Greyhound Crossroads: FAQ


	Frequently Asked Questions about GC and Greyhound Adoption

When we do Meet and Greets in the South Carolina area to talk to people about greyhound adoption, we find that we answer similar questions from many of our visitors. In this FAQ, we hope to address these questions, in essence creating an online Meet and Greet for our visitors. We hope that you will enjoy the following conversation. Included in the conversation are links to other web pages on our site where much more information is available. If you have any other questions about Greyhound Crossroads or greyhound adoption, please contact GC's Director, Kim Owens.

Visitor: What is Greyhound Crossroads? What do you do?

GC: Greyhound Crossroads (GC) is a greyhound adoption service in South Carolina and the surrounding areas in North Carolina and Georgia. You can see the locations of the members of our family by visiting GC's Family Map. GC is made up entirely of volunteers who work to place any needy greyhound in a good home. We typically work with retired racing greyhounds but we also help place AKC greyhounds and greyhounds who may have been left at local animal shelters. If you would like to learn more about GC, please visit our Quick Facts page.

Visitor: How do you get the retired racing greyhounds? Where do they come from?

GC: Most of our retired racing greyhounds come from different "farms" that are associated with the race tracks in Florida. Kim and Robert, our directors, have had long-term friendly relationships with several of the trainers in Florida. This gives us a couple of advantages. One, we know the trainers and we trust them. The trainers frequently provide us with very valuable information about their dogs. Two, the trainers can give us warning when they have special needs dogs that need placing or when they have a special set of dogs that we might be interested in placing in homes (such as, littermates of dogs that we have already placed).

Visitor: Do greyhounds make good pets?

GC: Greyhounds make great pets, especially the retired racers. They generally come to their new homes already leashed trained and crate trained. That can make it surprisingly easy for the dogs to adapt to a new home life. House breaking many greyhounds is a fairly simple matter of teaching them to treat the house as their crate. Plus, it seems that greyhounds are just waiting for the chance to adapt to being a pet! They seem to take to it like they were born just for that purpose. It is important to remember, however, that most of the greyhounds that we place have never been a pet before. As such, they can make "pottying" mistakes in the house or get into things that you wouldn't expect an adult dog to get into (such as the de-thawing steak on the counter top). We recommend that new families give their greyhound at least 4 to 6 weeks to adapt to being in a new house. If you are patient, you will probably be pleasantly surprised at how rapidly your new family member adapts to pet life.

Visitor: But, how can greyhounds make such good pets after the way they've been mistreated in the racing industry?

GC: Well, most greyhounds are not treated poorly when they live on farms associated with the racing industry. Most of the people involved realize that a mistreated animal is not likely to run very well. Furthermore, our directors know and have regular contact with the trainers where we get most of our retired racers. We can visit their farms and see how the dogs are treated. We aren't saying that greyhounds are never mistreated in the racing industry. It probably happens, after all there are bad people in the racing industry just like there are bad people in every segment of our population. But the fact is that the vast majority of the dogs that we place are good with people and show no behavioral indications of having been abused in their former life.

Visitor: About how old are the dogs when they are retired from racing?

GC: Generally, greyhounds are retired from racing between about 2 to 5 years old. Sometimes we have older dogs to place that may have been favorites in the kennel or may have won lots of races and were being used as breeders on the farms. These older dogs and dogs that may come to us with healed injuries are special cases in greyhound adoption.

Visitor: Don't greyhounds require a lot of exercise...a lot of room to run?

GC: This is a common misperception by many people. Actually, greyhounds are not very active dogs. Sure, most greyhounds love to run, but often they will only run for fairly short periods of time, especially if they don't have something exciting to chase. Greyhounds were bred to be sprinters. What this means in terms of helping them adapt to being a pet is that they have quick spurts of energy but then they spend much of the rest of the day sleeping and resting. Even the 2 to 3 year olds that we place, sleep most of the day (80% of the day is not an exaggeration). Inside a house, greyhounds are typically quiet, gentle dogs. But, they need some activity and exercise. This can be handled with a fenced-in yard and/or by taking regular walks on a leash. Some of our members, especially those without fenced-in yards, make a point of periodically taking their greyhound to a local fenced-in park area to let their dog run for a while. Many greyhounds live comfortably in apartment or condo settings as long as they get regular walks to do their bathroom necessities and a nice length walk at least once a day for extra activity and exercise.

Visitor: Can a greyhound live outside?

GC: No. Greyhounds must be inside dogs. Not only do the greyhounds prefer to be with their families, they also can't handle outside weather. Because of their thin coat and lack of body fat, they can not tolerate either hot or cold temperatures. And they certainly do not want to be outside if it is raining or snowing. Greyhounds would much rather be inside on a nice comfy dog bed, or your couch or bed if you let them!

Visitor: I don't have a fenced-in yard but I have a good-sized back yard. Could I tie a greyhound out on a nice, long dog run?

GC: No. A dog run is not a good idea for greyhounds. The problem is that greyhounds are sprinters. They can go from 0 to about 40 mph in 3 steps. If they did that on a dog run, they would either pull the run loose from where ever you have it attached and be long gone before you realized it or they would break their neck. Either way, this is not something that we want to see happen to these wonderful dogs.

Visitor: Can I do off-lead work and outside training with a greyhound? Can I teach him to walk with me around the block without being on a leash?

GC: Sorry, but again no. It is important to remember that greyhounds have been bred for thousands of years to be sprinters. For example, think about how some dogs act when they get excited. They will often bounce around and yap some. A greyhound who gets excited will often take off running, just because he loves to run. That is especially true if the dog sees a furry animal running away from him, be it a squirrel, cat, dog, or a skunk! And, thinking about the 0 to 40 mph idea, it is easy to imagine the greyhound gone long before you could stop him. Calling his name almost never helps in these situations. It is not that the greyhound is running away from you, he is simply running, just to be running. So, in the interest of keeping our beautiful greys safe and healthy, our members only allow their greyhounds out of enclosed areas when they are on a leash.

Visitor: You mentioned greyhounds chasing cats and other dogs. Is this a problem for many greyhounds? Can a greyhound live with smaller animals?

GC: Most greyhounds do well with other dogs, especially medium to large-sized dogs. Greyhounds were bred to be pack animals and often get along quite well with other dogs as part of their pack. And many greyhounds do well with smaller dogs and cats when inside a house. But, some greyhounds just have too high of what we call a "prey-drive" to be trustworthy around smaller animals. It is important to note, however, that we don't recommend letting any greyhound outside with a smaller dog or cat, for example loose together in a fenced-in yard. In general, a greyhound that is safe with a smaller animal in a house may not be safe outside of the house. That drive to chase furry animals that are running away can be all too easily triggered in the yard. Another thing we recommend is that the greyhound should always be supervised when with the smaller animals inside the house. The last thing we want to see is for a new greyhound to have an unpleasant run-in with another animal member of the family. If you have a cat or small dog, it is important to let us know about this when you are talking to us about adopting. That way we can discuss ways to handle the situation more thoroughly and we can help you choose a greyhound that will fit in with your family (both human and animal members).

Visitor: What about small children? Do greyhounds get along with them?

GC: Many greyhounds do fine with children, especially children about 6 years old and up. In fact, some greyhounds are great with children of all ages! But, when problems occur they tend to happen with toddlers. With toddlers, the best thing to do is to teach the child to leave the dog alone when she is lying down. If you do that, you will avoid the most likely problem between the child and dog. Greyhounds, like most dogs, feel rather territorial about the space that they are lying or sleeping in. By teaching the toddler not to bother the dog when she is lying down, you can avoid most problems. Of course, you also want to teach the child to treat the dog gently, etc. But most parents understand that without being told. A very good resource for learning to handle potential problems between dogs and children is the book "Childproofing your Dog" by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson (see our Recommended Books page). Again, if you have children, it is important to let us know so that we can help you choose a greyhound that will fit your family needs.

Visitor: If I see a greyhound that I like, can I take him home today?

GC: No. We actually require an over-night waiting period after new families have met the "perfect" dog, before they take the dog home. We just want our new families to seriously consider greyhound adoption and whether the dog that they have picked is the dog that they want to commit to and make a member of their family. Families can take longer than an over-night period (within reason) but we do require that they 'sleep on it' before taking a dog home. However, once a family has chosen a dog, we will put that dog up as "pending" for that family on our available hounds page so that other families can see that the dog is no longer available.

Visitor: We have to work during the day. How would we handle a greyhound during the times when we can't be at home?

GC: A very good question. After all, no one can stay at home and take care of their greyhound 24-hours a day. We recommend a two-prong approach to this common situation. First, help your new greyhound adjust to being at home without you, by leaving her for brief periods of time during the first couple of days. Then over a period of time build up to being gone for several hours in a row. Second, when you leave your dog, put her in a crate. Leaving her in a crate means that she can't get into or chew on any new and interesting, but potentially dangerous, things in your house while you are gone. For many people, crating their new greyhound is a difficult thing to do. Remember, however, most of our dogs are coming from one of the farms in Florida and are used to a kennel situation. So, they know what crating is all about. In contrast, they are much less used to having the freedom of a house to wander in.

Visitor: How much do you have to feed a greyhound? Do they require a special diet?

GC: Most of our members feed their greyhounds high-quality dry dog food with some extras added in. Most greyhounds eat about 2 cups of food twice a day, but it varies from dog to dog. By high quality food, we mean the type of dog food that you can find in pet stores or tractor supply locations. The main difference between high quality dog food versus other types of dog food is the amount of corn and soy bean added to the food. Dogs can't digest corn and soy bean doesn't seem to agree with most greyhounds, so most of us avoid dog food that contains either corn or soy bean as one of the top ingredients. As extras, we recommend adding a heaping tablespoon or two of a yogurt that contains active cultures to the food. The active yeast in yogurt helps settle upset stomachs, plus most dogs love the taste. But be sure to look at the label of the yogurt; not all yogurt has active cultures. Plain yogurt is more likely to have active cultures than the flavored variety. You can also add other things to their food...any type of meat is always a treat. Some of us even add V8 to their dogs' food. Also, note that a few of our members prefer to feed their greyhounds a raw food diet. If you are interested in that, you would want to research it carefully to be sure that you provided your dog with a balanced and healthy diet. We have several links for dog food and raw food diets on our Recommended Links page.

Visitor: What type of vet care have the greyhounds received when they are adopted?

GC: Each greyhound goes into his new home healthy and ready for a new life. All of our dogs have a complete check-up with our veterinarian before being adopted. This includes testing and treatment for worms, complete dental work-up, heartworm check and treatment, nail trimming, grooming, and spaying or neutering. Generally, this means that other than monthly flea and heartworm treatment, the dog should require little vet care for the first year, unless something unexpected happens. After that first year, we recommend yearly check-ups with your local vet even with young, healthy dogs.

Visitor: How do adoptions work through Greyhound Crossroads?

GC: The first step is what you are doing now - getting some basic information so that you can decide whether a greyhound is the dog for you. Please visit our Road to Adoption page for much more information about greyhounds and the adoption process at GC. Once you decide that you want to adopt a greyhound, you can request one of our applications and start the adoption process. Then you can visit our foster dogs on our Available Hounds page and talk to our foster families to get an idea of the personalities of the dogs that we have available. We encourage interested families to visit with the foster dogs that they think they may be interested in, to get an idea of whether the dog would actually work for them in their house. Then it is a matter of completing the paperwork, having a welcome visit from one of our local reps, picking the right dog, paying the adoption fee, and taking your new family member home with you!

Visitor: You mentioned an adoption fee. How much is that?

GC: Our adoption fee is $200. This helps us cover the medical expenses, transportation expenses, and upkeep for the dog. The dogs themselves are FREE.

Visitor: What do you mean by foster dogs?

GC: At Greyhound Crossroads, we use a foster system to take care of our available greyhounds between when we bring them into our program and when they go to their new homes. Members of our group volunteer their time and space in their house to help take care of our fosters until they find a new home. This allows us to really get to know our foster dogs. Each foster parent learns a lot about their foster and provides this information to interested families to help them make the best choice of which dog to adopt.

Visitor: Can I get help like you mentioned from the foster parents after I adopt a dog from you?

GC: Definitely! We try very hard to support our members. Usually the foster parents of your dog will make a special point to stay in regular contact with you during the first couple of weeks of adoption to help answer questions. Also, if you have contact with one of our area reps, they will also stay in contact, as well as our director. In addition, we have an e-mail based list serve that provides our members with a chance to ask questions about and discuss the trials as well as pleasures of greyhound ownership. Finally, we have quite a lot of information about our group and our support activities on the web. Please visit our Membership Clubhouse page for more information.

Visitor: This all sounds great! I am interested in learning more. What should I do now?

GC: Next you can request and complete an adoption application. Then visit our Road to Adoption page to learn more about greyhound adoption and our Available Hounds page to see what fosters we currently have available. We also offer several books to our members that provide very useful information about adopting greyhounds. We highly recommend that you read at least one book on adopting greyhounds before choosing your dog. Please visit our Recommended Books page for more information about greyhound books. If you want to purchase one of the books that we have available, just let us know when you contact us. Finally, when you are ready, contact us. You can contact Kim or if you live close to one of our area reps, you can contact that person with questions (see information on area reps on our Contact Us page). Good luck with your hunt for that "perfect" greyhound!