Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

There was a very festive feel at the kennels today - chocolates galore for the kennel-hands and volunteers, and lots of treats for the dogs.

Many of the dogs were in impish moods, with kennel-clown Josh giving me a slobbery dog-kiss (URRRGH) on the nose when I was least expecting it. I wouldn't have minded, but I hadn't even been walking him. He's such a cheeky so-and-so these days.

Little Topsy was as sweet as ever, and demanded several hugs as we went round the usual circuit through the paddocks. Then at the end of the walk she decided she needed a big cuddle before she went back to her kennel.

I'm sure I looked a little odd, sat down, with Topsy's front paws on my lap and her chin resting on my head.

I am now going to take a few days off, and will probably not post again until the New Year.

No such luck for the kennel hands and helpers at the rehoming kennels - there's still dogs to be fed and walks to be had - so they'll be in as normal on Christmas day and Boxing day. I'm sure lots of volunteers will visit as well. I really hope one and all will have a very Merry Christmas.

The other top dog spot is filled

I think my search for favourite dogs is complete - for the time being.

I've decided that I'm going to try and walk Joe and Topsy every time I go to the kennels. They are a lovely pair and really nice to walk together.

I've got a soft spot for Joe, because he's just such a scare-dy cat (or dog, if I was being totally accurate).

Topsy is full of life and really cheeky. However, the most endearing thing about her is the way she greets you.

Some of the dogs jump up and put their paws on your shoulders out of sheer exuberance when they first come out of their kennels. If you're not expecting it, it can knock you backwards. You quickly get to know the very exuberant dogs and you just learn to BRACE yourself.

Topsy is different. She comes out of her kennels quite quietly, fixes you with her gaze, and then, gently, hops up onto her back legs, and carefully places her front paws on you.

There she stays looking lovingly into your eyes until you remind her that a walk would be lovely and - nice as the cuddle is - we really are not going to get very far like this.

Shawn's new girlfriend

Shawn has a new girlfriend. Pretty was rehomed several weeks ago, and now a new gal has moved into Shawn's kennel.

I don't think it's going to last. Kelly is an absolutely stunning blonde bombshell. She's confident and gorgeous, ditzy and sweet. She'll be rehomed within weeks.

Kelly is just really lovely and will temporarily fill one of my top girl spots. (I like walking Shawn with his partner anyhow). She - hopefully - will be such a great greyhound ambassador.

She's so happy to go and say hello to everyone. She was quite keen to give the mechanics in the garage that is close to the kennels a hand when I walked her. (Most dogs are a bit unsure or scared of the garage). As she left, all the mechanics had a massive grin on their faces - yes she'd worked her charms within a few seconds.

Shawn's a really good boy (thank goodness)

Dogs from the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels are always walked on the lead.

This is the case for a few reasons - some of the dogs have never been "formally" walked before, and they need to learn how to settle on a lead. Some of the dogs are nervous and would bolt if not on the lead, at least until they get to know you.

Others would shoot off into the distance at the first sight of something to chase. Finally some of the male dogs don't get on, and you need to be able to control them if they start to argue with one another.

I sometimes have nightmares about dropping a lead, or not picking up a lead properly, but thankfully I've had no problems... until today that is.

Last walk of the day was Shawn and his lovely new girlfriend (I am going to tell you all about her in another post - watch this space). She was very sprightly out of the kennels, however I grabbed the leads, and was out of the kennel gates and walking up the lane - Shawn happily trotting by my side - when I looked down, and to my horror, saw that his lead was loosely draped over his girlfriend's lead. I almost fainted!

Thank goodness for lovely Shawn being such a nice boy to walk, as I tightly wrapped BOTH leads round my arm, he looked up at me and continued trotting happily by my side muttering "You know me, I wasn't going anywhere, me".

Cat testing... by mistake

There was a bit of cat testing by accident at the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels today.

I was out with the first dog of the day - a shy black boy called Joe, who I hadn't walked before - and lo and behold, sitting on a woodstack, in the middle of the small field was a tortoise-shell cat. Either a very foolish, or a kamikaze, tortoise-shell cat.

I approached the woodstack with Joe, fully expecting the cat to rush off. As Joe approached he stared, the cat looked haughty, then Joe jumped out of his skin... and... hid behind my legs.

The cat continued to look haughtily at us, and Joe shook as we walked past the woodstack. He had obviously decided that the cat was a completely terrifying creature.

The next dog I took out was Joe's girlfriend, Topsy. Amazingly the cat was still in the small field. Not for long though. Topsy took one look at the cat, and decided to chase. I luckily had her on a short lead, so the cat made her escape into the undergrowth.

The next two walks were feline-free - unfortunately so with Nicky, because I'd love to see how he reacts. (If he was well-behaved around the cat the husband may allow me to foster Nicky for a few days).

Last walk of the day was daft-old Shawn. I saw the cat darting along the path a few yards ahead of us, tail in the air. Not sure Shawn noticed though - as Mr Dopey-draws didn't react at all.

Coat mystery solved

The mystery of Emma's strangely coloured thick coat has been solved. I thought that she was a bit of a two-tone girl (chocolate AND blue), and Lita from the Greyhound Awareness League has kindly dropped me an email with an explanation.

Here's the answer:

"I just wanted to reply to your questioning of Emma's chocolate colour fur and the thickness. From my experience greyhounds that are kept in outdoor kennels have what we call 'kennel coats', which is a thickening of the fur (to keep warm).

"When these hounds begin to live indoors in a warm environment, they begin to cast this old coat of fur (which can even come out in tufts and clumps) over a period of a few months.

"In the case of black greyhounds, the kennel coat can be a reddish/brown colour until cast off, and underneath the new fur is black and shiny. It can be an amazing transformation!"

I shall watch Emma with interest and let you know if she begins to shed her coat - I'll be very excited to find out what colour her hair is underneath the thick brown kennel coat. I suspect she'll be blue, but it looks like there's a very good chance she could be another black girl.

Watch this space... that is if she isn't rehomed in the meantime.

Why GREY hounds?

This is a question that has troubled me for some time. Why are greyhounds called GREY hounds?

Wolfhounds and deerhounds are both named after their original purpose - that is, respectively, they were bred for hunting wolves and deer.

Before I'd spent much time with greyhounds I assumed it was because the hounds were grey. However I've long since learnt that they can be almost any colour under the sun, but very few are grey. And those that look grey in colour are actually officially termed 'blue'.

So where 'greyhound' came from is a bit of a mystery - a quick search on the internet showed that the name has its roots in the mists of time.

The greyhound is an ancient breed, and the common consensus is that the name comes from the Old English word grighund. Hund is the precursor to the modern day hound, and apparently grig has no modern day derivation, but does refer to dogs in old English.

However - as fascinating as the roots of the breed name are - I'd like to propose another reason for breed name. Ever noticed, just like us, how older dogs get white hairs on their chin, and the real OAPs have white faces? Yep, that's why I think they are called greyhounds.

It's official: Dogs have feelings too

Scientists from Vienna have just published research, which confirms something that every dog owner already knows, that dogs have feelings too.

Apparently they are prone to all sorts of emotions including jealousy, envy and pride. Having walked dogs from the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels I'd add joy, love, laughter and mischief to that list too. (Probably all emotions at the same time in the one dog when it comes to Spark).

Fear, as well unfortunately, as we have lovely dogs like Larry who start their lives in the rehoming kennels terrified. However after months of love and kindness in kennels, a nervous dog will start to come out of himself or herself and slowly blossom.

I'm also sure that dogs can become depressed. Take Josh for instance, he's now the clown of the kennels, and a completely different character than the one that first came into the kennels.

One of the most prevailing emotions I get from the dogs at the kennels is love and affection though. There's nothing better than the first time a shy dog greets you - often by putting their front paws on your shoulders - or takes a treat from you after weeks of work trying to make them more secure. Then you really know you've made a difference, and that this hound is well on their way to a new home.

Top girl search begins

I wrote last week about how I needed to find some new favourites at the local retired greyhound rehoming centre, because my two top dogs had been rehomed.

With Nicky back in kennels until after Christmas, I actually only need to find a new favourite girl, and the search started in earnest today. I didn't get very far because it was FREEZING, with intermittent sleet showers, and instead of doing my usual 5 circuits with 5 different single or pairs of dogs, I only did three.

I did, however, meet the beautiful Emma. She's shy in kennels, but a cheeky little so-and-so - always demanding cuddles and tickles - once you take her out for a walk.

She's the oddest colour I've ever seen on a greyhound. At first you think that she's a blue (grey) and then you get a bit closer and she actually looks quite chocolately. She's also got quite a thick coat.

I've done a quick search and can't find out an equivalent colour on the greyhound websites - so if anyone has any idea on her "official" colour please drop me a line.

Anyhow, I'll definitely take Emma out next time I visit the kennels - however, I've still to decide whether she'll fill the "top girl" spot.

The reason is she is one of those dogs that's quite "keen", with a well developed chase instinct, and one thing I like from my favourites is to be able to daydream that I might be able to take them home with me. We have two cats - and I don't they'd have a very peaceful life with Emma.

Friends Reunited

Shock! Horror! I got to the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels today to find that Nicky was back in kennels.

I was relieved to hear that he hadn't misbehaved on his home trail - in fact according to all reports he acted impeccably. However, the family who want to take him have decided that they can't take him until the New Year.

This means that he's back off reserve - in case someone else falls in love with him in the meantime. If not he already has a loving home to go to.

Now, I just have to persuade the husband that we really need to foster this lovely boy over Christmas. I'm sure Nicky would LOVE turkey.

For the love of dogs

One of the great things about walking dogs from the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels is that you often get to meet, and chat with, people who are considering rehoming dogs.

I love this as it gives me a chance to enthuse about greyhounds to people who are more than willing to listen and that want to pick your brains. And it's great to support potential rehomers by giving them another perspective on the dogs in the kennels.

What's also interesting is to hear their experiences of other non-greyhound rehoming centres. The tales they've given me make me think that, in my totally biased opinion, our local kennels are brilliant.

There are usually 50-60 dogs in the kennels at any one time. This is a relatively small number and gives the kennel hands, and volunteer walkers, a chance to get to know the personality of many of the dogs. In turn this gives a real insight into the sorts of homes that each dog would be happy in.

What seems to be most appreciated by the potential rehomers is that they also get a chance to walk a number of dogs when they visit.

Brilliant because they can see how wonderful greyhounds are on the lead, how comical they are, and - yes, canny, canny, kennel hands, we know your game - fall hopelessly in love with at least one of the dogs.