News

As you are aware we had to cancel both 2020 and 2021 Annual Reunions.  This year we are going to have three regional picnics – Greater Sacramento area, North Bay and East Bay. The dates for the North Bay and East Bay picnics are still being finalized. Here are the details for the Sacramento area picnic:

Sacramento and Surrounding Areas Picnic
Saturday, April 30- 11am-3pm

Johnson-Springview Park- Pavilion #1
5480 5^th Street
Rocklin, CA 95677
There is a dog park onsite that is open to the public
Anyone from anywhere is welcome to attend ANY of the picnics

T-Shirt Preorders Happening Now

As with every Reunion/Picnic we have shirts with a new logo.  Pre-ordering your shirt is now available on our online store www.gfflstore.org  You can choose to pick up your order at one of the picnics or have it shipped.

This year’s full color logo features a Lurcher, Whippet, Greyhound and Feathered Saluki (see above).

You can pre-order until EOB Friday, March 18.

There may be extras available later, but it will be very limited in both color and size.

We hope to see you at a picnic!

   
Merry and Galadriel

We recently pulled a 5-year old (est) male from one of the shelters.  We named him Naaji.  He had several wounds, including a large laceration on his tail.  It was severe enough that we opted to have his tail docked.  He now joins the select docked tail group that includes Siva and Pongo!  He was also very, very thin, as can be seen in the photo.  He is recovering well, staying with Mr. Kwon and getting to know Mr. Kwon’s cats and small dogs.  So far, he is living peaceably with all of the other animals in the household.  Naaji will also be ready to come to the US soon.

  
Naaji

If you know of anyone who flies to Seoul on business, or is going over to visit family or friends who would be willing to accompany these dogs back to San Francisco, that would be great!  All they would need to do is to arrive early to meet our rescuers and go through customs with the dogs.  All of the paperwork will be prepared for you, and one of us will meet you at the airport and transport the dogs up to Sebastopol.

Greyhound Friends for Life (GFFL) is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, which means we need to raise funds in order to continue to transport, vet, and adopt the many sighthounds that come through our organization. This means we need YOUR help. There are many ways to help.

There are websites that donate to the group when you shop and choose GFFL as your charity:

Smile.Amazon
iGive
PetFood Express (PFE)

When you order from Pet Food Express, use this link:
https://petfood.express/?p=GRYFFL
Order online/delivery or pick up only.
Inside store purchases do not apply

Donate to GFFL on the GFFL website
www.greyhoundfriendsforlife.org

Please send photos for the 2023 calendar to: GFFLcalendars@gmail.com
Please send no more than 3-4 of your favorite pictures.

Photo Guidelines
1. NO people
2. Your Hound (Name & City)
3. City hound lives in
4. Rainbow Bridge Hound (9/1/2021- 8/31/2022)

Does your hound have a non-hound sibling?
Chihuahua, Cat, Rat, Rabbit, Iguana, Snail etc – You get the idea.
Send us a photo of them napping, playing or just hanging out together.

 Many of you may be spending more time at home because of the COVID-19 epidemic.  Now that more businesses are gradually opening up and people are going back to the office, our dogs will be undergoing a change in routine.  This can lead to distress and anxiety when they are left alone even if they did not have issues before the “stay at home” orders.

The Los Angeles SPCA has a great article with some tips to start transitioning your dog to accept more alone time.

– Create a daily routine for your dog that includes consistent times for; waking and going to bed at night, meal times twice daily, outdoor daily walks and play time with toys and a person.

– Whether you are working remotely and are at home or you are leaving the home during the day, try to follow the same routine as best you can every day so that your dog has some consistency. This then helps your dog be able to predict the day’s activities and this in turn reduces stress for your dog as they know better what is expected from them each day.

– Make sure to have provided enough activity including mental stimulation and physical exercise before leaving your dog for an extended period of time. This may include a walk outdoors for at least 20 minutes with opportunities to explore and sniff for as long as your dog needs to, practicing obedience training and playing with your dog and a toy.

– Always confine your dog to the same safe room or place that includes your dog’s bed with familiar scents and bedding, a variety of rotating new and non destructible favorite toys that your dog likes and access to fresh water whenever you leave your dog alone.

– Provide audio enrichment and create a calm atmosphere for your dog by turning on some soothing classical music, an audio book or the television every time you leave home. This will help to indicate to your dog that this is a time for relaxing and will help to drown out any noise from the outside.

– Every time you leave home, provide your dog with a high value edible item such as a frozen stuffed Kong or healthy chew, treats hidden in a puzzle game or at the very least several high value treats left on your dog’s bed. This is to help keep your dog engaged for the first few crucial minutes when you leave the home and also keeps them close to their bed which helps to prevent them following you out the door as you leave. When returning home remove any enrichment items and save for the next time.

– When leaving the home, use the same phrase to say ‘good bye’ or ‘see you soon’ each time and do not provide your dog with excessive attention when departing or returning home.

– Practice short departures and longer departures using the same routine and within the home also by closing the door behind you as you go to another room even for as little as a few minutes. This will help to start to desensitize your dog to being left alone.

– Practice obedience training with your dog using positive reinforcement training methods so that it is an enjoyable experience for you and your canine companion. This will help your dog to learn and motivate your dog to perform these rewarding behaviors which then helps your dog to feel more confident and secure. You can teach and practice with your dog to Sit, Down, Come, Stay, Go to Bed and more and for as little as 10 minutes daily. Then you can try asking your dog to ‘Go To Bed’ in a nice tone of voice, rewarded with the high value food item on his/her bed as you leave home.

– Practice teaching your dog a ‘Find It’ game so that you can hide favored toys and/or food rewards in the home. Your dog may spend some time trying to locate them, which will keep your dog busy and mentally engaged.

– Use available resources if needed from family, friends, neighbors, a professional dog walker or pet sitter by asking for help to spend at least an hour with your dog in the middle of the day to provide companionship, physical exercise and play when you will be gone for many hours.

– Don’t over excite or overstimulate your dog as this can have the opposite effect by making it more difficult for your dog to relax when you leave. Observe your dog’s behavior after physical exercise and activity to determine what type of physical exercise and activity is best and how long is optimal for your individual dog. A healthy balance of mental stimulation and physical activity is usually more beneficial such as a combination of obedience training and outdoor walking.

– Don’t punish your dog for house training accidents, destructiveness or excessive barking. It will not change this behavior and will damage your relationship by reducing trust and exacerbating fear and stress. Instead use preventative and management techniques by removing valuable items and securing your dog in the confined space properly and by following the above guidelines. Also remember if your dog is in distress this is not a chosen behavior for the purposes of punishing the owner – these are human interpretations of canine behavior.

Rest assured that if your dog has developed Separation Anxiety this behavior problem is treatable but will take time, patience and action on your part to help your dog overcome this problem.

– By Sara Taylor, CABI CPDT-KA, SPCA LA Director of Animal Behavior & Training

The fastest way to get your dog back home is to maximize the number of people looking for it.  This is why we ask adopters to notify us right away at 1-800-446-8637 when a dog gets loose.

We know that it’s instinct to immediately get in the car and drive around, looking for the dog.  But before you do this, let us know.  While you’re looking, we can put together a poster and organize volunteers to distribute them in the area.  We can also send these to the local shelters, veterinarians, and post on social media (Craigslist, PawBoost, local lost and found pet sites, Nextdoor, etc).

Ask people to not approach or call the dog, but call the adopter.  The posters will also emphasize this.  Most dogs, even the ones who are confident, will be scared when they are in unfamiliar territory.  If approached by a stranger, they may run away, putting them in even greater danger.

If you are the adopter and you have eyes on your dog, first have other people, if around, back off, sit down, and turn their backs on the dog.  Second, try to bring your own energy level down.   It will also help if you have favorite treats with you.  Don’t rush up to the dog; don’t look directly at him; sit down sideways to the dog or lay down on your stomach or back and sing softly.  You can use words that are associated with fun things – “walk”, “treat”, “cookie”, etc.  Let the dog come up to you and then slowly put a leash on him.  Carry a slip lead with you, just in case the dog doesn’t have a collar.

Here are some additional tips from the Missing Animal Response Network, who specialize in capturing skittish, hard-to-catch dogs:  The problem with panicked dogs is that most rescuers call the dog to try and get the dog to come to them … big mistake!  Never call a stray dog. Don’t look at it, don’t pat your leg, clap your hands, and don’t walk towards the dog.  If the dog has a skittish temperament, typically he is in “fight or flight” mode and will be running in fear.

This is what’s going on.  The dog is running because people are looking at him, going towards him, calling him, and he is getting more and more afraid.  When you add an adopter (or a rescuer) into the mix who is panicked (and conveys that in their voice), it just freaks the dog out even more. What you want to do instead is use calming signals and try to do everything you can to calm and attract the dog. Lip licking, singing, yawning, feigning like you’re eating food off the ground are such signals.  Let the dog come up to you – it may take some time, so be patient.

It is the end of skunk mating season, so that means baby skunks will be here before you know it. Baby skunks have less control of their spray and aim which can mean some stinky situations.  Now is a great time to check your yard for possible entrances from skunks and close them up.

Having your hound sprayed is NO fun. If you do experience a direct hit here are suggestions from those who have lived to smell another day.

Print out the recipe and keep it on your fridge for quick reference.

Also, Nature’s Miracle Skunk Remover is available on Amazon and your neighborhood pet store

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Event season is kicking off…. please check our website often and mark your calendars.  Your hound is not going to want to miss all the fun this year!

Sonoma County Human Race
April 28, 2018

The Sonoma County Human Race is the largest charitable fundraiser in the country.  GFFL has participated in this event for several years now and it has grown to be one of the biggest fundraisers for our group.  This event historically has been on Mother’s Day weekend, but this year it’s a week earlier to avoid conflicts.  This event is held in Santa Rosa and with the fires that struck the region in October, I would expect a large turnout to help the area.  
Here are the details.

• Date: Saturday, April 28
• Start Time: Meet up at GFFL booth 7:30 AM,  walk starts at 8 AM
• End Time: usually done by 10:00am
• Where: Herbert Slater Middle School, Santa Rosa
• Event Theme: Sonoma Strong, Better together.
• Our costumes/theme: still evolving, but here is what is in the works.  Rebuilding (Dogs will wear “silks” with blueprints, humans hard hats and tool belts.)

Too far?  Too early??  That’s OK, you can still help.  When the Human Race website goes live (hopefully in the next couple of weeks), each group will have a page within it.  Individual team members will create a page to raise money; they will set goals to achieve and to ask for donations.  But you don’t need to walk to set up a fundraising page!  You can set up your own, or you can donate to an individual or to the group.  The idea is to hit our overall goal.   
We will send an update when the website is live and the Team page is created and you can donate to help us help GFFL.

The Great (Greyt) Global Greyhound Walk
June 10, 2018, 10 AM

Mark your calendars and come out for a walk. This walk is just that… a walk with other sighthounds and their humans.  This is a world-wide event that was started in the UK.  We currently have three walks set up.  This is to bring awareness to the breeds…. think of it as a World Wide Mobile Meet and Greet.

If you don’t see one near you, you are welcome to set one up and register it with GGGW  http://www. greatglobalgreyhoundwalk.co. uk/
South Bay/Peninsula
Stanford University
Meet at Cantor Center
328 Lomita Dr
Stanford, CA
If interested, can meet up for lunch after at Max’s at the Stanford Shopping Ctr
Please register at…
http://www. greatglobalgreyhoundwalk.co. uk/walks/stanford-california- walk/

Santa Rosa
Spring Lake Regional Park
Meet in the upper parking lot by the swimming lagoon.  There is a $7 parking fee
Please register at….
http://www. greatglobalgreyhoundwalk.co. uk/walks/santa-rosa- california-walk/

Sacramento/Vacaville
Garcia Bend Park
7654 Pocket Rd
Sacramento
Meet in the parking lot. When facing the river we will walk to the left.
Please register at…
http://www. greatglobalgreyhoundwalk.co. uk/walks/walk-submission- sacramento/

Hope to see you soon!!!!!