Owner: Greyhound Information URL:http://www.greyhoundinformation.com Join Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:14:30 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Greyhound breed information including fun facts, pictures, history of the greyhound, health issues, and frequently asked questions related to greyhound dogs. Site statistics:Click here
Martingale Collars 2007-03-10 16:45:15
Martingale collars, or greyhound collars, were designed for dogs whose necks are larger than their heads (usually sighthounds). These are great for people who prefer the gentle control of a martingale over a choke chain, dogs who backout of their traditional buckle collars, and agility and flyball trainers who want a handle on their dog’s collar at all times. A martingale collar is fitted to the exact size of the dog’s neck when the collar is in the closed position. Properly fitted, the collar will be comfortably loose when not in use. When the martingale loop is pulled, the collar should be very snug but should not constrict the airway. The collar is safe to wear everyday.
Two of my favorite places to get martingale collars are http://www.2houndsdesign.com and http://www.furrybabyfashions.com.
Here is Bruno in his collar from 2houndsdesign.
The thing hanging from the collar is called a tag bag. These are great if you do not like the clinking of all of the tags ar Read more:Collars
Top 10 List of Why to Own a Greyhound 2007-03-08 01:03:39 10. They truly know the meaning of retirement.
9. People will stare at your dog instead of at you.
8. They can curl up to the size of a ball if they need to.
7. They can expand to the size of the whole bed if they want to.
6. The don’t bark, keeping your neighborhood safe for burglars.
5. You can play their ribs like an air guitar.
4. They are the only dogs that know how to really smile.
3. You can dress them up as a reindeer for Christmas.
2. They are never confused with poodles.
1. A greyhound in flight is the most amazing sight you’ll ever hope to see in your own backyard. Read more:Greyhound
History of the Greyhound 2007-03-08 00:45:08 As one of the most ancient breeds of dogs known to humans, greyhound’s roots extend across many geographical areas all around the world. Some evidence suggests they were first known in Turkey, as evidenced by cave drawings and artifacts from as long ago as 6000 B.C. These drawings and carvings throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Africa suggest the breed’s presence for thousands of years. Once greyhounds were established in Egyptian society, they were well-loved and even revered as dogs that guarded the king’s temples. Many were buried with the Pharaohs and sometimes even mummified. Greyhound
s went on to enjoy high status in ancient Greece and Rome and were kept as hunting dogs and guards sometimes for the gates of the cities.
Greyhounds likely arrived in America with the Spaniards in the 16th century and with the English colonists. Early uses of the breed included protection of livestock and crops by hunting hare, rabbit and coyote. In the late 1800&rs Read more:History
When You Go On Vacation, What to do with the greyhounds. 2007-03-07 02:28:01 Spring break is right around the corner and you are faced with what to do with the dogs while you are on vacation. We were faced with this recently and were lucky enough to find some friends to watch the dogs for us. They have 3 greyhounds of their own so are very greyhound savvy. We also thought about having a neighbor watch them but they really do not know much about greyhound safety. There is also the option of putting them in a kennel. Recently we knew of someone who put their greyhounds in a kennel for a few days. Unfortunately they made the mistake of kennelling the two greyhounds together in the same run and when no one was supervising the dogs got into a fight and one of them was injured. They did not muzzles them either. I would say if you use a kennel and have more than one greyhound, either make sure they are muzzled if sharingthe same space or put them in separate kennels to avoid injuries. I have heard of this happening more than once. Greyhounds can be very fun Read more:Vacation
Funny Sleeping Positions 2007-03-03 01:20:30 I was watching one of the greyhounds sleep last night and thought of all of the funny ways in which they find “comfortable” positions and thought I would share some of my pictures with you.
How comfortable does that look? This is Caddy and she would always sleep like that.
She also was a little spoiled and liked to sleep in my son’s bed, covers and all. You could put them on her and she would not move to get them off.
This is Bruno and Caddy trying to share the couch together. As you can see there is no room for anyone else or even the little dog at the bottom of the picture.
And lastly here is Maggie, our newest adoptee, who has managed to get her body under part of her pillow but finds that pretty comfortable I guess. Read more:Funny
, Sleeping
Coats for Greyhounds in the Cold Months 2007-03-02 01:10:23 Most people think we are crazy when we go outside in the cold weather with coats on the dogs. They think we just do it for them to look cute. But that is far from the case. Anytime it gets below about 25 degrees we put coats on the dogs if they are going to be out longer than just using the bathroom. This is because greyhounds have very little body fat to keep them warm and very little fur also. The rule of thumb with these guys is if you are too cold to be outside then so is your greyhound. Here are pictures of Caddy and Bruno in their very stylish winter coats. These both have detachable snoods to keep their head and neck warm. These coats are a lightweight fleece material good for small amounts of time outside. There are coats available that are of much thicker material and weather proof if you are planning on having your dog out for longer periods of time.
Caddy never liked wearing her coat. Can you tell??? Bruno does not mind his so much.
Read more:Coats
, Greyhounds
, Months
Greenies for Dogs 2007-02-22 03:00:58 I just bought a bag of Greenies at the pet store the other day because I heard they were good for the dogs teeth and breath. Well, greyhounds are infamous for having bad teeth and stinky breath, so I spent the $20 for a bag of them. I thought they were bones that lasted and then realized after it took the dogs about 30 seconds to completely eat them that they were more like a milk bone than a chew bone. Anyway, they really seemed to like them but I think I will save them for special occasions and not 2 or 3 a day. I have not given enough of them to see if they really help with the teeth/breath situation. I will keep you posted.
Greyhounds as Blood Donors 2007-02-22 02:52:50 The greyhound is what is known as a universal blood donor. Their blood can be donated to any other dog without having to type the blood. At OSU Vet Hospital they have a program where your dog can donate blood to the hospital to help save lives of other dogs. The blood is not only used at OSU but is also sent across the country to other blood banks and vet hospitals that are in need of blood. The dogs typically donate blood once every 2 to 3 months. In return for donating, you receive free food, heart worm medicine, flea and tick medicines, and free vaccines. Your dog must quality for the program by giving a sample of blood to make sure they are free of disease in order to donate.
Both of my dogs, Bruno and Caddy, were blood donors at OSU. Bruno still donates. Caddy, unfortunately passed away last November. We recently adopted a new dog, Maggie. We tested her to be a blood donor, but she has Eurhlichia, a tick born disease, that she obtained from the track. S Read more:Greyhounds
, Blood
, Donors
Greyhound Colors 2007-02-18 01:49:26 Greyhounds come in 18 different primary colors and in over 55 different color combinations. Below is a picture of these primary colors.
Read more:Greyhound
, Colors
How Big is a Greyhound? 2007-02-12 17:11:26 Male greyhounds are generally larger than females.
The average male is about 26 to 30 inches at the shoulder and weighs about 65 to 85 pounds.
Females average 22 to 26 inches at the shoulders and weigh about 50 to 65 pounds.
However, some are bigger and some are smaller. Read more:Greyhound
Common Medical Findings in the Greyhound 2007-03-13 21:59:47
The greyhound has a very unique physiology that many professionals attribute to their history as sighthounds and as a racing breed. They have developed enlarged muscle mass, hemoconcentrated blood, lengthened carpal/tarsal and metacarpal/metatarsal bones, and a heightened sense of sight. Here are a few of the more common ones that you should be aware of.
1. Greyhound
s normally have thyroid levels lower than other breeds.
2. Blood work: Greyhounds can have high normal BUN, creatinine and AST levels. They can have low platelets. They normally have a higher than normal number of red blood cells and a low normal number of white blood cells in their blood.
3. They are exposed to many tick borne diseases while they are racing. Maggie has Ehrlichia. She was treated with a month’s worth of antibiotics and so far has shown no signs of being sick.
4. Greyhounds are overly represented in cases of osteosarcoma. I will touch more on this later as Caddy had OS and I Read more:Common
More Health Issues In The Greyhound 2007-03-15 02:29:01
I started a list of health issues and things that are normal in a greyhound in my last post. Here are a few more to add to the list.
1. Greyhound
s commonly have what is termed greyhound bald thigh syndrome.
2. Many greyhounds can have mild heart enlargement and a mild heart murmur that can be normal. This is known as an athlete heart murmur and the cause is unknown.
3. Most greyhounds will commonly have a “dent” at the transition from their chest to the back bones.
4. Most greyhounds may have scars from their racing days.
5. Greyhounds are very temperature sensitive.
6. Greyhounds can suffer from muscle cramps.
7. Some greyhounds suffer from excessive bleeding following surgical procedures. Read more:Health
, Issues
Foster Dog Pictures 2007-03-15 22:04:35
I was sitting here thinking how quiet the house is right now because we currently are not fostering. Our local group is getting ready in a couple of weeks to rescue more dogs off the track from Florida so I will be getting one soon. But I was thinking about the ones I have fostered so far and feeling kind of sentimental about them and hoping they are all living wonderfully spoiled lives with their new owners. I thought I would share them with you.
This is my very first foster dog. His name is Sting. A very nice couple adopted him. They have 2 others greyhounds named Janis and Joplin. I thought that was so funny. They can have their own greyhound rock band now!!!
My next foster was Bruno, who I ended up adopting. So my husband said no more fostering because I would end up adopting them all. But that soon changed, and along came Acorn. He was right off the track and we had to teach him some house manners. Bruno is on the left and Acorn is on the right.
We decid Read more:Foster
, Pictures
Saying Goodbye to a Friend 2007-03-27 23:46:08
I just got back from vacation and learned that my good friend had to let her greyhound cross over the bridge. He had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and had a seizure which he could not come out of. It broke my heart that she had to lose him and I thought it would be nice to post the Rainbow Bridge poem in honor of Maxx, my greyhound friend.
The Rainbow Bridge
by Paul C. Dahm
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigour; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: They Read more:Goodbye
Greyhound Racing Database 2007-04-04 13:25:24
Don’t forget if you have a retired racing greyhound, you can go to the website http://www.greyhound-data.com and find out all of the history of your greyhound including the races they ran, wins, losses, ancestry, and much more. It is a great place to learn about your greyhound’s racing history. Check it out!!! Read more:Greyhound
, Racing
, Database
Funnies 2007-04-03 16:25:03 Although these are not greyhound related, they are dog related and I thought they were very funny so wanted to share them with you. Hope they bring a smile to your face today!!
Read more:Funnies
Greyhounds and Fleas 2007-04-06 17:24:26
With spring arriving I thought this would be a good time to discuss fleas, prevention and treatment if you do get them on your greyhound.
As you may know, greyhounds are very sensitive to certain chemicals and drugs. One flea prevention to avoid is the standard flea ccollar. The standard flea collar is not safe or effective and should NEVER be used on a greyhound, or any other dog for that matter. The collars contain harmful chemicals that penetrate through the skin of the dogs neck and eventually paralyzes and kills the flea that bites the skin. Some of the chemicals in these collars can cause nausea, convulsions, and even death.
Here is a list of some products that are safe to use on the greyhound:
1. Program. This is a once-a-month flea reproduction inhibitor. It does not kill the flea but the flea eggs that have fed on a treated dog will not hatch.
2. Advantage. This is a topical insecticide that kills fleas on contact before they can lay eggs so it breaks the fl Read more:Greyhounds
, Fleas
Excerpts from a Dog/Cat Diary - Funny! 2007-04-10 00:13:29
Excerpts from a Dog’s Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Excerpts from a Cat’s Diary
Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with
bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat,
while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry
nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear,
I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. Read more:Funny
People Look Like Their Pets 2007-04-10 00:07:22 Here are some pictures of people who look like their pets. I thought they were really cool and wanted to share them. I think they are amazing how much the people look just like their pets. Check out the greyhound and his owner!!!!!
World’s Largest Dog 2007-04-14 02:57:23
Although this is not a greyhound, I just had to share this with you. I was totally amazed.
Hercules was awarded the largest dog by the Guiness World
Book of Records. He is a 3-year-old English Mastiff who has a 38 inch neck and weighs 282 pounds. How crazy is that??? According to the owner “his weight is natural and not induced by a bizarre diet: I fed him normal food and he just grew…and grew. and grew. and grew.”
Glad I don’t have his food bill or have to clean up his yard either!!!!
Enjoy.
Read more:Largest
What Do The Ear Tattoos Mean On A Greyhound? 2007-04-14 02:47:24 Ever wonder what the tattoos mean and why they tattoo your greyhounds ears? All greyhounds who are racers must have this done and be registered with the NGA (National Greyhound
Association). They are usually tattooed between the ages of 2-1/2 to 3 months old. The actual tattoo for each puppy must be on a “Litter Registration” form and turned in to the NGA by the end of 3 months. The NGA then assigns a new litter registration number with each new litter.
The left ear tattoo is the litter registration number.
The right ear tattoo is a combination of letters and numbers that identify that particular dog. On the right ear, looking from the rear of the dog to its nose, the first number is the month in which the dog was born (2=February, 11=November, etc.). The second number is the last digit of the year the dog was born (99=1999, 03=2003, etc.). A letter then follows that identifies with how many dogs are in the litter. So for example, if there are 5 puppies in t Read more:Tattoos
New Foster 2007-04-18 01:41:19
I got a new foster this past weekend and wanted to share him with you. He is a beautiful brindle boy named Phoenix. I guess he was from Phoenix, Arizona, thus the name. He has adjusted incredibly well to our home and getting along great with Maggie and Bruno. As a matter of fact, it is very hard to tell the difference between Bruno and Phoenix because they look so much alike. Here is Phoenix’s picture.
Read more:Foster
Famous Greyhound Dog Owners 2007-04-20 00:07:12
Have you ever wondered who the famous people were or are who own the same kind of dog as you? Well, I did and here is the list I found of famous greyhound dog owners. Some of these people go way, way back in time and others are more recent. Quite an impressive list.
Pharoah Tuntankhamen
Alexander the Great
Frederick the Great
Elizabeth I
James II of England
Louis XV of France
General Von Stuben
Babe Ruth
Al Capone
Bo Derek
Jackie Gleason
Pharoah Amenhotep II
Merv Griffin
Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis
Jerry Lewis
Dean Martin
Leonard Nimoy
Jack Palance
Frank Sinatra
Ed Sullivan
Danny Thomas
Betty White
Read more:Famous
, Greyhound
, Owners
Bruno with Tumor 2007-04-24 17:37:59
I have not written any posts for a few days as I have been very busy running back and forth to the vet. We have been trying to figure out what has been wrong with our brindle boy Bruno
. He went lame on his front left leg a month or so ago. We had done x-rays, of course fearing the worst, that he had osteosarcoma like Caddy had. The x-rays of the leg and shoulder all came back clear. Whew!!! That was a huge relief. So then we tried a steroid injection into the shoulder. This did nothing. He still continued to not use the leg. The more this had gone on the muscles around the shoulder had begun to atrophy. We were very fortunate last week to get an MRI on his spine/shoulder area. Ohio State University just received a new MRI machine and needed a dog to “test” the machine out. We volunteered Bruno.
The MRI results came back yesterday as a suspicious area in the C6-C7 area of the spine. The preliminary diagnosis based on the MRI findings and his sy Read more:Tumor
Heat Stroke in Greyhounds 2007-05-02 03:15:19
Now that summer is almost upon us, I wanted to take a moment to talk about heat exposure in dogs. All dogs (not just Greyhounds
), whether old, young, very active, or not very active are at risk for overheating in the summer. One of the most common causes of heat stroke is leaving an animal in a hot car. Even on an 80 degree day, the temperature inside a car can get up to 130 degrees very quickly. Even leaving a window cracked doesn’t prevent the heat from building up. Best advise here is to leave your pets home on warm days where they are safe and cool.
Dogs do not sweat and they do not have an efficient way to cool themselves down. If they are panting, it may be because they need the oxygen because they’ve been exercising, or it may mean they are trying to get rid of built-up heat in their bodies.
Long coated dogs also hold heat in their bodies. A good idea is to clip the dog’s coat a little shorter for summer to help cool them down but don’t shave t Read more:Stroke
Bruno Tumor Update 2007-05-03 17:49:44
For those of you following Bruno
’s story, we were able to meet with one of the top surgeons yesterday and he definitely has a nerve sheath tumor according to the MRI. The doctor believes it is cancerous and due to the location it is not operable and you cannot use radiation. It is located directly on the spine at C6-C7 and is starting to penetrate into the spinal cord itself. We are just doing comfort measures at this time and praying we get more time with him than the doctors are predicting.
His personality has not changed and he does not appear to be much different except for the limp in his left front leg. When the doorbell rings, he is right there to greet whoever is visiting and yesterday he even jumped up when I went to get the leashes to go for a walk. So for now he seems to be acting like himself and is happy with the things that make him happy. For that we are grateful and will enjoy every precious moment we have left with him. He has truly blessed our l Read more:Tumor
, Update
Greyhound Gets a Bath and Almost “Passes Out” 2007-05-07 16:00:33
I had heard of this before but had never experienced it until this past Saturday. My foster, Blake, had decided to get into some “yard cookies” and so he definitely needed to get a bath. As with most greyhounds I have ever dealt with, they do not particularly like water. So it took both myself and my husband to lift him into the tub. Once there he was fine and standing nicely, not trying to get out. And then it happened, we turned on the water hose to rinse him down and he went very limp. His back legs became weak first and then the front and he gently went down onto the floor of the tub. He looked like he was in a coma. Of course, I became worried that the water was either too hot or too cold, as their skin is very sensitive to temperature. The water felt fine, however. I keep thinking I hope he is okay. He did seem to be enjoying getting his body massage. It was very hard to get him up though to rinse off the lather and the way he was sitting was Read more:Greyhound
, Almost
, Passes
Greyhounds, Tumors, and Artemisinin (Bruno Update) 2007-05-14 13:37:32
If you have been following Bruno
’s story, you know he has a nerve sheath tumor at C6-C7 that is inoperable and cannot have radiation therapy. We have been at OSU Hospital over the past couple of weeks trying to figure out what to do for him. Since all removing the tumor is not an option, our only hope is medicine. Dr. Couto at OSU is trying him on a drug called Artemisinin. This drug is typically used in dogs with Osteosarcoma and has never been tried with a nerve sheath tumor. We do not know what effect it will have on the tumor, but Dr. Couto reassures me that it will not do any harm. This drug is supposed to slow down the growth of cancer cells and possibly kill some of the cancer cells. We started him on it this past Friday. They say it will take about 4 weeks to start noticing anything, if at all. It might not work at all. If he does show any improvement, then we will do another MRI to see if it has done anything to the tumor (shrunk any of it). If n Read more:Greyhounds
, Update
Lameness in a Greyhound (Osteosarcoma) 2007-05-19 14:46:42
I lost my beautiful Caddy (picture below) this past October. It all started when she began limping on her front leg. We brushed it off as her just twisting her leg and pulling a muscle. She really liked to run hard and we figured she just overdid it. We tried her on anti-inflammatories but that did not help. After a couple of weeks we took her to OSU Vet Hospital where x-rays were done. They found osteosarcoma in her front left leg. Osteosarcoma is a very aggressive bone cancer that spreads very quickly. By the time they see it on x-ray it is usually too late to save your dog. Most dogs will only live a few weeks to a few months after their diagnosis of osteo. We elected to amputate and do chemotherapy to hopefully “buy” more time. The amputation is done only to get rid of the pain. Then they do chemo to try to kill the cancer cells. I have friends whose dogs have lived a year or two after the amputation and chemotherapy. So we felt any time wou Read more:Greyhound
Puzzle of Maggie 2007-05-17 03:25:08 Click here for a really fun puzzle of Maggie
! You will have to scroll down a little bit to do the puzzle. You can do this for free and try it with your own pictures too. Read more:Puzzle
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