Best mates: Hugo and Sam :)

By Fatima |

Friday, March 11, 2011

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Sam and Hugo :)

Rachel's parents have gone to Melbourne for a few days so Sam The Samoyed is staying with us till Tuesday.
Lucy and Louie love Sam , but our foster greyhound Hugo (Young Valiant) thinks Sam is THE BEST dog ever! Sam arrived this morning and Hugo has been following him around ever since :) It is just true love!

Don't worry Sam, your parents will be back on Tuesday...

In the meantime, you can hang around with me?

We'll have fun!

It is the weirdest thing, but your tail looks EXACTLY
like that lure at Cambridge track!

Run at the dog club today: Hugo is never far from Sam :)
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I love this picture -check out the expression on Hugo's face! :)

Picture of the day - Honey (Honey Bound)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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Honey (Honey Bound) has just been reseved and going to her new home soon.
 Isn't she gorgeous?

Pretty Honey (picture taken by GAP Kennel manager Sonja)

Update from gorgeous Angel!

By Fatima |

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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Angel and Herbie

This is one of the most exciting updates in a while! Nan from Hamilton, new Mum of 11 yr old Angel (Ruawhata Road) just sent us this (thanks a million Nan!):

Angel is settling in really well. In the picture above you can see her with Herbie The Cat ;  this is a great picture because three weeks before, Herbie took an unprovoked swipe at Angel, nicking her third eyelid (promptly fixed by the vet) so she was pretty timid of Herbie, but its okay now. She also shares her bed with her Griffon sister Molly, and sometimes Hudson (another cat). And you can see too that she has found the couch!
Here’s what Angel has to say:
I am loving my new home and family but I do still get nervous and sometimes I get really nervous and have a pee inside, but I am getting better!
At first I was really really nervous and I HAD TO shred all the newspaper I could find to stay calm, but I am much calmer now and haven’t shredded any paper in weeks! I love all the creatures I live with, but some of them are taking a little longer than I expected to love me back, so we are ignoring each other for now.
Nan and Susan take me for great walks, where I often see other greyhounds because there are at least two that live really close. I get really excited when my lead comes out, and I love coming back and hoping on the couch. They keep offering me cuddly toys – not my thing – but they are getting the idea. And I love the duvet they gave me on the first day, and am totally not interested in the big greyhound bed that arrived a couple weeks ago. Luckily Hudson The Cat likes it heaps! So, its all going really well, and I am really happy, and getting more settled each day. :)

With her new sister Molly

Couch!

'Swift Fantasy' racing this Thursday at Manukau Stadium!

By Fatima |

Monday, March 7, 2011

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Swift Fantasy and her trainer Kathy :)

I have written about the amazing Swift Fantasy before, here.
This little black girl stays waaaaay back till the very last part of the race, at which point she speeds up and wins! :) You can watch the video of one of her races here.
And yes, she was the winner of 2010 Silver Collar :)

I have also had the priviledge of seeing this amazing greyhound girl race in the flesh in Wanganui last year -she won of course, and for me, it was truly an incredible thing to see.

Swift Fantasy's trainer Kathy Wilson just emailed me to let me know that her lovely doggie is racing this Thursday at Manukau Stadium. Swift Fantasy has quite a few fans amongst GAP owners and foster parents and she even attends some of the GAP walks, as you can see on the pictures !

 She hasn’t raced since September last year which is when she came in season and once she got through that, there were no races suitable for her until now (ie over 700m). So if you want to see this amazing dog racing -do be at Manukau  Greyhound Racing Track at 7.22pm this Thursday!
The race coincides with our Auckland Cup week which the final will be on that night too with Little Mother and Sergio competing.

Swift Fantasy (wearing a white coat ) at GAP run in Auckland

ECO Day in Auckland

By Fatima |

Sunday, March 6, 2011

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This weekend, GAP greyhounds and their humans attended ECO Day in Auckland and they met Mayor Len Brown too! :)
Stanley (Big Dapto) blogged about it on his blog, where he has more pictures of him and his mates. Have a look here:
http://bigdapto.blogspot.com/2011/03/gap-eco-day.html

Our very own GAP martingale collars!

By Fatima | 0 comments

Some of the patterns available -
click on the picture to see it in full size !

Check out the GAP shop -now we are selling our own GAP martingale collars, with all proceeds going  directly to the hounds who are waiting for homes in GAP kennels. So go on- treat your hound and help more of them find forever homes :)
I have been involved in procurement of materials and design of these collars -and I am very proud how they have turned out!

They are made by the greyhound trainer who makes lots of stuff for greyhound racing industry, and they are perfectly finished. All collars are fully adjustable and triple stitched at stress points to prevent breaking and prolong durability. All these collars are 1.5inch wide, which is suitable for most greyhounds. But we are having some 2inch ones made, for those few bigger hounds who need them :)
Picture above shows only a few designs we have -we have got loads more being made, jester patters, preppy stripes in all colors, novelty patterns, animal prints, damask prints and many more.

We have imported the hardware from the USA -it is nickel plated, special hardware for martingale collars.
The canvas ribbons are imported from the USA too, and they wear perfectly -my Louie has had one of these collars for 2 years now, and it still looks like new! (this is his everyday collar).
We have imported the real stuff, specifically designed for martingales -we did not scrimp on the materials -after all our hounds deserve the best!

These cost $35 per collar (plus $2 for postage)- contact Sheila at GAP shop shop@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz or phone (07) 858 3210 evenings and weekends.

And watch this space for new designs coming in shortly!

Tangimoana beach run today!

By Fatima |

Thursday, March 3, 2011

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Lucy and Hugo had a couple of races up and down the beach :)

Our dogs and our foster boy Hugo (Young Valiant) had a ball today at Tangimoana beach!
Team:
Louie, Lucy, Beryl, Frankie and Hugo. And Sue and myself :)
Check out the pictures - doggies were SO tired afterwards, they had so much fun!

Sue with Beryl, Lucy and Hugo

Louie, Lucy and Hugo frolicking in the water :)

And had a swim ...

This is hard to see but these are Lucy and Hugo
almost submerged  in the water!

Hugo chasing Beryl

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Update from Storm

By Fatima | 0 comments

Storm with his mate Feijoa at home

Storm, one of our cute foster dogs, now lives in Clevedon (South of Auckland) and is loving his new home.
His Mum Alison says:
It is never dull with Feijoa the dog, Sparkle and Twinkle the cats, Daisy and Flip the Donkeys and chickens, sheep and cattle. Storm enjoys pounding around in the water when we go to our bach at Lake Rotoiti. He is very laid back and his favourite game is to run flat stick around the paddock with Feijoa desperately trying to catch him in a smaller inner circle. :)

Storm with his friends Daisy Donkey and
Flip the Donkey  at home with the kids

Rally-O fun for Hugo!

By Fatima |

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

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Last night Louie and Lucy had  their Rally-O class , and as there was a bit time left, our new foster boy Hugo (Young Valiant) had a go too! He is a natural - and did great for his first time. I have to say -he also looks awesome on the course, as he is tall, athletic and has gorgeous coloring :)
Check him out below, going through the course with Rachel:

Figure 8 weave :)

Honestly, that was the weirdest thing I ever had to do!!!

AHA! You do get treats afterwards!:)

And you get to meet some new friends :)

Dog Fun Run in Palmerston North this weekend!

By Fatima | 0 comments

Click on the flier to see it in full size

This Saturday, Massey Universities Animal Welfare Advocacy Group (AWAG) will be holding its first Dog Fun Run. They would like to invite everyone to come out and participate on Saturday the 5th of March at the Hokowhitu Lagoon in Palmerston North. Registration starts at 9 with the run/walk beginning at 10.

There will be gourmet sausages from Moreish around 12 and fun events (best dressed pooch, obedience, and best trick) starting at 1. The run is $10, fun events at $2 per event and raffle tickets at $2. If you have any questions, please send an email (see flier above).

If you are in Palmerston North or nearby, it would be great if you and your hound could attend! Remember -getting greyhounds out there to events like these is the best way to promote the breed as pets.
And don't forget to put  GAP promotional vest on your hound :) (contact me if you don't have one).

Update from Sash :)

By Fatima |

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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Last October, Sash went to live with Jenny, Blair and their three kids on the lifestyle block in South Auckland.
I just got an email and some cute pictures from her new Mum Jenny:

Sash has bonded well with our family, and especially quickly and strongly with me (possibly because she had a female trainer in her previous life).
She is really good with our children (aged 8, 6 and 3). At first she was worried about our 3 year old when he got too close, and barked at him once or twice in the first few days, but she soon realised that he wasn't trying to hurt her. Now she's so tolerant with him, he can do just about anything and she won't react, except to walk away (although of course we try to make sure he doesn't hassle her too much!). We even find him cuddled up with her on her bed, with her licking him like he is a puppy (yuck!!!), so we've decided that we couldn't have found a more kid-friendly dog anywhere!


Apart from a little bit of 'counter surfing' at the kitchen bench early on, Sash has behaved with impeccable manners, and she even seems to have been taught to wait for a command before starting to eat her dinner. One thing that we've all had to adjust to is having a dog that stays inside at night-time, and there were some night-time toileting accidents early on, and some very early wake-up calls, until she learnt that she had to 'go' when we took her outside last thing at night! She seems to have sorted it all out now, thankfully!

We live on a lifestyle block, and I was worried at the start that Sash would be able to get out of our garden which is fenced with wire farm fencing, but she has shown no inclination whatsoever to jump over the fences, even when there are rabbits on the other side!
She is very funny when in the paddocks, preferring to keep a good distance from those big scary sheep because she thinks they might eat her (although they are slightly interesting to her when they run!), and trying to hide behind us when in the cows' paddock!
I really enjoy the fact that Sash is so well socialised with people and other dogs, and of course like most greyhounds she walks like a dream on the lead, so she's a real pleasure to have with us when we're out & about. Couldn't have asked for a better dog!