Deciding to rescue Blondie was the easy part, then I had to bring her home.
I had never owned a sighthound breed before, and it took some getting used to. Her first days home I was sure Battersea had been feeding her jet fuel as she sprinted around my garden at lightning speed, and I kid you not, was bouncing off the fences. It was incredible to watch.
Then there was the staring, the constant staring. Everywhere I looked she was staring at me, assessing her new home. Combined with how independent she was, I had to reassure myself that she actually liked me 😂 Spoiler alert – she did, I think it was day 3 she slept with me, one arm over my chest. I had been accepted!
I was very pleased that she immediately made herself at home though. She ditched the dog bed I’d put out for her in favour of the comfy sofa and showed me her best roach. Within a day she had showed me what it means to be a sighthound – run around like a lunatic and then sleep it off, with an emphasis on sleeping it off.
The walks were going to be the hard part. Blondie came with warnings. The main one being that I wouldn’t ever be able to walk her on anything longer than a 1m lead, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to let her off lead. They also warned me about her knack for escaping harnesses which ended up being the biggest problem, and the reason that Snootiful Hound exists today.
My previous dogs had perfect recall, so walking Blondie was going to take some getting used to.
As expected, she proved Battersea right. She would consistently dart towards the first fluffy thing she saw. It wouldn't have been safe to have attached anything longer than a 1m lead to her collar. This was hard for me to accept as I knew how much she would enjoy any additional freedom that I could give her, and as she had a hard start to life, I decided I would do what I could to make that possible.
I’m pleased to say that with time and effort, we gradually progressed to longer leads, paired with her lurcher harness for safety, and now I can even let her off lead under the right conditions.
As well as creating fantastic products for your sighthounds, I want to use this blog to share some of the things that helped us in the hope that it might help you too 😊
1 comment
So pleased you have started a blog and I look forward to following it. Blondie sounds and looks beautiful. It is amazing quite how much joy a sight hound can bring into one’s life, even though they are occasionally somewhat trying. At least now, with your lovely harness, escaping it will not be an issue. Keep writing please and lots of photos!