Staffie V Greyhound??

moomin5

I think it really depends on the type of dog your friend likes as greys & staffs can both make great pets but are quite different. Breed Rescue sites are often useful to get the good & not so good sides to their breed i've found in the past. Retired Greyhound Trust might be useful.

I have greyhounds, they are incredibly lazy and sleep for most the day with the odd 5 minute playtime madness and while affectionate they don't tend to be overly demanding. I wouldn't trust mine off lead in an unsecure area, which doesn't bother me at all as they both have good lead manners but i realise these things wouldn't appeal to everyone. My greys have always got on fine with dogs of all sizes but some require further socialization/care around other breeds so is something to check with the rescue. There are common breed traits but dogs are individuals so their personality and behaviour can vary a lot, I have siblings who grew up together who are like chalk & cheese.

I think the fence would need to be raised whatever breed as some smaller dogs are pretty athletic, although a terrier would probably just dig its way to freedom. We have loads of cats in our neighbourhood and i just check there's none in the garden before letting the dogs out.

tankgirl1

arlybarly wrote: »

Greyhounds are usually beautiful dogs but quite lazy and dont mind lying around on the settee while the owners are at work. Staffies on the other hand are usually uncontrollable thuggish dogs used by chavs to try and look cool,thats why every other dog in the rescues is a staff or cross staff.

Errrrm I haven't read past this post so apologies in advance!

I can tell you that staffies are in NO way aggressive, or uncontrollable, unless they are forced to behave that way by their irresponsible owners, who think a dog with a bit of muscle makes them look matcho!

I have met hundreds of staffies in 12 years in vet practice, and they are generally the friendliest breed I have come accross.

Their one downfall is that they are muscly, and therefore attract an unfortunate kind of owner

They are lovely dogs!

I just googled 'nanny dog'

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=wvD&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&q=nanny+dog&aq=f&aqi=g5g-m5&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

mariauk

arlybarly wrote: »

are popular but once people realise what they are like they get dumped in the dogs home as the staffie population there exceeds any other breed by far.

The two main reasons so many Staffies are in rescue are

1) Back street breeders breed them to make money, Staffies are now two a penny and the breeders keep on churning them out in the hope that someone will buy them. Majority of them will end up in rescue because they aren`t aggresive enough for some peoples needs and they can`t understand why the so called "Devil Dog" doesn`t do what it says in the gutter press or after a few months they are no longer entertaining or cute and the realisation that food, training and exercise have to be part of owning a dog and they get chucked out. If they are picked up by the local dog warden, they are kept at the pound for 7 days, If they are not claimed or a space isn`t available in a rescue they are put to sleep. Yes, thats 7 days after they have been put in the pound.

If they are lucky enough they will end up at a non destruct rescue. Where they will be assessed, nuetured, wormed and hopefully re-homed. Not all resucue`s neuter and sadly this also applies to very large , well known rescue`s. Many don`t and the staffie genocide continues along with more breeding and the wheel keeps on turning.

2) If the media continue to churn out ridiculous stories about Staffies then the morons continue to buy them and in turn the breeders keep breeding. This breed has such a bad press because of a minority but a majority are excellent family dogs and are fine with other dogs when socialised properly from a young age. The Kennel club recommend the Staffie as an ideal family dog. Would they continue to say this if Staffords were that bad? I think not.

carolinejane_2

i always feel sorry for greyhounds who are put up for rehoming once they are no good for racing so would love to rescue one

Soubrette

Just thought of another couple of things - Greyhounds can be quite aloof compared to other dogs and I have to admit I have not met a staffie that doesn't roll on over showing it's tummy wanting tummy strokes. If you want adoration, go with the staffie

Ex racing Greyhounds are usually really easy to walk though - they've been trained to be compliant and it's lovely to have such a big dog walking nicely (except if they see a cat or some such):eek:

I never let our Grey off lead as he's not interested in running and I don't want to take the risk of a wildlife or cat malfunction He is on a harness and long lead though, you can't use a collar and flexlead as they might harm themselves if they take off.

Also once fixated they are very poor at recall.

Some greys have trouble sitting especially when they are straight off the track as they can be very muscled up at this stage of their lives.

Sou

foreign_correspondent

There is such variation even within breeds, that I think sometimes the best idea is to forget about breeds initially, and think about characteristics - what lifestyle does your friend have, and what does she want to do with a dog?

You may want to think about... temprement, energy levels, size, the dogs needs and requirements, health (though all breeds can be ill, some are prone to certain inherited problems) - for instance, if your friend is a keen walker/jogger and wants a dog to exercise with, the best dog for her would be entirely different than if she is a bit of a couch potato and wants a laid back dog - likewise, if she is not keen on time consuming daily grooming, a short haired breed may be best.

Whe I went looking for my dog, I only had two requirements really - not larger than medium sized, and a nice temprement - breed was really not important, and I found Badger quite quickly - and she has been a great dog.

Both greys and staffies can be ideal first time dogs, so long as you get one that has been well assessed and is happy and relaxed. Some greys do take a bit of housetraining if they have been in kennels, but a friend of mine took on a dumped ex racer, who was housetrained within a week - but he was pretty smart for a grey!

Do not let greys not being ever so smart put you off - clever dogs are fantastic if you can use that intelligence - but for most people they are a nightmare, as they are hard work - as Soubrette said, some dogs soon work out how to open doors, get into the fridge, escape from anywhere, and generally outsmart their owners at every turn. A slightly less smart dog often looks to the owner more for guidance, and can be a far easier pet!

hethmar

Yes, its really a case of finding the dog she feels comfortable with and vice versa I know when we got our Border Terrier from rescue, he is SO wonderful and well behaved, obedient etc. and Id sort of assumed they were all like that, but the number of border owners we have met who have been in awe of us being able to let him off lead all the time and his total recall. So as fc says, variations in all breeds.

Caroline, there are a lot of greyhound rescues you could contact. Particularly in areas where there is racing. In norfolk there are a lot of greyhounds for rehoming as there is a race track over on the coast. I feel sorry for them too, that awful story a couple of years back where some guy in essex charged a tenner to shoot them when they were no longer wanted for racing

longtermlurker_2

Well my cousins bf has bought enough fencing to keep an elephant in, it's being delivered on friday so thats his weekend sorted:rotfl:

After saying she doesnt want a lab or a pup she is going to see one at the weekend. A friend told me about him a man bought him for his grandaughters 9th birthday without asking her parents. They work full time and just can't manage, don't know what he was thinking:eek:

foreign_correspondent

longtermlurker wrote: »

Well my cousins bf has bought enough fencing to keep an elephant in, it's being delivered on friday so thats his weekend sorted:rotfl:

After saying she doesnt want a lab or a pup she is going to see one at the weekend. A friend told me about him a man bought him for his grandaughters 9th birthday without asking her parents. They work full time and just can't manage, don't know what he was thinking:eek:

Good news about the fencing - how old is the lab pup? House training may be much more of a challenge if it has had to toilet in the house regularly due to them being out when it needed to go... poor thing.

longtermlurker_2

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Good news about the fencing - how old is the lab pup? House training may be much more of a challenge if it has had to toilet in the house regularly due to them being out when it needed to go... poor thing.

He is almost 14 weeks now. Someone was around all the time for the first 2 weeks then they tried to manage for another 2 weeks with friends and dog walkers but it's just not working. Not sure if he is housetrained yet.
At least they are doing the right thing and finding him someone who has time for him but I hope the grandad has had a good talking to.