Tell me about owning or adopting a greyhound...

The dogs are ugly

Why?

Don't get one if you have cats, rabbits, or something else small and furry if you are getting a rehabbed racing dog.

They are trained to chase a rabbit for the races and will attack something that looks like that if they see it.

Great dogs. I have a family member with 2. He's had them for 5 years.
Its better to get two because they hate to be alone. They have never been alone their entire lives, so if you leave them at home to go to work they may tear some things up.

Just adopt two and you're good. They are great with kids and people in general. They will chase cats though, and you really cant take them on a walk without a leash.

They are beautiful dogs, and will rule a dog park with their speed.

I walk two Greyhounds around the LSU lakes often, and they dont even pay attention to the ducks anymore. Unless the ducks start running or flying they wont even look up.

the ducks i am referring to are in our back yard. so i dont mind it. it keeps them from pooing on my patio. Only time i got mad at him was when we were at my father in laws farm and one of his roosters was out of the pen grazing. Now that took a good bit to chase him down and i was afraid if my dog got too close he might get some puncture wounds.

I have a whippet/lurcher which is a little smaller greyhound. She is the best dog I have had. She sleeps most of the day, but when it is time to run you can barely see her. Very playful and loves kids/other dogs.

ohhh wow.


Not to the OP:
there's is a lot of misconception on greyhounds coming from people who little to nothing about them, much less owned one. also, they are anything but ugly. tall, athletic, muscular, and far more beautiful and graceful than your shite breed mutts at home. not to mention, they are one of the oldest and most revered breeds ever. Not to mention, once trained, they are a very very low maintenance and low effort breed to own. Hence, why older people and retired people are a large % of the adopter population.


To the OP:
my background. my fiance has owned a greyhound for 5.5 years now (greyhound is 6). I've been living with them for 3 years. We have strongly considered getting a 2nd greyhound.

Couple of things that make greyhounds different than any other dog breed, that you need to know going into owning one:
- Temperature sensitive: Being they have a very very low body fat% greyhounds cannot be outside for long periods of time (1 hour) if the temperature falls out of the range of 60-80 degrees.
- Difficult to travel with: greyhounds cannot sit like a normal dog. It's physically impossible with their anatomy and the body fat% i mentioned. They do not like and will hardly every lay on a hard surface. They might squad sit on it momentarily, but they need a bed and space to lay down. keep in mind they weigh 75+ lbs and are 4ft+ long when they stretch out. You need a big vehicle with an empty trunk of back seat laid down.
- Exercise: Not much, especially the older they get. They generally sleep 15-18 hours a day. And even when young, really only want maybe an hour of exercise a day. Think of a sprinter. They will go hard for short distances, but that's it.
- Don't act like "dogs": Early on, especially if you get a young retired greyhound. They don't know how to be a dog. They really don't. They are running machines who train, sleep, and then wait to train again in a kennel. They won't do dog like things, chase a ball, play with other dogs, want cookies, lay in a bed. Training won't be easy early on, they don't understand.
- Super Sensitive Digestive Systems: Once they adjust to a certain kibble blend, you vary from that or give them too much human food. And well, let's just say you'll be cleaning up shite a lot. You have to be super strict with their diet. They drink a lot of water too (again, the low body fat %)
- Unicorns to Vets: Greyhounds are considered a different animal by vets. Their bloodwork #'s are different. They are treated different. They aren't chewers so constantly need their teeth brushed to avoid bad breath and dental issues.
- Company: Another poster touched on this. I'm still in the air about it. But it's hard to argue when other long time greyhound owners typically have 2. But ours was always happy when it was just her, never had social issues once trained. They do like affection tho, especially a few years into them being normalized. Early on, they do not give a shite if you pet them.

Now, with all of that out the way. They are a wonderful breed of dog and great pets. We attend Houston greyhound meets every so often and everyone is obsessed with their greyhounds and many own multiple. Us ourselves cannot imagine our lives without ours. She is our child.

She is the easiest dog ever to take care of. She sleeps all day. She lets us know when she is hungry. She lets us know when is thirsty. She lets us know when she wants to go outside. She will walk up to us, stand close, and we ask her: "Want to go outside?" gets excited, that's a yes. Shows no excitement and stares at us blankly, that's a nope. Rinse repeat until you hit on what she wants. She fiercely guards us, particularly my fiance and our female vizsla puppy. No one, will get between her and her Mom. And no one will rough up or play to rough with our vizsla. Anyone walks up to our front porch and they are greeted with 80lbs of pure muscle, mouth full of scary teeth, and an intimidating bark/growl. She is obedient beyond anything I've ever seen. Maybe that's just how disciplined my fiance was with her early. But when we tell that dog to piss. She will drop down immediately no matter where or what she is doing and pee or piss air. No exaggeration. The other greyhounds we've met are pretty close to that level of disciplined as well. At the park, she's really good with other dogs for the most part. Loves to chase a ball or frisbee or another dog. Plays nice. Never gets into fights or scraps, not thaaaat interested in dog stuff. People at parks and in public love meeting and seeing greyhounds, that are somewhat rare. And when they can watch her do her thing at a park, most people are amazed.

Nothing in this world makes me prouder than taking her and our vizsla to the dog parks in the area and them absolutely dominating every breed there in fetching a frisbee or ball. Our greyhound will generally get to the frisbee or ball a few seconds before the other dogs do, then wait til they pick it up, to race them back. She just wants everyone there to know she's the fastest and it's not even close. Or when a squirrel or rabbit frick up and get a little to close to the ground and she freakishly rips them off a 7ft fence or the side of tree. Or chases down a rabbit at 40mph in a open field. (if you really want to see how freakishly athletic the breed is, youtube 'coyote hunting greyhounds'. lol. mindblown). ours is incredibly sweet, desires our affection and approval, and is very disciplined and loyal. It's all what you put in with them and most breeds.


Ours also was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney disease this past week. Our hearts are broken and we hope we get a few more years out of our girl. Any other questions, let me know.

My daughter (3 at the time) sat near the dog while he was in his bed, snapped and bit at her face. Teeth caused some abrasions, but didn't puncture skin thank goodness. They got rid of him and got 2 goldendoodles