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.

It's not a stupid question - but to be honest it's not really like a person going to bed, in the sense that they will often be happy to go to sleep while you are still there with TV on, lights on etc. Greyhounds and other long dogs spend a lot of time sleeping, and indeed just lying around generally!

If your dog can't settle to sleep like this it may make sense to provide him with another bed space he can go for for night times, maybe slightly away from the TV/any place there is like to be noise?

For example, mine has two beds - one under my husband's desk in the living room and one in the kitchen which is just off the living room. Under the desk is definitely his preferred space for daytime lounging (it's quite cosy and protected) but he will sometimes be in the kitchen bed when I am cooking, in the hope of getting off cuts etc!

When it gets to about 7 he will usually get up, stretch, do a big dramatic sigh to make sure we notice him and then takes himself off into the kitchen for a bit of peace and quiet!

He does sometimes just like to lie on the floor as well, either in the kitchen, lounge or hallway (these are his only choices as he isn't allowed upstairs for various reasons).

So I guess I would say, have a think - is there somewhere you definitely need him to be sleeping at night, or is it possible to allow him to choose to a certain extent? With an option to retreat from the noise if he wants to?

As he isn't house trained, I would be thinking about flooring to start with too - if there is somewhere with a wipe clean floor he might be better off in there to start with.

As he is used to kennels I wouldn't anticipate you will hear much from him in the night to be honest - he should be happy enough to be left on his own. But as you correctly say, in a way it is impossible to predict all this so an open mind is good!

Can't remember if this came up on the thread, but have you decided on house rules such as whether he is allowed on furniture, what parts of the house he is allowed in etc? Just so you can be consistent from day one.

I noticed you had been advised a lot about stealing food, but this just shows how they are all individuals - my current dog can be in the kitchen with steaks left out on the side for an hour or more and not steal them! He has an absolutely iron respect for us in terms of food, and will only eat what he has explicitly been told by is he is allowed to have (if only his respect for us in areas such as coming back when called was as great!) It just goes to show they are all individuals with their own foibles..... And all the more adorable for it in my opinion.

We've also taught him hand gestures for some commands such as sit, lie down, stay, go ahead, drop it etc, and he seems to find those easier to follow than a verbal command alone. But again I think that's specific to him rather than a long dog thing! But it's something I would advise all dog owners to at least have a try with, as it's incredibly handy if their hearing goes one day, which isn't unusual in older dogs. And it's quite a good fun thing to work on.

Have a lurcher/grey x pretty much what everyone else has already said but mostly don’t underestimate the sensitivite side. I once dropped ddog’s food bowl as I was feeding him one morning and ddog flipped out and managed to crash into a bar stool. He wouldn’t eat breakfast for months and never ate in the kitchen again until we moved house!

Oh and recall is not great but he does response to a “wait” command and will stop and stand still until I get to him.

@motherofonegirl oh god how awful! We were always planning on keeping him muzzled outside the house don't worry x

@Hoppinggreen how awful that must've been.

@Ilovelurchers thank you

@BeMintBee thanks. I think I'll need to let dh know they are sensitive souls. He is used to MIL's bonkers border collie who can be told no sternly and not be bothered 5 minutes later. But greyhounds sound completely different to that and I don't want our boy freaked out! I want him to feel safe and loved.

Can only echo what's already been said. I've had James for four years now and I love him so much. He's a total buffoon, clumsy and the wind can blow your mind (ain't no fart like a greyhound fart..). But he's the most handsome and loving boy..

He has a single duvet which he scrunches to the exact shape he wants but generally he sleeps on the sofa with the odd trip to teen DS bad. No problem with food scavenging but he will stare if you're eating, just in case you drop a bit. I never let him off lead as he's a twat and I don't trust him not to scarper.

I muzzled him for the first day then didn't bother after that. He's always on a short lead anyway. He will freeze when he sees a dog/cat/fox/crisp packet. And can be quite vocal if he wants something.

You'll never regret a greyhound.

James

We have beds like these for ours. And one of those mattress pads that you have underneath the main bed (he's getting old and arthritic so likes to be comfy!)!

Tbf it’s actually pretty uncommon for greyhounds to attack small dogs - they aren’t that stupid to mistake them for actual prey. And if they’re on lead anyway….. One useful thing is to train them to walk on a loose lead (which should be pretty easy). If they’re pulling it’ll be much more difficult to brace yourself and stop them pulling you over if they try and shoot off after a cat or whatever.

On bedtime, our previous boy would just push off to a quiet room if he felt it was time. Our current boy just stays on his “daytime” bed till everyone goes to bed. Understood re children upstairs, but they (greyhounds!) do like to be with you. Can you close the children’s doors to the extent that a dog can’t get through? Otherwise you may need to sleep downstairs for a bit to get them used to the new routine.

Bear in mind that they’re often used to sharing a kennel with another racing greyhound (and snuggling up) and they have all their chums in adjacent kennels so are used not to being alone at night.

Good advice in this thread, nothing to add. Except this picture of Sean, whom we adopted in February.

This is indeed a risk as very fast movement of any small ish animal can trigger the chase/prey drive. This is why mine is only off lead in a secure dog field - she has selective recall.
But as regards children, I doubt the speed or gait of a child would trigger a greyhound and as a breed they are known to be exceptionally good with children. The risk to a child - or anyone - would be sleep startle, which many greyhounds have to varying degrees. So when they're asleep they need to be called and woken up before they're touched.

Please do muzzle him outside. My neighbour has the most gorgeous greyhound but he has killed two cats, once when he slipped his lead and once when off-lead. Another grey I know killed one that wandered into their garden. I don't blame the dogs and I think they are wonderful pets. But you need to do your absolute best to keep them away from cats.

If he's straight out of kennels with no foster home buffer he won't be toilet trained. They're used to doing the toilet in their kennel, so as and when it's needed. Outside every hour and set an alarm for once during the night. Lots of praise for doing a pee outside. They're very quick to learn and anxious to please. My 2 only took 3 nights and have never soiled inside since.

@mattbee he's beautiful

@MrsJackRackam thank you so much, that's really helpful.

If you feed from the table he will constantly hassle you for food whilst you’re eating and may snatch too. They can snaffle off a worktop or table very easily and from laps or little hands - you need to be strict from the start. It may be best to feed him before your meal.

Ok thank you. Any tips for the first night? I'm really freaking out tbh! X

Agree re: muzzling. Our old girl caught a squirrel whilst on the lead. It was horrendous, tbh- and she was never even trained to race (she was used for breeding 😔).

First night- give cool down time. A good 15/20mins of no fussing, just chilling before you leave him/her alone. Same for when you leave the house. Don't make a big fuss when you go down in the morning/when you get home from being out- they already tend to have separation anxiety, making a fuss of them before you leave/when you return will make that worse.

Well this thread has made me REALLY want a greyhound. Apart from the farts- I could do without that but the rest sounds just charming.

You might (at your option) be more chilled with chasing rabbits/squirrels. We never bothered with muzzles - I’ve always been confused by how a hound that is properly held on a lead can catch anything. Our old boy (offlead) caught rabbits occasionally and ate them - he didn’t get any tea then. They eat meat in their meals so it’s no different (but free!). I don’t let our boy out if I know there’s a cat in the garden but if he does end up catching one otherwise in the garden it’s sad but you can’t really prevent that. Especially if the cat knows there’s a greyhound knocking about.

on the first night/day, leave your new hound in peace, don’t fuss too much. If you’ve decided to leave your hound downstairs, be prepared to kip downstairs and gradually move yourself back upstairs. They aren’t used to being on their own. Some say play radio, leave a low light on. Tbf I can’t say if that works as our hounds slept upstairs and they wandered down if they wanted to in due course. Be prepared for some early wake ups to go out into the garden - that’s what they’re used to. You can gradually encourage them to get up later.

First night - he is probably going to feel anxious, moving into a new place with new people. Give him time and space to explore and sniff everything. Have a plentiful supply of treats and give plenty of them. Give some cuddles when he wants them, give him space when he wants it - don't badger him or fuss him when he's trying to have quiet rest. Do the bedtime toilet but be prepared for overnight indoors wees if he's feeling anxious. You said he won't be allowed upstairs so try to sleep downstairs with him a couple of nights. Try not to be too anxious yourself, you're doing a wonderful thing adopting him. You will be his whole world and he will adore you.

Mine slept through all night downstairs on her first night, and has done ever since - so you might be pleasantly surprised!

Mine has done this too and she wasn't a successful racer.
And that's the thing isn't it, before the invention of the horrible racing industry, greyhounds were kept by the aristocracy to bring home rabbits for the pot, and were treated very well because of that. So they think they're doing a good thing... 🙈🫣