Meet Gus

At least you'd like to help if you could :). I keep canvassing the local dog owners to try to find him a good home. But when people could adopt Jed I guess there is always another dog that is a labrador, or looks cuter, or younger, or easier to handle or whatever :cry:.

Lurchers are generally easier to cope with than BCs... they sleep more and work hard at looking stupid! I'd like to have at least 3 but that is not going to happen any time soon.

LOL Dogster you already have a dog that we'd call a lurcher in the UK - your dog is a sighthound cross. That doesn't mean you couldn't get a few more some time to feed your new obsession!
 
Yeah, Shivon fits EXACTLY into the description of a lurcher!!!! I can't get another lurcher, not now.:( In a couple of years though, for sure!!!!
 
Aw, Jed is lovely. :)
Now, to forget that site exists, so I don't have another rescue site addiction...doing SO well with staying off of Petfinder, lol!!! :D
 
//"At least you'd like to help if you could :). I keep canvassing the local dog owners to try to find him a good home. But when people could adopt Jed I guess there is always another dog that is a labrador, or looks cuter, or younger, or easier to handle or whatever :cry:."//

aw, what a torture, Rdog, i so understand, to see a dog you would ache to take home, and be unable to get him.
ouch.
:cry: and i so so admire your willingness, if you could, to give an adult dog a much needed second chance to be loved and have a family.
wow, you are right, wayyyyyyy too many ppl fall for the puppy charms, sometimes unaware of the 24/7 work involved in raising up an infant dog. Raising puppies is not easy, and not for every lifestyle.
I do wish more ppl saw it the way you do, Rdog, and be more open to consider adopting one of the zillions of adult dogs out there, hoping for just a chance.:D

I know you have had an urge to get a second lurcher for a while, and that Jed really IS such a compelling case, such an exact twin of your beloved Zac,:D and i hope, someday, Rdog, that you WILL be able to get that second lurcher dog that you have always wanted, cuz i know how much YOU love lurcher dogs. It might even work out so well, if Jed is a bit older, as you get your "two dog" bearings, hee hee, to not have a super young dog while you get accustomed to training two lurchers at same time...could be a benefit there, Jed being fully adult.

and whenever you do get that second lurcher playmate for Zac, i want you to post some videos of Zac and his twin running in the fields!:)

and someday, Rdog, someday, i KNOW you will, someday, get that second lurcher dog that you have your heart set on, i know it, i know this WILL happen, someday. In the meantime, probably you have to stop looking at Jed...
 
What an inspiring post Tigerlily!!!! LOVED IT!!!!:ROFLMAO: I'm trying to look for lurcher rescues in my area, can't find any.:( I guess they're not as popular in Ontario, ho hum.:cry:
 
Thanks Tigerlily :)

Gus has done me good though in lots of ways by clarifying what I'd like in a second dog... and Jed shines ever brighter!
I am fairly sure I don't want a puppy now, they are just so much work not so much for me but for the other members of my family (who already have enough to do)
It has made me much more wary about breeding - there are so many dogs and so few good homes.
I know more about what I enjoy in training - I don't actually much enjoy dogs who learn by the book even if they have loads of potential.
I thought I'd find a puppy really exciting being more of a clean sheet in terms of training but really I don't find it half as much fun as working through things with adult dogs. This kind of confirms that I might enjoy working through things with a deaf dog... I really want to do that too so if I can't help Jed maybe there will be a deaf lurcher to help in the future.

Dogster - I don't think you even have the word "lurcher" in the States. You will be better looking for greyhound, whippet, saluki, deerhound etc rescues and seeing if they have crossbreds too.

As for Gus's future, I don't think anything has been decided yet. He is very active and in your face. He's very clever. he also already has some undesirable traits that I have seen well developed in many adult dogs (mounting, eating manure, selective deafness) they can be dealt with but any home is going to have to work consistently to make him a pleasure to own.

If we do need to re-home him there are two main offers. The latest home he was offered was a dream home in the countryside with a labrador, cats, chickens, rabbits to chase, a really dog friendly owner. Gus has also been offered a home with my brother and his family. All being well he is going to spend a day with them on Monday. That might clarify things a little.

There IS a chance he might end up with us. As a family we are very bad at sending any animals on their way. I don't get to make that decision but if Gus gives other family members as much pleasure as Zac gives me then I think that could be a good thing. But that is up to the people who will do the rest of the work - I'd do a lot of the walking but Gus is always going to be a lot more work than Zac - even just measured in dog hair :ROFLMAO:.

I'll try not to look at Jed... though I wondered if I might take him some kong tennis balls as a consolation present. It'd be quite safe, Dogs Trust don't let you take a dog unless you attend their classes and they meet all the people living in your home. So I couldn't come away with him... TX you're quite safe! They never put a healthy dog down and they only rehome in their areas so you can keep looking at all the dogs that have been reserved (lots of them go very quickly) and feel happy!
 
LOVE the post, Rdog!!!!:love: I know exactly how it feels not to be able to have the dog of your dreams, the one you just can't get out of your head. After I got Shivon, I checked (and still do) the Toronto Humane Society website every 2 or 3 days. There was one dog that came in October 2011 that I couldn't stop thinking about. His name was Joshua. He had that long, greyhound muzzle, but he looked like a yellow lab, just a longer coat. (they wrote that he was a lab mix) I fell in love with that dog, I dreamt about him all the time. he got adopted (eventually). I was happy for him, but at the same time devastated that I couldn't, one day, adopt him. I feel kind of bad now, like I was cheating on Shivon. LOL!!!:ROFLMAO: As for the rescues, no dogs for adoption.:( They have rescues (former racing hounds) in the States and they can fly them in to Canada. I've met people at the dog park who do that. It's MUCH harder to find a rescue in Canada than in the States. Wow!!! I think this is my longest post ever!!!! Doesn't compare to your posts Rdog, or Tigerlily's.:LOL:
 
LOL Dogster I had a feeling there was something wrong when I assumed you live in the States. How wonderful to live in a place where there are not so many dogs in rescues. I wish we could mail you some of the English rescue dogs too!

All being well it's Gus's first day out walking tomorrow.
He's learning free shaping, loose leash, spin, wait and swap (give).
 
Leash training:

If the pup had been mine the first time I walked him (several weeks ago) I'd of given him away to the first man to topple off his bike to cuddle the puppy... No, I'm absolutely not joking.

We've progressed? to be DINOS... I'm mortally offending a lot of people :ROFLMAO: as I dodge them and flee with the adorable (to them not me) little (but fast growing) puppy that adores EVERYBODY. Previously chatty people now cut me dead.

A friend offered to wait with Gus and Zac outside a shop while I went inside,
Friend: "They'll be fine I just don't know what to do if someone comes to see them..."
Me: "That's easy, pick the puppy up and kick them on the shins."
Okay I don't really do that (though I often feel like it) but I do pick him up when I can't avoid people - better than him tugging on the lead and being rewarded by a huge welcome.

Don't get me wrong, most people think he's pretty good for his age. Mostly he does loose leash though he still lunges at/tugs towards people and bikes. I keep reminding myself that he only has a little brain and all that. Still as most of the walking is coming down to me because he's already strong enough to do damage to people (sprained thumb) I'm not keen on letting him get away with the least failings in leash manners. His paws are enormous :(

Last year I told someone that I see puppies as "having potential" rather than them being
"cute/adorable/whatever". I've found that to be true.
I'm not a puppy person.
 
Lurchers are just greyhound/sighthound crossed with anything else. you wont see the word "Lurcher" in Canada anywhere. If you want one, check out the greyhound rescues, you may find one there :)

Gus is adorable, he's adorable when he drops instantly :)
 
Hahaha, Rdog!!!! LOVE your post!!!!!:ROFLMAO: It annoyed me too (when Shivon was a puppy) when people would say "Oh, what a CUUTE puppy you've got there!!!!" At that point, Shivon would realise that "puppy" meant her and she would go into a frenzy of tugging and jumping and licking. I would say: "Shivon, OFF!!!" or "Shivon NO!!!" and they would just say " Oh no, it's ok, I LOVE it when puppies jump on me and kiss me!!!" So you would see me turning around on a walk, trying to avoid every person that had Shivon locked as their next target. Unfortunately, some people STILL find Shivon cute (oh, boy:rolleyes:) and the vicious cycle continues. At least I've taught her not to pull towards people (though she still pulls towards dogs) and not jump on people (unless they kneel down). Sorry about youe thumb. Means he's getting really strong.:eek::D
 
Gus figured out "spin"! I haven't trained it for weeks (leash walking, training not eating sheep/goose/fox dung, and teaching not to chew my hands off was getting me down :ROFLMAO: ) and then I asked him to spin so he tried...
sit...
down...
stared at me...
yipped...
... and then leapt in the air like a bucking horse then did spin!
He's since lost the bucking act and does spin nicely :cool:.
 
//"Still as most of the walking is coming down to me because he's already strong enough to do damage to people (sprained thumb) I'm not keen on letting him get away with the least failings in leash manners. His paws are enormous "//

lol, about the paws, you are wise, Runningdog, to take teaching Gus loose leash walking so well now, while Gus is still small........oh i hear you!! once he is big, wow, yeah, i hear ya...mmmHmm.

i had a heckuva time teaching Buddy loose leash, cuz my guy allowed Buddy to pull,O_o my guy is very strong, and the pull did not bother my guy the slightest bit. He did not even reaally notice it, and when i tried to train my guy how to teach Buddy to loose leash walk, i'd say, "See, right now, Buddy is pulling, so stop .....and call him back to you."
and my guy would say things like, "OH, he's not pulling" (but the dog WAS pulling:rolleyes: )
or, "he just wants to get to that mailbox":censored: etc etc.

when my guy went out of town on trips, well, Buddy's ability to consistently loose leash walk improved quite a bit!!:D
then my guy returned home again, and bam! Buddy became a pull-monster all over again,:( cuz Craig allowed Buddy to pull.

took me forever. sigh.:rolleyes: humans are harder to train than dogs...:ROFLMAO: GOOD LUCK WITH THE LOOSE LEASH STUFF, R.DOG!!
 
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