Does anyone here have a Greyhound?

[calico1]

I live about 45 minutes from the dogtrack in CT that is closing. I would love to adopt one of these dogs. But I adopted a Rottie gal from a rescue organization a few months ago. I also have 4 cats. Aja, my girl gets along good with the cats. Never chases them or torments them at all. She will sometimes bark at our neighbor dogs or at passerbys, as most dogs will do. Does anyone here have a greyhound and another dog? What did you do to get them used to eachother? My Aja was not abused but she was starved for attention as she got next to none in her former home. She now gets plenty of love and attention so I don't know what another dog would do. If anyone can give me any advice I'd appreciate it. I'd love to help with these dogs if I can. What do you guys think?

[LibertyLover]

1. Greys

My husband and I have 2 greys, 2 whippets and a Siberian Husky. For some very bizarre reason, they all get along. It's really funny to come along and see 2 greys and a whippet on one couch and a Husky and a whippet on the other one with your 2 year old smack dab in the middle and being loved on by all. All of mine with the exception of the youngest whippet are adoptions. I cannot say enough wonderful things about greys as pets. And I was a confirmed German Shepherd fan (still am - love them). What we do when we bring a new dog into the mix is first put the other guys outside and let everyone look at each other through the glass porch door. Then we put the new dog into a crate (which greyhounds love and you will need if you do adopt one) and let the other guys in to make closer contact. We have a leash in case one gets a bit rowdy and treats so that when one makes a good move we reward it. We also pet the older guys a lot and praise them. Then we pet the new guy and praise them. After a bit we take the new guy out of the crate on a leash and allow everyone to meet, keeping treats close and also petting and hugging a lot. A recently adopted grey will need and want a crate because that has been "home" to them for almost all their lives. It also makes housebreaking them much easier. So for the first several weeks, whenever you are not home the grey is in his crate and Aja and the cats are free. That gets them used to one another too. The greyhound rescue groups that the CT dogs are going to will work with you and will work to find you a grey that is cat friendly. Greys are greyt.

[retread]

3. I don't know any whippet owners with just one, myself included!

*

[LibertyLover]

5. Whippets

OK - I ask this of every whippet person I know - where do your whippets sleep?

[retread]

6. Hahahahaha-- In the bed of course! We started out with the male, a rescue,

and with warnings from the rescue person to put him in a cage at night and during the day when we were gone. We got him on a Friday and by Saturday he was sleeping in our bed and the cage was put back in the garage. He turned out to be such a wonderful pet we rescued a female the next year. She whimpered when we put her in her cage that first night so she joined us on the bed!

My turn-- Do you lure-course them?

[LibertyLover]

7. Lure coursing

Yes, as a matter of fact we do, and our greys too. My husband and I are members of the Society for Creative Anachronsism which recreates medieval life. Queen Elizabeth I had Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, write rules for lure coursing which the modern lure coursing rules are based on. We have a battery driven lure coursing rig and generally do several demos a year at SCA events. I'm actually the Deputy Earl Marshal for Hounds in our kingdom. All that really means however is that I didn't run fast enough when the previous marshal was looking around for a replacement LOL. Do you course yours?

[retread]

8. We have our own equipment and try to set up 2 or 3 weekends a month

till the middle of April. Summer is too hot and we are paranoid about heat exhaustion. I probably miss it during these months almost as much as they do. My heart sings when I see them run!

[LibertyLover]

9. It's so amazing

It's so amazing to watch them stretch out and run, eyes locked on the bag and doing what they were bred to do. We do occassionally course at events in the summer, but we make sure that we do it in the morning, that the dogs don't run often (no more than twice) or far (for the most part our courses are between 200 and 300 yards long and that there is a place to sponge them down with cool water after a run and shade to rest in. I know what you mean about the overheating, but by the same token, when I let the little demons out in the backyard in the summer, they run around and chase each other and don't seem to have a problem, so the 2 or 3 times we might course them from June to September don't seem to do any harm. If you don't mind my asking, where do you live? It sounds like you get similar weather to us and we're in Maryland.

[retread]

10. We are considering early mornings and wet towels, cooling coats,

etc. Our male won't even drink water he is so focused. We live in Florida and the summer heat is oppressive. I would just as soon err on the side of caution down here.

[LibertyLover]

11. You are probably wise

to handle it that way. I know several SCAdian coursers who live in Florida (or Trimaris as we call it) and they will not course during the summer either. My older male whippet is very focused, while our younger male is way too happy go lucky to worry about such things. And yes, of course they sleep in bed with us LOL.

[Merope215]

2. I can't offer any advice

but I wanted to tell you how wonderful you are to look into adopting one of those dogs. Every time I drove past that track I would think about the dogs inside. I'd love to adopt one but I can't right now (they don't so much love having dogs in dorms). So thank you for keeping an eye out for those guys!

:toast:

[radfringe]

4. 1 greyhound, 1 airedale and 4 cats

http://reghr0.tripod.com/ <--- Greyhound Rescue site

we adopted Sunny - the greyhound - over a year ago -- have had not problems with him or our other dog (Dax) getting along nor any problems with the cats

when we first brought Sunny home - we did the "meet and greet" outside - it's neutral ground and less chance of any fights over territory - they did the butt sniffs and all was well

we made sure that both dogs received equal attention, loves, pets, hugs etc.

since then we are now on our 3rd foster greyhound. Our first was Mint, then Ibu (boo-boo) and now Abeline. Did the same thing - meet and greet outside for mutual butt sniffing

We learned that Mint was being returned and available for adoption due to a divorce. So call us crazy, but we loved that little love sponge when we fostered her -- we are adopting her and yes we will continue to foster more in the future...

[calico1]

12. Thanks to all that offered any advice or insight.

Please post more about greys and whippets. I am used to rotties, german shepards, labs. Never had a grey. I had to look up what a "whippet" was. LOL.