Greyhound

[bakewellbride]

We are about to adopt an ex racing greyhound. I've been doing research but this will be my first dog.

Anyone got any words of wisdom?!

I'm nervous but so happy and excited too.

They are the most brilliant dogs. On beds, ours has a knuffelwuff one with sides that he sleeps on at night (and his predecessor did before him) plus an old folded duvet on a cheap Aldi bed for downstairs - and the sofa, the settle and a couple of armchairs….

Our current boy is very different from our previous one, in size, colouring, temperament, playing habits and so on but they could both only be greyhounds. Loving to run and chase, sleeping, enjoying being stroked - and a complete sense of superiority over other dogs.

The Aldi xl donut beds are a good inexpensive option (I think less than £30 for a huge bed) and I think they're back in store at the moment. You can never have too many beds with a greyhound! I've managed to find replacement covers and the round cushion part on Amazon. For very cold weather I use an unzipped toddler sleeping bag as a mini duvet.

@Ilovelurchers thank you, some great advice there. No he's never set foot inside any home ever. We live right near a big fenced off field and that's the only place I plan on letting him off the lead. No other pets. Just me, dh and 2 kids - toddler dd and 6 year old ds.

The first time he met my daughter was the first time he'd ever seen another child ever and he just instantly took such a shine to her and DD's face was priceless, just so happy. It was a beautiful moment and from then we knew he was the dog for us. We did see one other but she was a bit wary of dd so not quite the right fit.

@Octopies @Definitelyrandom thank you so much.

@CMOTDibbler he's adorable!

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but I keep hearing that dogs like to go to bed early. But on a practical level what does that actually look like? I like to watch tv on the sofa in the evenings with dh if he's not out working - would we still be able to do that?! Or will we have to just turn the lights out and go straight upstairs??

10 pm is my ddogs bedtime. And they let us know!!..

@Spenditlikebeckham omg they are gorgeous! 😍

Dd left with her dm right.. Inseparable..

@Spenditlikebeckham how does it work on the first night, do you need to sleep in the same room as them to begin with? Or do you just go up to bed and that's that? I'm so unsure about so much despite so much research!

I kind of get the impression that no matter how much you try to learn you basically know nothing until you actually have the dog and are learning as you go... like when you have your first baby. I always vowed I'd NEVER compare having a dog to having a baby but there we go, I just did!

Wonderful dogs but can take a while to settle down and show their personality.
If you have neighbours with cats then consider whether you need to use a muzzle in your garden - they can kill cats due to their training. They are used to wearing a muzzle.
Also be careful with your hands when holding the lead on walks - if he sees a cat or a squirrel then he could pull away very fast so don’t wrap around fingers.
It would be good to keep him away at mealtimes - if he’s in the same room then use a pen around his basket and never give him food from the table or your plates.

@kiwiane Our next door neighbours don't have cats but there are generally lots of cats and other dogs down our road generally. There was one cat that used to visit our front garden and I used to fuss over it and sometimes feed it which I know you shouldn't do but he's very thin and I'm a softie when it comes to animals. Safe to say I don't do that now!

We haven't bought a basket! Why can't they have food from the table? X

You don't need to go to bed just because they do, they will sleep through the TV.

Our routine is 6.30pm he has half of his dinner.
I have my dinner around 7.30pm and he has the other half of his dinner (mine just won't eat all in one go so I split it in two).
Then he sleeps on the sofa, usually loves a cuddle so his head will be snuggled into me while I'm watching TV for the evening.
About 10.30/11 we go outside for his bedtime toilet trip.
Then bedtime, he will go back to sleep either on the sofa or on his donut bed, if cold I add pyjamas/blanket.
At some point during the night he will get up and make his way onto my bed.

Our 2 get tucked in on a sofa (ddog only seating!).. Dh says goodnight and turns off the light.

They still there at 6am from 10pm.. Absolute sloths.

@HoHoHoliday thank you that's so useful. Our dog won't be able to come into our bed in the night as we've got the kids upstairs and I can't risk the dog going into their rooms in the night.

I've got so much to learn! X

A 10:30 toilet trip never occurred to me!

The first night he might be scared in a new place so perhaps sleep on the sofa and see how he goes. It'll reassure him someone is near.
My place is all on the same floor so first night I put him to bed and went to mine, but when he cried (several times a night for first couple of nights!) I got up and went to him straight away, I wanted him to feel safe. After a couple of nights he learned to come in to me instead and I was happy with that but if you don't want him in your bedroom you could have a dog bed on the landing outside the bedroom?

Thanks @HoHoHoliday it's not the in our bed thing that's the issue it's the fact he could enter our kids rooms unsupervised so he won't be allowed upstairs at all in the night.

Its insane to think we'll have him soon, im excited but also terrified as im so anxious to get it right

Ours have a wee to order at 10pm. All 4 together!!

We have two at the moment. They are like big cats and love cuddles. Sleep 23 hours a day.

The bedtime toilet is literally just do a wee and poo and straight back inside into bed - no walkies or playing. It means he is empty and sleeps better.

Please keep it muzzled out on walks and/or on the lead. My springer spaniel was attacked by a rescue ex racing greyhound - seeing my dog run across the grass triggered the greyhounds prey drive. It took 5 very long minutes to get the greyhound off my poor dog. It had no recall at all and would not listen to its owner. Apparently this is quite common with ex racing dogs. I was worried it may be a young child as the children's play area was right next to where we were.

This - they are trained to chase small things and they rely on their instinct to do this - it is not uncommon to chase and attack/kill smaller dogs/cats/pets etc - on the lead and muzzled when our of the house or garden

A bucket of crayons & spaghetti is the most apt description of a sighthound I ever read

Good luck - its a wild ride but they are the most beautiful animals. I've got a saluki x greyhound so went more for wild than sensible...
one thing to be cautious of is quite a few geeyhounds can have sleep startle. Thats where they can act aggressive if disturbed when asleep..and can often sleep with their eyes open. Teach your kids to let the dog come to them, rather than jumping on the dog, just in case. You'll get to know your dog.

They are very intelligent and very sensitive dogs, but sometimes you wonder where the brain cell is today! My husband once tapped the kitchen surface whilst talking to the dog, and out of no where she jumped up on to it, smashed everything off the side and fell off the other end. Never done it before or since...