Possumblog

Greyhounds are very sweet, but... with her work schedule she really should not have a dog, unless there is someone else in her household who can also take care of it.

Also, does she still have kitty-cats? Most greyhounds are very cat keen (ie they want to chase/eat the cat). This is because they are sight hounds that are bred to chase after and kill small furry animals (or fake bunnies in the case of retired racers).

Otherwise they are very nice and affectioate couch potatoes. Oh and they do shed.

Not all are, but it is something to think about.

That second one is something I hadn't really thought about, other than to remind her that dogs don't "retire" when they quit being used competitively. They're still bred to run, and that's what they want to do--and as you say, chase furry things. And yes, she has two indoor cats she adores. Big, fluffy, nervous cats.

As for shedding--it's a matter of degree. We mostly has Eskimo spitzes when we were at home, and they shed great clouds of white underfur during the summer. Same with that husky she had. And the same with one of her cats. So a short-haired hound sheds, relative to her experience, not at all.

Kitchen hand fosters greyhounds. He would be an excellent source for an answer to your qustions.

Thanks, Miss Janis--and he can answer if antipodean greyhounds run around the track in the opposite direction from northern hemispherical ones.

A friend of mine has a retired greyhound and a very small yard. The problem is, they have to be kept IN the house most of the time: They have so little body fat that they can't handle weather extremes as easily as other dogs. And the longest his bladder lasts is about 11 hours. So she'd need to install one heck of a doggie door! And with a small yard, she'd need to take him on walks of at least a half-mile twice/day. The local owners' group also has weekly "play days" where people can take their greyhounds to socialize, play, and run with others.

Her grehound DID adjust well to sharing the house with a cat. It just took patience to train the dog NOT to chase the it. After about 3 weeks, the dog would just ignore the cat's taunts.

But the greyhound did NOT extend that training to all cats. Just "his" cat.

Heh--funny you should mention about getting cold--she was complaining about her furriest cat shedding so much, and I told her she needed to make a coat out of it, and give it to the (future) greyhound.

She mentioned the playdate thing as well--since Mobile and the Gulf Coast in general are blessed with so many dog tracks, there are several groups down there who do this kind of thing.

From what you folks are saying, she really might need to consider something a bit less time consuming.

I recommend a RUBY!!! Hahaha.

I hear that greyhounds do nothing but lay around all day, so that might be exactly what she is looking for.

They do have to stay indoors during cold months, like Boston Terriers. Ruby has a crate, I shut her up in the kitchen, and she potties on a wee-wee pad.

This weekend, I met an Italian greyhound while I was in Anniston, and it appeared to be a big ol' lap baby. Smaller than regular greyhounds, so they do fit in people's laps.

I don't have a greyhound, but, I do have two dogs one a Lab/mutt mix and the other is a Siberian Husky (who is apparently, much smarter than your sister's former Husky-he has trained me well) and I think that if she works in 12 hour shifts she should stick to cats. Dogs prefer their people and consider them their packs and love attention, so whatever dog she gets might develop separation anxiety(it exists, my Husky has it) and chew, gnaw and destroy anything and everything she has in the house when left alone.
Plus, cats can go in the litter box, which, dogs view as a treat box. Not to mention dealing with doggie accidents until they are trained to go elsewhere. It just seems like a bad idea for whatever dog she picks.
Unless she does the silly Hollywood girl thing and packs a Chihauha in her purse, which is still, unpleasant for the dog.

This whole scenario is a recipe for disaster, Terry. Dogs are pack animals, as Leah points out, and any animal left alone and to its own devices for 12 hours a day will be miserable. "Miserable" in canine language can express itself in all sorts of disagreeable ways that I am sure your sister will find significantly less appealing than the dog's soulful eyes. And greyhounds are high energy dogs -- even if she put in a fence, your sister's small yard is unlikely to provide enough room for the dog to get adequate exercise.

Apart from all that, however, it's just cruel to get an animal that depends so much on interaction with others and then leave it alone.

Lastly, depending on the age and temperament of the dog, it may not be possible to train it to ignore its breeding with regards to the cats. This could be a Very Bad Thing (tm), especially since cats can't seem to help taunting canine residents of their households.

Thank you all very much for your input, and as Janis suggested I got Kitchen Hand's advice, too.

Megabeth, the affectionate thing is another attribute she cited as a reason for wanting one--"But, Terry, they're so sweet--just like a fifty pound lap dog!" And this was said as if this was not a bug, but a feature.

Leah, one of the reasons she never had much luck with the husky was the lack of time she had to train it. My dad was able to tame it some, but we weren't able to be there a sufficient amount of time to make sure its training was reinforced. As for silly Hollywood girl, it would be hard for her to see patients with a dog hanging out of the pocket of her lab coat.

And GOYL, I know that, and YOU know that--getting it through her head is quite a different story. She is, after all, part mule.

It should also be pointed out that when she comes home from her 12 hour shift, she'll be tired and ready to relax, but her greyhound will see it as "You're back! Yay!" playtime. It will be pumped up and excited to see her when she's ready to hit the couch. Never a good mix. The dog will be hurt and confused, which can lead to acting out behaviors.

Yet another good point, Mike. I kinda mentioned that to her when I asked her when she'd have time to go to these "play dates" with other dogs, and, as is her wont, she moved on to talking about how pretty they were.

And by the way, let me go ahead and post Kitchen Hand's take on the situation, because he does foster care for greyhounds:

"[...] Let me be brutally honest. You sister will undoubtedly benefit from the soulful eyes and the lack of shedding hair; however, the dog will need benefits as well, as you indicated. For greyhounds, these benefits must include a fence. They are trained to run and will do so. Many are not 'cat-friendly' although some of them are. Some adopted greyhounds here live with cats quite peaceably.

Having said that, given a substantial outdoors walk each day, a greyhound could conceivably live happily inside a house. That brings the question of company. All dogs need regular company. No dog benefits from aloneness, some dogs simply suffer less without it. Some of the greyhounds we have fostered needed company and would fret with results from torn curtains to dogs inserting themselves under the house to barking etc. Others were calm and happy to stay home alone for reasonably extended periods, but never up to twelve hours. Eight hours was the most I've ever wanted to leave a dog alone in the house.

I guess what I am saying is that it is conceivable
your sister may find the right-tempered 'hound that would get on with cats, be happy to stay inside for extended periods without human or animal company and put up with irregular walks, but the odds are very much against it.

If she wishes to persist with her desire, the next
step would be to consult the local greyhound adoption organisation. If she outlines her circumstances to them, they might open her eyes to the realities of the situation; or on the other hand, they just might have an old 'hound that could fit in with her, but as I said, very low odds. Another option is to foster a greyhound for short periods when she is not working long hours."

I hope she thinks about this before she goes and does something completely off the wall.