My puppers!

TheStylishHound · Old Hand

My puppers!

Christine Young · GAL Newsletter Editor

Hi Jenn

Welcome to the forum! Hope you enjoy all the doggy gossip. I just love your collars and leads - they're beautifully made and will make any hound look very posh! It's great to hear from someone across the pond and how greyhounds fare in Canada. Looking forward to hearing more about you and your gorgeous dogs. They're in a super condition with their shiny coats - and Pistol with his black mask is so handsome.

Christine

vicky · Graduate

Your dogs are lovely, looking forward to hearing more about them

Your cat is very cute

Sunny girl · Master

Welcome to the forum I love the first photo of Kiki she looks so grand lying on her couch. Love her collar, I had a look at your others in the introductions section. I was drooling over the pink ones when my other half came up behind me and said "don't even think about it I'm not walking the dogs wearing pink" the spoil sport, but I'm working on him.

Landess, Sunny and Zoe

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

What a beautiful crew you have

emma · Guru

Hi Jenn,

Welcome to the forum, I thought I was a foreigner all the way down here in Peterborough (uk that is not Canada!) but here you are its great that you found us all so far away. Your hounds are beautiful and I echo the collar comments - gorgeous!

Look forward to hearing more from you and your hounds Em and Chad XX

Gail · Big Cheese

Hi Jenn,

Your bunch are fantastic, I love Raven's ears in that pic!!

Hope you enjoy the forum and look forward to hearing more about your lovely dogs.

FAJ · Enlightened One

Nice to meet you, Jenn. What lovely piccies of gorgeous dogs. When I was a teenager I always, always, always wanted a Dobermann. Did you ever see that film "The Amazing Dobermanns"? That's what started my obsession! Nowadays, of course, my obsession has transferred to groos.

Amanda · Master

Beautiful dogs. Raven's ears are fantastic and Pistol is stunning. Looking forwards to hearing more about you and your gang

max · Enlightened One

Hi Jenn and welcome to the forum your dogs are beautiful and Pistol your newcomer is so handsome. I also looked and your site and just as I starting looking, my husband said " they do not need any more collars" what a spoil sport ! . Your designs are fantastic and look great on your dogs. I will have a another look when I have the house to myself. LOL

Nora

Jennifer · Big Cheese

I notice everyone is saying they love Ravens ears, what they probably havent noticed is that they are probably cropped!!

I think its such a cruel and unnatural thing but forgive me if im wrong.

The dogs all look very happy though. I'm not blaming you for the ear cropping, i know as you said in your earlier post im sure that you rescued them all so presumably they were cropped before you got the dog.

Anyanka · Master

What a handsome lot! I'm particularly taken with Pistol; haven't seen a black-faced hound like that before!

Teresa · Enlightened One

Jennifer, I noticed Raven's cropped ears too and I agree with you. Glad they aren't allowed to do that in the UK any more.

Jenn, apart from that, the hounds are gorgeous and I love Pistol's dark face - totally unique !! When do you get to bring him/her home?

Nicki · Big Cheese

What a beautiful gang you have.

Nicki and wee Janie.x

TheStylishHound · Old Hand

I totally agree about the cropping....I find it disturbing that something is done for purely cosmetic reasons. Being in Canada, it's always done by breeders and must be done for showing. It's rare to find a Dobie in Canada without being cropped and docked. I do hope that one day it will be the same for us as it is for you and not allowed. I'm not defending it, just explaining it. I'm with you guys on this! :)

I don't know when I'll be bringing Pistol home at this point. He's currently in training and I'm waiting for him to retire. Once that happens....my baby comes home to join my motley crew!!

-- Edited by TheStylishHound at 12:24, 2006-08-05

Valerie · Guru

Your dogs look beautiful and in fantastic condition. Hope Pistol will soon be settled in with you all.

Dave · Enlightened One

Hi Jenn welcome to the forum, love the collors on your website - I was going to ask you about Pistol but you mostly answered it before, I know lots of the US rescues allow folks to pre-adopt the dogs whilst they are racing, great idea if you ask me, atleast the future of the dog is secure - so do you actually know when he'll be coming home or is it a case of you waiting an unknown time till he retires?..

TheStylishHound · Old Hand

I'm actually part of a program called "Follow That Hound" which is one of the best ideas I've come across in the greyhound adoption world. The people that started it are the breeders of some of the racers down in Florida. They are wonderful to their dogs and want the best for them. They developed this program whereby people like myself apply to adopt the same way you would any rescue dog and a Board reviews and either accepts or denies your application. The great thing about it is that you really feel a part of the dog's life right from the beginning. You get regular updates, can watch them race online if you want, get pictures and see them straight through to retirement. The only downside I'd say is that you just never know when they will be retiring. Sometimes they don't want to run and they're home fairly quickly and others are excellent racers and are using for breeding. It's great for the breeders to get to know their pre-adopters and know that once the dog retires, they'll still have some contact with him/her. I can't say enough about the program. Pistol is currently in training in Oklamhoma and will finish up and go to Jacksonville likely in October. So....here I sit patiently waiting :) I should add that the reason why I'm pre-adopting is because it's actually quite difficult to adopt a Greyhound in Toronto. There are relatively few groups and waiting lists for hounds.

I also have 3rd right of refusal for another girl who is just lovely. Her name is Jade and here she is...total sweetness!!

Thanks for asking about the program and all the nice comments about my fur-family. I couldn't imagine not having these amazing animals in my life.

-- Edited by TheStylishHound at 12:15, 2006-08-05

Dave · Enlightened One

thanks for the info Jenn that sounds like a really great program..

**Dave goes off to think...**

Jennifer · Big Cheese

What a beautiful girl Jade is. That sounds like a great idea about the rehoming programme. Its good that Pistol has a good home to come to when his racing days are over. For your sake i hope he finishes racing quickly

About the ear cropping, im amazed in this day and age that its still aloud to happen

Gail · Big Cheese

I must have lived a very sheltered life, when i said that i love Raven's ears i didn't realise they had been cropped....in fact it's the first time i've even heard of it but it sounds barbaric.

Why is it done? Is it just to enhance the appearance for showing the dogs? Sorry if i'm sounding very stupid here

Jennifer · Big Cheese

Gail wrote:

Why is it done? Is it just to enhance the appearance for showing the dogs?

Because some humans like the looks of it!! believe it or not. It has no benefit what so ever to the dogs. Its purely for cosmetic reasons. Thats why i was so shocked when people said they liked his ears

Amanda · Master

It was the alertness of the ears I liked and like Gail I hadn't realised. Just because I said I thought his ears were great didn't mean I thought the practice of ear trimming was as I said I didn't know! Perhaps I have lead a rather sheltered life but there you go.

Jennifer · Big Cheese

this is a lovely doberman pup with natural ears. very cute

here is a doberman pup at 12 weeks having just had this op of cropped ears. Why anyone would put a puppy through this just to make the dog look different is beyond me.

This is a wee boxer puupy having had the op, look how miserable it looks.

Gail · Big Cheese

Oh my god, those pictures are horrific, how can anyone put any creature through something like that for cosmetic reasons

Thank god this is not allowed in this country, as a previous post said, and i can't understand why it is not banned worldwide. Can anyone tell me when it was banned here?

TheStylishHound · Old Hand

A totally natural Doberman looks just like a Black & Tan Coonhound - long whippy tail and floppy ears. I've only seen one in person here in Toronto. I've yet to come across a breeder who gives the option of leaving the ears natural because of how it reflects on them as breeders (meaning they appear as though they are backyard breeders that can't afford the procedure). It is a "fault" in the show ring to not have cropped ears and therefore, because most breeders also show their dogs, it is done. That and the fact that people purchasing dobies want the "look" they've always seen them in movies, etc. and likely don't even realize they are operated on to get that way. So, if I have offended anyone with pictures of my dogs, my apologies.

Again, I don't agree with it, I don't support it and I do hope one day it will be outlawed in Canada.

Teresa · Enlightened One

Jenn, rest assured....you have not offended me, that's for sure. The "offence" is perpetrated by the breeders, over which you have no control (sadly!!). We can only hope that the rest of the world follows the UK in outlawing such practices.

It's quite refreshing to see how the rest of the world see their dogs and I am happy to learn from these posts.

Your hounds look wonderful so you obviously care for them well. If only we could educate the breeders to show that the ears and tails don't need to be cropped and docked for them to look beautiful.

Amanda · Master

Please don't apologise you're dogs are just beautiful

you have certainly not offened anyone we know you do not agree with the practice.

We had a spaial with a docked tail. We got her as a pup and asked the breeder not to dock the tail but it was too late she had already done it as well as hand plucked the poor thing to show quality

I look forwards to seeing more pics of your georgous gang

TheStylishHound · Old Hand

Thank you :) I'm very sensitive to needlessly hurting animals and wouldn't want anyone thinking that, given the choice, I'd have this done. Trust me, as an animal cruelty investigator, I have seen horrific things that people do to animals.

I am curious to know though how the UK was able to ban ear cropping. It had to have started somewhere and perhaps with time and education, it could be the same here. Something for me to perhaps start researching!

Gail · Big Cheese

Hi Jenn,

I certainly have not been offended by your pics, they are all gorgeous, lovely and obviously well cared for dogs and i think everyone will agree with that.

They actually brought something to my attention that i was totally ignorant about, and it certainly became a talking point, but that's what the forum is for and i'm sure everyone understands your love for your dogs and that it's something that you also disagree with.