Advice wanted on adopting a retired racing greyhound as a pet

[Iamateadrinker]

I'm seriously considering adopting a greyhound from a retired racers rescue centre. Please can anyone with experience ( good or bad) offer any advice or tips. What makes them good companions? What difficulties have you encountered? I am compiling a list of items I will need ( and may have spent far too long looking at car hammocks this evening).
Thank you in anticipation

You’re always safer to plan on the basis that they’d need to be muzzled and on lead out anywhere that’s not secure and if they end up not having to be it’s a bonus.

I’ve never known one that wouldn’t be up for an hour’s stroll - weather dependant, yeah they’re sprinters but they’re still dogs, they like a mooch.

They do hate weather, as other people have said, jackets aren’t fashion accessories, they need them if you’re going to go out in cold or wet.

They’re not cuddly as in they’ll try and climb on your lap 😂 but they are affectionate, like to be near you or leaning on you.

Re walking 2…it’s not usually an issue, ex-racers have been taught to walk nicely on lead. It’s more space - do you have enough sofas for 2? Can you fit 2 in your car? Etc.

a couple of things to be aware of

They’re usually counter surfers and food thieves, a combination of being able to reach and the only time they’ve been near food it’s for them, so why would all food not be theirs? So you want to be able to keep them away from the kitchen and bins when you’re not in sight.

They usually have/get bad teeth, you can try cleaving them to stave it off a bit but it’s just a breed thing and dental treatment isn’t usually covered by insurance. I think you can get insurance that does, but you’d need to check really, it’s also not like a huge regular expense, but it’s likely to come up at some point.

I’m cuddled up to my 10yo rescue grey, he’s the absolute best. Great with DD(6), so chill, rarely barks (once a week maybe if his dinner is 3 mins late or more), and is so friendly with dogs and people. He’s not arsed about small animals like rabbits, birds etc but he would chase a cat given the chance. He’s never off lead, most never are because of lack of recall, and I muzzled him for the first month to gauge his prey drive.
They’re so lazy, he sleeps most of the day, 2 short walks and some enrichment is all he needs. Best pet I’ve ever had. Obv a pic! He’s a big lad at 38kg but doesn’t know this and will happily behave as a lap dog.

This isn’t true for all - I had cats with my rescued greyhound and he was off lead all the time - never ran away

you need to assess but I do agree if there is any doubt keep on a lead

had mine 11 years - he was gorgeous black beauty

Oh thanks for all the responses
I appreciate every last bit of information
@mybathistoohot what a beauty he is 😊

It’s worth remembering that everyone’s comments here are picking out every detail of having a greyhound, which is great of course because it helps you prepare yourself. But once you have the dog and you’ve settled into each other you won’t give a lot of these things a second thought, you will fall into a life together and everything will just be normal. And for every ounce of worry you have, you’ll have a thousand tons of love in exchange.

I remember bringing my first boy home. I looked at him sitting on the sofa thinking what the hell have I done, how can I be responsible for this collection of elbows, what do I do with him all day, how do I know what he needs. Literally just days later I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I was so happy waking up in the morning and spending each day with him.

They are fantastic pets and most have a very calm nature. We are on our second and both are/were definitely retired not rescued. That was clear from contact we had with/information we got from their respective trainers.

They all wear muzzles when being walked from rehoming centres - I think for insurance purposes, and it's recommended that they have a muzzle for a bit on walks once adopted in case they are reactive to other dogs. Ours, and most that I see, don't/didn't wear muzzles.

Our first boy played and our current one plays with toys. Our current one actually will chase and bring a ball back. Our first boy used to pinch other dogs' balls and run off with them. They generally learn to play with toys as puppies, in their year with their mother and siblings.

We taught both recall. Off lead has to be done sensibly (don't let your greyhound off in a known hare field or in sight of a cat.....), but it can be do-able. Yes, greyhounds often have prey drive, but so do most breeds of dogs - the greyhound's just faster and more likely to catch its prey.

They're used to living sociably with other greyhounds and having people around, so understandably they're going to have separation anxiety if they're left alone early on after rehoming. We were lucky enough to be able to have at least one person around at home for a good few months with each so that they got to feel secure before they were left. Both of ours were ok to be left after that if necessary. We've never used a crate but kept the kitchen door shut with the first boy - he was a total countersurfer.

They do all have different personalities but all are still distinctively "greyhounds".

Would you consider a lurcher? I.e a sighthound cross. Of course I am biased because I have one but she is a dream, good with all animals, children, walks with or without a leash. She is from a rescue so they could tell you the dogs temperament. And she's not as large as a Greyhound so easily transported. One walk a day and she's happy. If its raining she might choose not to go.
Of course she occasionally goes deaf! But she's very sensible and I feel i won the dog lottery with her.