Thinking about adopting a greyhound

foreign_correspondent

tylersbabe wrote: »

FOREIGN CORROSPONDENT Lovely poem thanks hope you don't mind have copied it for friend at work.

Not at all, I found it after my last doggo died, and it me realise that I had given my old dog a happy home and a good life, and that it would be good to offer that to another dog, as there are so many unwanted ones out there.

My old dog was a little mongrel that I rescued from a garden where she had been abandoned, and she was lovely - after she died I eventually decided to rescue another.

As I result I got my Badger - a little rescue dog with the best temprement going (apart from her determination to boss much bigger dogs around! lol)She always looks happy to be with us! (see pic below! has anyone got any piccies of their greyhounds? - I would love to see them!)

...So my advice would be to rescue a dog, and if a greyhound suits you (and I cant see why not) I am sure you will be giving that dog a super life and will have a great time with him or her.

trudij

oh boy - youve done it now.....

meet Percy. (Pottinger) winner of 18 of his 92 races, and top 3 in about 80% of them....

Soubrette

Oh trudij, he is gorgeous - here's my old boy:

Colne Valley - raced in 20 and won 4 (not a great record but we love him!)



Sou

tylersbabe

Ohhhhh photos me love the piccies of your four legged fiends Thank You

Well I went to the meet and greet, lots of lovely grey hounds there, plenty with homes, and plenty without.

annnnnd we took a little girl called Millie (6 years old) for a walk annnd then registered "interrest " in her. She is beige with bits of white and when I was walking her you could feel pent up energy and stress emiting from her through the lead!! and boy was she strong, also was very slim and definetly not looking her best as she is in kennels and does not like it. She presented as a total stress head who need a good run or walk to calm her down.

Hopefully they are going to call on Monday (if they don' I will lol) to do a home visit as poor Millie is at the vets on Mon due to problems with her teeth. The only problem I can see is she has always been with other dogs, and if she came to me she would be the only dog, so concerned about this and seperation anxiety. If they let me have a trial foster it is going to be a case of wait and see, and hopefully she won't destroy too much whilst we learn about each other.

It's just a case of waiting for the call now tho *big sigh*

Soubrette

Another thing I meant to post - my greyhound's teeth were terrible - he has had 5 out (one was chronically infected) and is likely to need more toothcare at the vets (I think they mean more extractions) as time goes on. To combat this I clean his teeth in the evening most days and give him a dentistick every day as he found the original operation so traumatic.

I've also been warned by the vet that he's likely to be prone to arthritis due the stresses of racing and of course he is on a very expensive diet (but still alot less per week than the humans in the house eat!!). I don't know how much credence to put on that as he seems fine at the moment, a friend has a staffy who suffers terribly at 10 and he has done for a few years.

He also has a heart murmur which again is apparently not unusual for the breed, this is under observation (only at his boosters so they'll check again in Jan) as he had a dry cough but this has all but disappeared.

I can't think of any other health problems they are prone to though, in general they are very healthy dogs, although as big dogs bloat can be a concern.

Sou

LillyJ

I LOVE greyhounds. A friend of mine from school had one and we all loved it, so have been a big fan ever since.
I know a lot of grey owners keep their dog on lead at all times or muzzled due to their past, but that doesn't mean that they can't be rewarding to own.
The ones I know are all big dopey softies who love cuddles.
Be warned though, they do like to lie on the sofa (comfy on their bony bodies!) so if you don't let dogs up, you might have to think again with a greyhound!

Good luck with this new girl you have met, I am sure she will be happier when she is out of kennels!

The grey hounds I know all like to run like maniacs for about 10 mins then get tired and just want to sleep for the rest of the day, preferably on a sofa in front of a fire!

trudij

Soubrette - awwwwwwwwwww

I got Percy from a local rescue centre - they ahve a thing with greyyhound sw where they always have at least one in. Percy had been in various kennels for a year when I met him. He had 16 teeth out when he got there,the diet greys have when they are in training isnt condusive to good teeth!!
Hes a wonderful dog, and I would happily have hundreds of them,but there just isnt room on my bed!!!!

user55

Not to be outdone!

Barney:



Lola:

foreign_correspondent

what beautiful dogs you all have!

... it is so sad that so many of these lovely animals are destroyed at just two or three years old when they have finished racing, when they could be living such happy lives as pets.

moomin5

Throp & Hector




I'm glad the M&G went well and you've descided to adopt! If you do a search on greytalk training section for alone training or separation anxiety you will find a host of useful info. The basics are that you leave for a minute and then return with no fuss and then gradually extend the period but quite randomly so you'll perhaps do 10 mins absence and then 2 mins. You can give a treat filled Kong (rubber toy) when you leave but its taken away when you return so that they learn nice things happen when you go.

I totally recommend getting greyhounds for dummies book and a clicker before you get your hound. Its a very easy read yet covers pretty much everything to do with adopting a grey, from training for all the situations you'll come against early on, medical issues, food etc.The only thing you have to remember is that greys in UK don't come crate trained as in the states as they live in kennels here.

It's very sad what happens to some greyhounds, but from my personal experience there also seems to be a lot of owners/trainers that do care greatly about the welfare of their dogs and once retired either take their dogs home or continue to meet their expenses until a home/place at rehoming kennels can be found which can be months. I know the waiting list for my local branch was at 79 dogs and that doesn't include those dogs that are returned (all were in a home 6mths+) that have to be found spaces, so it can be a long wait.

We collected our dogs directly from their owner/trainer and she had more retired dogs (20+) than at the rgt branch. We met her again recently at the branches dog show and she remembers all her dogs so well and went to catch up with all the new owners to see how they were. I was amazed she could remember them all as she runs a large kennel 50+ dogs. Its such a shame you never get hear about those owners that are doing the right thing and only the bad owners so they all get tarred with the same brush.