Greyhounds

Kimberley

narabanekeater wrote: »

Hi Kim
I just came to find your thread to see how things were going for you and im delighted. Its a choice I wouldnt like to make myself. Any teething problems then you know where I am. I mentioned you to my Dad who gave me the I do miss hvaing one round the house speech.
Dont forget compulsury pictures please

Yeah thank you. I'll let you know what happens. Going by all the fab comments about this breed i'm going to adopt one instead but will offer my services as a volunteer as a dog walker or Kennel hand instead.

carefullycautious

Just come back to say if you think it is the cold pop a coat on him. They do love to be warm and will if allowed sleep in bed with you under the duvet.

Mine slept on a single mattress raised off the ground and had more duvets and covers than me. However, I regulary woke up to find him under the covers in bed with me and hubby with his girlfriend in tow (terrier):rotfl:

I was warned about this before I had lurchers. They are a different breed from other dogs I have owned.

tylersbabe

Saw the thread tile "greyhound" and just had to have look

I remember posting on here nearly two years ago now, about thinking about adopting a greyhound and after the great advice on here and guidance towards Gap :T

I now have two beautiful greyhounds, my perfect princess Evie, a black girl who is 6

Followed by Eric my brindle one brain celled hunk of a hound who is 7 :cool:

Good luck, and I hope all goes well, ummm greyhounds are rather addictive though, I was always only going to have the one hound, then somehow got our Eric and "pursuaded" my mum to adopt an older girl called Olive :rotfl:

YorkiePud_3

I just wanted to say don't be put off Spirit because the little love looks a little sad in the photo and Jerry looks happier ...

I used to race my greyhounds now and then (only for fun and to give them a bit of extra exercise) and my girl Judy would actually lay down and look to be comatose whilst we were in the paddock "on view" prior to the race!

The other dogs would be getting all excited, knowing what was to come and would be really on their toes, hardly able to wait to go race, but Madam would be flat out as though she had been drugged ... LOL ...

I know you won't have let it put you off, but I just wanted to mention that!

... and I must say, I almost spit out my coffee when I read it said that greyhounds are quiet!! Who told you that, OP?!
Oh boyyyyyyyyy .... you leave them alone in the house for longer than they want to be left and you will hear them as you come down the street ... some greys are barkers, some do a lovely operatic type wail ...

I used to have kennels outside in the garden for my two (strange how they only spent a few nights in them, eh?!) but the one time I was to be out for 4 or 5 hours, I thought it best to pop them in their sheds (they had sheds with built-on outdoor runs, stone floored for ease of cleaning) .. and when I got home, the neighbours were all standing outside waiting to greet me and regale me with the tales of them singing and wailing like banshees solidly from me leaving ... uh oh!!

Kimberley

YorkiePud wrote: »

and I must say, I almost spit out my coffee when I read it said that greyhounds are quiet!! Who told you that, OP?!
Oh boyyyyyyyyy .... you leave them alone in the house for longer than they want to be left and you will hear them as you come down the street ... some greys are barkers, some do a lovely operatic type wail ...

I read they were quiet on different websites when I was researching them :eek: I had to give up my Bengals because of the neighbours complaining of their noise, the boy was very vocal and loud. I'm going to have to rethink then. I'd hate to bring one home and then having to return him because of his barking

sassygirl_2

Just wanted to say my boy Owen never barks, In fact i barely know he's here half the time. He sleeps 23 hours a day! LOL

I think your best bet is to talk to the ppl who are rehoming them and see what they think.

How about offering to foster with a view to adopting?

Please dont write of greyhounds, because a couple of ppl on the internet say theirs bark. There are thousands of greyhounds out there in homes, and i bet they dont ALL bark!
They do bark in kennels yes, they make a right racket, but wouldnt you if you didnt see many people all day, then all of a sudden someone new comes along, its exciting stuff!!

lostinrates

Kimberley wrote: »

I read they were quiet on different websites when I was researching them :eek: I had to give up my Bengals because of the neighbours complaining of their noise, the boy was very vocal and loud. I'm going to have to rethink then. I'd hate to bring one home and then having to return him because of his barking

TBH I think this is vital. Also, though I'm sure you know, a dog who has always been quiet in kennels might, after a few weeks in a home become more vocal. I think sassygirls suggestion to foster with a view to adopt might be prudent.

We've had ''mute'' dogs, not greyhounds but other sight hounds before, but I repeat my grey and the greys of breeders I know sings and barks. Barking is not necessarily a bad thing. I love that my dog tells me there is someone at the door, even when I'm not here and I know she calms down after five minutes i the door isn't answered...because we've tested it! But there is no doubt that when she barks she is louder than my very, very vocal siamese cats. and if cat noise has been a problem before than I think with any new pet this might be more of an issue for you than for most people taking on a new pet.

Hound song is notorious for a reason, and despite being very special these dogs ARE hounds. This is not to say they are not wonderful and I would recommend them to many, many people as the pretty much ideal pet.

YorkiePud_3

Well, nobody can guarantee a grey won't ever bark or wail if they've been quiet in kennels (where they may have been a bit phased out and subdued because they can easily sluffen and feel upset), but I wouldn't have NOT told you that there is a possibility yours might ... that wouldn't have been fair!

It's the same with all dogs ... take one particular breed and what may be a quirk to perhaps 50% of them may not be to the other 50% ... but if your grey is prone to having a bark and wail (I don't mean just to alert you to someone coming to the door, which of course, is a good thing - I mean if they get a bit bored and start off) then believe me, it is a loud noise and some dogs can carry on for a long time with it too.

That's how mine started off being outside in kennels and then ended up coming into the house ... as soon as they were indoors with the usual every day noises and company, they were fine but the boy would start a bit if they were left so I usually ended up taking them with me wherever I went (and they loved that), but that's not suitable for everyone to do of course.

Please don't think we're trying to put you off because we aren't ... but it wouldn't be right for you to go into it not knowing all the possibilities. BUT at the end of the day, it IS only a possibility! I wonder if, whichever dog you choose, the kennel would let you "foster" it for a week or a weekend, just so you can see what it is like in a house ... you know, leave it indoors, go stand outside and just keep an ear out for a bit and see if it is going to be a dog that does cry and wail when it is left.
That's probably the only surefire way you will find out ... but to be honest, if your neighbours complained about your cats, then you are going to have to be 100% certain your grey is one of the quieter ones otherwise it could open up a lot of problems for you!

A lot of it though is down to boredom .... in kennels, there are always noises, always someone passing by etc ... so leaving a radio on may be a good idea if you leave them, so they don't feel they are on their own .. although, knowing how intelligent they are, they would probably suss out after a while that that doesn't actually mean someone is there!

Please don't be put off adopting a grey ... but it's best to know everything ... and as I say, I would ask if you could bring the dog you choose home for a weekend or week so you can see yourself what they are like when on their own ... if you stand outside a bit and hear nothing, then you've cracked it!

My Uncle had a greyhound when he was a boy and they always thought that there was something wrong with her because she never barked or sang ... never ... then one day, he was outside in the garden with her and he fell and couldn't get up .. well, she went to the window and kicked up such a fuss, barking, howling and wailing, to let them know something was wrong!!

They really are fabulous dogs, but as with any breed, it's a matter of finding the one whose character most suits you, your home environment and any other pets, that's all!

moomin5

I don't think your neighbours can expect an animal to never make a noise but its often the duration or unsocial time that's usually the problem. It would be wise to practice alone training from day 1, building up the time gradually before returning to work to avoid any potential problems. My greys will bark/sing when the door goes or if they hear our car pull up and occasionally while playing but its fairly infrequent & doesn't last very long. Greys can seem noisier in kennels, especially if its coming up to dinner time (post dinner is snooze time).

Kimberley

Thanks guys especially Yorkipud's long post

I think I will defo ask them if I can foster him (whichever one our Jess chooses) before committing to adopt. I hope they do and i'm sure they would agree if they have the dogs interest at Heart. The cats had an outside run in the garden and thats where the main noise came from. No way could I keep the Bengals inside 24/7 without them going out because they gave me grief when the window was shut. Our Jess is quite a laid back JRT and only barks at the door or when she hears someone outside so with her i'm very lucky but then i've taught her commands from the start.

I'm so looking forward to Saturday.