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Hello! My name is Lae, living in the Saint Paul area of Minnesota! My boyfriend and I adopted Big Mike from GPA Minnesota about a month ago. I just wanted to introduce ourselves and let you know that I already lurked a little and felt a lot more at ease about some of his behavior (especially being suddenly afraid of being outside sometimes) I hope to learn more and maybe connect with some of you in my area 🥰😊

Hey everyone. Today I was walking my Dolly. She was on the long line. She ran I fell like superman on the floor. When I fell and she pulled stop dead at the end of the lead on a zoomie, the lead got caught around the back leg groin area. She has a big bruise chafe mark. (Long line now in the bin!) She was ok at first but after a sleep she's whimpering a bit. Walking but very carefully and came down the stairs tripod style. I've phoned the vets twice. They have no appointments and said they can only issue painkillers with seeing her. They don't do home visits. Plus I can't get her in the car on my own and the husband is away. They advised rest. I'm just very worried and don't like to see her in pain. I hope she heels quick. Advise and reassurance needed. X

I'm sure they do! But what toys or play things would you recommend having available for a newly adopted greyhound/galgo? Chewy things, stuffed things, food games, balls, ropes? How do they generally like to play? Anything to avoid?

Hello All! I've been haunting this board as a guest over the months, but am in need of some experience and advice. I am looking to get a dog soon, and after much research on dog breeds I thought a greyhound or whippet would suit me well. I have the opportunity to get either, a two year old whippet that needs a new home or a retired grey. I have not met the whippet but am told he is mellow and his previous owner was 80, so he probably isn't too crazy. I have no idea what grey I would get from the agency, they match up based on profile. I have passed the interviews and home checks. I have a couple of issues that impact my situation: I have some back and joint issues that would make it difficult to lift a heavy dog, or hold onto it if it bolted at full force. The grey people have said this shouldn't be an issue, they'll look for a petite grey with a low prey drive to minimize these issues. I also have a tiny (and I mean super tiny) studio apartment with no yard. The main living space is probably the size of a master bedroom (about 14x16) with a separate kitchen and bath attached. I'm in SoCal where it never rains or gets too cold, so getting stuck inside during the winter is not an issue, and I have a well thought out plan for their exercise including am/pm potty breaks and walks, and weekly adventures at the beach, around town, or short hikes in the mountains. I had originally thought I would be able to take my dog to work with me, but due to recent changes in workplace rules, I may not be able to. This means my dog would need to stay in my apartment for 9-10hrs M-F. If I get a power snoozer with a big bladder that could care less about a mid day potty break, great, but if not, I'll have to work out coming home for lunch (20min drive both ways), or ask a local family member to potty walk them for me. Also important, I can have one dog only, so getting a companion is not an option, nor is moving to a new apartment (courtesy of the ridiculous SoCal rents). For those of you who managed to read through my novel, this is where I kindly ask for your advice. I have no experience of whippets, but greys have long been one of my favorite breeds. My heart leans toward a grey, but I'm getting pressure from my family and others to get the whippet given their smaller size. For those of you that have had both, which would you recommend, especially given my situation? Even though the greyhound folks approved my apartment, am I totally crazy trying to bring a medium to large sized dog into that small of a space? Does anyone have advice on handling a 50-60lb dog that I can't pick up in one go? I'm particularly concerned about how to handle my dog as it ages (and I do too!). Thanks so much to anyone who replies! This is really tearing at my heart.

Hi everyone, We picked up our 2 year old, ex racer (Lilly) at 4pm today! Any advice for a first time rescue greyhound owner?! We are nervous about tonight, as when we put her in her crate earlier she cried. I have a radio to pop on quietly in the background and a stuffed Kong toy ready for tonight. She paces, pants and sniffs a lot (which I would assume is nerves and will settle.) She also asks to go out a lot, so am taking her out every time and rewarding each wee and poo! She has finally crashed (after and hour long walk 7-8pm) so thats a good sign. I work from home, so will be with her all day. Should I confine her to the lounge (where I work and her crate is) so I can make sure she has no accidents? I was thinking of a morning and evening walk, with regular trips to the garden. Will that be enough? Any advice to help her settle and stop my nerves would be fab! Thanks in advance, Michelle

Hello Everyone, I'm a new member and wonderered if anyone out there has experience of my lovely 9 year old greyhound's predicament - she has been diagnosed via MRI scan with a brain tumour (probably a meningioma) and hydrocephalus (water on the brain, apparently). She has lost 6 kg since June and lost the use of her left foreleg prior to the vet putting her on steroids a couple of weeks ago. The dilemma is this - she is much happier now on steroids and definitely enjoying a quality of life again, although this can only last a short while. I've seen a lot of vets up to this point, but now she's been diagnosed both surgeons have stressed the facts that an operation may not extend her life, as they don't know if the cancer has spread, etc and she may die on the table or soon after, while the absolute best case scenario is 12 months of life but with a reduced faculty at best, she may require radiography - the nearest place for which is 110 miles away. Do I want to put Bambi through all that trauma, not to mention myself and my family, I'm asking and of course, although I'm taking this out the equation in terms of what's best for Bambi, There is a huge cost and time implication involved. Friends and fellow animal lovers are of the opinion that we should spend all the time we can with Bambi while she's well enough, then let her go,- I have already found out that Bam's local vet will come to the house and put her to sleep on her own sofa, which is a real comfort all round. I know that dogs pick up on stressed owners too and get upset? I'd really appreciate any thoughts and experiences. Many thanks

We have had our current dog Essie for about a year and a half, we recently adopted her sister Abbey this past week. They got off to all things considered a good start with a couple barking incidents but not much else. Our current dog is possessive of her kennel while our new dog is a toy hoarder. Now Essie doesn’t mind Abbey taking toys from her she is actually doesn’t care. Except that this time the toy was in her kennel and this caused and issue leading Abbey biting Essie and leaving a gash under her eye. Needless to say we are stressed out thinking that we have ruined our old dog’s life by bringing a new dog in. Reading this board however we realize that however unfortunate this event is it has happened to several people and they have stuck it though and have dogs that coexist. Things we have read on line from time to time contradict each other so I wanted to get advice of what has worked for you on several topics. They are fine on walks so we will continue to walk them together and we will go with muzzles going forward. Our current dog sleeps in our room; however our new dog sleeps in her kennel down stairs. There were suggestions of the new dog should sleeping in the room with us so she bonds with the pack quicker. Should we allow her to sleep in the room outside her kennel? During the day when we are away they stay in crates. Is it okay that their crates are in the same room? Our new dog loves toys, if we have muzzles on should we allow her to have toys? When is there a time we can allow toys? Maybe have a play time when they are separated where we give them toys to play with? Our old dog seems a little traumatized by last night events any ideas on how to get her back to normal? Should we pay more attention to our older dog? Who do we feed first?

I've been reseaching for several months and think a retired racing greyhound is right for me. I'm all set and have been matched with a dog. I go meet her tomorrow.....but the more I read about retired racers the more I'm re-thinking my decision....I picked this breed because I am a grad student, and spend a lot of time studying. I need a couch potato who's happy to chill while I study for hours and hours I've only ever owned shelties, I grew up with three and love them. This will be my first dog that I own. I live alone so I'm alone in trying to train her. I love shelties because of how much they love humans and how trainable they are. I could bring them anywhere and they were well behaved and trustworthy. I thought initially that with training and time greyhound could be left at home un-crated with cats. The more I read, the more I worry that I will wind up with a dog I have to crate every time I leave, that isn't well behaved enough for me to bring to friend's houses, etc. Possibly even a dog that doesn't particularly even like me, that's just a room mate. I read about people who have trouble with their greyhounds growling when they don't want their human to sit near them on the couch/bed. This will be the first dog and only dog I will own for the next ten years, I don't want to spend them with a dog that can't sit on the couch with me, that can't be left alone in my house free. Also, I am relatively un-experienced with training. I trained the shelties and know how to train sit/lie down/ stay....I could repeat this with my hound I think, but I assume it will be much more difficult. It took my old dogs about 10 minutes to master all of those commands. I understand greyhounds will take longer. Are they reliable, or will they only do it when there's a treat in my hand and never any other time? If she grabs a bar of chocolate I drop, and I have to dig it out of her mouth (have done it with shelties) am I going to get bit? I can't live with a dog like this, and the more I read the more I think this breed isn't "low maintenance" as it has been described, because I define low maintenance as a dog I can trust after I have trained it. Maybe I've just been reading too many bad stories on these forums.... Please don't think I am not willing to be patient and work with a dog, because I don't expect miracles and know it will take months for her to acclimate. I can wait, but I can't wait forever. There is a reason I am not adopting a puppy, because I'm not prepared for the work load associated with a dog that young. Is a retired racer going to be as difficult for me as training a 6 month old? I guess I'm just looking for some advice? Do you feel like your hound actually likes being around you, or do you just happen to also be on the couch when he/she is....

Hello, This is a non grey post, so I apologise for that. I joined as we are waiting to get our greyhound Peggy. However, I thought that I would still ask on here as everyone seems very helpful We found out last night that my parents dog Barney (flat coated retriever) has kidney failure he is only 5 and such a lovely dog, we were lookign forward to him and Peggy spending lots of time together and my dad is just about to retire so it's such a shame. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with kidney failure and if they have any advice for us? He is going on a special Royal Canin Renal diet from today and has been prescibed some medications. I think it is earlyish as the main symptom was excessive drinking/urination with little colour. He doesn't seem ill at all, still full of energy and lovely as ever I think apart from this he is very healthy, which will hopefully help. It only really got noticed as he just had a small lump removed from his gum (which was benign) and they did blood tests and urine tests as he leaked urine while under anasthesia which they thought was odd at the vets. How long is life expectancy for dogs with kidney failure does anyone know? Are we looking at a month or 2 or a year? We're very sad as me and my boyfriend raised him from a puppy during our Univeristy summer vacation and we lived with them until 8 months ago, so he is very much our dog as well. It would be great even he lived for another year to enjoy his time with Peggy and my dad once he retires. Any advice will be greatly appreciated Thanks

Hello all! I have just hit the two week mark with my new greyhound, and since she's moved in she's shown some signs of slight sleep aggression. She's been sleeping in bed with my boyfriend and I, and if either of us moves suddenly in the night, she might wake with a start and growl a bit. This evening, though, I've been home alone working on the computer, and she has been making sure to cuddle up next to me wherever I sit. Well, about a half hour ago we were on the couch and I got up slowly and she woke with a start and barked, snapped and growled at me. I know that punishment can make aggression of any kind worse, so I decided to let it slide since she was asleep. I just got up and moved into the other room and sat in bed to do my work. She followed me to bed, and then about fifteen minutes later, she barked, snapped, and growled seemingly out of nowhere, and didn't stop until I got out of bed. I left the room and am now sitting in the living room. She hasn't followed me. Now, like people, I know dogs have some off nights, too, but what could I do differently to avoid this? Have any of you had similar a similar issue, and, if so, what worked for you?

After researching many breeds, I concluded that a greyhound seems like the perfect fit for my household. However, I've never owned one and would really like some advice and tips for bringing one home. I'll be going to pick up my new girl, a retired racer, in 5 days. Here's the only picture I managed to snag of her that wasn't too blurry whenever I went to visit: I have no other dogs. Thanks in advance!