Wife wants to adopt a greyhound. What do we know?

[vash]

Any experience with this. I have a cat. A good cat.

Any greyhound people?

[Todge]

We have a re-homed whippet, and I've worked with the greyhound rescues in the past. Are you planning on an ex-racer? If so, get with one that has been fostered. They will know how to act around other animals, climb stairs, and behave. Skills that weren't taught to them on the circuit. You will also be able to get an idea of their personality from the foster parent.

You will need to run him, so make sure you have an area (a large one) to do so, but for the most part, they sleep 23 hours a day, 45 mph couch potatoes.

[herr_oberst]

My sister and BIL are on their second greyhound. Rescue greyhounds are VERY high maintenance dogs, and I wouldn't get one ever.

Of the two that I've been around, my observation is that their behavior is just kind of weird... Not really affectionate, lots of trips to the vet, (and like Todge says, stairs freak them out--and they'll break bones trying to negotiate) and here's the topper: either one of them killed two cats at the vet or each of them has killed a cat at the vet....(I know, WTF?) and you won't really know what you have till you get it home....

[R K T]

We adopted a greyhound about 15 years ago. He was rescued from the track in tijuana by the local greyhound society and was a top winning dog. Sadly, like most greyhounds, he knew no other life than racing. He had lived the four years of his life in a cage stacked up on other cages and only touched the ground when competing.
When he was with us, just us, he was fine but got agitated if other people came around. Our friends came over with their 5 year old grand daughter and he zoned in on her because of her size.
I was walking him on his leash when a motor home went by us down the street and he launched after it. I guess he thought it was a big rabbit. Almost pulled me down. Incredible strength in those hind legs.
I would suggest trying to find a "loser" dog, not a winner, and also like most other breeds a female can be mellower and less aggressive than a male. They really are big couch potatoes when they are not running 40 mph!

[masraum]

A buddy had one. Everything it did, it did really, REALLY slowly. It was a very relaxed dog that just wanted to lay on the couch. It was happy to wander over and get pets or a good scratch. I did here that he caught them by surprise once when they went for a walk and it saw a rabbit. It took off like a shot. They also had 2 chihuahuas and two kids that got along just fine with the dog. That was just my experience from a visit or two and hearsay from my buddy. They also had stairs in their place. I never heard anything about the stairs being a problem.

[Evans, Marv]

I read somewhere - don't know if it's true or not - that you always have to keep them on a leash when outside. Supposedly they can take off and not come back.

[wayner]

A friends parents had one that was rescued. Every time they opened the door it bolted and did about 50 laps around the house. When they first got it it looked like Wile Coyote after he took those fast leg pills. After about 6 months it no longer looked like it wasn't wearing any skin.

It loved car rides to go for ice cream, but DO NOT feed them ice-cream or you'll be sorry...

[scottmandue]

Dunno but if you want to adopt a dog there are a thousand low maintenance lovable muts down at the shelter.
When it comes to pets I steer away from anything purebred.
Just my two cents.
YMMV

[targa911S]

ya can't own a cat or a small rodent. A fenced yard is a must....

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I read somewhere - don't know if it's true or not - that you always have to keep them on a leash when outside. Supposedly they can take off and not come back.

From what I've seen that can be true.

They are sight hounds.

I personally witnessed it on a couple of occasions at our local dog park.

The park was on the grounds of an old Gold Coast estate.

Probably 20 acres of open field surrounded by woods.

At least twice we saw people show up with their newly acquired rescues, let them off the lead and within a short time the dogs tore off across the field and disappeared.

And if you think you are going to chase one of them down good luck.

[Jerome74911S]

Some very good friends of mine have been rescuing and finding homes for Greyhounds for over 20 years.

They are on a first name basis with several local veterinarians, because these are sort of 'see-through' dogs, with thin and fragile skin and other parts. Yesterday a neighbor's mutt got into a scuffle with one of the Greyhounds and the hound lost a canine tooth, and had plenty of stitches in its delicate hide. Nothing happened to the mutt.

They are sweet dogs by and large, but must be leashed at all times, and they cannot tolerate the real world, lest they be damaged.

It's too bad that money-hungry dog racing tracks have turned them into what they are today - boutique fashion accessories who can't lead a real dog's life.

[LeeH]

We read a lot about them before we adopted a labradoodle. Pretty much mirrored what's being reported here.... they have to be leashed at all times outside as they'll take off after something in the distance. Sounded like many aren't even house trained.

Our issue was that we typically have had other small pets. Rats, guinea pigs, birds, snake. From what I've read, it's not really an option to have an ex racer living with small pets.

[RacerX1166]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I read somewhere - don't know if it's true or not - that you always have to keep them on a leash when outside. Supposedly they can take off and not come back.

The reason this happens is that they're so fast that, by the time they realize they're done chasing whatever they were after, they don't know where they are.

My parents adopted one when I was living with them. Some random comments from my experience.
Fenced in yard is almost a must because you can never walk them without a leash, them being sight hounds. You will need to teach the dog how to be a dog. Until the dog learns that it won't be competing for food, their eating habits will be a bit unsettling. Oh, and you'll need an elevated dish; the dog will choke otherwise due to their long neck. They are generally very sweet dogs with a kind temperament.

One big piece of advice. If you want the dog to be a dog (eg comes when it's called, willing to play), adopt two of them. Ours didn't do any of this, which was annoying as hell when you'd call her and she'd walk the other way. The greyhounds I met, where there was another in the house, was a fun dog.

Oh, and the propaganda that says they only shed when they blow their coats, once per year lies. Well, I guess it could be argued that the coat blow lasts from October through September.

[Laneco]

I adopted a grey, and absolutely loved him. At 96 pounds, he was one of the biggest hounds I've ever seen. Zorro was also coal black with a few white tips (tail, toes, chest). Big black dogs tend to scare people.

Greys know nothing about being dogs. They do not know to come when they are called, how to negotiate stairs, or what is proper behavior around small animals. They are very driven to chase small moving animals which they perceive as prey. Introduce them very slowly and in VERY controlled circumstances to small animals. Zorro had never seen a cat when I brought him home. He and the cat eyed each other but the cat refused to turn tail. She bolted across the living room in a clawing strafing run and that was it - he never made eye contact with her again - LOL! Your results may vary.

We had another dog at the same time. With the other dogs help, Zorro learned his name and would come when called. He got out of the yard a couple of times when the gate got left open. I drove around calling him and he came to my voice. Zorro was very friendly and would go up to anyone, especially children. Which would terrify them when this gigantic black dog wound bound in their direction... He was also a snuggle-dog. Big time snuggle-dog and would lean on you if you were standing. He loved human contact.

Zorro would hop in the back of my station wagon to go to the dog park or vet. Once in, he would lay down because he was too tall to stand with his head up - LOL! First trips to the dog park were leash and muzzle. After that, leash only, unless there were just large dogs out there. Big dogs, no worries. Little dogs - I was always concerned that there would be a "misunderstanding"... Zorro also liked to play fetch. He was pretty half-assed about returning the ball, but GREAT at chasing it.

He had a terribly rough coat when I got him and was horribly wormy. I wound up de-worming him a couple of times to get him cleaned out. Then when he blew his coat, it came back in silky smooth. These are very thin skinned dogs who overheat easily and with little hair and like zero percent body fat - they have no cold tolerance what so ever. In spite of their size, they are house-dogs. Very laid back, easy going dogs. I think he might have barked about 3 times a year. Always startled me when he did it because it was so rare.

Would I have another? Absolutely yes.

angela

[450knotOffice]

Oy, so much second hand info here.

I've had two rescue greyhounds in my life. BOTH were amazing dogs who lived to the ripe old ages of 15 years and 12 years. BOTH figured out how to climb and descend stairs in no time at all. They both loved to run in open fields when they were young, but both quickly became too lazy and uninterested in running at the dog parks. The labs and terriers, GSD's etc., would run all over the place, but my Greyhounds had zero interest. Every other middle aged and above Greyhound I've met is just like mine were.

We've always had at least one cat in the house. Our two dogs never even noticed the cats. Heck, I have more issues along that line with our newest 14 pound female Italian Greyhound. With that said, every reputable Greyhound rescue center Cat-checks their Greyhounds. The ones who take a liking to harassing cats are simply NOT adopted out to households with cats.

Greyhounds should never be let off the leash in an area that's not completely enclosed - at least not until they are so well integrated into the family that they'd never dream of leaving your side. The time frame would be at least a year or two for that. For that matter, NO DOG should be let off leash in an open area where he/she could bolt and never be seen again, unless one has TOTAL confidence that the dog will stay within a few dozen yards and return EVERY time it is called. It usually takes any dog at least a year or two to reach that point of reliability anyway, so a Greyhound rescue is really no different in that regard.

Greyhounds are very thin skinned and have almost no fur to speak of, so yes, they get scratched and banged up a little, but my Greyhounds weren't in the vet any more than any of my other friends' dogs, so this idea that they are frail is a myth. Most of they Greyhounds I've known over the past twenty plus years have been robust, tough dogs (with seemingly the hardest skulls ever).

Greyhounds truly are the laziest adult dogs I've ever met. The only thing most of them ever want to do is lounge around, hence the "45 mph couch potato" nickname. They are super sweet dogs with one of the oldest bloodlines in the world, hence are not prone to so many of the other maladies that more recently created "pure breed" dogs suffer.

Go to a reputable Greyhound Rescue center. Meet the dogs and the people. You may be surprised to learn that they are wonderful dogs. They are MY favorite.