AgileGSD
Posted : 9/7/2010 3:06:18 PM
I have never owned a Grey but have quite a bit of experience with them (raised a Grey puppy, shown them, gone to judges ed for them and have been around quite a lot of them).
I think some Grey rescue groups tend to be a bit...I dunno optimistic about the breed. Most seem to only talk about how wonderful the breed is and their attitude seems to be one of "these dogs are perfect for everyone". I can appreciate that they want to help the dogs but I have known quite a few who haven't worked out in their homes because the breed isn't right for everyone (no breed is).
The Greys in rescue tend to be well mannered - they walk on leash well, are crate trained, tolerate handling/medical stuff pretty well and generally house train easily. Most are adult dogs who have raced and as such, they are well socialized to things racing dogs need to be socialized. Unfortunately most have not been socialized to children and IME Greys are not the best breed for young kids, even if they have been well socialized to them. I'm not sure if you have kids or not but I wouldn't suggest them for kids under 10 in most cases. Most just don't care for the stuff that little kids like to do with dogs such as roughhousing, hugging/hanging on them, getting in their space. Space guarding and startle aggression are fairly common in the breed, both in show and racing dogs. I would say most cases I have known of Greys not working out in their new homes has been because of the dogs not getting along with young kids.
I think the Greyhound's thin skin thing is a bit overstated. Yes they can get nicked or even skin tears a bit easier than the average dog but they can still play normally with most other dogs. The ones I have known played with each other without being muzzled and played with a wide range of other breeds at daycare. My oldest Belgian absolutely loved the Grey puppy I had and they would play "toothy games" all day long with each other, as well as wild chase and wrestle games outside and it never resulted in injury. The only really bad injuries I have seen with them from other dogs have involved them being involved in an actual fight - having a bit thinner skin and very thin hair can put them at a disadvantage there.
Not sure if you have cats but I wouldn't ever consider any Greyhound to be "cat safe", no matter what the rescue tells you. Many can be fine with dog savvy cats in the house but cats outside or cats who tend to freak out and bolt real easily can trigger a predatory response, even in dogs who have "always been fine" with cats. This can also be a problem with smaller dogs. At daycare, prey drive with smaller dogs was probably the biggest issue with the Greys. Most seem to get along pretty well with dogs otherwise.
As house dogs, Greys tend to be very easy. Most like to spend their much of their time lounging on the couch. They don't tend towards being destructive at all and are generally very quiet and easy to live with. That said, they love to run. While they don't need a ton of exercise a day, I always feel badly for ones who rarely get to run off leash. For this reason, I personally wouldn't have one without access to a fenced yard or area for them to run in.