I hope to be allowed to add another dog/more dogs to our family sometime - OH has said he will CONSIDER it if we move next year (yay!). No particular breed in mind. Any breed will be considered! I'm always looking at rescue sites anyway (daydreaming!). Lots of the ads for greyhounds say they would be happy with 2 x 30 min walks a day. Does that mean that they won't WANT to walk any further?? I'm kind of hoping I would be able to get a dog with similar energy levels to Stone. We walk for 30-45 mins in the morning and 1-2 hours every afternoon. Does that mean I won't be able to consider a greyhound, or are some more active than others? Any views much appreciated !
Hi, i have a grey and a lurcher, my grey is very lazy - likes her walks, usually and hour to 90 mins in the morning and 30-60 minutes in the evening. I'm going to be honest here and say shes not much cop on long walks !!! personally i think you'd be better off with a lurcher, they have more stamina. Of course thats no to say there aren't exceptions to the rule but generally i'd say a lurcher would be better for you, thats what they are bred for, speed and stamina whereas greys have speed but over short distances. I am involved in grey and lurcher rescue, feel free to pm me if you want any advice. You could always foster first with a view to failing !
I have a lurcher, she loves long walks but will happily stay in with you all day.She is easy pleased !!!
Hi, I have a grey and lurcher too , my lurcher is very active but he will be happy with 2 x 30mins every day and stretches his legs in the field most days too and copes easily with 1-2 hr treks through Cannock Chase. He is 3 and he was joined by a 3 yr old grey 3 months ago and she will walk and run as much as he will . I think some of the retired greys who are maybe a bit older may not want as much exercise so maybe consider a younger dog but they seem to vary in levels of liveliness ! But both are fantastic dogs, very loving and eager to please especially the lurcher but he can be a bit of a handful too , the grey is much easier to manage , Most of the greyhound rescues will let you trial a dog for a few days with your other dog to see how they fit in , I did that with Bella and she didnt go back ! ;-)
Thank you for the replies! I would love to foster but my current garden isn't secure enough - moving next year will fix that though! Tomthe Lurcher - I remember reading about Bella's arrival - she got her feet under the table pretty quick ! Can you let greyhounds/lurchers off lead? I see lots out and about but always on lead.
Yes Bella settled well , but its taken till now to see her real personality and for her to be really chilled with us, Tom accepted her from day 1 which was great especially as he can be reactive with new dogs until he feels comfortable with them but we know that so gentle introductions and take it slowly. I let mine off lead in the garden which is big enough for them to have a good run , I also have a field I use where they can really stretch thier legs, Toms recall is really good now but thats been a lot of work to get to that point , when off lead Bella tends to follow Tom back so that works well. I have also been using a clicker which both have responded well to as they are really food orientated and a click means liver cake or sausages ! lol. Local walks are a no no for off lead for us because of the chase instinct in the dogs and how Tom reacts at times and where we walk there are a lot squirels and other doggies off lead, trouble is if they go , they go and are so fast they cover a lot of ground in a short time so to get to them can take a while ! I am lucky in having a field to use as they can do what they really enjoy safely but would like to work towards Tom having fun with other dogs as he loves his ball. He runs on Cannock Chase with a Dobermann and a Dogue de Bordeaux with no problems and comes back every time but do not let him off on the open heath area only in the forest area as its safer. We had a dogsey walk on sunday and youngstevies dogs were having so much fun with the ball , Tom was like please let me play but I wasnt comfortable to let him off as it was in a park ,lots of space but surrounded by roads and with new doggies but maybe in a different environment we could have a go. The other dogs were great on sunday and maybe with further walks we might manage some off lead fun. Off lead is about being sensible with dogs with a strong chase instinct and recall work may take time to be sure they will come back and maybe with a rabbit in their mouth but thats the breed ! Sorry to go on a bit but hope it helps with your thinking about what to have as a second dog
Hi There may well be a Greyhound out there for you, but on first look a Lurcher may be best. That said, it would vary dependant on the individual dog - the same with off-lead. I'm talking about ex-racers in particular. Axel could only really manage a 10 minute walk when we got him, now he can go for an hour...walk. He doesn't 'do' running often. If he had other Greyhounds or dogs he got on well with, he may run more. Regarding off-lead, some Greyhounds will always be 'keen', and it would be really difficult to get any kind of reliable recall. We're lucky with Axel in that he's more interest in staying close and just sniffing, having said that we don't risk really busy situations, just in case. My thoughts for you that a Greyhound could be a great dog for you, if you find the right one...but you'd have more choice of Lurchers that would be right for you...just my opinions based on my experiences.
I agree a lurcher would be better for you if you like longer walks. I've had 2 greys and my Guinness is very lazy. he is eager to go for a walk but when you do go he can't be bothered doing much and after 30 mins he wants to come home!!! Both greys were the same....both ex-racers. I also have 2 lurchers and they definitely have more stamina. Jenny can be let off the lead and has pretty good recall but Danny is not very good and has a very high prey drive so can only be let off in safe places and only when my hubby and I are both there so he can run between us at opposite end of the field!
I take mine to the training track sometimes to keep them fit for the sprints they love so much.I love the arguments I have with trainers there.I tell them the greys live with cats.They tell me the greys won't chase in that case.Then the greys go doolally when they see the lure and tear off after it(I handslip to avoid accidents in traps)Even saplings who have never seen a track before do this.They know. Then the trainers tell me I can't put them back with cats now that they're chasing.Back home we go and straight onto the couch with the cats... My greys are kept fit and while they don't belt around for hours the way the lurcher does they potter along with me for as long as I keep going.
Are your Greyhounds ex-racers who you take back to keep fit? Glad they can be with cats after chasing, good stuff
