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This is not a megathread, but it is a thread about greyhounds! Greyhounds are good dogs and deserve a thread.quote:These are the thread's dogs! If you have a longdog, please add them! Union, a Good Dog   Greyhounds are an ancient and noble breed. They are elegant, gentle, and don't stink like other dogs. Evidence:  Greyhounds are known for running. They gallop kind of like horses, and I call Union "horsedog" all the time. They are pretty fast when they want to be.  Greyhounds are also known for being lazy bastards.  You may think that greyhounds come in three convenient sizes:  Do not be fooled, only the largest is really a greyhound. Whippets are okay, I guess. Owning a whippet is for people who like greyhounds but have trouble committing fully to a cause. Italian Greyhounds are tiny and have matchstick bones, so if you like dogs whose legs break I guess??? Me, I prefer my dogs large, with long legs full of elbows and bones, a big meaty musclebutt and whippy tail that hurts when it whaps you. The only downside is that if you let them on the furniture they will demand 80% of the furniture space. Most greyhounds that people own are retired racers. They had their racing life and when they flunked out they got pawned off on suckers. Because they spend their formative years in kennels (probably), they usually don't act like normal dogs. Toys, what are those? Stairs and sliding glass doors need to be discovered. How do I interact with other dogs, they are barking? What is bark??? Some greyhounds come to learn how to be a normal dog, however I prefer the ones that never pick up the barking thing.  But what you've heard about them being gentle sweeties is totally untrue. Greyhounds gained a thirst for blood from their racing time, because after every race their handlers take them back and feed them a rabbit only strong enough to try and escape. The greyhound is allowed to murder the bunny and eat its face as a reward.  That previous paragraph isn't true, but it probably is a bad idea to leave a greyhound alone with anything small and fluffy at first because of their prey drive. Lots of greyhounds learn how to co-exist with cats and things, probably because of their shared interest of napping. Though they may always have the instinct to chase a fluffy thing that runs. Which is the whole point of lure coursing, which a lure coursing goon can talk about. Greyhound goons please check in  Possible topics: dumb greyhound habits; dumb greyhound nicknames; dumb greyhounds
skoolmunkee fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Jan 18, 2022 |
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May 17, 2013 20:45
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I love greyhounds. They're just so leggy and pointy. And I've always liked hearing about them learning to be like other dogs after they retire. I'm sure I remember hearing about one going from thinking they weren't allowed on the sofa to basically claiming it as their own. 
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May 17, 2013 21:56
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 We've had Tess for about seven months. She gets called: Long dog, bone dog, needle nose, noodle knees (She was really skittish when she first arrived, especially around cars and other dogs. She got over that and now loves walks.) and babby dog. As a retiree, she still doesn't understand toys. She likes chewing her toys, but she won't fetch or play. I am convinced that the way to fix this is to get another greyhound that does understand toys. My girlfriend thinks this is a Bad Idea.
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May 18, 2013 00:03
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Whippet? Did someone say whippet?           
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May 18, 2013 01:16
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 Baby whippet!  Bestie wants a Greyhound next time round, but one of my friends is a registered whippet breeder and just happened to have a pregnant bitch when bestie got a decent job... so... whippet time.
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May 18, 2013 01:43
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Whoo, yuss greyhound thread. I'm going to see the grey I want to adopt today, and plan on taking lots of pictures if the rescue will let me, so I'll throw some up here late late late this evening when I finally get home(it's gonna be a busy day...I'm preparing for a move in two weeks' time as well as visiting this guy) I'm now edgy as all gently caress waiting to be able to go out and meet this guy but I'm not leaving for another three hours, gaaah!
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May 18, 2013 08:18
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Here are some pictures of my friends' rescued greyhound Ally. I think greyhounds have got a pretty good market share in pulling silly dog faces.  ENHANCE 
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May 18, 2013 08:47
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Most of PI probably knows my greyhound story, since it played out from start to finish here. It doesn't have the happiest ending, but from November 7, 2009 to December 11, 2012 I had the good fortune to live with this handsome fellow: This is Husker, the day we brought him home. He was still at racing weight here, a big boy at about 78 lbs. It took about three months for him to really open up, but once he did he was easily the most outgoing greyhound I've ever met. He made friends wherever he went, human and animal alike.  We lost him to cancer at an unusually young age. I still think about him a lot, almost every day. We're living abroad for all of 2013 and doing tons of other travel for the first half of 2014, but I think when things settle down we'll look into adopting another retired racer. Husker was kind of exceptional, so it will be hard for a new dog to live up to that, but I love the breed and I miss having one in the house. So dignified. 
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May 18, 2013 08:56
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drat, these dogs got some tinyass heads.
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May 18, 2013 09:36
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What are the downsides to a whippet? Preydrive applies to them too Im sure but anything else? I know IGs like other toys arent good with the cold, heard theyre 'hard' to housebreak because 'rain/snow/lol imma go inside', break legs when jumping off of high spots.
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May 19, 2013 00:06
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So as I previously mentioned, I went to go and see the greyhound I want to adopt yesterday and he's still such a sweetie! I got a lot more information about him too. Apparently he's very drivey, when he first came to the shelter he had an incident where he got free of his handler and killed one of the feral cats nearby as he wasn't wearing a muzzle at the time, and they've stressed to me that I'll need to be very careful in that area. They expect me to get a greyhound muzzle for him before I pick him up to take him home, as well as having a lurcher collar of some sort on the day as well, which is all fine. On the positive side however, he's very food-motivated so I'm confident I can work with him to have him in the room with my birds in their cage without issues, given time and patience. I'm fine with having to lock him out of the room when birds are out if that's what it takes. Apparently he was not treated very well as a racer, and was kept in some sort of stable setup. When he first came to the rescue he and his fellow rescued greys had a fair number of injuries which took some time to heal, and he's now been in there for almost two years. I'm surprised that no one else has wanted to take him home, as he is a lovely boy. Perhaps it's because he's just a that bit bigger than most greyhounds? Anyway, here's pictures! Sorry for the strange sizes, I had to cut them out of two-second long videos my mum was taking as she didn't realise it was in video mode rather than picture mode. Jet standing next to me. For reference I'm 6ft1in.  Giving me a look.  Gettin' pettin's.  While I was talking to the rescue girl about him he was leaning against both my legs getting pets in between giving feral cats the hard stare. I kept trying to turn him away from them but they had so many that there was almost always one in any direction.
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May 19, 2013 11:10
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Not greyhounds, but... One is a Windhound (Fable), the other a long haired Whippet (Puzzle). They're both about the same size, but Puzzle was being uncooperative. Puzzle is a service dog.
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May 19, 2013 14:45
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Trauma Tank posted:
One of my most favorite and endearing things about greyhounds is the way they lean.
Amberlyn fucked around with this message at 16:51 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 14:56
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a life less posted:Not greyhounds, but... Those collars look like they could just slip right off the dog via either end. Are their necks really as small as they look in the pictures? Do greys have special needs for a collar?
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May 19, 2013 16:42
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daggerdragon posted:Those collars look like they could just slip right off the dog via either end. Regarding greys, it's not so much that their neck is small as that their head tapers down so it's easy for a normal collar to slip off. Lurcher collars which are much wider on one side than the other are harder to slip off, while martingale collars used on walks are also very difficult for the dog to remove, deliberately or accidentally. I can't speak for the dogs in that picture, I imagine the collars you'd use on greys wouldn't work quite as well due to all that fur.
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May 19, 2013 17:08
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Here's some pictures of my alarm clock. 44 wins out of 142 races, grade AA with several stakes races. now he just derps around, sleeps, and roos at 6:00 on the dot every morning.        I highly recommend greyhounds, especially retired racers, for anyone who is looking for a dog that is low maintenance and very loving. They would make a great first dog for anyone. Note that you will need to keep them on a leash at all times, when not in an enclosed area. And some may not be safe with cats (though the adoption agency should be able to find you one that is). Training is a little more difficult than with, say, a lab, but if you adopt a retired racer, they usually come very well behaved already, and simply need adjustment to life in a house/apartment. Recall is critically important; if a greyhound gets away from you in a non-enclosed area, it can be bad news. An injured rabbit call is very effective at training recall, as they are used for sprint training on the track, and most dogs will have the sound burned into their memory, even several years later. Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 17:44 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 17:39
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Trauma Tank posted:Apparently he was not treated very well as a racer, and was kept in some sort of stable setup. Do you happen to know what track he raced at? If that kind of thing happened here (Southland), the kennel would most likely be banned from racing and evicted from the premises. It may be possible to have that kennel investigated. Though I am not pro-racing, most racing greyhounds (in the USA) are treated extremely well, though there are a few tracks that are known for allowing bad kennels. Unfortunately, I think in the UK/Ireland it's a different story. Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 18:02 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 17:46
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Fake Ken Rockwell posted:Do you happen to know what track he raced at? If that kind of thing happened here (Southland), the kennel would most likely be banned from racing and evicted from the premises. I don't know where he raced, and my searches for what his ear tattoos showed yielded nothing (Right ear: IY and left ear: MRU if you want to try), however I know it was somewhere in Ireland, and the way the rescue person talked the hounds were rescued as the track was shut down.
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May 19, 2013 17:55
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Fake Ken Rockwell posted:Here's some pictures of my alarm clock. He is just gorgeous! What was wrong with his leg in this picture?
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May 19, 2013 17:56
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Trauma Tank posted:I don't know where he raced, and my searches for what his ear tattoos showed yielded nothing (Right ear: IY and left ear: MRU if you want to try), however I know it was somewhere in Ireland, and the way the rescue person talked the hounds were rescued as the track was shut down. Ok yeah Ireland is a whole different world for racing greys. I apologize for being US-centric. I am glad to hear that he got rescued and is getting adopted 
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May 19, 2013 18:03
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Amberlyn posted:He is just gorgeous! What was wrong with his leg in this picture? Thanks. Just a casualty of running across the yard at 40MPH. The torque they generate at top speed is unlike anything that we could imagine at our slow running speeds, and greyhounds have very thin skin and no fat either. So the smallest rock or anything can tear them wide open. He has actually torn a toenail clean off, just from running on the patio, before. Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 18:06
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Here are some play pics:    And this one, only a greyhound owner will understand  And one before I knew him:  (I am not the photographer, but I have permission to use this photo) Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 18:16 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 18:10
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Trauma Tank posted:So as I previously mentioned, I went to go and see the greyhound I want to adopt yesterday and he's still such a sweetie! I got a lot more information about him too. Apparently he's very drivey, when he first came to the shelter he had an incident where he got free of his handler and killed one of the feral cats nearby as he wasn't wearing a muzzle at the time, and they've stressed to me that I'll need to be very careful in that area. They expect me to get a greyhound muzzle for him before I pick him up to take him home, as well as having a lurcher collar of some sort on the day as well, which is all fine. On the positive side however, he's very food-motivated so I'm confident I can work with him to have him in the room with my birds in their cage without issues, given time and patience. I'm fine with having to lock him out of the room when birds are out if that's what it takes. This is just so funny to me, because I can not conceive of owning a dog that would *not* be hard staring at any prey item ever. Is it really so far from the mindset of the average dog owner to expect dogs to be prey driven that the rescue would expect the dog to have to be muzzled in public?
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May 20, 2013 01:00
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In some countries (AU is the big one), it's law that greyhounds be muzzled in public. Silly? yes. But its a holdover from bygone days where greyhounds weren't really domesticated pets in the regular sense. Racing dogs are bred and trained specifically to increase their prey drive. Once they get used to civilian life, they can be as safe as any other dog really, but greyhound rescue hasn't been prolific until the last 15-20 years. Unfortunately until recently, when dogs were retired, they were euthanized. So there was simply not such a thing as a domesticated greyhound. The laws just haven't caught up. But I think there is value in any grey owner having a muzzle. At playdates with other greys, ideally they should always be muzzled. Greys have a behavioural trait of liking to nip socially. It's generally not a problem except when they're with other greys, because their skin tears and they bleed very easily. If introducing to cats or small dogs, muzzling is a good idea as well. Generally I don't muzzle at the dog park, when he is likely to be with unmuzzled dogs. And I won't muzzle at a grey meetup if there is a single other dog unmuzzled. On the rare chance that some kind of roughness breaks out (it never has), he would have no way to defend himself vs an unmuzzled dog. Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 01:12 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 01:09
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I don't really have a problem with muzzles I just think it's hilarious that prey drive is apparently Serious Business that requires Careful Management
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May 20, 2013 01:24
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Well, it can be. I'll be introducing my cat to Blake in a couple months, so I'll have to make sure he doesn't freak out and try to chase it or anything. He's otherwise the laziest fucker, but I don't wanna take any chances - I'll be taking it really slow with those two.
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May 20, 2013 02:53
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Well with a retired racer, they not only have the entire history of the breed being dedicated to chase something as fast as possibly possible, but they are trained that way too before you get them. It's not like a pit bull, which despite it's long ago breeding history probably hasn't been trained as a fighting dog, or a chow or something where it may have a primitive nature from generations ago. Also a regular dog won't have much chance of catching a cat or something. A greyhound can go from 0 to literally 40MPH in about 3 seconds and jump about 8 feet in the air. They also can corner a whole lot better than most other dogs. On a side note, when I had just the lab, it was funny when she chased squirrels. It's not really so funny anymore, because the greyhound catches them, and then she wants to share with him. Don't get me wrong, they are absolutely great dogs, and not a high maintenance breed at all, but the prey drive is nothing to joke around with. On another note, every greyhound owner with a fenced in yard should have a lure pole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3AwPcEhvoU Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 03:37 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 03:30
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Fake Ken Rockwell posted:
lol Sorry, basically I was sympathizing with the fact that people are dumb about dogs, I didn't realize greyhounds were special in being able to catch cats and that pit bulls needed to be trained to fight. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 20, 2013 03:34
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You think dumb dog adopters are uncommon? We have had new adopters let their greys off leash after being told not to, and as soon as they see a plastic bag or something on the horizon, they are in the next zip code before anyone can turn their head. All my other dogs have been fat labs who basically have no chance at chasing a cat I guess. I just mean the breed instinct is stronger in a dog who has been specifically trained for chasing it's whole life, is all. I don't really know too much about pits themselves, but I have never met one that was aggressive at the dog park. These days most pits aren't trained to be fighting dogs, even though they have that history. Not saying a pit who has been a (non-abused) pet all of his life won't aggro, but he is less likely to than one who is trained to fight. Almost all greys are trained to chase, some have been reinforced for up to half their life, and they are very good at it. There are dumb dog owners of any breed, and everyone should be a cautious and responsible dog owner, of course. But I think it's important that people know that racing greyhounds (may) differ from your typical dog. Fake Ken Rockwell fucked around with this message at 04:25 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 03:38
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I think the essential difference is that it's relatively easy to train a people-pleasing breed to "leave it" or to focus on their handler for a few minutes while the thing they want leaves (which I know you've trained your dogs to do, Super). Greyhounds mostly don't care about pleasing you. Very highly prey-driven greyhounds generally won't ever learn a reliable "leave it," it's just their nature. And, once they're in motion, you're not physically going to be able to stop them because you can't run that fast. I think people who automatically assume that a high prey drive is a bad thing shouldn't adopt prey-driven greyhounds, but I think you're underestimating the amount of management you do for your breed if you think it's less than what a greyhound owner does. It just has to be approached differently, that's all.
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May 20, 2013 06:25
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I think part of the emphasis on the muzzles etc. is because of who adoptive greys are 'marketed' to. They are talked up as sweet, docile and lazy dogs that are perfect for first time dog owners, older people, and people who prefer their dogs more like cats who will sleep all day. So they have to make sure that owners are attentive to the fact that despite the dog's behavior 99% of the time, there is still 1% where they might see a yorkipoo and go "man I wanna tear that thing apart." Anyway, I love all the greys (and wannabe greys) so far! I'll admit those wind hounds are very pretty.... Glad to see Husker too, and I seem to have missed Fake's alarm clock's name?? Good luck with the adoption Tank, he is lovely
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May 20, 2013 07:24
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Here are my lesser Greyhounds. After reading up on all of the sighthound breeds, I decided on getting an Italian Greyhound as my first dog despite their potty training issues and fragile structure. Both of my Italian Greyhounds have ended up getting luxating patella surgery (no broken bones yet, knock on wood) and they tend to go to the bathroom inside if they aren't taken out every hour. They are both divas but I do love their spunk and it seems that their bigger cousins don't have the same personality traits (though maybe I haven't met the right Whippets/Greyhounds).     Iggies lure coursing. My mom fell in love with both of my Iggies, so once I left for college she held on to them while I looked for a dog that would tolerate being in a crate for a couple of hours while I was gone. I ended up going with a Whippet which has been perfect as they are a pretty healthy breed and IMO the perfect size. Ashton isn't as cuddly as my Iggies but his ability to hold his bladder all day and solid structure are better trade offs.   Out lure coursing  
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May 20, 2013 13:43
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OK, I'll admit it, whippets and IGs are cute. But they're still too small.  Union took a while to settle in and open up, just like a lot of greyhounds. She really hated having to sleep downstairs from night one though, and she wouldn't climb the stairs, so we had to cave in and carry her up and down for a couple of days til I got her to figure out stairs on her own. I should take a video of her going up and down the stairs actually, it's pretty funny with their long legs. I can see why she wasn't sure about the whole procedure. Anyway I tried treats, coaxing, 'tough love' abandonment, etc. to get her to try the stairs on her own. In the end it took hamburger. I was doing up some ground beef for tacos one night. Union was upstairs with my bf. I hear tentative thuds and then a controlled avalanche of thuds. And then Union appears in the kitchen with her best "I'm a poor abused dog" face. I did give her some. :] After that she was good to go. Union also doesn't like the water much. There's a little lake at a park nearby sometimes she'll go a couple inches deep on the beach, but otherwise she just isn't interested. But there have been a couple instances of misjudged pond depth and crash-splashing. It was really easy to wear her out at first too. I'd stand with her at one stretch of a field, and a friend would stand at the other. Then I'd let her go and she'd tear off straight for the other person (who'd have a treat for her). Do that 5 or 6 times and she was ready to go home and have a nap. It was interesting to watch how her tail balanced her while she ran. Approximately half of Union's nicknames are from her being a greyhound, another 15% from the fact that she has a butt, 10% are related to her name, and the last quarter are general princess nicknames.
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May 20, 2013 19:56
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Mostly we just called Husker "Huskeroo, Huskeroo roo roo" which always got his tail wagging. And if you kept at it, he would start rooing back at you. And sometimes it just became "Haroo!" Occasionally in the Richard Nixon voice from Futurama. He was also Hucker to quite a few of our friends, because one of our pals' daughters couldn't manage the SK sound and everybody liked it so much they started calling him that. Our friends have three IGs, and they're pretty awesome little dogs. Nice to visit, but I wouldn't own one. I think I would be okay with a whippet, if it was on the larger end of the breed rather than the smaller. I know in some areas whippet racing is more common than greyhound racing, so it's easier to get a rescue whippet than a full-sized grey. It just so happens that a lot of greyhound racing takes place in West Virginia, and I live in the DC area, so all the rescues pull dogs from WV. It was always fun to take Husker to their house and let him romp around the yard with the Iggies. Their male would get so mad at him for marking everything in the yard he couldn't reach! One of their females liked to lure him over to the steps and then use them to launch herself over top of him like a pole vaulter. They had way more energy than he did, though, and he would usually come back inside for a nap while they were still bouncing around.
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May 20, 2013 20:06
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Helicopter Dracula The Champ Mr Pancake (when he is doing like he is in the last pic of the first post that I posted, which is most of the time)
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May 20, 2013 20:13
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Whippets are not the most tractable breed and can sometimes be a bit clingy. That's it, that's the problem. Go get a whippet.
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May 20, 2013 20:37
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megyem posted:Here are my lesser Greyhounds. After reading up on all of the sighthound breeds, I decided on getting an Italian Greyhound as my first dog despite their potty training issues and fragile structure. Both of my Italian Greyhounds have ended up getting luxating patella surgery (no broken bones yet, knock on wood) and they tend to go to the bathroom inside if they aren't taken out every hour. They are both divas but I do love their spunk and it seems that their bigger cousins don't have the same personality traits (though maybe I haven't met the right Whippets/Greyhounds). I like greys but I love whippets. Ashton is awesome Is it actually possible to fully housetrain an Iggie? I've always heard they have issues with potty training, but I don't know anyone with one irl to ask.
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May 20, 2013 21:59
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Fraction posted:I like greys but I love whippets. Ashton is awesome I have a trainer friend who has 3, and she hasn't seemed able to housebreak hers. She's a good trainer, and it mystifies me that she has this ongoing problem. Grosses me out.
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May 20, 2013 22:07
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I didn't even know they had housetraining issues til this thread. What is up with that? That seems weird you have a whole breed that is known for being impossible to housebreak.
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May 20, 2013 22:46
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They're definitely not the easiest. Amelia (who may or not be pure IG, maybe mixed w/ some parsons) has been able to learn ringing a bell to go outside, and now she happily uses the doggy door to go outside as well. We still run into problems here and there if she wanders into parts of the house she's not in regularly and we're not nearby, but she's had maybe one accident in the house in the last ~3 months so that's pretty solid. The DNA test we gave her also had a tiny% great dane, and we're pretty sure it went entirely to her rear end because he takes the largest shits. I just got a new camera and desperately need to take some new action shots. She's the best though, just a bit clingy as mentioned by others. She also gets cold here in SoCal (no idea how she'd live in the north), but has figured out the solution, dog blanket: edit:(whoah, pic bigger than expected, apologies, I'd fix if I knew how :-/). Splat fucked around with this message at 23:10 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 23:07
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