Greyhounds and kids - advice please!

[JessieParker]

We're thinking about adopting an ex-racing greyhound.

Any tips greatly received.

Also, we have an R plate hatchback escort - is this a suitable car for one, or would an estate be better?

Cheers!

talk to the kennels.
Each dog is different. Greyhounds in general are nice dogs but can be different after training for racing! need alot of exercise too!

As it happens I've just been talking to my friend on the phone. She wants me to babysit tonight because they have a big race. Her dh is one of the top greyhound trainers in the country and has about 100 dogs! So, I asked her and she said your car should be fine. Most of the dogs are very friendly and love children. They have only had a few that they had to watch with their son and that was really when he was a baby.

Although they make good household pets they do have to adjust to living in a home. They will never have seen a vacuum cleaner before, for instance, and if they see a small dog or cat they will need to learn that they are not supposed to chase it. Lots of people are able to keep pet cats etc in the same home with greyhounds but they will still probably chase 'strange' ones in the street.

It is a fallacy that they need a lot of exercise. They are bred to sprint but are generally lazy the rest of the time. Even after a short walk they will be content to lie quietly in their beds for the rest of the day, but they will be happy to go further if that's what you want to do. Basically they will take as much exercise as you want to give them, they are not like some breeds such as collies that will start ripping the house apart if you don't take them out enough.

My friend often has greyhounds indoors (she has her own favourite ex-racers and also looks after them for people who go on holiday)but they are never any trouble even with several in her tiny bungalow. In fact, last time I babysat I didn't realise the dog was there until I had been there a couple of hours!

Well, I hope that helps. Anything else you want to know I can always ask. Personally, I think they are lovely dogs but our landlord won't allow one. A big plus for me would be that they walk very nicely on a lead and don't pull all the time which is great if you are also pushing a buggy. My mum's lab cross is gorgeous and well behaved but he will pull which drives me mad!

Good luck

Cheers for that, pixel!

My mum's got a Saluki x, and he's a bit nutty, but like you were saying, he only takes the exercise he wants. He's fast if he wants to be, but the rest of the day he sleeps.

My MIL has a choccy lab, who's great with my ds, but ds finds him a bit boisterous - his nose is the exact same height as ds's ear...

I have heard that greyhounds are nicknamed the 90mph couch potato...!

I've been in contact with a local rescue, called greyhounds r us. They've been great so far, but they're not happy that my dh and I work full time - we'd be out 4 days of 7, as my dh works in retail and gets a day off in the week, and I work in an office, and get the weekends off.

Their website is here

They say it would be better if I can go home at lunch to take it for a 20 min walk (we don't have a garden suitable enough for a dog (bark and small shrubs everywhere)). Small problem is that I can't drive yet - am learning, and hope to pass my test by New Year...!

I'm not too bothered about the cat thing, as I don't have one anymore She got out at my last house, and either got hit by a car and nobody picked her up, or else catnapped - I ran a story in the local newspaper offering a reward for her return, but although there was a massive response in sympathy, she didn't turn up, even 10 weeks later.

We were living with my parents for about a year, and my ds got on so well with my mum's dog, that I don't want him to lose that affinity with animals.

Up till then, we'd been living in rented houses, so I know where you're coming from w/ landlords!

But now we've just bought a 2 bed coach-house (basically a flat above garages). So here we are! Looking for that missing piece! Pixel, if your friend has a bungalow, do you thnik a coach-house would be ok?!

Cheers for the advice, looking forward to it all...

we had 2 greyhounds throughout my childhood (not together though) and they are fab dogs. i would love to have one myself but they do need ALOT of exercises as my mum was a worrking/staying at home mum and used to take them for walks and my dad used to take them down to the beach everyday after work for a run and its best if you got a big garden too.

if you do end up buying a greyhound, you have got to be very committed, more than having 2 little dogs as they dont really need much exercise as the greyhounds do.

i dont agree with big dogs living in a flat as they end up being in the way as well as they are tall

JP, I bet your coach house is lovely, I like homes with character. We had a large dog in a flat above a pub (plus 2 more when my sister went on holiday)and it was ok. It just takes a bit more effort on your part to make sure they go out regularly. We did have a lovely walled back garden but we could hardly let the dogs out there when it was full of customers eating their lunch! At least you won't be having to house-train a puppy which I imagine is much more difficult in a flat. (Ours was rescued at 9 months so already clean but we had to teach him to walk up stairs because he didn't know how!)

Sorry to hear about your cat. It's rotten when you don't know what happened to them

My friend's dog won the race btw! (St.Leger, Wimbledon)so great excitment all round.