Greyhounds Make Great Pets

A lot of times, people think about adopting a pet and they make a lot of assumptions from rumors they've heard, stories from a friend of a friend, what they've seen on TV, or just ideas that somehow have gotten into their heads over the years. When it comes to retired racing greyhounds, you'll hear a lot of these rumors!

Most people think greyhounds are very high energy dogs that need a LOT of room to run run run and that they're non-stop energy. This couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, greyhounds make great apartment dogs. They sleep on average of 20-22 hours a day and one or two runs a week at the local dog park satisfies their need to run. After all, greyhound races are only about 30 seconds long and they only race 2-3 times a week, so they are definitely animals that are bred for occasional short bursts of speed instead of long endurance work like border collies and huskies. I have two greyhounds and a two minute run around the back yard will tire them out for hours. A walk around the block leaves one of my hounds dragging behind me, and a few blocks later, the other one will be ready to go home soon too. Try that with a lab and you'll be walking for miles without a break in the speed!

Greyhounds are very clean animals. They clean themselves much like cats and very rarely emit any "doggy" odors. Their short fur is easy for grooming and they only need a couple of baths a year to stay shiny and smelling good. While they are not non-allergenic dogs, many people with pet allergies say that their allergies are much better or non-existent around greyhounds. My father is one of those people - he is very allergic to cats and dogs, but he can baby-sit the dogs for hours before his allergies even begin to bother him. But put him near his friend's terrier and he's sneezing within minutes!

Greyhound adoption has come a long way since the 80s and instead of most greyhounds being put to sleep when they are done racing, adoption groups place a large majority of them into loving homes. One nice thing about getting a greyhound from an adoption group as opposed to getting a dog from a shelter or a pet store is that adoption groups tailor each dog adopted to the family. If you have kids, they'll make sure the dog is good with kids. If you have cats, they'll make sure that the greyhound does not chase or dislike cats. If you have dogs of other breeds, they'll make sure the hound in question gets along with other dogs. If you're looking for a dog with a silly bouncy personality, they'll find you one. If you're looking for a dog with a slower, very gentle temperament for your 70 year old grandmother, well, the adoption group can probably screen for that too.

Greyhounds are used to being handled by many people. In the track environment, they have people handling them every day - getting them in and out of their crates, leading them out to potty, grooming and bathing them before big races, leading them out to the starting boxes, etc. etc. Because of this, a majority of greyhounds are very well leash trained when they come off the track. No getting pulled down the road or straining your arm just to take a walk, the majority of these dogs will walk right next to you our just a few steps ahead without any further training necessary.

I've taken my dogs to parades, on vacation, to the beach, to the petstore, and wherever I go, people tell me how surprised they are that I have greyhounds. Greyhounds who are generally asleep on the ground if we stop our walk for a while or asleep on the floor if I browse too long in a boring aisle at the petstore. They're shocked to find that my dogs are laid back and gentle, not at all the hyper hysterical dogs they were picturing.

If you're considering adopting a large breed dog, please consider adopting a greyhound. There are tens of thousands of greyhounds looking for a home every day and being that they have one of the longest life spans of a large breed dog (12-14 years), the love they will give you back for giving them a great home will provide you with many years of joy and happiness.