I have to admit to being very reluctant to participate on this forum but I have been begged by past puppy owners who are and were new to the breed to divulge my knowledge. Most Deerhound members will know I feel strongly about this as I reiterated in my C.V re my standing for the Deerhound Committee and I can remember being a "newbie" so to speak the information was just not out there unless you had a very willing breeder to advise you. Having looked at the Forum and the discussions and news appearing PLEASE remeber your "Regional News Reporters" we receive very little to include in the Deerhound Newsletters and they should be of interest to all. There is only so many "Blonde" moments even I am capable of having to write my article and I didnt want it to become just a repetition of show results. So keep your news coming in for those that are not on the web.

Hello,

Yes we do seem to report some interesting and sometimes very funny incidences with our hounds within this forum that could/should be shared with other members.

Yes I agree we must not forget our paper reading (touch and feel nothing like it), Kevin and I fight when our newsletter comes in the post I go and hide in the toilet with it

I agree that the newsletter is very important and I enjoy reading it very much when it arrives. This website is also important as it provides, in 1 place, much information and is also a source for getting questions answered. It's a shame that the Deerhound club site was not developed to also satisfy these functions.

I took my dog in as he needed a home at 6 months, I had no access to a breeder and did have some very pressing issues that needed resolving and I found it very difficult to find the guidance that I needed. I could not join the Deerhound club as I knew of nobody who was a member that could propose me. In desperation I phoned some committee members of the DH club and even had an uphill battle with some of them in obtaining advice, I was told that I was irresponsible in getting a DH with no previous experience of one. It was a real catch22 situation.

Eventually I located a lady in South Wales who suggested I bring the dog down, which I did and obtained much valuable information from her and it also seemed to settle a very difficult puppy by being confronted by several mature hounds.

Afterwards that lady proposed me as a DH club member and kindly the late Eva Braybrooke seconded my membership.

The point that I'm trying to make is that it can be difficult gaining membership to the DH club and that you wont receive the newsletter until you are a member. The DH club website doesn't offer the resources that this site does either. Although I totally agree that the Newsletter should be kept going, even uprated, to offer even more advice, I also feel that this site fulfills a very important need for both new and existing DH owners.

I am pleased that members enjoy the Deerhound Club Newsletter even to the degree of fighting over it when it arrives!! However I didnt want topic to turn into the fors and against web site to newsletter they both have a vital part to play in providing information and as rightly pointed out non members have no access to the newsletter. My request was purely from a personnal side as a Regional Reporter that often receives no input from my region and it seems there is a lot going on with all of our hounds worthy of reporting. No doubt I,ll probably be inundated with news from this forum and if so maybe there,s a book in the wings to be written.

I was saddened to read of Rob's experience when trying to get help from members of the Deerhound Club committee. As a member of the committee of the Deerhound Club Of Victoria I feel it is my pleasure to help anyone with problems with Deerhounds whether they are members of the club or not. Afterall these people are possible future club members and hopefully friends.

My mind goes back to 1979 when we bought our first Deerhound, the people we bought her from were not members of the Deerhound Club, but I really wanted to join the club, so I did what seemed to me to be the logical thing to do I wrote to the Club President, Nora Hartley, who wrote back saying that she was quite happy to propose me for membership and that she would find someone to second me. What a pity that same spirit isn't around today.

I think this forum is a wonderful place for Deerhound people to get together, and as a newly rejoined member of the Deerhound Club I am looking forward to my next magazine.

Pam

tawnochikno wrote:


I am interested to know why you were 'very reluctant' to participate on this forum. I can understand what you are saying in the rest of your comment but for me this forum has given me a lot of invaluable advice and satisfys a daily need for Deerhound chat.

It is a more'instant' venue for help and advice as you can log in at anytime whereas the newsletter only comes out periodically and although I , like everyone else, look forward to it it cannot beat the instant access that this site can give

Jacobite wrote:


I think the problem with the UK Deerhound club is that they like to vet their members and the main point of entry is via the breeder from whom new owners obtain their dog. Unfortunately this falls down if somebody takes in a rescue dog or obtains a puppy from a breeder who is not a member of the UK club. I have heard somewhere that a proposal was to be made to the committee that they introduce associate members to allow people to join the club without a proposer and then to be allowed to become a full member at a later stage. I've not heard anything on the issue since so am not sure if any progress has been made in this area.

Luckily now we have this site for any new owners who are not Deerhound club members and who seek advice and guidance. 3 Cheers for Terratyke.

From non owner prespective, i've found by being on hear ive learned alot,
a lot more than i would have done just by reading a book,
with me i find it difficult to approch people, but on a forum i dont have that difficulty,
and feel i can speak more freely, due to being a non owner of the breed i dont get the news letter, for people like me the forum is a valuable resorce, i do have to say i find breed clubs - like closed books, if your names not down your not coming in type thing,
and for people like me who do want to get in to the breed and want to own one one day, its hard to brake past that closed book, i do think breed clubs should have something for new or non owners who are just getting in to the breed.

I agree Jane that breed clubs can be like closed books and it is hard to 'break in'. As others have said this forum is ideal for non D/H owners or for people that simply dont wish to be involved with the breed club for whatever reason. We also have had newbies joined recently from a lurcher site as a result of them going to lure coursing at Rumbling bridge.

I will now stick my head above the parapet and say that I find the Deerhound club slightly 'stuffy' and a bit 'elitist' An example is the D/H I have just rehomed. The D/H club rehoming section were not really interested in helping to find him a home as he did not come with a pedigree!!!!That is why the man that was trying to rehome him on behalf of his very poorly mum who had owned D/H's for most of her life put an advert in the 'for sale' section of this site (thankfully for me!). Now if a club cannot see it's way to helping out an elderly D/H just because it's breeding is unknown then it is a pretty poor show! I will say no more

In answer as to why I was reluctant to use the forum has probably been answered. It seems from a light hearted request on behalf of Regional Reports for news it becomes jaded by other issues and turns into a deep discussion. Honestly people Deerhounds lighten my life they dont weigh it down I will happily continue to report from the North and look forward to support from my area.Thanks to those who sent private messages they were gratefully received.

In defence of the Deerhound Club, and especially of our puppy information and rehoming co-ordinator who works her socks off on behalf of the breed, do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a suitable new home for an elderly Deerhound? When Bonnie's last owner's son originally posted the plea for a new home, I immediately contacted Sue, who was already on the case and trying to find someone to take him. We had a similar case in Scotland a couple of years ago and no matter how we tried, we simply couldn't find anyone who was prepared to take on an older dog. Luckily his owner managed to find a way to keep him through the family crisis that occasioned the plea to rehome him.
Whether a Deerhound is registered with a known pedigree doesn't enter into the equation: as long as it's a Deerhound in need, the Club will do everything within its power to help, but we can't perform miracles and produce new homes out of thin air. My hat's off to Houndy for taking Bonnie in, but she's one in a million.

Thank you Sid. Users of this forum need to think seriously before posting their comments about the Deerhound Club whose officers and members have worked for years protecting the breed to allow us all to own hounds that have hardly changed and protected the breed standard and the welfare of the breed.For those that profess to seek information and knowledge it will not be gained by cheap shots at the Club and some question my reluctance to participate on this forum it has been answered in full.Remember all of you we are priviliged to have inherited a legacy and a hard working committee to give us the Deerhound we own today

Hi sid - yes i do know how difficult it is to try and find a home or a rescue to take on a dog,
its difficult to find homes for youngsters never mind elderly dogs, i did speak to the bloke in question, as the dog did come froma rescue - i advised him that he needed to contact the rescue it came from, before he could rehome him, unfortunaly he couldnt find the details of the rescue where the dog came from origanaly, it is hard work, i currently have a 7 months old cross breed that needs a new home or rescue placement, so far no intrest in the lad,
this is the 3rd dog under a year old - in the last year, ive had to help find somewhere for,
its stressfull and hard work.


Sorry tawnochikno - but i was talking about breed clubs in genral(sp,
when i first joined the forum, one of my post's was about finding a breeder,
how to go about it, as there are good breeders out there and bad, as in all walks of life,
i can find a breeder myself no problem, but my main problem was how do i find a good breeder,
i experanced this when i went with a friend of mine to pick up her borzoi,
the breeder was a puppy farm to put it mildley, luckaly she was given the pup for free, otherwise she wouldnt have bought a pup from there, the breed club knew about her, but did nothing, up untill recentaly she was still on the KC good breeders list, now how are people suposed to find a good breeder, when bad breeders are being recomended - and nothings being done, the breed club my friend was with, kicked her out last week, due to a post on there forum, a staffy had attacked one of the members dogs, everyone on that board called for all bull breeds to be pts, she defended the breed, one of the commitie of the breed club, stated she was an unfit owner, should have never been given a borzoi - as shes unfit,
and then procided to post the statement she gave about the breeder she got her dog from,
on the open board, like Rob said - he approched the breed club for advice and was called irresponcable, to me he was being reponcable by asking for that advice.

ive been on the breed club site quite often, unfotunaly for me as a newbie,as someone who wants to get in to the breed - theres no info at all, the link to the deerhound as a breed, dosent work, the only person i probably could contact on there is the puppy coordantor, but its not info about whos got a litter of puppys i want, people new to the breed need help and guidance.

I have not enjoyed this thread and it is the first time I can say that. It started on a slight negative, albeit unintentionally, and went downhill from there. Almost a self fullfilling prophecy unfortunately.

What a shame as all I have known from this site is support and positivity. I like many others on this forum feel that the Deerhound Club do a tremendous job of protecting the breed and warmly welcoming new members and general enquirers. Anyone who attended the breed show will vouch for that. I had as much support as a non member from the club as I do now as a member.

Lets get back to what we do best sharing stories of our beautiful hounds who we have the privilige of sharing our lives with.

Tawnochikno I hope you will continue with your posts on here but I respect your thoughts. However, it would be fantastic to have your input.

I came on this site as a request to share knowledge and assist people with a love of the breed that being so I spend most of my time on the phone to members and non members who share a common bond a love of the breed. Please feel free to contact me at anytime I will always help anyone.I will agree other breed clubs are not the same and compared to most our registrations are low which makes our breed close knit. Funny how all of this results from a request for Regional News no need to apologise to me seek out those that know.Thank you MrsMc too.

But surely that is the point of threads on here (or any other forum)that they take twists and turns. We all entitled to our views and opinions and as I said I have stuck my head above the papapet on this thread.I do not doubt for one minute that the D/H rehoming do a good job but I have been on the rehoming list for quite a while and have never been contacted about any D/H needing rehoming let alone an elderly hound.

I posted a while ago about a D/H that was for sale in Devon for a hundred pounds. Two other members on here advised me contact the rehoming person about him which I did - was promised feedback - got none and the other member was willing to drive a considerable distance to get him but by then it was too late as he had been sold on. He had no pedigree either. We were concerned that he would be sold on to someone who may not have understood the brees. He was only 18months old and already had 'issues'

I am sorry that I am having negative comments re my post but hey thats life. My main point is that I have had more support, advice and help from this site than the club but that does not mean that I am knocking the club at all. Both have a valued place in respect of Deerhounds.I am merely giving my opinion as I have a right to as others do too.

Houndy I hope you don't think I was critising you in any way, in fact I always admire anyone who speaks their mind. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

What I thought was a shame was that someone new came to the site and went away with a negative impression because I think it is such a wonderful site with lovely members. I would have liked for tawnochikno to stay on the site and enjoy it as much as I do.

I hope that she stays on the site. I personally didn't think it was that negative and people will always have different experiences. I think though that we have to be prepared when participating in forums to hear things that are not always positive and that's good as it opens up avenues to maybe relook at things and put them right. Maybe as more people are having the joy of owning D/H's they are getting more vocal..

I did not intend to offend anyone and if I did I am more than happy to aplogise but stand by my opinions in previous post

I would not like it to be thought that I am against the Deerhound Club, or any individual member, as I believe that they perform a vital role in the promotion of the Deerhound Breed and have the breed’s best interest at heart. I understand that they work very hard for no financial reward and I commend all committee members for their devotion. I also understand that members of the committee have to deal with problems of dogs in horrendous situations caused by totally unsuitable owners.

I took Ben in as his previous owner found himself in adverse circumstances where he was unable to keep the dog. Ben came from excellent stock and although he did not come from a registered breeder, the lady who bred him loved Deerhounds and wanted her female dog to have a litter of pups. As far as I know he was raised well.

Although I had not owned a Deerhound before and knew little about the breed I believed that I was a suitable person to keep a Deerhound and was being responsible in taking him in, I had thought long and hard before I came to a decision.

Once Ben was living with me I found that I needed some advice for certain problems that I found hard to resolve so contacted the Deerhound club by email with a request for advice and to join. After several weeks I received a reply and phoned the number provided, the person I spoke with seemed to cast me into the roll of being highly irresponsible in having a Deerhound with no previous experience and seemed to think that this was just another horror story unfolding. Things did work out eventually with the Deerhound club but I did have a long uphill battle with them in convincing them that I was a responsible owner and was doing the right things with the dog.

I would not say the Deerhound club was stuffy or elitist but I can see how they give that impression. They also left me with the impression that they were an organisation setup by breeders for breeders. Although I managed to find somebody else who could provide me with the advice that I needed it would have been much easier and have saved a lot of heartache if the DH club had offered the advice in a timely fashion. Thankfully this site is now fulfilling that requirement and I wish it had been up and running 4 years back. The Deerhound Club’s newsletter is really excellent but cannot, by its nature offer such timely advice as this site can. When you have a problem with a dog that requires specialist breed knowledge the site offers contact with fellow owners worldwide. I therefore welcome experienced Deerhound people such as Glynis to this site and hope many more will follow her example.