Fostering Greyhounds

Bookworm85

Hi everyone,

I've always wanted to foster a dog (or 2), and I will be in a position to do so in the new year. I am really interested in fostering greyhounds and feel that they would suit my lifestyle perfectly.

I am currently renting and the landlord has agreed to let us get a dog, but I would prefer to go the fostering route rather than actually adopting one.

I work from home about 20-30 hours a week and would love to give a greyhound a good start towards getting used to a family environment.

Although I have had dog's in the past (GSD, GSDXLab, Springer Spaniels), I have no experience with Greyhounds. I've been doing a lot of research about them, and to be honest I have fallen in love with them.

Anyways, I am just wondering if anybody here has any experience forstering greyhounds and could offer me any advice.

Wisco

Paws in Mullinahone does a lot with greyhounds- see www.paws.ie for more info.

Toulouse

As does Mary Jane in Orchard Greyhound Sanctuary http://www.orchardgreyhoundsanctuary.com/

She's a wealth of information in relation to greyhounds so give her a call and she'll be able to tell you everything you need to know.

toadfly

Where are you based OP?

If you are in the west EGAR has some greyhounds.

Got a lurcher (though anyone we have talked to has said he's pure greyhound) a year ago at this stage:



That's Snickers If you've had dogs in the past I'll skip the trials and tribulations of fostering! Greyhounds sleep for most of the day. We were told that they need two 20 minute walks during the day, Snickers gets a bit more than that and just conks out which is great. There's a small enclosed park near to me where I can let him off and he just sprints like crazy around it, so maybe once a week he gets to go flat out which he loves!

They're quite affectionate, love curling up around you and will run around the place if they see you coming home. It's my first dog but I'm impressed at how quick my guy is at picking up training, but perhaps as it's his third home he is just remembering previous training, we don't know.

If you get one, be prepared to be asked several times 'do you race him?'. Some parents are paranoid so they pull children away from the path of the dog thinking him to be violent. Other children just burst out crying when they see him, it's a really strange reaction people have to Greyhounds! Final thing is that you'll also get used to other dog owners moving away from you (i.e. crossing to the other side of the street) if you are walking a Greyhound, which I found peculiar at the start.

Oh, and if you have a cat I'd possibly reconsider. Squirrels too though you'd probably be less likely to keep one as a pet.

TooManyDogs

I havent fostered greyhounds but nearly everything else!

My one bit of advise is get a crate. A jumbo one for a grey but my crates have been my saviour. You may get a dog that's not housetrained, destructive or maybe not good with small animals. These things can all be turned around with training but having peace of mind when you're at work that the house won't be covered in sh!t, furniture eaten or cat clinging to the top of the curtains means you'll have all your energy to put into training any problems.

so crates are the business! There's been threads here on how to crate train properly. Done right the dog sees it as his bedroom and not somewhere scary. My lot have to be chased out of a foster dogs crate so they can get in!

Discodog

The only downside to fostering a Greyhound is that you will end up keeping it . They are the most adorable dogs & totally underrated. I would hate to be without one.

Inexile

Greyhounds are fabulous dogs. I have one and am currently fostering two others. They pick up house training very fast and once they discover a comfy bed they are happy out.

Not sure where you are located but Kerry Greyhound Connection (www.kerrygreyhoundconnection.ie) are always looking for fosters. You dont have to live in Kerry as they have back up in other areas too. They always have established pairs of hounds who are just waiting for a chance to move into foster and then into their forever home.

One word of warning though - hounds are addictive!

bernard0368

Be very carefull fostering Greys.

They have a great knack of getting under your skin and you just end keeping them.
Fantastic pets quite, clean, great characters and very loving.

As mentioned before some people are very wary of hounds especially people with smaller dogs. They seem to think greys are aggresive and nothing can be further from the truth. In saying that mine hate rabbits cats and squirrels.

As a pet they are highly underated.

Discodog

Do bear in mind that not all Greyhounds chase cats etc. Many rescues will have a cat friendly Greyhound. You can also train them to not chase. It's not always easy but can often be done. I can walk my oldest sighthound through a field of bunnies off lead & she won't chase - took me about a year to train her .

ToniTuddle

Dónal wrote: »

Other children just burst out crying when they see him, it's a really strange reaction people have to Greyhounds!

I used to get very upset when I was wee and seen a greyhound as I thought their owners were being bad and not feeding them because they look so thin :o

Bookworm85

Hi all,

Just wanted to pop by to update this thread and let ye all know about our first foster greyhound!

Say hello to Dasher (Dash for short)



He's such a sweety pie, so gentle and quiet. All he wants is a rub behind the ear and a spot to rest his bony bum He had a bit of a dicky tummy when he arrived but some boiled rice and chicken soon sorted him out. He loves his walks, playing with his teddy and trying to bite the fish in the aquarium.:D

He'll be going to his forever home next week and its gonna be so hard to say goodbye to this chap.

belongtojazz

Aah he's stunning! well done you

babystrawberry

Well done, you should be so proud of yourself to have given Dash such a good start. He looks like a lovely little chap

Greys are such a lovely breed, pure characters

ToniTuddle

Bookworm85 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wanted to pop by to update this thread and let ye all know about our first foster greyhound!

Say hello to Dasher (Dash for short)



He's such a sweety pie, so gentle and quiet. All he wants is a rub behind the ear and a spot to rest his bony bum He had a bit of a dicky tummy when he arrived but some boiled rice and chicken soon sorted him out. He loves his walks, playing with his teddy and trying to bite the fish in the aquarium.:D

He'll be going to his forever home next week and its gonna be so hard to say goodbye to this chap.

Aww that's awesome you got to foster though and maybe you will continue with more fostering?
Must be really hard to say goodbye
But just keep thinking on the fact you have been really good to him and helping him during this time so he will be well adjusted to his forever home

sensibleken

Very best of luck with this venture. Greyhounds have such a raw deal and its heart warming to see more people foster them

Discodog

Well done. The more people that see a Greyhound, being a pet rather than on a track, the better the chances of stopping so many being killed.

I ended up with mine by total accident. She has turned out to be the most wonderful dog & totally unlike some preconceptions.

Bookworm85

ToniTuddle wrote: »

Aww that's awesome you got to foster though and maybe you will continue with more fostering?
Must be really hard to say goodbye
But just keep thinking on the fact you have been really good to him and helping him during this time so he will be well adjusted to his forever home

Will defo be fostering greyhounds again

It turns out that Dash will be going tomorrow instead of next week But we have been asked to take in another asap ( might even be two - I'm doing my best to rearrange the kitchen to accommodate a second crate today!)

Discodog

I admire you so much & it annoys me that I couldn't foster - I could never let go . My latest addition was supposed to be a foster but ..........

Two may be easier. I spent a wonderful walk this evening watching my Greyhound "Course" the pup - totally hilarious especially when he managed to steal her ball :eek:.

Maybe just maybe one day people will realise the intelligence, charm & adorable nature of greyhounds - hopefully then it will be harder to abuse them.

Bookworm85

Well Dasher went to his new home on Saturday, and was delighted to get another dog into my house straight away!

This is Casper



He's only two years old and is an ex racer. He's so affectionate and very very curious - he wants to be involved in everything but he isn't a clingy dog - he's more than happy to just be in the same room as me and the OH.

He's a bit skittish at the moment, but he's never been in a house before and I think he will soon get used to all the sounds and smells. Poor fella gets spooked by the 'ping' from the microwave and the timer on the oven, the door bell and the telephone.

He's has very good manners - He doesn't counter surf at all, and doesn't approach us when we are eating or preparing food (even though he has his nose in the air). He is fantastic on the lead and hardly leaves my side when walking. Over all he is a very calm, biddable, loving and gentle dog.