Adopting a retired greyhound

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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We’ve had a greyhound - except for one bleak Sept-May stretch - since Feb 97. They have a gentle mischief about them that we find irresistible. If ever there were a breed to win over “cat persons” it would be this one. They have a very sweet nature, and we found with both of ours, there was a blossoming of personality a few months in. Our first guy, Trooper, was ~88 lbs and had been fostered. Our girl, little 55 lbs Zinny, we picked up 36 hours after the track, she was in a heat cycle and still hadn’t been spayed yet. Technically we were her foster home til she was spayed and officially adoptable by us. She used to be a shy little flower but before long she settled right in.

Trooper was afraid of little dogs. He didn’t understand the racket and ruckus they made. A greyhound would have to be really keyed up to act like that, so their bizarre behavior made him very anxious. He was delightful with cats and bunnies and pet rats and friendly dogs, but was a guided missile when it came to squirrels. It’s like he turned into a different animal altogether.

Both of our hounds share many traits - very food-motivated. Very very fond of soft things - microfleece blankets, soft beds, upholstery, pillows, fake fur, soft toys that make noises.

They do need flea and tick preventative, but get one from the vet, not the supermarket. The chemicals used in regular old flea collars can kill a greyhound. We live in the buggy woods and have very good luck with Frontline Plus.

Greyhounds would generally rather take off than confront scary stuff. This is nice, but you have to be aware of it. They can startle (especially if they’re fresh off the track and not acclimated) and be a speck in the distance before you know it.

You ought not use invisible fence, chain collars, retractable leads, or tether tie-outs with a greyhound. They can accelerate much faster than most other dogs, and the force on their neck when they hit the end of a tether can damage them. Their skin is thin and sensitive, without the fat layer of most other dogs. Their speed can make the zap from the invisible fence too short of a correction to contain them (but enough of a deterrent to keep them from coming back in.) I’ve heard of a greyhound whose owner dropped the retractable lead, the handle of which is a big hollow plastic grip with the reel inside. It make a loud clatter against the sidewalk and startled the dog, who took off. And it kept following the dog! Bad news. A similar thing happened at a picnic I attended, where someone looped their big hound’s lead around a folding chair. Scary Chair Monster chased him halfway across the park before they got him back.

Lee Livingood’s Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies is really an excellent guide.

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From my experiences and from what I’ve heard from the other grey owners, the opposite is usually true. Greyhounds at the track live in confined kennels, not full-length dog runs, so they aren’t really in the habit of relieving themselves whenever they like – and they can be in their kennels up to 20 hours a day. They’re turned out of their kennels by a trainer to stretch their legs and relieve themselves at intervals, and being used to someone letting them out when it’s time to pee goes a long way toward getting them used to the housebreaking process.

That said, one problem I’ve heard of (but thankfully have not experienced) is that some greys seem to take it that any space larger than their kennel counts as being outside and they act accordingly. It can sometimes be difficult to get the dog to figure out the difference, but crate training can help a lot with this.

I did have a minor issue housebreaking my second grey when he first arrived. He was good about relieving himself outside, but the idea of letting someone know that he had needs was pretty foreign to him. If he had an upset stomach or if his system was off-schedule, he’d hold it as long as he could, then get as close to the outside as he could before letting go with no scratching at the door or otherwise trying to alert any of the humans in the house that he had to go out beforehand. That went away with a combination of him adjusting to being a housedog and unstressing a bit, us learning to read his body language better, and him getting confident enough to be demanding. :wink:

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We adopted our girl through GAO, and she’s been an absolute joy. She was a foster who we fell in love with and decided to keep? By coincidence, I’m currently fostering a big, laidback guy who happily cohabitates with 2 other greyhounds, 3 cats and 2 small, white fluffy dogs.

His story is a little sadder than some. He was originally from Guam, but the track closed down there and he came to the States. He was adopted, but returned when his owner found out he had cancer in his mouth. He had surgery, and is living with us until he finds his adoptive home. He’s been given a clean bill of health from Ohio State, and is doing well. Really just an awesome, sweet guy who deserves a great home.