Greyhounds

sassygirl_2

Hi, i have a greyhound too I also have a whippet! Greyhounds are not known for their stamina ill admit, and much prefer 2 x 20 mins per day, BUT they will plod along for however long you want them to. I walk my 2 together, whippet off lead, greyhound onlead. Whippet wears himself out tearing around as he has high energy levels, Greyhound just plods along doing his own thing.

They dont need alot of space and do curl up quite small, unless they are on your sofa, then they will need at least a 3 seater :rotfl:

As for garden space, so long as there is a bit for toiletting last thing at night then they dont need loads of room. Ive no experience of jumping fences, our boy is 4 and looks at the fence, then decides its far too much effort!! our fence is 3 ft!!!

Sounds like you'd be a perfect foster for a greyhound, and I wish you well with your fosters to come x

Kimberley

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Kimberley your circumstances sound absolutely perfect for fostering a pair of greys. Company for each other and the JRT so probably no separation anxiety. My only worry is whether you'll have enough sofa-space for a pair of them.

I so envy anyone who has contact with greyhounds: I absolutely adore them and want to re-home an ex-racer one day. They're lovely dogs and so, so beautiful

Oh no, it's only one dog. One dog is 6 and the other is 7, they are the only two so far that the rescue have at the moment that are ok with small dogs. Obviously i'll have to crate our JRT when they are left alone for safety reasons but i'll leave the crate in the same room as the greyhound for ompany.

lostinrates

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

somewhat food-obsessed to say the very least!

Sometimes I think mine is a freak greyhound. she'll exercise for ages in the mornings, and is totally not interested in food. Same food two days running and she refuses...novelty (dog safe leftovers in a basically unchanged diet) are the only thing that keeps her eating. When we did good citizen classes the other dogs and owners got frustrated because she started to refuse dog treats, cheese and corned beef...she'd had them already...so the trainer ran next door to the chippy and got her chips...which worked for about half an hour:o but made every one else dribble.

trudij

LOL - thats what Percy is like with treats as well - I had to pretty much take a cold buffet with me to classes - at one stage I had bags of hot dog,cheese,beef,corned beef,ham and sausage all to try to keep him interested enough to do his lessons :rotfl: !!!
Ive got one - and hes amazing. Ive owned him for 4 years almost,and hes the funniest,most rewarding dog Ive ever had.He came to me timid and withdrawn - it took him a month to wag his tail properly (now it never stops - round and round,knocking things flying!) and the same to be brave enough to get on the sofa. A month further on he had braved the stairs,and he went CRAZY - it was like a whole new world had opened up to him,he discovered the beds, and now I cant get rid of him!!! As I type this,hes spread out on the 3 seater behind me,with his head up the back of my t-shirt, and I know that if i get up,he will be there. Hes got a little bit of seperation anxiety,but hes not too bad - he knows that he wont be on his own for long and that we always come back.
Only thing to watch in the garden is the "greyhound 5 minutes" - where for no accountable reason they dissappear off to do laps of the house/garden (delete as appropriate) until they flake out again,as soon as they started!!

Very best of luck with the interview/home check - they are wonderful dogs,and deserve a lovely time when they finish their jobs.

Kimberley

Talking about stairs, how do they cope getting up and down being so big? I'd be frightened they would fall.

lostinrates

Kimberley wrote: »

Talking about stairs, how do they cope getting up and down being so big? I'd be frightened they would fall.

Mine is as nimble as the cats on stairs.

Indie_Kid

Tropez wrote: »

Adequately exercised, greyhounds don't need any especially large space in their home. Most sighthounds are quite content to snooze most of the day, and greyhounds are no exception - often sleeping up to 15-18 hours per day.

Ours was like this.

My only worry is whether you'll have enough sofa-space for a pair of them.

At one point, we had a greyhound and a lurcher x collie. We had to fight for space on the sofas.:rotfl:

Ours was a right grumpy cow. I once told her off and she sat there and gave me evils!:rotfl:

Unfortunately, she died after we had her for about 6 months. She was only 4.:( (vet thinks it was a heart attack that killed her)

YorkiePud_3

A lot of people are put off having greyhounds, thinking they need a lot of walking which is totally incorrect!

A greyhound is built for bursts of speed .... so if you know of an enclosed and safe field where you could go, then you could do no better than to let your greyhound off there to dash about like a lunatic for ten minutes or so.
On top of that, two 20 minute walks every day is absolutely adequate .... longer than that and you might be carrying him or her home ... ha ha ha!

Yes, greyhounds can curl up tight, but they can also stretch right out the full length of your sofa, so be prepared to sit on the floor!!!

Once, when I had a vet appointment and my car had broken down, I took one of mine on the bus to the vets ... I paid for the whole of the back seat so she could get up there (ensuring nobody trod on her paws!) ... people think they are solid animals but they really are quite delicate things.

My two were fine on the stairs BUT if they decide to mess about and play whilst going up or down, they could bump each other and cause one to fall so I would watch out for that.
When they got to be about 8 yrs, I supervised them on the stairs and when I left them, I left them in one room and didn't give them full roam of the house.

If you do get them, I would advise a small bowl of chopped up black pudding (I know, yucky eh?!) once a week ... it hardens their paw pads which, as they get older, can become prone to getting cut or split. Plus, I have yet to meet a grey who wouldn't do something for black pud ... they simply adore it!!

Basically, if you want a cuddly, loving, soft lump that you will have to stride over because they are laid flat out and won't move (but only when the sofa is already taken!), who, if you had burglars, would let them in and show them round (!!) and will fill your lives with a lot of love and laughter, then get a grey ... they are such wonderful dogs.

The only thing is I'd be a bit wary of your JRT at first .... their interest is taken with animals who zoom about quickly, so until they click on that your JRT is part of the family and not to be chased, you might want to be on your guard, especially if they have been racing dogs.

I wouldn't worry about a grey being left for 4 hours either ... (but they are great gnawers if they get bored) ... I never left mine longer than 3 hours to be honest and I wouldn't leave them in the same room because two together will play and goad each other and you might come home to find the place looking like a bomb's hit!! The three things a grey does best .... run fast, play hard and sleep well ... !!

tootallulah

Kimberley, greyhounds are lovely, lovely dogs. Try this forum they are helpful and can answer any greyhound related questions http://www.greyhoundgap.org.uk/ Lisa and the other people who run the charity are inspirational.

Kimberley

YorkiePud wrote: »

The only thing is I'd be a bit wary of your JRT at first .... their interest is taken with animals who zoom about quickly, so until they click on that your JRT is part of the family and not to be chased, you might want to be on your guard, especially if they have been racing dogs.

I will yes, the two greys who were picked our for me have lived with small dogs before and the RGT have said to keep them seperate until the greyhound is used to having the JRT around. Our dog has been crate trained since she was 6 weeks old and always will be so she will be crated when she and the greyhound are left alone but she will be in the same room as the grey for company. I just have to pick now which greyhound out of the two to bring home. I will be meeting both dogs on Sunday and then again during next week with the kids and our JRT and we will be allowed to walk both dogs and see how they get on and after that if all is well then i'll bring one home next weekend. Hopefully.