Greetings!

[Guest chennypenn]

Hi all,

 

I've lurked here for a couple of days and finally decided to introduce myself. Greetings from southern California!

 

I'm seriously considering adopting a dog around around late fall/winter (I'm doing my research early ) and a retired racer is at the top of my list. I love that they're such laid-back, sweet dogs and yet can take off sideburns running past you - how cool is that! It also helps that they're stunning and some have the most adorable doe eyes I've ever seen. (insert AWWWWWW chorus here) I grew up with a chocolate Lab, who was everything a girl could ask for in a best friend (and losing her last August after almost 14 years was like losing a limb), but this will be the first time I'll be caring for a dog completely on my own. So I'm not quite a first-time owner but certainly am not experienced, and I have some concerns and would greatly appreciate insight from greyhound veterans!

 

Schedule: My main worry is that I will be working long hours starting from the fall - 10 to 12 hours away from the house (including commute) 5 days a week will probably be normal. Weekends will be spent largely at home or in dog-friendly places. I will likely be in an apartment with no readily accessible yard. Of course, I will not let the dog go for more than several hours without being let out; either I will come home at least once a day, or more likely, hire a dog walker a few days and doggie daycare a day or two per week. Is this a good idea? I know that most people with happy pets are home a lot/always, and I'm concerned that despite the above arrangement, it still wouldn't be fair to the pooch and I should hold off adopting a pet for the next several years. What do you think?

 

A smaller concern is whether a doggie jacket would help prevent zipper skin rips. I would love to take my hound to a fenced dog park for him/her to run, but the horror stories of greyhounds getting seriously injured from play-wrestling that turns a little too rough are terrifying and sad. Do people ever try to mitigate the problem with jackets per chance?

 

Thank you in advance! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[dante2zoe]

Welcome! You will get all kinds of advice, suggestions and experiences with your questions. It is good to think ahead and look for the pratfalls; for that I applaud you.

 

I know of lots of people with greys (and other dogs, for that matter) who are gone for 10 hours a day and the dog is alone. A potty break mid day is good. I have a dog door, which won't work for you, but it allows me to work all day and still have them comfortable.

 

Lots of others live in apartments/condos with their dogs, too.

 

We go to the park once a week (just got back, actually), but it is for greyhound playgroup. All hounds, all muzzled. We are diligent with our hounds and haven't had a major incident. My dogs have gotten their skin tears in my backyard!

 

I am also sorry for the loss of your lab. It is like losing a limb.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[rallyp]

I say, go for it! It sounds like you've already put a lot of thought into this and that's the most important part, that you're going into this with a clue of what you're getting into. To address your specific questions...

 

Leaving your dog for 10 - 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, should be fine, especially if you have someone that can let the dog during the day. I, along with a lot of greyhound owners, have a similar schedule. I have to leave my dog for 10 - 11 hours, 5 days a week, and I don't have any issues. I also do not have anyone come by during the day, she does just fine. I also live in an apartment and have no yard and that's fine too. We do two, 30+ minute walks a day, without fail (and a third short potty break walk at the end of the night) and I tend to take her to lots of places, especially on weekends, to keep things interesting for her. She seems pretty 'fulfilled' with this set up. Sometimes I set up a webcam during the day to see what she's doing and all she does is sleep .

 

I've never really seen greyhounds wearing jackets as skin protection for play so I can't speak to how effective it might be. (Of course, I've seen plenty of them wearing jackets 'cause it's cold ). We go to dog parks semi-regularly but I do understand there is a risk with that and approach our visits accordingly.

[Fruitycake]

Good for you in thinking of all ramifications before bring someone home!

 

I don't think your schedule would be to horrible, especially if you can get someone in to help with middle of the day potty breaks early on. I say early on because when they're settling into the house there may be more accidents because they may not know the schedule yet, and may not have their bladder/bowels sufficiently trained until you get 'em settled in.

 

I'd try to adopt when you can do some "away training" (there have been a lot of threads on it in the Training and Behavior discussion), and if possible work with your local group and see if you can get someone who is laid back and calm about absences. Fresh off the track they can get worried about being alone, and may kick up a fuss that the other apartment dwellers wont appreciate! Our Monty was a whiny boy when we first got him, but now that he has settled in he's fine.

 

As for play-dates, you can see if your local group or people from the local group have regularly scheduled play dates, or whether you can convince someone to let your boy go to their house and play in a backyard with their greys. Our Monty doesn't have much of that, since we also don't have a fenced in yard, but he gets lots of walks a day, and loves to sniff everything as he strolls through the neighborhood.

[sarabz]

Hi!! Welcome!!

 

We've had our Bella for about a year and had many of the same concerns you do. My husband and I are generally away 10-11 hours a day and we alternated coming home at lunchtime during the first two weeks as we all got used to each other and worked on finding a dog walker that we liked and trusted. We don't have a dog walker, because by the end of the second week we were waking Bella up to go out for a walk, so we decided that it really wasn't urgent for her to go out in the middle of the day

 

We live in the middle of Manhattan, have no yard, no dog-walker, take Bella to the local kennel/day care only when she's staying overnight, go for a couple of walks a day of varying length (depending on time of day, weather, etc) and Bella seems awfully happy. Most weekends we do something - such as hop on the train and go to Connecticut or just go out and explore the city and Bella goes with us - exhausts her for days, it seems

 

The best thing for us was to be really honest with our group about our lifestyle, environment, etc. They really made sure we were paired with the right pup.

 

Occasionally we'll meet up with other greys for a playdate - Bella still doesn't have much interest in running or playing with them, or with other dogs, but all are different. There are thousands of dog park and playdate experiences accounted for on GT, including the extremes.

 

Greys are great for apartment living - you won't regret it!!

[Guest chennypenn]

Much thanks to everyone! You were all so helpful. I feel more at ease now, because it seems totally doable if I communicate my concerns to the rescue group. Sara, I really like the idea of going to new places on the weekends. I'm a huge fan of weekend roadtrips and I think the addition of a greyhound would make for a lot of fun for all. If it weren't such an ordeal to fly with a big dog, I'd fly out more too. [sigh]

[Guest UpperHandAndy]

We just adopted our Andy and I have wanted one for YEARS We were finally in a place where we thought we would be good parents to a grey. We have a toddler, live in an apartment, and have a little dog. Those all were things that might have been difficult, but after home visits, and lots of talking, we found our perfect guy. We aren't gone every day for that long, but I'm in and out all day. Andy sleeps most of the time, and it seems like his bladder is big enough to hold a gallon (no joke lol), so he can hold it a while. I agree with the others when I say I think you've put a lot of thought into this. Work with the adoption group to find the perfect pup for YOU. And good luck! It was the BEST decision I ever made!