I am hopefully - within the next year or so - going to be adding a greyhound to my lot (sometimes we just have two, sometimes three and maybe a 4) They are all quite agile and love a long walk in the country. Now I know I may never be able to take a grey off a long line especially in the country (I am ambitious though ) but my question is: Can they do more than 20 minutes twice a day or will they be able to do a couple of hours - same pace once a week or maybe twice? I know every dog is different but knowing the greys on here and the centre's - it says 40 minutes a day will do them but I just wanted to know that if I wanted to do more exercise especially having the other lot - would a grey be alright with that amount of exercise? I just don't want to leave him/her in the house alone whilst we go galavanting in the country (I must learn to drive or else 5 dogs at once is going to be a very long hard walk)
as long as they are not running for too long they should be fine at a steady pace :0) so it maybe that you have to leash it, so it doesnt excel itself. And a nice cool sponge bath when you get them home is always nice.
I think the 2 x 20 mins is the minimum exercise they require and will be fine on this , mine do much more than this , 2x 30-40 mins and a good run off lead every day , they are young dogs , only just turned 3 so maybe some of the older retired racers are happy with the minimum. They will also happily cope with a long walk over the chase, so depending on the dog should fit in easily with your pack !
Phew - that's good - I love my walks in the woods and country, before I met my OH and she started going deaf me and Sadie would go for a 20 - 25 mile bike ride every Sunday..of course I won't be going that fast with a grey a nice stroll is more like it these days
When I first got Axel 6 months ago, a 10 minute walk around the block wore him out, he was panting for ages and took a long time to get his breath back. We gradually got him used to longer and longer walks, he can now manage an hour comfortably with a shorter recovery time. Running around though his stamina is still less, he's a moocher not a mental runner. He's only 4. One thing though, they don't do well in extreme temperatures, especially the heat. They suffer if exerted too much in really hot weather - same as a lot of dogs. I think the blacks are worse for this, not sure though. In the cold they don't like standing still lots, but don't overheat at quickly. Hope that helps
Noodles could walk all day! I got him virtually straight from the track and he was very fit and walked very fast, he has lost the edge now, but we occasionally walk 6 or 7 miles and it is me that has to stop, not him!
I think that the thing- straight from the track they are so fit , Bella is a muscle machine and enjoys lots of exercise !
Greyhounds can build up their stamina. Start with shorter walks and build them up gradually. Guinness can go on longer now than when we first got him. So you're succumbing to the greyhound thing then?!!! Excellent!! They're amazing dogs and oh so loving!!
I agree completely with Zoe. Start shorted and build up I also agree with them being amazing dogs, slightly biased mind!
Yes you skinny pointy dog lovers have won me over - plus I'm starting to get lazy now Sadie's getting older and at our new home we don't have to walk up to 5 miles to get to a decent walk/run And I need a tall dog as Louie would destroy a little dogs (he doesn't know his paw size) and one that could keep up with him when he goes on a 5 minute mad dash - Sadie can and even at 9 she's agile but she's my baby girl and I don't want him hurting her lol P.S I know I have to be careful with their legs and other dogs
I'm so excited for you having chosen a pointy dog! They're so much fun You know what though? You'll HAVE to post LOADS of pictures!
It may not be til next summer though - maybe longer than that - depends if we are sorted and if I find the right dog..oh and the OH - but Mummy and Louie want a new friend that Louie can play around with - might work. Benjie doesn't play with him and Sadie will only be around some weekends/school holidays and Christmas and Megan wont play with him longer than 10 minutes so a nice young pointy dog may work out fine for him. Mel - except for this week - when do I not post pictures of the dogs? (posted a couple of Louie's war wound)
Have you considered a lurcher ? much more suited to longer distance walking and have more stamina than a grey. I have a grey and a lurcher, the lurcher can go on for much longer, my grey is quite lazy. I walk my two for an hour to an hour and a half in the morning then another half hour in the evening, my lurcher would do more but my grey flags after half an hour.
I want at least one pedigree It depends on temperaments etc I need a girly if we still have Benjie (Don't know if we're having him or the OH's parents are keeping him) Are Lurchers better at recall and less prone to kill my bunnies? (the last question was a joke lol)
I think recall depends on the dog , its taken around 9 mths to get Toms recall really good, he comes back every time now even if distracted and comes back because he wants to for a fuss not a treat, Bella is getting really good too but got a bit to go yet !
I think it totally depends on if they've been a working lurcher or not. (I feel like I've posted this before, apologies if I have and haven't seen my own reply) You can get some calm girls and some crazy girls. From what you've said I feel a Greyhound would suit your circumstances better than a Lurcher, but that's just from my experience. You can find a Greyhound girl with the potential to build up some good stamina, just don't expect hikes straight away!
