Life with a Greyhound

Life With A Greyhound... (our personal list of FAQ's)

In only a matter of days, on December 16th, it will have been one whole year since that snow-stormy morning when Day stole our hearts and we became a family. We've had an incredible year and I am grateful for every single minute we have with this boy of absolute sweetness and love!

Being a Greyhounds mama, I've found, is not for the hopelessly shy. Or, maybe it is... maybe it's actually the best thing to have finally forced me out of my protective shell.  I have talked to more people in this past year than I maybe have in my entire life before adopting Day, but, I love that people are curious! I love that people are fascinated and excited to learn about Retired Racing Greyhounds in search of loving homes. And, I especially love that people want to meet Day and how they are thoroughly surprised and delighted at how he immediately leans into everyone he meets for a cuddly introduction. Days heart is open and has, in turn, opened me up to so many conversations with people I otherwise would never have had.

No matter where we go or who we talk to, there are twelve questions that always seem to come up and I thought it would be fun to share them... I'm sure many of you are constantly asked all of these, as well. I'd love to know what other questions are frequently posed to other Greyhound families!

Now... on to our personal list of Frequently Asked Questions followed by our Frequently Offered Replies: 

1) Is that a Whippet?

MAMA RESPONSE: 'He' is actually a Greyhound.

DAY RESPONSE: Who you callin' a Whippet???

2) Aren't Greyhounds really high-strung?

MAMA RESPONSE: Only for about three minutes, once every four hours.

DAY RESPONSE: High....... whaaaaaaaa???

3) I've heard that Greyhounds just mostly sleep, aren't they boring?

MAMA RESPONSE: No, never!

DAY RESPONSE: *sigghhh*

4) Isn't he way too skinny?

MAMA RESPONSE: He is perfect and healthy and beautiful!

DAY RESPONSE: I'm not skinny!!! I'm svelte.......

5) With all that muscle to feed, how much do Greyhounds eat?

MAMA RESPONSE: Day eats four cups of dry kibble daily along with fruit and vegetables for snacks... and believe me, he does LOVE his snacks!

DAY RESPONSE: Depends what's on the menu.....

6) Why do you dress him in so many layers?

MAMA RESPONSE: Day needs a little help keeping warm. Greyhounds have no undercoat or fat layer and Day still doesn't even have a fully filled in covering of body hair... he's completely naked on his belly and his cute lil' bum.

DAY RESPONSE: Do we really need to share such personal information??

7) Did it take a long time for him to learn the ropes of living in a house?

MAMA RESPONSE: It's amazing how easily he took to his new house; we just let him explore and helped him discover... within about two weeks he had completely taken over.

DAY RESPONSE: All I needed to learn was that I belong... right.....here!

8) A black Greyhound??!!! That's really rare, isn't it?

MAMA RESPONSE: No, not rare, at all... the black Greyhounds are just unfortunately more commonly overlooked for adoption, just like with other breeds.

DAY RESPONSE: Oh, I'm rare alright... the rarest breed of AWESOMMMEEEE!!!

9) Is it true that Greyhounds can't sit?

MAMA RESPONSE: Many Greyhounds are actually able to sit and though I will never ask him to, Day sometimes decides to try it out for himself.

DAY RESPONSE: You got this... hold iiiittt..... hoooold iiiiiiiiittttttttttt............

10) Are greyhounds really protective, do they make good watchdogs?

MAMA RESPONSE: Well... he does love to 'watch' really closely when there's snack preparation happening in the kitchen... 

DAY RESPONSE: Sure, I'm a good watchdog... here, watch this...!!

11) Are Greyhounds at all affectionate? I mean, can they actually form loving bonds after living in kennels for so long??

MAMA RESPONSE: Day is the snuggliest boy there is... trust me, he's the CUDDLER of ALL cuddlers!

DAY RESPONSE: Am I 'affectionate'? I don't know what that even means. All I do know, is... Mamas lap is MYYYY lap!!!

12) Don't Greyhounds require miles of walking for daily exercise?

PAPA RESPONSE: We're actually lucky if Day decides to walk farther than the distance of a single street block.

DAY RESPONSE: I prefer to riiiiiiide.....