FuzzyHounds

I've never had a greyhound so I can't compare, but they really don't seem to shed too much. Kaja has a longer, thicker coat and Potter's is more sparse and wiry, but neither is what I would consider a huge shedder nor was our first Staghound. We'll see if any "spring shedding" happens, but so far so good!

Yes! I was amazed at how many people commented. I love seeing other people's staghounds, too. We had one stag before these two, Keira, and she convinced us that staghounds are the best dogs ever. So we were determined to find another after we lost her at age 11 a couple years ago, but we knew they are pretty rare. So we were thrilled to find our 2 (and now the rescue we got them from gets stags pretty regularly from North Dakota, which is wonderful) and we always love seeing pictures of others!

I just posted a pic on the Greytalk FB page for you...check out my fuzzy girls! I'd love to see a picture of Tesla! I hope your other pups start to enjoy her energy and to play with her...I have that hope for my two as well because, despite being littermates, they aren't really in sync with their play styles. Keep us posted on how Tesla does; I love hearing about other ex coyote hunters enjoying their new lives!

We have 2 staghounds (greyhound/deerhound/sometimes wolfhound mix, bred to hunt coyotes) and had one before these 2. All were failed coyote hunters, one from Iowa, two from North Dakota. All 3 are/were sweet, gentle, wonderful dogs, despite being bred and raised to chase, catch, and kill coyotes. Our first girl had exactly zero prey drive (we completely understand why she failed as a hunter!) and was a calm, bomb-proof sweetheart. Our newest two, who turned four today (we've had them for almost a year) do have a little prey drive but I couldn't imagine them going after a coyote...until one time one ran past our fenced yard at night. Both girls tore down to the end of the yard and pogo-jumped up and down and wouldn't take their eyes off the coyote as it ran away. In general, our 3 really resemble fuzzy greyhounds, in personality as well as looks. We've learned about statuing and roaching and rooing and all that other fun greyhound stuff! Obviously they weren't raised like track greyhounds and our current 2 are a bit timid in new situations, but they do great with other dogs. Kaja likes to play rough--rear up and smash into the other dog with noises that make you think she wants to rip their head off, but really she's just playing. 5 month old bird dogs are her best buds at the dog park! Potter just wants to run and really doesn't get why her sister (they are littermates) wants to play. Both girls are tiny, just over 50 pounds--despite supposedly being part wolfhound--so they're not terribly intimidating even with Kaja's play style. At any rate, I love love love staghounds. I try not to think too much about how they were raised or how they hunt because I think it's pretty brutal, and all 3 of our girls are/were such sweet, loving, gentle dogs and I'm so glad we were able to rescue them and give them the life they deserve! Good luck with your girl! The rescue we got ours from gets quite a few lurchers (greyhounds mixed with scent hounds, as I understand it). They tend to be used for a specific type of hunting race, whereas the staghounds tend to hunt coyotes. I have heard that hunters will also use ex racing greyhounds to hunt coyotes, and I believe our current girls' father was an ex-racer (or had a parent who was). The lurchers we've met from our rescue are cool dogs! Very greyhound looking but, as you say, a little stockier, while the stags tend to be fuzzy, which I think is unbelievably adorable! Here are our two with their birthday toys...

I've been played. This morning, Potter was in the padded recliner where I like to sit when I drink my coffee. I decided to lure her off, so, after setting my coffee and cookie down by the recliner (rookie move, I know) I went downstairs and opened the door to the garage like I was going to the car. Sure enough, Potter came running downstairs...then realized I was faking, ran back upstairs, and I got up the stairs just in time to see her jump back on the recliner--and grab my cookie. So now I'm sitting with Kaja on the couch, the cookie is in the garbage, and Potter seems quite pleased with her comfy recliner perch...

Potter--also known as "Hotter Potter"--is happy to wedge herself between hubby and me on the reclining loveseat, keeping one of each of our legs nice and toasty on those cold Minnesota winter nights. Kaja tries to keep her sister cool by wagging in her face every time they both greet me at the door.

Eve sounds a lot like Potter!

We have 3 year old Staghound littermates. Kaja likes to play with toys in the yard and Potter is the opposite of your Hoku...she carefully brings all toys that are outside back inside--which would be fine, except Kaja is still playing with them! I guess she's more "fun police" than "toy hoarder."...but you're right, hounds are crazy!

Beautiful girls, congrats!

Beautiful boy! And he looks like he's very much enjoying himself. For me, it's a risk/reward analysis. I have two 3-year-old Staghound littermates (failed coyote hunters). One of them looks and acts just like a fuzzy greyhound--she LOVES to sprint at the dog park, including bounding into the woods and dashing along narrow trails through the brush. Yes, sometimes she ends up with a scuff or a scrape (she has the typical greyhound thin skin), and a stitch or two might be in her future--but the joy she shows when she's running makes that minor risk acceptable to me. I compare her running to my sports; I've done a variety of sports over the years, and sometimes I've gotten injured--but the joy of the sports has always made the injuries worth it. I guess it's looking at the tradeoff between his enjoyment of running and the level of risk he's taking, and making the decision based on that...

If he's going out several times a day and isn't having potty accidents in the house, maybe he doesn't need to go out any more often. I know that once I went back to work after the summer (I'm a teacher and my husband works from home) my girls stopped going out in the middle of the day. I take them out at 6 am and my husband is home all day but he says they never want to go out...they wait until I get home, even if it's not until 5:00. So if he's happily going out some times, and not having accidents, I'd say don't worry about him. He sounds like a good boy!

It sounds like he's scared of the noises outside? I have one like that--but as with yours, she resists getting up off her bed to come outside but once she's at the door she's fine. We've used various "tricks" to get her to the door without forcing her. Sometimes we open the garage door so she thinks we're going in the car (which she loves), sometimes we take her sister out and just wait outside until Potter comes to the door, we've taken her out different doors, sometimes now (she's getting a lot better) food even works--it didn't before. More info about what he does would help us give better advice. Do you walk him, or does he just go out into the yard? What times of day will he willingly go out? You said morning, and then 10:30 at night? Maybe he knows these are times when it's quiet outside. How does he feel about going in the car? Have you done any obedience training with him? Hopefully a little more info will lead to some more good ideas!

I'm interested in this, too, because my 3-year-old staghound littermate girls Kaja and Potter do this too. They were together at the coyote hunter who bred them until they were almost 3, then they were rescued. We adopted one and then the other was a bounce and we got her 4 months later--so they were together their whole lives except for 4 months (and we've had them together almost 3 months). Shortly after getting Potter, the second one, we fenced in part of our yard. Kaja wants to play in the yard and tries to get Potter going, but Potter usually shuts her down (and sometimes returns any toys we've brought out to the house). On the other hand, Potter loves to run at the dog park and I can tell she wants to get Kaja to run with her--but Kaja would rather saunter and sniff. Obviously they know each other well and generally get along great, but sometimes they do get kind of loud in the yard when Kaja wants to play and Potter doesn't, and I always wonder if I should let them go or intervene. Last night Potter did actually run and play a bit at last turn out, though, so maybe they're starting to figure it out. I'm glad that I read here about how loudly they can play, though, because when they do play they can sound kind of alarming!

We have 3-year-old staghound littermates Kaja and Potter. Their background is that they were bred and raised by a coyote hunter; they lived in outdoor runs with dog houses, with their parents and brother. Last fall they and their brother were put up for free on a Craigslist-type publication when the owner realized they were poor hunters. A local greyhound rescue scooped them up. They went to an emergency foster for a couple months--they were quite underweight--then to the rescue kennel. We got Kaja in early March, then Potter in July (she was a bounce). Kaja is the one I'm writing about. She housebroke easily--in fact, after a couple of first-day accidents she's been perfect (I suspect most of the housebreaking took place at the emergency foster) and has a bladder of steel. But...every so often--she's done it maybe 6-7 times in the almost 7 months we've had her--she pees the bed (her dog bed and, just now, a couch.) The last time she did it was in July, so there's usually at least a month between incidents (so I don't think it's medical). I've actually seen her do it once--she'll be doing what we call "DiggyDiggyWump", where she digs and circles on her bed and then curls into a ball and flumps down...except instead of curling into a ball she squats and pees! I don't know what she would do after she pees because the one time I saw her I of course interrupted her and took her outside. It almost seems like a brain fart--or perhaps, brain pee--like she just forgets what she's doing. As I said, she's otherwise perfectly housebroken. It doesn't have anything to do with her sister's arrival, because all but 2 of her incidents occurred before Potter got here. I'm not sure if there's anything to be done--I really can't ban her from dog beds and couches, there's not enough x-pens in the world, and then I'd also be blocking Potter, who is innocent (although she has her own infrequent potty issues related to "I already have soft poo today and now I just heard thunder.") I've only caught her in the act once; I suspect it mostly happens overnight. If anyone has an idea I'd love to hear it, but I'd also like to know if anyone else's hounds does this. We've got good couch covers and washable beds and it's pretty infrequent so we just deal with it, but bed-peeing will make Kaja very unattractive to potential dog-sitters next summer (the ones we know all take the dogs to their own homes). Here's the culprit in drier times (that's my mom's little dogs' bed; trust me, her own beds are the right size!)

Good point, Greysmom! DH comes the door to greet me when I come home (he works from home). It is cute, I must say--my whole family waiting for me when i come in the door but he's not skilled at doggie interventions nor really interested in "having to do something" with the dogs when I come home. So I guess for now, it's just "enjoy the little nutballs"--they really are doing well, and you're right, it's fun to see them excited (plus that "garage door obsession" of Potter's does come in handy--after a thunderstormy night last night I couldn't get her to go out for morning potty...until I opened the garage door and then she just couldn't resist running to the door and I was able to get her out. So maybe I don't want to counter-condition that behavior after all...