Greyhound maintence?

Most greyhounds are between 60-80 lbs. Some females may be a bit lighter, some males are a bit larger. As for their food requirements, they are to eat twice daily. Once in the morning and once in the early evening. They generally eat 1 1/2 cups of quality dry kibble twice daily, so their food costs are not very high. As for their vet bills, it's generally similar to any other dog. There are always unforseen costs in owning any animal, but this breed is not really any different than any other in terms of vet bills. If you are on a very tight budget, then the addition of any animal should be well thought out before the fact. They are generally very docile and good with children with the appropriate supervison and socialization, which is always a responsible dog owner's duty. This is especially true while a greyhound is adjusting to home life after life on a racetrack. I would say that the average monthly cost of feeding one greyhound is about $50+ treats, etc. I strongly recommend reading "Adopting the Racing Greyhound" by Cynthia Brannigan before adopting this breed.

Greyhounds are generally very healthy, low maintenance dogs. That said.. unexpected issues or injuries can occur. They would, of course, require a annual check up and shots, which would need to include a dental cleaning (they are not blessed with good teeth) so that will run you a couple hundred dollars once a year, depending on your vet.

Feeding them.. a small grey eats only about 3 cups a day

while a larger grey can eat up to 6. So it depends on the brand of food, and the dog.

Children.. it depends on the dog. Most of them have never been around kids. Some do great with kids and some are more high strung. The problem is that greyhounds are very mellow. They are thin skinned, bony, and delicate. Since there will be unfamiliar children in the home, you have no idea if they understand how to treat pets. A greyhound would not appreciate being played with roughly, having ears tugged, or climbed on by small children who don't "know better". They likely would not like all the activity and noise. Also there is the risk of a small child opening a door and letting the greyhound out so it gets loose. So there would be a lot of risk as to the kids or the dog getting hurt.

As much as I would love to tell you to adopt one of these lovely dogs, I honestly think it may not be a good match for you and your situation. In fact, many adoption groups won't adopt greys out to homes with small children, and your home will have several? it is nothing personal, but I don't know that any group would let you adopt, for the reasons I have mentioned.

You might want to consider a more rough and tough breed like a lab mix adopted from a local shelter, SPCA, etc...

Good luck!

Greyhounds can be wonderful around kids and they don't require a ton of food. They look big, but don't weigh as much as you might think. A small female at 50 pounds will eat a few cups of good quality food a day.

If you want to talk to a bunch of greyhound owners, go to this forum:

http://forum.greytalk.com/

They have tons of information and you can get a good idea of the range of expenses for a greyhound. The folks there are VERY helpful and they truly love dogs.

PS Steven is 100% dead on---and definitely check out the book he suggested as it is considered "THE" book for potential adopters.

I agree with Suzie S. Although it's great to adopt a greyhound, a lab or retriever might be a better fit with children.

They actually only eat about 3 or 4 cups of food a day dispite their size as long as it is goo d quality.They have very few if any genetic diseases since they are bred for speed not looks if you adopt one.Some of them are when you adopt one they have been tested for things like that and a lot of them are small child friendly but,you will want to have her/his muzzle on when meeting them since that is a comfort to them and they get scared and excited easily.Please dont let that discourage you it is a mere precaution.