so, rescuing a Greyhound.

[ravennr]

Originally Posted by *blackrose

I'll see if I can point Sarah to this thread...rescue Greys are her specialty. And she has cats, as well as rabbits and guinea pigs, too, that the dogs are around.

she was who inspired me to look into it again!
would love her input for sure.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Aleron

You just have to be realistic about your expectations. It is realistic to try to find a dog who can live in your home with your cat. Lots of people have cats and sighthounds. It is not so realistic to expect a sighthound to hang around loose outside with roaming cats and never have a predatory thought towards them. There are probably individual sighthounds out there who can do that too but it isn't something I'd expect from one.

Yeah, my two bozos live with two cats and two chinchillas. They're great with all four of our little animals, but will chase cats in the yard. They've never harmed a cat though. They'll run on top of the cat and terrorize it with glee as it streaks through the yard, but they won't actually put it in their mouths and kill it.

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by Romy

Yeah, my two bozos live with two cats and two chinchillas. They're great with all four of our little animals, but will chase cats in the yard. They've never harmed a cat though. They'll run on top of the cat and terrorize it with glee as it streaks through the yard, but they won't actually put it in their mouths and kill it.

can't say that for Sonic

[Lilavati]

I've heard you need to be careful with steps. A lot of them don't know how to handle steps and they have those long fragile legs.

One reason we didn't adopt one at our old place: steep, narrow, slick wooden steps.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Pops2

can't say that for Sonic

It took a lot of work to get Kaia not to eat the chinchillas. I think the only reason they don't eat yard cats is because they like scaring them too much. It definitely doesn't stop them from eating the raccoons and rats.

[ravennr]

my mom could use a good ratter. living behind a grocery store, she gets a ton in the backyard. she doesn't even have anything back there, but they scare her and aren't afraid of her at all.

she swears they watch her, lol

[Romy]

Originally Posted by ravennr

my mom could use a good ratter. living behind a grocery store, she gets a ton in the backyard. she doesn't even have anything back there, but they scare her and aren't afraid of her at all.

she swears they watch her, lol

Haha, I used to feed Strider frozen/thawed rats when he was a puppy if one of the snakes wasn't hungry on feeding day. He LOVES rat now. They leave the tails on the back steps for us.

[SarahHound]

Sorry for taking my time to get here!

Well I've had 4 rescue greyhounds now, one (Breagha) straight from her trainer, my Dad chose her completely on a whim and took a big risk as we had other dogs, a kitten and a youngish child at home at the time. She was a nervous wreck when she came home, every little thing scared her, she really had known nothing but the race track and her kennel. However with a bit of patience, she turned into a wonderful dog.

The others, Todd, Maddy and Lucy, since her have been easier with regards to settling, as they had all come from a rescue centre. Todd had lived in a home before ours, and he killed their kitten. It was entirely the owners fault, they just went out one day, bought a kitten, and let it loose in the house. Todd was a successful racer...unfortunately, the kitten was killed within a minute. Poor Todd got the blame of course, and as it was friends of ours, they asked if we wanted him. With training, he was completely cat safe within 6 weeks and has been ever since. He sleeps with the cats, lets them share his food, and will happily go on walks with them.

Maddy was a failed racer, she had no instinct AT ALL, she walked in the house, smelt the cats, then went to sleep. She just saw them as another dog I think. Never ever even looked at them in a way I didn't like.

Lucy had never seen a cat before, but she was also deemed a non-racer. However it was different with Maddy, in that she failed because she wasn't fast enough, not because she didn't have the instinct. However I was told her brother was living with cats and was fine, so I took a chance. Turns out she was also fine, she will try to play with them, but she doesn't want to hurt them.

As for rescues, they differ. My rescue checks them with different dog breeds, they have a giant breed, other greyhounds, 3 medium breeds, and 2 small breeds, to check if they are suitable with all. They also cat check them, and child check. They will also do livestock check, and small animals (the woman owns pet rabbits), if you require this.

As for scary things, once Breagha got over her fears, she was pretty solid. Todd is a wimp, it doesn't take much for him to get jelly legs, mostly thunder, jets and big bangs. Maddy was scared of hammers, nothing else, but it was suspected she was beaten with a hammer before she came to us. Lucy is scared of nothing, she has no fears at all. She didn't have to get used to anything, nothing phases her.

The only thing to watch out for with ex-racers is joint injuries. Out of my four, only Todd has had a problem with an old racing injury. He gets a sore shoulder. It doesn't pose a major issue for him, just gets a bit stiffer in the winter and goes away with a bit of glucosamine or Metacam.

[ravennr]

thanks so much! your rescue sounds amazing. i will message the ones here and see what their process is. i'm curious, even if we don't adopt one. our options are still pretty wide open!

also, love the name of your first rescue Grey.

[SarahHound]

Originally Posted by ravennr

thanks so much! your rescue sounds amazing. i will message the ones here and see what their process is. i'm curious, even if we don't adopt one. our options are still pretty wide open!

also, love the name of your first rescue Grey.

Thanks her name when she arrived was Little Mo, after a soap character who was shy and nervous!

Breagha means beautiful in Gaelic.