What is life with a greyhound like (interested in hearing from current and former greyhound owners)?

I have 3 greys now and have fostered a number of them. They are the easiest dogs to live with of any breed I've had. They seldom bark, and would be content to lie around all day keeping your mom company, waiting for their evening walk.

Ifi you adopt from a rescue group the dog you choose will have been temperament tested as far as how they get along with kids, small dogs and cats. Of my 3, 2 of them get along with small dogs, cats, horses, goats, llamas, anything. My female, however, is not cat safe nor does she like small dogs but is trainable with dogs. All of them, and every greyhound I've had has been great with kids. Depending on your birds and the dog you get, you may be able to introduce them - mine don't show much interest in birds at all.

My suggestion would be to stay away from a large, young, very rambunctious male so you don't have to worry about your mom being tripped. Other than that, a greyhound would be a great choice - a lot of them are used as pet therapy dogs and go to seniors homes because of their gentleness. Let the people you're talking to know your concerns because they will match you with a dog that's best for your situation. Good luck - you'll love having a greyhound!

Great idea. We adopted a retired ( though we think not very succesful ) racing greyhound about 18 months ago and the decision for a greyhound was based on the domestic set-up. They do not need huge amounts of exercise...ours will walk for miles but is just as happy with 2 or 3 short walks during the morning/evening if longer walks aren't possible on the day. She ( like most greyhounds ) takes over the living area in the house for her primary ' raison d'etre ' which is sleeping! She barks once in a blue moon so as a guard dog she is pretty much pointless, but as a companion she is spot-on. As regards getting under your feet, if ours is typical, that shouldn't be a problem as her movement around the house is almost in slow motion giving plenty of time to get out of the way! They are generally very good travellers in vehicles, not too fussy about what you feed them on ( in fact the more expensive the dog food the more ours refuses to eat it ) and, again in our case, very friendly toward other animals, sharing eating space/time with the cat.

They do need a good soft bed area ( they dominate setees ) as they have very little fleshy covering on their joints, and can be prone to bad breath as tooth problems are part of their ' make-up '. Occasionally they can appear to be aggressive by seeming to snap and grab with their teeth but this is actually their way of playing and is almost always totally harmless...I'm sure that with a very few exceptions greyhounds have no concept of aggression.

They do make wonderful pets and, in view of the stories in the UK press recently about ex-racing dogs being disposed of wholesale, the more that can be adopted and given a proper loving home the better. Go to a reputable homing agency and have a look, see if they will let you ' trial ' a greyhound for a couple of days ( if they are good they should ) and hopefully you will be convinced.

Whatever kind of dog you end up with it sounds like it will end up in a good home.

Hi, I have a retired racing Greyhound. I live in a unit (with a huge courtyard) and my dog is inside all the time. I take her for two 25min walks per day (1.5hours after each meal) and she sleeps most of the rest of the day. I hide a few treaties around the house for her (in her pile of toys, behind the door, under the bed, next to her bowl) and that keeps her occupied. Greyhounds don't need much exercise (in comparison to what you would think). They are a large dog, but they are known as the "worlds' fastest couch potato" for a reason. They have spurts of energey (for about 5 minuts) then sleep for a couple of hours. hehe. They love to snuggle on the couch next to you, they are affectionate, gentle, loyal, incredibly intelligent and the best dog on the planet. I love my girl. I come home in the evening to the best companion I could possibly have. She is 10 years old (I have had her for 5 months now) and she is as spritely as a pup. I cannot say a bad thing about them. They are fabulous beautiful dogs. Ally

As everyone says greyhounds are greyt pets. A couple points that haven't been brought up.

1. Greyhounds are big leaners, they will lean against anyone. Our greyhound will lean on all the elderly ladies in our neighboorhood, the ladies love it but we really watch him so he doesn't lean with all his weight. I would work with your greyhound adoption group and see if you can get a small older female.

2. Greyhounds are not big barkers..... odd are you won'tget one that barks when someone comes to the doors. Most go tot the door and wag their tails.

Retired Greyhound's make wonderful pets. But with any animal it will not know what you expect until a pattern is set. Most of the time dogs are easy to train, and I bet the dog would love to go for walks/runs in the evenings. Good luck.

Greyhounds are wonderful pets. However, I wonder if a greyhound is the right match for you and your mom.

Greyhounds, retired racers anyways, aren't hyper. So there shouldn't be any problems with regard to the dog knocking your mom down or tripping her (of course accidents do happen---there's no way to guarantee this kind of thing).

The main thing is that, as stated, Greyhounds have very high prey drives. When they're let outside and see something that catches their interest (squirrel or whatever), they will bolt after it. They should be supervised in a yard at all times because retired greyhounds aren't used to certain things that most other dogs are (like stairs, for example)---and in a frenzy they can crash into a chainlink fence---possibly doing fatal damage to theirselves. My neighbor had a wonderful retired racer who broke its back by running into their chainlink fence after it chased a wild rabbit in the yard. Unfortunately, given your mothers' lack of mobility (or limited mobility), I'm not sure she'd be able to offer the kind of supervision a greyhound needs outdoors.

Keep in mind that greyhounds are NOT watch dogs/guard dogs AT ALL. They probably won't bark if someone is at the door. They're not big barkers to begin with, and a retired racer is even less likely to bark---they grow accustomed to not barking while being kenneled during their racing career, where needless barking is discouraged for the sanity of the rest of the kennel.

Also, greyhounds are sprinters---not endurance runners. They can be trained to go running with you, but they aren't bred for that kind of stuff---they're bred to go longer distances in as short a time as possible. Basically, they don't know how to 'jog' and so you'll have to train the dog and build up its stamina so it can be an adequate excercise partner.

Finally, 'cat safe' does not mean safe with all other animals. As far as a greyhound is concerned, birds are fair game---they were bred to go after them. And just because your dog may be fearful or tolerate cats, does not mean it still won't go after the birds. Being cat safe and prey animal safe are 2 entirely different things. You'll have to do a lot of question asking and hope the rescue you choose has tested their greyhounds around small animals (like rabbits, rodents, and birds).

Perhaps you should consider a different breed to keep your options open. Greyhounds are -wonderful- pets after their racing days, but they're still not for everyone. Open up your options and do some more research into other breeds that may be more in tune with your lifestyle and what you want a dog to do.

greyhounds are absolutely wonderful dogs, but they have a REAL prey instinct. They will chase anything smaller than they are. They can make friends with cats, just like any other dog, but you have to realize cats and birds resemble small prey, which greyhounds have a natural instinct to chase. I would suggest getting a standard poodle. Famously even tempered dogs that are gentle with all life, can be trained as retrievers and can make an excellent watchdog.

GO FOR IT!!! I have two retired Grey's and I can't imagine our family without them. We got ours through an agency that fostered them so we didn't have to do the inital house trainning. They aren't barky or hyper, but that does vary with the dogs personality. We got our girl first and she is a quiet, well-behaved take her anywhere kinda gal. Almost too perfact and she spoils us. When we got her our youngest child was 5 and Joy (our dog) has always watched out for her although you hear that Grey's arn't "guard-like". We got our boy almost 2 years ago and he is a bit harder. He has alot more energy, and is more vocal than Joy is. He also bonded to me like crazy..he was supposed to be my husband's dog but he follows me around all day...he'll lay down to sleep so he can see me or he'll lay behind me as I work at my desk...it's kinda cool in a semi-annoying at times way. Our girl is not small animal safe and our boy is...although both are friendly I really do take care with Joy when we are out and about.

Grey's do great on a routine...but you have to be very careful about what they eat...NO PEOPLE FOOD. We feed our's Ol'Roy High Performance from Wal*Mart. The price is good and it has high protien which Grey's need.

Read Adopting Retired Racing Greyhounds for dummies....but don't freak when you read all about the stuff they tell you you have to do all the time...like the teeth brushing etc. Not nessary really. Make sure you have a local Vet that is familar with Greyhounds...there are flea treatments out there you can't use as well as some medications etc.

I could go on for hours...email me anytime...let me know what you decide!!!