Greyhounds as Pets

Vel

Following on from the other thread about greyhounds off lead, I thought I would start this thread and seek some opinions!

Myself and a few others are working hard to promote greyhounds as pets and dispel some of the myths about them. In order to do that, it would be really useful to hear some opinions on why people wouldn't choose to adopt one.

I am aware obviously that people have there own breed preferences so not really looking for answers along the lines of 'I prefer spaniels/westies/staffies' but rather I am trying to gather insight into particular reasons that someone might not adopt one along the following line:

Are you put off by the fact that they aren't high-energy?
Have you heard that they need lots of exercise?
Do you think they aren't aesthetically pleasing?
Do you think they aren't trustworthy around other dogs/cats/animals?
Do you think they aren't trustworthy around children?
Can you not get past their previous 'job' despite the increasing awareness that they make good pets?
Do you consider them vicious?
Do you consider them timid and 'shut down' due to their previous experiences?
Do you think they take up a lot of space and need a large house and a big garden?

These are the type of questions I am hoping to get answered but not looking for people to necessarily answer each one!

I'd also be interested to hear from those who are answering if they have ever met a retired, happily rehomed greyhound as opposed to just one who is still racing and living in racing kennels or who is in a rescue kennels?

Frank and honest answers welcome and I would hope this thread won't turn nasty against those who either express a like or dislike for the breed. I hope by getting some honest insight, it will help us to try to dispel some of the myths relating to greyhounds.

Thanks:D

falabo

Vel wrote: »

Are you put off by the fact that they aren't high-energy?
the are very laid back dogsHave you heard that they need lots of exercise? they are sprinters not marathon runners, a few sprints a day and a little walk is fineDo you think they aren't aesthetically pleasing?
beautiful dogs, very very gracefulDo you think they aren't trustworthy around other dogs/cats/animals? only if used to being around cats from an early age then no problemDo you think they aren't trustworthy around children? they are completely harmless, gentle "giants"Can you not get past their previous 'job' despite the increasing awareness that they make good pets?
Do you consider them vicious? NOT AT ALL no dog is vicious if well trained anyway Do you consider them timid and 'shut down' due to their previous experiences? they can be shy but once again depending on how they have been treated in the past but they are very quiet dogs and can often be mistaken for being shyDo you think they take up a lot of space and need a large house and a big garden? NO. they are so laid back and happy to just wander around and mostly SLEEP
Thanks:D

GREYHOUNDS ARE FABULOUS DOGS

Toulouse

Sorry Vel, can't help with your questions first hand as I am a committed greyhound fan having being raised with them and have been around them my whole life.

I have talked to people alot about it and have had lots of reasons given to me about why they don't like greyhounds.

Some of these are because they think the dogs are vicious (because alot of them have high prey drive), they are skinny so they don't like the look of them, they've never met one, they think they're huge and they think the dogs need lots of exercise, etc.

seamus

As someone who was never particularly into greyhounds at any stage (though my mind has been changed), I can tell you that my primary thoughts about greyhounds were that they were high-energy, i.e. needing lots of exercise, and were primarily working dogs, so not suitable as family pets.

I know now of course that neither of these things are true.

tazwaz

i always thought they had a lot of energy and werent suitable as pets..
also, whenever i saw greyhounds being walked they always had muzzles on them and i presumed they were vicious..

obviously i'm wiser these days and know i had presumed wrong

They're great pets. While walking Snickers I get lots of mixed reactions - parents thinking he's vicious and hiding their kids from being anywhere near him, other small dog owners going to the other side of the road instead of socialising, kids spontaneously bursting out crying when they see him, other children being really curious 'is he a racing dog?' 'nope, short walks and just sleeps most of the day', older folk who grew up with greyhounds years ago who are happy to be around him etc.

You'd think that the Simpsons would have helped a bit with the idea of greyhounds as pets!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_XcJavp34A

Tranceypoo

Dónal wrote: »

kids spontaneously bursting out crying when they see him,

Good Lord what an extreme reaction!!! Seriously?

I bloody love greyhounds I think they're gorgeous and was always planning to have one as a second dog but it didn't happen, purely because we got a foster and ended up keeping the little madam!! Sadly I don't know anyone who has one, the only time I see some out walking is racing greyhounds who are muzzled, I always feel terribly sorry for them.

However, it was only because I read up on them a few years ago and educated myself that I know they do in fact make great pets, I think the major myth is that they need loads of excercise and could be vicious. The few greyhounds I've met at various dog events etc have been just the softest, doe eyed pets, they make me melt inside with their big sad eyes. Hmm, wonder if I can convince husband to get a 3rd dog.....

Tranceypoo

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Good Lord what an extreme reaction!!! Seriously?

Oh yes! Two possible reasons, they were afraid of Snickers, or else they didn't like how thin he was. I've also had reactions of kids asking their parents 'why is that dog so thin?' probably thinking that I never feed him

Bizzum

What strikes me about Greyhounds is:
For a dog that stands so big how they can fold themselves into such a small resting position!

And how cold(physically) they are,ie. they feel the cold!

Soulja boy

Their tails are so annoying, any way of removing it without causing the animal distress?

Themadhouse

When we were choosing a rescue dog we never would have considered a grey. We had cats, didn't like the look of them, we both hate the Racing industry and figured they were all blood trained. Nothing about them appealed to us.
However I did a trip to Leitrim SPCA with food at one point ( after we got our lab cross) and went into the house for a cuppa. I sat on the couch and this greyhound jumped up and lay beside me with her head on my lap. I sat there rubbing her head and I was amazed by het calming presence. I fell in love. I learnt her story from Marie and she dispelled the myths I believed to be true. I turned a corner that day and now am crazy about them. They are such sweet couch potatoes who are so graceful, beautiful and calm.
If we were to get a second dog I would place a rescue grey on top of the list.

planetX

My puppy has turned out to be part greyhound, so I'm recent convert:D
He is certainly NOT low energy, but that could be the other half...

I've met rescued greyhounds before so I knew that they made great pets, but I would never have chosen one for myself because I have cats, and I thought it was a big no-no. Still working on stopping him chasing them outside, but there's no aggression - he's licking one of them as I write.

anniehoo

tazwaz wrote: »

i always thought they had a lot of energy and werent suitable as pets..
also, whenever i saw greyhounds being walked they always had muzzles on them and i presumed they were vicious..

That was my assumption too when i was younger but couldnt get over how the opposite was true when i started working with them. Amazingly gentle souls, who are scarily misunderstood as a breed. I ADORE greyhounds and anyone reading this thread who hasnt experienced one should do their best to as soon as you can!!!

Incheerocket

The one thing I have always been concerned with is how well they may or may not get on with cats?? I do think they are much misunderstood and make lovely pets,

username123

I am a dog lover but I used to be a little nervous of greyhounds, primarily because I often saw them being walked with muzzles on and also because there are often scraggly packs of them hanging round the local travellers site, and there would occasionally be attacks on a jogger, cyclist or walker. My OH and our local community guard have both been attacked by a lurcher/greyhound pack in that area.

So traditionally I would have felt they were vicious, and I thought they were high energy too.

Then I actually met a lurcher belonging to a friend of mine. He is the sofest, calmest, sleepiest most loving dog you could meet. So, opinion change began, next I met some at Pet Expo at the Kerry Greyhound Connection stand - so cute, so shy and friendly (and a bit sleepy).

Then I started actively engaging with an old gentleman who walks two lurchers locally, we would bump into each other on the walk, I would pet the dogs, we would chat.

Now I think they are amazing dogs and when the day comes that Im in a position to give a dog a home - itll be a lurcher. A scraggly one if possible, because I do love a scraggly dog

Vel

Thank you everyone for your replies so far. Really useful. Keep 'em coming.

aisher

I have always thought of greyhounds as high energy dogs since they are used for racing - never would have thought of them as being just a 'pet' dog. Also they are muzzled in public so would think they were problem dogs - I now realise I am wrong on both counts.

Whispered

Very good idea for a thread!

Personally would love a greyhound, I love the shape, I particularly love the chunkier lurchers. I think whippets are fab too but look too delicate to get by in this house.

I would be concerned about them chasing my cats.

I know people say not high energy, but I remember my dad walking his hunters for at least 8 miles a day to get them on form. Is it good for them to have not much exercise?

My husband thinks that they look bony, while I think they look elegant.

Any I've transported have been exceptionally well mannered and easy to handle.

meoklmrk91

Greys are beautiful dogs, I adore them, however like all dogs they are the sum of their experiences and sadly greys font tend to have very good experiences. I could never have one because my mother is terrified of them, she has had a number of bad experiences with them.

There was a man who had a shed at the end of the estate we lived in when I was very small. In that shed he kept a pack of greyhounds. Once they escaped and as they were known to be viscous all the children in the estate scattered, except for a baby girl who was out crawling along the path ( this was 20-ish years ago), the greys were making a beeline for until they saw a small terrier who belonged to one of the families and was loved by everyone. They ran past the girl and tore the dog to literal pieces infront of everyone. All the children gad run to the first place they could many trying to climb high Walls including my older sister, she was covered in scratches and bruised and tore the tips of her fingers trying to climb up a wall. If the terrier dog had not been there then the baby girl who was crawling would have been the greyhounds target.

The same greyhounds tore my mothers cat to bits infront of her, the cat had kittens and even though my mother tried to bottle feed them they all died one by one.

The man who owned them did something I can't remember what but he went on the run to England, he left during the night, but before he went he shot the dogs with a shotgun leaving the people in the estate to make the grisly discovery.

ppink

I think views on a particular thing can be tainted by a level of ignorance. I always disliked greyhounds. Not too sure what it was but I never liked the look of them. I thought they were ugly:o Too skinny and lanky.

I opened the door of our home one day and there stood a stray greyhound all ready to make me eat my words:). She was the sweetest, kindest soft soul of a dog my opinion instantly changed. Only for me already having 5 dogs I would gladly have kept her. I held her until a rescue had space for her, got all her shots etc done. she was so happy to travel around curled up on the seat of the car. anyway they are on my list now of a dog I will have some day:).

TooManyDogs

My mother always told me greys were aggressive, I'd say because of the muzzles as others have said but I've since learned nothing could be further from the truth. Now I probably won't have one because my main focus is agility and they're not renouned in the agility world

Reasons people have given me at the rescue for not adopting a greyhound when chosing a dog are

- aren't they visious?
- they're too big for my house
- I don't like how they look
- won't they need loads of exercise?

We try to change as many people's minds as possible and are sometimes successful but unfortunately most of them go to Sweden to find new homes

borderlinemeath

I never considered one because - when I was a child/teen I didn't get to make the decisions as to what breed/type of dog we had and when myself and my OH decided to get a dog for our home together - a greyhound wasn't mentioned/considered as one of the breeds we both liked/agreed on.

There were never any reasons not to get one as such.

planetX

can't vouch for all hounds with cats, but....

Cherry Blossom Girl

I would consider getting one now, perhaps in the future. I'd like to rescue one, I've heard terrible things about unwanted greys past their racing peak I had also thought that they were high energy, was surprised when I found out the truth!
One question though, why are they always kept muzzled when being walked?

username123

Whispered wrote: »

I think whippets are fab too but look too delicate to get by in this house.

Yeah - whippets are gorgeous, I met a lovely whippet X last year, his facial markings made his face look like a skull - kinda sinister, and he was just the sweetest little fella!!

username123

Bright__Eyes wrote: »

One question though, why are they always kept muzzled when being walked?

I think because (a) they are on the restricted breed list and required to be muzzled in public and (b) high prey drive, may try to chase small dogs.

I stand open to correction on the above.

Brian?

Poor aul greyhounds. They do have a bad rap, as has been said already, most people think they're high energy and vicious. They're lovely though.

In general they cower in fear anytime they meet my wheaten terrier, even though he's not being the least bit agressive just curious and a bit mental.

If I lived in a city, I'd probably own one. Where I live now, right beside the beach, I want a medium to high energy dog though.

Cherry Blossom Girl

username123 wrote: »

[
I think because (a) they are on the restricted breed list and required to be muzzled in public and (b) high prey drive, may try to chase small dogs.

I stand open to correction on the above.

Oh ok thanks, I didn't realise that they were a restricted breed

meoklmrk91

username123 wrote: »

I think because (a) they are on the restricted breed list and required to be muzzled in public and (b) high prey drive, may try to chase small dogs.

I stand open to correction on the above.

Nope greys are not on the restricted breeds list, I don't understand why they are always muzzled either, I assume it's for those who are blood trained so if the worst happens they can't do any damage.

Restricted breeds in Ireland as 1998

American Pit Bull Terrier
English Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Bull Mastiff
Doberman Pinscher
German Shepherd (Alsatian)
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rottweiler
Japanese Akita
Japanese Tosa

Cherry Blossom

Bright__Eyes wrote: »

Oh ok thanks, I didn't realise that they were a restricted breed

They aren't!

To answer the OP's question, I'm not a greyhound fan. I'm not a sight-hounds in general fan. I just think they look all wrong . Any I ever knew of, around where I live belonged to people you would want to avoid like the plague, and they all had dogs that were extremely aggressive. I remember years ago there was man who worked in the petshop and brought his saluki x Afghan hound with him to work, to this day no-one has actually managed to convince my sister successfully that it was actually a dog and not some manner of alpacca/ rare breed of goat that was involved in a horrible accident It would lay stretched out on the floor and occasionally got mistaken for a mat and got stood on.

Whispered

I suppose you could say that they are not on the restricted breed list, but do have certain restrictions. Is it true you're not allowed to walk more than 4 at once?