visiting potential rescue greyhound - what to ask?

[Doraemon]

Hello wise dog people,
we are potentially about to foster-with-a-view-to-adoption a 6 year old greyhound, and hope to be able to visit her this weekend. She is currently living with a family with children and cats, and due to change of circumstances (not sure what....) is being rehomed through a rescue charity.
Things I can think of to ask about are:
recall - can she go off lead at all?
prey drive for animals other than the cats she is used to living with (we have 2 cats of our own and there are also many many cats/rabbit/squirrels etc near us)
separation anxiety (think there are 2 dogs in her current home but she would be an only dog with us)
how much exercise she is used to

what else should we be asking? what should we be looking for when we meet her? all advice welcome!

How exciting!

Recall - whats she used to recalling to? Her name, whistle etc. What treats really do it for her.
What food is she on, what can't she eat (because greys tend to be sensitive)
How does she feel about cars/travelling?
Is there anything she's scared of?
Where is she used to sleeping
What commands does she know?

I hope it goes well

Can't add much to previous comments but would suggest using a muzzle with her until you're sure of her reaction to other animals when out and about. And of course, don't let anyone disturb her when she's sleeping by touching her - but that goes for any dog.

We've just adopted our 4th grey and I think they're the most wonderful, placid, good natured, gorgeous dogs. They don't need much exercise and once settled with you in a few weeks I'm sure you will all share many wonderful years together.

I hope it will all work out well for you.

Thank you :-) having wanted a dog for years I'm now getting all anxious because it's such a big commitment and DH has never lived with a dog before. The rescue have said to take her on trial for a couple of weeks (she was going to have to be moved across the country to into one of their usual foster places, but her current home is not far from us) so hopefully that will give us time to get over the initial shock of actually having a dog all day every day.....

Make sure you get her coats btw - at this time of year greys really need them indoor and out, especially if being walked on the lead.
If she stays with you, then Milgi do lovely, beautifully made coats.

You may know this already, but you should never use an extendable lead for them, and they either need to be walked on a harness or the special wide sighthound collars. My favourite collars come from MeggieMoo - my dogs only go on harnesses when we are running together and get walked on full martingale collars.

Where does she sleep?
Does she stick to her own bed or does she expect to lard about on your sofa and take up the whole thing

And why is she being rehomed? Ask them outright.

Personally, I wouldn't ask directly about the reason for rehoming. The relinquishing owner will have gone through this with the rescue, and if there is anything the foster home need to know, they should have been told that by the foster co-ordinator. Reasons for rehoming can often be very sensitive and upsetting to discuss, especially if there are children in the relinquishing family who might be very attached to their pet. You might well find it comes up naturally in conversation, which is great.

I agree about Milgi coats (though of course I might be biased) and yes, Meggie Moo make the most wonderful collars and leads. As far as I know, she is also the only collar manufacturer who regularly safety tests her collars and hardware, something which is vital if you have a greyhound suddenly reaching Warp Factor 12 when they see a squirrel.

Don't forget to ask for their vet vaccination records and their microchip paperwork, and make sure you get insurance sorted. It's handy to have a few spare collar tags made up in advance - I get ours done in our local Timpson.

Have a think about your car, and how/where your dog will travel and if you need to get anything for the car e.g. guards, safety belts, soft comfy beds to lie on (Vetbed is great)

I'd also stock up with a couple of Yankee Candles or similar - greys are notorious for having evil wind, and a move can often cause a slight upset in the tummy.

I hope it goes well for you - once you've got a beautiful pointy nosed creature lying elegantly on your sofa, they become strangely addictive and you find that one is never enough. We currently have four (three greys and a lurcher). Finally, you should also be getting plenty of support and assistance from the rescue organisation - there should be a named contact you can talk to regularly to ask questions and discuss how your new arrival is settling in. If there isn't this, then go to another rescue. Sadly, there's no shortage of greyhounds needing homes and there are masses of greyhound/sighthound rescue organisations around, which vary considerably in their standards. Some are brilliant whereas there are others I wouldn't trust with a stick insect.