Mouse's Lure Coursing Season (who was the Fastest Dog in Australia)

The sport of lure coursing is really in it's infancy in Australia. There are two clubs in Western Australia, Lure Coursers Anonymous and West Coast Dog Sports. I posted before about Mouse's exploits at the WCDS fun runs, but there have been a few meets since then.

There was a fun little contest being run called 'Fastest Dog in Australia'. Both clubs ran trials, LCA had one down south in a paddock, and another in Rockingham (Naval Base). Coursing is not serious at all yet here, and the Fastest dog was a 120m straight track which got people involved and excited, without requiring judges.

Through coursing we have met aspiring photographer Amy Joy, who has been at almost every event taking photos of the dogs. The photos have been almost the best part of coursing, after of course, the thrill of watching the dogs do what they love.

Photo by Amy Joy of Studio Joy

The LCA run in the paddock was the first time that I'd timed Mouse on a run. She didn't have a lot of competition, there were whippets, salukis and 3 other greyhounds. The greyhounds were Barbie, Rosie and Jim. Barbie was not interested in the lure at all - she wouldn't even look at it, so she didn't record a time. Jim decided to visit the people in the timing tent on his run, and Rosie didn't really 'get' it either.

As a result, Mouse won her first two trophies ever - fastest Greyhound and fastest dog on the day. Jim won the 'slowest greyhound cup'.

WCDS ran their own heats, and Mouse only got to run one of her two runs as we had to leave early for another Energetic Composition painting session at Billy's Daycare for Dogs. She ran a very similar time to her first LCA time, though it was human timed instead of with timing gates. I think she was actually very slightly faster on the nice smooth grass instead of the rough paddock.

She was the fastest dog on the day at WCDS as well, and this time she beat at least one serious greyhound, maybe a couple. 

There was a lot of buzz and hype building around the competition, and the LCA crew teamed up with K9 Rescue and Beagle rescue people to hold the Rockingham event. There were a lot more greyhounds and we knew the competition would be very stiff. Mouse's uncle Miles had his first go ever, and he loved it. 

Photo courtesy of Amy Joy of Studio Joy

I was feeling like death warmed up because I was coming down with the flu. Mouse didn't care, all she wanted to do was chase the lure. Of course Miles, being the big softy that he is, made sure that he looked after me.

Photo courtesy of Miles' mumma

A few people were having trouble keeping their dogs on their leashes. There were quite a few escapees as we watched the runs. After Mouse had finished her first run, a black greyhound in a coat joined her on the field romping around with a huge smile on her face (she is on the video at the end of this post). I caught Mouse and was thankful that it happened after Mouse had recorded her time.

Photo courtesy of Amy Joy, Studio Joy

I found out later that the escaped hound's name was Abigail. She ran really well and I thought that we certainly had some competition for the fastest dog title. Abigail's mum was really nice and though she lives on the other side of town I'm sure we will organise some doggie dates in future so they can have a proper play together.

Abigail, courtesy of Amy Joy of Studio Joy

Seeing greyhound after greyhound run, I had no idea who was fastest. I knew that it would come down to fractions of a second. Mouse was really naughty and trashed her soft crate to try and get out after the lure. I can't blame her, it was a pretty stimulating environment for all the dogs.


LCA all fired up from Jet Ska on Vimeo. After all the dogs had run we stuck around waiting for the results. It was harder than it should have been for me, as I sat bundled up and curled up in my camp chair. When the names were read out, Mouse was only third fastest. We were expecting the best times to all come out of this heat with a smooth paddock and electronic timing, so I knew that Mouse probably didn't win the Fastest Dog in Australia title.  Abigail was the fastest dog on the day. We all waited on Facebook the night the Australia wide results were to come out with our fingers crossed that Western Australia would come out on top. With all the hot competition I thought we would.... and I was right! Abigail received the title. Mouse came third with the fastest Queensland greyhound coming after her.  The biggest winners out of this were Miles and Mouse, discovering how much they love each other!

Can you see the family resemblance?

Cuddles time!

Rodney the Foster Dog

I have been thinking about short-term fostering a dog for a while now, and Rodney had been at the clinic at Swan Vet for months on and off. He is a young (5 month old) pup and he needs to be out and about to learn human house rules and just generally how to behave in a domestic situation. I offered to take him out for the weekend so that he could get some home time.



When I picked him up he was very wiggly and happy. I put him in the back seat of the car but before I could get the key in the ignition he had come through into the front, stomped around on the dashboard and then climbed into my lap.

I had to put him in the back behind the cargo barrier, and I'm glad I did because he had a little accident which I needed to clean off the plastic 'hosable' floor in the X-Trail.

When I got him home, I left him in the car and shoved Bender and Barbie outside. I bought him into the house and they met through the door. Rodney is a very plucky and confident fellow, so the introduction was easy. He hit it off with Bender and Barbie right away.



The cats made themselves scarce for the first 12 hours or so, which is fair enough because Rodney was doing his best doggie tornado impression with Bender. Barbie even played chasey with him in the yard for a little while.



The cats finally came to check him out when he was eating his dinner in his crate. He didn't show much interest in the cats, and they decided that he was safe to be around very quickly. Froufrou sat on my lap whilst Rodney was hanging around and Mittens was rubbing her head on his face by Sunday morning.



The first night, Rodney tried to steal my dinner right off the plate, but after that he seemed to learn to stay away from human food. He seemed to be more praise motivated than anything else and was constantly trying to climb into my lap and mouth my arms. I managed to redirect most of his mouthing towards toys and I also got him retrieving balls and toys, though not with the over the top enthusiasm Bender has for the task!



I put him in the crate and he did whinge a little, but he did have another accident in the crate, which may have been why.

I took him to City Farmers and at first he didn't think he was allowed to go into the store. When I convinced him it was OK he was pretty good. I got some toys for everyone so that Bender wouldn't get annoyed about sharing his.

Did I mention walks? Rodney got two walks on Saturday night - one with each resident dog. He walked very well with Barbie, and he pulled on the leash a bit more with Bender. He was definitely modelling his behaviour on the resident dog he was with at the time. He also walked a lot closer to Bender. A lot of the walk they were touching. Bender didn't seem to mind. It was very cute.



Saturday night I fed him in his crate as is the routine now. He was very good, I left him in there until Bender finished his dinner, and Bender takes his time! He didn't complain though his tail and body went into a crazy wiggle every time he caught sight of me.

We all went to bed at 10.30pm and Rodney was quiet as a mouse in his crate. Barbie woke me up at 5.30am, so I let everyone out for their wees. I put Rodney back in the crate with some breakfast so I could get some sleep and went back to bed. I got up at 7.30am and he was lying quietly waiting. No accidents, his little tummy had settled and he did a proper poo outside.

On Sunday morning I took him to the river on Bender's long leash we used for tracking so that he couldn't get into trouble. He made a great impression on everyone there.



I overheard people talking about back yard breeding and puppy farms and how outrageous it was that dodgy people are still breeding dogs.



A lady said 'until every dog in Australia has a home, there shouldn't be people breeding them'. I took that as an opportunity to introduce Rodney to them. Everyone was impressed with him and how friendly he was with all other dogs and people.



The guy there said he would tell his friend about Rodney, and the lady who was originally talking about puppy farms gave me $10 for Rodney's care, which I passed on to Swan Vet when I returned him this morning.



I was pretty sad to see the little fellow go back but we don't have great fences and I don't want to take the risk. It might be better that he is at the clinic during the week anyway as it makes it easier for potential adopters to meet him!



He certainly needs some training, but I think he's so willing to please that he is going to bond really well with his new owners and the sky will be the limit with him. I can definitely see him doing the Canine Good Citizen test in the future!

LATE EDIT: Rodney is going to a more permanent foster carer tonight, but he's still looking for his forever home.
Anyone in WA who wants to adopt Rodney should check out his profile here.

It's hot!

Due to the weather, Barbie has been liberated from sleeping in her crate for the last three nights. There have been no little wet surprises on the carpet in the morning. Hurray!

It has been a little dull around here though. The dogs have not really wanted to do anything, they are too busy lying around panting. I have been busy reading all about snow and ice on the other side of the world.

Hopefully there will be a slightly cool change next week and our adventures can resume!

Whispering in the night

While crate training Barbie, we found the only really effective way to stop her whinging her lungs out, was to move her crate to the bedroom.

The problem with this is that Barbie often talks in her sleep.

When I was younger, I had a border collie X blue heeler called Lucy and she used to talk in her sleep too. She always slept in my bedroom because I was living in a shared-house at that point in time. The first time she did it, she barked with her mouth closed. It almost sounded like an evil clown laughing. Lucy sometimes cried in her sleep but most often it was this closed-snout bark. Barbie's vocalisations while asleep are more varied though. She goes from huffing and puffing like she is chasing something, to squeaking, to that muffled closed mouth bark. Sometimes she even growls. Sometimes she kicks her crate or hits it with her wagging tail. She must have quite vivid dreams!

Last night I woke up with a start because it sounded like there was a stranger in the room whispering something. I swear they sounded like English words. Once I was fully awake though I realised that it was Barbie huffing.

She has actually grown to accept her crate finally. On mornings where she gets squeezed off the bed, sometimes she will give up and voluntarily curl up in her crate. I always give her a treat at bedtime when she goes in the crate and she doesn't complain anymore. She does the quietest little squeaks in the morning when she wants to go out. She is a fairly subtle dog. I think it may be all about energy conservation. Why put effort into making a lot of noise when some tiny squeaks will do?

Crate Training - Progress with the Princess

So Barbie got her way, a little, the crate has been moved into the bedroom. Now she quietly whinges when she finishes her crate-treat, then woke me up at 4.30, let me go back to sleep, and I let her out at 5.30. Progress.

I also gave her a little water bowl, the kind that you use for birds that hangs on the side of the crate. Wow, her drinking is loud at night!

I think we are now making better progress. Yay. For the first time in a week I feel like I will make it through the day at work without staring blankly at my monitor.

Finding voice...

Since I have been making Barbie sleep in her crate, and she has decided to whinge about it... she has become more vocal all round. I'm not sure if I like this new trend.

Last night she started up a conversation off her own bat. We were watching TV, having just finished eating our dinner, and Barbie was lying on the carpet near my feet.

Barbie: Hey, I think you have forgotten something
Me: I am really getting sick of the sound of your voice, Barbie.
Barbie: Get your ass off that couch, there is something you are meant to do before you get too comfortable
Me: Are you sure there is nothing wrong with you? The way you are carrying on, I might have to take you to the VET!
Barbie gets up off the floor and moves to the spare couch, groaning loudly as she flops down.
Barbie: You humans are so damn LAZY
Me: Do you want to go out then?
Barbie leapts up off the couch, ears swivelling into full antenna mode, and begins dancing in front of me.

We took them out for their walk although it was very windy out. They were both a bit on edge because of all the strange noises and smells. Barbie was also quite disappointed that we went on our usual boring route, so she dragged her feet, or heeled perfectly expecting treats. She wasn't that interested in sniffing the world around her.

I think they are both looking forward to summer and more daylight, which means more off leash exercise, and trips to the beach and the river. I suppose to make them more satisfied I could always get up early and take them out at dawn, but am I that devoted? Not so sure!

As for the crate, well, Barbie still hates it and refuses to accept it without a whingefest. I put some classical music on for her to keep her company and she still whinged a little after she was bored with her peanut butter stuffed Kong. She went to sleep after that, only to wake up and whinge at 2.30, then 3.30, then 4.30ish, then 6. This was the 7th night in the crate. She is as stubborn as ever. I am not sure she is ever going to accept being crated overnight at this rate. It is a great pity because I thought it would be a really handy thing to get her used to. I also think it's the only way to ensure that she is 100% house broken, though we are going to rip the carpet in the living room up soon - maybe once the stinky carpet is gone she will stop peeing on it!

A greyhound and a golden retriever pup....

Last night I got a nice draft all the way home from three cyclists who were riding together. Two guys in boardies, one riding a mountain bike with big fat knobblie (noisy) tyres and a woman on a road bike wearing lycra. They kept up a pretty good clip for most of the way, so I got home with energy to spare.

I then took Barbie to a local park for the first time last night. I left Bender at home because I felt it would be too much to keep an eye on both of them. This park is massive, and it belongs to the local soccer club. It is almost entirely fenced except for the big gate that leads to the car park. I also discovered there is a small gate around the back that is probably closer for us to enter through, I will probably go that way tonight. As it is a bunch of soccer fields, it is mainly flat, and the grass is dense but soft. Perfect for a little lady like Barbie to accellerate and turn. I let her off the leash and told her she could go. She sprinted straight towards some billboards that marked the edge of one of the pitches, and I had my heart in my mouth, but she neatly popped through a gap between them. She ran full speed at a railing as well but avoided it deftly. There were 3 other dogs there. One was a medium-ish fluffball, and Barbie sprinted past it trying to entice it to chase. It realised very quickly it was beaten. Then Barbie and I spotted a young golden pup prancing around. I took Barbie over to see him, and say hi to his owners. He was 5 months old and very cute. Barbie ran circles around him, and he ran around and around an inner circle trying to keep up with her. She sprinted up and down the park a few times. Then she lied down. The pup went over to her and kissed her on the muzzle. She was very gentle and tolerant with him. She definately gave him more leeway than she would with a grown up dog! The owners of the GR were about my age, maybe a few years older, and they were interviewing me about Barbie and greyhounds in general. The only negative, I told them, was her tendency to be whingy. That and having to be on alert when she is off leash due to her pure speed. They were both in awe of her running and a little anxious for her. I think they felt better when I reassured them that this perfectly flat grassy place was a really safe place for her to run. Her recall was great (though she came in too hot and ran past me a couple of times), and she was appropriate with all three dogs s. I was very happy with her.

I didn't get any photos of them together but I will next time. It got dark far too soon and the mosquitoes came out to play. They were trying to eat me, but they didn't seem to be bothering Barbie. We jogged most of the way home. Barbie did OK with the trains going past, but she was a little hesitant over the level crossing. It seems that her train-fear is most intense around that crossing where she had that first scary overload experience. We crossed at a different point of the track on the way to the park and that didn't seem to bother her.

When I got home, Bender was quiet. I was expecting him to be doing his 'I'm alone and abandoned' bark... which goes ... 'WOOF'....(10 seconds)....'WOOF'. I was very happy with him too. He got extra cuddles and extra play time.

I went to bed at 10 last night, and all whining (that I noticed) had ceased by 10.30. She started up again at 5, so I let her out for her wee and she was really thirsty... I really need to get her a bowl that I can hang up on the crate side so she can drink, but not knock it over herself. Then in the morning while I was eating my breakfast she went back into her crate and curled up in there. I definately think we are making progress and I am not quite so exhausted today.

Maybe tomorrow when they wake me up at 5am I will get up instead of going back to bed. Maybe.

You can buy Frosty Paws in Oz

I spotted these in Coles while I was shopping today. For my Aussie followers you can probably buy them - but $4.99 for a pack of 4? I don't think so!

I just bought a massive jar of peanut butter instead for the same price. I will make the puppies frosty paws when it is cold enough, but for now I think they would prefer warm treats!

Barbie was very unhappy about being in her crate last night and howled from 10.45 (when she lost interest in her Kong) until past midnight, and then started up again at 4.30am.

I took them to the park at 9, but didn't take any photos because I was feeling too sleep deprived to handle both dogs and a camera as well. Barbie tried to get a Great Dane to run. He was a particularly big Great Dane and galloped like a horse in slow motion. His owners were stressing because he wasn't meant to run too much. Barbie was running at his shoulder and poking him with her muzzle. She barked a little too. I think she was trying to get him to run faster, but I'm not sure he could!

Everyone at the park knows Bender's name. His habit of giving his ball to strangers has won him some friends, but others are not backwards in telling him to go away. Not that he listens to them!

I had a bit of a nap today to prepare for another night of whining!

Slow with the crate, but she still hates it...

When I first got a crate for Barbie she was downright afraid of it. I had gotten her to the stage now where she goes in there on her own and just chills out in there for a bit. Anyway, last night was her first full night in the crate. She whined for the first hour, then she slept for 6 hours and woke up at 5.15am or so. I let her out for a wee in the morning at about 5.30 after she had been quiet for a whole 5 minutes. She was very happy to be out of there. She is being crated at night for two reasons - 1. She still occasionally pees on the floor inside at night and I'm trying to eliminate that, and 2. I want to be able to crate her when we take her out camping instead of just tethering her like we used to do with Bender.

I think she'll be OK in a few nights. She will probably still whinge a bit. I want to get her to sleep until 6.50am in the crate and I will be happy with that.

On our walk last night, we had to walk over a piece of orange mesh that someone had strung across the footpath. Bender walked over it fine, but Barbie hesitated. I said 'over' and waited. Barbie thought about it for a little while and I didn't think she would do it, but then she executed a beautiful (if over the top) leap over the offending plastic and we continued on our way. We also stopped in a local park and I got them both to down/stay. I did two very short distance down/stays because Bender looked as if he was about to take off. Barbie never took her eyes off me.

Being vocal

As far as greyhounds go, Barbie isn't exceptionally verbal.

But tonight she had a good old yap at Bender, and I can't think of a reason, other than the fact that he is, again, asleep in her crate. She was sitting on the couch, staring at him, her ears up, and she started with a whingy sort of sound, which progressed into short sharp barks, until I told her off. Bender responded with a growl. I am not sure if she wanted to go in there or not but I don't think she likes Bender in there.

I successfully got her to go in there more than a few times tonight by feeding her dinner in portions and then stashing a stuffed Kong. In order to succeed I had to put Bender outside. As soon as I let him in, he was back in the crate!

I think I am going to have to buy another one.

Day 4 of roll-over training...

I think she's made progress.



On the other hand, I got a nice big crate for her and when she saw it, the expression of disgust on her face was priceless! Bender proceeded to go lie in it, and when he left, the cats went in, but Barbie hasn't put more than her two front feet in. It was like she knew exactly what it was and didn't want a bar of it! I've put her bed in there and fed her in there. I will take it slowly with her. I have a feeling that Bender will be in there a lot of the time though!

The Perils of Spoiling your Dogs

It's been a cold winter. There have been a lot of clear, dry days with very low minimum temperatures. This means that Bender wants nothing more to be under the covers in bed with me, and Barbie wants to be curled up at the end of the bed against my legs, and Froufrou wants to be curled up against my chest and Mittens wants to be somewhere where the other animals aren't touching her...

Phew.

Anyway, Barbie asks to go out, usually in the early morning, around 5 by whining. After I let her out and she does her poo, I usually let them into the bedroom. Barbie is too smart for her own good. She cried at 2am this morning. I let her out. She did her poo, then I shut the bedroom door. For what seemed like hours after that she sooked and carried on. Pretty sure she just wanted to be curled up on the bed. She also peed on the carpet at some point!

So, it's been decided. No fur kids in the bed. At all. The cats were causing trouble before, and then it was Bender knocking on the door, and now Barbie. No more. They need to earn the privilege back.

The second thing I've decided - Barbie is going to be crate trained (or re-crate-trained since she lived in one before). I believe its the only way she is going to be completely housebroken. We got some new Kongs today (cos there's no way the old ones are going in the freezer), and I am ordering a crate. If we do it right, Bender is going to want a crate of his own. It may be good for Barbie because she will be able to eat pigs ears without Bender the bully taking them off her and burying them.

Just so this post isn't one big long whinge though, Barbie and Bender have discovered a new game to play together. I spent a bit of time teaching Barbie to play 'tug' with her stuffies, and when Nic got home last night she sent me a picture of the dogs playing tug of war with a flat soccer ball. They were both playing fair even though Barbie does not have the bite pressure or pulling strength that Bender has. So cute! I need to get them some proper tug toys!