Pet Greyhound

[barkingmad]

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My sister is looking for another dog and is considering a greyhound. She has one small dog (yorkie) one medium size and three cats. She loves the look of greyhounds and has heard they make great pets. Can anybody here post their experience of owning a greyhound. Are they easy to train? I know they are quite big, do they eat much? She is looking for a small sized greyhound, how small do they come? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[barkingmad]

also is there any difference in temperment between dog and bitch in this breed she has one male and female at the moment and was thinking of getting a female but is worried that two females wont get on. I have checked the faq section and cant find anu info on owning a greyhound. Am I missing something?

 

[posh totty]

my mum has an ex racer Deeley and i can say he is the most laid back boy ever! good on the lead, recall is coming on slowly and he is excellent with my cats and her small yorkies, some are not so good so you would have to think carefully on that, he adores a ball and even sleeps with a spongey type ball (w00t) house training was relatively easy and he did go through a peroid of chewing things as he felt his feet but on the whole he is more then an angel, so much so that when she moves she will get another. im sure she would be happy to talk to you about her experiences if you pm me your number :thumbsup:

 

[Mark Roberts]

my advice would be to say be carefull, try and get one that wouldnt chase/race that way theres less chance of it attacking the cats/yorkie wereas an ex rac er thats been racing keenly will have more prey instinct.

 

[julieleigh]

This may seem bias but they are so laid back, i have never had any problems with any of mine, i have 2 cats at home whom they dont bother but saying that will chase my neighbours if he ventures into my garden. You may find they are always good when it comes to grooming them, teeth care, lead trained etc as this is normally done from such a young age. I have yet to have any problems with house training, they pick home life up quite quickly. Its hard to say what is best when it comes to bitch or dog as my personal experiences i have not any problem with either. As for size 1 of mine dogs is near on 40 kg & yet i have small bitch who is only 22 kg ( more whippet size ) so its best to look around & take each individual dog differently...

Good Luck & please keep us updated to any decision that your sister makes.

 

[Lolcoe]

Any Greyhound rescue should know the dog well and would be able to match your needs with a dog. All our dogs go ballistic at cats, which can be a nightmare as our neighbour breeds them!! As Mark says some racers who dont chase wouldnt care less about a cat. Our Skippy is a biggish lass who has a JRT as company in her kennel, she is so careful with him whereas Ronnie (giantsize) tries to play with the JRT and just knocks him out with one paw!!

Explain your situation and im sure you will get a lovable Greyhound in return :thumbsup:

and yes piccies would be great

 

[FeeFee]

Go to a good rescue, such as Greyhound Gap, http://www.greyhoundgap.com/ who keep all their dogs in foster homes so they are well assessed with cats/dogs/other animals and will give lots of advice and support.

I've had several ex-racing greyhounds over the years and they are such lovely dogs, very laid back and affectionate. My current girl is 13 now and has always been such an easy girl - good offlead and excellent with other dogs.

There is only one serious problem with them - it's very hard to stick at one!

 

[urchin]

I've successfully introduced exceptionally keen ex racers to my cats barkingmad - its all about taking the introduction really slowly and carefully to avoid mishaps.

This is the method i use

stage one, dog on lead with muzzle at all times when around the cats

when they can manage this without attempting to chase/eat cat

stage two, dog on lead no muzzle -

again when they ignor the cats as they saunter around the house

stage three, muzzle no lead - again until the dog learns to ignor the cats

each stage lasts as long as it takes for the dog to ignor the comings and goings of the cats - for 1 dog that was a couple of hours, for another 3 weeks

it takes persistance, but it pays off - and so far i've always been successsful. Even ex racers will accept your cats as part of the pack, just keep a close eye out in the garden, and neighbours cats will always be fair game

 

[RattySarah]

I'm very inexperienced with greyhounds, having only had mine a 3 weeks but thought I'd share how things have gone so far. My greyhound's a female and her head is about as high as my waist (I'm 5ft4) so she's quite large really. My Sadie is not too sure about training, she's listens as and when she wants to so we need to work on that! My dog tends to want to eat what you're having but a firm no, makes her understand most of the time. So far everyone I meet when I walk her just loves her, they are wonderful dogs. My dad didn't want to get her and now he loves her to bits. We have a cat too, she's not too bothered about the cat, ignores her or occassionally wants to play but the cat hisses and sadie gets scared and runs away.

 

[fallenangel]

I have had rescue greyhounds and lurchers for over 20 years you can fined a greyhound ot fit in most domestic homes. go to a good sighthound rescue that will do a home check first and them match the right dog to the home. I have 4 greyhounds 4 whippets and a lurcher at the moment having just lost one of our greyhounds a few weeks ago. I have a big 30" at the shoulder lad called boris I can walk him with my other lad and 2 girls by myself and im only 5ft 2". but the 4 whippets I strugle with all togethere. they dog eat musg for there size and as there retire and no longer traning they recqure less. be carefull not to let them get fat its realy bad for them and there joints dont cope well with it. but as a family pet there fabulas I adore my lot and couldnt imaging life without a greyhound or 2 dossing on the sofa.

tranings not a thing they do if you meen sit stay and stuff like that they houes train very quickly as there very natraly clean dogs. they walk nicely on the lead. mine will bowe for a treet and come 90% of the time when there names called but they wont win an odidiance class. Its not cos there over excietd or nauity they just carnt see thge point :lol:

good luck with you sister search one she has one she will be hooked

 

[joanne69]

IVE HAD MY GREYHOUND JUST OVER A YEAR NOW.I HAD A WHIPPET AT THE TIME OF GETTING HER AND THEY GOT ON FINE,ALTHOU MY WHIPPET WAS 15 SO NEEDED HER OWN SPACE,SO IN NO CERTAIN TERMS TOLD HER!!IN ALL KIT(OUR GREYHOUND)IS A GOOD GIRL,SHE IS TOTALY DEVOTED TO HER FAMILY,ESPECIALLY ME.SHE PICKED UP HOUSETRAINING STRAIGHT AWAY,POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF HAVING ANOTHER DOG.SHE DOES EAT QUITE A BIT,BUT FEEDING ROUTINES I FEEL ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT.ON THE DOWN SIDE AND THERE IS NOT MANY. SHE IS A THIEF.SHE KILLED THE PET RABBIT.(SOMEONE LEFT CAGE OPEN)AND SHE RUNS AWAY,SO NOT ALLOWEDOFF LEAD.THATS ALL. :thumbsup: