Greyhounds

Kimberley

tootallulah wrote: »

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.

Thank you :beer:

BitterAndTwisted

I'm going to be very, very annoyed indeed if you do decide to adopt one of those greys and don't post up any pics on here. I love greyhounds so much it's bordering on an obsession/fetish: no greyhound out in public is safe from my attentions. *sigh*

brook2jack

I have had dogs for all my life and every breed from Weimaraner to "bitzer".

I have always used the same very reasonably priced vet. When we adopted our couch potato he advised taking out pet insurance as ex racers can injure themselves so easily (never advised for other dogs).

Our mongrel has never had anything done but the grey has had torn claws, cuts and start of arthritis in her legs (she is 5). Still she is the most amazing,affectionate,clever dog but definately relies on our mongrel to give her confidence in new situations etc.but is more prone to injury etc. However greyhounds are the worlds biggest babies and have zero pain threshold so you can't tell how badly they have hurt themselves from the heartrending squeals they give for any slight discomfort.

Kimberley

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'm going to be very, very annoyed indeed if you do decide to adopt one of those greys and don't post up any pics on here. I love greyhounds so much it's bordering on an obsession/fetish: no greyhound out in public is safe from my attentions. *sigh*

I will keep you updated on my visits to the kennels with pics

LoopyLil_2

I once heard a very good description of greyhounds - they are 40mph couch potatoes!
How true!

wearside_2

brook2jack wrote: »

I have had dogs for all my life and every breed from Weimaraner to "bitzer".

I have always used the same very reasonably priced vet. When we adopted our couch potato he advised taking out pet insurance as ex racers can injure themselves so easily (never advised for other dogs).

Our mongrel has never had anything done but the grey has had torn claws, cuts and start of arthritis in her legs (she is 5). Still she is the most amazing,affectionate,clever dog but definately relies on our mongrel to give her confidence in new situations etc.but is more prone to injury etc. However greyhounds are the worlds biggest babies and have zero pain threshold so you can't tell how badly they have hurt themselves from the heartrending squeals they give for any slight discomfort.

We are going through the decision process of if we should adopt one or not. The zero pain threshold may just tip the balance to a no as my OH says that one zero pain threshold person in the house is more than enough.

On a more serious note, can they be left alone in the house and if so for how long?

Kimberley

Walking our dog in the park this morning I met another dog walker who said greyhounds have a lot of trouble with their legs and are up the vets a lot and once over 7 they tend to go downhill a lot. I'm sure they can live up to 12 or 15 but she said ex racers don't live much past 7 because of the steroids they used to have.

Soubrette

Our old boy is 11, we've had him since 8. He is a little bit shaky on his back legs, and is not as steady on his feet as you'd think something with a leg in each corner would be (he does trip on occasion and once managed to slip face down on a grassy verge ).

I had heard that most racers only live until 12 on average due the stresses of racing on their bodies (no mention of steroids) and non racers have an average of 14 years.

My dog raced until 4 then disappeared, we picked him up at a rescue where he had been there for over a year and they in turn had picked him up from another rescue.

When we first had him he was nervous but he has improved as he finds out that new things aren't something to worry about, it wouldn't surprise me to find out he had never been in a home before ours . He is adamant that he will not go upstairs and unlike lostinrates' dog - he is thick as two short planks but will try anything for a treat, as long as you can get him to understand what you want. His toilet training is variable but since we've reinstated the crate at night he is back to 100% clean.

I must admit that I'm very taken with greyhounds, he is our first one and if we have another dog then I'd like another (in fact I'd like to be in a bigger house with a bigger garden and have two )

We don't expect to be in a position to have another dog when our grey is no longer with us but I'd love to foster them.

Good luck

Crisp_£_note

Hi

We have a Greyhound cross Salukie who is around 5 /6 years old. Over the past few months he has developed a constant attention seeking behaviour. He squeeks or cries almost all the time. He isnt in pain as its not that type of noise.

Even when he is in the same room as my hubby and or me he continues with it. We will 'put him to bed' at night and can guarantee within an hour he is squeeking as he is either cold or lonely. Even though he has our other dog for company.

Unless one of us (usualy me) gets up and lets them in the garden he wont settle down. However lately he wont settle and its like having a new baby or a child who keeps getting out of bed and its us who is loosing sleep over it all as well as the dogs.

We have tried being firm and not giving in, weve tried earplugs, turning up the tv, ignoring it almost everything but he is so stubourn to get his own way we cant ever win. Its getting to a point now I am considering re-homing him as its wearing me down and starting to create tension in the house. I love the dog and dont really want to get rid of him but if its for his own good then he may have to be soon sadly go to be rehomed. Something I dont like thinking of as I worry he wont end up cared for or something and that is upsetting to think it was our fault for rehoming him but we cant keep him like this its driving us mental!

Anyone any suggestions please ?

Thanks in advance.

cheepskate_2

Sorry, but your thinking of rehoming him because he has a problem that annoys you ????????

Do you not think it will annoy his next owner and the next and so on.

You have made this problem by constantly going to him and giving it what it wants.

Ignore it and maybe get it a kong type toy to stimulate it for a short while if it is doing this. Lots of pets, but only start petting when it is not whinning and stop and go do something else if it starts

By breaking this cycle of going to it, it will eventually get the message but you need to persist.

It does sound like its not stimulated the correct way enough

We had this type behaviour with our cocker(from puppy it was just constantly demanding attention) and will if allowed still try to command constant attention. We just ignore her, then do a flying pet as we walk past or play, but on our terms.

We got her various kong type toys and they seem to work for a bit, rather than tuggys which just means she wants to command attention with this type of toy. Ebay has good little dog mind game toys, maybe have a look to see what is available