The Saluki Thread

[Gazinghound]

She knows she can get away with a lot more around me or my mom, but sometimes she still gets caught by the guys or just insists on misbehaving in their presence.

Ouchies...R.I.P., poor lizard, fly, squirrel, chipmunk, and the assorted other critters my dogs have gotten over the years.

And that's exactly what I'm hoping Jack's collar will be...the little guy calls for nearly indestructible products. I got a shipment notification the next morning, so they made the thing lightning-quick and I hope to see it here soon. I tried to find some new squeaky toys or an incognito luggage- or purse-style bag for carrying Jack around in public places that aren't explicitly dog-friendly...but the Meet the Breeds vendors seemed a bit lacking this year, except for Purina One's generous free food and snack samples.

Aww, that is so adorable! I occasionally sent in photos and opinion or fan letters to magazines, from Dog Fancy to Lisa Frank (lol), but they never actually got published. I always suspected the letters might have been too long to print. Once I start writing I don't shut up. Dx But if I could find a nice high-res photo of my three pups to e-mail to the AKC's Family Dog magazine, but somehow I dunno that I have any of those. How exactly do I know whether a picture is high-resolution, anyway?! But that's some generous magazine, with their gifts to doggies and awesome people-prizes! A Snow Dogs plush, d'aww! I've never seen one!

Oh, wowsers--that's a fabulous meetup. Hope everydoggy has a blast!
All the Saluki folks in New Jersey and the surrounding area (and there are veeeeery few others my age) pop up in different groupings at the shows and events. I guess it's kind of a good thing that nobody's asked Ullie and me to represent at MtB, 'cause she probably wouldn't feel suuuuper-appreciative of getting swamped with attention from thousands of strangers in one day...she'd handle it, but expect plenty of breaks, and probably sit there with the same haughty expression as the Ibizan hound I saw yesterday. xD (I really can't blame them, you know.)

Edit: The collar arrived today! Dang, that really was fast. Two thumbs/paws up for GoTags.com! It's not laminated with plastic as I imagined, but it seems sturdy and durable enough...bright neon orange color, correct personalization, wide reflective strip all the way around, AND it's thinner and softer than his old one. We wanted something like that, but prior research had turned up no collars that would be more comfortable for him and fit his neck size. He's so substantial for a tiny dog...I weighed him and he's 21 pounds, meaning he'd be a little heavy to surreptitiously tote around in a bag anyway...too bad. I was looking at Sturdiproducts' ones, which are really nice.

[grizabella]

Ooh, I'm waiting for pics of Jack in his new collar, hope it fits him alright.

We went along to Glenelg beach for the Saluki meet-up today. The group was a bit smaller than planned due to an injury, but Bella was happy to meet fellow Salukis Arella, Moss, Saffie and Layla, as well as Ollie the Small White Fluffy. Bella's good friend Elvis came along too, and he received much admiration, being the handsome man that he is. I was able to borrow Layla's anti-pulling halter to try out on Bella, it really worked wonders! By working wonders, I mean that I was able to walk Bella with one hand and eat a large ice cream with the other without dropping the cone due to forceful movements of a Saluki kind. I still managed to get covered in ice cream (I have been told that I have an unusual eating disorder- an inability to find my own mouth LOL). We all had lunch on the grass, whilst the canine beggars pulled out their best sad eyes and cute faces. Their begging was quite successful! It was a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to the next Saluki meet- whenever that may be!

Beach Walk by panGH, on Flickr

More photos on Facebook: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.554361121247503.147457.100000208590474&type=3

Bella and I had a stay over at GreyhoundAddict's place last night, and Bel spent the morning being chased around by Elvis, Katie and Nellie (newest foster). The SWFs, Bonnie and Clyde were too dignified for such games. I'll probably sort out those photos at some point...

[Gazinghound]

The only picture I was able to get of Jack (and his neck) so far, and it's horrible. ;D I even edited it, and it looks worse than I thought. Dang. Ahck, well...

What a delightful gathering--a gaggle of Salukis and one honorary 'cousin' one! What perty names, too. If Rusto's body harness hadn't solved his pulling issue I would have been interested in testing out one of those facial ones; I've heard nothing but positive results, and really, how could it fail?

XDD I know it's wrong to laugh at people's eating disorders, but I couldn't help myself. I've heard of that one, though. Terrible. Tragic. Messy.

Interesting how less-than-dignified these dogs will act at times; I think it surprises people a bit. xD I mean, I'd hoped Ulla would be above begging, but instead she's the queen of it...mistress of the wide brown doe eyes and the "Please you to be sharing with my prettiness, Moms...!!?!" face...D:

[grizabella]

Ooh, it looks nice and fluorescent! The facial halter I'm looking at for Bella is sort of a hybrid martingale/headcollar, so it can be used without the nose band once the dog's got the hang of the whole 'not pulling' thing. I'm not sure what colour to get Bella, purple or pink would go with her collars. www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/BDI8?sc=9&category=95#.UJC1s2_A9IE

Bella thinks it's fantastic that I'm a messy eater- more chance of her being able to snaffle something dropped!

Even a dog so noble as a Saluki must be undignified every now and then... especially if it may result in being given something yummy!

I do hope you and your family are alright, what a terrible storm you are all going through over there. Take care.

[grizabella]

Bella out and about in her fab new head collar:

Look, no pulling!


She looks a bit suspicious of my camera...

[Gazinghound]

It is a very cool neon orange! I’m looking, but in every picture I’ve taken of him since that one, the collar is invisible. O.o Either somebody had removed it for some reason, or it simply gets covered by his fur.
What a clever device! I think I would choose purple, just because, if I recall correctly, she has quite a bit of pink already…so as long as both colors go...I always like a bit of variety. But either one would look terrific, I think.
LOL—if there’s one thing a dog will appreciate, it’s a sloppy eater!! Of course, they definitely prefer it if we drop something that’s cheesy or meaty or at least bready. xD No matter how ancient or regal the bloodline, or how dignified the normal bearing, the opportunity to become a successfully doe-eyed, shameless scavenger must not be passed up.
Fortunately Sandy did not phase these guys very much. They would go briefly out onto the porch or even into the yard to do their business, feel the wind (and look lovely with their hair blowing), and come back in. Glad my garden was all finished this year by the time we got hit. Then Ulla just chilled on my bed with William the lobster and friends, pretty much ignoring the furious, raging winds right outside, and the creaky house-sounds...




Good girl, Bella!!
LOL, she’s like, “You’re gonna steal my soul with that thing…”
Oh good, you did get the purple. Looks fab, and comfy. ;3 Goes well with the fuzzy collar and your cool pink sneaks! I just hope no silly person mistakes it for a muzzle and thinks she’s a ferocious beast. xD

[grizabella]

Maybe camera is allergic to collar? My camera decided it was allergic to giant pandas today, simply refused to focus on them (must have found the stark contrast of the black and white fur confusifying)!

That's good to hear that they weren't fazed by the storm. Nothing like snuggling up with a nice snuggly lobster to distract one from nasty weather!

I think the purple suits her, and it does look fabulous with her big purple martingale as well, same shades of purple and all.
Oh, but she is a ferocious beast! If, that is, if it is possible to lick someone to death. Mind you, she certainly gives a good account of herself if she sees a dog she doesn't like the look of. Bella has a dislike of black Labradors in particular, I don't think she'd have liked my sister's old guy Jack very much!

[Gazinghound]

If camera allergies exist, it would explain a lot. Mine apparently finds reflective dog collars and class rings intolerable (was trying to photograph my ring to show someone, and couldn't believe how frustrating it was!)
William is Ulla's big lobsta daddy...she lies against him almost every time she gets on my bed.
Bels, you're now a master of canine fashion coordination; Rarity would be impressed. =]

So many Jacks, lol! Oh noes, Bella, don't be racist/breedist--that isn't nice! ~w^ (My mom insists that Rusty is "racist" with humans and barks at dark-skinned people, and I did see him do that once, but hopefully it was just a coincidence, a friendly bark, something he sensed about those particular people, or merely because they looked a little different and it surprised him a bit. I dunno. Our town is predominantly white, so...xD)
Ulla definitely knows how to make herself look fearsome (one such pic: www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1728826183721&l=1297185700...I can think of at least two other pics in which her ferocity is very clearly captured...) But yeah, for the average stranger, she's really only a threat if being jumped on by a 40-pound dog will kill you...! ;3

[grizabella]

Bella is breedist towards black labradors, and bull breeds. Her favourite dogs are sighthounds and anything small and not so intimidating!

Weird, wonder why Rusty does that? Reminds me of the time that my younger sister dyed her hair to a dark red (it looked very nice!), when she walked into the room after it just being done it was very strong, and Bella had a fit- barking at her as if she was some bizarre alien that had stumbled into our house. It took her a little while to stop being a drama queen and realize that it was actually someone she knew!

That is quite a mean face Ulla is pulling there, you wouldn't want to mess with her- good thing she is only 40 pounds!

[Gazinghound]

Hah! What do you know. And here I thought dogs were supposed to be bias- and prejudice-free! ;D Jack doesn’t seem to have manifested any prejudices yet…hopefully it’ll stay that way…he’s just sort of wary of almost everybody at first. And Ulla adopts the good old “I don’t discriminate, I hate everybody!” attitude. xD No, not really…she is pretty great with other dogs in general…but she can be rather easily annoyed, especially by the constantly in-your-face dogs who get way overexcited and just won’t back off. Given the choice, I do think she’d usually prefer the company of her own kind. Depending on the individual, of course.

I really have no idea what had brought that on…other than that he might have been a bit startled, alerted, or interested because they looked or smelled a little different from what he was used to. (He was certainly never trained as a “white dog”—conditioned to attack people of color! Dang that was actually a freaky movie…) Oh, that’s funny. Maybe the odor confused Bella, too. My mom bleaches her hair regularly, and that smells awful—and awfully strong. I can’t imagine it’s any too pleasant for a dog nose. My own hair “paint” has a pretty strong scent itself. But if I come home with a drastically different haircut (e.g., all straightened), the dogs will look at me weirdly when I walk in, and jump up like mad to sniff and inspect and make sure that it’s really me. So they definitely recognize it when someone seems different visually, and use their noses and other sense to confirm the identity. It’s the same when someone wears a wig and/or costume.

Oh, she may be a lightweight, but that of course gives her the advantages of speed, agility, and maneuverability…she’s a vicious thing, I tell you. O; We live in fear—‘specially the boys! A junkyard dog’s got nothing on this girl. I’ve managed to capture her evil side. >33

[grizabella]

Bella's experiencing her first season at the moment (my little girl is all grown up!), she seems to have worked out how to keep herself clean without the need for pants, although my lovely dogtastic bed spread suffered before she got the hang of it.

[Gazinghound]

*sniff* They grow up so fast! Ooh, that's lucky. I sometimes try to go as long as I can without using the pants, in the hopes that I can catch the little drops in time to get them cleaned out of whatever material it may be...or try to keep her more confined, and lay down towels in her usual spots. Eventually I have no choice, though, because as much as she licks at it, it becomes a heavy flow that would easily leave large, permanent stains on couches, beds, etc. During Ullie's season I have to clean her tail every time she comes inside because of the way she carries it between her legs. xD

[grizabella]

Bella's had a bit of a rubbish time, not only is she in season, she was very poorly with a stomach upset as well a few days ago. After a day of vomiting and generally feeling very sad indeed, Bella was up at one in the morning with explosive diarrhea in the hallway. Quite a mess, my goodness it was smelly! It was really worrying to see Bella so flat and depressed, so I'm really happy to have her back to her usual nutty self again.
Bella's tail hasn't gotten too messy so far, because it's warm at this time of year she can be given a refreshing and cleansing hose off in the backyard.

[Gazinghound]

Oh, no, that stinks to hear! Perhaps dogs get "cramps" like we do? Ulla usually gets lethargic and seems "down" for a bit, or on and off, when in season, similar to a human...but the vomiting and explosive diarrhea suggest a separate thing entirely. Poor Bella, I'm so sorry you were that sick!! I know, I hate it when somepuppy comes down with that type of bug. You hate seeing them not act like themselves, especially when they're normally happy and hyper. Glad it's passed, and she's back to her old self!
And that's nice! I imagine Ullie'd sulk if I hosed her, but then, she just likes to sulk about everything I try to do to her. Pretty little jerkface.

[grizabella]

Bella's a sulker too, must be a Saluki thing! She doesn't sulk when hosed, she looks horrified when it's actually happening but then goes into zoomy mode, much like she does after a bath.