Retired greyhound Good idea?

[ebaynovice]

hello
I'm looking for advice from anyone who has a greyhound please. We've been thinking of getting a dog for ages and now that the youngest Ds is 6 we thought it was time to look. Could anyone give me some views, advice, tips etc about the pros and cons of having a greyhound?

I've read up a little about them but would love sone real life advice
Realistically we are all out of the house all dsy two days a week. Could my mum pop in for an hour lunch time to take him ouside? Do they get lonely on their own?

How much do they cost to keep?

Do they get any specific illnesses? Are they generally healthy?

Is there anything bad about them? Temprement or anything you found put you wished you knew before hand

Alll and any advice gratefully received

I would say they are used and thrown away but someone will come on and say - 'Oh no, the owners/racers love their dogs, otherwise they won't race'

How many thousand end up being rescued. Is it 9,000 a year that are 'retired'.

Someone told me, and I have no reason to not believe him, that he was at the races ,and after the race the owners were giving away some of the dogs.
He saw four PTS on the spot because there were no takers.

Privately I thought they might be better to be quickly dispatched by a vet than to go home with an owner like that who might dump or shoot them. But that's my thought.( Feel free to disagree. I'm an adult.)

BATCH -ooh have to be careful how I write that.

Feel free to hi-jack

I've got a bit soap-boxy now.
Best get off to bed now I reckon.

Me too!

I just happen to have a passion for Wei's, despite knowing a rescue grey will be perfect for our next dog

But you know that your new grey will show the Wei up ?

What with the grey being super models and all?

Get a greyhound, you know you want to. You are steadily talking yourself into it.
My DD is terrified of dogs but my son loves them. Yesterday he was being powerleaned by 2 lovely ex-athletes

Wow. Thanks for all the comments. Especially as they are all so positive. We are definitely going to take this forward and go to a rescue centre. Do youthink it would go against us that one or possibly two days a week the dog would be home alone from 930 till 430? We would get mum in to let it out for a wee at lunch time of course
Thanks again

If you go to a rescue they will ask you all the questions, and do a homecheck. They will want to check your fences are hound proof and advice you on things like putting stickers on glass doors at dogs-eye height.

Loads of dogs are in during the day, I'm sure they will appreciate that.
If you do a morning walk,then breakfast, they should be fine until lunch if your mum can let him/her out. Greyhounds in racing kennels have a routine so they tend to work round that. But most of them are very clean in the house because they are used to not soiling their pen.

They will have dogs who are able to be at home alone for a while ( or they might suggest you get 2 for company )

If you want one that is cat-friendly you might have to wait for your dog, .

Are you going to a retired greyhound rescue? Are you after a girl/boy?

I am so . I would love a grey, but combination of work 3 days,( no-one near enough to do pee-breaks) plus daughter who is dog phobic and a DH who doesn't want the tie of a pet means I'm scuppered.

( Unless Lottery Win + Boarding School for DD + trade in DH = greyhounds)

Some of them are flippin massive with a tail to whip you with (something to bear in mind with small DC) And your ornaments.

The boys tend to be bigger, but the ones we saw on Sunday were dinky little critters , one was male.

Yes, tails can send things like wine glasses and coffee cups flying. When they are very happy you'll see helicopter tail - super waggly.

Working for two days a week shouldn't be a problem especially as you've thought about it and have a plan.

If you want/need any help on finding a rescue just let me know. Can point you at some good ones.

Size varies quite considerably - ours weigh 27kg, 32kg and 39kg - the two males are the biggest but they have a big difference in physique - one is super lean, while the other is chunky with an incredibly deep chest and the most humungous thighs - think of a professional cyclist. Bitches tend to be smaller than dogs but there is more variation within than between if you see what I mean.

Hello, I thought I would resurrect this thread to ask what people think about getting a retired greyhound for a home with a toddler. I have had a dog before, but not a rescue, and not since having DD. She is 3. Any views?

Well, the thread covers most things! I'd say the key things (as for any dog) are ensuring that you are willing to provide a safe, child proof place for your grey to rest undisturbed and that you are also willing to ensure child and dog are not left alone together. Particular issues, as already mentioned, are tail wagging at toddler height and the grund ability to snaffle food. If you are a parent who insists on eating only at the table you'll be fine - if your children graze constantly from their hands then you will have a problem - but again, that would probably apply to many dogs. Also remember that they often sleep with their eyes open - important to train all DC and adults in the house not to disturb them.

Many greyhound rescues will home to families with small children - this need not be a barrier. What they will be looking for are the usual things of a secure garden (essential), good understanding of responsibilities of pet ownership, arrangements for care during the day, willingness to exercise and train and all the usual things. I'd say insurance is essential and I'd also recommend doing training classes - we've done up to KC Gold with ours. One of ours likes going running with DH, and he's thinking of doing a Cani X event with him.

Many greyhound charities also provide regular events and get togethers such as charity fun shows, regular greyhounds walks, quiz nights, greyhound playdates and so on. These are a lovely, low cost way to have family fun with your dog and meet other greyhound enthusiasts. For instance I was judging on Sunday at a local charity greyhound show, with some fun classes for children, such as egg and spoon race, fancy dress, sausage eating race and a best child handler class. With many of these events, children are practically guaranteed to go home with a rosette, it's great fun and a lovely way to raise funds for the charity, and showcase dogs needing homes or settling in well in their new homes.

Happy to answer questions if you have any specific queries.

scuttlebutter Thanks for that extra post, I looked this afternoon actually and our local greyhound rescue is having an open day so we will attend. :)

We are hoping to adopt a retired greyhound shortly

I'm sorry to lower the tone but there have been several references on this thread to greyhounds -ahem- farting! Are they known for their flatulence?

Mine cleared the bedroom this morning Dreamin. There's nothing like a farting greyhound sharing your bed to get you up on a morning

She is worth it though. For some reason she only seems to fart on a morning, it's like she knows we should up and worshipping her by now.

I'll take your grund tail and raise you a lab tail

Dreamingrey - yes they do fart, in an astonishingly smelly way. We refer to ours as having the arse of Beelzebub. They are particularly brilliant at saving it for when you have visitors. You will have spent the day cleaning, polishing, lighting delicious scented candles, making sure all textiles are freshly laundered and smelling of clean washing line. The aroma of fresh baking will waft from your kitchen. Your visitors arrive, are offered a drink and fight off the greyhounds to sit on the sofa. Sulking, the grunds retire to their various duvets and cushions. Within ten minutes, the smells begin to permeate the room. Quite possibly, the visitors will be polite people who are initially too courteous to refer to the miasma. You witness the increasingly shallow breathing, the possible request to open a window or to take a stroll round the garden (even if dark and raining!). The scented candles you lit have taken a greenish tinge round the flames. Eventually, the visitors crack. Either they disappear, claiming an important subsequent engagement, never to be seen again, or they will eventually ask - "What the hell is that smell?" We often take bets on how long it will take people to get to this stage.

Well Scuttle if you do give them egg curry with a side of baked beans and a pint of Guiness ( to build them up) what do you expect?

This is a great thread! I've had my retired racing greyhound, Duchess, for a year and am used to her ways, but reading other posts was illuminating. All the pros others have listed are true of her: she's great. Also, she does not get up on the couch or the bed (neither does my Lab mix) as they both have comfortable sleeping spots. I was also surprised to read about farting as this has never happened with her. (She only eats high-grade kibble with a bit of tinned "meat" mixed in.) Cons: amazing food thief if I leave the house and forget to leave her in her cage securely shut -- of not only butter (broken butter dish off the counter) but also large chocolate bars (no ill effects whatsoever), five avocados (in a net bag that I found on the floor next to the fivhe pits), and a batch of cookies in a securely-lidded plastic container, which she'd got at by simply chewing out the bottom of the box.

Apart from that, she gets two hours of walks every day along with Daisy, the other dog, but always on the lead whereas Daisy runs free. I'd love to be able to let her off, but the greyhound adoption agency here in Nova Scotia told me that if I did they'd come and break my kneecaps....

I’ve always had greys with our DCs including while they were toddlers and newborns.
Sensible precautions obv, but I would say that greyhounds do seem to instinctively understand (kind) children and enjoy their company.
Our current Sleighthounds are very young, like lots of exercise and stimulation (3 hrs offlead a day) and are loons.
The two main things to work on, straight away, are socialisation with other dogs (especially small, fluffy, excitable ones) and recall.
Everything else will fall into place after a couple of months.
They’re lovely lovely dogs!

Nothing to add to the pp.

Greys are the best- we lost our 2 to cancer a few years ago. We had fostered greys directly with a trainer previously so approached him to say the exact type of dog we were looking for (personality wise) thinking it might take a while and he had the perfect dog already.

Rossi has been home 5 weeks now and hasn't put a paw wrong. We have a dog walker 2 days a week and it's been great socialisation for him. He's polite with terrier to labs but does love other pointies.