How To Adopt a Greyhound From Us

Purchase a copy of Adopting the Racing Greyhound by Cynthia Branigan or Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies by Lee Livingood. If you have young children, we highly recommend that you read Childproofing Your Dog by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson.

Branigan's book is available in many libraries. Read these books and keep them close by when you bring your Greyhound home.

Will be supplied by us when you pick up your Greyhound

Purchase a tag with the dog’s name, your name and address and telephone number. Place this on the ring with the Greyhound Rescue, Inc., ID tag. ALWAYS KEEP BOTH ID TAGS ON YOUR DOG AT ALL TIMES.

see Crate Rental Program

We recommend that you rent or purchase a crate for the first few weeks of adjustment. Your greyhound has always lived in one so it is very familiar and comfortable for your dog.  It can be used to make the transition from racer to retirement easier.  If you’re not too sure about when to use the crate, a general rule of thumb is, if you can’t watch your dog, crate it.  For the first two weeks, crate your dog every time you leave the house, particularly if you work all day and the dog will be alone. This will help your dog become familiar with the family routine.  When you feel the dog is adjusting, put the dog in the crate but leave the door unlatched. This gives your Greyhound a choice.  After a couple weeks of using the "open door" policy, you can usually eliminate the crate.

Be sure to have the crate on hand before you arrive home with your dog so that you can begin using it right away

You'll need one bowl for food and one bowl for water—be sure to purchase large bowls.    The food and water bowls should be elevated.  You can either purchase an elevated feeding/water dish, or improvise by sitting the bowls on a child's stool, box or an inverted bucket bucket (12-18 inch elevation is suggested).

Decide ahead of time through consultation with John and Denise Davis, your Vet, or other Greyhound owners what type of food you will be feeding your Greyhound and purchase it before you bring your Greyhound home.

During the first couple weeks, as the dog is transitioning to his/her new diet, your Greyhound may develop diarrhea.  Consult your books--switch to a diet of boiled rice and chicken.   This will help eliminate the diarrhea.

You'll need to provide something soft for your Greyhound to lie on. One tip: purchase or use something that is washable. This will allow you to clean it regularly.

Greyhounds love the fleece toys with a squeaker inside or the "stuffed" animal toys—anything that squeaks.

Choose a quality dog biscuit in the Large or Extra Large size.

Raw beef knuckle or marrow bones are good for your dog’s teeth and satisfy the chewing urge. It is recommended these be chewed out of doors.

Please pick up after your pets on your neighborhood walks.  Be a responsible Greyhound owner.

A good cleaning solution to effectively remove any "accident" spots of odors. Nature’s Miracle and Simple Solution are very effective.

For the weekly tooth brushings.

It's a rubber glove filled with "bumps" that you slip on your hand. You just "pet" your Greyhound and off comes all the loose and dead dog hair. This will also reduce shedding.

For nail clipping, use the "guillotine" type of clipper not the ones that "mash" the nail.

Your Greyhound must have a coat for cold weather. If you are adopting during the warm-weather season, you'll probably have to wait for cooler weather in order to find the coats in the pet store. If you are adopting in the cold weather, make your first stop on the way home the pet store and purchase a coat. You'll have to try it on your dog to get the proper fit. It's too hard to guess the size. Classy Canine and Denise's sister, Linda, make excellent coats for Greyhounds. Check with Denise about ordering a coat from her sister.   If you sew, there are patterns for dog coats on-line at Greyhound Manor Crafts

Until you can trust the dog, a muzzle is essential if you have a cat or small dog in your home. Muzzles are also required if you plan to participate in an organized playgroup for Greyhounds.   You can purchase a muzzle from us, or with a refundable deposit, we will be happy to loan you one.

Review the rules of Greyhound ownership with your children.  Remind them to keep outside doors closed and latched; gates closed and locked.  Remind them that when the Greyhound is sleeping or resting on his bed, or eating anything, you don't bother them.

Prepare your house for your new family member by removing any fragile knickknacks that can be easily knocked over or broken by a happy, wagging tail.

Clear your kitchen counter of any treats that you routinely might leave out to remove any temptation to start "counter surfing".

Cover your waste container in the kitchen with a secure lid, or better yet, try to store it away in a cabinet where your Greyhound cannot gain access to it.

You might want to secure cabinets with childproof latches that contain food or cleaning chemicals to protect your Greyhound.    Greyhounds are experts at learning to open unsecured cabinet doors.

Consider keeping bathroom doors closed to remove the temptation of getting into the trash can.   Keep toilet lids down!

Electrical cords should be out of sight and removed from areas close to where the Greyhound will be lying on his pillow or comforter to remove the temptation.  If bored, your Greyhound might start chewing on the cord.

Set up an appointment with your Veterinarian to have a well-dog checkup so that your Vet can meet your Greyhound. You can use this as an opportunity to discuss the special needs of Greyhound anesthesia with your Vet.  Don’t wait until your Greyhound becomes ill or an emergency arises for the first introduction.  It’s important that you feel comfortable with your Vet and your Vet’s understanding and knowledge of the special needs Greyhounds have.

• Choose a Vet who has worked with Greyhounds.
• Don’t be afraid to come right out and ask "how much experience do you have with Greyhounds? ... Do any of your clients have Greyhounds?
• Are you familiar with the recommended guidelines for using anesthesia with Greyhounds?
• If for any reason you are uncomfortable, now is the time to make the switch to another Vet.

Check your fence for holes or weak spots and repair them before you bring your Greyhound home.  Purchase clips for all your gates so that your Greyhound cannot open them.  Always keep your gates latched.

Place static cling decals or a large "X" with masking tape at the dog's eye level on any large windows or sliding glass doors so the Greyhound does not run through the glass window or doors until he learns that this is a hard surface.