Greytdogs Store

If you have not visited our Greytdogs Store, you are in for a pleasant surprise! We have completely "remodeled" our store and have added a huge inventory of brand new items! We have an extensive line of double fleece coats. Some of these coats are one of a kind, but many can be made to order if you supply us with the measurements.

We also have greyhound accent pillows in three designs. Also new is a full line of "comfort" coats. These light weight coats (or jackets) are great for just about any dog.

Another new item that we are excited about is our running greyhound tag collars. These collars are great in the house where a Martingale is not needed. Your hound can still have a decorative collar to wear, but if he/she gets lost, the collar with the tags will help get him/her home.

All of our merchandise is reasonably priced. ALL of the money we make in our Greytdogs Store goes directely to helping our hounds and particularly it helps support our Craiger's List program.

Check us out! Just click on the title of this post.

Identification Tags - FFGR, Inc.

When you adopted your greyhound, you received an identification tag that has been placed on the collar. On the tag, in addition to our group's name, address and phone number, is a four digit number that is your dog's unique number in our data base. This number is important because it is how we identify your dog in the event that it is picked up by someone and we get a call about it. We know that sometimes, no matter how diligent we are, a pet can get loose. This identification tag gives us the ability to help you (when we get notified and start a seach)in the event that you are looking for your dog and are not at home to receive a phone call. When someone calls to tell us that they have found a dog, we ask for the number and then find that number in our data base. Along with your information, we keep on file the dog's name and ear tatoo numbers.

We require all adopters to keep the tag on their dog's collar; in addition we suggest that the dog be microchipped or at least carry a separate identification tag with the adopter's information on it.

We often get calls that the FFGR, Inc. identification tag was lost. We are happy to order a new tag, but we also provide each adopter with the information for ordering a new one. Our group uses LOVEYOURPETS.COM for ordering new tags. These tags are well made, reasonably priced and are shipped quickly after ordering. If you order a new tag, the following information can be placed on the tag:

FAST FRIENDS
GREYHOUND RESCUE, INC.
6654 GILARDI ROAD
BOONSBORO, MARYLAND
301-416-2028
XXXX (Your dog's I.D. number in our data base)

If you don't know your dog's I.D. number, you can look on the cover of your adoption folder and/or on your adoption contract.

Since our group was founded, we have had a low number of hounds get lost and have maintained a 100% recovery of hounds that have been lost. We attribute this to the tags that a dog was wearing when it got loose and to all of our adopters who take this responsibility seriously.

Winter Safety

Winter seems to have come full force in a lot of areas of the country and no one has had it harder than those of us who live in the Mid-Atlantic area. While a lot of our hounds love running in the fresh snow, we need to think about the hazards that can await them if we are not watchful of them.

Greyhounds have extremely thin skin. When the snow is fresh, it's fun to run through it and most greyhounds run full throttle. But on sunny days, when the sun melts and then re-freezes the upper layers of the snow in the evenings, a sharp ice crust can form that can cut and bruise a greyhound, sometimes quite severly. We are getting a lot of calls from adopters who have had to treat their hounds for cuts and bruises to their feet, toes and legs. In addition, the icy sidewalks and "black ice" on roads where they walk may cause slipping which can rip off dew claws, cut skin and bruise chests and backs from falling.

Make sure your hound runs in a safe area and when on walks along roads and sidewalks, be careful of icy conditions. In addition, be watchful of salts and de-icers that are scattered along walkways so that they do not get into the pads of the paws and irritate the skin.

Cold temperatures, melting and refreezing of snow can cause a lot of sore muscles and cut paw pads and legs if our pups are not monitored well. None of us likes to see a sore and hurting hound. Have fun in the snow, but always think about what might happen and prepare for the worst.

Stay warm and kiss those hounds for us!!!!

Upcoming Free Talk! "Is Your Focus Fleeting? How To Improve Your Everyday Attention"

Is

Your

Focus

Fleeting?

How To Improve Your Everyday Attention

Distractions in life can be everywhere, requiring a constant internal choice of where to place one’s full attention in any moment. Sometimes we wish to focus fully on what is most important to us each day, but struggle with attention that gets split between multiple ideas, interests, tasks, and stimuli so that nothing ends up receiving our full attention! Today’s talk will address some of the issues that can underlie attentional distraction, and offer healing tools to improve one’s focus.

Date/Time: Thursday, February 18 from 6 pm to 7 pm

Location: Aprill Wellness Center (in our kitchen-classroom)

107 Aprill Dr, Suite 4

Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Cost: Free

Grapehounds Virginia - Update

Registration is now OPEN for Grapehounds - Virginia!!! You can access the registration form by clicking on the title of this thread in addition to getting more information about the event. There are eight sponsoring groups that are participating in this greyt event and they are all listed on the form. Just circle the number of our group on the registration form and $5 of your $20 ticket donation will go to your group. Please pass this information on to your friends and family. This is a first time event and it promises to be a lot of fun because it is local!

The Breath Of Health

In my practice of integrative psychiatry it has been obvious that conscious, relaxing breathing is one of the most powerful interventions a person can make to support one’s health. The breath literally inspires the body, mind, soul and spirit of human life.

Scientific discoveries have revealed aspects of these profound and mysterious qualities of breath. I am enlivened to feel how the power of breath touches so many aspects of existence on large and small levels. For example --

• Researchers have found that the earth’s upper atmosphere “takes a breath” approximately once every nine days, expanding and contracting the air in response to powerful solar winds.¹
• Plants have been found to respond to the quality of human thought and breath, and this responsiveness can occur whether the plant is inches or miles away from the emitting human.²
• Human gene expression changes when one engages in practices such as deep breathing, aligning the cells of the body with healthier, more life-promoting cellular responses.³

In any kind of psychological crisis – be it stress, the death of a loved one, a major life change, depression, anxiety, anger, any sort of internal or external life intensity when a person may be desperate to know “what can I do about this?”, a primary answer is to breathe. Simplify into the moment one is in and simply breathe. If, in the next five minutes, one becomes overwhelmed by life again, once again, simplify and attend to the breath. In my own life, simple conscious breathing has been a powerful tool that has helped shift feelings of bodily and mental tension into greater relaxation and clarity. And happily, this tool is always available!

Just breathe, deeply and slowly. As you breathe, feel the earth’s atmosphere slowly breathing with you. Feel the plant life on earth emitting life-giving oxygen as they also breathe with you in their gentle, quiet way. Feel plants respond as your intention to relax more deeply with your breath emits a loving communication to them. Feel how other humans may observe you attending to your breath, slowing down, relaxing, and how this demonstrates to them a simple, conscious practice that they too can engage in to realign their own lives with health and relaxation.

Breath is a vital force that permeates all -- humans, other animals, plant life and earth herself. Feel your interdependency with this living, breathing earth and all the beings on it. Feel your own cells’ interdependency with your moment-to-moment choices towards health and deeper breathing, your gene expression being positively altered in any moment you choose to simply slow down and breathe. Simply remember, in any moment, to breathe....breathe this healthy breath.

1. Retrieved April 14, 2009 from http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/12/18/earths-upper-atmosphere-takes-a-deep-breath-every-few-days. 2. Retrieved April 14, 2009 from http://www.vogelcrystals.net/legacy_of_marcel_vogel.htm. 3. Massachusetts General Hospital (2008, July 3). Relaxation Response Can Influence Expression of Stress-Related Genes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080701221501.htm.

Healthy Body, Mind And Soul Blog by Marnie Burkman, MD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

February is National Pet Dental Health Month

Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? This is a good opportunity to talk about how you can keep your hound healthy.

Does your hound have bad breath? Is the hair along the muzzle discolored and stiff (this is from bacteria)? Has your hound’s eating habits changed? Do you notice any pawing at the face? Any swelling or nodules at the jaw line?

Your hound may have dirty teeth! Check for tartar buildup on teeth, red and bleeding gums, and/or swollen gums and a reluctance to allow you to open the mouth.

Retired racers often have dirty teeth. Some of it is genetic but often it is because some foods are soft and tarter builds up fast. Tartar is produced when mucus (called plaque) builds up and hardens on the teeth. If it is not removed through good dental care, once this tartar gets hardened and established, it can only come off through a thorough professional (and expensive!) teeth cleaning by your veterinarian.

Most adoption groups (ours included) have a newly retired greyhound’s teeth cleaned during the spay/neuter process (so the dog only has to be anesthetized once).

Why is it important for your hound to have clean teeth? Did you know that oral disease is the most frequently diagnosed health problem for pets? Poor dental care can result in periodontal disease which is severe and irreversible. It causes red, bleeding and swollen gums, pain, and eventually can lead to tooth loss and severe infections. The gums have a rich blood supply and when an infection begins, it can easily be passed on to other parts of the body and make the hound seriously ill. It can also permanently damage the heart because the infection can lodge in the valves of the heart.

Prevention is the best medicine. Brushing your hound’s teeth once or twice weekly is the best preventative measure; there are lots of tooth pastes on the market for dogs. DO NOT use products designed for humans as they contain enzymes or other chemicals that might make your hound sick. There are also oral cleansing wipes available if your hound objects too strongly to tooth brushing.

Feeding dry food and hard biscuits and bully sticks can also help break off tartar. Be careful of the dog treats you give a greyhound; some may cause more harm than good. Some people advocate using raw turkey necks and bones, but if your hound has a food allergy or sensitive stomach, you might want to consult with your vet before adding new foods to his/her diet. Watch those teeth! It could save your hound pain and you money!