Apologies

We just wanted to let you know that the blog will be off-line for a little while. We’re sorry about this and hope to be up and running again soon.

For up-to-date information about the dogs, the kennels and up and coming awareness events, please see our facebook page, or our website.

The Greyhound Ball

We are very pleased to report that the annual Greyhound Ball, which was held last night, went extremely well.

The evening was held at the banqueting suites at the Hall Green Stadium, and the staff there did a great job of looking after us. The room was beautifully decorated, and the food was good. Everyone looked great, and it was sometimes a challenge to recognise some of the volunteers and the kennel-hands, not wearing muddy dog-walking gear!

All of the proceeds will go to the Hall Green Retired Greyhound Trust, and the best part of the evening was how generous everybody was. There was a 50:50 raffle: with a prize of £600 to be split in half between the RGT and the winner. The gentleman who won the prize very kindly gave it all to the RGT. Thank you!

There was an auction, with the proceeds also going to the RGT. This raised a whopping £3270, thanks to the incredible generosity of the bidders. To say we were gobsmacked might be an understatement!

We also ran a tombola, the proceeds of which we’ll update you with when we know, but we are very pleased with the amount raised, and it will all go towards the care of the greyhounds we rehome.

The Greyhound Ball has awards which are given out on the night, with categories like “owner of the year”, “kennel-hand of the year”, “greyhound of the year” etc. There is also a very special award given to the RGT volunteer of the year, and considering the work the RGT does, some could say the most important category. This year it was very deservingly won by Lauren, who has been a volunteer for the past 7 years. Lauren has three gorgeous greys of her own, who are often seen out and about on awarenesses charming the public. Lauren writes and produces the Kennel News, and has done a lot of work on our website over the past few years. She takes the pictures of the dogs that are used on their profile pages, and is an incredibly valued and hard-working member of the team. Congratulations, Lauren, and thank you so very much for all your hard work.

 

Easter at the Kennels

We hope you all had a lovely time at Easter, and aren’t feeling too full of chocolate! All the hounds at the kennels send their love too.

We had a great weekend for rehomings over Easter. After the slow months we’ve had recently, it has been great to see so many dogs pack their bags and leave for their forever homes. The dogs who have found their comfy sofas at last include: Marty, Cinders, Don, Jaffa, Judy, Kylie and Rocky. We wish them all the best in their new lives.

Some dogs, however, are still searching for their forever homes, and have been for a long time. Bailey, who is currently in a foster home, is one of those dogs. Bailey is 8 years old, and has already been rehomed once. He came back to the kennels through no fault of his own, due to a relationship breakdown. Bailey was, and has remained, extremely well-behaved through all his changes of home. When he originally came back to kennels, he went to a foster home. They were unable to keep him permanently, however, and he has since moved to his second foster home this weekend. They are also unable to keep him permanently.

Bailey is a gorgeous boy. He’s gentle and well-behaved and very friendly. He has enormous ears, that perk up and look surprisingly like satellite dishes whenever he sees a squeaky toy! He’s good on the lead, fully house trained, and has even (once!) been known to ignore a plate of sausages!

Bailey is a fantastic dog, and would be a gorgeous boy to have around the house. He really doesn’t deserve the life of moving around from place to place he’s had so far, and what he’d really love is a home he can call his own, for good.

If you can offer this beautiful dog a home, please call the trust on 0121 426 4810, and make his dreams come true.

 

 

Greyhound Walks

It was a beautiful day today around Birmingham, and what better way to spend the morning than with lots of like-minded, similarly greyhound-obsessed people out in the fresh air?

Today was one of our Waseley walks. It’s fantastic exercise for humans and hounds alike, there are beautiful views over to the Malvern Hills, and a raffle awaiting you at the end as you have your cup of tea from the cafe.

Perhaps one of the best things about the Waseley walks (and indeed our Worcester walks) is the opportunity to talk “greyhound” with the other people who come to the walk. It’s a great time to pick up any hints and tips about greyhounds. One month, I’d driven there with my greyhound in the back of the car, slowly turning green from the noxious gases emanating from her rear end. I complained to some of the people there (whilst gulping down fresh air) and picked up a few ways to combat the issue. (Cooked carrots, if anyone is having the same problem!)

It’s also a great place to socialise your hound, and to let them enjoy the greyhound company. In fact, the greyhounds seem to be more excited about it all than we are! There are often over 70 greyhounds there, all on leads, and all under control, so if your hound is a nervous one, it’s a great way to get them used to the company of other dogs.

The undisputed star of the show today, however, was Gavin. Gavin is one of our hounds who’s looking for a home and has been for some time. He has come a long way from the very nervous dog he was when he first came to us, when he really didn’t know what to do with himself. Slowly but surely he has been finding his paws, and this has been helped by some of the volunteers spending a lot of time with him, taking him out of the kennels, playing with him in the paddocks, and to walks like today’s walk.

Gavin, with his friends

There’s a side of him starting to emerge that we’ve never seen before. Not only did my greyhound fall in love with him today (they were joined at the hip all the way round the walk, it was really cute. We think it’s the sexy wiggle in his hips when he walks that does it!) but he’s starting to display cheeky and typical hound behaviour. One of the volunteers took him back into his kennel, went to sit down to give him some fuss, and then noticed that he’d stolen her bag, which had treats in it, and taken it back to his bed! We’re really pleased with how well he’s coming on. All he needs now is an owner who understands greyhounds, with the time to spend with him and the patience he needs to develop into the lovable dog we know he is.

Gavin behaved impeccably today, and isn’t he just gorgeous?

No, he wouldn't look at the camera!

Greyhound Games

Here are a couple of videos of Ryan, playing in the large paddock with a stuffed pheasant the other day.

Ryan would love a home with a large garden, lots of toys and people to play with. In return he’d give you lots of cuddles and kisses and affection. What more could anyone want?

Settling time

Thank you for all your comments on the last post, they were lovely to read. Please do keep them coming, and if there’s anything you’d like to know more about, or anything you’d be interested in reading about then please just let us know!

Greyhounds are funny creatures: even though the ex-racers have never been in a home environment, their life has been spent in racing kennels and then in our rehoming kennel, some of them take to home life like a duck to water. Or, as a 30 kilo furry ex-racing couch potato takes to a sofa! Quickly, in other words! They walk into a house, have a sniff around and a cuddle from their new family, and decide: “Yes, this was where I was meant to be all along! This’ll do very nicely, thank you!” And promptly climb onto their bed/the sofa (whichever looks more comfortable) and fall asleep in about 5 seconds flat, waking up only for a quick stretch before dozing off again. A nice life, if you can get it!

Other greyhounds take a little bit more time to settle down, and when you think about how dramatically their life has changed in a few short hours (from waking up at the kennels with their “reserved” tag on, running in the paddocks with their kennel-mate, to car journeys, and a strange environment unlike anything they’re used to), it’s no surprise that they are confused, worried and scared. It would take you a little while to settle down too, don’t you think?

When we took our girl home, perhaps naively I thought she would be one of the ones to settle straight away. Nothing much seemed to bother her in the kennels, she was a happy, lively thing, and I thought she’d be absolutely fine. In many ways she was, but she did exhibit some of the typical behaviour that we tell people about when they take their hounds home for the first time. She panted for the first 12 hours or so. After having her sniff around the house, she lay on her bed, panted, and looked incredibly worried. She wouldn’t eat anything for over 24 hours, and wouldn’t let us out of her sight. If we left the room she was in, she cried and howled until we came back. Thinking about it, she had no idea we would come back, she just thought we were leaving her in a strange and scary new place, and she was frightened.

The first night was not good. We wanted her to sleep in the kitchen, where her bed was, and so we shut her in there. She caused a bit of havoc by waking up at about midnight, scared, knocking the bin over, and crying. We came downstairs, cleaned up and tried to get her back to sleep. She was panicking, but eventually calmed down and lay back on her bed. Unfortunately, she cried every time we left the room, and we were up with her for about 4 hours before giving up, going back to bed, and leaving her to cry. We felt awful. I will admit, in those hours, I thought to myself “What on earth have we done? She hates it here!”

Leaving her was the right thing to do, however, because it meant that she had to settle herself down, and after about half an hour, she stopped crying. The next night was better, and it essentially got better and better as the week went on. We adjusted our kitchen a bit, got her a nightlight, a radio, and a clock with a loud tick, all of which helped her to settle and feel less alone. We also bought a babygate for the kitchen doorway, which she much prefers, as she doesn’t feel shut in, though she is confined to the room we want her to stay in. Two weeks after she came home, she was completely quiet through the night, and has been ever since. Other things that have helped are letting her sleep on the sofa in the kitchen (greyhounds seem to prefer to sleep on a raised bed) and making sure she has a blanket on her when the nights are cold.

Some people find crates, or indoor kennels, are helpful in helping their dog feel secure. We have some available at the kennels to borrow if needed. They have the advantage that if you have to leave your dog, you know that they won’t have caused any mischief when you’re out! Other greyhounds can get quite stressed if confined, and often owners find that letting their greyhounds have the run of the house, or at least not shutting doors on them makes them feel much better. It’s a case of seeing what works for your greyhound.

Many people say that it takes a year for a dog to truly settle. That you will have a different dog to the one you took home a year previously. In the case of greyhounds, they seem to become more chilled out, more loving, incredibly loyal, and a much loved member of the family. They are worth giving a chance to, and remembering that even though they may not settle immediately, it is not maliciously done. The results will always be worthwhile, and they WILL settle and feel at home and safe with you, some just take longer than others.

Tuesday morning fun

We had a good morning this morning at the kennels. Somewhat unusually for a Tuesday morning, lots of volunteers turned up to walk the dogs. Often, on weekdays, and especially when the weather is not so clement as it might be, there are only a few of us and it’s a struggle to get all of the dogs out and walked, and we end up having to shorten their walks to try and get them all out.

This morning, however, lots of willing dog-walkers arrived to spend time with the greyhounds, which was fantastic. Not only were we able to make sure that all the dogs were walked with time to spare, we were even able to use some of the larger paddocks to play with the dogs after their walks. These paddocks are really big (sometimes used by the resident equine community) and give the greyhounds a lot of room to really run and stretch their legs. Combine large paddocks with fluffy and squeaky toys, and you’ve got some very happy hounds!

About half of the dogs in the kennels were able to have a good run and play in the paddocks today, some understanding the game of Fetch a little better than others! Sam was a star: running after the toy, bringing it back and dropping it at your feet, then waiting patiently for you to throw it for him again. Parker ran around enjoying and entertaining himself with the toy. Potty Potter, well, he likes to run up and down by the path, toy in his mouth, showing off his toys to those dogs and humans walking past!

Sam

Parker

Potter

We’re always pleased to see new walkers, especially on weekdays when we tend to be quite thin on the ground (today was very unusual). If you’d like to come and spend some time with our hounds, just give the trust a call (0121 426 4810) and we’d be happy to hear from you and organise a time to come to the kennels. Walkers do need to be over 16 years old, but other than that we have very few restrictions.

 

They’re all black…

One of my friends, who shall remain nameless, was very confused when she met my (black) greyhound. “Oh!” She said. “But she’s black! I didn’t know they came in black, I thought they were all grey!”

“Blue,” I corrected her. She frowned.

“But aren’t they called greyhounds because they’re grey?” She asked.

“Clearly not,” I laughed, indicating the decidedly black greyhound sprawled at her feet.

The fact is that most greyhounds are black, probably due to the large number that are related to the most successful sires, who happen to be black. The vast majority of greyhounds in our kennels are black, probably about 90% at the moment. Black greyhounds are also the hardest to rehome, especially the black boys, and stay in our kennels much longer than the fawns, the brindles and the blues.

Probably because of the vast numbers of black greyhounds, those who aren’t black tend to stand out more, whereas the black dogs tend to blur together after a while, and it’s harder to tell them apart. Even those of us who spend a lot of time with the dogs at the kennels have to ask who’s who every so often! Yes, the black greyhounds tend to show when they’re greying more, and often don’t look as pretty whilst in kennels because their coats haven’t reached their full potential, but the truth is that the black dogs are just as gorgeous as the non-black dogs.

There’s no difference in temperament, and once these black beauties get into a home, are groomed more regularly, and get a few sardines to eat, their coats gleam and shine like no other colour will.

When we chose our greyhound, we weren’t bothered about colour. We wanted a dog based on their temperament and how well we got on together. It didn’t matter whether the dog matched our sofa or not, as the dog wouldn’t be on the sofa! (Little did we know…) We ended up with a black greyhound purely because she stole my heart the first time I walked her. She didn’t pay much attention to me on the walk: there was too much for her to see and do, but when I put her back in the kennel and sat down to give her and her kennel-mate a cuddle, she stood next to me and put her head on my shoulder. From that point on, I was hers, and she was mine. I’m sitting here writing this and she’s sleeping, curled up against me.

I wouldn’t be without our gentle, loving girl, and other owners of greyhounds say the same, no matter what their colour. So please, give the black beauties a chance. They’ll repay you with more love than you know.

January Times

It’s been a slow month this month at the kennels. The weather has been unpleasant at times, the fields are either muddy or frozen, and most importantly, only a few dogs have packed their bags and left for their forever homes.

When things are slow, it’s always a bit of a sad time for us. We see the dogs, day in and day out, waiting patiently for somebody to love them, and nobody comes. We give them as much love and attention as we can, but we know it’s not the same as being in a home. Some of the dogs have been with us for a long time. Sometimes we know why these dogs are long-stayers, and sometimes we just can’t understand why these dogs have been overlooked. The one advantage of the dogs staying with us for a long time, however, is that we get to know them really well. And every dog gets a home, eventually.

Gavin

Gavin is one of our longest-staying hounds at the moment. He’s a lovely boy, who has been with us for so long because he’s waiting for the right person to come along, someone who will give him the time, attention and love he needs. When he first came to us, he was a very shy boy, who was so nervous he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was more wary around men than women. Gradually, he has settled and calmed down, but he still needs somebody with the experience to understand his quirks. He isn’t a fan of other greyhounds, particularly the bigger male dogs. However, he met the resident jack russell, Ruby, and played really nicely with her. We even took his muzzle off and he was the perfect gentleman, as you can see from this video clip:

Gavin likes people, and with time, patience and understanding he will come out of himself and feel more secure in the big wide world. He was really well-behaved when some of the volunteers took him for a walk up the Waseley Hills recently.

Bill

Bill, our handsome black and white boy is another of our long-stayers. Those of us who know him know what a gorgeous, loving boy he is. Unfortunately, when visitors come to meet him, he doesn’t show himself off to his best advantage. He gives the impression of not really wanting to go for a walk, and once out of his kennel has a worried look on his face, and seems to just want to go back to his kennel.

Bill is a bit of a nervous boy, but once he gets to know you he is really very affectionate. He’s a quiet, gentle boy, who has excellent manners. If you sit with him in his kennel he snuggles up to you for more and more cuddles. Don’t be put off by the first impression he gives; he only needs a little time, patience and love, and he will reward you with so much affection and adoration you’ll wonder why you didn’t take him home sooner!

Speedy

Speedy is another black boy, who has been with us for a while. We honestly don’t know why he’s been with us for so long, as he’s such a friendly, happy chappie. He’s a pleasure to be around, and has an enormous, thick black tail (the most impressive in the kennels!) that never stops wagging. He’s well-behaved on his walks and is a perfect gentleman. He’d be an ideal dog for a family who will play with him, and really enjoy him. Don’t be put off by the fact that he’s black, or the fact that he’s a boy. He’s got a heart of gold.

We know that this time of year is often slow; that money is tight, especially after Christmas and in the current economic climate, but if you are planning on homing a retired hound, why not come and meet some of our lovely hounds?

Don’t forget that we are one of Waitrose’s charities of the month for the month of February, at the Hall Green branch. Please put the green tokens given to you at the till in our collection box!

 

Letters From Old Friends

Some of you may remember Coco, one of our black beauties. Coco was with us in May of this year, waiting for her forever home. When Coco was staying with us, we knew she would make a family very happy one day. At the kennels, she was always friendly and cheerful and a real pleasure to be around. We took her to the Three Counties Show in Malvern, and it was there that she met what would be her forever family, who took her home in June.

We were really pleased to hear how she was getting on recently, and it was such a lovely letter, we thought we’d share it with you all.

“We’ve just celebrated our first Christmas with Coco and wanted to share with you the joy she has brought into our lives. 

We collected Coco from you in June and after some sleepless nights she eventually settled herself into our household.  Creating a safe comfy crate for her in our house was the key for settling her at night.  Slowly she gained confidence and started to approach us for comfort and affection.  Equally she is loved by our children and has never been a cause for concern with our cat.  She enjoyed her first holiday with us in Cornwall, running on the beach (well as fast as we could run with her on the lead!).  She won 6th place at a GRWE fundraising event for the most beautiful eyes and recently we took her for a few days in a log cabin in the Forest of Dean. It has been a joy to watch her learn her new life and see her tail wagging. She still has her nervous moments with new people and over inquisitive dogs but has never ever shown a flicker of aggression. We all wish to thank you for bringing Coco into our lives and opening our eyes to this wonderful breed.  We will continue to support RGT and GRWE events and spread the word of how rewarding it is to home a greyhound.”