DH wants a greyhound - It would be home alone 2 days a week- experienced owners care to tell me about them?

[JoyceDivision]

A friend has two huuuuge beautiful greyhounds that were rescue dogs.

DH has been helping walk them while freind shas been away.

DH has fallen in love and is like a 3rd child pestering for something

When I lived with my parents they always had a dog but usually a smaller heinz 57 type rather than a bigger breed.

I work 2 days a week, and dh works 10 while 8 shifts, our dc are 6 and 8.

Dc love the dogs, they've met them,so they generally like the greyhound breed.

My main concerns areI know some people have dogs and leave them home alone when at work, but my parents worked shifts so ours wer never left for long. Are greyhounds the sort of dogs taht need frequent walks or would a long walk at start and end of day be enough? Do they like / need company rather than being in an empty house? Are they really sloth like or furniture destroyers generally or does it really depend on teh individual dog rather than the breed having definate characteristics.

Also I don't think dh has taken into account the cots of food, insurance, unexpected vets bills etc!

Can you tellme the pros / cons highs and lows ofgreyhounds?

Thanks

[RandomMess]

Greyhounds have a reputation of needing 2 x 20 minute walks per day and the rest of the time are difficult to remove off the sofa...

You could get a dog walker person to pop in on your days at work and let them out to use the garden etc. I don't think the lack of exercise on those days will be an issue though!

[sooperdooper]

Yay, get a greyhound!!

We have an ex racer and he's the laziest dog I've ever known in my life :) he's happy with a short walk morning and night, and really isn't that interested in longer walks more than once a week.

He's never chewed anything in the house, but I don't know whether that's typical of the breed of just him.

He's very quiet, never barks in the house, but could never ever live with a cat or other small furry pet.

He's great with kids, just loves any attention really cos he's a big tart

They really are beautiful dogs, ours is a bit dim but so friendly and chilled, great dogs :)

[JoyceDivision]

this isn't helping my case!

[RandomMess]

Oh you didn't say you wanted us to tell you the downsides...

They smell, not badly, but they do have a smell!!!

They think they own the sofa...

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

I was told before getting mine that they can be prone to separation anxiety. Mine was fine.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

They fart a lot and are prone to bad teeth. Dental ops aren't covered by insurance and cost me £400 a year for a tooth clean.

[fastdaytears]

I love love love greyhounds and the ones I know are the laziest things ever and soppy.

It's the cat thing that worries me, though my cat is a psycho so it might be a good match.

Love Italian Greyhounds for looks but people say their temperament isn't the same at all.

[nashley]

I have had my greyhound for 8 years (he was a rescue). They do make such lovely pets and mine wraps everyone round his paw!

Pros:
Loving, gentle, lazy, quiet, no chewing, easy to train, great personalities, not a lot of malting fur, I have left mine for long periods alone and although he prefers company he copes well.

Cons:
Teeth are notoriously dodgy - ours had all his teeth pulled at great vet expenses, pongy frequent flatulence (!), can't have small furry animals around although ours gets on with all other dogs, very fast runner so not great off lead.

Hope this is helpful!

[Greydog]

We had no real problems with ours when we first got her - apart from a habit of bin dipping. Soon learnt to empty bins when we went out! I'm home now, but we can leave her for up to 8 hours with no real problems (on occasion!) She has a longish walk in the morning, and a quick few mins at lunch time, and a slightly longer bedtime walk. She is bone idle and loves sleeping on the settee. She's very good with small children, but doesn't like cats, Irish accents (I kid you not!) and fat women - they spook her - a hangover from her racing days. I have friends who have greys who are cat friendly, so it's just a case of getting one from a reputable group. And yes to the horrid teeth, and flatulence!

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Oh and the worktop surfing!

[rhetorician]

greydog probably doesn't like Irish accents because lots of Irish people in racing industry (I live in Ireland)

[jgm]

No direct experience (although we have a whippet and have friends with greyhounds), but wanted to say if you're in the Yorkshire region check out Greyhound Rescue South Yorkshire xx

[Plomino]

We've had several now , and so far apart from being complete food thieves , they've been quite happy to be left , as long as they got walked at some point in the day . I have a new one who's first day left with just another hound for company is tomorrow , so that may yet change .. We buy specialist greyhound food , which costs £12 for a 15kg bag , which lasts two hounds for just under two weeks . Insurance is about £25 a month each . Oh and they cost you a heart when they steal it away . Buggers .

[MuddhaOfSuburbia]

do you still have to have 6ft fences/secure garden as a condition for getting a dog from the RGS?

we enquired about getting a retired greyhound a good few years ago and they were very firm on that

[TooOldForGlitter]

That's mine 😍

[Tableandchairs1234]