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.

Anyone got any advice on insurance?? Who do you use and how much is it? Such a minefield

Here he is, we took him home today x

Oh he's GORRREGEOUS!!! You're honestly going to have the most amazing relationship with him 🥹🥹🥹

We're insured through our vets, I can't remember the name of it (I keep it all in a folder!).

Re: the muzzle thing- she caught a squirrel that darted out right in front of us, she was definitely 'properly held'.

Our whippet/grey cross has got into.the habit of going up to bed with the kids. Now one of the kids just calls him for 'beddybyes' and he trots up to bed after them! He has a bed in DS1's room but I think yours are too young for that. I think if you set up his bed somewhere cosy I think he would just go off to sleep anywhere.

@bakewellbride oh, he is absolutely stunning. I am a complete sucker for blue dogs (ddog2 is blue and fawn)

OMG, he’s adorable. Gorgeous colour. I hope you are all very happy together and he finally gets the family life he deserves.

What a cutie! He'll be a velcro dog I bet.

Did you get any pedigree & race results with him, or was he "as seen"? :)

He’s beautiful OP! Congratulations ❤️

We use Petplan for insurance for our dog and two cats and they have always been great. I don’t know how the premiums compare to other insurance companies but I have been impressed by what they will cover in the their policy- eg they covered dentistry recently for both of our elderly cats; I gather dentistry isn’t always/often covered so we were really glad of that as it saved us £2k!

Congratulations op!! He is gorgeous!!
<Waves from my pointy hounds..! >

Such a beautiful blue dog. Take things slowly; this is all new to him.

Yay! Ours is blue too :) ❤️

They make great reindeer! 😁

If you know his racing name you can look up the race records. Sometimes you can look up the tattoos in their ears but ours never worked

Stunner! And you're just in time for all the global greyhound walks this Sunday....

@PlantDoctor so cute! Ours never raced, we did try looking it up but it just says zero races. He wasn't bothered at the trial stage bless him.

What a lovely hound!

On insurance, it’s very much about individual takes on levels and attitude to risk. We’ve gone for relatively lowish cover - £5-6k but also a low excess. Lifetime is what’s advised and what we’ve always got, but the premium will shoot up if you want to rely on it. Couple of years with Waggel, no claims but the premium shot up. Couple of years with Corinium, after the first year the premium increased (with a claim after eating raisins)and I negotiated it back down. They were good at paying out our claim then and after our old boy got bone cancer and died. The rates for our new boy were higher (in line with the market!). We’re with Tesco this year. Frankly, insurance is difficult all round. We’ve (pretty much randomly) usually had dental cover and that’s advised for greyhounds, but it relies on an annual vet check and there seems to be a lot of exclusion of claims by insurers. Top to on teeth, btw, is to buy a big bag of tracheas - one most days keeps our boy’s teeth very white.

@Definitelyrandom thanks but we've got insurance now. Do I need to set an alarm and go and see him? Dh and me have decided to not sleep on the sofa but I'm just up here worrying about him now!

Keep thinking if I should pop down at 2am or something and check he's ok

😍😍😍 he's beautiful!

@bakewellbride Suggest just having a listen to hear if he’s ok. He’s likely to hear an alarm so keep it on buzz rather than ring. They have ears like bats (especially if a fridge is opened).

Thanks everyone. Dh and I can't see eye to eye about wee accidents in the house. What would you do? I think take him straight outside, ignore the accident and praise him when he does get it right.

Dh thinks we should 'get angry' with him and 'say no firmly, teach him it's wrong to wee in the house'.

Any advice gratefully received

No point in 'getting angry' - dog won't know what you are cross about (can't understand 'no') and it will just confuse him. Better to encourage what you do want.

I think your DH needs to wise up pretty sharply. Breaks my heart to think of anyone getting angry with the poor lad for a wee accident, he’s a rescue dog for goodness sakes!

reinforce the behaviours you want not punish what you don’t.

I agree- it’s sad to think of someone getting angry with a rescue dog- or in fact any dog! A dog will not be able to connect the anger to the weeing in the house- he simply won’t understand, and the anger will likely frighten him. Given what previous posters have said about greyhounds having a good memory for traumatic incidents, shouting at or chastising the dog would be a big mistake and very cruel. OP, your way is the right way. DDog will learn very quickly that weeing is for outside.

You are right. Your DH’s approach will make him scared and make things worse. You need patience, lots of patience. Please help your DH see this or it will be so sad for your lovely new dog, and he will take longer to settle. Everything is new for him just now, and this may take weeks or even months to settle down.

Please do not get angry at him. You will dent his confidence and probably make the problem worse. You need to teach him your are to be trusted and safe. He may never have been given a reason to trust humans. Being angry with him isn't going to do that. Your approach is the right one. He is brand new and has lots of things to learn. Give him time.

This is the bed both my girls use in size XL: https://www.petsathome.com/product/3-peaks-scalloped-dog-bed-ecru/P71327

They love it.

My tips are don't be put off if he is a little stand offish or shy for the first wee while. It took 6 -8 months for our girls to take in their true form fully. It was alot of fun watching them come into themselves.

Make sure he has time to himself if that is what he wants. Don't crowd him.

Have patience. Every dog will have their challenges. Remember it's all new for him. You are strangers. You need to show him you can be trusted. Enjoy your dog. Give him the best life and he will enrich yours beyond comprehension.

Pics of my lovely girls attached because I love to show them off 😅