Greyhounds As Agility Dogs?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
are greyhounds smart and easy to train
are they good at agility training and agility
are they good pets personality wise (and companion wise)
and is it smart to have a retired racing greyhound that you rescue i heard that they tend to get seperation anxiety
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- Is This The Wrong Reason To Get A Dog And If It’s Not What Breed Should I Get?
- Can A Greyhound Safely Do Agility?
- My 9 Month Greyhound Is Crate Trained Want To Get Her Out Of It So That She Can Join A New Dog We Are Getting?
Greyhounds can make great apartment dogs, but still need regular toilet breaks and exercise. They are smart, but they don’t always follow orders – they have their own minds. Training must always be positive. If you use harsh training methods you wont get anything but fear and resentment. Agility is possible with the right grey. If you are interested in which personality to look for then check out never say never greyhounds (link below).
Greys make wonderful companions. They are gentle, affectionate and friendly companions. Some greys can have problems with Separation anxiety, but it is not true of all greyhounds.
yes to all these questions, except the retiring part. Dogs tend to live for “adventure” retiring them without givening them another out let can have a lot of mental affects including but not limited depression, licking disorders, destruction, ect…
Greyhound are notoriously lazy despite the huge bursts of speed they are capable of, so not a good choice for agility. They have quite fragile bones due to the light structure so agility is not recommended for the risk of injury to them.
They make good pets, they’re clean around the house and like to sleep a lot. They’re usually quite quiet but loving.
Retired Greyhounds can be wonderful family dogs, they just need socialization and love and they will often become happy and balanced family pets.
I loved my greyhound that I had. They are not for off leash tho. She was a very sweet hound. A couch potato. But she had her moments of running the track in the backyard when we first would let her out in the morning. We never had a problem with separation anxiety, and she got along great with my my shih tzu and sheltie. She played with my rottie until he got too big for her. Would like to get another one, but don’t think any other dog would be able to take her place. She was a track dog. She didn’t tolorate being in a kennel when we got her. She loved curling up on the couch with us or up in bed with us early in the morning. She was a great companion. She passed away last May and we miss her.
they are smart but no “right” for agility. You can train most any dog for agility but some arenot going to be as good as Border Collies And Australian shepherds and other great agile dogs. Greyhounds are great somber dogs. good companions and very loyal. i would encourage you to get one from a rescue. seperation anixiety is not likely. they will be happy to go to a loving home! good luck!
Yahoo groups sighthound agility.
Have people been sucessful with greyhounds in agility, Yes but put it this way – they don’t dominate the world team…
The have such a long stride that the courses are tight for them
My shippet considers 12 ft spaced jumps tight….
Best person to ask is the rescue you are getting the dog from. They probably all have different pesonalitys. When ever I have seen the retired greyhounds they seem to be very relaxed. I have a greyhound mix, and she LOVED agility and was very good at it. but that could be from the other half of her:)
I know a couple that has a rescued greyhound (ex racer) and she is the coolest dog, she has the cutest personality. Very smart, loving, and FAST – she in particular needs to be watched because she is only just off the track (last race was about two months ago) – she has no seperation anxiety, that I know of at least.
If you take lots of obedience classes with a greyhound and get them very responsive to you they are seriously amazing dogs.
With lots of patient training I think a greyhound would make an excellent agility dog. You just need to focus all their energy, and get control of them.
Mary, it sounds like you are considering rescuing a retired greyhound, as am I. I have been doing a lot of research on the internet about the breed and have also gone to a few “meet and greets” with my local rescue. Yes, they are smart. Yes, they make great pets. I’ve never heard anything about them as far as agility training or separation anxiety. I think you should contact your local rescue group and plan to meet up with them at an event. Greyhound people are a special breed…. a little nuts, a tad obsessed, and totally devoted! Do a google search for greyhounds in your area and good luck! Oh, and you can see lots of greyhound vidoes on youtube.
I have seen a couple greyhounds in agility. They are really nice dogs, but you have to be willing to provide lots of excercise. Rescuing a grey hound is not like you have heard. I know someone with 5 rescues and they are all nice. I would ask questions of a rescue group to see if you are ready for one.