Thank you to all who have posted messages of sympathy for Larry.xx

I am so very sorry to read your news. Thinking of you and sending big hugs xxxxx

Run free with your Daddy precious boy
Thinking of all who loved Larry ((xx))

So sorry to hear this, too young an age. Thinking of you xx

I am so very sorry to hear you have lost your lovely Larry. He was a super lad. Thinking of you all, sending him my cuddle tonight. God Bless Larry. Xxx

Run free Larry, taken too soon....

Didn't know larry, but our sympathies are with you as we had to make the same decision for our tia about 3 weeks ago. It is so heartbreaking to do. Run free Larry. Bless you and your family. Xx

So sorry run free Larry xxx

I'm so, so sorry to read your awful news. Such a beautiful boy, taken far too soon. Run free now big fella. xxxxx

So sad for Larry and his family. Far too young to gain his angel wings. Life can be so unfair. Run Free gorgeous fella. XXXXXXXXX

Such sad news thinking of you all. X

So very very sad. Run free sweetie xxx

I'm so sorry for your loss, Larry was a favourite of mine on this website. Taken much too soon but hopefully now running without breathing difficulties over the bridge. Sending best wishes your way x

So so sorry to hear that Larry has gained his angel wings, run free handsome boy xxx

Very sadly we had to say Goodbye to Larry last night. He had been suffering from congestive heart failure for some time and despite all the medication yesterday he was really struggling to breathe and couldn't lie down to rest. The vet came to the house at 9pm and we all decided it was best to put him to sleep...but an agonising decision. RIP Larry you were much loved.

Great to hear despite Larry's health problems he is having fun and enjoying himself. Xxx

in an effort to find shady places to walk Larry, who can't cope with the heat or inclines because of his heart condition, we took our 3 to the woods today. O the excitement! New places, new smells and.... squirrels. They say dogs are creatures of habit but ours certainly enjoyed somewhere different. Larry's cool coat is already being used and helps his breathing. He is now on 5 different drugs to keep him going but is still enjoying life.

If your greyhounds are anything like our three they def don't like all this cold, windy, rainy weather! They are grateful for the lovely knitted neckwarmers we got on our last visit to Daybreaks. xxx from Misty, Larry & Lucy

Poor Douglas. How horrid. That will be lovely. Thank you. X

Hi missfifi, yes certainly will bring the thunder coat back to kennels soon. We haven't been doing the dog walks at Daybreaks for a while as Douglas had inflamed Achilles tendons (ouch!) but he is improving so hopefully will get back to kennels soon, definitely before fireworks season. x

Daisydog is planning what to wear for fireworks night and wonders if Larry has finished trying out her thunder coat? Could you drop it back to kennels? Thank you. xx

It's fascinating what different personalities these dogs have. Laid back Larry just lies in front of the door and lets the mail land on his back whilst Misty goes mad and tries to eat the postman.

Larry has more coats than I have! A sleep coat, a rain coat a cool coat and now a thunder coat. We tried the borrowed thunder shirt on him yesterday but also had to lead him up in his harness to stop him from panicking. He must think thunder is some big invisible monster we all need protecting from. Some advisers advocate no interaction with the dog so as not to reinforce the fear behaviour but it helped Larry to calm down when we gave him soothing cuddles and gentle strokes. x

I will leave it with Ruth on Thursday . Daisy dog has a ttouch wrap now so please feel free to try it out for a while. Just let me know when you have finished with it. I found it very helpful for daisy.

Poor Larry, Twiggy was not a happy girl either; hopefully we will all sleep better tonight! Xxx

Hi missfifi, thanks very much that would be great. We are planning on coming to Daybreaks on Sunday to do some dog walking ( and litter picking down the lane!) so would be pleased to borrow Daisy's thunder shirt to try for Larry. x

I have a thundershirt for Daisydog that she doesn't use anymore and am happy to lend it for Larry. I will be at the kennels on Thursday and can bring it with me. Just let me know on here. Daisydog (amazingly) completed ignored the horrendous thunder and lightening from 1am through to about 10am this morning but bolted into the house from the garden when my next door neighbour shut her front door! Daisydog is a girl full of surprises xx

A bad night with Larry last night with all that thunder constantly rumbling around. Out of the three he is usually the laid back one and the two girls more highly strung. But last night Misty and Angel (aka Lucy Locket Pocket Rocket) were OK and it was poor frightened Larry who kept us all awake with his barking. Douglas spent the night on the sofa trying to keep him calm....am now going to investigate the 'thunder shirts'. May be needing an afternoon nap today. x

So pleased to hear Larry is doing well on his medication and his Easidri coat is helping to keep him cool; I think we need the human version! Xxx

Larry is responding well to the drug for heart failure...it has given him a lot more energy although he does struggle with this heat so we bought him an Easy Dri cool coat from Daybreaks yesterday. Have used it a lot today and it calms down his panting.

We were back at the vets with Larry last week. He is already on Digoxin for atrial fibrillation--chaotic heart rhythm--but now they think he is in the early stages of heart failure so has been given additional drugs to try. Apparently it's not common in greys but does anyone have any experience in this?

Well I was pleased to meet you both today at Warton Rec., and hope we see you soon. Hope Larry & Misty are o.k.. If we don't meet at the BBQ you both take care, and love to your lovely dogs. Sylv x John xx

Larry and Misty booked in for another lovely pamper day on June 30th.

Hi Foggie, Very sorry to hear about Larry's heart problem. I hope the medication helps him. xxx

Hi Foggie. Sorry to hear about Larry's condition. Who would ever have guessed as he looks a picture of health. It was lovely to meet you all on Sunday at the spa day. I hope the drugs do the trick. Linda, Paul & the girls x

Hi Ruth, first of all thankyou for the spa day and doggie goodie bags. Also for swapping the sleep coats which now fit! We took Larry to the vet today and he has diagnosed a heart problem--atrial fibrillation--so has put him on to digoxin to see if that helps slow his heart rate and evens out the rhythm. We have to take him back in a fortnight, so fingers crossed for him. Wishing all at daybreaks a good christmas xx

Me too. I lost the top half of my tinned salmon butty last weekend! Mand x

Chewey's the same - he once ate 6 large blueberry muffins whilst my back was turned!

You really have to watch them like a hawk around food ,carries just nicked an apple and also loves bread and cake type stuff including the dough

Larry loves cake! twice now I have been caught out. It's not even just a slice but the rest of the cake after we've had a piece. He is so sneaky!

I forgot to follow Larry and just found him again, sorry about that !! but Im so glad you have been so vocal in your updates , I will read all of them tomorrow and probably make a few comments of my own he sounds like a big fellow ,Carrie is a tiny poppet no more than 24kg and she also loves pinching food , Tomatoes aren't the best things for dogs but earlier today she took a vine of tomatoes perfectly ripened which I was looking forward to eating which I wasn't expecting her to do and by the time I realized , they were history , Larry does look lovely though , Im Glad hes found a good home and thanks for following my updates and Carries page , I will follow your updates more closely so post more please !!

Hi Remint, lovely Larry is fine but just ever so slightly naughtier than he looks in his photo! He's quite pushy when it comes to cuddles, we have to make sure Misty gets her fair share. And we are still working on the pinching my sandwiches problem. He loves his food and I was worried he was getting too hefty so popped to the vets to get him weighed--now 39.20kg. The vet said he could easily go to 42kg without being overweight, which is music to Larry's ears as he didn't fancy going on a diet. xx

How is the lovely Larry getting on? :)

The article by Kathleen Gilley, posted by Tiggersmum was really interesting and sheds light on some of our greys behaviours. As if to prove the point Larry was found, this evening, growling at the patio door. Upon investigation we discovered he was howling at the full moon! xx

Earlier this week we changed our car for one with a bigger back space so we could go out and about a bit more with Larry and Misty. We have just retuned from Bosworth park where they enjoyed meeting---at close quarters---ducks, horses galloping and another grey. The were very well behaved although Larry was a bit worried when the horses came up for a chat. At one point a couple had 5 assorted dogs all running off lead and of course they ran straight up to ours but with some reassurance from us M & L were OK. I did explain to the owners that our dogs could be reactive to theirs ( we had already heard the screams of a very frightened child as all five dogs rushed past him ) and I was pleased that ours didn't over react. In the town we met a group of Scots on their first trip to the Midlands and M & L allowed themselves to be stroked and fussed for ages so a nice time was had by all.xx

Haven't been on the site for a little while and just wondered how lovely Larry was getting on, so happy for him. Laughed out loud about the slipping off the settee, typical grey :)

Sorry Larry, had to laugh after hearing about you slipping off the settee and not even waking up! xxx

It sounds like mister Larry is definately finding his feet in his new home!! He's such a lovely, big boy - good luck to you all. x

Talk about laid-back-Larry, this evening he was fast asleep on his settee when he fell off and just continued sleeping where he landed (gently) on the floor.xx

I think Larry must have been watching the Olympics as when we went for a walk yesterday he was off like Usain Bolt and I couldn't manage him. So today we tried him in the Mekuti harness and he was Larry the Lamb, letting me walk him all round the block on a slack lead. Such a good boy. Although he does have a little trick of pushing between your legs as you walk round the house and garden so it's a bit like riding a horse. He is lightening our hearts. xx

Larry is settling in well although he did pinch my salmon bap off the work surface as soon as we got in from the kennels last Tuesday. He certainly likes his food! He and Misty were fine coming home in the car together but the next day Misty tried to boss him about and he gave her a nip so now she knows he won't stand for any of her nonsense I think they'll be OK. Larry has met quite a few of the other village dogs and was fine, although very interested. Misty is a 'plane spotter' and closely watches anything in the sky, yesterday she focussed on a hang-glider.

just caught up on all this news,love it that larrys going to live at foggy,s,all greys need owners like u,rip marty & best wishes with larry.xxx

So sorry to hear about Marty, you'll never forget him but Larry will be so pleased that you have decided to look after him - best wishes to you all.

Awww, what a fantastic outcome to a tragic situation. I always believe that, heartbreaking tho it is to lose a pet, it could well mean saving the life / giving happiness to another poor soul. And, of course, larry's move to a comfy sofa means that another dog could have his space at Daybreaks (and a chance of an excellent life beyond that). Two more lives saved. I am sure that (M)Arty would have thoroughly approved. X

Great news for Larry! I am sorry to hear about Marty though, he was kennel mate to my Bess at one point, bless him. All the best to Larry and his new family xxx

You have great taste! I have had my eye on both dogs, first M(Arty) and also Larry, unfortunately i did read that Larry was not so keen on other breeds and as one of my dogs is not a grey i had to be content at watching his progress. So glad YOU chose him, he looks lovely. Now if only i could persuade my other half that 3 dogs is not too many and i could manage to walk 3 at the same time then Fire is next on my list!!

Wishing you all the best.

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments about Marty. His loss left a huge gap and Misty, who has never been a single dog started showing stress behaviours. So today we were back at Daybreaks and brought Lovely Larry home with us. They are both nicely settled at the moment. xx

Wow......well done Larry! That green sign crept up almost un-noticed! x

Oh Larry I am so happy to see you have a home. Despite your little incidents whilst you stayed with us we loved you dearly.

It really has made my day seeing this. I hope you have a wonderful time in your new home Larry, you really deserve it.

Larey had south fun playing with the ball today after a groom on the sun. It was so funny just watching him!

Oh dear Larry. I shall have to give you my cuddle tommorrow as I clicked off you and gave the cuddle to another one of your friends!.

I find it hard to decide who to give a cuddle to as they all deserve a cuddle but today, my cuddle goes to Larry as the picture of him in his blanket took my eye again today.

Come on Larry, show everyone what a loving, charming and entertaining guy you are. Here's hoping that some lucky person picks you soon!

Larry is a really wonderful dog. He has such a waggy tail and always seems to have this massive grin on his face after he's been racing around the garden or when he sees you in the morning. There have been no accidents in the house for the past three nights, which is an excellent sign and Larry no longer barks at night. Well, unless you leave the bowls in there in which case he knocks them all about and worries himself with the noise they make. (An easily fixable problem, we just remove all the bowls!)

His coat is really starting to come through now, hopefully it won't be too much longer until it is all lovely and glossy. The hair on his bum is also starting to regrow as well.

I took him for another walk with Miley yesterday and the same thing happened, only he pulled much more strongly as he recognised him this time. I will see if Larry gets on with my grandma's male dogs at some point soon, as some dogs just do not get along so it wouldn't be fair to judge Larry on his reactions to Miley alone.

Larry is getting jollier by the day and he loves being a part of whatever is going on in the house. He is also like a semi-shadow to me, wherever I go he also follows, which is very sweet but he didn't quite understand why I needed him out of my room whilst I was trying to assemble a double bed in there!

Whoever adopts this boy will be very lucky indeed, he is so loving and a real joy to have around.

I really hope Larry can overcome his few remaining issues, he is such a beautiful big boy and really deserves a chance in life. Keep up the good work with him & give him a chest scratch for me. x

Larry is getting much better in the house. He leaves food when you say "no" and hasn't jumped up onto the kitchen tops for a good few days now. He is generally clean at night, it is about half and half at the moment, but he is getting much better.

He is keen to please and likes being a good dog. It has gotten to the stage now where if I walk past him and look down at him he will wiggle his front legs in the most adorable fashion for a chest scratch. He gets on so well with our girls and loves a play in the mornings.

Had a little issue out on our walk today though. Me and Larry were walking to meet my mum who had Bella, Freya and Miley (my uncle's male Labradoodle). Larry was muzzled, he went up to Miley (I thought he was just gonna say hello) but he went straight to bite Miley's neck - no warning growl, bark or anything. Larry didn't pull strongly towards Miley either and it was easy to pull him away. He wasn't being vicious towards Miley, be he did go for him a couple of times and would've kept going I think had I not pulled him away. After walking together for a bit we tried to introduce them gently again, but Larry did exactly the same thing. Just as we were arriving on our road we tried once more and Larry was fine this time, but I think that may have been down to the fact that he was too knackered to bother. Not sure if this was a dominance thing (as he may see our girls has his dogs and was telling Miley who was boss) or he may just not be keen in sharing with other males. I think I'll try to gently introduce him to Miley again at a later date, maybe take them all out on a walk together at the same time instead of walking to meet up, just to see if Larry behaves any differently.

Overall though Larry is loving his time here. I spoil him rotten (although I possibly shouldn't) and he is looking so much more chilled and happy. He is very jolly in the mornings and is always thrilled to see me and the rest of my family. He is such a loving dog and adores his fuss and cuddles.

My mum has just told me that she needs the car for work on Saturday. =( So it is looking like it will have to be the Saturday after this one, assuming he hasn't found a home by then.

Hiya Come along at 9am as we have a lovely starter group, not too many so plenty of chance to 'have a play' :) As well as Larry, his belongings and yourself bring his bed or thick mats/pads for him to lie on and some high value soft treats such as liver, cheese, chicken etc See you on Saturday :) Julie x

Thanks! I was planning on bringing him to training this Saturday (assuming I have the car, I think I do) as I think it will be very good for both me and Larry.

Do I need to bring anything other than Larry, his collar + lead + muzzle and myself along? I also need to be there for 10am, correct? I am sure Larry would /love/ to get acquainted with your electronic cat and rabbit, it is gonna be good fun I think. Especially for him!

Hi We use an electronic cat and rabbit at Saturday training which means they both move and meouw/chatter LOL - we can show you what to do when your greys kick off at real cats and rabbits and you can practice in safety :) Julie

Thank you Myrna! Every day you see them adjust just a little more and it is so rewarding. Larry used to be like a bull in a china shop the way he barged past things and through things, but now he knows (most of the time) that he has to wait and that barging gets him nowhere.

He also knows his name now! Mostly. He will come to you in the house and the garden most of the time, but if he is fixated on the cat, he is now much better with the chickens, then he just goes into hunt mode and not even putting tasty things in front of his nose interests him. Does anybody have any advice on how to train him with the cat when he gets like this? He becomes very focused and nothing will get his attention back on me. What I've taken to doing in the meantime is just walking him in circles around the garden until he is no longer pulling, but is walking nicely to heel instead. Only problem is that as soon as I stop doing this he goes straight back to 'let's go get that cat' mode - thus rendering the whole thing not very productive overall.

There was no accidents in the kitchen last night, although he did manage to pull a packet of breakfast cereal off the side and ate a fair bit of it.

We took him for a walk to Warwick Racecourse yesterday and he got very excited by this Collie that was running around fast and low to the ground. He pulled strongly and he was highly interested in meeting it, although I am not sure if it would have been a "hello I am Larry" meeting or a "you were running fast let me go catch you now" meeting. I didn't really want to risk it, even with his muzzle on, so I just kinda hauled him along and ignored the Collie. (He hauled me along a fair bit too.) He was fascinated by the little dam thing by the brook that our Retrievers enjoy swimming in, he put his paws up on the wall next to it to get a better look!

This morning he had a great time running round in circles in the garden. He keeps trying to get Freya to play with him but she just gets very overwhelmed by this massively energetic person coming towards her at high speed and then barking at her. Their body language is just so different, she has no idea that all of what he is doing means "play with me please".

Larry is such a playful guy, he loves chasing after his toys and attempting to play with our dogs in the garden. He is also really expressive with his front paw now and whenever it looks like you may be going down to stroke him he paws the air to say "scratch my chestttttt, oh go onnn, pleaseeee". It is so adorable.

Every day he relaxes that little bit more and he is enjoying himself ever such a lot, it really is so lovely to see him blossom out into the personality he truly is.

Larry sounded like Fire by the way you described his first few days with you. Don't worry, the worst has come and all you see as the days pass will be Larry gradually succumbing to retirement life, lol. Once he has fully adjusted to your routines, he'll calm down and enjoy pleasing you.

Fire (now almost a month with me) is not the same fidgety, anxious dog he was when I took him home for fostering. Time really is an ally. I am sure Larry will be in the right path now that you are looking after him.

Good to hear you are enjoying fostering. Fire is my fourth one. The joy of seeing these greyhounds adjust to home life and finally getting their forever home is so rewarding.

Keep up the good work with Larry! Here's hoping Fire and Larry will have their forever loving family soon.

- Myrna

It is hard to resist fostering them, as I have so much free time over my uni summer holidays and helping these wonderful dogs is how I want to spend it!

As for Larry, I am so pleased with the guy, he only howled twice for a very short period of time last night and he soon settled down after that. He did have an accident in the kitchen, but it is only his second ever so I am still really happy with him.

He is starting to put on a little more weight and a nice gleaming black coat is just creeping through. With some daily brushing I am hoping that his coat will come through even faster and the hair will regrow over his bum.

Larry has managed to get me well trained too! He adores his chest, in between his front legs, being scratched - so whenever I go to sit down next to him and give him a fuss he lifts up his paw so I can give that part of his chest a good itching. Last night he also really enjoyed his belly being scratched softly in circles and it sent him to sleep, bless.

He is such a loving dog and really does cherish all the time you spend with him.

Sounds like you are going to become a serial fosterer!
Well done you are really helping the dogs love the latest news about Larry who sounds a real character.looking forward to seeing some pictures.

This is lovely to read - be a good boy Larry and learn to ignore those chickens, and you'll soon be welcomed into your new home I'm sure. These beautiful guys just need a chance to show what they can do in a home environment & learn some dos and donts!

Larry update!

We have had an eventful couple of nights, he had a good go at pulling everything he possibly could off the kitchen top on the first night, including a plate and a mug. He knocked over one of the kitchen stools (these were removed for the second night) and has managed to spill his water all over the floor a grand total of four times. He is also barking at night a little while after we all go to bed, but I think this is down to anxiety and stress as when I did go to check on him he was obviously quite worried and kept trying to get out of the kitchen and into the rest of the house. After barking for a little while though he does settle down and he doesn't bark for the remainder of the night / morning, which is excellent.

We have had only one accident in the house and that was this morning, other than that though he has been totally clean. We left him for about 2 hours today whilst we went out and all he did was arrange his bed to be just right.

Speaking of his bed, he seems to like sleeping on everything but it! He loves the rug in the lounge, the piece of carpet in the hallway and the kitchen floor tiles. He is a very funny dog, he'll just lie down wherever you are and he doesn't seem to care if it is a hard or soft surface. I think he does use his bed at night when he is in the kitchen, but if it isn't there he doesn't go out of his way to get to it.

Larry is catching on very fast to the word "no" and responds very well to a firm voice and (if needed) a pull on his house / walking collar to get him away from whatever it was he was trying to get or do - most often kitchen top investigation. He learns fast and is starting to get the hang of recall now. As the days go by he gets keener and keener on the cat and he did his statue impression (which he does when he sees the cat) when a little dog passed us on our walk yesterday. So, by the looks of it, he may never be truly safe with small fluffy things but he could possibly tolerate them, we shall see how his training goes!

If I still have him next week (which is likely) and the car is available, I will try to bring him to Saturday training classes as I think both Larry and I will really benefit from it.

Larry is such a loving dog and he absolutely adores all his fuss and cuddles, he really likes a good brush too. He is very brave and can now do the stairs and isn't phased by them at all. The kitchen tops are getting less exciting by the day and he walks very well on the lead when out on a walk.

I am sure that after he gets used to this 'home' lark a little more his stress will fade away and he will be able to cope better with things like being left in the kitchen overnight.

After enjoying fostering Jack so much I decided to foster another!

Larry is good with our Retrievers but is very interested in the chickens and the cat. I reckon he will be cat trainable as he was keen, but not overly keen. He is food obsessed (aren't they all!) but is learning that food placed at head height isn't put there specially for him. Larry appears to be a really clever chap, albeit a bit pushy, but I think he will be easy to work with and quite trainable.

He is still a little stressed and wondering around a lot, but he absolutely adores his toys and goes nuts for squeaky ones. He is excellent at 'killing' the pheasant and has tried to remove its head and legs several times now.

A cuddle for Larry today, he is so lovely. Hope he enjoys his foster home and finds a home of his own very soon.

I walked Larry yesterday and he was soooo good. He's a big handsome black boy but was easy peasy with those manic labs like kallie says below. I have 2 girls and one of them can (on her bad days) react to other breeds so it was a pleasure to have Larry with me as I didn't have to do anything! I hope someone comes along soon and recognises his charms and gives him a home of his own xxx

Larry is just my kind of dog, so handsome and wonderful temperament. he does not seem bothered by anything at all, we walked him today with other male and female hounds and he is as good as gold. came past the farm with the two manic barking labs and he never even looked at them, i think he is one of life's laid back gents, :-) xxx

Any idea what he is like with other male greys and non greys?

My cuddle for you today Larry - you're such a lovely big boy and you deserve a new home. xx

I just love the look of him, just looks like my big Reg x

He looks just like a male version of Carrie , hes lovely !

Larry gets my cuddle today because he looks so sweet in his blankets. I hope that he finds a home very soon.

I would love to meet you today. xxx :)

Can anyone tell us what Larrys like with kids if known and non greys? Thanks. He looks and sounds v chilled. Xx

He looks so lovely. xxx

omg i just love larry.xx

he looks sooooooo snuggley in his little bed! x

Looking at you Larry n you look so so snuggly, my cuddle goes to you today xxxx

Ah how gorgeous, he's got the same great grandma as Buddy. So sweet. You can have my hug today.

He looks snoozy and cuddly xxxx

Larry looks lovely, has he mixed with any other dogs or just greys? Really like his colour. XX

Oh ... now he is nice.......xxxx

Aww, lovely. Nice name too!
I've just counted 7 black boys (and 2 black girls) on the available dogs board. This MUST increase their chances of being snapped up rather than once again being overlooked for the brindles and fawns ?? :O)

Larry looks gorgeous! xx

Another gorgeous fella..... big, handsome and so good natured :-)