Anyone know anything about retired racing Greyhounds?

[Shepherd Wong]

I'm thinking of adopting one as a companion for Zippy. From what I have read I think their personalities will be very compatable. I was in contact with the local rescue and have a meeting set up next week. One thing is I like hiking with Zippy off leash. Never near busy roads or anything dangerous, but the woman expressed that Greyhounds could be trouble off lead due to being sighthound and FAST. I'm kind of assuming that she is just being overly cautious and because I never walk near busy roads I'm not too concerned but does anyone have any advice?(It took nearly half a year of recall type of training before I became comfortable with Zippy off leash, she also is a sighthound type and probably nearly as fast as a Greyhound)
Thanks!

[Tye 1on]

[lemon boy]

no matter how fast you think your dog is a grey is a lot faster.

like really really really really fast. So fast it's scary. But I've seen a few happily off leash before as well. Sorry not much info for you other than they really are fast.

[PNWbrit]

Friends have three retired greyhounds. Great dogs that get on with their two very young kids.

But 99% probabilty you will never be able to let the dog of a leash in an unfenced area.

[Woodlandclown]

I'm thinking of adopting one as a companion for Zippy. From what I have read I think their personalities will be very compatable. I was in contact with the local rescue and have a meeting set up next week. One thing is I like hiking with Zippy off leash. Never near busy roads or anything dangerous, but the woman expressed that Greyhounds could be trouble off lead due to being sighthound and FAST. I'm kind of assuming that she is just being overly cautious and because I never walk near busy roads I'm not too concerned but does anyone have any advice?(It took nearly half a year of recall type of training before I became comfortable with Zippy off leash, she also is a sighthound type and probably nearly as fast as a Greyhound)
Thanks!

i had a friend that adopted greyhounds and he said he couldnt let his off a leash outside of a fenced area. they are used to chasing and will run off--its in their nature. if this is a huge concern for you, I would suggest a different type of dog.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

Friends have three retired greyhounds. Great dogs that get on with their two very young kids.

But 99% probabilty you will never be able to let the dog of a leash in an unfenced area.

Yeah, I had a friend who volunteered to walk them for a rescue shelter. He let it off leash one day in a park and spent the next 3 hours trying to track it down and catch it. The other thing to consider is that I've always heard while they are fast, they don't have a ton of stamina so some of them tire out pretty quickly on long hikes and walks.

[Telemarketeer]

I agree with previous posts. I grew up with 3 different greyhounds and each one had a different personality, and they were all very fast.



Things to consider:
If you have a lot of stairs they tend to break legs and toes if they get in a hurry on them.

Also they can be very skittish animals. Many have been abused and take a while to warm up to new people (especially men wearing hats).

If you take it off the leash it may seem fine and dandy for a while but as soon as he sees a squirrel a mile away, you can plan on wasting the rest of your day trying to get him back.


Some are incredibly lazy too and they are prone to develop tumors that really stand out because they are so skinny.

Not to scare you away because they are great animals and loyal companions. Just letting you know what you are getting into. My parents actually had to give one back to the shelter because she was just to much to handle and the shelter could provide her better care. So make sure that you hang out with the dogs before and choose wisely.

[Tippster]

They're pretty popular around here because they don't mind hanging out in small apartments. My daughter's piano teacher just got two of them and all they do all day (other than when on walks) is eat and lie around.

[AKturnanburn]

I have a husky greyhound mix that is awesome. the speed, sweet disposition and willingness to please of the greyhound, with the stamina and intelligence of a husky, plus she has more fur so she does better in the snow. The absolute best backcountry ski dog I've ever seen, so frikkin fast and handles herself well in the snow, but she can be pretty skittish and is deathly afraid of explosions (fireworks, avibombs, gunshots). She will occasionally run away, but only when left out for a while, its more of a wonder off. On hikes she is all over the place allways the next ridge over looking at you like "whats taking so frikkin long?"

Great with kids and a keen sense of intelligence.

[lemon boy]

had to laugh: all the run offness of a husky combined with the run offness of a greyhound (j/k)

[Shepherd Wong]

Thanks everyone. The rescue is aware of my desire to walk off leash with the dog so they are also looking to set me up with one who it will hopefully be ok with it.

[telechuck]

We have two and regularly let one off the leash. We got him when he was 2 and worked with a dog trainer and a shock collar. He now listens pretty well (7 years later). They will chase squirrels and rabbits. They may even catch one as our guy did. They are trainable and in fact, are trained to be quite obedient at the tracks.

The one we let off the leash can do hikes, but he gets really tired. They are sprinters. Let them run/sprint for 10 minutes and they will spend the rest of the day curled up asleep.

Our other dog is 9 and we just got her last year and are letting her off the leash in very controlled environments. As a rule, we avoid the Boulder dog parks as our dogs have both been attacked and beaten up there. The greyhouds socialization is also a bit different due to their time on the track.

They are great dogs and fit well with our lifestyle. We take them out three times a day, let them run and they can stay at home alone for long periods of time while we are at work.

We have stairs and always have, so they just had to get used to them. They are now pretty agile on them. As others have stated, they have thin skin and can get cuts pretty easy. Our first one has had over 50 stitches in his day, but we let him run and play like any other dog as he truly loves it.

Hit me up if you have any other questions, but I say go for it.

[FJ62]

I have one and would love to get a second one but we're animal'd out right now at home ...

Greyhounds are great dogs, sensitive but not whimps (mine tries to be a badass fairly regularly when I walk him on leash and he sees other dogs on leashes).

They can run incredibly, scary fast. They'll outrun other breeds at the dog park in play mode and they're only going half their speed. I've taken mine lure coursing a few times when he was younger and fresh off the track and it's insane how fast he can run. He had grass burns on his legs for about a week from the friction of just running. Kinda freaked me out (I just kept worrying about what if he hit a hole or rough patch). He's now getting older (seven) so he's in full on retirement mode with no serious running.

Mine has adapted to stairs and elevators really well. In the snow they need a coat (they pretty much need a coat when you need a coat) but it's not that big a deal. When he was 4-6, mine could do moderate 3-4 mile hikes but that was his limit... he'd drag after that... and there's no way I wanted to have to carry a 75 lb greyhound.

I chose not to let mine off leash because I don't want to worry about it ... it does require training, it's not recommended for dogs fresh off the track but it's do-able. I'd prefer just to leave him on a leash and not have to think about it. Some dogs will have less of a "prey drive" than others... they won't go after cats or squirrels or anything... this often makes them losers at the track and candidates for home adoption. Mine won't attack a cat but will go after pretty much anything else. Some dogs don't care about anything other than their next bowl of kibble, though.

As a general rule, they sleep a ton, which you may know. I love it (I can work without interruption) but just know that your dog, when not eating or going for a walk, will probably be passed out cold for 18 hours of the day.

Mine is the best roadtrip dog ever and has repeatedly taken 1000+ mile roadtrips up and down the Pacific Coast with me.

Like telechuck, you have to be careful at dog parks and elsewhere. Mine has run into rosebushes before, requiring stitches. He's also been attacked by an offleash Jack Russell Terrier, I'm ashamed to admit, which resulted in stitches. The greyhound was ready to kill the JRT and was totally oblivious to the fact that he was losing a lot of blood. They're thin skinned but they don't realize it.

Getting a dog from a track is often like getting one from a military academy. They need some time to loosen up, relax and take commands from you. But they're also incredibly well leash and crate trained, totally submissive to things like nail trimming and teeth cleaning, and just great natured dogs.

Good luck! PM if you need more advice...

[renoenvy]

no matter how fast you think your dog is a grey is a lot faster.

like really really really really fast. So fast it's scary.

They can run incredibly, scary fast.

Scary fast.

And big.

Whole lotta shit moving really fast right there.

[noodles]

speaking of retired racing greyhounds..