Getting my first Grey!

[SouthBySouthWest]

After much deliberating, we have contacted our local greyhound rescue, and someone is going to come out to homecheck us and get an idea of what kind of dog would suit our family. I'm so excited I've been after one for years!

So, I've owned border collies, mutts and a cocker spaniel, but I'm new to the sighthound business. At the moment, all my knowledge is based on google searches and what I've read on here about how great they are. What things should I be looking out for? What questions should I ask? What things do greyhounds need that other dogs don't?

I know that they need the right kind of collars, coats to keep them warm, and snuggly beds at home to rest their pointy selves on, but what else am I not thinking of? Most things I read say that they are not safe to be let off the lead (which I'm cool with) but is this the norm?

I have 2 DSs (2.5 and 5) who are both used to dogs, but what could I do to prepare them? My mum has a cockapoo that will be a regular visitor - will that be okay for a greyhound to have another dog in it's house occasionally?

Oh my god, I'm so excited!!

Practically, you need sighthound collars (I favour martingale collars from MeggieMoo) and coats (from Milgi) plus nice leads from Meggie as you must not use an extendable lead. And a dog first aid kit as their skin is ridiculously thin and they scrape a lot.

Have you thought about a crate? With a 2.5 yr old, having somewhere that is absolutely the dogs will be important.

Recall - this will be down to the dog tbh. You can work on recall in the house and in enclosed areas (Total Recall is a great book) and see how things go. Distraction/safety will depend on your dogs prey drive. There are sighthound playgroups at safe enclosed areas that they can enjoy even if not safe to be let off.

Thanks! Yes, I had thought about a crate. We have one from our last dog, so I was going to see if this was big enough, and if not, get a bigger one.

Our absolute priority would be teaching the kids to respect the dog, although I'm fairly sure our youngest will be fine in this regard. I'm waiting for the home visit, as they will bring a dog along and we'll get to see how they react to a slightly bigger dog than they are used to.

I'm going to go with the recommendation of the professionals. If they feel my two are too young, then we will just have to put it off for a while.

So collars, no flexi leads...what about eating? Do they need bowls raised up off the floor? What food is good for them? Our last dog was on Orijen dried food, but would something like this work for a greyhound?

I have raised bowls (my two pointies are lurchers - ddog1 is prob saluki x greyhound in some combination as he is very bony pointy, dpuppy is whippety, with probably a good dash of doberman so chunkier but on very long legs) as it just looks more comfortable and it stops them chasing the bowls around.
Orijen could well work - many greys/pointies have sensitive tums and some need grain free unless you like wearing a gas mask. Mine have Burns sensitive plus, or Vitalin salmon and potato, but this has been a journey of discovery. They get a couple of tins of sardines a week (Lidl is cheapest) for the fish oil which is good for their skin - ddog is very thin coated and you can see his skin clearly on his tum, so good skin is important.

Depending on your area, you might find a local greyhound walk that you could go along to. The one near me is monthly, and people love to talk about their dogs. I've met up with a few MNetters who were thinking about a pointy and wanted the children to meet some casually before taking it further

Good choice of dog! :)

We have a rescue ex racer, if you're nosey like me you can look up their race history from their ear tattoos, our Davey dog, aka 'Nervous Dave' was quite the champ in his day

Ours is ok on recall although we pick times to let him off carefully, in a big open space he'll only ever run a couple of big laps thinking he's still on a track and then be done with it

Food wise we go for one with no additives/colourings etc as he does have a sensitive belly, he also loves fish so we occasionally give him a bit of cat food as a treat!

Ours has always been great with kids, he loves a big fuss and any attention he can get! He's also never suffered separation anxiety and never once barked in the house, although this may well be down to the individual dog

Oh, you're both making me more excited!

Good tip about the fish, I might not have through about that. I guess it will be a question of seeing what food they are on when they come, and seeing if something better would help. I remember when we switched our cocker from Royal Canin (which he came with) to Orijin, and the difference in his coat was amazing.

The rehomer is going to bring one of their dogs when they come to see us, so the kids will get to meet one up close. I'm pretty sure they've met some before when we've been out, as I'm a sucker for stopping to talk to any greyhounds I come across.

Is it true that they are addictive, and you can't stop at one? Should I warn my DH now that this may be the start of something

Congratulations OP! Welcome to the cult!!

We only ever intended to have one - looks round at house strewn with assorted happy,sleeping, farting hounds.

Yes, you will find yourself succumbing to the lure of collar porn. Yes your hound will end up being better dressed and with more coats than any other member of the family. Yes, you will probably end up with more than one - they are surprisingly addictive.

Also, once you have one, you join a very special and exclusive club. Everywhere we go with our pointies, if we see another one, we always stop to chat. There's a whole social side too, to pointy ownership - all sorts of wonderful walks, playgroups, sleepovers, gatherings just waiting for you to join in and have fun with.

Agree with taking some time to find the right food, but be warned, a farting greyhound can clear a room and strip paint. We always recommend that new adopters get a few Yankee Candles in to help try to counteract.

Good luck - you are in for a treat.

We live in a village that seems to have an overabundance of hounds (if that's possible), so I think we would fit right in . I think that there is a fosterer living here too, as I often see them out with about 4 or 5 hounds at once.

Luckily, we aren't short of space. I'm sure we could fit a few in here without really noticing....

Ooh, I know a question I wanted to ask - what are they like for chewing (kids) toys. With young children it's obviously a bit of a task keeping their toys out of the main living spaces. Will this be a problem? Do they like soft toys? My mum's dog is terrible for stealing the kids teddy bears, so we have to make sure things are tidied away before she visits (no bad thing!), but would this be an issue?

Ooh can I ask (sorry for thread crash south ) why can't you use an extendable lead?
We recently rehomed a lurcher puppy (poss whippet/saluki) and we had an extendable lead from previous DDog, we were using it while we get confident with recall.
She is totally adorable and I agree, in three weeks we have already noticed everyone with a pointy stops to chat, we constantly hear 'those eyes'

Also I was stopped by anlady who lost her lurcher last year and she stroked for ages all whistfully then took the name of the rescue 'just in case'

They vary on toys. Some like "dedding" things that are soft, fluffy and furry. But in general, they are not big on toys. We have one who collects things but doesn't chew them, just stockpiles them in his lair. We also have a cushion collector, but she again just likes rearranging them, rather than chewing. We have a couple of Stag bars knocking around and occasionally they'll enjoy a chew of those.

Extendable leads are an ABSOLUTE NO for sighthounds - I'm amazed that the supplying rescue didn't mention this. Sighthounds should always wear an appropriate collar - either a classic leather fishtail collar or a martingale as made by Meggie Moo mentioned upthread. Reason for this is that their long aristocratic necks mean that they can often back out of a "normal" collar (I've seen this happen and it's not good), also basic physics. You have a dog that can do 0 to batshit in a blink of an eye - a narrow collar will place a huge strain on the neck and can break it. Similarly, a flexi lead is quite frankly lethal. You do not want a superfast pointy getting up to 40 mph and then being stopped dead (quite literally) at the end of one of those.

And another point - when you buy collars and leads for a pointy, please don't just be seduced by a pretty fabric. Look carefully at the quality of the metalwork and stitching. The reason we use Meggie Moo is that as far as I know, they are the only collar mfrs that regularly safety test all their collars and leads and fixings in a lab. For sighthounds, a collar/lead is a key safety issue, not just for decoration.

I also think extendable leads are the devil's work for all dogs, but that's another topic.

Thanks Scuttle, that's great info. I don't actually use it when we go out for a walk, i have a normal lead which i prefer because i hate the massive hunk of plastic i have to carry with the extendable and plus she likes to tie me in knots!

DH however, prefers it, I will show him this thread.
Thanks so much

No worries, Goofy, all information is helpful

Thanks Scuttle, that's good information about extendables and collars etc. Will definitely check out Meggie Moo.

Our last dog was tragically killed by a car, and it's taken 2 years to get to the point that I think we can cope (emotionally) with another dog. Safety is my number one priority, so getting the right kit is essential.

Oh, South, I have grey envy

We recently fostered a grey who we would've loved to keep, but he had been promised to somebody else so he moved to his forever family last week . We will get our forever dog after our Easter holidays

Here's my tuppence worth: comfy bed is really important. A cheap single duvet folded in quarters is perfect (I have a couple for ASDA for £4). Our boy liked to create his own 'nest' by moving it about until it was just right .
They like to be were you are, so I'd advise more than one bed.

You have young children, please teach them to respect the dog, particularly until you know him/her better.
Our Iron Rules were/will be again:

• Never approach the sleeping dog
• Never approach the eating dog
• If he walks away from you, don't follow
• Don't pat him on the head
• If he takes something that's yours, don't try to take it back. Tell me.

Ours was the most gentle of dogs and as it happens was not very bed or food protective, but we only found that out in time.

I know greys who have very good recall and are walked off lead but I think that takes a lot of confidence and experience. I'm not sure I'd go there.

V best of luck. I so remember our home check. Exciting times

Thanks for all those tips, Dogwood We'll make sure that there are enough comfy spots around the house, but at the moment, at the very least, we have one whole spare sofa that could be dog only

The kids are pretty good with my DM's dog, so it would be a case of reinforcing all the rules. Her dog is a demon for nicking toys, so my oldest has learnt the fine art of bargaining with a high value treat to get things back, and if that doesn't work, find a grown up.

I keep looking at the dogs that are up for rehoming at the moment, but I'm trying not to focus on any particular one in case they aren't the right dog.

To be honest, one of the attractions to greys is the fact that they are fine on the lead. I feel so much guilt for letting my dog off the lead somewhere unsafe (although I didn't know this at the time), that I'll be happy to have an excuse to only let a dog off in a 100% enclosed area.

Wheeeeee! Can't wait!

Home checker has arranged a visit for this Friday with 2 of her hounds. My DM will also be here with her cockapoo to see how she reacts.

Ridiculously excited!

I use a perfect fit harness for my whippet - his collar is just to hold his ID ....sometimes I use an extendable lead which has a shock absorber end. It's useful when I'm not totally comfortable with letting him off lead for example on public foot path, it gives him a bit more freedom to sniff and wander around, but he's no where near as heavy as a greyhound...

After a successful homecheck on Friday, we went to our first meet up today, and met the dog that they thought would best suit our family!

He's a gentle giant, and will be coming to live with us on Friday!!! I can't believe how quickly this has all worked out

Fantastic! Thats so exciting

do you have a link to a pic?

Beautiful boy

He is gorgeous!

I know . I'm not sure his name fits, though. You can't tell from that photo how big he is. A real big softie.

Is it okay to rename him? Will he have had that name all his life or just since he left the track?

Can't wait to introduce him to the house and all the comfy spots. Need to get organised!

Scuttle will know better, but I think they don't know their names very well coming from racing kennels. Dogs learn a new name very easily either way - we changed dpuppies name as shouting a chocolate bar name wasn't going to work for us.

That's what I thought. It doesn't suit him and we have something we think would work for him better. Think we will change it. A new start. A new home.

So ridiculously excited. Since we lost our last dog I couldn't imaging having another dog, but he is so different. Like nothing we have had before.

Love to see someone getting so excited about getting a dog. Just looked at his photo and agree with CMOT he is gorgeous! He is a very lucky dog to be joining your family. Look forward to hearing how he settles in with you. Please keep us posted!

Great news!