she bites the back door to stop it impeding her as I open it to let her out= JRT I think. I read that 'lurcher'is Romany for 'thief' this is borne out by Kitty's abiding interest in taking anything, from sink plugs to the IKEA catalogue, to her den on the half landing. Wooden spoons are at special risk and she has killed about five so far. Cushions too when i take the covers off but not when they have the covers in place. Is the denuded cushion a newly skinned prey animal?

When running off lead I wave both arms when she hurtles towards me to remind her that here is a living obstacle to be considered. She knocked me down only once but that was on soft muddy turf and nobody saw me so was all right. I have a spaniel -pitch whistle that shep responds to and which Kitty knows, when she wants to know. I keep her off- lead runs away from the squirrely foxy thickets and the bowling green, and I do keep hoping that the recall improves. I always carry bacon bits for good return rewards.It is a treat to see her flying back to me across the field, and it is lovely to have the silky wee thing curled up close to me on the sofa. Indeed yes, she is chipped, and wears a whippet collar with name tag. She has always walked nicely on the lead.I use haltis, only because she does prance and pull away when a cat or squirrel appears close by and as I am old and frail she could pull me over. Shep also wears a halti for the same reason and haltis are so soft to lead by that I have both dogs ' leads in the one hand.