whippet Dog Training tips
Has anyone ever adopted a grey hound/whippet or any kind of ex racing dog from a shelter? HELP!!?
I have always loved dogs, took the on walks, give them alot of love and toys, but because my job requires me to be there alot of the time, i would not have time to potty train a puppy. And so, i am thinking about adopting a grey hound from a local shelter, an ex racing dog.
Anyone have any tips? are they trained to sit before you get them? are they loving? how much exercise do you give yours?
I am also aware that they have difficulty using stairs seen as they arent used to them. How did you get yours to use the stairs?
thanks! x
Greyhounds make wonderful companions - I've adopted 3, and fostered many, many others. You don't get a rescued racer from a shelter, there's greyhound rescue groups throughout the country and that's where you'd go for a greyhound.
The dogs often go to foster homes once they've been rescued. When you adopt, the dog will already be spayed/neutered, have had a health check and all their shots, anything they need medically will have been done (dental, e.g.). They also test the dogs for dog, cat and child friendliness because the goal is to match the right home with the right dog.
Greys are all crate trained and if they've been through a foster home, will be house trained and likely have basic obedience. My first 2 males came straight from the track so they didn't know anything, including their names because they're never called by name. They're incredibly fast to housetrain, learned sit in 1 session and as for stairs, they're just like any other dog, you just have to show them. They pick that up instantly, too. They don't have difficulty with stairs, they've just never seen them before.
My greys are pretty old now, but in their younger days, we'd go out for 2 or 3 walks a day, one of them about 1 hour long. They're very, very calm and quiet in the house, rarely bark, and while they don't demand a lot of exercise, they need to be able to run and stretch their legs in a fenced yard and they really appreciate their walks.
And yes, they're very, very loving dogs and respond well to positive training methods, but like all the sighthounds, would shut down with harsh training.
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