Brandiandwe

Interesting discussion! I know with horses, gelding later can tend to make geldings a bit more pushy? Masculine? Bolshy? But not all stallions are dangerous. And I look at my Hermon who wasn't desexed till he was five and is easily the most laid back, well-socialized pooch I've got.

I'm more worried about other animals getting in. However all three like indoor beds and the high prey princess Paige doesn't like the outdoors. Apparently the grass is prickly, the dirt is dirty, the wind is windy, the sun too hot, the air too cold, the dog beds outside uncomfortable, and she chooses to stay indoors with us if given the chance. Unless lizard hunting. But that only lasts five minutes before she huffs back inside.

Angry Man With Undersocialised Out of Control Bulldog (shouting from across the road): You should walk those dogs around the park!

Me: Pardon?

AMWUOCB: There are too many cats here! Those dogs are vicious.

Me (looking at 3 greyhounds who are walking on slack leashes enjoying an afternoon stroll): They aren't vicious. They're muzzled, leashed and under control. (Good dogs. Have some chicken. Ignore the shouty man.)

AMWUOCB (being pulled towards me by his dog who is lunging at the end of the leash): They shouldn't be here! I'm warning you, I'll shoot them if I see them near my cat!

Me: (Controlling Brandi who is protective and taking exception to a strange man with dog shouting at me as he approaches)

AMWUOCB: Bloody dopey woman! I'll shoot them!

Me: Heading for home wondering whether the man was completely insane and berating myself for engaging the crazy.

I've reported the incident to the council and am being vigilant about yard security - I wouldn't put it past him to track us down and try to bait the dogs. Fortunately they're inside most of the time.

All three of mine are indoors. They get a long walk in the morning and have free rein in the house, usually a max of 8 hours. We haven't found a dog door big enough for them that is also secure enough, and outside would result in problems for both the neighbourhood cats and wildlife. They all sleep happily.

maybe the adoption people wanted it that way..."look how well behaved the greyhounds are in the face of small fluffy things"

although having had rabbits myself I can't imagine the bunnies would have appreciated it, I imagine there would have been a few angry thumps

I was on the stand. And, no, it wasn't planned. I'm not sure I've ever met a greyhound who wouldn't react to the sight of a fluffy bunny bouncing over showjumps! Even my low prey bomb-proof Hermon was pretty excited.

The bunnies seemed mostly oblivious.

Lasareina, I'm serious. They were jumping them about 10 meters away within clear eyeline. The dogs were all VERY interested but only one tried to take off after them. :)

Hmmmm. I guess then it also comes down to what other experiences people have. I'm not at all interested in showing, but I used to ride horses, and I think you can tell an awful lot about a person's temperament and their animals by watching them perform out and about. I also like watching gorgeous animals move and show off, and love seeing the pride and work that goes into preparing and presenting an animal at its best. I'm also in awe - I have enough problems getting up in the morning, remembering to wash my face and brush my hair and get through to lunch without spilling something on myself without adding the stress of trying to present a dog that well! My dogs generally get their collars and harnesses put on the right way round and are kept clean, healthy and happy, but that's the limit of my capacities!

I do get the thing about breeders having a lot of inquiries though, as well as many many tire kickers. I try to be honest about what I want, which is the right dog at some stage though not immediately. And I guess I feel that the breeder is the expert - they know their dogs so if I can give a clear an accurate picture about what I want and need in terms of temperament and age to fit in with the existing 3, then it is for them to decide what is available and suitable. If that means I don't get a particular colour, sex, age or whatever, so be it. If that means I have to wait, so be it. The right dog is more important than the right now dog.

But shows are, I think, a great way of seeing other breeds. It's the Hound Club Show I'm going to, and I'm hoping that as well as whippets, I'll be able to finally see deerhounds, salukis and borzois up close. If I can see a basset or a blood hound as well, my life will be complete!

We saw this at the weekend. Some rabbits seemed to enjoy it. Some really didn't.

I stand by my opinion that it wasn't good planning by the event organisers to put the rabbits so near to the greyhound adoption stand.

I recently emailed a breeder who is local to me (waves) because I'm interested getting a whippet at some point in the future. However, I was asking particularly about whether there were any shows they would be attending so that I could come along and see their dogs and meet them. The breeder couldn't have been nicer and I'm looking forward to seeing them and their dogs (and a whole lot of others!) on October 7th at a show.

I guess I've always thought that getting a dog was less a commercial transaction and more about developing a relationship with someone or some people so that we could be matched to exactly the right dog at the right time. But then I'm also open to not necessarily getting a puppy but maybe an older dog who has finished a show career or who needs to be rehomed for any reason. And I guess that, as with horses, the 'right' dog isn't always the one that is advertised.

Is that accurate?

And to build on the food aggression, after separating them when eating, wander up to him when eating and drop a super yummy high value treat into his bowl and wander away again, so he begins to associate someone approaching his food with extremely good things.

Mine get just chicken jerky and things sourced and manufactured in Australia except for occasional Greenies or Paragon dog chews. They get treats for training on walks to help manage leash reactivity.

I try to avoid treats made overseas too, so I get the bulk pack of chicken jerky from Black Dog. The Aussie Pet Health Treats also looks good, but a little more expensive with the shipping.

Yep. I find the picture irritating, but also the premise of the group. Maybe I'm ignorant, but what niche, exactly, are they trying to fill? Are they a lobby group? A rescue organisation? A pet finding service?

We board at Acacia Lodge when we need to. Deb used to have greyhounds and so is very familiar with the needs and quirks of my two princesses. They always come home happy, fit and tired from being outside running and digging.