Dog owners of Sup Forums, adopting a retired greyhound soon. Been doing lots of reading...

Dog owners of Sup Forums, adopting a retired greyhound soon. Been doing lots of reading, but what do ya'll think I need to know?

It eats dog food

Thanks user, this didn't come up in my research. Will hot dogs and slim jims suffice until I can get to the shops next week?

Greyhounds need LOTS OF EXERCISE. They will rip up your house if you let them get bored.

no they don't, they're lazy as fuck

Noted. Do you have breed experience? It seems very comfortable with its crate, wondering about the transition to home living. Will be crated for the first while at home during acclimation period.

Yea thats a load of crap.

Greyhounds are lazy as fuck. They need to run for about 5-10 min a day. They have been raised on scraps of junk meat and may need time to adapt to dog food. They have been with other dogs since birth so if you only have the Greyhound they can have separation anxiety. If you have another dog they may try to be alpha. Crating them at night is what they are used to and provides a safe space for them when sick, scared, etc. They are used to wearing a muzzle 24/7 including eating and sleeping. Use the muzzle if they are destructive or you have a small dog/cat/animal. Greyhounds have paper thin skin and can get cut easily by sticks, ice, rocks. They are very very prone to tooth decay and need to be brushed weekly if not daily. Buy it a coat for winter's . All that being said they are the easiest breed I have ever felt with. 99% of thr time they come off the track housebroken. Ama I have had 5.

When my wife and I adopted our dog he was crate trained. We were going to get rid of it after a while, but he loves it so much we just kept it. It's like his room.

Your dog might be the same way.

this is false, dog sat a greyhound for a month and it just laid around allllll day.

Excellent, thanks user! I've read about the dental problems but not sure how to tackle that yet. Do you reinforce grooming with treats? Advice would be great.

long doggo

Have experience with italian greyhounds, which are similar I guess. I would expect the exercise requirement to be higher in the larger breed, but ours is quite content to laze around the house all day except for a 30min-1h play sesh in the backyard. Loves hiding in a blanket on the couch for a good portion of the day.

Is a greyhound the best dog for an old man to get? I really want to get one my Dad since mum's not around any more, he's lonely and in his sixties. I was thinking greyhound. Note that he can't walk great at the moment, but he's getting his hip replaced (he's having it done so young since he destroyed most his bones in the army) so after the operation walking shouldn't be a problem.

Also what's the best situation to get a dog? Puppy or old?

We never give them treats. Occasionally we give them raw chicken legs or thighs as it helps with the teeth and coats. Dogs stomach acid is so high it turns the bone to gellitan in minutes. Do not ever give them cooked chicken with bone. The bone splinters and can cause intestinal tears. You can Google raw diet or YouTube it. It's messy to do as their only food but once in awhile is great for them...In terms of grooming you will have to cut their nails every 2 weeks. Baths aren't need as often as most dogs. Just when their fur gets a bit matte/dirty/greasy. We live and the woods and oura get a bath every other month or so as to not dry out their skin. If you get a white fur Greyhound: it cannot sunbath. They are extremely sensitive to skin cancer.

Does he have an outside area? Really depends on what you want from it. My grandpa has 3 border collies which he loves. Gets a lot of entertainment out of training them because they're pretty smart. Although they do better if you got some land or something they can run around on outside. If its just an average size house I would say get an Italian greyhound because they're smaller and less maintenance IMO. Can easily work in a smaller backyard.

It's a fucking dog.
Feed it
walk it
fuck it (if you want to)

Greyhounds are best adopted off the track. They are usually housebroken and vetted for mental stability. When first off the track they can take some time to adjust and may need to run off the energy. This does out in less than a month usually. If your dad has a good size yard and can toss him an old milk jug or other large plastic bottle they can entertain themselves. If you search for a national Greyhound adoption center they will be the best with finding a good match. Every dog is different and some can be a ball of energy while most are lazy asses.

Dogs get a bit "wonky" when they have a headache. The happiest dogs are those that get the occational mild painkiller.

This
I had a rescued greyhound and he was very needy. If you're away from home most of the day you might have some problems. Our greyhound tore up entire sections of the wall and figured out how to open a glass sliding door just so HD could run around. It's not easy to chase after a racing dog, fucker would mess with me and run just a little too fast. Loving and cool dogs otherwise though.

Muzzle while eating? You can't be serious.

It's true, they can (and do) eat and drink through them

Their is alot of room in Greyhound muzzles. It's not the clamp the mouth shut type. Pic related.

I'm sure they can but does it seem like something that would be pleasant?

I mean we can't exactly ask them, but they spend a lot of time muzzled and are used to it. They also associate being muzzled with "good times" as they wear them when racing, and can really only play/roughhouse with other dogs while muzzled to avoid nips to their thin skins.

It's out of necessity at the track. Sometimes they are very aggressive about food. All 5 of mine were only muzzled when going to the vet. (Because they are breed to want to attack small animals like rabbits )

Also FYI. Some greyhounds are inbred and can be as vicious as pitbulls. A good Greyhound association will put them down immediately.

greyhounds are the best.