If you want a large dog for indoor living, the greyhound is the perfect companion for your family. Once they are socialized as puppies, they can become very friendly and shower you with affection when you get home. As they get older they are very calm dogs that have a natural grace. They won't be the type of large dog that disturbs your furniture or bumps into things and causes them to drop and smash. Although excellent as a speed racer when young, you can be assured of a devoted couch potato, if you do decide to adopt an ex-race dog.
The greyhound can do well with other pets, as long as they are other large to medium-sized dogs. They will try to chase your cats and probably kill them. They also will chase small dogs. Any small animal, whether it is a rabbit, a gerbil, or whatever is fair game to them. They have a high predatory instinct and will chase anything that moves.
The dog enjoys being a part of the family and can learn to love children. However, when you are first getting a dog home do not leave it unsupervised with your kids. It may take some adjustment for it to become friendly and enjoy being with children. You can even muzzle a dog you bring home to make sure it doesn't get upset and try to bite high-energy children around. The dog does prefer a very quiet environment and works best with adults who are laidback.
They can suffer from separation anxiety and should be left alone for only short periods of time until they are used to it. They do well with obedience training but not great. They tend to be distracted and will chase things in the middle of a command. If they are bored or anxious they might want to chew things in your home. Just make sure you have some good chew toys around for them if you are trying to help them get over their anxiety at being alone.
The dog does not bark much and makes it ideal for keeping indoors. It won't disturb the neighbors much with noise. It does like a large padded bed for nighttime sleeping.
Greyhounds are not familiar with stairs, particularly if they were racing dogs. You will need to train the dog to climb stairs if you have them in your home.
Despite their size, greyhounds are best house-trained in their crates. If you get an ex-racing dog, you may need to have them house-trained. Keep them in their crates and help them to figure out where the appropriate places to do their business are by exercising them regularly outdoors.
|
