Greyhound (and other sighthounds)

[milos_mommy]

I am STRONGLY considering a greyhound for my next dog (yes I know it changes just about daily).

I love their sensitivity and their affectionate nature. I like their off-switch. I think they'd make a pretty good apartment dog, quite and calm inside, but ready to go outside. A dog I could go hike with, but who won't be totally nuts if I have an extra-busy day and we only get a couple of walks in. I haven't seen much aggression in the breed.

I know they aren't always great with smaller animals, I want one that is at the least good with other small dogs.

Anyone have greyhound experience? I also love whippets, but they are hard to find in rescue....borzois too.

 

[Pops2]

there is a reason they wear basket muzzles. once they are amped up they can sometimes get carried away & light other dogs up but are fine once you take them aside & settle them down. just like any breed, some of them are downright dangerous to other dogs regardless of size or situation. i know of one fella in NM that no one will run w/ because his coyote dogs will gang up on & kill strange dogs. it's even gotten him thrown off some ranches because they stretched the cowdog, yet he still won't cull them and bring in a safer line of stags. just like any dog it's important to know the parents or if rescuing to match the dog to you.

 

[milos_mommy]

Thanks Pops....I think that holds true for most breeds, especially any working dogs bred to hunt, fight, or protect.

I'm not looking for a working dog, probably an older one and a retired racer. Maybe we could do a little fun lure-coursing or something.

 

[Pops2]

racers have thin skin & soft feet so be careful where you run. feet can be toughened up by a planned regimen of hard surface walking, not just the pads but the whole muscle & tissue structure.

 

[Dekka]

Many rescues get all antsy if you mention you want to lure course them.. they often see that as too hard for a 'rescue'. Silly if you ask me, but there it is...

I have met a few ex racers, and a pack of nice conformation/amateur racing dogs. Lovely and HUUUUGE dogs. LOL I will stick to whippets, don't think I want great dane sized dogs. The 'well bred' ones had more playful out going temperaments, and bounced as well as a whippet. The rescued ones are very sweet but are often very reserved.

 

[milos_mommy]

racers have thin skin & soft feet so be careful where you run. feet can be toughened up by a planned regimen of hard surface walking, not just the pads but the whole muscle & tissue structure.

Thanks for the info, a couple dogs in rescue have retired because of broken foot bones, etc.

Dekka, Lure coursing isn't a big deal, I'm not going to go looking for a dog to lure-course. If I bring the dog home and think they'll get a ton of enjoyment out of it, it might be something we'll try.

 

[JennSLK]

If you contact index They do mostly confo but alot of thier dogs are on the top lists for lure coursing as well. They are great to just ask questions and have a great deal of knowledge

 

[darkchild16]

Many rescues get all antsy if you mention you want to lure course them.. they often see that as too hard for a 'rescue'. Silly if you ask me, but there it is...

I have met a few ex racers, and a pack of nice conformation/amateur racing dogs. Lovely and HUUUUGE dogs. LOL I will stick to whippets, don't think I want great dane sized dogs. The 'well bred' ones had more playful out going temperaments, and bounced as well as a whippet. The rescued ones are very sweet but are often very reserved.

There is a reason for the no lure coursing. MOST dogs that are sent out to be adopted were hurt in one way or another. Like Scirrocco was retired because of a broken toe. PLUS alot of kennels sign them over under the stipulation that they wont do any thing of that nature.

Milo I would be weary of hiking with one. Like pops said their feet are not meant for that type of terrain. They have rabbit like feet small and narrow. Plus most wont do it to often. Sci if you asked him to walk more then a lap around the park and then add rough terrain even as a 4 year old he would look at you like you were nuts. Greyhounds are great apartment dogs but you do want to have one that has been fostered. Some dont do well in them AND before you bring one home ask them if they have seen stairs before. IF not you will want another dog that is a pro at it to go in front of them and go up and down a few times and that does the trick.


They are also not a running companion I know you didnt put that in there but i do want to point that out. They are used to sprinting thats what they were bred to do jogging or running is not something they enjoy to much of. If you are looking at around a 30-40 lb dog you will want to go female, males can range from 60 to sometimes even close to 80 lbs.

They are also VERY sensative to weather either hot or cold. THey have no body fat so they over heat FAST in high temperatures and they get cold faster. OTher then that if you get one with the right tempermant it works out great!

 

[Dekka]

at least here most retire sound. Or at least sound enough to do agility or lure coursing. Thats sad if most don't there. I have met dogs with broken toes that once healed go back to normal activities. A healed injury doesn't have to mean the end of running around.

I know of a few that are GREAT running partners, but that is because when running beside a human a grey is trotting leisurely lol. Though running in the winter doesn't seem to happen.

The hare feet isn't why they have issues being a trail dog though. Whippets also have hare feet and they aren't sensitive in the least.

 

[darkchild16]

Scis feet get cut in the woods easily along with most of them that i have known and dealt with (100+)

They dont suggest running after a energy because of the size of the dog compared to the feet. Sci has fractured a toe before (years ago) and he wasnt doing anything that would put stress on it or anything.


And alot of the times you wont know the retirey was injured and sometimes the rescues dont even know. The kennels them selves fix them up get them healed and THEN send them to the rescues. Injuries and any little thing that could be worsened by running they are adopted out. No matter what.

 

[Dekka]

I am glad rescues here seem to know a bit more about the ex racers they are getting. It would be pretty hard to recommend a very large athletic but fragile dogs.

Lure coursing isn't terribly extreme as things go, so if a dog couldn't go out and run around a few times a year and has to be kept quiet.... that gives me a sad.. The ones here seem to be able to rip around.

 

[elegy]

I think about greyhounds frequently too, though I think it will be a challenge to find the right hound for me. Never Say Never Greyhounds inspires me so much. That's the kind of life I want with a greyhound- an active, well-rounded one. But for the time being, they're too large, and I have cats. While there are plenty of greys out there who do fine with cats, adding that stipulation to all the rest of the characteristics I am looking for just seems too much, so I'll be waiting until my post-cat life.

 

[CharlieDog]

I think about greyhounds frequently too, though I think it will be a challenge to find the right hound for me. Never Say Never Greyhounds inspires me so much. That's the kind of life I want with a greyhound- an active, well-rounded one. But for the time being, they're too large, and I have cats. While there are plenty of greys out there who do fine with cats, adding that stipulation to all the rest of the characteristics I am looking for just seems too much, so I'll be waiting until my post-cat life.

I was going to recommend Never Say Never as well. SEGA seems to do a really good job of matching the right dog with the right person. The lady who has that blog does a TON of hiking with ALL of her greys and Ive never heard her say anything about them being to "fragile" to do it. Sounds like a load to me, honestly.

If its such a big deal for ex racers, then I suggest going to a breeder.

 

[Pops2]

a lot of young ex-racers are retired from injuries a few are retired because they are too slow to run competitively on any track (the fastest dogs are usually on the biggest tracks w/ the higer attendance). older racers like 5 or 8 are just slowing down from age but are often still fit enough to run lures. if you get a racer w/ good feet you can take them jogging, hiking or coursing. but you may have to break a toe or toe at the dog park before you realize the one you got has fragile feet. also don't worry if the retiree is 6 or 8 because they often live to 15 some as much as 17.

 

[PWCorgi]

I LOVE Never Say Never, that is also what I would want if I were ever to get a Grey. I have thought about fostering from one of the *many* grey rescues around here, because I have been around quite a few greys and really liked them. Once they settle in (the ones I have met anyway) they seem to be quite the easy keepers, though you can run into reactivity toward other dogs since many have only ever seen other greyhounds until they leave the track.

 

[SpringerLover]

One of my good friends has a retired racing greyhound. She's a transplant from Boston, and that's where Beckett raced, but he's adapted to MN pretty darn well.

He's a social, beautiful, well-rounded greyhound, and Buzz's best buddy. They get along really well, and Buzz thinks ALL greyhounds should be like Beckett!

I want a Beckett! My boss also has a greyhound, who is far less outgoing and social with most people, but I still love Ram (RamBam, Dodge Ram, Ram A Lama).

 

[PWCorgi]

I want a Beckett too. I think he is the most well trained grey I've ever met.

 

[SpringerLover]

They qualified in APDT rally last weekend. The judge was pretty intrigued by a well trained, responsive, greyhound!

 

[Romy]

Hiking and coursing depend a lot on local terrain. Some soils will slip a tough dog's pads if they get up to speed on dry ground. Others are nice and soft. We see a lot of rescue NGA hounds at the local lure coursing fun runs, but then we have nice marshy clay with soft green grass to run on. It's very different from...say, parts of Colorado. The only injury I ever witnessed on the coursing field was an NGA grey that had a grand mal seizure in the middle of a run, just as he reached top speed. That was not pretty.

There are old retirees you can adopt. Young dogs come up too. While in Tucson we looked at adopting a greyhound, the entire litter of 6 was washed at 1 year old due to lack of prey drive. Very lovely bunch of dogs. Social, healthy, safe with small dogs and cats. Something like that might be ideal.

Sighthounds are perfectly fine to jog with. A big sighthound is going to move at a leisurely trot while you jog. That kind of movement is good for their legs, but doesn't exercise the core body muscles they use to run. They should get 1-2 good off leash runs a day at least if possible, to keep those muscles in shape.

 

[PWCorgi]

That's awesome! Tell Elizabeth (iirc that's her name, lol) I said congrats!