greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Does any one have a Greyhound as a pet? We are thinking of getting a dog and I have always loved the idea of a greyhound,
We have 2 kids 8,12 and have access to lots of heath land so walking shouldnt be a problem, no cats, but a small garden.
I also like the idea of adopting an ex racer or rescue one.
Any comments welcome!

P.S dont want a puppy!

The Zohan

Friends of ours have two of them. They are friendly dogs. They do not have any kids mind.

One thing they did say was pet insurance can be high based on the breed and if you admit to them being ex race animals. Make sure they are in good heath with a clean bill of health.

zip106

I know a few people who have them - contrary to popular belief they don't need miles of walkies each day.
They are bred for short bursts of speed so get knackered after a couple of miles. They also appear to be very good pets to have with kids.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Superb to take as a rescue....

Very mild mannered and easy to keep... get one thats ended its racing career and you will have many years of great ownership.

Chip

Friends have 2 rescue greyhounds and they are great pets and great with kids.

Chip

stuart69

iTrader: (1)

yup,there great,a friend of mine has 3,and he has kids,no problems what so ever,iam looking at getting another in the future.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

At what age do they normally finish there racing careers ??

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys for all the replies, Its been very helpful to listen to normal people with experiences with these dogs, we are going to go and visit it a rescue place in the next couple of weeks.

Leslie

I have seen a good nimber of pet greyhounds around. I am an animal lover and like to stroke dogs when I see them.

I have always found greyhounds to be very well mannered and friendly. I think they are lovely dogs.

Les

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Great thanks

53

iTrader: (41)

Good greyhound/lurcher resource here that I have used in the past.

http://www.lurcher.org.uk/

We have a rescue lurcher, superb dogs

classic Subaru Si

Yep, spot on - my girlfriends parents have got one - best dog I've ever met, just wants to be stroked all day, great with the kids and doesn't need much exercise either! If I had room, I'd get one in a flash - and lets not forget that you would be giving a poor dog a good home - these buggers get battered,starved and abandoned, then just thrown on the rubbish pile after they have done there time! I always look and him and wonder how anyone could raise a hand to him, he wouldn't hurt a flea..

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Am I right in saying that a Lurchet is a cross with a greyhound?
I was told that greyhounds can some times have a cold character! Maybe a Lurchet has a little more soul

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

53WRX Great looking dog by the way! Looks full of beans!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

They seem pretty placid, my knowledge from when we were considering one is that you have to watch them when off the lead as if they spot "prey" they will be off, and you wont catch it !

friendly but can be aloof, sort of stand offish, ok with kids but arent massively playful, possibly due to ex-race ones not being used to playing as have never done it.

They dont need masses of exercise, in fact I heard its easier to over exercise a Greyhound than under exercise it and in fact they are actually pretty lazy.

Seem to be lovely Dogs though, that kind of Dog that seems more sensible and patient than its owners.

fatherpierre

We had one when I was a kid.

She was very laid back, friendly and dosile. Bone idle, in fact. She liked nothing more than sleeping all day and would often try to get on your knee, which was funny due to her size.

She only needed short walks and would let you know when she'd had enough pretty quickly!

Some ex race ones can be nasty though. My old neighbour had 4 of them, all ex racers and they had to be muzzled and lept on a lead as they would try and kill every other dog they came into contact with. I'm guessing they were mistreated and weren't socialized.

53

iTrader: (41)

Yep pretty much you get some great looking combos with Greyhound, Blue Merle, Deerhound and Patterdale Terrier all in the mix from the bloodline with mine :

greenonedave

great dogs 40mph couch potatoe

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Dental technician at work has had a few ex racing dogs.......he thinks they make great pets, all apart from one which had to go back as it was a bit nasty. I guess you take pot luck !!

Shaun

wiltshire_boy

We've had our retired racer for 2 1/2 years now and she is 95% lovely! She can't be trusted around cats and will go crazy if she sees one on a walk. She also still loves to chase, although some ex-racers never bother once they've retired, and that means anything from a sparrow up to a deer so we have to be careful where we let her off-lead as they can be out of sight in seconds. They're not always well socialised either, having only ever lived with and met other greyhounds, but most adapt well after some training. Another common issue can be separation anxiety, they don't like to be on their own for too long and a good rescue centre will grill you about how long you'll be out during the day.

They are all different though and the best thing you can do is speak to a specialist greyhound rehoming centre like http://www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk and have a good read of http://greyhoundgap.proboards.com/index.cgi?

I don't want to put you off though as they are wonderful dogs and ours makes us laugh every day and is very easy to have around. We're looking to get another one in the near future and can't recommend them enough but do read up on their quirks and factor in the cost of six foot fences round the garden!

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

lol

There's an oxymoron if ever there was one.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

My old dog was 1/2 greyhound and was the laziest animal I have ever had. He'd sprint about for about 20 minutes in the morning and sleep all day. Out for evening walkies, same detail and and sleep.

Top dog and I miss him still after 12 months.

Top idea going for an ex-racer. They need some TLC .

Jamescsti

I've been handling retired greyhounds since I could walk. Have well over 20 years experience. I have 1 who is now 12. My parents have 2 and my grandma also has 1. All the dogs I've had have been great with kids. They are fantastic pets, very lazy. And love people.
Mine wants to look at everyone she passes in the street.
Best not kept in a house with cats or other small animals for obvious reasons.

Simes777

I currently have 2 greyhounds which are my fifth and sixth hounds since 1992.

Each dog has had its own personality and as said earlier in the thread, can make me laugh every day at what they get up to.

As previous mentioned, they can be rather aloof - although they do like being made a fuss of on occasion. They are also incredibly lazy other than when they decide to run up and down the garden at full pace. Two 20 minute walks a day can be quite an achievement - especially if it's raining.

Again as mentioned above, check out the retired greyhound website as there is some very useful information on there about looking after greyhounds.

All in all, the only dog I will ever have. Go for it!