Anyone re-homed a Greyhound ?

[Chugg]

Yes, we have an ex-racer. He’s a 40 mile an hour couch potato. Lovely dog, I would have another in a flash. Very loving and affectionate and good with other dogs, fantastic with kids, very patient.we have two boys who were 8 and 10 when we got him and have dressed him up and all sorts! But he does love the attention and is used to being handled. Considering most have never been in a house before (all in kennels, train for two years, race for two) they settle in very quickly, and are naturally ‘kennel clean’ so already house trained, or very quick to train with routine. The dental hygiene in the kennels are usually poor. Had him nearly 2 years now and he’s nearly 7yrs, Irish in black. You generally won’t get an ex racer under 4yrs old unless they ran like a crab or injured! They will have tattoos in their ears, Irish will have both tattooed, English just have one done. They don’t have much recall so can’t let them off the lead really at first until you’ve taught them that, unless enclosed space, and need to keep the muzzle on for the first week or so until so you can work out if friendly or not (most are). They do want to chase small furrys, cats, squirrels, hares, rabbits and not-so-small deer! Although, we had two chickens and they got on fine, but the chickens definitely were the boss! Ours is losing his prey drive now as he gets older and more domesticated. They certainly are not into fetch at all as a rule, but are very playful and real characters. Dogs tend to be a bit less ‘highly strung’ than the bitches. They don’t bark very much so nice and quiet, but they are a big dog to have on the end of your bed on a night!
You can rename and they will respond to whatever you call them.
Here’s our lad, Fire Thorn (we call him Thorn), retired and loving it:



You can look up the linage going back hundreds of years, pedigree and racing history:
Pedigree of Fire Thorn

Definitely worth considering a rescue greyhound

 

[poormansporsche]

Fantastic.

Was a little concerned about the not being able to let off the lead malarky ! The home said it can take up to 6 months and some you can never let off the lead. We do have a local enclosed park which "should" be ok but you never know with dogs !

 

[Flyinspanner]

We had a lurcher puppy, .... it used to lie down when I got the lead out. (Lazy )
Hilarious, I used to carry it to the far side of nearby fields, put it down, and it would strain on the leash all the way home.

Lovely dogs.

 

[Neiltodd]

People often don't realise how big they are until they lie flat on their side or in the back of a car, that is a consideration to make

 

[poormansporsche]

Meet Magic. Subject to a test drive with the wife (he is a big ole boy, 35 kilos of pure muscle), we will be giving him a home in a week's time. He's quite young at 2 and half and apparently was rubbish at racing then suffered a leg injury. Currently he's a bit subdued as he's just had the chop !

 

[MD5]

People often don't realise how big they are until they lie flat on their side or in the back of a car, that is a consideration to make

A pub I frequented years ago had a resident greyhound called Donkey. I wasn't sure if he was named after his size or his racing style, but he was a big lad.

Good luck with Magic, I hope he'll be happy. He's probably wondering what he's done to deserve his current lot at the moment!

 

[poormansporsche]

Good luck with Magic, I hope he'll be happy. He's probably wondering what he's done to deserve his current lot at the moment!

Yep, nads removed and sharing a cell with a bossy female !

Although after meeting his former trainer it's probably an improvement !

 

[Chugg]

Great stuff! He looks a fine fella. I’m sure you’ll have a happy future together.

 

[clk320x]

Enjoy!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Congratulations on bringing Magic into the family.

We rescued a retired racer, Lizzie, she was four years old and we lost her when she was fourteen years old, which is a good innings for a greyhound.

She had a wonderful temperament, so trusting and docile, and never a hint of trouble with children or other animals. My daughter was three when we had Lizzie, and my son was born when Lizzie was around six years old, they got along famously.

As suggested they are incredibly lazy. She could still run like the wind when she was fourteen years old, but getting her out of the house for a walk was a battle which I almost always lost once she reached the age of seven or eight years old.

The laziness was part of the appeal. The other thing is that many people with allergies are less effected by greyhounds, and that was true for both my wife and I. She melted very little most of the time, but when she lost her winter coat it was very noticeable as she was black (and we had cream carpets).

They may look daft, but they’re razor sharp. Considering how different kennel life is to home life’s it’s incredible that they acclimatise so quickly, instantaneously. They learn very quickly, and when they don’t respond to commands it’s not because they’re daft, it’s because they’re choosing to ignore you!

Also as suggested she was a great big lump of toned muscle. If I lay beside her on the living room floor she would lift her front leg and rest it on me as if she was giving me a hug. Physically they’re the size of a small adult but thankfully being lean means they’re not anywhere near as heavy.

One quirk was that she loved to get into my children’s cot beds. Apparently this is common, as they’re very similar in size and shape to what they sleep on in kennels. Her other favourite place was on the landing, probably enjoying the warmth rising through the floor from downstairs and the central heating pipes.

If they run away from you your instinct will be to give chase. Try not too, as they will think it’s a game and run even fast and further. Avoid letting them free amongst trees as it can be disorientating for them, it interrupts their instinct of running in a great big oval. Hold your nerve, they’ll do a lap and come back!

One last, and fond memory. Although she was a daft as a brush, she was huge. Her black coat was super shiny, and she had big dark eyes. When she was outside in the dark, illuminated by the security lights, she looked like the Devil’s dog. But looks can be deceiving!

We now have a miniature Dachshund who is so similar to Lizzie in so many ways, albeit slightly more energetic, for now at least. They both have the same loving, and docile temperament, and they’re both really intelligent. They both have great big noses too!

Have a great time with Magic!

 

[poormansporsche]

Cheers mate.

Funnily enough we were a bit conflicted as he is so young and handsome people would have been queuing up to give him a home. He had only arrived 2 days earlier and wasn't even on the website. My girls wanted to re-home the 1 eyed, 3 legged ugly dogs as they otherwise won't get a home but had to put our sensible hats on. There is one dog there that had a deformed paw and is never likely to get a home that we all loved but we just couldn't take it due to the possibility of aggression if it's paw is touched.

Still got to have the home check but have made the necessary changes to my home. I've had to block off one of my side entrances, put some perspex and locks on my wrought iron gates. I've had to lay carpet over my wood flooring at the bottom of my stairs as this can be a issue. As I suspected patio doors are a big no no so we have had to order some patterned wrap for them !

When we lost our previous dog 6 months ago we got our youngest a hamster to help her get over it so she is a bit worried about getting a dog whose primary instinct is to chase small furry things. But I took him for a walk at the shelter and we went past a field full of rabbits and fortunately he hardly batted a eyelid. Apparently he was more interested in the ladies than chasing a robot rabbit !

 

[poormansporsche]

Bit of a update. Magic has been with us for 4 days and settled in nicely. Weather been poxy so not great for the house training but seems to have it licked now after 4 days. Walks lovely on the lead, likes his food and absolutely adores the children (and us!). A true gentle, loving giant. It was a bit of a struggle comprehending his actual size as a good six foot when standing on his rear legs so changes at cooking / dinner had to be made. Only issue going forward is he suffers from really bad separation anxiety and literally will not leave our sides for a minute. We have starting shutting him in the kitchen for short periods and building the time up, literally cries the house down but not destructive so far !

 

[Neiltodd]

I did mention people don't realise just how big they are!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Lovely to hear. You’ll never get him off that sofa now!

 

[poormansporsche]

I did mention people don't realise just how big they are!

Yep, I was fully aware what I was getting into and did choose the biggest bugger there ! (Smaller options were available ) Its no issue just training us more than him ! Pinched some Turkey off the side yesterday, despite being mahoosive they are very light on feet so you don't notice them sneaking up !

Lovely to hear. You’ll never get him off that sofa now!

Sofas are for sitting on Knew it would be his spot as a massive forward facing window behind it so he can watch the world go by.

We followed the instructions to the letter regarding making his own "Safe Zone" of bed, water and treats and showed it to him the moment of entering the house for the very first time and he completely ignored it and the settee has been his ever since ! Fortunately we are the sort of inclusive people so nothing is off limits to him so if he wants to sleep on our beds etc thats fine

 

[poormansporsche]

Greyhound Trust - Finding homes for retired racing greyhounds since 1975

Well worth a visit if you have kids. There are loads of local branches where kids can actually stroke the dogs and go on walks with them. No glass screens like Battersea etc !!!

I have never seen my 12 year old iPad addicted daughter so happy with something so simple and pure. Compared to the week before when we went to Legoland, cost me 200 quid and they were bored silly.

Even though we now have taken one home they still want to go back to help out

 

[poormansporsche]

Considering the wife refused to get a dog she keeps mentioning Magic's cell mate, Kaitlin .....