Blue’s Page
A big, affectionate, silly lump of a greyhound!
Size: Large. 29 inches (73cm) to the shoulder.
Weight: 34-35 kilos (77lbs) on average.
Colour: Blue (steel blue grey)
Town or Country: He doesn't mind as he's happy with shorter or longer walks!
Low Allergy: Yes
Best Suited for: Walks which aren't tough going underfoot because he gets sore feet. Walks which don't involve any stiles or walls to get over because he gets very panicky and he's so heavy it's difficult for me to pick him up.
Group: Hound
Originally From: England - his mother was an English bred racing greyhound called Sarky Vixen. His father was an Australian bred racer imported to Ireland called Smooth Rumble.
Original Purpose: Racing. Blue raced at Perry Barr in Birmingham (UK) under the name See Jay's Dancer. He did about 50 races and won 20% but wasn't especially fast. He was bred, raced and trained by the same person, and rehomed directly after his racing career ended.
Exercise: Anything from two half hour runs up to a full day's hike is fine! Blue loves being outside but is happy to potter close to me. Some days I think he's welded to my knees.
Living Space: Indoors he likes to lie on the sofa and if space permits, lie completely across my two seater with all his legs in the air. He does take up a fair bit of room!
Coat: Short, smooth and velvety
Grooming: Minimal. He's a very clean dog and hates mud. Blue even hates stepping in water and will walk around puddles rather than through them. He almost never needs a bath but he does get groomed with a hound glove when he's shedding his coat twice a year.
Children: HUGE. He loves kids and is incredibly tolerant to them. They can pull his ears and generally mess with him - and as long as he's getting attention he loves it.
Sociability with strangers: HUGE. Blue thinks everyone is his best friend and can't wait to lean in for a cuddle.
Sociability with animals or other dogs: HUGE. Cat friendly, sheep friendly, dog friendly - just friendly!
Trainability: Pretty good. Not the brightest of dogs but very willing, especially with food on offer.
Noise Level: What noise? I can't remember the last time he barked. He does growl at the others when they're playing rough with him (because he's so easy going they tend to gang up on him).
Known Health Issues: None. Robust good health. He's just clumsy - which accounts for all of the vets bills for cut feet, cut legs and so on.
Lifespan: Blue will probably be with me until he's at least 14-15 years old
Special Needs: A waterproof coat. He HATES the rain! Under-chin scratches. For me to get off the sofa when there's no room left.
More about Blue
Blue – my gentle greyhound giant (RIP)
Blue was a gorgeous gentle giant of a greyhound. He weighed 34 kilos and was the
nicest, most laid back boy you can imagine. Here he is on a walk we did at The Roaches in Staffordshire.
His father was an Australian racer. Aussie dogs can be bigger and stockier than English and Irish types. Blue loved everything and everyone. He was people friendly, cat friendly, child friendly, horse friendly, sheep friendly, cow friendly and adored cuddles.
He was a bit puzzled by chickens – he thought they should be good to eat but the feathers put him off. Obviously rabbits, squirrels and deer were in his blood – it’s what he was made for.
You could take this dog anywhere and he would be the best ambassador for ex-racing greyhounds you can imagine. He went to Crufts (the worlds largest dogs show – held in the UK) most years and graced the rescue greyhound stands. As he got a lot of exercise, he really looked the part and people could not believe his age.
Blue’s favourite pastimes were under-chin scratches, cuddles, walking, eating and sleeping. He adored the sofa and home comforts. He hated the rain.
He was wheat intolerant so required a gluten free food.
His most annoying habit was whingeing. He started as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning. How he knew I was awake when I’d not made any noise or moved a muscle is beyond me. But it was just his way of saying ‘Hi, I love you, now take me for a walk and feed me so I can get back on the sofa’.
Blue’s nicknames included Whinge Bag, Blue Boy, Bloobs and Blueberry Muffs (short for Blueberry Muffin). When he was very bad he was known as Blue Sharman.
Blue died from a spine tumour aged 11 years and 3 months. He had been poorly for a while but the local vets thought it was his hips. I knew it wasn’t. So I took him to a different vet who did another X-ray. You could see one of the bones in his spine was almost eaten away and crumbling. The vet put him on steroids and strong antibiotics but we were too late.
Blue died in May 2011. We miss him ever so much.
Follow the links for my other dogs.
My dog pages
Blue Vinnie Kylah Arwen Ma’aloo
Vanna Missy JJ Jess Holly Jamal
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