Please talk to me about greyhounds!

[JorisBonson]

This is a very long way off, but DH and I will at some point be in a rhythm with our shifts where someone will be at home most of the time. We've decided, when it comes, to re-home a dog and have thought about taking on an ex racing greyhound.

Would love to hear people's experiences of this!

Not much help but I love greyhounds so following with interest. I don't have one but I like them

Don't have any direct experience but a few friends have them. They are the softest loveliest dogs ever. They got them from a rescue

They seem to spend an hour of high octane running and then the rest of the day in various poses asleep...!

They seem to spend an hour of high octane running and then the rest of the day in various poses asleep...!

They're my spirit animal 😂

Greyhounds are the best. Prepare to give up all your sofa space though.

My parents on on their 5th one! I love greyhounds, they seem very low maintenance to other dogs, they sleep ALOT! Many aren't great with cats or all small furries, they are a sensitive breed who respond well to a gentle touch.

The…..best…….dog……..ever!!!!!

Gorgeous, gentle, lazy dogs. My friend had several back when Walthamstow Stadium was still open.

We have a lurcher who was the product of two rescues. He's the size of a greyhound and so soft and sleepy, as long as he gets a run / walk a couple of times a day.

Best breed ever

We adopted a female greyhound about 3 months ago and she has been a joy.
But I think we have been pretty lucky. She had never lived in a house before but settled in well. No accidents in the house, walks really well on the lead, has stayed off the furniture, eventually settled at night and travels really well in the car. She's not a food scrounger either.
However, she whines quite a bit as has terrible separation anxiety so really not happy to be left alone.
She loves a good long walk so although the general consensus is greyhounds only need 2 x 20 minute walks a day that is certainly not the case with her.

My friends have one who had never lived in a house and took a LONG time to settle in. Was TERRIFIED of the TV, washing machine, fan on the oven, literally anything that wasn’t another living being that made a noise and was very nervous walking on the pavements when there was much traffic. He is now a lovey well adjusted dog but he took a lot of time, work and help from a behaviourist to get to that space

Our third greyhound is currently sleeping off his dinner in his bed next to me. I love greyhounds - they are funny, affectionate and relatively low maintenance. They are good company and generally well behaved.

It does depend what you want from a dog - they don’t tend to be good with recall so can’t often go off the lead, and they don’t tend to play fetch. Mine loves his walks but I’m not sure he’s robust enough for a good days walking in the Peak District.

I love them as they fit in well with our lifestyle. I have fostered dogs of other breeds and while they were lovely I found them too in your face.

My friend has one, ditto what everyone else said. Lazy , frequently will refuse a walk if she doesn't feel like it, won't go out in the rain. Has a mental race around the garden the collapses like a drama queen panting. Also over exaggerates when she is hot. Will eat anything and everything . Didn't like squirrels - used to chase them also has weird things with other dogs occasionally dancing around in front of them barking as though to say chase me...
Takes over any space that anyone would want to sit , she is a lovely animal and very kind and gentle.

We’ve had three greyhounds - one was lovely and sociable, but did enjoy rooting through the bin. Second was pretty timid, although a sweetheart and able to be off lead because she would come back and didn’t really run far. Current one does not give off greyhound vibes so much - she is very energetic, will go for as long a walk as you could manage and would happily go out multiple times a day. Is not allowed on sofas or other human furniture because she gets territorial. Has zero recall, but is lovely.

My sister has had a few greyhounds. Such lovely animals. One of them was very nervous despite having her from a pup but the others were fairly cheeky and happy go lucky.

I ve had many many different breeds of dogs in my life, I now have my first grey. She is hands down the easiest dog I've ever had. Brilliant recall, gentle sweet funny. She goes everywhere with me, never makes a nuisance of herself ,just lays down and waits until I'm ready to leave. They are utterly adorable everyone should have a grey in their life 🤗

Greyhounds are amazing!

Soft, gentle, very lazy, lovely laid back characters. Sensitive, sweet, a very easy dog. Like big cats. Ours have been very happy to be left for up to 4 hours. The only con is their recall - because of their high chase drive. But quirky, leany, roaching gorgeous things.

They fold up small. They stretch out big. You will love their grins.

We had the most gorgeous ex racer, he was absolutely adorable.

He was huge, but gentle, calm and quiet in the house, never once barked in the house the whole time we had him.

Refused to go out in the rain, would do one zoom lap of the park then want to go home, not interested in balls but loved a squeaky toy.

Massive prey drive, could never have lived with a cat or other small furry, but was tormented by the neighbours cats who used to sit on the garden wall knowing full well he couldn’t reach them!

Wasn't great with other dogs when we first got him, they tend to often not be well socialised - but he got better with that and in the end had a general disinterest in other dogs.

Honestly the best dog ever, miss him loads.

Humm well two friends have had rescue greyhounds, both had attachment issues. One sprayed blood around the lounge from wagging its tail raw against the walls. It also killed the school cat, it was on the grounds and the owner didn't grab the lead in time.

The other one had no recall at all, chased everyone including teenagers across the park, terrified children, terrible anxiety and ended up going back to the rescue, so there are downsides to the breed

Beautiful, gentle, sensitive dogs. Love them.

Had 'em for well over 20 years.

CONS

If you want a dog to let off the lead and play fetch - not for you.
If you want a dog to run miles a day with - again no (look at spaniels).
If you want a smart dog - again no. Bless.
Also mine (an old man now) costs £150/month insurance. But he is old and it's reliable insurance. I'm guessing a smaller mongrel may be cheaper.

PROS

If you want a dog that is less challenging allergy wise - for me they're great. Regular dogs set me off, but not greyhounds.

If you want a 30kg lap dog - great.

If you want a dog who won't give you stick if the weather is crap and you just want to take them for a very short walk until they've dumped - they're marvellous.

If you want a dog who primarily sleeps - ✔️

If you don't want to groom - fabulous. But you DO need to clean their teeth.

If you do decide to get one, ask around for a good rehoming organisation. The dogs should be de-fleaed, wormed, neutered before you get them; the org should stipulate that the dog goes back to them if you can't keep it for whatever reason; they should give you a frank assessment of their dogs' personalities and traits and how your home lines up with them; and should provide a few weeks' pet insurance when you adopt, so the dog is covered from the get go.

I took most of mine to a local dog training class, as much to get them used to other breeds of dog as anything.

Dogs straight from kennels will not have met various bits of a home environment - e.g. most likely any food they've seen being cooked would have been for THEM - still a lot easier settling in a new ex racer than a puppy though!

HTH

We have an ex-racing greyhound, he is a lovely dog, sleeps a lot, gets really excited for a walk but then only wants to walk for 15minutes or so, he does manage walking around for family days out with us though. Took him ages to settle, he didn't like all the noise and bustle of a family house but now he just sleeps through it. Rarely ever barks, loves his food and loves to be stroked. He can be nervous of dogs that aren't greyhound's and no way could be be off the lead he is far to interested in squirrels and rabbits. We never leave him in the house more than a couple of hours and he is desperate to see you when you return. He's now a chilled, lazy and easy dog.

Greyhounds always seem to walk well on lead. I’ve never seen one pulling.

Greyhound here, ex racer.
Good recall off the lead.
Sleeps all the time.
Few short walks a day.
Good with the pussycat.
Lovely with children
Downside- does not like to be left, 3-4 hours max. Needs TV/radio for company.

I’ve had 5 . Gorgeous gorgeous dogs . All of mine were ex racers and were all large hounds , even our female one . 2 were fine with our cat , the first two would not have been . Excellent on the lead , two had great recall , three didn’t . All adored the kids . Would get another in a heartbeat.

This is why you should have a greyhound in your life 😍