10/12/2024
Leighton & I absolutely love our Greyhound Elsie, and we would encourage you all to research the breed, maybe one could be right for your family?
In all honesty, it’s unlikely that all 2900 greyhounds will be up to adoption standard, and some will have to be pts… but many will be much like our Elsie - a sweet-natured, easy going, trainable, cat-friendly, baby-friendly, sociable, pack walk loving couch potato 🥔
We’d recommend greyhounds as a breed; to active, relaxed, busy, chill, multi-pet, petless, young children, no children, elderly, young, renting, home owning, rural, urban & even cat homes - it’s all about finding the RIGHT greyhound for you! Our Elsie had all the right qualities for our lifestyle & by all means not all greyhounds are the same, but the right one could be out there for you 🏡 Of all the breeds we’ve worked with, greyhounds are the most easy going & need minimal time & energy (compared with common breeds such as labs, retrievers, collies, pointers, bullies, spaniels, terriers, doodles). We aren’t saying greyhounds are all easy, but generally speaking they’re the easiest we’ve met !
Common issues people CAN come across with greyhounds are:
•Corns
•Dental issues
•Sleep aggression
•Lack of world socialisation (fearful)
•Prey driven (towards small fluffy creatures)
Quirks WE have experienced:
•The need for pet insurance (Elsie grazes easily as greyhounds have thin delicate skin)
•Yelps over tiny things like standing on a pebble… greyhounds are known to be big woosies 😂
•A dental diet - we feed frozen raw meat & bones as this keeps the very back back teeth in their long jaws clean and free of soft food build up which can cause tartar and calculus build up.
•A high calorie diet - greyhounds have a high metabolism so they need to eat well
•Fussiness - Elsie has always been a fussy girl, and while usually we wouldn’t play into this attitude in her case she needs the calories, so we feed frozen raw as it keeps her well fed, teeth clean & not looking too lean.
•Dry skin: we occasionally feed coconut oil in her food to help her dry dandruffy skin
•Very friendly with people & friendly to neutral with dogs
•Could care less about the cats we have had
•Very trainable; knows all her basic obedience & impulse control commands
•Indifferent towards our baby boys
•Loves her pack walks but sleeps the rest of the day
•Loves chasing rabbits but leaves them when we ask (training)
Check out Greyhounds As Pets NZ (GAPNZ) for info on adoptable greyhounds in your area 🩵
| Greyhound racing to be banned in New Zealand.
📸 Brett Phibbs
