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Just went to my first greyhound race...
And I literally wanted to adopt one of the retired ones right there!
We were down in Ft. Myers for a few days, and had a while to wait before our flight. We have watched a lot of horse racing back in PA, so thought we'd check out this. I'm not sure how the treatment and ethics are like in dog racing, but I couldn't get over how much I loved them. Any insight from you greyhound folks? How are the dogs treated? I know the horse racing industry can be terrible to its retired racers.
We're looking into getting a 2nd dog, preferably a young adult. We are just now starting to casually look. I know greyhounds are very laid back dogs, but they still need plenty of exercise daily from what I understand. We have a 3 year old boxer, relatively high energy, but enjoys her lazy days too.
Do you think boxers and greyhounds can be good pets together? We'd always planned on getting another boxer, but I'm really falling in love with the grey's! We also have cats, but from what I've read grey's tend to do very well with them too.
I was also reading a fenced in yard is also very much necessary for retired racers? I know they're sight hounds, so it does make sense. But can they not be taught easily to "leave it"? We live in the country on three acres, and do not have a fence. We have no close neighbors, and live on a scarcely traveled gravel road (which we are about 70 yards away from, anyway).
Thanks for your insight! Thought I'd ask you guys before I fill out an adoption application! I definitely think that if it isn't an option now, one day down the road it will be!
Re: Just went to my first greyhound race...
You might want to check out this website:
http://www.grey2kusa.org/about/index.html
I'm not an expert on greyhounds, but I do believe it is essential to only allow them off leash in a fenced area. I think it can also be dangerous to put them on a tie out (maybe they'd be okay if on a harness rather than collar, not sure)
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The treatment is horrendous. Read up on it and I doubt (and hope) you will never want to patronize such an event again. It's very sad.
Fencing is a must in my understanding, and experience with my neighbor's grey.
They are kept in inhumane conditions. Please do not patronize racing establishments EVER.
We didn't have to have a fence for adopting our grey, but they must always be leashed as part of our adoption agreement. However, our Spinner is the mayor of our town and has amazing recall for a grey so he just lays in the backyard with us like a fat cat
The greyhound racing industry is atrocious. The treatment of the dogs is disgusting, and sadly, the active racers are the lucky ones who weren't killed before even making it to the track because they weren't fast enough (it's estimated that a third of all greyhound pups born are "culled" before they're a few months old, because they aren't expected to be competitive). And then once they retire, still 50% are euthanized, sold to research, discarded, or starved to death (that's an extreme example, but it happens). They are seen minimally by vets, and when they come off the track, literally every single one is crawling with parasites. Fleas, ticks, mites, loads and loads of multiple types of worms, etc. They also never have their teeth cleaned at the track, and they are usually greenish brown when we get them. One foster had a broken, infected tooth that had been that way for months. Can you imagine that pain?
We've fostered dogs with repaired fractures who will never walk without pain. We fostered a dog named Dutch Autumn who fell in a race and suffered spinal injury. She was lucky she wasn't euthanized on the track, if lucky means that she staggers and drags her back end around and has sores on her feet from the dragging. Our group took in a dog named Where's Cougar. She raced at 67 pounds. Her healthy pet weight is about 78 pounds. She left the track at not even 50 pounds. She was useless to them, so they didn't bother wasting food on her. She could barely hold herself up; she was staggering and leaning badly. Oh, and of course she was covered in ticks. And I can't even count how many of our dogs have come from the track with untreated UTIs. Have you ever had a UTI? The pain is excruciating.
That said, greyhounds are amazingly sweet, resilient, adaptable, docile dogs. We have fostered many and known many more, and seriously, every single one is an angel. They have been well socialized from birth with other dogs and with people, so they rarely have issues in that arena. They adore people, and seem to be so happy to have people all to themselves once they retire.
Contrary to popular belief, they are very low energy. They are bred for speed, not stamina. Greyhounds race once, maybe twice a week. A race lasts 30 seconds. The rest of their time, they spend in their crates in the racing kennels. Our grey (a 95-pound black boy from Wheeling) spends almost all of his time sacked out on the couch. Most greys are happy to go for a walk if you want to, and they get zoomies in the yard sometimes, but for the most part, they're lazy bums.
Most/all rescue groups will require you to sign a contract that says you will never allow your grey off-leash in an unsecured area. These dogs have been bred and trained to chase things that move. Some are more prey driven than others, but they will all chase things, no matter how sure you are that they won't. Allowing a grey off-leash in an unsecured area is foolish at best, and disastrous at worst. These dogs get up to 45 mph in three strides. They are a mile away before they even know what's going on, and if they're lucky, they're just lost, and if they're not, they've been hit by a car that they didn't even see while chasing that rabbit. I have often wanted to let my greys off-leash, but it's just.not.worth.it. I would never forgive myself.
As for cats, I've heard that about three quarters of greys can live with cats. We have 3 cats, and have had 27 fosters. Our own grey is uncrated all day, as are the cats, and all do fine. Our one cat actually sleeps on our grey's head...they are kind of in love. Most rescue groups will "cat test" their greys to ensure that a lower prey drive dog is placed with you. Know, however, that a dog that is "cat safe" indoors is completely different outdoors. Our Nite is very easygoing with the cats in the house, but take him and those same cats outside, and he may try to kill them.
A fenced yard isn't a requirement, by any means (at least, not with most groups). Greys are perfectly happy to be leash walked to pee and such, and I don't believe that they "need" to run. It's a matter of whether you want to go out every time the dog has to go out, since it will need to be on a leash.
It's my opinion that greys make awesome pets. Here is one of our fosters (racing name Where's Raw Hide, now Heidi) playing in the backyard with our Kelpie, Cal. They were best buddies. We've loved all of our fosters, and love when they're adopted by people who understand greyhounds and love them for all their quirks and baggage
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This is our Spinner and two of his sisters. The caption on the photo is "true friendship doesn't know pounds"
Thanks for all the great information!
I've been involved with rescuing and retraining a lot of retired thoroughbreds in the past, and although they are treated somewhat decently in training (meticulous vet care, proper housing, training, etc.), they are discarded like trash when they're not useful anymore. Even former Kentucky Derby winners (1986 - Ferdinand, for example - slaughtered in the early 2000's when he was no longer able to stand stud).
It's such a shame that grey's and TB's have to suffer at the hands of greedy humans. It did make me happy to see that they had a large greyhound rescue program at the track, and it seemed like the dogs up for adoption were well taken care of. The TB track near our home also has a rescue program on site. We didn't spend any money at the greyhound track yesterday, just watched (which, now, I do know I won't do again).
I understand why off leash is not an option with these guys now. We never leave our boxer unattended outside, she is always supervised. I'm sure we could easily take a grey out on a leash for potty breaks, however I think currently the rest of our "dog lives" are not going to fit for a grey. We love to take Lucy for hikes about 1-2 times a week at a neighbors farm, about 300 acres of woods and fields. Lucy does well off leash there, and has a great recall.
Maybe one day
Until then, I'll look into a greyhound rescue to donate a little money too. Thanks again for all the great information! The one recuse site I was reading, really didn't make the racing industry sound too bad (http://www.keystonegreys.org/), so thanks for all the accurate info you were able to provide!
FF
It's a fine line that adoption groups walk with the racing industry. Piss them off, and they'd rather sell or euth the dogs than give them to a rescue that is badmouthing (aka telling the truth about) racing. Many groups choose to remain racing neutral for this reason. My group is racing neutral, though because I haven't mentioned their name here, I'm comfortable telling the truth.
The Greyhound Health & Wellness Program at the Ohio State University is amazing, and may I just throw in a little plug for a possible donation? They do amazing research on greyhound-specific issues, as well as maintain a canine blood bank that is supplied mostly by greyhounds (including my boy Nite). The head of the program, Dr. Couto, is one of the world's foremost experts on greyhounds, and his program sees dogs from all over the world for specialty consultations. On top of this, they provide free chemotherapy to retired racers who are diagnosed with cancer (osteosarcoma is unusually common in greyhounds, for reasons unknown). I am fortunate to live just a few minutes from the clinic and am part of a network of people who offer a place to stay for people who are bringing their greys to him from out of state.
Otherwise, I'm sure that any group near you would love to have your donation! If you have a chapter of GPA (Greyhound Pets of America) in your area, I would direct things that way. They tend to network with other groups and are known to be very reputable.
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