The Hounds
I have two dogs. Finn is a bull lurcher. This means he's a greyhound crossed with a Staffordshire Bull terrier and possibly a few other things. He's got all the best traits of both breeds meaning he's fast and strong but also gentle, playful and very soft natured. He's so very good with the children and he loves meeting other dogs.
We got Finn as a puppy, we had just lost our Saluki Lurcher Dudley and were heartbroken so we headed to TIA Rescue as we knew they had puppies. This stripey gorgeous puppy bounded out and started ragging the tassels on my daughter's coat. We fell instantly in love with him.
He was a dream dog, house training relatively quickly and brilliant with the kids. He was fantastic. Until I left him alone. It started off with ripping up his puppy pads but as he grew and he started teething he began systematically wrecking my house, focusing most of his attention on my kitchen door.
We tried caging, he escaped. I left the radio on, it made no difference. I tried leaving him treats and toys to play with, he'd eat the treats then ignore the toys. 6 months after we got him he chewed the door frame exposing the electrical wires. I got home just before he managed to kill himself.
At the end of our tether I did a desperate gumtree search. Staring back at me was a supposedly 11 month old Bedlington crossed with whippet. She was listed for £80, clearly unloved. I sent Simon for her.
That's how Fizzy joined our family.
When she arrive she was smelly, underweight, couldn't jump and had sad eyes. We introduced the dogs together outside our house. I've never seen two dogs more suited to each other. They ran around the garden completely enamoured with each other.
We took Fizzy to the vets the next day. She had no microchip so we got that and her injections. The vet checked her and said she was healthy but a lot younger than advertised as she still had her baby teeth. We'd actually bought a deerhound cross. Simon was thrilled - he loves big dogs.
Then Monday came and I had to do the school run. Would I return to two electrocuted dogs? Had I just doubled the potential damage?
No. Not at all. Nothing. No scratching, chewing or destruction. Just two dogs content in each other's company.
And a massive pile of poo.
Fizzy is lovely but had been kept in a shed. She had no concept of house training. She has been a nightmare to train and still occasionally in the night forgets she should wake us to let her out. She's funny, giddy and fantastic with the kids.
We did manage to buy a complete scaredy cat though who hates meeting strangers and strange dogs when out walking. Fizzy is also a stink magnet, if there's something to roll in within a 500 radius she'll find it. She's also a complete noise box, she barks at passing people, dogs and squirrels. Most of all she hates cats, they are her mortal enemies and she wants the world to know it. I can relate. I've never been a cat person.
So there you have it, these are "the dogs" I refer to in my blog title. No doubt I'll occasionally post about their antics. Oh and if you're thinking of getting a dog I highly recommend lurchers. People think they take a lot of walking, they really don't. Let them have a couple of 20 minute runs a day and they spend the rest of the day like this...
We got Finn as a puppy, we had just lost our Saluki Lurcher Dudley and were heartbroken so we headed to TIA Rescue as we knew they had puppies. This stripey gorgeous puppy bounded out and started ragging the tassels on my daughter's coat. We fell instantly in love with him.
He was a dream dog, house training relatively quickly and brilliant with the kids. He was fantastic. Until I left him alone. It started off with ripping up his puppy pads but as he grew and he started teething he began systematically wrecking my house, focusing most of his attention on my kitchen door.
We tried caging, he escaped. I left the radio on, it made no difference. I tried leaving him treats and toys to play with, he'd eat the treats then ignore the toys. 6 months after we got him he chewed the door frame exposing the electrical wires. I got home just before he managed to kill himself.
At the end of our tether I did a desperate gumtree search. Staring back at me was a supposedly 11 month old Bedlington crossed with whippet. She was listed for £80, clearly unloved. I sent Simon for her.
That's how Fizzy joined our family.
When she arrive she was smelly, underweight, couldn't jump and had sad eyes. We introduced the dogs together outside our house. I've never seen two dogs more suited to each other. They ran around the garden completely enamoured with each other.
We took Fizzy to the vets the next day. She had no microchip so we got that and her injections. The vet checked her and said she was healthy but a lot younger than advertised as she still had her baby teeth. We'd actually bought a deerhound cross. Simon was thrilled - he loves big dogs.
Then Monday came and I had to do the school run. Would I return to two electrocuted dogs? Had I just doubled the potential damage?
No. Not at all. Nothing. No scratching, chewing or destruction. Just two dogs content in each other's company.
And a massive pile of poo.
Fizzy is lovely but had been kept in a shed. She had no concept of house training. She has been a nightmare to train and still occasionally in the night forgets she should wake us to let her out. She's funny, giddy and fantastic with the kids.
We did manage to buy a complete scaredy cat though who hates meeting strangers and strange dogs when out walking. Fizzy is also a stink magnet, if there's something to roll in within a 500 radius she'll find it. She's also a complete noise box, she barks at passing people, dogs and squirrels. Most of all she hates cats, they are her mortal enemies and she wants the world to know it. I can relate. I've never been a cat person.
So there you have it, these are "the dogs" I refer to in my blog title. No doubt I'll occasionally post about their antics. Oh and if you're thinking of getting a dog I highly recommend lurchers. People think they take a lot of walking, they really don't. Let them have a couple of 20 minute runs a day and they spend the rest of the day like this...
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