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Adoption of a greyhound

When you give a greyhound a new home you will notice very soon that they are really affectionate. They need to be near their humans. The more time the better. If possible, all the time and often with fur to skin contact.

Everybody who is planning to give an ex-racer a new home should seek to get as much information about the race career beforehand as they can. Get knowledge about their behaviour, their character and the past of the dog. Understanding his racing environment will help you a lot. His duties, the upbringing and the environment will form the hound in his whole character and will explain quite a lot in his behaviour.

First ask yourself the most important question!Is a greyhound the perfect dog for you? Look at your kind of life in which to integrate the new dog. Do you have to work away from home or is there someone at home? How long would the greyhound have to stay alone? Do you have children, especially very young ones, who could be overrun by an enthusiastic Greyhound?

Do you have other animals like cats or guinea pigs, rabbits etc living with you?Is there already another dog in your life and does he/she get along with a new dog? Or will the greyhound be a single dog? Do you have the permission of your landlord/lady to have a dog or maybe two or more? In case of an emergency do you have someone to take care for the dog? Especially short-term care.

Are you able to take care of the financial aspects which are to come when an ex-racer moves into your life?Things like: food, leashes and collars, muzzle and last but not least vet checks and vaccinations. Insurances for the dog (operations / medical treatment/ liability). Do not forget about the taxes you have to pay as a dog owner, depending on where you live. Maybe you will need a new car because the dog needs more space. Do you have enough time planned for the integration period? If this period takes longer than expected, do you have a plan how to react to this situation?

Are you able to take the dog with you when you are away for holidays or do you have someone to look after the dog?Did you think about the nutrition, the health aspects and the daily life with a greyhound? What do you expect from your new family member?

Do you know about the character and the peculiarities of a greyhound?

Are you able to cope and not underestimated his hunting instinct? Do you have the possibility to provide him/her the necessary exercise in spite of the hunting instinct?

Are you aware that some greyhound may like to hunting small dogs/cats or other small animals? For both (your hound and the hunted animal) it can end in small or big health problems.

Does a greyhound fit into your life?

When you are sure about this, we have some tips to help you.

As the owner you have to give the dog enough time to get along in his new life. Most probably everything will be new for him. Another culture, new routines, new surroundings, maybe even a new language. It is highly probable for the dog to be without another dog for the first time in his life.
You have to show him all the new things in his life, but take your time it wonÂ´t work with force, stress or at a hectic pace. Being overprotective wonÂ´t work either. Everything has its time and it always depends on the dog when this will be.
As the new owner have to learn how your greyhound reacts while meeting with other dogs for the first time. Some greyhounds are not socialised with other breeds but most of them learn really fast to behave well with them and don't have any problems. Our advice is not to start the first contacts with small dogs or with longhaired dogs. Small dogs can be mistaken as prey and the longhaired are more difficult to read. Both could lead to a difficult start but can be avoided easily. Unfortunately, there are some ex-racers who will never get along with small dogs, you should be aware of this too.
As the new owner you need to try to give your dog a fixed routine e.g.to wake up, meals, walking time always at the same time. This will help him a lot during his first weeks. It gives him a feeling of a security and something to rely on. His world is upside down at the moment.
Please remember! You may never be able to unleash your ex-racer in an unprotected surrounding like out in nature! Do you have an alternative to let him run free and safe? Is there a fenced greyhound proven area nearby? Shorten the waiting time until the arrival of your new companion with getting as much information you can get and start exploring your surroundings.

Greyhounds are Sighthound who hunt with highspeed and they have been bred for hundreds of years to do this! They decide for themselves when and what they are going to hunt! This instinct is genetical and can´t be cancelled through training, binding and trust, but sometimes it can be channelled. Whoever chooses a greyhound has to be aware of this ...all the time.