Welcome Greyhound Lovers to my Blog about
Gorgeous Greyhounds

We have adopted two gorgeous greyhounds from ex racing backgrounds although neither one was suitable for racing. Dezzie, Desmond who we are calling Dizzy is a confident if a little over exuberant dog and Lily is a very nervous bitch, wary of men and is hand shy. But since meeting her, she has improved by the hour.

This blog is their story, this welcome post will always appear on top (postdated) and you will find the most recent post just beneath it, do come here often. You may have a nervous dog yourself and find my tales inspirational but please, be sensible as what works for our dogs may not work for yours. I am not an expert by any means, and here I just explain my techniques and describe the progress the dogs have made.

Most greyhounds are very laid back and do not have the behaviour of our dogs so don't be put off either! We have specifically chosen a dog with lack of confidence and a dog with overconfidence as we welcomed a challenge of this kind and you may not, so talk to people who know your dog best before making a decision about committing yourself. I was 25 when I got my last dog and 42 when I lost him and that is nearly all of my adult life with one dog, so I am grateful I didn't make a hasty choice.

However, if you do choose a greyhound or greyhound cross, do visit this blog often as you may find that you are not alone if you are experiencing the same challenges as ourselves and you may find our dogs' stories supportive and useful. Of course, I will try to make sure this blog is very photo heavy with gorgeous greyhounds and try to write it from their point of view.

I will also introduce dogs who are looking for a home who have either been rescued by the RGT or by Essex Greyhound Rescue. Occasionally there will be dogs who are not ready to rehome and who are not improving in kennels and these dogs will be looking for a temporary foster home either with or without other pets present. These dogs may have challenging behaviour that needs to be addressed in order that they can compete with all the other dogs in finding a forever home. They could be nervous

All rescue organisations will want to meet you, match you with an appropriate hound and then check your home and all members of the family including other pets.

Minky and Spook

I know, they aren't greyhounds!! However Minky and Spook are desperate for a new home. Their owner is leaving the country and the cats were supposed to go to a family member who has let them down at the last minute. Her heart is nearly breaking with worry about what happens to the cats, and she can't leave the country til they are settled. She really does not want them to go to a shelter or charity. So, if you can give 2 kitties a home, pop over to her blog

Our Holidays

We have just been on our holidays. We went to Devon again to our favourite farm cottage. As promised, the farmers were able to give us one of their fallow fields which was a meadow right at the top of their land with gorgeous views over the valley.


It was completely enclosed and we are excited to announce that the greys were let off for a proper run. For a while now, Lily being nervous has been in her favour when let off the lead because she doesn't want to stray far from her favourite person (Daddy) and she gets a regular run but poor old Dizzy could not be trusted. We let him off just once, and he bolted so we were restricted to using enclosed fields.


Steve did some good work with him. He was allowed off the lead in the enclosed field and then we just ignored him. First of all Dizzy stood looking confused, then had a short sprint followed by a little rest where he had to lie down in the field. We used whistles and biccies to get him back, but he showed only mild interest in both. Over the course of the week, we became more and more confident as he was let off and just walked beside us LIKE A NORMAL DOG!!


We can't tell you how exciting that is. Since then, he has walked off the lead in the middle of our park, for a very short burst, and he does not show the urge to bolt but we will continue with caution. It was so lovely to see the dogs running together. Lily wanted to chase and have fun and kept nipping his snout like every other bitch and Dizzy just wanted to run on his own. Their legs move so fast, you can see the power but not appreciate the beauty of it until you see the still frames.

Dizzy looks like a kangaroo though, and we are on the verge of renaming him Skippy, the bush Dog-a- Roo. See how at certain points though, the dogs actually mirror each other's movements. You can see them studying each other then falling into synch by the side of each other. Beautiful! If only we had a field here at home.

Lily has another double

I couldn't believe my eyes when Lily's dad showed me this pics, Lily has a double. She is nervous like Lily, about a year older with all the same traits....could they be sisters? Lily above, and her double Brodie below!!

Dogs That Need Adopting

Please go here, as soon you will see some new pics of dogs that need adopting. There are about 13 dogs at Essex Greyhound Rescue in need of adoption, and two of these are the brother and sister of our own dog the lovely blue brindle Dizzy.

They are both chocolate brindle, similar colour and markings to the picture above. Both ex racers age 4 and are looking for a loving home together. If you think you can give them a home, then do contact me. Also, there are the other 11 dogs there, that desperately need to be found homes. Not only to benefit them, but to free up some kennel space for other dogs in need of fostering.

I will be taking pics of all the dogs looking for homes, and putting up details here as well as on my Flickr Gorgeous Greyhounds Gallery site.

Greyt Sweaters!

I am a part time knitwear designer and pattern writer, and goodness knows my hounds could do with covering up, but I just don't find the time to hand knit for my hounds, especially a full size sweater for a 32 Kg dog and a 25 Kg dog! On my searches to see what is out there, I came across a website advertising machine knit sweaters, and they are called Greyt Sweaters and I know I shouldn't really be advertising someone else's knitwear business, but I had to give her credit for the best knitted dog sweaters I have seen for a long time.

















Considering the time it takes to hand knit and make clothes, these are so reasonable in price even though they are machine knitted, see below. I cannot resist and I think that Lily would look good in either Blue, or as she is a little Madam (nickname: Mads) and a princess (her wish is our command) perhaps she would look good in elements of pink, or fucshia.



Dizzy Rascal I can imagine in the urban black and white. Now though, I have to go off and measure my hounds which is when they usually decide to lean against me, move or lie down or jump up and down as any movement in the afternoon could mean dinner is imminent!

Laney, who makes these glorious Greyt Sweaters, donates part of her proceeds to a greyhound charity.
She also makes these sweaters for whippets. They are all custom fit and custom designed, with a buttoned chest panel which is ideal for those dogs who get a draught right on their baldy bits on walks!

You could also, if you wanted to, wear a light waterproof mac on top of the coats.
Prices for a Greyhound are UK GB£34.50
Prices for a Whippet are UK GB£29.50
Postage UK £3.50
See website for other details of postage for the rest of the World
and how to measure your hound properly

She has also made sweaters for the Beastly Beasts.

The Beastly Beasts are a group of hounds who go to events and promote charities related to rescuing greyhounds, they are literally' hounds who help hounds' and you can read about all their adventures on their website, as well as get medical and healthcare tips and find out about the arithmetics of racing. I too have the same misgivings as these dog owners with regards to the racing industry, and reading that article confirms what I have seen.

I know that Julie from Essex Greyhound Rescue
often intervenes to take on challenging dogs difficult to home, or bounced from many kennels and homes and without her those dogs might well have 'disappeared' and could well have been the fate of at least one of my dogs, who did not appear to be officially registered from a pup, despite having some ear tattoos.

If anybody feels moved to donate to a lady who single handedly with little funding has rescued about 300 dogs over the past couple of years, I do collect funds for her, and you can donate by sending money to me
via PayPal username erssiemajor@yahoo.co.uk
100% of your donation goes directly to the hounds for food, medicine or vets bills.
I swallow any admin or bank charges
Julie also always has about 20 dogs to choose from for adoption aged from pups who can't be trained for racing (usually from 12mths onwards) to ex racers who are just not fast any more. She is always looking for people to foster dogs that are wasting away in kennels so if you feel moved to take on a dog, even temporarily, either myself or Julie can homecheck you if you are in the Essex area. Email me to find out more.



Anyway, back to the Beastly Beasts, on their walkies above, their website also has useful links, follows individual stories of rescued hounds and talks about large dog agility, walks, meets and greets and shows. One criticism of the site, just a tiny one, perhaps it is me being silly but I can't seem to find one page which has future events. I would like to meet the beasts, their owners and join in some communal greyhound fun.

Choking or Inhaling Food

It can be a common problem for sight hounds, in their greediness, to eat their food so fast that they can inhale kibble pieces up their nose or in their windpipe. When we had only been living with Lily for a few weeks, Steve was feeding in her in the kitchen and called me in a frantic voice as Lily was choking and she could not clear the obstruction. The noise was horrendous, and blood came out of her nose. Steve picked her up and smacked her rib cage and she eventually coughed up more blood and the offending piece of kibble and wet fish. I reckon there was every possibility Lily had it stuck in her windpipe, but also her nose, thank goodness it has only happened once in 10 months now.

I can confirm, that after talking to some vet nurses and read other sources, that the SPCA advice for doing the Heimlich Maneuver for Dogs , really is the right way. You have to aid the dog to cough up as well as let gravity give it a bit of an advantage. I don’t have the strength to lift Lily pads totally upside down and swing her, but I do support her shoulder, put my hand round middle, and lift back legs up so her head points downwards. Then I pat the ribs, whilst saying "Cough it up" and after having done this 3 times now since we have had her, she does breathe in and give out a really big snorty cough on demand.

Thankfully, she is quite a quick learner when it is anything to her advantage. She does not seem to be in a state of panic though as once she has coughed up, even when there was blood she just went back to her food greedily.

These are the things that made the situation worse: for Lily, I can't say it is the same for every dog

Increasing size of kibble
Wetting kibble or adding water
Mixing any other food with the kibble
Feeding her side by side with another dog
Allowing anyone to stand near her, or lead her to think the food is going to be taken up
Being given her food first, where she thinks she has a fair chance of scoffing in time to go over to another dogs bowl

What helps Lily:

Choosing a medium sized round kibble rather than the pointy triangular kind or very small pieces
Choosing a kibble that has a fair amount of oil
Avoiding kibble that is dry and dusty or cracks easily
Giving the food dry i.e. no water
Giving the food plain, without mixing in any other food. Fish, eggs, supplements or meat put in a different bowl
Feeding her away from the other dog, and well after the other dog so it is not direct competition
Letting her eat in peace without people crowding round (especially strangers)
Putting bowl onto a chair, where she has to reach the head upwards a bit to get food
Over time, Lily learning that we are not going to take food away, or she will not lose food to siblings (she was kept in a field like cattle at some time in her life and had to fight for her food)
Teaching Lily to take food politely at all other times, and training her not to snap at it convulsively*

What made absolutely no difference to Lily but might be worth a try for some dogs

Putting things into her food like chains/balls, or dividing food into sections
Feeding by hand one at a time (she can still inhale single biccies in her greediness)
Putting bowl onto a dog feeding stand (still too low, see above)
Putting bowl onto floor (as some people had suggested stands are worse for choking, not so with Lils)

A bit off topic, but this was our training for snapping as Lily used to snap at fingers in her eagerness to get a biscuit when hand fed during training. We have taught her to do this less in the following ways:

Close hand over kibble tightly, let her sniff around hand

Open hand slowly, and if she does snap and make contact say “OW!” in a really loud yapping voice so she knows she has caused pain

When she has stopped snapping/mouthing and is just gently licking, open fingers slightly and allow her to tease the biscuit out gently.

Always use the “OW!” reflex when teeth contact with flesh, even during play when it might be an accident. Dogs communicate this to each other, and it teaches good manners. Greyhounds are very very precise, there should be no such thing as accidental teeth on fingers, they are being unnecessarily clumsy or disrespectful when they do this and they can if they want, avoid your fingers even in play.

I can report, we rarely have any teeth contact from Lils now, and to think she was totally feral and unhandleable and bitey about 6mths ago!