Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

 

Sleeping dogs are always good dogs, I doubt anyone will disagree with me on that one.

So many people are misinformed in this area when it comes to greyhounds. Non-greyhound people think these dogs are always on the go, always active and that they require a large amount of time and space to keep up with all that 'greyhound energy'. HAH! Yeah, right. They sleep a LOT. Greyhounds don't even make the top 20 if you're rating breeds on energy level. I've come to believe that dogs are a completely a product of their enviroment (duh) and thus it isn't hard to believe that none of my dogs are morning dogs. Ever. Darby started out as a morning dog, but quickly came to the understanding that being a morning dog would get him nothing but ignored and lonely in the Stine household. I detest mornings, everybody who knows me knows that. My dogs reflect that fact. Dee and Q are the most adapted, some weekends not bothering to get out of bed until well after 10am, not even to empty bladders. Drett and Darby can at least be shamed into getting up and going outside before noon, the other two literally have to be dragged out of bed.

My pack will sleep anywhere, anytime and in any configuration. They don't require personal space to sleep; they will pile up like cord wood if decent sleeping space is limited. Although they prefer and are provided poofy dog beds and soft sofas, they don't hesitate to flop out on any hard, un-cushioned surface. Sunbeams are prime real estate, the sofa and bed are coveted and metered out in what I'm suspecting are scheduled timeshares. Crowds don't phase anybody in this household; they rack out ringside at dog shows, tableside at sidewalk cafes and coffee shops, tradeshows and streetfairs proving that a good nap waits for nothing and no one. I knew that. :)

or just drug 'em . A sleepy dog is a good dog...

No, I don't routinely drug my dogs. In fact I go real light on the pain killers and anxiety tamers.

Living with Andretti however has necessitated having something similar to a Main Street Pharmacy in the house.

This dude has been in some stage of repair since I got him, no fault of anyone other than his reckless self.
List of Medical De-complishments:
(I just made that word up, it's fancy talk for Accident Waiting to Happen)

• Giardia (he came with that, yippee)

• Clogged tear duct (shortly after arrival)

• Kennel Cough (4 months, courtesy of his first visit to a dog show)

• Viral Papillomas on all 4 feet (6 months, courtesy DoggyDayCare)....surgically removed....all 4 feet

• Monthly rips and tears (6months-present) I'm not counting scuffs, I'm talking deep full thickness holes-in-his-hide. He has run through barb wire, ripped a stifle on a piece of rebar, sliced the webbing on his feet, impaled himself on a metal spike attached to a trashcan and had his ass grabbed by another greyhound 'friend' while running. Let's not even TALK about his running mishaps. Nowdays, I lay him down on the kitchen floor and sew him up. No fancy vet visits for us. 
• Drett-Bump. This is what we call the transient swelling of that little knobby joint area on the inside of the front leg/foot. When I say we, I mean my ever expanding group of local AKC greyhound junkies/friends. I'm thinking of trademarking the condition; even some of the greyhound showing/running old timers have come to recognize and use the term Drett-Bump in their own dogs after seeing it and noting that they never knew what to call it or what causes it. We've decided it's not a real injury as it doesn't cause lameness, but it is a definite swelling that is activated and aggravated by hard running. 
• Gastropexy incision that refused to heal. I neutered Andretti at 3 years (I regret that a whole lot, I will not neuter or spay any of my future greyhounds, unless medically necessary) When I has him neutered, I did a preemptive strike and had his stomach tacked at the same time. This is Andretti we're talking about, at 3 years old I'd seen enough of his medical constitution to know that NOT tacking his stomach would be a glove slapped in the face of fate. Unfortunately the incision traveled too far up his chest, and refused to heal where it crossed his sternum (breast bone). The skin was too thin, it was a pressure point when he laid down, blah blah blah. It took almost 3 months to heal. He wore a t-shirt for the duration:

•  Broken Toe: courtesy of Art the Husband's procrastination filling in 12inch deep irrigation trenches. My friend H came over with her dogs for a hike, and as we went out the back gate to hike down into the park Andretti stood next to us with one foot hoisted up, but ready to go. H says "Lis, I think he broke his toe". I say "Nahhhh....he probably just stubbed it" H says, very concerned, "No Lis, I really think he broke his toe". Trip down to the clinic, xray, H's suspicion confirmed. Broken toe. Hello cast. 3 months, countless ulcerations, tape burns, swamp-foot and general stir-craziness it finally healed up. 

• Ringworm; everywhere. Sweet. 

•  Multiple foxtails snurffled up the old schnozz. Again, no fancy trips to the vet for us: "hold still", a pair of alligator forceps and a nose cone, "hold still, dammit" and ta-dah!!

• Broken hip, yes, broken. He 'Crotch Jockeyed" a tree at full running speed racing down one of the hills behind the barn. It took all of 5 seconds for him to disappear around the side of the house and end up whimpering in the driveway unable to move. We're still not sure what happened, but we know it involved this tree, this dog, high speed, an aerial maneuver and a non-olympic style landing. Dr. Brown said that in all the years he's been in practice as an orthopedic specialist he's never seen a dog break it's illiac crest. Dr. Art the Husband was sure this would require major surgery to remove "stuff", we opted to take a more conservative wait and see stance. Another 4 months to heal. Sigh. Way to be, Andretti. 

 

  

  

Broken Broken Broken. Ahhhhhh Andretti. 

 I love you Brown Dog, I love you so hard. Now, could you please stay in one piece just for a little while? Please let my friends stop taking bets on whats going to happen next? Thank you Brown Dog.

Raising Greyhounds.....set em in front of the tv and have a cocktail for yourself!

All of our kids watch TV, some more avidly than others. Dretti? Well, he qualifies as a couch potato. Anything with dogs, they are into. Art started Andretti out early in life teaching him that there can never be enough pillows to settle into and one remote is NOT enough.



For Dretti, Dog Shows, in particular are a favorite. He was glued to the set for Westminster back when he was just 2 years old:


and the dog version of the superbowl: PuppyBowl

and of course, he hogs the remote every chance he gets.

We have to block certain channels during the day while we're at work. Mostly, the home shopping channels and Animal Planet Home Direct. And don't get me started on computer time. He's limited to 30 minutes, supervised. One delivery from Best Bully Sticks.com was enough to make us rethink leaving Dretti at home alone with open internet access. The Fritzlers did not send us a stupid dog.

Hello hello hello, welcome to the blog with a side order of disclaimer.

Welcome to my All Greyhound All the Time blog! I have another blog, rockdogdesigns.com, but it is a general family blog that my husband Art and I maintain that covers a wide range of topics. This blog is only about my dogs, my greyhounds to be exact. Andretti, D-Square, Darby Crash and Q. That's them over on the side-bar ----------->
You won't find much here other than dog stuff, so if you think it's boring or silly, too bad. It's my blog so I get to post what I want to, read it or don't. That's what blogs are all about!

Because I'm moderately lazy (actually not so much lazy, just an extreme multitasker with underlying Attention Deficit and a nasty little procrastination habit) this blog has been a long time coming, and will be a constant work in progress. I will be posting things about the dogs that I have posted elsewhere in years past in an effort to play catch-up to the present, mostly just things that were funny or that explain a series of photos, etc.

The primary goal of this blog is entertainment, for you, the reader. I want you to read the posts and laugh. Or cry. Or be inspired. Or curious. Or completely shocked. Whatever the reaction, so long as the content entertains you and makes you want to come back for more.....mission accomplished! And then there's the pictures. Lots and lots of greyhound pictures. PLEASE DO NOT COPY PHOTOS FROM THIS BLOG WITHOUT PERMISSION. All greyhound photos were taken by me with a variety of cameras, any greyhound photo that was not taken by me will be credited to the photographer, if known. All greyhound photos are property of rockdogdesigns and Lisa Stine and may not be used for advertisement or published without permission. I don't usually have a problem granting permission to use photos, but I do like to be asked. :)

My greyhounds are our kids. Art and I don't have children, we have the dogs. My greyhounds are all AKC registered hounds, they are not retired racers (although they have close friends who are!). The Italian Greyhound, Q, is a rescue from a puppy mill in Missouri; he's not trailer trash, but he isn't registered with the anyone, even though he's probably the sturdiest and most even-tempered 100% all Italian Greyhound I've ever seen. Andretti, Dee and Darby are currently AKC show dogs who participate in conformation, lure coursing, obedience, and rally.

I do not represent any breeder; I have greyhounds from two completely separate and polar opposite kennel names. Two of my dogs are Windrock dogs and one of them is an Aragon Aroi dog. I DON'T CARE. A beautiful functional dog is a beautiful functional dog, and through the generosity of both Aragon Greyhounds and Windrock Sighthounds, I have 3 really wonderful dogs. I know it's silly, but the reason I mention this is that sometimes people (greyhound fanciers in particular) will look at the registered name of your dogs and automatically assume that you are 'tight' with the people you got the dogs from. This is not necessarily true. My relationship with the breeders of my dogs is very different for each of them, as you will see in future posts. But beyond their genetics, my dogs are the product of the time and effort I put into them. Some may run better than others, some may show better than others. I may sing praise for one dog's qualities and not another's, I will compare them to each other, and needless to say, their personalities are COMPLETELY different regardless of what kennel they come from. The bottom line is that I have my own mind and my own opinions. I represent me and my dogs, always have, always will.

Okay, all disclaimers have been claimed. This is the best introduction I could come up with, stuff from here on out should be pretty fun to read. I hope. I like to write, and as one of my friends has said "Geesh, Lis, that's a flippin' novel" and she's right. But hopefully my novel like posts will be entertaining, and keep you coming back for more. Now, on with the show!