Tell me about your Greyhound

[My sister's princess]

DH and I are looking to get a dog. I think that a retired racing Greyhound from the state Greyhound rescue might be a good fit for us.

I would love to hear about other people's experiences!

 

[nathalee81]

We don't have a greyhound, but considered it-hope you don't mind me responding to your question.

We were seriously considering this breed to rescue, but decided against it because we have cats. We found out some (not all) greyhounds will chase kitties because of the use of lures when they race. We have four cats and just couldn't risk it.

They are sociable, loving and very gentle doggies (or, at least, the ones we met were). I absolutely adored the ones we met, but they just weren't a good fit for our household.

Good luck in your search for a pup!

 

[My sister's princess]

We don't have a greyhound, but considered it-hope you don't mind me responding to your question.

We were seriously considering this breed to rescue, but decided against it because we have cats. We found out some (not all) greyhounds will chase kitties because of the use of lures when they race. We have four cats and just couldn't risk it.

They are sociable, loving and very gentle doggies (or, at least, the ones we met were). I absolutely adored the ones we met, but they just weren't a good fit for our household.

Good luck in your search for a pup!

We have two kitties that currently rule the house. The rescue exposes all of the dogs to cats, and gives you an idea of the ones that are less interested in them LOL

 

[Kimberly]

They really are wonderful dogs. I would stay away from the "whippet" breed because they tend to be a bit high strung, but the others are incredibly gentle. The only real drawback is their lifespan.

 

[My sister's princess]

They really are wonderful dogs. I would stay away from the "whippet" breed because they tend to be a bit high strung, but the others are incredibly gentle. The only real drawback is their lifespan.

Because it is so long? I have found 12-14 years, or is that not right?

 

[Kimberly]

Because it is so long? I have found 12-14 years, or is that not right?

Wow, really?! I honestly thought they had the life expectancy of a Great Dane.

After googling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound

I stand corrected!

That's even better, especially for such a large breed!

 

[pat fan]

I have found 12-14 years, or is that not right?

That is correct.

We have had two Grey's. We got our first, Brady, when he was 5 and sadly we lost him this past September to cancer, he was 12. He was an AWESOME dog. Sweet, sweet, sweet. All he wanted to do was be loved,petted,sleep on the coach with me and lay in the sun when he could. Never met a person he didn't love. No strangers for him! Everyone was a potential petter in his eyes

As for cats,we wound up with our DS's cat for the last 1 1/2 yrs. we had him, and I'll say he tolerated the cat, but sure didn't love him. If the cat got too close, he'd snarl at him so the cat knew to go away.

We just adopted our second boy, Shay the day after Christmas. He is 6 1/2. We are still getting to know one another, but he seems like another winner. He is VERY shy, where our first one wasn't, but he is getting better about new people as time goes on. He, however, loves our cat! He wants to chase him and play with him and the cat is like...really? are you crazy??? It's pretty funny to watch!
Here's a link to a picture of our Brady (not the best pic, but all I have online)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=709611565&aid=234433#!/photo.php?fbid=10308296565&set=a.442896351565.234433.709611565&theater

and here's a link to a pic our Shay.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=709611565&aid=234433#!/photo.php?fbid=480590606565&set=a.442896351565.234433.709611565&theater

 

[FlyingDumbo]

My mom has one, it is the most cat-like dog I have ever seen. She is sweet as can be and does a lot of laying around. She does fine with my mother's cats. My mom has two old cats. So really they all just lay around a lot.

 

[walden]

DH and I are looking to get a dog. I think that a retired racing Greyhound from the state Greyhound rescue might be a good fit for us.

I would love to hear about other people's experiences!

Well, which of my greyhounds do you want to hear about? I'm now on number 4. I love my retired racing greyhounds. I've also fostered quite a few and am involved with my local greyhound adoption agency.

This site has a lot of good information, but there are many others. http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/

Go with a good adoption rescue and be very honest as to your family needs and wants. A good rescue will do their best to match the best dog with your family. They are generally mellow and low energy dogs, despite being athletes!

It does make life easier if you have a fenced yard. We sign contracts never to have the greyhound off leash unless in a safe fenced area. No electric fences allowed, and you will need to teach stairs and do some socialization and training. A retired racer has never lived in a house before.

It is also a good idea to have a greyhound savvy vet, because greyhound bloodwork differs from other dogs and they have some breed specific sensitivities to anesthetics and pesticides.

For personal experiences: My first greyhound was Miss Social, hand-picked by the adoption agency as having good potential to be a Therapy Dog. She also tested "cat/small animal workable" which was a necessity as she had to live with a geriatric Jack Russell terrier. An absolute joy at home, and an inspired TD, particularly good with children. We lost her at age 7 to hemangiosarcoma. So sad.

My second was really shy. Not spooky but shy, and I knew that when I adopted her. She blossomed into a really lovely girl with some TLC. She certified as a TD and visits 2 facilities weekly today aged 8. She was not terribly trustworthy around small animals though, and took a while to get comfortable with kids.

My 3rd was a guy I fostered, who just stayed forever. I couldn't bear to send him to anyone else because he totally won my heart. He lost his original adoptive home due to divorce at age 10 and had a lot of health problems. It broke my heart when he died suddenly aged 13. He also qualified as a TD and was great with children. He really missed the cats he used to live peaceably in his previous home, and had to be persuaded not to adopt chipmunks as his "pets."

My 4th is a sweet and loving 3 year old adolescent nutcase and a total mischief maker and naughty boy. He is working on obedience training right now. He needs to learn how to deal with small children and would not have been adopted out to a home with kids because he is so energetic and enthusiastic. Also, not "cat workable." He really needs to stop jumping up, stealing food of countertops, and kissing total strangers. I've only had him a couple of months though and he is doing well at learning those things!

I have hopes for him.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

[Jennasis]

We lost our beloved Janky just this past May. She was a few days shy of 12 and we had to put her down due to a MASSIVE tumor in her jaw. She couldn't eat anymore after fighting the cancer for a year.


Anyhooo...

BEST...DOG...EVER!

I would totally adopt another greyhound (if we didn't have two other dogs already). They are just marvelous dogs. Terrific for an apartment dweller (assuming one is capable of daily walks). We had our grey while renting a house with no yard. We walked her 4-5 times a day and she was perfectly fine with that, as well as being home alone for 8+ hours.

They are smart and easily trainable...but like little aliens when you bring them home from the track. there are so many things they have never seen or been exposed to...like:
Stairs
Linoleum
Windows
Mirrors
televisions

I recommend "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies". A fantabulous book for anyone wishing to adopt.

When we brought our Janky home, she made a bee-line for the television and tried to get behind it to find the "people" she saw. She didn't understand the "dog" she saw in the mirror for a while, and managed to slice open her leg trying to jump through a CLOSED WINDOW because she saw us in the yard. She didn't understand what glass was. We also had to teach her how to walk on linoleum or tile and how to walk up and down stairs.

A Crate is a must have for them as they have spent their whole lives in a crate for sleeping. It becomes their "safe place".

If you cannot walk them daily, you must have a FENCED yard. no tie outs, no invisible fence. You can NEVER let a greyhound off leash in an unfenced area. As a sight-hound, they could potentially dash off after something (a squirrel, a piece of paper) and be 1/4 mile away in a flash before they realize they've run off.

Many greyhounds are wonderful with cats. It depends on how high or low their prey drive is (like any other dog). It has nothing to do with the "lures" used in training them to race, but rather their own ingrained instincts as a sight hound. Some are prone to chasing things, some are not. Ours was not.

Good luck and I hope you find that special grey to join your family!

 

[My sister's princess]

Thank you all so much!

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

I am not a dog person, at all. That said, my brother has one and I love her! She is the sweetest lovable lump there is! She just wants to be petted and loved and is very mellow, unless she sees a cat/squirelle/bunny/ground hog etc.

 

[njmom47]

I have never owned a greyhound but my cousin had 2 and a very good friend has one (all retired racers). They all are the sweetest dogs (Windsor, Tye, and Coco)! Both my cousin and friend have cats around the greyhounds and I didn't hear any stories of bad things happening. We were surprised to realize they didn't know stairs, tv, etc. and had to get used to those things.

 

[clh2]

We would have loved to adopt a greyhound - they are such sweet dogs!

Our reason for not going with this particular breed was we have an acre and a half, and just couldn't afford to fence it in. Although...the rescue people said a fenced yard wasn't a necessity. We also live really close (less than a mile) to a road where traffic routinely goes 65 MPH.

So - WE didn't feel we had the right outside accomdations for a greyhound.

(Now - we have adopted a lab mix, and a lab - who have no issues with the no fence!)

Such sweet dogs...If you live in a cooler climate - grays may need "doggie gear" to wear. A fun place to look at clothes is:

http://www.needlenoseapparel.com/Needle_Nose_Apparel/Needle_Nose_Apparel.html

 

[Belle0101]

Like a PP, which of my greys do you want to hear about?

Italy - my first ever grey, I adopted her right off the track

Little Italy and Little Miranda - my first two fosters, they were puppies

Kayla - my second grey, I rescued her from a family that had lost their home

Danno - a foster, she was adopted

Annie - she was a foster but DH fell in love with her and adopted her, right off the track

Beauty - a foster, she was adopted

Easy - a foster, she was adopted

Rusty - a foster, still looking for his forever home

9 greys and while they're mostly couch potatoes they all have such different personalities. Easy loved squeaky toys, she could play with them for hours. Now Rusty, 15 minutes and he's done.

About crates - we find with our potential adoptees, the ones who have never crated, they tend to think crates are cruel. But right now, Rusty is spread out on a blanket on the floor and Annie is in Rusty's crate. The door is open so she can get out but she LIKES being in there.

The rescue group I'm with, we suggest using raised feeders. I don't know if they all do.

Be sure and ask questions of the group you go with. As with anything, not all groups are created equally. What kind of support do they offer after adoption? Can you pick a grey or do they pick for you? What does the adoption fee cover (dental, spay/neuter, all vaccines, heartworm check, fecal check, microchipping, etc.)?

That's Annie, or Princess Annie as I like to call her, curled up in DHs favorite chair. Funny enough, her name from the track is "Daddy's Girl".

 

[nathalee81]

We lost our beloved Janky just this past May. She was a few days shy of 12 and we had to put her down due to a MASSIVE tumor in her jaw. She couldn't eat anymore after fighting the cancer for a year.


Anyhooo...

BEST...DOG...EVER!

I would totally adopt another greyhound (if we didn't have two other dogs already). They are just marvelous dogs. Terrific for an apartment dweller (assuming one is capable of daily walks). We had our grey while renting a house with no yard. We walked her 4-5 times a day and she was perfectly fine with that, as well as being home alone for 8+ hours.

They are smart and easily trainable...but like little aliens when you bring them home from the track. there are so many things they have never seen or been exposed to...like:
Stairs
Linoleum
Windows
Mirrors
televisions

I recommend "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies". A fantabulous book for anyone wishing to adopt.

When we brought our Janky home, she made a bee-line for the television and tried to get behind it to find the "people" she saw. She didn't understand the "dog" she saw in the mirror for a while, and managed to slice open her leg trying to jump through a CLOSED WINDOW because she saw us in the yard. She didn't understand what glass was. We also had to teach her how to walk on linoleum or tile and how to walk up and down stairs.

A Crate is a must have for them as they have spent their whole lives in a crate for sleeping. It becomes their "safe place".

If you cannot walk them daily, you must have a FENCED yard. no tie outs, no invisible fence. You can NEVER let a greyhound off leash in an unfenced area. As a sight-hound, they could potentially dash off after something (a squirrel, a piece of paper) and be 1/4 mile away in a flash before they realize they've run off.

Many greyhounds are wonderful with cats. It depends on how high or low their prey drive is (like any other dog). It has nothing to do with the "lures" used in training them to race, but rather their own ingrained instincts as a sight hound. Some are prone to chasing things, some are not. Ours was not.

Good luck and I hope you find that special grey to join your family!

I'm sorry, but this is actually what we were told by the greyhound rescue group that we spoke with. I also repeatedly read this on the rescue groups info page.

 

[Jennasis]

Good call...we use raised dishes for all of our dogs after being STRONGLY urged to do so by the rescue group we got our grey from.

When we lived in NY we had a "coat" for Janky to wear out for potty walks.

 

[Jennasis]

I'm sorry, but this is actually what we were told by the greyhound rescue group that we spoke with. I also repeatedly read this on the rescue groups info page.

And my info came from the two rescue groups we've worked with and from the book I mentioned upthread. Many people assume the lure-training causes the small animal aggression, but the reality is that lures are used because they stimulate the dogs natural sight-hound based prey drive.

Honestly, the REASON isn't important. The idea is the same. Greys can be great with cats...or they can be cat/small animal unfriendly.

 

[littleteapot]

We adopted a sweet, beautiful, wonderful greyhound 6 years ago. Tiger was great, but four months after we adopted him we had to return him to the rescue.

He just couldn't figure out that my then 4yob wasn't a littermate puppy. He nipped him twice, breaking the skin. Both times my husband and I were in the room (all the books say to never leave kids alone with the dogs). Both times my son walked beside the dog, didn't touch him and the dog nipped him. I couldn't risk my child and we took Tiger back to the rescue. The nips were not "aggressive", the dog didn't growl or seem to attack. The greyhound rescue people and the vet seemed to think they were puppy nips to show my son where he was on the dominance hierarchy. Almost immediately after the second nip, Tiger was lying on the floor with my kids as they watched television. He seemed to love my kids as much as they loved him.

In the four months we had Tiger, we had successfully house trained him and went through two levels of obedience training. He learned come, sit (hug and fold method worked), stay, down and down stay. We could do a down stay for 10 minutes! Following the first nip we used the "nothing in life is free method" and had my son be in charge of feeding the dog (with supervision every time). We never allowed Tiger on the furniture because this can also bring out dominance issues in some dogs.

Thanks to Tiger's newly learned house manners and obedience training, Tiger was rehomed within 24 hours to a home without children.

The experience left me an emotional wreck, but other than the problem with that one son (never a problem with my other 3 children 4yog,6yob,8yob), that dog was the most loving animal I've ever been around. He was always in the same room with us and usually within inches of us. If I hadn't had young children, he would have been the perfect dog.

 

[auntie]

We don't have a greyhound, but considered it-hope you don't mind me responding to your question.

We were seriously considering this breed to rescue, but decided against it because we have cats. We found out some (not all) greyhounds will chase kitties because of the use of lures when they race. We have four cats and just couldn't risk it. They are sociable, loving and very gentle doggies (or, at least, the ones we met were). I absolutely adored the ones we met, but they just weren't a good fit for our household.

Good luck in your search for a pup!

From experience, I can say..you made the right decision.


Our neighbors are involved in a Greyhound rescue in our area. They have two greyhounds of their own. One on one, they are great dogs. Both my kids babysit for their children who are ages 6 and 8. The are fairly docile animals.

Just be aware......
They most definitely will go after small animals. They have had dead squirrels, opossums, and rabbits in their yard on a regular basis. They have warned the neighbors on either side of them who have small (toy sized dogs) that their dogs will go after them, should they be off the leash and enter their yard.

Then last year...the two Greyhounds got a hold of our CAT. The cat by the way, has no fear of dogs, since he was abandoned by it's mother at four weeks, and was raised in the house with our dog, who he considers his mother. Quite cute actually, but that's another post all together. In any case, the cat wandered through their yard, oblivious to the fact that these dogs are not like the one he lives with.
Our cat shouldn't have been in their yard, but he was. He was almost killed. Torn to shreds and tossed around by the dogs. He was quite lucky to escape with his life. It cost us near $3,000 at the vet.
Mind you, fond as I am of the cat...I normally wouldn't have even spent that, but quite frankly, my dad had died a few weeks earlier, and my cousin was in the hospital in a coma after being in a car accident. Losing the cat a week before Christmas was more than my family could endure at that point. So..we spent the bucks, and he, thank goodness, lived. He also has a healthy fear of dogs now. We are also careful to keep him in the house, but with five people and three doors in the house, there are times he gets out.
My point being .....I don't care what you hear, we have witnessed first hand what the dogs are capable of. Through no fault of their own, I might add. They are trained to do this. They are bred to race and catch their prey. Will there be exceptions?...I'm sure. As a rule, and in general...I would NOT have one of these dogs as pets if I had other smaller animals in the home. (and you might want to consider where you live and your proximity to your neighbors with smaller pets). I'm just sayin'...