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I have been researching greyhounds for a while. They seem like the perfect dog for our family. We currently have a 10 year old Aussie. The plan was to look at getting one when our current dog crosses the rainbow bridge. But, I met some greyhounds at a meet and greet today and I am thinking of getting one sooner. Share your thoughts about your greyhounds or if you have more than one dog. TIA!
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those are 2 REALLY different breeds. Is the Aussie not a good fit for your family? Having multiple dogs works best when they can play together and have similar play styles. Otherwise, you're doing twice the work. Greyhounds are almost NEVER off leash. - so if you're used to taking your Aussie on long hikes, it could be weird to have this on leash greyhound that cant go as far.
I like having 2 dogs but its more than double the work in many ways. They learn bad habits from each other at an astonishing rate. And at least in our case, they tend to work together to cause mischief - for instance, one pushes the chair out so the other can jump onto the table to steal food. You need more space in the car if you're traveling - if you're used to taking the dogs with you places, people may not be as willing to have 2. Boarding costs arent quite doubled but it is more expensive.
otoh, dogs are social beings - many enjoy having a canine playmate. Its also nice having a dog for each lap that wants one. and a dog for each child to walk.
The Aussie was an impulse adoption after my previous dog passed away unexpectedly. She is a wonderful dog and we love her, but we are not a good Aussie family. She does not get nearly the amount of activity an Aussie needs. Luckily she is getting older and not as active.
DH and I have been going back and forth. I am not sure I want to take on the extra time and expense of a second dog. And I am not sure our current dog would like another disruption to her world. She has already had to adjust to two kids and quite a few moves. I think we will shelf the idea for a while. Thanks for your thoughts and insight.
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That is a good idea to do so for now. I had a friend who had an elderly dog who adopted a new puppy, because they felt older dog was going soon. And it didn't go well for older dog, which I always felt bad for. He had to put up adjusting with a rumbustious puppy in his twilight years. It made such an impact on me that I swore we wouldn't do that to our dogs, if we ever had another.Quote:
Originally Posted by trcy
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I have never had a greyhound, but I do have Italian Greyhounds. Sighthounds are wonderful dogs, but they do like to run. One of mine takes advantage of every opportunity to get out and go visit the neighbors, and the other one tattles on her when she runs. They most definitely cannot be trusted off leash. The good thing (for us anyway) is that there is minimal shedding and barking. We are looking into other sight hounds, including greyhounds and whippets, when the Iggies leave us. That is, however, many years away.
Zukeypur - What do you think about the herding dog/sight hound combo? Obviously I think individual personalities would matter but I cant quite wrap my head around having a dog that runs and a dog that wants to herd running things...
OP here,Quote:
Originally Posted by doberbrat
In her younger days we would take her to the dog park. She actually did well with the greyhounds there. They were the only dogs that could outrun her, she was pretty quick in her day. It seemed she just wanted to herd (and bark at) the other dogs; they and their owners seemed annoyed her her. But if there was a greyhound there, she would play chase with it the whole time.
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I don't know of anyone who has that combination, but it sounds like it could work. They would both get plenty of exercise!Quote:
Originally Posted by doberbrat
I know this thread is about a month old but I thought I'd still contribute my $0.02. We had a greyhound as our first dog. She was wonderful BUT had separation anxiety BIG TIME. I was home with her most of the time. The only thing that eventually helped her was being "temporarily" rehomed with friends who had 2 grey's, as we were transitioning with a long distance move and expecting a new baby. In the long run, she stayed with our friends. I really think that she needed a canine companion (feline wasn't cutting it), which we couldn't take on at the time. Also, of note, greyhounds are generally NOT a spur of the moment adoption. Most greyhound rescue organizations have several layers of screenings. Beyond the multi-step screening process, it took several months for them to find the right grey for us (we needed a cat- and kid-friendly grey). And, stressing this as other above, they CANNOT be off-lead. leash or fenced yard/dog park only. Ohhhh how I miss my grey...she was the sweetest gentlest pup.
We had a similar experience as SASM with greyhound adoption agencies except that we were rejected for adoption - it's as if they could always find "better" adopters who would always be home or already had a greyhound or had a spouse who would always be home or whatever. It was a very frustrating experience, given that we were experienced dog owners!! We gave up and went to a local struggling rescue who had lots of unwanted larger dogs / mixed breeds / pit bull mixes. We adopted one dog from them, had such a great experience that we went back for another dog, again had such a great experience. My advice would be to keep an open mind about the type of dog, focusing on personality rather than breed. Also, DEFINITELY consider your existing dog. Our second dog died unexpectedly from cancer and we will not get another 2nd dog because our (now elderly) first dog would be very disrupted by a new addition and we want her to enjoy her peaceful, competition-free elderly dog days:) And yes, a second dog is really more than twice the work, at least at first until you get training squared away and can switch to cruise control!