Beautiful Legs (Opawa Legs) is looking for retirement home - could it be with you?

By Fatima |

Friday, November 21, 2014

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Isn't he dark and handsome? And cute as a button :)
This is 3 years old Legs (Opawa Legs), a recently retired racer  who is now looking for a loving retirement home.
Legs is very cute, very well behaved, and a very loving, soft doggie. He is very clever, clean inside the house (it took no time at all to toilet train him), and a perfect gentleman at all times. He is very affectionate, loves his cuddles and his walks, and walks beautifully on a lead.
 Needless to say -Legs is very good looking, sleek and smooth,  with gorgeous brown eyes. He is about 31kg-32kg, neutered male, 3 years old. He has the most amazing upright standing ears and sometimes looks like a German Shepherd :)

Legs is perfectly fine being left alone at home for extended periods of time, so he is suitable for busy people who go to work etc. At the same time - he would make a lovely companion for another dog - he loves all dogs of all breeds and sizes. Although a perfect young gentleman who is in love with his bed, Legs has his very playful moments sometimes (which involve 'killing' his soft toys and throwing them around), and he also loves playing with other dogs. :)

Handsome lad :)

Legs is very chilled out and sleeps for hours; but is also very keen to learn as well as very motivated by treats and praise so will be easy to train.  He loves his food, is not fussy at all, and would do anything for treats.
He is lovely and soft with kids - when we walk him out and about, he perks up when he sees kids and wags his tail even faster!
Legs has been socialized with dogs of all breeds and sizes (he has been attending Canine Good Citizen classes in our local dog training club). Legs would find cats a bit too much of a temptation to live with (so homes with no cats please) , however, he is not too bothered with cats out and about and can easily be corrected.

Legs would not take long to settle in with his new family as he is an independent and confident dog. Legs is also crate-trained  - in fact, he loves his crate and goes there on command.

Legs was beautifully bred from top lines of racing dogs, and he was dearly loved by his trainers and handlers during his racing career.  As a result, he is extremely friendly and  loves all people, as well as car trips as they remind him of going to the races :)

Legs will go to his new home health checked, desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and registered. He has also had a full dental polish done.
He will also come with a complimentary Nightrave designer collar and lead, of course :) We will be more than happy to help with settling in, advice , training or whatever else new owners might need.

If you would like to know more about Legs, please contact us on nightravegreys@gmail.com, or call Fatima on 0274 526723. We are more than happy to arrange for you (and your pack if you have one) to meet Legs :)

Legs' racing history is here:
https://www.thedogs.co.nz/greyhounds/profiles.aspx?AnimalID=23942

Pedigree:
http://greyhound-data.com/d?d=opawa+legs&x=0&y=0

And of course, some more photos of the pretty boy (you can click on photos to see full size):

Update for Jonty's Fan Club!

By Unknown |

Sunday, May 11, 2014

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Jonty and his new Dad Jim :)

 We were a bit unorganized and never posted an update on our ex-foster boy Jonty (Ultimate Dream) on the blog -  we  have posted it on our Facebook page, but we still get asked about Jonty all the time, by both his online admirers, and his local Fan Club in Feilding. :)
Jonty was certainly one of our most popular fosters - we have had many adoption applications for this boy, and people in our Dog Club still remember him :)

Jonty went to live in Hunterville with Wendy, Jim and Jack The Ginger Cat on 16th of February. Wendy and Jim had recently lost their beautiful greyhound Corey (Ravaillac) to Cushing's Disease, and their JR Lauchie went shorty after due to old age. Wendy and Jim fell in love with Jonty after meeting him at our place  -and he joined them shortly after at their lovely rural property in Hunterville.

Jonty is apparently besotted with his dad Jim and would go to the end of the earth for him, so long it is not scary for the not so brave Jonty :) While Jonty is the only dog at his home, he has made friends with a neighbour's Jack Russell :

Wendy says that neighbours' Jack Russell comes to play, stay, eat the food...He loves hanging out with Jonty. Sometimes he goes home! :)

We do plan to feature Jonty in an article we write for "On Track" magazine - we will do a proper photoshoot for that, so watch this space! :)

 

Update on our foster greyhound Ike (Bound By Pride)

By Fatima |

Friday, October 18, 2013

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Ike (now Shadow) and his new Mum Helen :)

We have posted a few updates on our gorgeous foster greyhound Ike (Bound By Pride) on our Nightrave Facebook page already, so this is just a summary for the blog :)

We have advertised Ike up for adoption in our local dog club and also on Trademe, and we had so many applications from people who wanted to adopt the gorgeous boy :)
We have gone through all of them and in the end chose Helen, who lives in Palmerston North and whom we have known for a few years now. Helen met Ike and they clicked straight away - Helen was committed to training Ike aswell, she has already joined our dog club where Ike has been having some lovely times attending obedience classes with his new Mum! :)
Oh and Ike has been renamed 'Shadow' -a name he seems to like a lot! :)

We at Nightrave believe that training retired greyhounds (and all dogs in general) in obedience, CGC and other disciplines is the key to happy dogs and happy owners ; this has, needless to say, been proven overseas over and over. We are looking forward to seeing Shadow and him Mum have loads of fun and lots of success in training :)
Keep and eye out on our Facebook page and this blog for updates on Shadow's new life :)

Toby The Lure and Shadow with Rachel

Kenzo The Christmas hound! :)

By Fatima |

Saturday, December 29, 2012

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KenzoThe Reindeer with his Mum :)

We just received these gorgeous photos from Kenzo (Awesome Voyage) and his Mum Pat  -thanks a million guys!

 Look what mum made me wear, how undignified for a handsome chap!!
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But it was worth it -I got loads of presents! :)

Liver treats YUM!

Update from our foster boy Alex (Cool Idol)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

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Cute Alex

 

We just heard from Evan, Bridget, Uriel and Isabella from Palmerston North, who adopted our foster boy Alex (Cool Idol) in June this year. We love hearing about our foster doggies in their new homes -thanks a million for your lovely update guys!

 

They wrote:

Alex, he is one fantastic dog!  From the initial shy boy we had, day by day we see new aspects of his comical personality.

There is the ‘teenage’ Alex; sleeping all day, always thinking of food and trying to raid the pantry, acting before thinking and doing things at 100 miles per hour! Then there is the Alex that loves playing with little kids, always gentle with our 2 year old Isabella and allowing her to tuck him in at nights and provide him with soft toys to cuddle up with. He refuses to run anywhere near small children and always seems to look out for them. :)

With Isabella

 Alex also loves plays, walks and runs with our teenage son Uriel - which is always handy for whenever he ‘discovers’ extra food. But it is with his (little) big sister that he is happiest with, Jessie our Shetland Sheepdog. She rules Alex, keeps him inline and takes his bed whenever she wants, leaving him to try and curl up on hers. He is always out to impress her, which Jessie uses to her advantage when she cunningly incites Alex to chase the cat and watches with her tail wagging when he gets told off!

Alex and his sister Jessie The Sheltie :)

  Quickly he has become a little celebrity in our family and area with everyone wanting to know about him. He can still be a little guarded when meeting new dogs and cats, but very quickly he becomes their willing servant! We can’t wait to see a few of his races on DVD, it is hard to imagine that this big softie had any sort of a different life!

Many thanks Fatima for all your advice and support you gave us with Alex !

 

 

I did warn Bridget that all the family will scream and cheer when they see Alex's racing DVD :). This dog was an awesome racer and looked amazing on the track.

 

For those of you who have not ordered  your greyhound's racing DVD yet - here are the details on how to do it: http://greyhoundsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2009/10/order-your-greyhounds-races-on-dvd.html

 

Please order it if you can - it is truly incredible to have a chance to see your dog doing what he/she loves. Just a tip: I personally would order winning races only, as camera seems to focus on winning doggie the most.

Update from Bart (Know Truth)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

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Little Bart (Know Truth) was a awesome racer. Bred by Rangiora trainer Gary Cleeve, Bart certainly made his mark at the track.
After retirement, he was adopted by the Lambert family from Waikanae recently. We just got an update from them:

Bart has settled in really well, he's lovely, cuddly and cheeky so fits in here well :) He loves going for walks, knows all the houses where dogs and cats live, but stays close to us and listens well.

Bart has adjusted well to living with three young boys, (although the drum kit took a a few days to get used to) and is now following the boys out to the garden much to their delight.

 

We love his mischievous ways, the standing on the back of the couch when we are not home to keep watch for our return, the brief attempt at trying to take over our 5 yr olds bed by jumping on and literally trying to push him out, the attempts to steal any food that takes his fancy - even while someone is eating it! Bart is a quick learner as to what is acceptable though, but he keeps us on our toes by trying something 'new' to see what he can get away with.

He's a perfect fit to our family and we love him to bits!

 

The photos attached are a typical day for Bart, from the playing outside with the boys, having a four year old determined to lay down like Bart, to the numerous sleeping styles...and of course the keeping watch for our return!
Thank you so much all at GAP, you do such an awesome job!!

Meet our foster boy Thys (Gold For Thys)

By Fatima |

Friday, November 9, 2012

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Our current foster boy Thys (Gold For Thys) is a beautiful dog who thinks he is a movie star! The first time you ask him to do something, he will smile and tell you "I have people for that....just contact them and they will sort it!".... :) He is very handsome, gorgeous light fawn color, tall and striking 35kg greyhound with a  huge smile :)

One from the portfolio :)

A loving friendly dog, Thys gets on great with our pack, and is so full of fun! He is bouncy and boisterous but quickly settles and calms in the house.  He loves to be around you, but also loves to be outdoors. He will happily play in the garden and sleep and sunbathe in the conservatory.

Thys really loves water and will spend hours playing in the paddling pool  and 'digging' in the water (you can click on photos to see full size) :

 

 

Like all our foster greyhounds, Thys has been attending Canine Good CItizen classes in our local dog training club and he really  enjoys them! He really loves to please (despite being a movie star!) and enjoys doing things right. I took this  picture of him during the class last week (he was handled by one of the lovely GAP volunteers):

Yup - of course I learned how to sit! :)

Thys would be awesome for a fun filled home, with maybe some teenagers around to have fun with! He loves kids but is probably a bit too boisterous for little ones. :)  He would be perfectly OK left at home while people go to work -he would spend the day relaxing and playing with his toys, and of course, digging in his paddling pool. This is why he is taking the paddling pool (from pictures above) to his new home -he has informed us that is was essential! :)

Yup -I am bringing my paddling pool with me!

With Benjamin The Corgi

 

Update from Kenzo (Awesome Voyage)

By Fatima |

Monday, October 29, 2012

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Kenzo and Pat :)

Gorgeous Kenzo (Awesome Voyage) now lives with Patricia and her four cats in Taumaranui, Waikato.

We just got an update from Pat:

I first became infatuated with greyhounds quite by chance: I was working in the local garden centre when one day a van pulled up out the back. I could see dogs in it so I asked the lady what sort of dogs she had in her van.  She replied that they were racing greyhounds -and of course I asked if I could see them. That was it, I was totally totally smitten after being licked to bits by Pinup Puppy, a huge beautiful blue hound raced by Jennifer Harland and Grame Clarke (famous Clarkie :).

Jennifer suggested  I had a look at the Gap website and then it was all on!  Sonja and Irene at GAP were amazing and matched me with Kenzo. I picked him up in March 2012 and brought him home to Taumarunui. He had several homes already, mainly as he didn’t like small children, but neither do I so it was  a match made in heaven haha!!

It took him quite some time to settle, we had issues with a sensitive stressy stomach, but now he seems to have realised that he is staying here for good and he has relaxed so much and is really enjoying life. He lives with four cats, the two older ones just ignore him and sometimes sit in the doorway and won’t let him inside( the meanies) but the other 2 younger ones are great fun to chase, until they stop and turn around and face up to him, then he skids to a halt and wanders off as if to say “well, I wasn’t chasing them really”. He is the most loving and adorable hound, he is very polite and calm.
He just adores his spot next to the log burner and won’t go to bed without his jammies on. He has a huge toy collection which he keeps in his bed, woe betide any that escape, they are rounded up and brought to heel.

Kenzo's toy collection :)

He is also a dab hand at counter surfing, (the theif!!), and steals the cats bikkies too!  I cannot imagine life without this wonderful hound, he gives so much and asks for very little in return. He is a much loved doggie. 

Kenzo's new car (click on the photo to see full size and check out the license plate)

Modelling new pyjamas :)

             

Meet Tino (Request Funding)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

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Tino (Request Funding) is a lovely dog, currently being fostered by us. His owner and trainer, GAP volunteer Anthony Stone, was kind enough to send me the following about Tino's time as Anthony's first and much-loved racing dog:

 

I have been involved with GAP for about 4 years now, firstly as a volunteer and currently as Area Co-ordinator for the Hutt Valley and always wondered what it was like on the “other side”; when I say the “other side” I mean greyhound racing. Sure I had seen lots of retired racers enjoying their life after racing, but what was it really like to own my own racing dog? 

About 18 months ago I got my owner trainers license and was on the hunt for a dog - shortly after I purchased Tino (Request Funding), a 32kg black and white boy owned by Tony Valentic and David Scott. Tino's trainers were Nathan and Angela Udy, and Hayden McCracken.

 

 

Tino had trialled at the racetrack a few times and was nearly ready for his first race.
On the 4^th of May 2011 Tino had his first race, I think he was a bit shell shocked at all the commotion and ended up coming 5^th, even so watching your very own dog race makes your heart pound, the speed, the power is amazing.
Tino continued to race regularly until the 3^rd of August 2012 till he retired due to an ongoing niggling minor injury. Altogether Tino had 55 races. Of these he won 9, came 2^nd four times and 3^rd five times, with prize money of $9,133.50

Tino relaxing in his kennel thinking about his next race!

Tino is not the only dog I have trained and raced, I also have Lucy (Ya Gunna) who I retired to the couch on the 18^th November 2011. Here she is with Tino:

Tino and Lucy

I thoroughly enjoy greyhound racing and am planning to breed a litter next time Lucy comes into season, this way I get to name my own racedogs! :)
 

 Anthony's daughter Samantha helped with handling and training Tino, and she wrote this about her special boy:

 Tino is a very special dog as he was our very first racing dog. He has been used to living in the lap of luxury -- as well as performing on the racetrack he lived in the house with us along with our pets. He was very easy to housetrain and he has never had an accident inside.

Tino is a lovely dog, who will fit well into a family. He is smart, cuddly, affectionate and extremely handsome. Tino will happily sleep all day on his bed while everything goes on around him. He’s a dream to walk on a lead and could even be walked around the block by me whilst I was on crutches (he’s just that easy). Tino would live happily as an only dog or with another dog as he is very social and loves to play. His favourite toy is his "Squeaky Mallard Duck" and he especially enjoys throwing it around and fetching it at the park.

I’ll be extremely happy to see him go to his forever home and the family who adopts this gorgeous boy will definitely have something special!"

Tino's a confident boy who loves walks and geting out and about

Meet our foster boy Kopi (Bulla The Gate)

By Fatima |

Sunday, August 12, 2012

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Kopi and his favourite squeaky pig

Handsome Kopi (Bulla The Gate) has been with us for a couple of weeks now. Finally, I took some pictures of the gorgeous boy.
He LOVES his toys and can 'kill' them for ages. His is currently obsessed with this pink squeaky pig :)

(you can click on pictures to see full size)
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"Naughty pig!!! It is trying to get away!'
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"What is it plotting now...?"
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"OMG it is attacking me!!!!"
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'Geeee... tired now....'

We are enjoying fostering Kopi - he is very clever, very responsive doggie. In his new home, he will need clear rules and boundaries , he is deep inside not too confident (despite the bigger than life first impression!) and needs to be shown the ropes. He loves his routine - in fact thrives on it.
He is quite independent once the routine and rules are in place, and can be left alone for long periods etc . He is very happy to have a snooze and wait for you to come back. Kopi LOVES his walks and meeting other dogs.