Greyhounds As Pets

The Greyhound is a lovely breed of dog; and contrary to popular belief, Greyhounds make fantastic pets.

There are quite a few myths around owning one of these animals that need dispelling. Firstly, it is widely believed that they need copious amounts of exercise when in fact two 20 minute walks a day are usually sufficient. However, longer walks on a number of occasions during the week would be in their best interest.

Another widely held myth is that they can't co-habit with smaller furries e.g. cats etc. This is not always the case - Cushna and George for example are clearly the best of friends.

However, there are certain aspects of owning both greyhounds and small furries that need to be taken into account. By approaching a breed specific rescue the re-homing officers will be better able to advise you on whether they have dogs available for re-homing that have been proven to be good with small animals. They will also give you advice on how to make sure the introduction goes as smoothly as possible.

Greyhounds again are good pets to have around children since they are generally of a gentle and placid nature. However, as with all breeds common sense and adult supervision is the order of the day.

There are certain breed requirements that differ when you own a greyhound with anesthesia being one of them. It is imperative to check that your vet is sighthound aware before allowing him to treat your dog.

Greyhounds can also be prone to a condition called gastric torsion (bloat) which is a serious condition requiring immediate veterinary attention. Ways to avoid this include raised feeding and giving them no exercise directly before or after meals. Greyhounds do not need a special diet specific to the breed. They enjoy a mixed and varied diet and can thrive on complete dry foods which are readily available at retail outlets; and if you're happy to add ingredients like sardines, mince, vegetables etc then your Greyhound will be more than happy too!

As with any dog, it is important to keep your Greyhound's vaccinations up to date. Most rescues will have dealt with this prior to adoption but yearly boosters are required. It is also recommended that parasites are kept under control by worming on average about every 4 months and maintaining a regular program of de-fleaing. These preparations are reasonably cheap and available from your vet.

Dogs with a racing background and indeed some from a home environment may have poor teeth. Again most organisations will have dealt with this prior to adoption. It is advisable to get a dental paste from your vet - these are generally inexpensive and can help reduce the build up of tartar.

A rescue greyhound is worth taking a chance on. With patience and love they will repay your kindness ten fold. These dogs show a bond and devotion to their owners that can only be described as second to none.

Below you can find our members and volunteers and their hounds stories. If you would like to submit an entry to this page email greyhoundgap@yahoo.co.uk with your submission.

Digbys Story

On new years day of 2002 my father died and I was devastated. In the July Saffie a saluki x decided to adopt us. I must say she is just the most wonderful dog.

Then I found all these wonderful people that persuaded me that two dogs are better than one and not much extra work, after all playtime and walking takes the same for two as one!

So in the December I decided that they were right and Saffie needed a doggy friend - mind made up, I started looking into the idea of another lurcher or sight hound to keep her company.

I had joined an internet forum by then and asked advice and Sue, from the Bristol Branch of the RGT, contacted me telling me of two possible dogs that would suit our situation, after all not only did we have Saffie to consider we had 2 cats as well.

One was just adorable and very suitable for us the other was Digby. Digby had been in a home previous to ours but Sue had had to take him back as he had been accused of BITING.

We were a little worried at first but decided as we had grown up children we wanted to give him a chance.

The first day he growled at me and that, with the accusation of biting, was a very scary moment. During the first few days, if I was not in the room, he had to have his muzzle on indoors because of the cats. I did have to say a firm NO on several occasions, but within the week he went muzzle free and now loves it when the cats rub around his legs; he even gives them a quick wash.

How anyone could ever have accused this most gentle and loving of creatures of biting I really don't know.

My one complaint (oh yes I have one) - he doesn't love me as much as he loves my husband. Oh he likes me and is affectionate but if we are both on a walk with them he much prefers to be with Dave than me. However, his first love is Saffie - where she goes he has to follow.

Dizzys Story

I found Dizzy wandering thin and mange ridden along our street in October 1996. At the time I had no desire to own a dog and had no knowledge of greyhounds. I made the only decision I could; that was to telephone the dog warden and arrange for him to collect her. He did around an hour later.

I then left to go back to work as it had been my dinner hour and all afternoon I couldn't get the image of this pitiful looking dog out of my mind and there was something about the eyes. Stupidly as I thought it was at the time I rang them and asked that if she wasn't claimed (not much chance of that) could I reserve her. Their answer was yes and to ring back in seven days time. All of that week I changed my mind how could I afford this dog, could I maintain her welfare but still I knew she had to come to me.

She wasn't easy at first but we muddled through and day by day I could see the difference in her and always still those eyes.

I am now proud to say that I've been happily owned by Dizzy for six years. She is my heartdog and it's her I have to thank for the love of this wonderful breed. The day she walked into my life and heart is still one of the best days of my life.

Greyhounds are fantastic creatures who have so much to give and deserve a sofa and home of their own in return.

Jims Story

Back in 1993 we moved house. Andy had always said he would not have a dog unless we had room for it (by which he meant LOTS of room) and now there was no excuse - this was a big house with a good garden, right on the edge of the village!

We thought long and hard about what breed would be suitable for us. We wanted a big dog, but he had to be placid because our younger son was a recovering dog phobic. He had to be shorthaired and not moult much because of my allergies and we had a preference for long-nosed dogs. OK, how about a standard poodle? Andy was a little hard to convince because he thought of poodles as lap dogs, but we went to see some and he agreed they were handsome animals, and bright, too.

But we didn't want a puppy, so we trotted off down to Wood Green on the off-chance they might have one there. Of course they didn't! But what they did have was a lot of greyhounds …

Andy saw them.

'What are those beautiful dogs?' he asked. And as I answered him and gave him a run down on what I knew of their characters I realised that we were probably going to be taking one home.

It took a while to find the right greyhound, even though there were so many looking for homes. One gorgeous male, Henry, very nearly made it through the selection process but he had a lot of pain from arthritic hips and our ex dog-phobic son was only nine and his brother was thirteen. We figured Henry needed a quieter home than ours. A lovely brindle girl was next on the list - but she was known as a home-wrecker. Ed - a big red fawn - got as far as coming for a walk with us, but he was sadly institutionalised. He never once looked in our eyes. He was like a robot; he went where required. Stopped when required. Waited patiently for what came next. If we'd know then what we know now, we might have given Ed a chance because he almost certainly would have blossomed in a home environment, but we kept looking. Marty was too bouncy. Another had killed a cat (our neighbours had two). Then we saw Jim.

Jim was in isolation because he had mange. He was skinny, had sores all over and not much hair. He was full of scars, including a bit missing from his tongue. His teeth (some broken) were GREEN with gunge and he smelled awful. He was pathetically glad to see someone and get petted, but he didn't jump up, or bark. He looked into our eyes and wagged. And we reserved him :

We had to wait till his treatment was finished, but we took him home about six weeks later and began to get to know him. He was - and still is - a very, very anxious dog. They thought he'd belonged to travellers' 'rabbit dog' because he was seen abandoned on a site after some travellers had moved on. Eventually he was picked up when he wandered into someone's garage, stole their cat food and fell asleep on an old beanbag. I am very grateful to the lady who took the trouble to ring Wood Green and have him picked up instead of shooing him out.

We had our teething troubles; first the diarrhoea. Back to Wood Green, back and forth to the vets, kaolin, antibiotics and demulcents, starving and changing his food - eventually we learned he is lactose intolerant. No milk = no diarrhoea! Then his mange came back and he developed infected cysts on his feet as a result. Skin scrapes, horrible, horrible smelly baths, antibiotics - and eventually he was cured and has been free of it for many years now.

Jim responded very well to training and quickly learned the basics of sit, stay, lie down, come, wait, shake paw etc. He also quickly became very attached to me, probably because I was the only one in the household who knew anything about dogs, having worked as an animal nurse. It became a household joke that I was his 'god' and all he wanted to do was be close to me, and worship. Actually, I think he was simply frightened of being abandoned again and having found a good thing, wanted to make sure he hung onto it. It wasn't simply separation anxiety because I worked part-time, and odd, unpredictable hours. He was fine to be left, he just wanted to be with me as long as I was home.

It took Jim around a year to spontaneously wag his tail, just for the pure joy of living. Before that, he would wag in response to praise, or in expectation of a treat but he'd be anxiously watching all the time to make sure he didn't put a paw wrong. I guess it was a training time for me too, because though I'd worked with animals, I'd never had a dog of my own. Well, Jim taught me a lot - and he's still teaching me, bless him. He's old now - our best guess is around twelve, because he seemed to be about two and a half or three when we had him and that was just over nine years ago. These days he's quite a laid back fellow most of the time, especially now we've discovered the DAP diffuser. Judging by his extreme nervousness when Susan, and later Irene tried to share a bed I'm guessing that at one time he was kept confined with a dog that bullied him - but it could just be his chronic anxiety resulting in extreme submission. Even after all this time, he's still improving - I now have some pictures of him sharing a futon with Irene and allowing her to rest her head on his backside.



Jim probably wasn't an ideal first dog, but we learned together. Perhaps in another home he might have got over his terrible anxiety quicker … on the other hand, he might have been bounced back to Wood Green. Anyway - we couldn't have wished for a nicer, more affectionate, all round wonderful companion than Jim.

I just wish it were true what they say about owners and dogs. You know, that one about how you grow to look like your dog? Slim, fit and elegant?

I wish!