Kind Cian (King)

What our Volunteers say: Briony

Our day with King

Myself and Dan took King and Tally to the RJ’s Bank Holiday event in Latchford. We met King at the show site after he was brought there by another volunteer, who commented that he travelled well in the car from the kennels.

He showed a great interest in people from the get-go, coming in for a lean and accepting fuss and attention from anyone who offered it to him.

He was great around the other greyhounds at the show, but did show a little curiosity and uncertainty around some of the other breeds there (although there were no real signs of anxiety or reactivity towards them!).

He spent a lot of the day wanting to be wherever his kennel-mate, Tally, was, allowing her to lead the way with him politely following behind. He walked well on the lead and, although obviously a strong boy, he rarely pulled (he did, however, put the ‘anchors’ on a few times whilst walking).

He sat happily whilst we sat at a picnic bench, taking in everything that was going on around us. He was very comfortable getting into my personal space, and even tried to sit on my knee for a big cuddle.

When heading back, he was reluctant to get in the car, but, once lifted in, he lay down and settled almost immediately.

What our Volunteers say: Dan

We took Tally and King together for the RJ’s fun day. Tally left the kennels happily despite the rain, and she accepted being lifted into the car with no fuss. It took her a little while to settle and car travel seemed new to her, but despite this she didn’t seem stressed and showed keenness in everything going on around her.

Arriving at the event, she jumped out well but wasn’t boisterous. For a young dog, she was very polite on the lead; for instance, she was curious about things and would suggest which way she wanted to go, but would wait for approval to actually walk that way rather than pulling.

At the HRH tent, she seemed calm around the other hounds who were sheltering from the rain, but she only occasionally came into the huddle to mix with them. Otherwise, she was quite okay being by herself on the outside, watching the event ground.

She was interested in her surroundings and seemed to want to meet the other dog breeds. As the day went on and more people arrived, she was interested in sniffing passers-by, but she wasn’t ever asking for attention and didn’t really lean.

She was happy to have a fuss from people when they gave it, though.

She seemed like a very calm, confident dog. Her tail was between her legs for a lot of the day, but her attitude and demeanour definitely weren’t timid.

When the sun came out, she finally lay down on the grass, absolutely pooped.

She didn’t seem to want to get in the car to go home, but once in, she settled straight away and was good as gold on the drive.

When we got back, she and kennel-mate King both very politely did their business.

She then ran around the paddock like a loon—she was so energetic and excitable, and loved bouncing about with King.