To rescue or not to rescue.

[PAB 0]

Hello all.

 

We are looking for a new dog and have seen that there are quite a few ex racing greyhounds for rescue. My wife is keen on the idea and I am getting tempted (though really wanted a spaniel or lab for retreiving).

 

OUr main concerns are

 

Are they good with young kids?

 

Can they be trained to return or are they a liability of the lead?

 

What are their daily excercise requirments realisticly. I've heard very little with time of the lead to many miles a day?

 

Am I likely to be taking on a nightmare dog as a rescue (the bloke I spoke to in Cumbria said the dogs are fostered first)?

 

I fancy the idea of lure coursing, will these dogs take to it and also is lure coursing for fun or is it very competative?

 

Any other pointers on the breed that may help as i'm new to these, has labs and an Akita in the past.

 

Cheers.

[Chaz 6]

Most greyhounds are brilliant with kids and all people some can be funny but that goes for all breeds

They can be trained to return but you will need a secure area to undertake this training

exercise a couple of 20-30 minute walks a day is ample

If you get from a RGT or other adoption agency they will have been fostered as well as temperament and small animal and child ested

as long as the dog you take on has not been retired due to injury or being a non chaser you should be fine lure coursing

and as in all hobbies lure coursing can be competitve or laid back depending on how serious you and fellow club members take it,

 

If you have any more questions just drop me a PM

and if you are anywhere near Rugeley in staffordshire perhaps you would like to come and meet some of our retired dogs and perhaps have a closer look at the breed

[PAB 0]

Thanks for the info.

 

I live near Blackpool o a bit far really.

[lurchergrrl 1,441]

I have a rescue Grey, so I'll tell you what she's been like.

 

She'd never lived in a house and when she came to me from South Wales she was 14 months old. I crate trained her straight off the bat, keeping the crate in the living room so she could see/hear all the main household action. It's taken her about 5 months to get the hang of things but she's food oriented so learns quickly.

 

I've got three kids under 4. I've drilled into them that they MUST NOT disturb the dog when she's sleeping or eating, as Grey's aren't typically used to being startled and can snap as a result. Being smart and careful means we've avoided any big problems with the kids. I let them put her bowl down for her and give her treats as well so she knows they're her friends.

 

I've never walked an easier dog on lead - it's like walking nothing she's so good. She's only just learning what toys are about so I've got hopes that she can pick up the basics about retrieving etc. Mine is very very fit at the moment, she gets a lot of off lead and road walks, and will be ok with a couple of 20 min sessions or will mooch along with me for a couple of hours. As mine has murderous tendancies I muzzle her off lead where she might come across someone's cat. Her recall is superb, and she's like that because I carry hot dogs in my pockets

 

I gave her a dropper once and she totally mangled it She is VERY keen when out mooching but I've got my doubts about her ability to ever hunt properly: she does it so she can immediately eat what she catches. But I'm not too bothered about that as I don't intend for her to work. As with any dog, really all you need is good sound advice, patience and time to teach them what they need to know. There's a member on here called Clip who is currently doing some training with his Grey - you might send him a pm, as he wants his to work alongside his lurcher.

 

Good luck to you!

[Guest Frank]

I have a rescue Grey, so I'll tell you what she's been like.

 

She'd never lived in a house and when she came to me from South Wales she was 14 months old. I crate trained her straight off the bat, keeping the crate in the living room so she could see/hear all the main household action. It's taken her about 5 months to get the hang of things but she's food oriented so learns quickly.

 

I've got three kids under 4. I've drilled into them that they MUST NOT disturb the dog when she's sleeping or eating, as Grey's aren't typically used to being startled and can snap as a result. Being smart and careful means we've avoided any big problems with the kids. I let them put her bowl down for her and give her treats as well so she knows they're her friends.

 

I've never walked an easier dog on lead - it's like walking nothing she's so good. She's only just learning what toys are about so I've got hopes that she can pick up the basics about retrieving etc. Mine is very very fit at the moment, she gets a lot of off lead and road walks, and will be ok with a couple of 20 min sessions or will mooch along with me for a couple of hours. As mine has murderous tendancies I muzzle her off lead where she might come across someone's cat. Her recall is superb, and she's like that because I carry hot dogs in my pockets

 

I gave her a dropper once and she totally mangled it She is VERY keen when out mooching but I've got my doubts about her ability to ever hunt properly: she does it so she can immediately eat what she catches. But I'm not too bothered about that as I don't intend for her to work. As with any dog, really all you need is good sound advice, patience and time to teach them what they need to know. There's a member on here called Clip who is currently doing some training with his Grey - you might send him a pm, as he wants his to work alongside his lurcher.

 

Good luck to you!

 

That is very good advice.

[Clip 0]

Hi there, I'll just give you my ten pence worth from my brief (7months) living with and trying to train an ex track bitch. As with all dogs you get your good and difficult ones, i'd spend alot of time thinking what you really want from the dog first, will he/she be a family dog or will you intend to try and train he/she to work? Then spend even more finding the dog that ticks all the boxes for you. I wanted a dog to work so i looked for one that was very keen and boy did i get that, she was a fighter on the track so no worries about gameness she just wasn't for racing. She's been very hard to tame, she is as keen as mustard but has no control/discipline to go with it. I've just started clicker training with her and i'm very imprssed with the results i'm having with her in such a short space of time so there is hope for her yet. I'll answer your questions below.

 

Are they good with young kids?

 

In my experience they are great with kids but as with all dogs rules have to be layed down and stuck to by the kids.

 

Can they be trained to return or are they a liability of the lead?

 

Mine will return to me in an enclosed area but i'm not confident in her enough yet to let her run free. Not sure this will ever be the case in areas where other dog walkers are about, she has a liking for smaller dogs.

 

What are their daily excercise requirments realisticly. I've heard very little with time of the lead to many miles a day?

 

Mine is happy with a couple of half hour long lead walks but is also happy to walk quite some distance to, she gets a good run when i take her to the field. Most track greys haven't much stamina, i haven't found that with my little grey.

 

Am I likely to be taking on a nightmare dog as a rescue (the bloke I spoke to in Cumbria said the dogs are fostered first)?

 

Again spend alot of time looking for the dog that ticks all the boxes for your needs but really you'll never know what he/she will be like until you've lived with it for a while. To get a great dog of any breed alot of work needs to go into them.

 

I fancy the idea of lure coursing, will these dogs take to it and also is lure coursing for fun or is it very competative?

 

I have'nt risked lure coursing with my girl yet seeing as she was a scrapper but i do it with my lurcher for a bit of fun and really enjoy it. You do get the odd few that take it to serious but i just don't get caught up in that.

 

Any other pointers on the breed that may help as i'm new to these, has labs and an Akita in the past.

 

If you're looking for a nice family pet i'd go for an older one or a non chaser, they'll be alot easier to train and to cope with. I always thougth my lurcher had high prey drive until i homed my grey, she can be very hard work.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Clip

[Elmerfudd 5]

I have 2 rescued greyhounds. I've had Emma for 6 years and Dave for about 5 years. Neither of them had been in a house before and stairs were a nightmare. I lived in a flat for a while and had to carry Emma up and down for days! On that subject, while out walking she would cower and cry every time we got to a stile until I carried her over. That all came to an end when I found her ON TOP OF THE STOVE eating a saucepan of spag bol! They are definately food orientated and always came back when called, right from the start. We have a severly disabled daughter who was only 1 yr old when we got Emma. Both dogs are fantastic with her, often getting kicked if they lay too close to her feet! They just move out of reach and go back to sleep.

As for exercise, I've heard them descibed as 45mph couch potatoes. Very accurate, a couple of short walks a day is sufficient, anything too much will see you with a sulky dog. All dogs chase cats, greyhounds catch them! If this happens, be prepared for a hefty vets bill. Keep an eye on their diet, you should always be able to see the last 3 ribs. Also, a good rice based working dog dry mix will reduce the "waste product" and improve its consistency.

 

They are fabulous, loving dogs who make great family pets (mine never, ever bark!) with low maintainence needs and little hair shedding.

 

Hope this is of help.

 

Nick

[Guest buster321c]

Its nice to hear so many posative responses about rescue dogs , normally its just that you hear dogs homes are over run , again !!!

[PAB 0]

Thanks to all for the sound advice. My wife prefers the idea of a whippet though i prefer the greyhound.

The main attraction to the breed is the coat (my youngest is slightly dog allergic so should be fine with the gray) and the temperament.

The bloke at the cumria rescue centre seem good and gave some good advice and assured me that he would only rehome a dog that 'he' thought was suitable.

Just need to convince the wife now.

Thanks again.

Edited January 31, 2008 by PAB

[cúagusgiorraí 57]

Best of luck

Let us know how you get on!

[lurchergrrl 1,441]

Just regarding allergies ...

 

When a grey blows it's kennel coat, you can expect A LOT of fur rolling round the floors. Mine has only just started to molt hers out, so I use a hound glove every day - it's got rubber bumps on one side and a polish thingy on the other. It's my new obsession, I'm addicted to making her all shiney I'd say you might want to get spend a bit of time around other greys if you can, to see if there's any allergic reaction, but after the initial molt you should be ok with regular grooming.

 

Oh and tell your wife whippets are bed hogs who will crawl under the duvet to keep warm, you might be able to put her off with the thought of a hound wrapped round her feet every night

[PAB 0]

Good point.

Are there any other differences between grays and whippets apart from the size.

Edited February 1, 2008 by PAB

[Missie 1]

I have two rescue Greys, one is an ex track bitch and the other never raced as he had no interest in it.

 

The ex track dog can't be trusted off lead in areas where there may be cats or small dogs but this isn't the case with all ex track dogs. Most will be assessed in foster and any rescue worth thier salt will match the dog to you, not just give you one because you like the colour or whatever reason.

 

Some rescues will not rehome to people with kids under a certain age but most will assess the dog with children and decide if it is suitable for certain age groups as obviouslt different aged children pose different risks with some dogs. I have never met a grey that isn't good with kids though to be honest.

 

Both dogs are very food orientated and this makes training quite easy although recall is usually something that takes a bit more time.

 

My girl loves lure coursing but is now too old for it.

 

Good luck with whatever breed you get, with rescue dogs you get back what you put in but normally with greyhounds they haven't had the poor treatment that many other rescue dogs have, especially if they come straight from the track and tend to be more biddable.