My boyfriend and I desperately want a dog, and we’ve decided the pup for us is going to be a Greyhound. We’re aiming to adopt in about 6 months (exciting!!!). We’ve read the adoption manual through and through, we’ve got inherited coats/jackets from my beloved Rottie girl who passed away last year, and we’re kind of putting together our mental list of other stuff we need (is it possible to get a nice leather sighthound collar? I love leather collars, but the sighthound ones all seem to be nylon!) I’d love to hear about your Greyhound successes, and if you’ve got any Greyhound tips! And of course… this is an open invitation to brag on and post pictures of your pooch! 
I haven’t adopted one myself, but a friend of mine works with a greyhound rescue and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many. I just love greyhounds to bits!
As far as leather collars, perhaps try out this place for custom-made, specifically for sighthounds, leather martingale collars: http://www.longdogleather.com/
We have never owned a greyhound but did own a whippet who lived to be 14 years old before he passed away from cancer. Best darn hound in the world who lived with our JRT’s, house cats, outside cats, chickens, horses and goats with no problems. He was the ultimate snuggle bunny and loyal to his person who was our oldest daughter.
Our sighthound collar was one of the nylon ones. I think one reason they are used is because they can slip tighter a little more quickly than a leather one could. I have no data on that- only base it on using nylon and leather gag cheek pieces on my horse bridles.
We have a few clients at the vet clinic who have adopted greyhounds off the track and they have transitioned into pets with no concerns at all.
Good luck in your search! You will be richly rewarded!!
I have fostered for a major greyhound rescue. I STRONGLY recommend you get one through one of them and not just getting one directly from a trainer at the track. The rescue will have had it fostered, so it’s been able to have some time in a “regular” house environment. Plus it will be UTD on shots, etc and spayed/neutered, and hopefully already housebroken! They see things differently too so things like stairs and swimming pools can be a challenge. Pools because they may not be able to “see” it’s not a shallow puddle and step right in. (i do have an inground pool and have never had a problem, but I am always out with them). Bathe in tepid water, water too hot will cause them to collapse due to a blood pressure drop. NEVER touch a sleeping grey! Again they way their bodies work they take a second or so to wake and if surprised can react unfavorably. Say his name and get his attention first! High prey drive!! They are not known for being good listeners, for that reason, if doggie is loose and sees a bunny, doggie is GONE! They can reach top speed in just a few strides. It never got old for me to see one open up in my yard!! Amazing! Were excellent with my Dobe, but have heard that they can sometimes not be good with small dogs as they think they are “prey”. Most are not safe to have around cats, not all, but most. These are reasons to go through a fostered dog with a grey rescue. They will have already evaluated for you! Oh, make sure you have a nice big crate for him too.
Really they are WONDERFUL dogs, and I plan on adopting one soon myself for keeps. Honestly for me I had to stop fostering because I got wayyyy to attached and it just got to where I couldn’t stand to give them up! Most people who have them end up with more than one in the end!
Absolutely love greys and could go on and on about them. They are fabulous dogs, very easy overall!
I suggest you join Greytalk, it’s a very active message board for greyhound owners (or just enthusiasts).
- BTW, there are waaaaay too many beautiful greyhound collars out there. Long Dog Leathers is a good place to order leather ones from, but whatever the material, choose a martingale style. Crown Collars, Around the Hound, Nancy B Collars, NeedleNose Apparel all come to mind.
There are LOTS of greyhounds in my area especially after Massachusetts closed the dog track in Taunton a couple of years ago. I see them out walking. Such beautiful animals!! My absolute favorite is the gorgeous brindle color. I could never have one because of the cat and the rabbit, but the owners I talk to LOVE them. They do find places to take them out and let them really run every day, but they’re also good just walking on a leash. Good luck with your search!
Thanks everyone! We are too, too excited about this. Long Dog looks like it makes beautiful collars – will definitely have to give them a call when we bring our dog home.
EverAfter: We are going to be working with Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada to find our dog – they have a great track record of placing dogs, and seem to provide wonderful support for their adopters. There are no greyhound tracks in Nova Scotia, where we live (I actually don’t even know if there are any in Canada). GPAC brings dogs up from the states and places them with homes in all of the Atlantic provinces. They also have their dogs go to “cat school,” which is very important to us! Thanks for the wealth of information!
A friend of mine adopted one from a rescue in Philadelphia. He sleeps in his crate at night (that’s what he’s used to), needs two walks a day, a sweater and is a total couch potato. They love him.
H screened, they provided several people to contact as resources, he had all his vet work in order including teeth cleaning. And he came with extraordinary amount of luggage accumulated from his various homes - dog beds, bowls, leashes, dog coat, and pajamas (yes - pajamas - how weird is that? lol).
Within the last 5 months, he’s become the senior dog in charge of 3 adolescent Scottish Deerhounds. This is the happiest and most content I’ve ever seen him.
Here are some recent pictures with his Deerhound pack. And please note his tolerance of fearless kitty.
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/TeamNokota/Theclan.jpg)
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/TeamNokota/zoo035.jpg)
Anyway, I think a Greyhound is a wonderful choice. Sighthounds are just the best. Good luck!
I had an adopted greyhound growing up His name was Risky Business, aka Risky. He was jet black with a couple white toes and a white muzzle, which got bigger and whiter with age He was an absolute love who adored attention, his stuffed toys, and his soft beds to lay on. Risk ended up going blind, deaf, and arthritic, so we had him put down when he was about 10 years old. They are wonderful dogs, and I’d highly recommend adopting one. I wish I had photos online, but I don’t at the moment. Ours was friends with our cat(s) and our bird, whined instead of barked, and incessantly sniffed everything, lol.
If you do end up adopting one, please tell us all about it!
Me, me, me.
We had one who turned out so well, we adopted another (adults off the track, not a pup). Two are really the best. They run together, have each other to challenge one another and are so beautiful - like birds on the wing as they run.
We treated our dogs much like any other dog. They did need time to adjust to a vastly different life, but both were so rewarding, and while they are both gone now, I will plan on another some day. My ‘own’ greyhound was so biddable, loving and loyal. She stuck by me like glue.
You will be well rewarded and not regret your rescuing a dog. With ours, we were asked for a letter to submit to the rescue and they searched the perfect match for us.
They are calm, gentle, sweet, do not smell and do not bark (exceptions do occure, of course. They do not fetch your slippers, herd sheep, etc. but as sweet companions that are easy to have around, lovely dogs.
Mao-- your boys are beautiful! It’s good to hear some firsthand experience of a grey who’s good with cats. Our greyhound rescue group is very upfront about which dogs are good candidates for a home with cats, and which are not, but it’s nice to see it in pictures!
The reasons you’ve listed for being interested in greyhounds all ring true for us. I’ve adopted a number of senior dogs over the years, and I’ve loved them all, but we are hoping to get a younger dog this time around, for our first dog together. We don’t quite have the time for a puppy, so a greyhound with some basics already “installed” sounds wonderful
I’m also looking forward to a dog with a more easy-going personality. The majority of my dogs have been rescues – rottweilers and shepherd mixes, and many of them have had dog aggression issues to work through. All of the greyhounds I’ve met (and I’ve been making an effort to meet them!) have seemed like laid back, happy-go-lucky characters.
Yep, and just a word of advice… 5’ fences are not tall enough. They run…and apparently they jump.
I happen to have a very sweet one, gentle, soft and doesnt shed much. Unfortunatley she has a loud bark (but only barks when someone comes home or knocks), and has separation anxiety.She is a bit picky with food, but tends to not be picky with cell phones and pens. Sigh.
Our Greyhound did come with not only his luggage (as described above) but with emotional baggage as a senior. I think a younger Greyhound is excellent idea. Because, once stuff is sorted out, they are very low-maintaince, highly loveable and most excellent pets.
If you can find a way to provide some form of safe, off-leash experience, quality of life is exponentially increased. If you can’t - you’ll still have a very nice dog/family companion.
Again, good luck!
ps… regarding cats… we’ve always had multiple housecats. My sighthounds over the years (Whippets, Greyhound & Deerhounds) have been wonderful with them. But my cats aren’t outside cats. All bets off for fast moving little critters in their fenced in yard.
I have had greyhounds for the last 3 years, they are wonderful. Some do well with company some do well alone. Calift names most of the major collar places, and you will realize how addicting buying collars can be :lol:.I had two for a little over 2 years and it was really easy having more than one… Both of mine (we just lost our senior a couple months ago at 12, we adopted her at 10) are very respectful and scared usually of my cat. Some do have a high prey drive, and some could care less. The advice of getting one through a group that does foster is usually preferable to adopting one straight off the track. Also if you can find a group with a great support network that helps, my group does followups and provides an amazing network of people to help answer questions etc. Some do jump, but many will not challenge a fence. I have a tiny yard fenced with 4 foot-ish post and rail with chicken wire and have never had a problem, but I know some hounds that would laugh at my fence as they were running to the next county. My two are food hounds and would eat EVERYTHING. My senior never turned food down, she ate a raw patty pan squash, several CDs, about half a remote control, and everything we ate without ever having even slightly upset stomach. Neither of mine were really barkers, but my younger one does whine. She is a couch hog, and loves/needs pajamas and jackets when it gets cold.
Some greyhounds love to snuggle with each other, neither of mine were fans of this, but I do have some evidence of them sharing a blanket this past summer.
http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/48875/2061661290103672981S600x600Q85.jpg
They are wonderful dogs, they aren’t for everyone but I know I will likely not be without at least one in my house.
Expect to give up your couch or buy the dog his own. Because it’s easier for a Grey to get on and off a couch than it is to get on and off the floor most will chose a couch cushion and OWN it. You cant keep a Grey on the floor, lols! I had Greyhouds as a teenager. They had their own coach because watching a Grey get up and down from the floor I could see that it was far more difficult than getting on and off the couch. Their bodies are EXTREME to say the least, its rare to see them sit as the conformation and MUSCLES makes it hard. They are wonderful dogs and generally very good natured, though out in the open I found that most will run down, whip around and SNAP up any small animal killing instantly. We had one that killed a few of her own puppies on accident by playing with them. She also caught and killed rabbits and squirrels on a daily basis. Anything small that runs (including small dogs!) and instantly turn into “prey” for a Greyhound. If you have a fenced yard or a good leash you are all set. They are truly wonderful dogs that love the posh life!
I have one, much different apparently than most taken directly from the track. I worked at a casino/track and asked at the kennels if anyone there had adoptable dogs. One of the trainers took me to his kennel and opened a top tier cage. Out jumped this magnificent grey brindle and white female dog. After talking with him he agreed to bring her to me on a trial. We lived on 17 unfenced acres and I had five chihuahuas. Greyhounds are sighthounds…:winkgrin:
So he brought her over, suggested she wear the muzzle for awhile around the chihuahuas, cautioned me about turning her loose as they tend to blindly run in a straight line, told me about feeding her, etc (gawd the amount of raw meat they eat in training is atrocious!) and we were on our own. Flash forward three years - Anya is the most fabulous dog I have ever owned. Where to start??? She is housebroken - quiet - has never ever bothered the wee dogs and sleeps inside with them at night - she is not interested in running unless she sees a squirrel. I’ve never had issues waking her or touching her while she is sleeping. She loves children. She knows no strangers. She is very regal. She has never gotten on furniture - she has her own cushion on the floor. True, she rarely “sits” which is what has kept her from being a therapy dog. She is loving, loyal and easy. And smart. The chis love her and it is so cute to see them all snuggled together. Maybe I got the odd greyhound…if so I consider myself lucky!
Oh man, you are all making me wish I could speed up time to get closer to actual adoption!! SO and I have a ton to take care of before it makes sense to have a dog, but fingers, toes, and all available limbs crossed that it will be sooner rather than later!
Thanks a ton for all your stories; I love hearing about these lovely pups (please, feel free to keep sharing). I’ll happily update when we’re closer to bringing our friend home… and maybe inundate you all with questions.
Moonriver - our experiences have been the same. Low maintenace, but not extraordinary regarding house rules, etc. Just like most dogs. I did not want them on furniture, so we started as we intended to contine - but the counter surfing — well, we had to change and learned to put all food at the back of the counter.
The first night Zara came she had separation anxiety, too, since they are used to being around lots of dogs. So rather than cave and have her come up to our bedroom, I brought my sleeping roll down to her and spent three and a half nights lying with her and everytime she whined, I put out my hand to touch her.
Managed to sneak away eventually and no problems since. I think that is how we bonded so well - I was there for her.
We have had dozens of dogs in my lifetime - all good dogs - but somehow, Zara became my special girl and gosh, I do miss her daily, especially right now.
I think a lot depends on how the rescue finds a match for the home. We asked for low prey drive. If you wave your hands in front of their face and they just stare right through it, then they have their minds on prey! We have acreage and took them to off-leash parks. They come well socialized, house (rather cage) trained, leash trained, spayed, de-flead, nails done, teeth, too, plus delivery all the way from Colorado, so they are a VERY good deal and God bless the volunteers.
They probably think they have died and gone to heaven.
They are intelligent, too, and biddable in a Greyhoundy sort of way.
We are on our third OTT greyhound. After breeding and showing black and tan coonhounds, owning assorted terrier-ists, we will never own anything but greyhounds ever again.
You didn’t say where you were located (at least I didn’t see that) but all of our greys have come from Project Racing Home in Greensboro, North Carolina. They have a very informative website, even if you don’t adopt from them. I also found the Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies a good book to start with.
Our first was a middle-aged re-home, loved being on the couch and in our bed. We have house cats and all of our greys have been cat safe (tested at the re-cyclers). Number two was a ten year old retired stud dog - the 18 month old labrador in the old greyhound suit. Another great guy, the two boys spent lots of time sleeping and hanging out. Leo, the rehome, never barked. We have a fenced in yard, with a pass through into the pony pasture, and this gives everyone plenty of room to run the 5 minutes a day they were active.
Number three is a four and a half year old bitch, Ziva. She is more active than the older boys were, she travels well and makes us laugh every day.
These dogs are not sit at your feet what can I do to make you happy now dogs, they are sight-hounds. But in the right home they are fabulous friends.
Just wanted to add the best collars for greyhounds are martingale type collars - they can’t back out of them very easily. Check out Houndstown.com for a terrific selection of custom collars.
