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Originally Posted by Nova85  I am slightly curious as I don't know much about greyhounds, why would they make great apartment dog's ?
Pretty well all I trully know about them from friends having them is that they are high enery but yet still couch potatoes (if that made sense) but I also know they need plenty of run time .. so I am slightly confused .. sorry like I said I trully know little to nothing about greyhounds. |
Here goes (this may get long so I apologize in advance).
Greyhounds are, by design, a sprinting breed. Even when they are racing they run only a 30 second race every 6 days or so. It takes a day or two to recover from expending such a tremendous amount of energy and then they are kept loose between races by walks or short sprints. Think of a cheetah who can reach maximum speed for only a short burst and then takes a long while to recover from that. Same principle in greyhounds. You can build endurance in a greyhound, but it is not their nature to go-go-go. More like sleep-go-sleep.
High energy is not something I'd attribute to a greyhound, unless they were still a puppy. Of course, most breeds of puppies seem to have boundless, limitless energy. Once they hit about 3, they really mellow out.
Why they make great apartment dogs: They don't bark a lot, they don't shed a lot, they are low-to-moderate energy - happy to doze most of the day in the house and go for walkies a couple times a day. Ideally, owners can find a place to run their dogs safely off leash a few times a month. Most areas with greyhound adoption groups also have greyhound playdays - a chance to socialize and exercise greyhounds as a group. Very few of our dogs will just run for running's sake - they need a reason like chasing a bunny or running with (racing against) other greyhounds. Greyhound playgroups go a lot like this: run for about 30 seconds, mooch ear scritchies off the humans for a while, check and leave pee-mail, repeat. We take our crew to run in a 6 acre field and once they do a loop-do-loo, they're pretty much done and ready to go home. Takes us longer to drive there and drive home than for them to run themselves tired.
At a walking pace, they will go further.
When I lived in an apartment I had two greyhounds - daily walks..about 20 minutes in the morning, 30 or so minutes after work and then another 20 minute walk before bed. Some longer walks/outings on the weekends. We also did greyhound playgroup once a week most weeks. DH had four in an apartment with the same schedule, though probably 1-2 more short walks b/c he worked from home.
I've found that our greyhounds (currently 11 with 4 at the Bridge...not counting countless fosters) will rise to our level of activity. When we are really busy with work and other things, they tend to mellow out more. When we're being really active, they rise to meet that as well. Of course, you have variances in personalities - our little black bitch Echo would go nuts if she didn't have a fenced yard to run in every day. My cranky old gal Haley would be full of piss and vinegar if I made her go for a walk every day. She's always taken retirement very seriously
BUT, most greyhounds fall into the middle ground where they are happy with a low-to-moderate amount of exercise. We took Harmony and Melody for a 1/2 mile stroll (not even fast paced!) walk around a small lake yesterday and they were zonked out all night...It, in all, took about an hour b/c everyone wants to stop and talk to you when you have a greyhound!
The biggest challenge in adopting a greyhound is remembering that these dogs have been professional athletes up till their retirement. Depending on how long they raced, they'll know some basics - they'll be crate trained and most will walk nicely on a leash. BUT, they've most likely never seen ceiling fans or TVs or kids riding by on bikes or bouncing balls. Any food they see has always been for them and no one's really asked much of them other than to get along with others in the turn out pen. It's kinda like having a puppy...you have to teach them to be a pet. The majority learn quickly and easily if you follow a few simple home acclimation steps. Many groups will also foster track dogs to get the home acclimation process started for you.
People will often comment on how well behaved greyhounds are...so quiet and polite. They think you are a great dog owner! To be honest, greyhounds are just naturally pretty well behaved. You don't really have to do much to have a perfect dog.
Trouble Choosing! 
