romansperson, I put both of those books on my Wish List at Amazon, so next time buying stuff, I’ll probably get them both.
porcupine, I just sent you an email re the Cynthia Branigan book…
When I do get a dog it will likely be a rescued Greyhound. Appart from their neat appearance and from what I have read about them I think our personalities would be a good match. Unfortunately right now I don’t think getting a dog would be such a good idea. Hopefully I can get one soon.
Enjoy your reading, porcupine, and good luck with the tests you mentioned in your other thread. Greyhounds make good hot water bottles when you aren’t feeling well :).
We’ve got two or three extra copies of the Branigan book if you want one for free. No worries.
Archergal, your email seems to have landed in the bit bucket, and your email address is not public. Can you resend? If you’re offering the book, I’d be more than happy to pay you shipping and handling. And thanks to Jonathan Chance for the offer as well.
romansperson, thanks for the good wishes - the MRI/MRA came back normal. I am very relieved. Also, I looked at your webpage, so I understand your username now.
I’ve had an Afghan hound in the past, and he was one of the best dogs ever. Oddly, for a sighthound, he was very good with small furries - in fact, the squirrels would come and eat out of his food bowl. My pet bunny would hop right up to him. He was a pacifist, so I called him Siddartha. I had him until he was 14 years old. I keep telling myself that my next adoption will be a greyhound, but other dogs in need seem to keep intruding into my life, demanding to be taken in. I’m down to three dogs right now, a doberman, a german shepherd and an airedale (plus two siamese cats and a horse). I’ll just have to see what dog fate brings into my life next, I guess.
StG
Archergal, Jonathan Chance I also would be happy to pay for shipping for your greyhound book is you no longer need them.
And does anyone have experience with greyhounds in apartments? From what I have seen they should be alright, but I am still hesitant.
I’ve known several Greyhounds that live in apartments and condos. They do well there.
Really, the myth that they need a lot of room prevents many adoptions. In the end all a greyhound wants is someone to care for them and a soft spot to lie down. They’re very easy-going dogs.
In my training experience, ex-racing greyhounds tend to be very “easy” dogs. They’ve been more-or-less conditioned to accept humans as automatically social superiors. (I guess this is so they’re easier for kennel staff to handle?) They’re fast learners, and very willing to please. But harsh methods will absolutely destroy these dogs. Like most sighthounds, they’re very sensitive and respond to harsh correction by buckling and shutting down. (I’ve seen them turned into fear-biters by people who just went way overboard.) One of my clients is a huge supporter of a local adoption agency and currently has 5 greyhounds. She lives on a farm so she’s got the space, but really, these dogs do wonderfully in apartments. Many of them make beautiful house dogs and have nice indoor manners, and you usually don’t see much trouble with them tearing up the house when they’re alone.
Some of them can be submissive urinators when they’re young, but this is easily overcome. They’re a bit aloof with strangers, so it’s wise never to force them into situations where everybody wants to pay attention to the dog. They really appreciate their comforts and I know many people who leave the crate open all the time so their hound can go in whenever they want. It’s also a good idea to get a soft doggie bed or blanket for them- they have almost no fat on them and can get pressure sores from lying on hard surfaces.
I wouldn’t recommend the breed for people with young children. Small kids can be too noisy and rowdy for greyhounds. Quiet older kids are fine. They like routine and stability, so a very busy household can cause some of them stress. They’re definitely not watch dogs, and they’re not barkers at all.
The biggest problems I see with client’s greyhounds are shyness and occasionally chewing. Some bored hounds will lick all the fur off their front paws, so make sure they get daily exercise. A few sprints around the yard should do it, or a brisk half an hour walk.
Be warned- these dogs were made to get on beds and furniture. Decide now if you’re going to allow this, and steel yourself against those chocolate eyes if you’re not. Most people just throw an old sheet or blanket over a piece of furniture and designate that “the dog’s chair”.
Best of luck to you, and cheers to everyone who’ adopted a dog. Good on ya. 
Zap,
Greyhounds can and do live in apartments and condos. We lived for several months in an apartment with ours when we moved and didn’t have a house yet. I think the younger one was a bit bummed that he didn’t have a yard, but the older one was just fine with it.
The only thing I’d warn you about is if you’ve never had a dog before, having one in an apartment is more work than having one in a house with a fenced-in yard. They’ll need to be leashed up and taken out 3-4 times a day to do their business regardless of the weather. If the dog gets sick and needs to go out more often/in the middle of the night, getting dressed and taking them out can be a drag.
Stairs can also be an issue with a large dog - if they can’t do the stairs, then you have to carry them. My husband has had to carry our dogs on occasion when they became old and ill/frail. Hence our insistence on a first-floor apartment. We also had a small patio the dogs could go out on if they wanted, but they were never very interested in it since it was paved. I think if we’d been able to find a garden apartment or a townhouse with a small yard, they would have been delighted with that.
:makes note to look for an elevator building when she buys a condo in the city:
:makes note to look for an elevator building when she buys a condo in the city:
My sister & brother-in-law fostered rescued greyhounds for many years-- I think the took in about 8 sequentially before it became too hard (they had small children as well, so it got pretty exhausting). I guess the main thing that they dealt with was teaching the dogs how to play. Most came to them completely anti-social and terrified of everything, and had to be coaxed into simply having a good time. They’d never had toys, never run for the joy of it, never been around dogs who weren’t competitors.
I think it helped them tremendously to be around a dog who DID know how to play, so it’s great that you already have dogs. My sister’s English Mastiff did a wonderful job of befriending each dog and inviting it to play in the yard or in the house. By the time each one left, it knew how to relax and how to play, and most would take quick laps around the yard in pure joy. It was really neat to see.
It’s usually not too hard to teach a greyhound to play with toys - within a few weeks of getting our first hound, he had the toy thing down. But there are myriad doggie things that an already-existing dog can teach the newbie, just as Beadalin mentioned (funny you mention a mastiff - my husband’s brother and his wife have Bull Mastiffs, and watching our JC try to play with their Magee was hysterical - she wanted to wrestle and he wanted to run, and it took a little negotiation for them to figure out something that worked).
A van is also a really nice thing to have for transporting large dogs if you can swing it. We just bought a used one, because our old dog can get in and out without having to jump or be picked up.
My Elkhound has always been friendly with other dogs, but didn’t always know how to play with other dogs. A good friends’ Rottie finally taught him. She is the most playful Rottie you’ve ever seen, and incredibly persistent.
Casey: “Do you want to play with me?”
Gizmo: “No.”
<two minutes later>
Casey: “How about now? Do you want to play with me now?”
Gizmo: “Grrr… No. Leave me alone.”
<one minute later>
Casey: “Do you want to play. I’ve got this toy.”
Gizmo: “I said no.”
<one minute later>
Casey: “Do you want to play with me now?”
Gizmo: “Grrr… I said no.”
and on and on until Gizmo finally gave in an figured out “Gee, this is fun.” Hopefully Casey will still be around when I get a grey, if Gizmo isn’t able to accomplish this himself.
I’ve never had trouble teaching them to play. But first you have to establish a certain trust level in the dog.
Being raised 50 or more to a kennel they tend to be well-socialized (in a dog-sense) when they arrive so if they were with dogs who play-solicited (throw front feet out, lower hear, raise nose and smile) then they’ll have it. The tricky part is convincing them that humans can play and not just dogs.
Get past that part and you’re in for a ride.
porcupine, email re-sent.
I you get the Greyhounds for Dummies book you’ll see a photo in it of our JC playing with a little foster girl we had for a couple of months back in 1998. He’s doing the perfect play-bow in it.
The first experience JC ever had with a non-grey was with an Airedale. She ran him into the ground! They played and played and played, and finally JC ran out of gas. I wish I’d thought to take a photo - he’s lying on the ground panting and she’s bouncing on his shoulder trying to get him to get up and play some more. He was too wiped to even care.
It was only then that I realized I got the right kind of dog for us.
I just got the book a couple of days ago - thanks much. Archergal.
After a quick read, the idea looks more and more promising. I have lots of changes ahead first, but I will definitely be keeping my potential future doggy requirements in mind when I’m condo-shopping (as well as my current doggy requirements, of course).
Does anyone know if the dogs that are usually with people at the rescue groups are the people’s pets, or dogs that are up for adoption. They all seemed so mellow and friendly I don’t see how they could have been right off the track, so I suspect they were either pets or had at least been in foster homes for a bit.