Retired greyhounds

[Neilds]

Mrs S has convinced me that the time is right for us to get a dog, been talking about it for ages and going to get one in the new year.
I want a proper sized dog, not a little happy one and we have been looking at getting a retired greyhound. Done a lot of reading,good around the house (no kids to worry about) and only need a couple of 20 minute walks each day.
Just wondered if any forum members have any experience with a retired racer that they could sher?

Cheers

 

[Lump]

Friend re-house's ex racers. Lovely dogs normally, his last the poor thing died of a heart attack just a week after getting one. Current one cries the house down when he's left alone. Again, lovely dog but very very wary of people and he tends to walk him in the dark to keep him calm.

 

[pokerjoke]

My brother has had 2 in the last 5 years both have died unfortunately.

They need a lot of space and cover a lot of ground very quickly if let off a lead and I believe they need their nails cut quite often.

No good if you have wooden floors they are like Swans on ice.

 

[Maninblack4612]

We had a Greyhound / Saluki cross for 10 years & he was great. We had another dog & they used to exercise each other & he would follow the other dog about on walks. On his own, his recall was virtually non existent & this, I think, is the biggest drawback, he was once hit a glancing blow by a car when he ran out of a field chasing another dog. I think this is why you see so many greyhounds being walked on leads, which is a shame because they love to run & watching them in full flight is a joy. We now have a Saluki, very like a Greyhound in behaviour. We run him in a fully enclosed area & he has some regular pals who he runs with. Hi recall is zero & basically comes back when I go & stand by the gate, eventually. For the rest of the day he is a complete sofa spud, it's quite relaxing watching him relax. Lovely, calm temperament, until exposed to something furry & fast moving.

So, to summarise, a Greyhound will chase things if you let him run free & you never have to be in a hurry to get back home when you take him out. Keeping one without giving him vigorous exercise, I wouldn't know how that works out, but I don't think it's fair to the dog.

 

[Neilds]

My brother has had 2 in the last 5 years both have died unfortunately.

They need a lot of space and cover a lot of ground very quickly if let off a lead and I believe they need their nails cut quite often.

No good if you have wooden floors they are like Swans on ice.

From doing our research, we would definitely keep it on the lead 😳
And don't have to worry about wooden floors, only dodgy carpets in our rental!

 

[Maninblack4612]

From doing our research, we would definitely keep it on the lead 
And don't have to worry about wooden floors, only dodgy carpets in our rental!

What a shame.

 

[Neilds]

What a shame.

The retired greyhound trust website says they are perfectly happy to walk on the lead and they recommend you think really hard before letting them off.

 

[dewsweeper]

My experience would second this view.
I have 2 greyhounds,Sally a ten year old ex racer and Monty probably about 18 months younger.
Monty was born in kennels,he has a tattoo in one ear but obviously never made the grade,a search of a dedicated website brings up another dog altogether.
SalIy is an Irish dog ,tattoos in both ears,she only raced until she was three and finished lame.
Quite a good record of 37 races, 7 1sts and 11 2 new.
They are both very quiet dogs until they see rabbits,squirrels or cats ,contrary to popular thoughts they do not need lots of exercise and are very lazy.Be aware if you want a dog to fetch balls or sticks they are not right for you.
My two are very loving and lazy,you will almost certainly lose the use of your settled.
My advice is get 2 as they are so easy to maintain but please seek out advice from The Greyhound Rescue people in your area.
I must also say ,in my experience,they are not the brightest of dogs but very rewarding to own.
Do be aware ,as MIBlack ,noted they go profoundly deaf when they want to do their own thing.
I would keep them on a lead until you know their traits,I can let mine off the leash in areas I and they know well but not all greyhound owners are so lucky.
Good luck if you go ahead with your plans,please do use the Retired Greyhound Groups,they always need homes for dogs not as fortunate as mine.

 

[MizunoGreyhound]

Retired racer make fantastic pets. So gentle, unless you are a small furry thing. We had our boy for 5 years and he was superb. Once we took him for a two hour walk and it wiped him out for nearly a week. 2 x 20 minute walks a day are great, but if running them off lead you will need a secure area or possibly a beach where there are no squirrels or rabbits around. I miss him terribly as he was a real character and everyone locally knew us because of him. Kind, gentle and loving, but they don`t play as such because they have never been taught to. Also, they will not "sit" as it huts/strains their legs due to the training.

I cannot recommend them enough. Good luck if you get one and hope it has not been raced to an early grave.

 

[Hobbit]

Mate is on her third ex-racer. All have been lovely dogs, as per their reputation. Go for it!!

 

[Ross61]

My in laws had 2. They are big and take up a bit of space. Personally I didn't like sitting in an armchair and suddenly having a huge snout next to my head. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and have Border Collies myself, but Greyhounds are huge in comparison.
As people have said they are easy to exercise and not that intelligent... exact opposite of my collies.
My in laws did have a couple of problems getting them in the house at first as they were not used to it, having been outside in their kennels before retirement.
I did know someone that one that had been a hurdler, that dog was even bigger and had hind legs like a horse!