This month, we spoke to Anne from Lockerbie about rehoming her greyhound Rocky through DCGR. Rocky joined a family that already had an older greyhound called Ziggy, who had also been adopted from DCGR.
Rocky showing off his goofy personality
Can you share a bit about your greyhound’s personality and temperament?
“Rocky is gentle and affectionate. He loves all people and wants to be friends with everybody. He’s never shown any signs of aggression towards anyone. He’s funny, surprisingly intelligent and very loving – and a little bit goofy!”
What has surprised you the most about owning a greyhound?
“How lazy they were and how little exercise they need for such big, muscular dogs. Particularly their ability to settle down and sleep for hours on end. You would expect getting a big dog bred for running that they would need miles of walking, but they aren’t like that at all – they have quick bursts of energy and then want to sleep for the rest of the day!”
How did you prepare your home for your new greyhound?
“We already had a greyhound (Ziggy), but when we got him we made the garden dog proof with high enough fences – not that they’ve shown any inclination to jump over the fence at all – just making sure it’s safe and contained so that they can run about freely. We also made sure that they had access to lots of big comfortable beds!”
What advice would you give to someone considering adopting a retired racing greyhound?
“Don’t expect a companion who will go on a ten mile hike with you! Make sure you have somewhere comfortable for them to sleep. Be prepared to not leave them for too long as they value human company.”
Can you share any memorable experiences or stories about your greyhound?
“The day we adopted Rocky, he was a bit of a lost wee soul and immediately wanted to get into bed with his new big brother Ziggy – this made him very endearing from the start! Also, introducing him to our toddler granddaughter for the first time, how gentle he was and wanted to engage with her and become her best friend! She absolutely loves both of our greyhounds and they are so patient with her despite never having been around children before.”
Rocky cuddling up to Ziggy on his first night in his new home
How do you incorporate exercise and mental stimulation into your greyhound’s daily routine?
“We have quite a sizeable garden and they like to do zoomies! They love playing with their large collection of soft toys – they love to chase them when we throw them, but aren’t so good at bringing them back! They seem to really love having their toys to cuddle. They are also very food motivated, which helped a lot when we first got Rocky as it allowed him to learn his name and recall (within the house and garden).”
How has adopting a greyhound enriched your life?
“They keep us entertained! They’re quite comical and have a lot of antics. They’re very good companions and they love interacting with people – they are always wanting stroked.”
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience with your greyhound or the adoption process?
“Every greyhound we’ve had (we’ve had 5 now) have all come in so well-adjusted, house trained, clean, travel well and walk fantastically on the lead. They’re non-aggressive and gentle beasts, we’ve had no issues with them behaviourally at all. DCGR have always made the process very smooth – as expected they wanted to check that our home was suitable.”
Ziggy and Rocky sleeping side by side