Homes4hounds

16/06/2024

Isn’t Portie a rather good looking boy. He’s so far very friendly loves a cuddle when out for a walk and will lean into you if you have the audacity to stop walking

15/06/2024

Sometimes we like to tease a little on new incoming dogs. Well here’s that time again 3 boys who have arrived.

14/06/2024

Ted is now the subject of an enquiry from a potential family.

14/06/2024

Look out for progress updates on this little girl Rosie. Her journey will be slow and steady.

13/06/2024

She’s still with us and looking for her family. Ghosty is a really sweet friendly girl. Loves the attention of people. Overall ok with other dogs although she can get excited about off lead dogs and particularly through a fence.

13/06/2024

Gordon is a lovely snowflake boy looking fur a family to join. Gordon is affectionate and loves a fuss been made of him. Gordon is initially a little excitable when going out a walk however he does calm down. Off lead dogs grab his attention as does small furries. He can get rather vocal at the rabbits but outwith this he is a perfect gentleman.

13/06/2024

When we talk about Brindle dogs it is magically a mixture of brown and black stripes, however there can be various variations on brindle. Currently we have
Ted who is a blue brindle
Vanas who is a silver brindle
Diamond, Meg and Tommy who are dark brindle.

Al classed as brindle but indeed very different shades.

12/06/2024

Roxy is now on the reserved list and due to go off to join her family next week.

10/06/2024

Teddy and Ziggy will both be joining their respective families this weekend.

10/06/2024

Harry will be 8yo in July and he is the longest stayer we have with us and we would really love to get this boy into the home he so much deserves. Harry has been with us for 3 years and apart from being bouncy there’s not a bad thing we could say about him. He’s a boy that would flourish in a home as an only dog, whilst he is bouncy initially once he calms down on his walk he is perfectly well behaved.

10/06/2024

Billy is a boy who has been with us too long now and would love to find a family to call his own. Ideally Billy would thrive on a 1 to 1 environment where he is the only dog. He is very sweet however can get a bit possessive over his belongings, but please do t let this put you off considering Billy

10/06/2024

Flo is a sweet girl looking for her sofa. She’s a little timid until she assess new surroundings however once settled she is very affectionate and has such a lovely friendly nature

09/06/2024

Apollo is a boy that loves the outdoors, walks or playtime he’s at his happiest when he’s out and about. Nothing has fazed him on his first couple of park walks. Walks well and loves a clap. A home with a garden would be ideal for this boy to allow him to enjoy his free time.

09/06/2024

As one Brindle Ted moved out another 1 recently joined us. Ted is on the smaller side of the male scale

09/06/2024

Shazza has jumped onto the reserved list pending a successful home visit this coming week.

08/06/2024

We have another stunning young boy looking for a sofa. He decided racing wasn’t for him at an early age. 18 month old Vanas will hopefully get his wish of a family soon.

07/06/2024

Shine has joined the reserved list pending a successful home visit over the weekend.

07/06/2024

Ted has found his forever home and has officially gone off this evening to join his family.

06/06/2024

Shazza is another girl that we currently have in our care who is looking for.a sofa. She turned 2yo on June 2nd and is a really friendly girl.

06/06/2024

Approximately 6 weeks ago this boy arrived with us to look for a home. His coat was dull and full of kennel fur. With a little work every day he now has the start of a lovely shiny coat, yet more evidence of how well a black coated greyhound can look when the coat shines.

05/06/2024

Here are just some of our male black beauties that are waiting for their call for a sofa.

04/06/2024

Corey is a boy looking for a sofa. He would benefit from being an only dog to allow him time to settle. In a kennel environment he can be quite highly strung. On an individual basis he’s a lot different and more content

04/06/2024

Franco is a really lovely natured boy and deserves a sofa to put his paws on. He is very affectionate and is now ready to move on. He likes the outdoors and walk times. He also enjoys his playtime in the paddocks. He gets on with other greyhounds. Small furries and squirrels are not his friends and so far this has been the only time we have seen him get over enthusiastic

02/06/2024

Biggie wishes all his friends a Happy National Greyhound Day

01/06/2024

Sweet little Roxy hopes her offer of a home isn’t too far away. She is such a loveable girl who since her arrival has done everything perfectly. Walks well, gets on with everything she has met. She is very clean in her kennel and could join an existing pack or happily live on her own.

01/06/2024

Ted has currently been placed on the reserve list pending a successful meet up next week.

01/06/2024

What can we say about our boy Paddy ? Well let’s start with the obvious yes he has ears and hopes he will be hearing of a family offering him a home soon.
Paddy has been a superstar in his time here, only a baby (not 2yo yet) he decided racing wasn’t his first choice of occupation. He has been so laid back for one so young. Got on with everything he has met and whilst untested his nature suggests Paddy may be cat trainable

28/05/2024

Look into my eyes. This hypnotic girl will have you spellbound in seconds. Ghosty is a real spookracular girl has the looks, personality and affectionate side that makes her perfect

25/05/2024

Black Dog Syndrome: Effecting More Than Just Greyhounds

The Black Dog Syndrome (BDS) is an odd phenomenon, and one that has rolled around rescues and rehoming centres for many years, and while it is a noticeable trend within greyhound rehoming, it isn’t just limited to greyhounds. Historically, the preference for lighter coloured animals has heavily impacted many animals such as cats, and even smaller creatures like guinea pigs!

While there are various opinions and studies, some with conflicting results, anyone that is on-the-ground in rehoming and welfare will tell you it is very much a thing. So much so that in America, it even has February as it’s awareness month to bring attention to unwanted black animals across the country.

We have long seen a preference for the lighter coloured animals. Black dogs, particularly the big black males, are typically the hardest to home with many people specifically requesting a coloured hound when first applying to adopt.

Although there is always that one beautiful soul that calls and says they specifically want a black one because they know they’re overlooked. It always makes our day whenever we hear those words!

Thankfully, it is through the power of social media that many people are far more aware of the plight of black animals. It has brought about big improvements, at least from our point of view, in the number of people specifically asking for a black hound or in not specifying a preference for any colour at all…but there is still a majority preference to the lighter colours.

Black is the dominant genetic colour amongst greyhounds, many of the most prolific sires used in breeding greyhounds for the racing industry were, or are, black…and you can’t argue with genetics!

Even in breeding two fair coloured hounds, the whole litter may come out black.

Given this fact, statistically, there will always be a greater number of black greyhounds in need of homes. So, when the one fawn hound amongst twenty black ones gets adopted very quickly, it can appear as favouritism.

But statistics be damned, behind the scenes, it is absolutely favouritism!

Fawn, blue brindle or white with brindle or fawn patches often get countless applications, regardless of their personality, temperament, and overall suitability for that applicant’s home. While the black hounds who would be the perfect fit for those applicants, receive nothing.

We once saw a rescue get so sick of people doing this, that they chose to forgo uploading any images of the hounds to encourage people to apply for dogs based on their personality and suitability! At the end of the day, that is what is important!

But colour, and gender, do fuel unconscious bias. Some people don’t even realise they are doing it!

Black animals, particularly dogs, wolves, and cats, have been portrayed as aggressive, evil, or unlucky for decades. This is probably a large influence as to why people have such a poor opinion of dogs such as rottweilers, Dobermans and various bull breeds, as they’re always portrayed in a negative light in films and television shows.

Many people are raised with these images, and these can be compounded by the influence and opinions of family and friends. It can be difficult for people to break away from pre-conceived ideas.

We’ve heard it all when it comes to people applying for specific colours. The majority of the time it is purely for aesthetic reasons, they like the look of them. In scrolling through pages and pages of black greyhounds, there is a dazzling fawn one. Of course they’re going to home in on them!

Some believe they are too hard to photography clearly (obviously you must have an Insta perfect companion!), others find their facial expressions harder to read. We’ve even had people tell us they all look the same and that they find black dogs unattractive.

Then there are the people who don’t want black hairs on their light-coloured furniture!

But regardless of this, there are some genuine reasons as to why people might request a lighter coloured hound. The most heartbreaking one is that people do not want the reminder of their previous hound who has passed away…and while we’ll always do our best to respect that in choosing a hound for them, sometimes a black hound is still the best option.

If you are looking at adopting a hound, bear in mind that colour has absolutely no impact on personality, temperament, and suitability. They are all equally beautiful, inside, and out, but adopting a dog is a lifelong commitment and one that should be decided on their suitability for you as a person, as a family and as a household…not on the colour of their fur.

They will give you the love, happiness, companionship, and loyalty regardless of what colour their fur is.

Also…black hound’s fur shines like no other. It gleams with every colour of the rainbow when the sun touches them. It is one of the most remarkable things about black hounds. You definitely don’t get that with the fairer coloured hounds, just saying!

Let’s show everyone how remarkable black hounds are, drop a picture in the comments!

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24/05/2024

Here are the girls we have looking for homes

Check out homes4hounds’s post.