The arrival of Ava and Nobby

Several hounds have been rehomed recently, so last time I walked dogs from the local retired greyhound rehoming kennels I was asked to collect a new pair from the holding kennels.

There always seem to be more greyhounds (especially true for boys) needing a home than there are spaces in the main kennels. As a result some of the newer dogs are kept in a seperate set of kennels - which are also used as a boarding kennels - a couple of hundred metres away.

It's quite exciting to pick up new dogs, because you know absolutely nothing about them and have no idea what you might get. I wandered down to the holding kennels and asked for the next pair... and was given two HUGE dogs.

I couldn't tell who was the female, and who was the male. The girls are usually at least a little bit smaller than the boys. There wasn't much to pick between these two. And they were VERY LIVELY. What had I let myself in for?

I was soon told that the beautiful blue dog was the boy and called Nobby. The chunky white and blue girl was Ava and "pulled a bit". At this point I was DRAGGED towards the kennel gate, and through it. (Luckily someone had the sense to quickly open it first).

These guys were really ready for a walk. After an initial tussle (incidently Nobby pulled more than Ava), both settled down nicely onto the lead.

Nobby needed a little bit of persuasion, but I've got a trick for that. The idea is that you hold the lead in one hand, and then put the dog on the opposite side of your body, with the lead running across your front. It's then possible to put your free hand on the lead to keep the dog walking to heel.

Part way round and a real test - kamikaze cat sped out onto the path ahead of us. Neither dog lurched although Nobby stared fixedly at the cat, and I think he will take chase if given another chance. All in all though a good first walk, and I delivered both dogs safely to their new temporary home.