Attention dog people - anyone here ever owned a greyhound?

I don't own any dogs, but I knew a couple who adopted two greyhounds, ex-racers. They loved them. The dogs were gentle and great with the kid. I think the owners and the kid had an eye-opening experience in that they had to teach the dogs to play and climb stairs. The dogs were for racing only and the dogs didn't have a clue how to do anything else. The new owners had no regrets.

Hope this helps.

Although it's in the UK, the Retired Greyhound Trust has heaps of good information. We've looked into getting a dog and a greyhound was the best for us, but - and i know this sounds stupid - whilst they are fantastic dogs, they are big. Other than that, a greyhound fits with your needs; the factor of being good with children varies from dog to dog, but a good rehoming place will make sure the dog is happy with children first.

My friends have a retired greyhound and I farkin' love that dog. She's very mellow ( a little on the timid side, but she warms up quickly). When she stretches out on the couch she takes up the whole thing. Those are some long dogs. From what they've told me, greyhounds shy away from physical play, but they will soak up the lovin'. When we get a dog, a greyhound will be on my shortlist.

JeanneTGC has had two. Sweet dogs. Almost never bark. HUGE couch potatoes. Because they are racers people think they need/want lots of exercise, but that isn't true. Just your standard walkies. I don't recall that they shed much, and absolutely not droolers.

Saw the greyhound rescue people at an art fair one time. A man asked if they made good watchdogs. The guy with the dogs said yes: they would lay there and watch the burglars remove everything you own.

MM

Sounds like your dog, Perks. They are laid back and easily adaptable. They can be downright casual.

One thing to keep in mind>>> they can be a bit wide-eyed if they're coming from that racing lifestyle. Be VIGILANT in the great outdoors until they have time to adjust. Especially around cars. There's a LOT that an ex-racer has not yet experienced.

And they can possibly see doors as starting gates of sorts...ready to make a run for it when they hit them. This isn't always the case, but it CAN be the case.

Other than that...it sounds like it would be a perfect fit for your family...from what you describe.

I owned three Salukis. They're Egyptian greyhounds. They're gentle and lovable, but they do need to run. They're also super intelligent. I miss them very much, and if I was to get dogs again, they would be Salukis.

Their tails do wag.

I think greyhounds would be great for you. They like to run when they get the chance but unlike many hounds they are basically couch potatos and very laid back. They do wag but they tail has very little clout, not like a lab

If you do something waggable...

Oh, Saluki puppies are about $5,000

Dairyland Greyhound Park just closed here. $175.

My PT lady had a greyhound. She just walked around a bit, slept, and she did seem to enjoy being petted. Hard to tell... that's the kind of laid-back we're talking, lol

I met a man who owned 4 inside and did the racing rescues. They all had their own cute blanket and lay around, even with all the kids coming up to see them. He said that's what they did at home, too.

The most the tail might do is push a cellphone off a coffee table. It would not leave a bruise or break glass.

Ex- racers make great pets! They are gentle, quiet companions. They probably won't play fetch with your girls but they'll happily participate in dress up and slumber parties and curling up on the couch.

I'm sure whatever rescue org. you deal with, will try to find the appropriate dog for you.

Perks said:

Ha! The greyhound I'm looking at adopts for $200.

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Salukis are royalty. In Egypt a man will put the dog on his camel and walk.

Oh yeah, and they are chick magnets.

I wanted a greyhound. They are awesome dogs. I'm not really sure how I ended up outvoted on the greyhound...

And from what I've heard, retired racers make great pets because they are the ultimate in couch potatoes because they're glad to just be able to not run.

And they are good with kids - but not necessarily cats.

Yes, they can whip their tails. No, they're not superhero dogs, so while they can knock something off and cause it to break, they aren't going to wag their way through walls or glass panes. LOL. I think the only dogs with that kind of tail destruction potential would be mastiffs of Great Danes, and I still doubt they could do it.

Greyhound rescue goes out of its way to match the right dog to the right family. As Mary said, we've had 2, and we've also had cats, other dogs and small kids around while we've had those 2. No issues, ever. None of our friends who have Greyhounds have ever had issues, either.

They're great dogs for everything other than guarding. And they're also great in apartments or small houses, because literally all they wanna do is have some fun, and their version of fun is SLEEPING. Oh, and eating and getting loved on.

A Greyhound is a love bug/couch potato combo, and they're awesome pets.

They can be a little neurotic, though. Some of them don't know how to be... dogs. They live their whole life at the track and can have trouble learning how to deal with other dogs. But hopefully the adoption people will help you with any of that...

My neighbor I lived next to in Davis had three. They were sweet and gentle. He and his wife had triplets, and the kids would grab the dogs tails and walk around the yard! It was very cute!