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Adopting an Ex-Racing GreyhoundGreyhounds are not only the fasted dogs on earth, they also make wonderful pets. They truly deserve a good home when their racing career is over. We encourage everyone who is looking for a greyt companion to adopt a retired racer.
This adoption listing was created in cooperation with
the Greyhound Retired Database
Things you should consider before you adopt a greyhound
Should you be getting a dog?
Before you go any further, you need to give serious thought to
whether or not you are ready for the responsability of any dog.
Please consider the following:
Is your job secure?
Are you likely to be transferred?
Caught up in downsizing?
Even if your job is secure, if you work very long hours a cat might be better for you.
If you rent a house or appartement, are you positive having a dog is allowed?
If its allowed is there a size/weight limit of the dog?
Is your marriage/reklationship on solid ground?
This is a tough question but for the sake of the animal you must ask
it yourself. Adoption agencies and animal shelters are full of pets
who are the unwitting victims of divorce.
How old are you?
If you are either on the younger side or the older side, there are some things
you should think about:
For those in their late teens, you are in an age when your life can take many unpected turns.
You may decide on college, or travelling or start a family owning a dog might prevent you from
persuing some of your dreams.
For those in their seventies, now that you retired, a dog can be a wonderful addition to your life.
If you are senior and decide to get a dog you should not get a too young one.
Many pets over the age of six are in excellent health, need less exercise, and
are already well-served with the ins and outs a being a good companion.
How are you fixed financially?
The fee for adopting a Greyhound is nothing compared to the lifetime of expenses you will incur.
What a greyhound is, and what it isn't
Did you know that all purebred dogs were developed for a purpose?
Very few breeds (with the exeption of many of the toy breeds)
were created to what we call a pet.
Some were developed to serve a purpose as guarding, herding or some
specialized form of hunting. The Greyhound's purpose was, and is, to run
in packs after prey ranging in size from rabbits to deer.
With few exceptions Greyhounds will not guard or protect and,
while in pursuit, they will not come if called. Most Greyhounds prefer
not to swim, fetch or jump in the air for a Frisbee - it just isn't in their genes.
What is in their genes is their size (large), their shape (aerodynamic) and their
instinct to run in cooperation withh other Greyhounds.
Combine this with the chasing-reinforcement training that racing dogs receive in their
formative years, and you have a large, streamlined, mild-mannered dog who can never
be allowed off-lead in fenced areas. Does this sound like the dog for you?
Why greyhounds cannot run loose
It is impossible to put to much emphasis on this point.
There are some people who adopt who think that their dog is somehow different and can
be trusted not to run away. Here are some facts that will illustrate why allowing a
Greyhound to run free is dangerous idea.
Greyhounds are among the fastest land mammels they run about twice as fast as a human sprinter.
Therefore catching a running Greyhound is impossible.
Greyhounds have been bred for literally thousands of years for one thing: speed.
If you think an obedience course is enough to wipe out eons of genetics and training, then you
are deluding yourself and risking your dogs life.
Greyhounds are companions, not guard dogs
If you are looking for a dog that will double duty as both a pet and a protector perhaps
you should investigate into other breeds. Greyhounds are very unagressive dogs
(remember, they were created to cooperate) and the vast majority of them will not even
bark when they see a stranger approaching the house.
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