Pros and cons of adopting a female greyhound

[DustyPryce]

Intending to adopt a dog in the new year. Am seeing a few ex racer greyhounds at Dogs trust and RSPCA and wondering if we would be a good match for each other. Female greyhound as they're smaller.

I Live alone, WFH, would take dog for 2 x 45 min walks daily, sometimes longer. Have a warm comfortable home where she could spread out though garden not massive, not roomy enough for zoomies.

Share your thoughts on female ex racer greyhounds with me please. Whether I seem suitable, best places to find them, things to look out for, red flags etc

Many ex racers will have never been in a home before - so TVs, stairs, furniture are all new experiences. Worth checking with the rescue. They learn quickly though, but it's useful to know in advance. I have a lovely memory of one of our emergency fosters being totally transfixed by the telly!

Unlikely to be house trained - again, ask. Be prepared for needing to do this as new changes can set back a dog that was previously trained.

Ask about prey drive. Some ex racers aren't bothered by small furries - mine are though, and are not cat or wildlife safe.

There's more but need to go to work will try and post later!! Greyhounds are brilliant, and so many need homes ♥️

They are wonderful dogs but how they will adapt to a home environment is uncertain until you give it a try
My friend adopted one and while they knew to be cautious around cats they had no idea that small dogs could trigger the same response and almost the first time they took her out (on a lead) she almost killed a neighbours small dog that approached. She then had to be muzzled and was dog reactive to most dogs, although she loves our (large) boy. She is able to be walked without a muzzle now but always on her lead and so never gets the chance to run - the one time they tried she went hell for leather and fell, breaking her leg
The dog is lovely, she is always pleased to see me and is so gentle BUT she is a lot and luckily my friend is retired and has the time to spend on her
Also, be very cautious about what any Rescue tells you, some outright lie and others may fudge a bit or genuinely not know.

I know ex-racers are often touted on here as the perfect dog but I’ve known a few IRL who proved to be anything but. One has an insane prey drive and needs to be double-leashed and muzzled on walks - he also has severe separation anxiety as he was raised in kennels and cannot be left alone.

Another is horrendous on the lead and has pulled her elderly owner over several times - she can’t be let off either due to her prey drive.

Saying that, they are both very sweet-natured dogs and fantastic with people (including children) but they do need a lot of management outside of the house.

Make sure you ask the rescue lots and lots of questions and be prepared to toilet train and get them used to basic everyday things like stairs, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, cars etc.

I have 2 rescue rescue greyhound girls.

As above they take time to learn how to live in a home. They also take a long time to become their real selves. It took well over 6 months for my girls to come into their actual personalities.

One of mine dislikes other dogs but isn't reactive to them. She doesn't like them in her space. She wasn't well looked after and is quite an anxious soul. She however adores people. She used to be a bit adverse to men but she's come out the other side of that.

The other I think was better looked after. She is a confident girl and loves other dogs. She like people enough but if there is something more interesting going on she can be a bit stand offish lol. She also took a while to come around to men.

Neither could be let off the lead. We have a good garden and we rent an enclosed field once or twice a month for a good run. We rent it for an hour. We are lucky if they run for 10 minutes.

They are fantastic dogs and I have found them to be very low maintenance but id say the biggest issue you might come across is a hound with a high prey drive. The rescues should know which dogs these are and only re-home them to a suitable home. Make sure to use a reliable rescue.

My girls are the best thing I've ever done and I'd be lost without them.

I had a female ex racer. She came with her challenges, but for me was a lovely pet who I miss dearly.

She had been badly treated, so was extremely nervy which added a layer of complexity, it took well over a year for her true personality to come through.

She had never lived in a house before, and never did learn to do the stairs, which often meant sleeping downstairs with her (if there were fireworks or a storm etc and she was frightened)

She was frightened of pretty much everything we encountered on walks, so I walked her through the fields early on a morning when it was quieter, she wouldn't go out through the day or on an evening (flat refusal to moce, would just slip her collar and go back to bed). She was fundamentally lazy, so one walk of around an hour a day was enough for her. Couldn't let her off the lead, as she would chase rabbits and had ZERO recall.

Toilet training wasn't an issue for us when she was younger (adopted her at age 5), but was truly horrific to deal with when she became elderly.

She lived happily with cats and indoor guinea pigs, but would shred anything white if left unsupervised. The first night she obliterated two Mongolian fur style throw pillows. She also once got a 24 pack of toilet roll that I'd left in the hallway. Boxes of tissues had to be kept at a height.

She was very stealthy when it came to stealing food. I had to childlock the fridge, freezer and base units in the kitchen, and couldn't leave anything out, even wrapped.

Once she settled in, she was the perfect pet for me. So loving, liked to try and sit in my lap which was always fun as she was big for a female. She was usually calm, liked a quiet life, but would get zoomies when listening to Flight of the Bumblebee.

A lot of the negative behaviours I could likely have trained out of her, but she'd had such a horrible start in life, I chose to just leave her be. I lived alone at the time, and was unbothered by the compromises.

Go to a Rgt centre rather than the RSPCA or the Dogs Trust as they will have a wider selection to help you meet your needs. They will also be able to give you better breed specific advice and support if you do choose one.

Thanks for the useful advice and guidance above

Prey drive - ask how long the dog has been at the rescue. The longer they have been there, the better idea the rescue should have about their prey drive. Some may only be bothered by cats or squirrels. However, as PP have said, others can be triggered by anything small - like toy dog breeds. When walking out initially I would always muzzle until you get to know the dog.

Mine never go off lead outside of the garden or a secure dog area. Greyhounds are bred to chase - it's instinct, so their recall is not brilliant. I have met some greys with decent recall but it's not something I would risk, as sadly I have seen too many cases where they go off. If it happens you won't catch them, and their tiny brains won't think about anything apart from trying to catch what they are going after. They end up lost, because they won't know where they've ended up - and there is a huge likelihood of them injuring themselves (because they will hurtle headlong into an obstacle) or ending up in front of a car.

The good news is that they are 100mph couch potatoes. For such fast dogs they are unbelievably lazy. None of mine are interested in a walk for much longer than 30 minutes - and if it's raining then forget it, they will go outside for the world's quickest pee and then bolt straight back in to get onto the sofa. They love sunbathing. During the summer, our garden furniture is essentially expensive dog beds, as you can't get in edgeways for basking greyhounds!

It's worth asking the rescue if the dog does better on its own or whether it needs company. One of mine would be quite happy as a solo dog, but none of the others would cope with being alone - they are very sociable animals that like company. Best advice is to go to a rescue that has experience with greyhounds, who will understand the questions about prey drive.

They are a fantastic breed, try and get one that has been in a foster home.

I owned an ex racing greyhound. She was wonderful, very lady back and affectionate. Happy with 2 20 minute walks a day. She never caused any damage in the house however she would eat any food left out, including chocolate and sweets. She passed away 3 years ago and I miss her dearly.

I would like to add also, she walked lovely on the lead and also lived with a free roam house rabbit and never showed any desire to chase him. A very very lovely breed in my opinion

It's early days for us, as have only had our female ex racer for a few months, but so far it's all been positive. We got her from Dumfries and Cumbria Greyhounds. Fantastic charity, really thorough in what they went through (in terms of home visit, information about her, and tips/things to consider for us). I haven't got experience with other charities, but I think a specific greyhound charity rather than general pet rescue will really understand greyhounds and their particular wants and needs.

Look for a charity that offers life long support and who will take the dog back if unable to support you through any issues/unforseen health problems etc.

Don't expect to ever let her off lead unless in a secure area. But, knowing many owners of various breeds struggle with recall, getting another breed is no guarantee of trusting recall. Do you have a secure field near you that you can hire/use?

It might be worth looking for your local greyhound social walk and chatting to some owners, meeting a few hounds!

Ours seemed extremely quiet when we first got her, and in hindsight I think was quite 'shut down' from being in kennels. She has really come out of her shell, with both upsides (more joy and exuberance) and downsides (reacting to other dogs, though only when they growl/bark at her first, which is fair enough really, and easily manageable). So I suppose, just be mindful that the dog you see may behave differently with time to settle.

If it is the right choice for you, I wish you good luck - our girl is absolutely fantastic and we adore her.

And I agree with the poster above, that it's worth trying to get one who has lived in a house before, unless you have the time and patience to get them acclimatised to all sorts of usual household noises, floors, mirrors, etc.!

We have had ex racers for 16 years and are fosterers for a local charity.
I find the females harder work than the males. They can be very bossy and very much queen bees. However, this is just our experience. Also, they are not necessarily smaller. Our current female resident is as big as our boys and twice as loud. She eats just as much and poos as much and as large as the lads!
I’d go on the dog not the sex. I concur with pps that a dog from foster is a good idea. Those carers know that dog very very well and will have done a lot of leg work towards making them into a pet instead of livestock.
Every dog has its foibles and greys are no different. I love them but each to their own!

My friends adopted a girl, very friendly at first, but she unfortunately didn’t take to the males in the house and was particularly nasty towards the adult son, so they returned her and took on another girl, who has been great, runs around like crazy in enclosed dog parks, she’s had quite a few paw problems and had to have some toes removed due to infection, which could have been caused by all the running. But like previous posts, unless she’s on a walk, she will happily sleep all day. Their insurance is now over £100 per month, but it has been used on several occasions.

That routine sounds perfect for a greyhound, OP.
2x 45min walks is more than enough for them, they’re the laziest fuckers I’ve ever known 🤣

(I’ve had 4, now have a lurcher she is genuinely the laziest dog I’ve ever met- despite being 25% Border Collie! I swear to god she rolls her eyes when I get her lead).

Agree with all of the above- be patient. They like their own space until they don’t, then the affection knows no bounds 🥰

Also strong agree with the food stealth. One of mine once had a whole bloody burger off my plate by quickly squeezing under my arm 🤣

I have an ex-racer and he is awesome. We are about 4 years into having him and he is a wonderful dog. We chose him very carefully though and got him from a small rescue so he had been in a house before and they knew he was easy going. He settled in really quickly although it probably still took a few months for him to fully come out of his shell. He is small for a boy, but he did make the house feel small when we first got him!

He does get separation anxiety, which lots of greys do. But with separation training and a crate he can now be left safely at home for up to 4 hours. But your home working set up sounds perfect (my DH WFH), just something to keep in mind as obviously dogs can't necessarily come with us everywhere.

He is also bloody terrified of fireworks and thunder.

They are beautiful affectionate dogs. Bloody lazy couch potatoes. Can be quite dramatic. Would have another in a heartbeat though.

Second the recommendation to use Retired Greyhound Trust. They matched us perfectly with our girl and she has been a dream. Yes, there are prey issues but she can go off at times when we can see there are no squirrels etc. loves people, children, doesn't care about other dogs except for other sighthounds and is the all round perfect pet.