[MENTION=71420]masphx[/MENTION] - I changed my mind and decided to post here. I figured that, if you wanted the information about adopting a greyhound, somebody else might, too.
We have a small house and a yard so seems like the prefect dog.
My wife and I used to live in a two bedroom house that was just over 600 square feet. We had two greyhounds at the time (as well as two cats), and they were fine in the confined space. As long as we had enough beds for them to lay on (or couches, human beds, whatever), they were content.
My only concern is camping. I see people with set-ups just for the dog and they always must be leased.
Yeah... camping with a greyhound is interesting. Because a greyhound is a sight hound,
they need to be leashed when not in a fenced area. I can't emphasize that enough. It's just too easy for them to spot something like a squirrel or raccoon and take off after it. No matter how much recall you say your greyhound has... most hounds don't have much recall when they get on the hunt for a critter.
We usually use a six foot leash or a four foot leash and tie it to the picnic table. Within the six feet, we put a dog bed and water dish. They take a while to figure it out, but once the figure out their range, they do okay.
For me, I wouldn't use a 12 foot lead just because of how quickly a greyhound can get to full speed. Picture a sleeping greyhound on a 12 foot lead when it wakes up to see a squirrel a few feet away. It'll go from 0 to GONNA GET IT speed within that 12 feet... fast enough to cause a lot of damage to it's neck when it gets to the end of the lead... possibly enough to snap it's neck. (It sounds severe, but I've heard directly from greyhound owners that it's happened to their dog.)
For me, I'd stick with a six foot lead.
You can also use an exercise pen (like
this one @ PetSmart). We use them to close off an area that is for the pups to be able to move around and lay down. It gives us a chance to not have them on a leash, but know that they're secure.
Local rescues want ~$300 a dog.
That sounds fair. We just adopted Ollie, and his cost through one of the local greyhound groups was $300. That includes a full bill of health... spay/neuter, shots, dental, any viruses/worms, etc.
When we submitted a fecal sample on Monday (when we took him in to get neutered), we found out he's got hookworms. The adoption group is covering those meds because he had the worms prior to his adoption. (His adoption wasn't formalized until this past Wednesday.) Of course, anything after the adoption day will be our responsibility.
If you don't have regular teeth brushing habits (we don't), you can count on having to have their teeth cleaned once every couple years. Maya needed hers done every two years. Ashe (our 2.5 year old) looks like he's close to being due for his first cleaning. (I'm excited because Ollie seems to be intrigued by our SoniCare brushes... that'd be pretty awesome!!)
We have a small calico cat. Last picture caught my attention
We used to have two cats with our two greyhounds. They got along fine, but they were never good friends like [MENTION=75483]Millerad1651[/MENTION]
Just wanted to hear some thoughts from fellow 4Runner/ camping/ offroad fellows of the pros and cons compared to other dogs.
There are pros and cons to every dog breed. For me, their gentle nature in the house won me over. They're truly giant house cats.
We take ours for walks in the morning and in the evening. They get their runs in while they got outside to go to the bathroom. On the weekends, we usually go explore a nearby trail system. There are quite a few around Austin, so we've got a lot to choose from. They ride extremely well in the back of the 4R, and Ashe has learned to love having the tailgate window down.
-Joel
