I have an appointment to view a greyhound today at the animal sanctuary. Wish me luck.

[CarnageAhead]

Good morning, I’m really excited, so bear with me.
I have been contacted to view a greyhound today at our local animal sanctuary after I sent in an application form.
She is an ex racer and is five years old 🥰🥰
Any advice welcome about food etc (and your greyhound pics obviously) will be most appreciated, and I’ll catch up later. Please wish me luck.
MTIA 💐

Oh what a beautiful dog 😮🥰🥰

My grandad had a poodle that was mauled to death by an off lead ex racer. I absolutely love greyhounds but if I had one that was trained to race I would muzzle it personally.

Oh that’s awful, I’m so sorry 😞.
It certainly isn’t something that I’ve ruled out despite my grey being a bit timid, I know she could change xxxx

Hi all, do I need to buy her a house collar as well as a greyhound collar?
I’m hearing conflicting info.

Ours do have one, but it’s a balance of how likely they are to strangle themselves at home vs escape.

Also, you might want to join a Facebook group or two, they are really good for advice.

XL snuggle paws bed ,the co is on Facebook, lovely to deal with but there can be a wait as they are very popular with greyhound owners.
£35 and massive and so squishy. Your greyhound will love you forever !

Beds - mine really likes to feel enclosed. So on the sofa he will squash into the corner or on the bed he squashes between pillows. So I got him a bed that has sides so he can feel wrapped in it. He rarely uses it though, he prefers the sofa or my bed!

Collar - mine doesn't have a collar at all anymore. He used to have collar and lead outside but I switched it to a body harness with lead which I think is more comfortable for him walking. Inside, no collar. I like him to feel "free" inside (same reason I take me bra off when I get in )

You could also pick up some little treats, I find them useful for training and distracting from things when walking. We use Denzel's bites.

Ah, I see. The bed I bought is one of those flat beds thinking she’d like to stretch out, but I have a few spare rectangular cushions to put on each side if need be.
I love your rationale about not having a collar on in the house 😂😂.
I’m going to try some home made treats as I have a humidifier. Apart from that, I know she loves sausage 😁😁.

Thank you, I have joined one up to now, the retired greyhound ex racer page (think that’s what it’s called on top of my head). I’ll look for more.

I grey up with a lovely rescue greyhound. Mad eyes Mary who raced at shawfield. My mum was also a foster carer for greyhound rescue back in 1990's so we often had one hanging around the house.

Oh gosh I loved Mary, she was a crazy as a bag of frogs but the sweetest girl.

Congratulations on her, she will bring you a lot of happiness, they are fabulous dogs.

Here is some old photos of her from mid 1990's

Loved that dog.

Ah looks just like my boy I absolutely adore him he was found as a stray In a bad way

I’m mainly here for the photos and general houndie love! We are 28 months into greyhound serfdom and loving it.
Beds- you may have a sprawled or a curler. A duvet, folded over, is fine and dandy to begin with. You can then buy a bed which suits your hound. Mine sprawls so a cosy nest wouldn’t work out for him.
Leads- please don’t get an extendable lead. They can be hitting full speed in 6-8 strides. Suddenly getting to the end of the lead at this speed will (at best) damage their necks. A thick, leather lead with a loop to put over your wrist is better. Or a harness if you prefer.
clothes- jumpers/ coats etc. We were given a thick coat for winter from the adoption kennel, we also got a fishtail collar and a house collar. Our loves his jumpers and looks for clean ones when we take off what he’s wearing. Some hounds don’t like them. They do need a coat on outside if you are wearing one (also cooling coats/ bandannas in summer).
Just had over your heart now, you’ll never get it back. These gorgeous, loving dogs will have stolen it!

@CarnageAhead also be prepared to discuss your houndie’s lineage with other owners. Ex-racers (and those born into racing families) all have their family trees online. It’s quite sensible as it prevents inbreeding in the breed.
Much celebration ensues if you find a half sibling and a full reunion may be planned if you find a full sibling! My boy has about 4000 half siblings, but we have found a littermate about 20 miles away. 😀

Beautiful dog 🥰🥰

Thank you for your advice. She already has my heart ❤️.

When she is home, the first thing I’m going to do is measure her up for an Equafleece coat.
We plan to keep her mostly in the house and around the garden for the first few days until the coat arrives, and also so she can get used to her immediate surroundings.

I have a bed for the living room, one she can stretch out in but I have spare cushions if she needs them. I don’t think she’s going to move much as it’s next to a radiator 😁.

I honestly can’t wait, and I can’t sleep.

Can’t wait for that 😁

Really good idea to keep her at home and the garden initially. I wasn’t given that advice and I walked him and ended up with a terrified freezing hound. Advice I would give myself in hindsight is to take everything very very slowly and focus on building the bond first .

Beautiful 😍

Hey, you weren’t to know, and you know what they say about hindsight…🙂.

Or, should that be houndsight 🤔

She’s home 🏡😊

It’s been a long day for her, poor thing..

Awww bless her. She is adorable. May you have many wonderful happy years together. Giving a rescue dog a loving home is a fantastic thing to do. My two love me now as much as I love them. Not sure who rescued who if I'm honest.

She’s so gorgeous and looks like a typical lazy grey! Congratulations 😊

Awww she's a beauty and a bit like mine. App won't let me upload a photo