Aren’t greyhounds just bred for sport, and doesn’t that make them unsuitable as pets?

Absolutely not. Greyhounds are by nature docile, affectionate and incredibly loyal. Although many greyhounds have a life at the track, just as many don’t make the grade or are eventually retired and live happy lives in family homes. Ex racing greyhounds adapt quickly to the new rules required to live in a family environment and become silly, soppy and ridiculously devoted to their new owners.

I’ve heard that they’re snappy. Is this true?

This is the most unfounded myth surrounding greyhounds. Greyhounds are gentle creatures, incredibly eager to please and not at all aggressive. There’s always a risk, however, that your visitors could be licked to death. Very unpleasant and rather wet. Oh, and they make rubbish guard dogs.

Surely they’ll attack cats and other small animals though?

Obviously greyhounds are bred to chase, and being sighthounds, many of them have a natural instinct to pursue anything small and fast moving. However, the degree to which the chase instinct is present in each greyhound varies, as evidenced by the large number of young greyhounds determined to be “non-chasers” every year. As a result, many greyhounds live very happily in homes with very small dogs, cats and even rabbits. Because some greyhounds are more keen to chase than others, a responsible adoption agency should be able to have assessed their dogs and advise you as to which greyhound is likely to suit your home, lifestyle, and family environment. It’s important to remember that greyhounds are very intelligent, and if introduced properly, most greyhounds can live with other species as easily as they can live with another dog.

And what about kids?

All children need to be taught respect for dogs. Greyhounds require the same respect as any other dog. Children and greyhounds live very happily together when children are taught the three basic rules of dog ownership: firstly that a dog is not a toy and must always be treated gently, secondly that a dog is entitled to their own space and thirdly that a dog should never be disturbed while eating or sleeping.

Won’t I need a huge garden?

During their racing career, a greyhound will have used a great deal of energy in very short bursts of speed, but also spent a lot of time in their kennel. Once retired, greyhounds are quite lazy. In fact, they’re known as the ‘forty mile an hour couch potato’. A couple of short walks a day with maybe a toilet break in between will be all that your new greyhound will require, which incidentally means that they can fit quite happily into a household where they’ll need to be left alone for periods during the day. Most greyhounds sleep for a large percentage of their day, stopping only to stuff their faces before falling asleep again.

A racing greyhound can’t possibly be housetrained, can they?

During their racing career, greyhounds will have been used to waiting to be let out of their kennel before they can ‘go’. Being clever creatures, and very eager to please, greyhounds soon learn where they can go and where you’re not happy about them going. Taking your new greyhound out regularly to the place where you’d like him to go will soon educate him. Our greyhound was standing waiting by the door by the end of the first week!

They’re not exactly ‘cuddly’ are they?

Don’t let their lean looks fool you. Greyhounds are the perfect combination of pet - they are madly fond of cuddles and hardly shed at all, so even though they might stake their claim on the sofa, at least they won’t ruin it!

Need some more information? Email me at englishmum@dublin.ie I’d be delighted to help or check out the Irish Greyhound Board’s very informative welfare section on their website: www.igb.ie.

 Go on, grab yourself a greyhound!