Have you got a rescue dog? Especially a greyhound, lurcher or whippet? Advice please....

[copperstrike76]

I'm hoping for some advice on my situation, so apologies if this turns out to be a bit long.

I desperately want a dog. I grew up with one, a lurcher. We got him from the RSPCA when he was about 12 weeks old. I was 7 and we had him until I was 20. I always imagined that one day, I would get another.

I spent the decade from 20 to 30 mostly single and not in a position to get a dog. Then I met my husband when I was 28 and we spent a lot of time enjoying ourselves, travelling, not having any responsibilities. Then, when we had settled down, we spent a couple of years doing IVF and now we have a daughter, who is nearly 7. Sorry for all this detail, but I hope it's useful background.

I have always loved dogs, and especially sighthounds. But because I was busy with all those other things, I guess I wasn't yearning for one as much as I am now. My sister got a puppy 2 years ago and that really intensified my yearning - I miss my dog such a lot and would be desperately sad if he turned out to be my only ever dog. My sister's dog is nice, but he is quite intense. He is not a sighthound and he has a totally different character to my old dog, who I think about a lot. Quite often, I dream about him. Or I dream that I have another dog. Then when I wake up, I'm so disappointed!

I work from home part-time right now and last year we got a secure, 6-foot high fence for our large garden. We live in a detached house, and have a mortgage, so don't need to ask anyone permission to have a dog. DD is used to a bouncy dog (my sister's) and we have been on holiday with him, spent Christmases with him and so on, so I think she would do well around a dog. She knows what to do and what not to do.

The thing is, my husband doesn't love dogs. He did not grow up with any pets. He will tolerate my sister's dog but I don't think he is over-keen...he is a labradoodle, very bouncy, hairy, a bit smelly and very in your face. You know he is there!

I have tried to tell him greyhounds are totally different but I am not sure if this dog (lovely as he is) is the best PR!

Anyway, we both agreed that for various reasons now might be a good time to get a family pet. We both agree it would be good for our daughter, who has some anxiety and self-confidence issues at the moment. She is also desperate for a pet.

Not wanting to push the dog angle, I looked at rats, because I understand them to be quite affectionate (I'm not interested in other rodents: I had a hamster as a child and it didn't really like me and was a pain in the backside). I want a pet that will give some love back. I know that rats do this.

DH was up for getting rats but then I learnt about hantavirus and their very short lifespan - a breeder suggested I should get 3 rats and put aside £150 for vets' bills for each of them. It's rare to have a rat that makes it to 3 years old so it seems like a lot of emotional and financial investment in something that will be so short-lived. You have to play with rats for an hour outside their cage each day as well, which I'm fine with, but I would not want to take that job on without DH also being hands-on. I think he might have imagined that rats would be an "easy" option compared to dogs.

DH was also up for getting a cat, but we didn't want to put a cat flap in the front door and putting one in the back door (French patio doors) would be costly because we would have to replace a pane of glass, I think. We were also not too sure about litter trays (I will be honest and say I don't really want one in the house!). Cats aren't my favourites, but I don't dislike them, and I sort of figured that any pet is better than none at all (is that wrong?).

When DD was 5, we had a chat about dogs and DH said he would "think about" getting a dog when our DD was 6 and a bit more grown-up. He even came to an open day at a greyhound rescue that I used to volunteer with, and conceded that they hounds were "very calm", and that a blue one we saw at the kennels "looked okay".

But the age of 6 came and went and he basically just said "I've thought about it and I don't want to". Which I guess is fair enough and I would never force the issue (which is why I've considered rats and cats), but I felt as though he'd led me on a bit.

He has since said it is "unlikely" he would ever want a dog but that "the door is not closed".

But I said to DH at the weekend I really wanted to have a proper chat about pets. DD is an only child, not through choice, and I feel like she would get so much out of it. I went through the pros and cons of rats and cats and explained why I wanted him to consider dogs and he did not disagree. I'm not sure either of us want a cat flap, really, and I am not sure how cats 'work' without one. Also, I'm hugely nervous about getting a cat because it would seriously restrict the type of dog we could potentially have. Anyway, I said to him I wanted to talk about rats, cats and dogs and he said okay.

Then he said that if we did get a dog, he might be hands-off with it. I'm fine with this (but would not accept it for any other pet) and I think maybe he would grow to love a dog anyway, if we got the right one. Every time I think about dogs I get quite emotional so it is a highly-charged topic for me, and basically I'm looking for advice on how to handle the chat?

Sorry this is so long. If having a dog was something he really, really didn't want to do then that would be that - we wouldn't do it. It would make me really sad but at the end of the day I wouldn't force it on anyone as that's not fair on DH or on the dog. But at the same time I feel like he's given vague hints and just maybe hasn't felt ready in the past, or if this isn't the case then he has led me on and should have said no, not ever!

I would love to hear your thoughts. I think DH would prefer a small dog and I know greyhounds can be pretty big so I am not sure how I would handle that one. I volunteered at a greyhound rescue, walking the dogs, so I'm used to them. I like whippets too but hardly ever seem them at rescue centres. And I have always liked lurchers but of course they come in all different shapes and sizes.

I have a lurcher rescue, we got her when I had lost lots of pregnancies.. We have had her 3 years and she is amazing, lazy and sleeps most of the day, if it wasn't for her cuddles I would of gone insane. If it's raining she refuses walks, but is happy with a run or any amount of walking to a little to alot.
She is amazing with my daughter who is a toddler and brilliant with the older kids they get loads of cuddles and I think it's good for them. They have no fear of other dogs because of her, but if she thought they weren't safe she would protect them.
One thing I would say is let them on the settee as this is where she is happiest. One down side to her being a rescue is we can't leave her ever. But they are the kindest breed, loyal don't lose a lot of hair and love a cuddle, every house should have one. I also do everything for her but it's a great way of being fit as well.

I grew up with lurchers like you OP and I love them! My parents are on their third rescue and, while I currently have a different breed of dog, our next one will be a rescue lurcher. My husband has fallen in love with lurchers too.

I read your post and really feel for you because I feel similarly strongly about keeping dogs in the family, and I do think they are so good for kids. From what you are explain it sounds like you and your DD would love one and could probably persuade your husband. Hopefully he would come around to it and surprise himself how much he enjoys a dog too.

However my worries for you are that if you don't have your husband's full support, when the inevitable big vet bills happen, your holidays get a bit more complicated, or you rescue a dog with behavioural issues who needs some extra support to work through them- would your husband be upset by this and blame you for the difficulties? I'd want to be really certain that it was a joint decision and that he knows he is potentially introducing some difficult things as well as all the wonderful things that come with a dog.

Oh and finally, don't get a lurcher who is part collie of you want an easy life! We had one and I loved him to bits but he was manic as a young dof, definitely not the same docile lurcher type as the others we have had.

Sighthounds are absolutely glorious creatures and totally amazing at winning over people who are otherwise not particularly doggy

I'd recommend checking to see if the Greyhound Trust have a branch within reach of you as many organise regular greyhound walks which welcome prospective adopters to join in, meet the dogs and chat to people who have already rehomed them.

Whippets are absolutely cracking little dogs, proper little athletes out and about but wonderfully chilled out at home. I've got three at the moment and wouldn't have anything else now, they're just fabulous. They don't turn up in rescue with the same frequency as greyhounds or lurchers but there are individuals needing homes on a fairly regularly basis. There's a couple of breed specific rescues and individuals in other rescues often get posted on FB breed groups (or groups dedicated to finding homes for points in UK rescues) so it's worth keeping an eye on those if you get to the stage of actually looking for a dog.

I'm a complete cat person who really didn't like dogs. A friend had a whippet and I began learning about sighthounds. We now have a 4 month old whippet puppy who has totally converted me.

I now dream of having a bigger house so we could rescue a greyhound. They really are unlike any other dog.

I think much like Stockholm syndrome, the dog would win him around. But I definitely wouldn't get a puppy as it's so intense and difficult ... I wouldn't do it again! We have a young DD and this is our first dog so we didn't feel in a position to rescue but next time for sure.

I like many others was going to mention fostering and as I am in Kent thought about KGR. As you are in Surrey have a look at Hersham Hounds, not sure if they look for foster homes but they do welcome visitors to the kennels so might be worth a trip - sighthounds are awesome and in most cases make great family dogs.
www.hershamhounds.org.uk/homeless-hounds-gallery/

Not RTFT but we have two greyhounds (both completely different characters) and also live in Surrey. We'd be happy to meet you all for a walk or two if it helps your cause

Thank you all again for your fabulous replies - I really appreciate it.

@OrlandoTheMarmaladeCat, out of interest, what was the Celia Cross homecheck like? I find the idea of that daunting, although all the volunteers and staff that I met during my time there were lovely (and I think you're right, I don't think Jane does do foster - there is a dog in foster at the moment but he is a special case, I believe, as he is quite elderly and poorly).

So encouraging to read your stories about all the dogs you have. Thank you for all the suggestions and links to check out as well. @MyGirlDaisy - Hersham Hounds aren't that far from me and I see they have some events coming up. And @MiniPanda, perhaps I shall have to take you up on that! . We have 'walked' with the labradoodle and I am not sure it has had the desired effect - maybe the opposite in fact! I wish DH could have met my dog 'cos he was a real gent (and scared of his own shadow!]..

Honestly we'd be more than happy to, just ping me a PM. Our youngest tends to melt all the hearts as he's such a cutie and loves everyone, we do a lot of street collections for Celia Cross and I've lost count of the amount of people who have wanted to take him home. Our older one is slightly less confident and so can be a little barky if off lead dogs come into his space but he's an absolute sweetheart really, just a bit insecure!

We regularly do home checks for CCGT and honestly in terms of the house I'm just looking to make sure you have adequate fencing (which it sounds like you do), have considered where the dog will sleep/eat and are prepared to keep things you don't want your hound to have out of reach (most are counter surfing pros!). When it comes to the family themselves I just want to see that they have thought through the logistics of having a dog such as vets, insurance, holidays and have an understanding of sighthound specific issues such as prey drive/recall, stairs, uncarpeted floors etc. If they don't already have pets I'll often bring our dogs with us to see how they interact with them, but we're basically there to make sure that the house is sighthound suitable and that the adopters have everything in place for a successful rehoming.

We have a greyhound that we rehomed from Hersham Hounds. I adore our dog and getting him was a fantastic decision even though our children’s enthusiasm for early morning dog walks has worn off! A much better decision than the guinea pigs we had, I’d avoid getting a pet that lives in a cage as you’ll end up doing all the cleaning out. We were first time owners and our dog was a bit anxious at first but is now super-chilled. I would definitely go and visit Hersham, you need to take photo Id and can walk the dogs. They do look for people willing to foster to start to get the dogs used to being in a house but you do have to have a homecheck done first and as a first stage before signing the paperwork they advise people to do a home trial.

I adopted an ex racer greyhound in March. I had never owned a dog before so total novice. I went through Greyhound Trust branches all over UK. Best decision I made he has stolen our hearts. Clean and placid and so very loving. Sleeps 18 hours a day and needs limited exercise.

Have you considered fostering a rescue dog? It's a very rewarding experience and is a great way for your family to experience the joys of dog ownership. I myself foster Greyhounds/lurchers/saluki for the Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary (SGS) and previously worked with Dunrunnin sanctuary in Kent.

Female greyhounds are smaller and often more playful than males. Both will happily sleep for 12-14 hours a day and are happy to be left alone through the day with some basic training. They make great family pets for modern life, they only need one decent 45 min walk a day, although I would recommend doing two 30 Mon walks. Some are great around cats/small dogs/children some, often mistreated dogs, have some behaviour issues but they are smart enough to work through things.
Fostering can be as short as a week or two but is often 4-10 weeks while the charity looks for a suitable home. Quite often the foster dog grows on the carer so much that they end up adopting themselves. If you want to know a bit more then send me a message.

@MiniPanda thank you - I may well drop you a line once I've spoken to DH if that's okay, that's very kind of you. I intend to do speak to him at the weekend. If we ever got a dog it's definitely a decision that he wouldn't take lightly, so that's a good thing, because I know that if he did agree to it, that would mean he'd be on board. He did say he was amazed at how still and quiet the hounds at CCGT were when we visited a couple of years ago. We went on the mini bus from Newlands Corner to the kennels, and a visiting dog picked DH's lap to lay his head on for the duration! I don't think he quite new what to do!

Can I ask you about uncarpeted floors? We live in a bungalow that has been converted (loft extension). There is a runner on the stair carpet (it takes up most of the stairs), carpet in the hall and carpet in the spare bedroom. We have wood floor in the lounge but there is a big rug in there and the lounge itself is small. In the kitchen diner, which is large, there is laminate floor. It is textured and my sister's labradoodle seems okay on it but I realise sighthounds might be a bit different. We had a similarly large kitchen in my childhood home with lino and a rug and the dog was okay in there. I would definitely get a rug (or rugs) if a homechecker thought that was the best thing to do but would love to know your thoughts (sorry for all the questions!).

I'm not super keen on getting a caged pet as I reckon I would mainly be the one cleaning it out on account of being part-time and working from home. I think I would resent this as it wouldn't be my first choice of pet anyway. But I would not resent walking a dog, since I actually want to do it. We (DD and I) sometimes join a friend's dog for walks but she's a springer spaniel, so totally different. I'd hope to take a future hound on the school run eventually (a mile each way and we often walk). But I'd vary the route on the way back as I'd imagine that would be more interesting! I'd also love to hire out the Liberty Field at CCGT once in a while for zoomies .

@OliveToboogie your hound is lovely. He/she looks a bit like one of the dogs I remember at the kennels I helped out in. Someone adopted this particular dog and was really gushing about her (she was lovely), then returned her 2 weeks later for "not being interesting enough". I was so cross as I would have loved the opportunity! That poor dog; she was just adorable.

I have enjoyed seeing all your dogs so here is my old boy, when he was a puppy and then as an older dog on a camping trip. I think the newspaper is from the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, so quite a while ago...(the Pepsi can was just there for the photo!). Such a chilled out creature but he could really run as well, and once knocked a boy over (and knocked him out) unintentionally because he was trying to catch a bird in the sky.....

Just to say, if you get a cat you wouldn’t necessarily need a cat flap but you will need a litter tray. Kittens can’t go out for the first few months. Adults cats from a rescue or whatever would need to be kept in for at least the first three weeks.
Litter trays aren’t that bad. Cats are generally clean creatures.

We have a whippet & a lurcher, they’re the laziest, calmest dogs so very similar to Greyhounds. You could possibly look into dog sitting. Whippet Holiday Swap on Facebook is a group where members help each other out with dog care (not for payment). Might be a good way to introduce your family to the joys of whippets without the commitment.

We've had a couple of rescue sighthounds. No idea why we got one to start with as I've always been a cat person, disliking the 'doggy' smell from the oils in their coats. Our first lurcher, a saluki-greyhound cross just appealed, playful, yet cuddly and affectionate indoors, but a manic hunter outdoors - he caught enough rabbits to feed us, and venison until we put a stop to him chasing deer.
I would have given anything for him, and when he died after hitting a fence chasing a rabbit my world practically ended.
When we were ready to have another, we couldn't consider another breed, they can be so gentle and affectionate, and in many ways much like a cat. Their coats do not repel water, and don't smell as bad when wet. They will try and sit next to you on the sofa, and ours managed to navigate the stairs and sneaked under the bedcovers after several months of me refusing to allow him on furniture.
The best advice is to read up on them, go and see some, maybe on one of the many weekend walks and see if they appeal.

I have a whippet I've had since he was a puppy (now 11) and two rescue greyhounds. The first we adopted at 2 and the second at 6.

In your situation I would definitely pick a greyhound over a whippet. I love my whippet so much, but he's very anxious, and intense and energetic even at 11. (He's also super loving and affectionate and empathetic). This doesn't seem unusual for whippets, according to the vet. Plus, as cute as puppies are, they are a lot of work and inconvenience.

My two greyhounds just slotted into the family with very little effort. My girl was laidback, and desperate to please us. She lived to be told she was a good girl. She was no exactly a rocket scientist though. My boy has more attitude, but even so he's mostly still laid back, quiet and very cuddly, just a bit stubborn.

They're both super patient and gentle with children and babies too.

I like the idea of fostering, as long as your daughter is going to be okay with letting the dog leave.

Another good point about greyhounds and whippets is that they don't tend to be prone to many health problems.

@copperstrike76 of course, just yell if I can be of any help

In terms of uncarpeted floors to a certain extent it depends on the hound. We have wooden floors downstairs with rugs and our older boy was completely unphased by them from day one and has now perfected indoor zoomies our younger one of the other hand was absolutely terrified and took months to be ok (and even now is a bit like Bambi on ice at times!). We resorted to getting him little doggy booties to help him adjust but it was a slow process.

It’s a tricky one! I grew up with cats, DH dogs. For years and years I dodged the getting a dog bullet, I really didn’t want one in the least and thought whatever DD and DH said, it would be entirely up to me to look after it, an animal we didn’t want. I was also worried my cats would be upset.

In a moment I gave in and our dog has been with us three years. To say I’ve undergone a bit of a conversion is an understatement! If anyone had told me that I would be completely in love with something as mad and smelly as our mutt three years ago I would have been very surprised! What hasn’t surprised me is that indeed I do bloody everything for her!

Your DH may or may not go through a similar conversion. A friends DH is as anti 5 years into dog ownership as he was before (but he is a bit of arse anyway..), Fostering is probably the way to go, dipping your toe into the water.

An animal I didn’t want not we!!

Lots of things I relate to in your story! I would so love a greyhound- they are so gorgeous and placid.

DH unfortunately has said no, at least for the time being, and I've had to respect that. We now have a rescue cat who we adore and are about to pick up our second set of rats (DH isn't keen on them either but he can avoid them).

I guess with all the small furries in the house the sighthound conversation is closed for the foreseeable!

I really hope you get your hound. I'm in Surrey too - maybe I can come and cuddle yours?

My thoughts:

Don't get a cat.
I regret mine, she's cute and a lovely temperament but very destructive.
I laugh when I hear people say things like 'cats are so much easier than dogs'
My dog is a dream!
Utterly non destructive, quiet and lovely.

In my opinion, you should focus less on the breed and more on the personality of the parents if getting a puppy or the individual dog if getting a rescue.

Calm, confident, stable parents almost always produce calm, confident, stable puppies. In any breed.

And with an adult, assuming they are in foster rather than a kennel, what you see is what you get.

On greyhounds specifically, the ones I have met have been super friendly, gentle, lovely dogs but that isn't to say they all are.

labradoodles, cockapoos and the like I personally cannot stand!
I generally find them overbearing and hyperactive at best and nervous aggressive at worst.

My cockapoo being all aggressive, hyperactive and really overbearing right at this minute @frostedviolets 🙂

My cockapoo being all aggressive, hyperactive and really overbearing right at this minute

I'm just relaying what I see out and about.
Poodle mixes are wildly popular where I live and yes some are fine, but the majority I meet are hyperactive at best and aggressive at worst.
They are a 'breed' I am wary of.

My partner is a cat person, I grew up on a farm with all the animals. I wanted a dog for years but he didn't, eventually I blackmailed him (dog or baby, he chose dog, and it turned out I was infertile anyway so good job!). We got a rescue greyhound who was very small and catlike and hogs the sofa, and now a few years later have added a big boisterous energetic greyhound to the mix who has a never ending appetite for walks. We also have two cats. These four all fit nicely into our moderately sized terrace house. We love them all to bits!

I don't advocate blackmail but I was pretty sure he would love a dog he just didn't have any experience of them. I think fostering or persuading him to accompany you on walks at the rescue centre would be a better bet. Greyhounds have a habit of winning people over.

I don’t recognise my dog at all from your description @frostedviolets but equally I’m quite sure I’ve preconceptions about other breeds myself so ..