Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I agree, that is a shame that all three (wow!) went after the cats.

The slow thing works, but don't give up hope if the dog tries to eat your kitty once, a lot of greys are "cat correctible" which means that you can get onto them once or twice and they'll leave kitty alone.  OR, if you have a very brave cat... with claws... let the dog SNIFF (not devour) the cat.  One well aimed swipe at the nose will teach the grey (or other curious dog) that the kitty is not food and the kitty has paws from h*ll.

As far as the puppy thing goes, grey pups are no harder than any other breed.  Puppies are puppies, curious nature and all.  Madison was a fairly easy puppy because she was shy (except for her first walk in her new neighborhood.. . I had to CARRY her past a man in his yard...!), in fact, overly so that she did the whole "I'm excited but scared so I'll pee" thing... which is pretty normal.  I don't agree with the PURCHASING of a grey puppy (and really any dog), but Madison was a rescue due to a long storied problem.

If you want a grey puppy straight off (much like we ended up with, mind you, we weren't LOOKing to get a puppy, she kinda wiggled in) you'd better have WONDERFUL references, grey puppies are rare and many of them go to people inside the organization. So don't get your hopes up.

Yes, I know, I've already written in here... but I like to follow up! 

We got Madison when she was... 14 weeks old (baby baby baby!) and have watched her grow into a wonderful dog.  They puppy process was no worse than having another puppy of a different breed, it's just that most people that want to adopt haven't had a puppy before.  That was WAY off track... now to jump back on.
-clears throat-

Greys are WONDERFUL dogs with personalities that range from introvert to extrovert (like people), sweet, sassy, you name it there is a grey that will fit WHATEVER lifestyle you have.  What I would tell your sister straight off is that these dogs are like no other,  after having a greyhound you will most likely never adopt another kind of dog, they are addictive!  They don't call them the potato chip dogs for nothing, once you have one, you have to have more.  Each dog has a story, and if you just take a second to look into those heart wrenching eyes of theirs, you'll never be able to walk away. (Poetic, no?  )
They do come with limits though, that EVERYONE needs to know.  No off leashing unless in an enclosed area (they will out run you... don't doubt that), and some have special needs (ex.  Glucosamine for their joints, thyroid medecine, etc.), some of them are not cat safe, small dog safe, or small children safe.  Which makes sense if you think about it small dogs/ cats : they were trained from puppyhood to chase a fuzzy bunny... fuzzy kitty= fuzzy bunny.  Small children:  a vast majority have never met with or had to deal with the constant tugging and pulling that little kids often do to dogs, I'm sure it's frustrating and they might lash out.

Those little sidenotes are enough to make someone walk away from adoption, but before she makes her mind, remind your sister that the adoption/ rescue organization will most likely find a dog to fit her home/needs/lifestyle.  They may be big and scary looking at first, but their hearts are even bigger and so is their need.

A little example about finding a dog to fit you, we foster dogs off the track until they find a new home and we don't take dogs that are not cat safe.  The three cats that own the house mean so much to everyone and are part of the family, we would rather watch a wonderful dog (that isn't cat safe) go to someone else until he/she finds a new home than endanger our fuzzy felines.  Because we made the request for only cat safe dogs, that's all we get, and the organization was more than happy to accomidate us. 

Another book written, haha, but yeah.  There is so much you don't know about these awesome dogs, I suggest purchasing (or getting for the library) Adopting a Racing Greyhound by Cynthia Brannigan  (I'm pretty sure that's how you spell it...) it's got some nice tid bits of information to get you (or your sister for that matter) started off, it's kind of like your first baby... you learn by trial and error. (Not that I've had a baby... but believe you me, I know, haha)

And NOW, I'm done, I swear! 

Madison celebrated her 4th birthday on the 15th.
Her celebration consisted of a plethora of treats and a day any dog would love, a jaunt in her own little kiddie pool (purple of course!), and a nice relaxing day (not that she doesn't do that every day.)

Not as good as her first b-day party (she had a cake), but being with us and playing all day was probably a close second!

Late, I know, what a bad (or greyt?) sissy I am, but she enjoyed the day and I thought I'd share. 

Along with the Custer fact on the akc site, I've read in several places that his wife despised the dogs. One reason being that several would often sleep in the bed with them and she herself thought this inappropriate.
To each his (in this case, HER, rather) own. Of course, I fell in love from Day 1, so I can't understand why she would hate them.