New, From Chi-Town!

[Guest greymaroon]

Hi! I'm a grad student living in Chicago, hoping and planning and preparing to soon share my life with a retired racer. This will be my first dog as an adult, and my first greyhound, too boot. So, I've read Livingood's "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" book and every website I can find. I have read and RE-read all the "Why not to have a greyhound" and "Are you SURE you want to do this?!" article I can find.... And yes, I think I do! Now that I've done a lot of the mental prep work, though, I'm embarking on the practical preparation (including a month off before school begins, though I work mostly from home anyway). I have a million questions, but here are two to start with! Can anyone recommend an adoption group for the Chicago area? I've been looking at G.O., as they seem to have very good reviews, especially vis-a-vis post-adoption support. Also, can anyone recommend sighthound-friendly vets as near to Hyde Park as possible? I'm encouraged by the sheer variety of posts on this site, and by the supportiveness people seem to show one another. I hope to get more involved in the Greytalk forums in the future! Best wishes to all!

[Time4ANap]

Welcome from Mahomet, IL!

 

GO is an excellent group. We know several people who have adopted with them and we dealt with them when we thought about adopting Rocket's littermate (the timing didn't work out - nothing to do with the group). There are plenty of people in the Chicago area here on GT. I'm sure someone will be along to answer your vet question, but the folks at GO will also be able to provide names.

 

Good luck!

[Guest bethac]

Another group out your way is REGAP. Although I did not get my dogs there (I'm in Ohio), REGAP placed the daughter of my broodie ... they typically have a variety of dogs at their kennel that you can meet, etc. Mona and I have corresponded and she is great!

 

Best of luck - please come back and post pictures of your hound when you get him/her!

[Guest nuri]

GO is AMAZING!!! they do such an incredible job of working with you to match the perfect dog to your needs as well as educating you to ensure that you and your pup are happy together. nuri's foster mom continues to give me advice when i need it. they organize play dates, obedience classes, and tons of other gatherings. i chose them because they understood and embraced adopters who lived in apartments with no yards. i can't say enough about how truly fabulous they are!!! as for vets, they have a pretty extensive list for the chicago area. i'm sure there is one down by you. good luck!!!

[PrairieProf]

Welcome Greymaroon (greyt name)! U of C PhD here. The bike path along the lake shore would be a great greyhound walking place (though my girl sometimes has the passing impulse to chase bicycles, especially recumbents for some reason!).

 

I graduated in the early 90s many years pre-greyhound so I can't help you with specifics, but I'm sure you'll get good guidance here.

Edited July 23, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Guest OMGiluvgreys]

You should also check Midwest Greyhound Adoption. They are a very good group also.

[Guest greymaroon]

Thanks, all, for your responses! I have been working with GO. Just like you all said, they have been ON their stuff when it comes to interviewing, educating, etc. We attended a Meet n' Greet at PAWS in Chicago with GO, and were really impressed. The foster parents there were really informative and friendly. Since we'll be first-time pet owners (or do Betta fish count? Ours are alive and bubblin'!), AND since we're apartment-bound academics, we're trying as hard as we can to match ourselves with the right grey. That said, this weekend we're planning on going to SEE see a bunch greyhounds for whom we might be likely candidates (last time we just hung out and, while my fiance was enraptured with the hounds, I was busy with questions for the foster parents). We're REALLY excited, but need your advice (as always!): Can anyone think of any specific questions to ask, traits to look for (or to watch out for), and/or considerations when we're meeting with the hounds this weekend?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

PS - I haven't yet solved the vet question, but I'm working on it!

[Guest greymaroon]

Okay, I got a hold of Hyde Park Animal Clinic & Hospital, and here's the skinny on them:

 

 

Hyde Park Animal Clinic & Hospital

 

Drs. Wake, Baley, Williams, & Henry

 

1363 53rd St. Chicago, IL 60615 (Clinic)

*This is their first location, now with limited hours:

9AM-12PM, 1PM-5PM Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri

9AM-12PM, 1PM-4PM Sat

Closed Sunday & Wednesday

 

6937 S. Stony Island Ave. Chicago, IL 60649 (Hospital)

*This is a new location with extended hours and a large facility.

 

(773)324-4484

(same number for both locations - you get a short phone menu and a receptionist option)

 

www.hydeparkanimalclinic.com

 

I spoke with the receptionist, who was knowledgeable. She claimed that they're not greyhound specific, but that Drs. Wake and Baley have several greyhound clients. One recent client busted her tail, evidently, but the clients are quite happy with the medical care for their hounds. I left my name and phone number, so hopefully their clinic manager will call me back with a name or two that I can call for reference!

[PrairieProf]

Awww, I used to take my cat to Hyde Park Animal Clinic on 53rd. Pretty sure it was Dr. Wake, and I remember I liked him, but it's been so many years now. Glad they're still there and glad your adoption process is coming along!

Edited September 14, 2011 by PrairieProf

[joejoesmom]

So glad to see you moving forward. My only suggestion is to be very honest about your needs with the adoption group.

 

Do you like to walk/run or are you a couch potato?

Do you have parties or times when you have a lot of different people in the house or is your house a very quiet house?

Do you have children or will there be children visiting often?

Do you have a cat or small dog? If you don't have a cat, please consider adopting a non-cat safe dog -- they are considerably harder to place.

Are you experienced with dogs that have issues or do you need a dog that is an easy going love everybody kind of dog? Some issues that dogs (not just greyhounds) can have are: separation anxiety, food aggression, sleep aggression, space aggression, fear aggression, and being extremely timid along with the not quite as significant issues like thunderstorm phobia and poop eating. Be honest about your ability to handle these things. I will tell you from experience that these issues can be very manageable and it can be very rewarding to see a dog overcome them.

Do you have stairs? Most greyhounds figure stairs out but every now and then there is one who just doesn't like them.

Do you like calm and laidback (my preference but some people find my dogs boring) or funny and quirky and playful?

Since you are in an apartment do you have concerns about barking? Most greys are pretty quiet but there are some that bark more than average.

 

I assume you have already considered that whatever dog you get will sometimes need to go out in the middle of the night no matter what the weather. It is quite a commitment to do this without a fenced yard.

 

Being owned by a grey is a wonderful thing. They give so much love and ask for little in return. Good luck in your search.

[Feisty49]

Joejoesmom posed very good questions, all the ones everybody should consider. The mention of having, or not having, a fenced yard is crucial, IMO, with relation to one's overall, long-term commitment. I say this because I do not have a fenced yard but willingly walk my girl at least twice a day for half an hour each time plus take her out for P&P as needed, which is about every 3 to 4 hours, as well as we both like to walk the woods (I have 11 acres, 10 of which are woods).

 

Also, I didn't adopt my Greyhound until I was able to be home most of the time or take her with me. Many people disagree with me, but I think it unfair, and it makes me uncomfortable, to have a dog and leave it alone for 10 to 12 hours a day. It works out for most people who have to do it, but I know that Annie's disposition, which is very gentle, kind and sweet without shyness, destructive tendencies or much anxiety, would change if I weren't here more often than not. I know I've offended people who work and have dogs; I'm just expressing my opinion.

 

The stairs can be another big issue. My Annie will do the 9 flagstone steps leading to the back door but will not do the stairs leading up to the bedroom. They have carpet treads on them and I've walked her through doing them many many times, but it causes her great anxiety and since going up to the bedrooms is optional, I'm giving her a break.

[Guest june]

Another group out your way is REGAP. Although I did not get my dogs there (I'm in Ohio), REGAP placed the daughter of my broodie ... they typically have a variety of dogs at their kennel that you can meet, etc. Mona and I have corresponded and she is great!

 

Best of luck - please come back and post pictures of your hound when you get him/her!

 

REGAP is terrific! Two of my three girls come from there. Wonderful support on their website: regapgreyhounds.org

Mona and George are terrific.

 

One week from today is their reunion-picnic which is an awesome event, I believe right now they have 14 dogs available; one I'd love to have, but 3 is my limit.

 

Whoever you adopt from congratulations and welcome to the greyhound family!

june

(edited because I can't spell)

Edited September 17, 2011 by june

[philospher77]

For questions to consider, I tend to think of it this way: try to imagine your life with a dog. When you get up in the morning, where is the dog at and what does it do? What about when you are eating breakfast? When you are at work? In the evening? Try to truthfully picture what you want the dog to be doing every point of the day, and that will give you a pretty good idea of the personality that you want. (There's a huge difference between someone who wants a dog who is jumping on the bed eager and happy in the morning, and someone who wants a dog who is quietly resting on their dog bed until after you get up and take a shower, for example, and different dogs will fulfill that role.)

 

Also, since you mention a fiance, think ahead to when/if you have children, and the kind of dog you will want at that point. Greyhounds are big, and can injure kids accidentally, so you will need to think about how you are going to handle that.

 

Can't give any advice on specific groups, but will recommend that you go to meet and greets put on by a few and see how they are. I have done that, and find that there is a group that you generally just "click" with better. It's not very scientific, I know!

 

Rebecca

[fsugrad]

Greetings from Gainesville, FL!

You've come to the right place to ask any questions you might have. Good luck with your adoption process.

[Guest greymaroon]

Thanks to all for the insightful suggestions on choosing and lifestyle. We asked ourselves the questions, and then asked the GO staff the same questions. In the end, it really was sorta like Rebecca wrote (and like everyone at GO was saying) - we just sorta clicked.

 

Now.......here we go!

 

We adopted our girl last Thursday! She's been with us for five days now, and I think she's coming around to adopting us, too.

 

Her name is Bhombolina (pronounced like the "bumble" in bumble bee, plus the "-ina" in ballerina. Here's the story on the funky name: my fiance is from India, and he wanted to name our future greyt "Bhombol." He'd giggle everytime he said the name, but swore up and down that it was an absolutely normal name for a dog. In the end, since our future "he" turned out to be a "she," we just combined our cultures, and added the Spanish language suffx "-ina" onto the end! It worked out wonderfully, and my mom was MUY FELIZ!).

 

She's just turned 2 in August. According to our adoption rep, she knew what she was doing when she ran a total of FOUR races, and trailed in a total of...four. She caught the next truck home to Chicago!

 

She's a beautiful brindle, with black and auburn mix (just like my fiance and I, we realized later! Serendipity-doo-dah!!!), four white socks, and a white chest. She's pretty small, and is only 53lbs. With all the chunky peanut butter she's been eating, though, I think she'll gain a few pounds in short order....

 

She's really well house-trained. Although we don't have a fenced yard, we only live one floor up, and we live literally just around the corner from a big park -- half a residential block in either direction gets you to safe poo-ing grounds.

 

She's a bit quirky -- really, truly, she does NOT seem to be food-motivated...NOR is she toy-motivated (even the squeaky one!). Case in point -- we got a lock-shaped kong, filled it with cheddar biscuits AND peanut butter (room-temp, for full effect and easy access!). She licks away for a little while, then just leaves it. She does seem to be a bit more cuddles-motivated than anything else. That is a pleasant surprise, I suppose, although I read and watch all the dog-training vids and they've all seemed to use treats as the motivator, and now I feel kinda stumped! All in good time, maybe? She's got the basics down really well - she sits, she waits (though I have a feeling she wouldn't wait as nicely if she didn't have a leash on! Ha!), she knows "yuck" and "sit" and "wait" and "not your area!" And actually, we're pretty jazzed that it's only taken her a few days to learn...her own name!

 

She's a bit intimidating on the street. She was in a foster situation for four days, and bit another dog, so we've been asked to always muzzle her when we go out. And indeed, while she is really good when walking near little dogs (we call them "hamburgers" LOL), she can get very aggressive when a dog her size is around. She loves people, though, and tries to charm everybody she meets (successfully, imho!).

 

She's pretty great in new situations; the neighborhood pet store is a little troublesome because they put the goodies at doggy-nose-level (evil, evil, lol!). She had her first vet appointment on Saturday (two days after adoption), and really seemed to relax and enjoy herself (we have pictures of her sleeping, legs against the wall, in the exam room!).

 

She roaches at even the slightest inkling that she might get a belly rub. We wonder if she could roach on command...in any case we want to make a t-shirt that says "Will Roach For Lovins!"

 

She didn't seem too hot on the crate, so although we'd heard that she should be crated for a straight 48hrs after adoption...we didn't. She's not relishing being left for alone time now, though. She whines up a storm, though of the two hour+ ventures that we've left her for, she only pee'd the first time (honestly, I was expecting ALL of the horror stories to come true, so a whiny but happy-to-see-me dog with a wet carpet was fine with me!). Since then, we've been trying to make the crate a place that she hangs out when she wants, and normalize it a bit. It seems to be working since I gave her all my yummiest items (like my fleece robe! That baby girl knows where it's AT! And now I'm cold! LOL).

 

My fiance is overjoyed. He's always wanted a dog, and growing up was never able to have one. She's just the apple of his eye, now, and loving every minute of it. Besides our God-children who live in another state, there won't be any babies in our future except our Bhombolina. Now, we'll just have to work our booties off loving her, and if she demands another greytsib, we'll be open to it (haha, yes, I realize I'm saying this after 5 days...what a newbie, eh?!).

 

Ack, it's so late at night that I'm just kind of spewing everything out! I've posted a couple pictures, and here is a link to our "morning after adoption" vid!

First Morning with our New GreyBaby

First Vet Visit

[greytpups]

She's adorable. You sound like wonderful grey parents. Welcome, thanks for sharing, and looking forward to more stories and pics!

[PrairieProf]

Congratulations! Bhombolina () sounds great. She is pretty and the white feet are so cute -- like she's wearing ladies' gloves! What is her racing name? Love how in the video she already gives you that tiny wag when you talk to her (and then flops over in typical sleepy-greyhound fashion).

 

48 hours in a crate (except for potty breaks I assume)? NEVER heard that.

 

You may well find she's more food-motivated after she settles in ... they're not interested in treats when everything is new and overwhelming. From experience I would say, watch out for overdoing it with the Kong stuffing, especially high-fat stuff -- could lead to D or worse. FYI you can also put yogurt in there--plain is just fine--and freeze it for a less rich treat (I use Greek yogurt since it's easier to smear in with a knife). Same with toys -- though lots of greys are never all that into toys.

Edited September 28, 2011 by PrairieProf

[SarahsBlackPack]

Congrats on your new girl! I volunteer with GPA-Wis too! I'm down at the kennel every other saturday that G.O. isn't there for there day. I'm just wondering what the kennel name was for your girl before you adopted her? Chances are that I walked her.

[Jenbo]

Congratulations and welcome!

[Guest greymaroon]

Congratulations and welcome!

 

Aw, Jenbo, that is such a cute pup...and in Russian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, Muka means "flour"!

[Guest greymaroon]

Congrats on your new girl! I volunteer with GPA-Wis too! I'm down at the kennel every other saturday that G.O. isn't there for there day. I'm just wondering what the kennel name was for your girl before you adopted her? Chances are that I walked her.

 

Err, what is GPA? Should I know that? Bhombolina's kennel name was "Ale Flashy." If you did walk her, I'd love to know anything you remember about her -- GO is great, but I don't think they had much info to give us.

[Guest greymaroon]

Congratulations! Bhombolina () sounds great. She is pretty and the white feet are so cute -- like she's wearing ladies' gloves! What is her racing name? Love how in the video she already gives you that tiny wag when you talk to her (and then flops over in typical sleepy-greyhound fashion).

 

48 hours in a crate (except for potty breaks I assume)? NEVER heard that.

 

You may well find she's more food-motivated after she settles in ... they're not interested in treats when everything is new and overwhelming. From experience I would say, watch out for overdoing it with the Kong stuffing, especially high-fat stuff -- could lead to D or worse. FYI you can also put yogurt in there--plain is just fine--and freeze it for a less rich treat (I use Greek yogurt since it's easier to smear in with a knife). Same with toys -- though lots of greys are never all that into toys.

 

Yep, that's our beautiful girl! Colors, traits, etc, were something I completely neglected to look into when we were choosing a greyhound - I was more about lifestyle, personality traits, etc, but now I find myself becoming more and more vain on my Bhombolina's behalf! She's got the lacy white gloves and her two front feet even turn out like a ballerina! Someone said it was the boxer (?) genetic feature. I'm considering writing whatever powers that be and insisting that ballerina feet be a new breed standard, haha!

 

Thanks for the ideas on the yogurt! It's honestly a little hard to tell (we're complete greyt and dog newbies!) what is D, what is soft, etc, but I started thinking I wanted to stop giving her so much peanut butter after (with a little help from me) a half a jar was gone in three days! After we ran out of cottage cheese yesterday, I figured I'd give her some tripett, and she did seem to enjoy it a LOT! Luckily, neither my fiance nor I think the tripett actually smells bad!!! He said it smelled like cow dung and didn't mind that, and I said it smelled like a popular street snack in China called Stinky Tofu. So, we're thinking of supplementing her diet with that. Does anyone else use that regularly?

[schultzlc]

Congratulations on your new grey!! She sure is a beauty

[PrairieProf]

Oh yeah, Tripett is great. I used to give it to Beth a lot before she developed a pancreas issue. I don't think it smells particularly worse than canned cat food.

 

Good poop = formed and you can pick it up without leaving traces on the grass. It can be a real journey to get there (to find a food that works that well).

 

Here's your pretty girl: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?z=ceeJcv&d=ale+flashy&sex=&color=&birthyear=&birthland=

[SarahsBlackPack]

Congrats on your new girl! I volunteer with GPA-Wis too! I'm down at the kennel every other saturday that G.O. isn't there for there day. I'm just wondering what the kennel name was for your girl before you adopted her? Chances are that I walked her.

 

Err, what is GPA? Should I know that? Bhombolina's kennel name was "Ale Flashy." If you did walk her, I'd love to know anything you remember about her -- GO is great, but I don't think they had much info to give us.

 

GPA stands for Greyhound Pet's of America.

 

That little miss Flashy! She is a really sweet girl! I walked her several times while she was down at the kennel.