Greyhounds - What are they like to live with? Questions

What are they really like to live with? What made you choose a Grey (ie what were you looking for in a dog that made a Greyhound right for you)? Good points, bad points, that kind of thing Ooh, and photos too. Met a gorgeous, lovely Grey the other day which opened my eyes to the breed and would love to know a little more about them

You've come to the right place! I'll try and keep this brief

What I was looking for:

* A dog who was good for first time dog owners
* Didn't moult loads as husband is allergic
* Recommended for children
* Personality, preferably of the comical variety
* Didn't need hours of walking a day
* Inactive in the house and doesn't mind being left for a reasonable amount of time
* Good with dogs

I got all of the above, and more! Axel is my first dog and I think he fits the bill.

Good points:

*Fits my criteria list above
*Really funny personalities
*More loving than I hoped
*Been a lesson and adventure

Less good points:

*Wind! Every now and again it arrives, and it's vile!
*Trained to chase so not all can be let off lead. Axel can so long as we don't drop him down in the middle of a pile of Squirrels
*Big. Not always a problem, I actually like his size, but fo some situations can be an issue, they do curl up small though.

What are they like to live with?

I can only tell you about my boy, he's a pleasure to live with. To be honest, most of the time you can barely tell he's there...he's asleep! He soon wakes up if it's time for a walk or feeding time, he loves food and will steal it if left out, but never tried to beg or take it from us as we eat. He's quiet in the house except when it's time to wake up and he thinks we've been in bed too long! He's easy to walk, walks like a dream on the lead and is 95% brilliant off lead so long as we're careful. He's a pleasure to have around, he's goofy and sensitive and can be clever

Now...pictures!

He is still undefeated at the park


So good on the lead even children can walk him (note I'm holding the lead too)


The black ones glisten in the sun


It takes a lot of effort to capture them running!


And they're stunning!


I'll let someone else contribute now Hope that helps

Soooo easy to answer all your questions, we have 2 here!

I have to echo everything Axels mummy has just said. They are amazing

They are easy to look after, I too was a first time dog owner when these 2 arrived. They are not particularly boisterous, are very quiet and clean in the house. They dont moult a huge amount although they are not completely moult free!

I think people sometimes equate their quietness with them having no personality which is sooo far from the truth. My hounds have completely different personalities to each other and stand out in their own ways, with lots of quirky traits. I can honestly say there isnt a day goes by that they dont make me laugh.

Here they are, not the best of piccys but some which i think show their personality best...







And one of my faves...



We didnt chose our greys specifically as a breed, they chose us We met some greys at a retired greyhound trust gathering at a shopping centre and fell for their calm nature and loving faces.

I've got 2 greyhounds. We got our first one Kyiro after losing our Jack russell.
We already had Shady a Rottie x GSD who was very fear aggresive to other dogs, so we knew we would have to find a very quiet dog that would ignore her when she kicked off as they met and not pester her in the first few weeks.
I hired a field at a greyhound racing kennels for Shady to run free and play in and she had seen the greyhounds through the fences and it occured to me she had never reacted when she saw them.
So i rang a greyhound rescue and explained what Shady was like and they bought out Kyiro. The rest is history.
Kyiro has been the easiest dog in the world, in fact in 40 years of owning all different breeds large and small I have never come across such easy dogs and I wish I had discovered them years ago as they would certainly have been my breed of choice had I known what they were like then.
When we sadly lost Shady last December we eventually got Lily another greyhound.
What are they like? well Lazy is the first word that I associate with them. Mine are happy to lay about all day. I am lucky to have the enclosed 4.5 acre field to let them off in but they rarely run ,only on the odd occasion, and then in short bursts, they are quite content with a half hour lead walk and then home to sleep.
They are loving and affectionate, good tempered and easy going, very clean in the house and once they have lost thier kennel coat, moult very little.
Girls seem to be more cheeky than boys and the only downsides are they need to be kept from overheating in the summer and wear a coat in the winter as they do not seem to be able to control thier body tempreture very well. They are not keen on walks in the rain either
They really are wonderful dogs to own unless you want a fierce guard dog as they are absolutly useless on that score

They sound FABULOUS! What are they like to train? We had 2 in our obedience class and well, I'd say obedience wasn't their forte ha ha! But that was only 2... how are they generally to train?
Thanks for the fantastic replies so far

If you want to go far in obedience then a greyhound is not going to be the best choice as they are too lazy and most greyhounds can't sit because of the way they are made, its too uncomfortable for them.
You do get in some parts of the country some greyhound obedience groups which are very popular and some are quite good in these classes

Here are a couple of pics of my two (not doing obedience I might add



Kyiro





The day we met Lily at the kennels



Lilys just after she arrived home.

Kyiro and Lily are beautiful!! We dont see enough pics of them on here

I have to agree with you too, they are not the best when it comes to obedience. I'm sure there are some very well trained hounds out there unfortunately i dont own them
They do on the other hand aim to please though, they can master basic command, understand when no means no and respond very well to food

Lovely No, I wouldn't be doing obedience with them. Just curious to know how trainable they are generally. Hubby isn't keen, he's stuck on his gundogs but hey, it's me who does most of the work!

I would agree with all of the above but Bella has been doing well at training , she has passed KCGC Bronze and is well on the way to silver. She has truly surprised me !
She will sit on command but if you look from behind she is hovering her rear is not on the floor but she is in a sitting position , Greys are a joy to live with and are completely misunderstood by many people.

pretty Bella !


I can sit especially for treats !



On a break when at Discover dogs at Crufts




Love to run !



And love my buddy !



Love the snow !




Greys are just greyt !!
But then I am slightly bias ! ;-)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... i wasnt keen either... They are big dogs, i used to be scared of dogs, i thought they would be a huge tie and would need hours of walks etc etc etc.... How much was i proved wrong
I really wouldnt be without them, they are my world and although i sometimes wish they were smaller ( for road trips and visiting non dog people! ) i honestly wouldnt change a thing about them, fantastic dogs, they have taught me sooo much in the last 3 years.

There's no breed like them for being agreeable easy dogs to keep.It's all been said already on this thread,except for one thing.
They're like crisps,once you've had one you HAVE to have another! [/IMG]
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Lovely stories and fabulous pictures! There's clearly a lot of Greyhound love out there!

Sadly not enough.

To know them is to adore them but THOUSANDS of healthy young greys are put down every year.There are nowhere near enough pet homes for those not racing.Until the whole business is shut down this will always be the case.

While there are thousands of other unwanted dogs out there who also face euthanasia no other single breed is killed in such numbers as greyhounds.

The other 'plus' with this breed is their general health.Because they're bred for performance rather than looks or colour and line breeding or inbreeding is well known in the 'sport' for diminishing speed they are largely free from genetic faults.
A sire or dam that produces faulty offspring is VERY quickly cut from breeding programmes as are its close relatives.It's a small world and the word spreads very fast about a defective litter.

There are very few who is made rich in the greyhound racing game,a penny is precious in the kennels and no one wastes money on breeding or raising pups unless they are as sure as they can be that there is a chance of a winner or of good puppy sales.

Probably worth mentioning if you want to see loads of lovely hounds together the Great Greyhound walk is planned for June 26th with events all over the UK , the link below will show you where they are happening and hopefully you can find one local to you !

http://www.greatbritishgreyhoundwalk.org.uk/

Greyhounds are deliciously wonderful!! Once they give you their hearts that's it....they're smitten. I can't see myself with anything ever again except for greys and lurchers!
They sleep a lot...usually on your sofa!!

Guinness.


They love the sun!! (OK so there are some lurchers in there!!)


They love to chill on your expensive sofa!!


They adore their brothers!


And their sisters!!


They're very handsome and always draw admiring glances!

I should have said 'in here', I meant it's lovely to see how many besotted Greyhound owners there are here. I'm aware of their plight in general and of course wish more people know how fabulous they were.

So so true but they are very lady like



and very active

Ha ha! Delighted to have asked you all about your LOVELY dogs Thanks for your replies and pictures

They are fab... They captured the hearts if me and my OH back in 2009 at a local show! Bring on later this year when we move house so I can rescue one (or two, or three )