Writing Workshop: Our dog’s best trick? Shed, of course!
January 26, 2011I’m posting a little early because I intend to sleep in tomorrow!
Our greyhound sheds. We were told that greys are a low-allergen breed and do not shed because they do not have an undercoat. I don’t have ready access to my books but Wikipedia does state that they DO shed.
Ours not only sheds, but she leaves dust bunnies of fur the size of tumbleweeds!
I have a theory on this. We choose to feed Cassie PHD food (www.phdproducts.com). It is a mail order food that was recommended by our mutt’s obedience trainer, way back when, to help her recover from the mange. Not only did Chewie’s coat grow back in but it was always shiny, healthy, and soft. It is a high protein and supplement-packed food that has restorative and purgative properties. Another bonus is that is reduces the amount of poop.
In essence, our grey shed’s because she is constantly growing new fur. Her winter fur is actually quite thick. And thankfully she does not suffer from bald-thigh syndrome with which many greys are afflicted.
When Cassie is out promoting greyhound adoption often spectators will pet and love on all the animals and they usually end up declaring that Cassie has the softest fur. Generally, greys have a coarse, almost wire-like fur. At least that’s the case of the ones that I’ve come in contact. If Cassie is nervous and has not been given a dose of puppy calming aid (we’ve used several varieties for general anxiety to helping with thunderstorms and all equally effective), suddenly with all that petting, there will be clouds of white fluff floating in the air. Many of the spectators walk away covered in her white fur.
Writing Prompts:
1.) If you could change anything about your pet, what would it be?
2.) Write a love poem to a favorite food.
3.) Describe a time when you felt left out.
4.) Read the quote and let it inspire your post: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. -Maya Angelou
5.) Social media is an amazing way to reunite with old friends. Describe a good or not-so-good experience you’ve had with it.
If you want to know more about Mama Kat’s writing workshops, just click on that pink poodle over there…
snipewife 
Greyhounds are such gorgeous dogs, my Husband and I fostered a female named Daisy for a week a few years back, and she was such a sweet thing, but so nervous and had obviously been overused for racing as she would cry in pain if you touched her hips, poor thing.
The first time we took her for a walk, we let her off of the lead in a field near our house and watching her go from standing still to a full, open run was majestic!
No two greys are alike. I’ve seen super nervous, super separation anxiety, and then there is Cassie. She is an odd duck. She is quite content to be a single dog and does not mind “not being where the family is” because she cannot do stairs. Watching Cassie run, even now as she’s slowing down, is amazing. Adopting her was the best decision we made. She was perfectly matched to our family.
This is news to me. I’m going to share about this on my post tomorrow about things I learned this week with a link back here.
Stopping by from writer’s workshop. Here’s the link to ours if you get a chance to stop by: http://zemeks.blogspot.com/2011/01/pizza-trail-mix-bread-pudding-poems.html
Thank you very much! I hope to educate as well as entertain. I’m new to blogging so the link is much appreciated.
We used to have a Shiba Inu when I was a teenager. I loved that dog, and would like the same breed one day (if my allergies magically disappear), but he shed so much. Clumps of fur.. Mostly twice a year, but seemed like he was always shedding.. It’s one thing I don’t miss.
Beautiful dogs, but I don’t think I could deal with all the hair. I have enough troub;e keeping my house clean with a toddler!
Stopping by from Mama Kat’s.
They say greys are like potato chips–once you have one you have to have another! We did actually try a second one. She had a lot of anxiety issues and was trying to be alpha although she was younger. I had two small children at the time and basically was at my wits end. We “fostered” her for three months, took care of her dental and returned her. Our pack was big enough. She ended up going to a great home where she could be alpha and was spoiled. Interestingly, Cassie had also been returned. You never know.
I too feel your dust bunny woes. One of my dogs is a short hair and one is a long hair. Of course the long hair is all you can see, but I often say that the short hair is the “glue” that holds the long hair dust bunnies together. Great post.
Stopping by from Mama Kat’s.