Rehoming a greyhound

[Elizabeth20100]

Hi,

After loving the breed for years, I am now in the position to rehome a greyhound.

I got in touch with a lovely branch of the greyhound trust and they have matched us (me, DS8, DS5 and ragdoll cat) to a lovely cat-trainable girl.

I am suddenly nervous and second guessing my decision! I am home most of the time and work one day in London (a dog walker can come on that day) so this is great but I hear mixed reviews about the settling period and would love advice about separation anxiety, my biggest wobble point. Thanks :)

How exciting!!

I know greyhound owners who have made it work with cats so it's not a lost cause and doesn't necessarily mean the rescue is being naive. From what I hear it just might take a little time to get them to chill out around each other. I don't have a cat but my dog was quite a successful racer and has zero prey drive for any type of animal now. He looks out for the regular cast of neighbourhood cats when we're walking around but doesn't seem interested in trying to get to them! They don't seem scared of him either as they act very chilled and don't try to hide.

As for the settling in period and SA, it really depends on the individual dog. The boys can tend to be a bit needier and clingier than the girls, so you might have a head start there already. Generally, the less you can leave her alone in the first few weeks, the better. Then when it comes time for her to spend time alone she'll be feeling confident and secure.

Good luck and enjoy!

I would also question a Rescue that is happy to rehome a Greyhound where there is a 5 year old and a cat
Yes, I agree.

When I got a dog I already had 2 cats and so chose a breed that I know has a low prey drive and I also got a puppy to be on the safe side.
I love Greyhounds and adore my friends (although she can't visit with her due to the cats) BUT I could never get one as it didn't suit my circumstances.
I know there are no guarantees that any dog will be ok with cats but in general terms some breeds are better than others, its why I ruled out terriers as well.

I wish OP well, they are beautiful dogs and deserve good homes, especially as too many are abused in the Racing industry

Ooh, congratulations on your imminent new arrival.
We re-homed a Greyhound three years ago, and haven't looked back.
They are lovely dogs, very unique in their temperament. Quite sensitive, can be aloof, but also love people and a fuss. Being greeted at the door by my boy is my favourite part of the day.
We recently added a whippet to the mix, which has been a fun new adventure.
My DH works from home and it works well. We do crate them when we go out, and the puppy is still crated at night, as they both prefer it.
I remember having awful regret after we got him home and I did think - oh my goodness what have we done? But the uncertainty passed quickly and now I can't really remember life without him.

Cat-aside (as I think it depends a lot on the dog personally - no way my grey could live with a cat but I know others that do).... what's wrong with a five year old? Not all rescues are against re-homing to families. And thank goodness as it rules out so many good homes for the many, many dogs who need them. Not all dogs can live with children, but many can.

My children were 5 and 3 when we re-homed our greyhound. They've grown up learning the correct boundaries around dogs as a result.

Because most rescues would recommend no under tens in the home.
I’m amazed (not in a positive way) that they gave you a rescue greyhound with a 5 and 3 year old in the house.
Was it a reputable rescue centre?

The Rescue I home check for (not Greyhounds) WILL rehome where there are under 8's in the house but only where a dog has lived with children before and as the dogs we deal with are usually from kennels or very difficult circumstances its unusual to find one that has
Its not a risk we take
I know its a choice many families make and mostly it works out Ok but the Rescue I am involved with is very very careful

Our ex racer boy lives with our elderly cat quite happily, she is the boss in that relationship. He has very little prey drive though, probably why he didn’t want to race! When he first came home he was pretty stressed, pacing and panting, which we were told was quite common when they don’t have any experience of being in a home. He settled really quickly though, we just made sure that he had a safe place to sleep (until he discovered his sofa) and we talked to him a lot when seemed to calm him down. He is now, 5 years on, a chilled out goofy couch potato and we wouldn’t be without him! We found greyhound charities and other greyhound owners are really happy to advise on any issues (and talk about how fab greyhounds are obviously!) so definitely reach out if you need any help.

I promise you won’t regret this decision. I adopted my first hound in 2019 and he quickly became my best friend. Took a week or so to settle … but they tend to figure things out quickly . Well done you for opening your home to an amazing dog breed .

Thank you all again. I’m pleased the trust are open to rehoming with children. My family adopted our family dog (jack russell)when I was four years old, I still have a vivid memory of going to collect him. He was my best friend growing up and lived with us for over two decades! I think it’s a real shame to have a blanket rule to discount loving homes. A strong degree of common sense and assessment are essential.

Beau had a corn removed from her foot under general anaesthetic yesterday so will be recovering for a week before we introduce her to the cat next week. If all goes well, she will be coming home with us on the same day 😍

What a patronising post. 🙄

Most rescues are short-sighted not to consider homes with children as a blanket policy. It is perfectly possible for young children and dogs to co-habit happily. As they do all around the world. Not all dogs can live with children obviously. But plenty can and do. I'm amazed (not in a positive way) that you are so close-minded.

I really don't want to detract from the Ops (lovely!) topic, so I won't engage with you further on this. We can agree to disagree.

@Elizabeth20100 do let us know how you get on. ❤

@Annascaulthe Greyhound Trust know more about their dogs history , personality and suitability for a home than most other rehoming charities . They go through a robust assessment before being advertised for rehoming and only the dogs they believe are safe around young children would be advertised as such . My hound wasn’t child “tolerant” and that was made very clear to us . However my mums hound is completely different .

Do you know about the Toxic Farts .........the Scream of Death.....the fact you will need to keep the clearest ever kitchen counters ('cos these blighters can stretch )

Do it OP!

My son rehomed a greyhound a few years ago and he is he sweetest, loveliest dog imagineable. He only needs a couple of short walks each day and is quite happy to laze about on the couch or floor most of the day.

I wish more people would rehome these lovely dogs instead of importing goodness knows what from abroad.

I have a grey xwhippet lurcher, he lives with 11 cats, as did my previous lurcher. Use stairgates and a house lead if necessary. If your dog has been cat tested chances are he will be fine, just set the boundaries at the start.

Oh God I'd forgotten the toxic farts! 😂My father used to boil sheep heads (and all sorts of noxious animal parts) for the greyhounds. The cooking smell was bad enough but the subsequent farts could have powered Heathrow.

Im very excited now! It will be me and the cat going next weekend, juuuuust in case they don’t get along and we aren’t able to rehome which would obviously be very disappointing for the boys. This little lady is quite excited about her upcoming day out however!

I heard of the greyhound scream of death yes 😂 It seems they are big characters!

One of mine has a sensitive stomach and it took a while to find the right dog food for him to minimise the farts. He’s on Burns sensitive pork and apple. Paired up with some tripe or tinned sardines. If he gets exclusively that, he doesn’t fart. Unfortunately I’m a sucker for those eyes and he gets a lot of treats. He just had some Stilton which I will no doubt regret later.

Just be aware that that long pointy nose will get into absolutely EVERYTHING!

We have to virtually lock down the kitchen and can't leave any kind of food lying around anywhere.

The trust currently have Beau on Forthglade wet and grain free dry so I’ve got some in stock. I imagine her tum might be upset at first due to the stress of upheaval so I’ll see how she goes.

I’ve also got a nice old duvet I’ve sewn in half as I’m not entirely sure what style bed she’ll like yet and I can easily wash the covers. It’s just occurred to me I’ll have to train her not to put her nose on the log burner! I’m walking round the house like I’m baby proofing

That’s a very beautiful cat and I don’t even like cats

I so hope the introduction goes well and that you get to bring Beau home with you.

Your cat is beautiful, but will she be okay in a strange environment, especially if it is noisy kennels?

I find cats are more assertive on their home turf and more likely to stand their ground. I wouldn't want her getting spooked and bolting on seeing a dog.

We are going to the trainers home @Stickytreacle, so secure in her living room. Winnie enjoys visiting others homes so she will be having a busy explore, quite a good test to see if Beau shows signs of chasing or has ominous interest (whilst wearing a muzzle and on a lead for obvious reasons).

Hope all goes well! I know a number of greyhounds who live with smallish children so it’s certainly not that unusual - and, of course, when they’re puppies and racers their owners/trainers may well have young families.

I think greyhounds aren’t that much different from other breeds in terms of whether they get on with cats. Some do, many don’t. Our old greyhound and our current one fall into the “definitely not” category but both were/are squirrel, rabbit etc chasers. Neither of them ever/have ever mistaken a small dog for prey, though, and off lead running around with other breeds has been fun to watch.

Do give her time to bond before you start to train off lead recall (if you think she’s up for it), don’t expect it to be a quick process and still do sensible risk assessments even if it works.

I grew up with racing greyhounds and never had any issues with them as a child. I used to walk them around the little show plot before the races from about age 7 or 8 - where the punters could observe the dogs before putting their bets on. Men would shout out to me "Has your Dad fed that dog today?" and I'd answer according to what my father had coached me to say. As a child I visited all the race tracks in the southwest from 7yrs - about 12 yrs old, usually on a school night too! I just went for the dogs because I loved them and my father used me to tell various bookies and punters what he wanted them to believe! He used to train greyhounds for other people too so I'd try to tag along with that if I could - often crouched up in the boot of his mate's clapped-out estate car with a bunch of hounds!