The Dogmother Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 She's similar, but not as dark-skinned. As babies we looked identical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Lovely photos Rosie looks so like you, from photos that you have posted of yourself on here. I misread that first time around. I know that sometimes dogs and their owners can look alike, but Claret isn't even blonde! Then I realised you said Rosie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Lovely photos Rosie looks so like you, from photos that you have posted of yourself on here. I misread that first time around. I know that sometimes dogs and their owners can look alike, but Claret isn't even blonde! Then I realised you said Rosie. Not blonde these days Snowy - was 'tabby' once though didn't suit me - my skin is too dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Well, I made a breakthrough with the training yesterday - she will now do 'down' i.e. lie down immediately I ask... well, so long as she's not distracted!! This is a real milestone in training and I'm pleased, we just need to work on her concentration now! Hounds in gerenal are notroiously hard to train and all my lurchers in the past have been.. shall we say... challenging They just aren't bred/conditioned to recall or pay much attention to anything that isn't prey at all; they are also very intelligent and once they've done an exercise once or twice, will just say 'OK Mum, you've got it now.. what can I go and bother?'. Like a Doberman, they are also bright enough to disobey you if you ask them to do anything that they perceive to be risky or daft - a police dog handler once told me that's the reason that they can't have dobies as police dogs - they just wouldn't tackle an armed robber as they'd percieve the threat. I have Leslie Nelson's DVD of Really Reliablel Recall - she specialises in difficult to train breeds (she keeps afghans and whippets, so really knows the challenges that face an owner) I will start on the exercises in that this weekend. Talking to some of the owners at Ruby's puppy class, they still piddle indoors sometimes. Although Rubes isn't the best at recall in the class, I felt kinda smug that she hasn't had an accident indoors since she was 13 weeks old. I took some pictures last night and will try to get round to uploading them later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 Ruby has been ultra-photogenic today; sorry about not being in focus! The rare duck-billed lurcher (after appropriating one of Rosie's old slippers) Someone pay my bail... I had to put her in the kitchen when she was doing her wall of death thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebird Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I just love that look they do out of the corner of their eye as if to say "I'm being naughty but don't I look cute with it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Every time I see a photo of Ruby I go all dog broody!... she's so lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 Every time I see a photo of Ruby I go all dog broody!... she's so lovely! Shame you're not nearer or you could borrow her for walkies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Every time I see a photo of Ruby I go all dog broody!... she's so lovely! Shame you're not nearer or you could borrow her for walkies. *sighs* I'll just have to make do with photo's.... *more sighs*.... Is she a lurcher cross Clare? Just wondering how big she'll get!! I'm so tempted to get a dog at the moment. Worried about how my cats would take it though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 She is a lurcher, which is a cross; it's not a specific breed as such, but a combination of sight hound breeds: The Lurcher was bred in Ireland and Great Britain by the Irish gypsies and tinkers in the 1600s. They were used for poaching rabbits, hares and other small creatures. It is never bred to a specific standard and is not considered a breed, as the Lurcher is a crossbreed: usually three quarters sighthound but can have any amount of sighthound in them. The most common combinations are the Greyhound/Collie and the Greyhound/Terrier. The name Lurcher a is derived name from the Romany word lur, which means thief. The gypsies considered the short-haired Lurcher the most prized. The Lurcher is rarely seen outside of Great Britain and Ireland, and is still common in its native land. The Collie crosses were often not large enough to do the work the Lurcher was intended for. Gypsies traditionally sneered at any Lurcher that was not predominantly Greyhound, since these "lesser" Lurchers were not as good at hunting and could not stand a full day's work of the hunt. The stringent training methods of the Gypsies are looked down upon in some Lurch circles, since the pups began working at six months old. Only the top-producing pups were kept; the rest were sold at traditional bargain rates. Today some breeding is carried out in a more systematic manner, with Lurchers bred to Lurchers to perpetuate the "breed's" prowess at rabbit and hare coursing. Ruby is one quarter each greyhound, collie, whippet and saluki. She's currently 23" to the shoulder and likely to grow another inch or so. her parents are both working dogs and have lovely temperaments. She's dotty as hell at the moment, but totally lovable even when she's shredding my oven gloves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thanks for that! How very interesting! That will explain why lurchers seem to vary in size so much! 24" isn't too big! I shall have to start working on OH... he's already quite taken with Ruby- let my campaign commence!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 They calm down after the first year and get a lot more biddable, very gentle dogs with loads of personality, they relate more to humans than other animals and are very loyal. They are very intelligent, so keep you on your toes with the training and asserting your dominance and never have a brilliant recall as they'll chase anything they can see. If you're worried about size, then don't get anything with deerhound or wolfhound in the mix or you'll get a giant! The lurcher link forum is set up to help with rehoming abandoned lurchers of all shapes, ages and sizes - might be worth you having a look as a slightly older dog might suit your OH if he's worried about the disruption of a puppy. They are terrible thieves though and will nick anything from tissues out of your pocket to food off the kitchen counter - yesterday she managed to reach Rosie's Haliborange chewy vitamins and ate the lot!!! Luckily they usually have cast iron tummies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 They are terrible thieves though and will nick anything from tissues out of your pocket to food off the kitchen counter - yesterday she managed to reach Rosie's Haliborange chewy vitamins and ate the lot!!! Luckily they usually have cast iron tummies Dare I ask what her poops were like today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thanks for the link to the lurcher forum! I'm off to have a look! Naughty Ruby... at least she won't be catching a cold any day soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Gorgeous pics as usual Claret. I'm impressed with the training. We've never managed to get Holly to do anything other than "Stay" and "wait", although she is now whistle trained due to all the work we've done with Quita! When we're training Quita and she wants something, we often resort to saying "Holly Breathe" or "Holly have two ears" as she manages these commands very well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 They are terrible thieves though and will nick anything from tissues out of your pocket to food off the kitchen counter - yesterday she managed to reach Rosie's Haliborange chewy vitamins and ate the lot!!! Luckily they usually have cast iron tummies Dare I ask what her poops were like today? They were surprisingly normal today LC, her training is still rather hit and miss in a lot of departments though; recall for example is good in some circumstances and appalling in others like when she sees another dog, or someone to mug typical sight hound really I like Holly's commands! Phil went about the vitamins and said 'it's not like she needs any more energy!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Ruby was spayed on Tuesday; I took her in at 8am, full of her usual vim and vigour and wanting cuddles from her favourite vet nurse. Picked her up at 4.30pm, very much subdued and dopey. She had a little of her favourite pilchards in tomato sauce with a few dog bics for supper - I hand fed her as she wasn't moving much. I gave her Avipro in her water. The poor babe has a cage muzzle to wear to stop her getting her stitches out - TBH she tolerates it far better than I expected. Lurchers, like greyhounds, have such narrow heads that they can't keep those comventional lampshades on. I take the muzzle off when I'm around and can watch her, so she only has it on for short periods and can still drink while wearing it. She is much better now and went for a restricted walk in the park, on a long lead, but no running around yet. I reckon that she will be ready for a proper walk this weekend, she's already interested in the cats again and eating well. At the weekend, when Phil is around, I'll get him to hold her while I take the dressing off her tum and check the stitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Awwwwwwwwww, bless her. they make you feel so guilty don't they, even though you know you are doing the right thing. Hope she has the spring back in her step by the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 It's better than the alternative; sight hounds don't have strong hormones, so only have infrequent sessions of heat and can go a whole year without being in season, but I don't intend to breed from her, so it really isn't fair to keep her entire. Then there's the mess when they dribble everywhere and the male dogs to fend off. I have told her that it's for her own good... she looked up at me and nibbled on my thumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I have told her that it's for her own good... she looked up at me and nibbled on my thumb! . I still remember when we had the puddys done. Oscar bounced back in half an hour as his was just a quick snip job, but poor Tilley was out of it all day and made me feek guilty for a week. I swear she only licked her stitches when I walked into the room as she knew it made me feel bad . Typical cats . At least dogs forgive and forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Biscuit never noticed that his nadgers were missing either I took this one of Rubes just before her op She still has impossibly long legs! This was taken when I first met her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Glad the op went well Clare. She really is a good looking girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Phil's back today so I'll get him to hold her while I take the dressing off. The muzzle has worked well and she hasn't bothered her tum at all. It will be good to get some air to the wound though. Thanks LC, I love her to bits and so does Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Give beautiful Ruby a get well stroke from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Give beautiful Ruby a get well stroke from me! Will do, she seems back to her old self and full of energy again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
