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Hey and well done for rescuing a hound! They're fabulous dogs!

I can't comment on the adoption process completely as we went to our local rehoming kennel and spoke with them a few times but ended up getting our then not-yet-3-year-old from a foster family who was friends with trainer who'd worked with him.

One thing I can tell you though is that you won't recognise your dog as being the same animal after 1/3/6/12/18/24 months - they change so much it's unbelievable! Our boy was a timid wreck when we got him - we had to teach him to walk on grass and he was frightened of EVERYTHING (and everyone). Now he's more like an extremely chill weed-smoking surfer dude that the cat bosses around. He's a dude. So your new one will definitely change even in the first few weeks and his confidence will grow exponentially.

On the spazzing, our guy will go batshit once a day when he goes out for a walk, then sleep 17 hours. We call it the Zoomies. Is that how your dog is? When we first got ours I was worried he wasn't getting enough "energy drainage" so had him go out on walks twice a week with a professional dog walker, added bonus he socialised with other dogs also. He was able to go offlead after a few weeks with them as they take the dogs to parks/commons that are enclosed - important to note my hound was retired due to absolutely zero chase instinct. Never let a new hound offlead. That said he was pretty exhausted after the on-lead walks as well.

I read a really helpful book when I first adopted ours, all about the different experiences you have with a rescue hound straight off track, I will try and find the link and post it for you.

In the meantime, you might have to post a photo of your lad up here. You know, for science...


Edit: this book Retired Greyhounds: A Guide to Care and Understanding

I have only had my greyhound, Kuiper, for 3 weeks, so I can speak to what the first couple weeks with a shy dog is. He is also a retired racer (race name Bella Kingo) and was off the track for about 2 months before coming into our home. What is your girls racing name? What is her new name going to be?

Greyhounds in generally seem to be a very reserved breed at first, but they then open up and ours is becoming quite the goofball!

I don't know if you plan on kenneling her at all, but we chose to kennel Kuiper and are very happy we did. He likes to "get away from it all" sometimes and just goes to his kennel to take a nap. Also, he prefers to eat while standing in his kennel - while reaching to his food bowl outside.

As for things to keep in mind. The first day is often overwhelming for the dogs (at least it was for Kuiper.) Hourly trips outside until he got on schedule (he didn't go poop for the first 2 days!) and we ended up adding some metamucil to his food to solidify his stool. Greys can be sensitive, and you'll notice it most when they go to the bathroom. Also, we kennel Kuiper in our room at night and the second night his stomach was grumbling so loud it actually woke us up. That sometimes happens with the stress of new scenery and a new diet.

Also, patio doors! Our grey took one look at our deck and headed right into our patio door. He didn't hurt himself, but was kind of confused as first. So, if you have a patio door, just draw the blinds or put some masking tape on it and then introduce it to him.

I'll give you our experience with our cats. When we first got Kuiper, we put the cats in the basement for the first day to give him a chance to acclimate himself to us and our house. The second day we brought the cats up and every time a cat would come near, Kuiper would jump to his feet. At first, we thought it was a sign of aggression, we soon figured out that he was TERRIFIED of them and just wanted to leave the room when they came in. 3 weeks later, he still doesn't "like" them, but generally completely ignores them.

Another thing you could do to help the bond is grooming her. We bought a grooming glove which Kuiper really likes. I think it helps build the bond between him and I.

I had the chance to take off some work and spend the first couple days with him - I think that helped. All in all, we are still learning a LOT. He hasn't had any accidents in the house and only barks (or whines) when he needs to go outside to relieve himself. Honestly, it has been nothing short of fantastic!

Edit: I would also recommend a harness instead of a collar for when you go outdoors. I was reading an article just the other day that said there has been an increase in cases of dogs having esophageal problems because of collars. With shy dogs, sometimes they like to just freeze and stand there - and sometimes you need to move them for their own safety (i.e. Kuiper likes to freeze when people on bikes come towards him and we need to gently move him to the side of the trail.) The harness takes the strain off the neck. Just my two cents :)

Greyhounds love slumberballs! I got my 60 pound girl a extra large one since I knew she'd like a lot of room to stretch out on it, so you could either do that size or size up to a giant one to allow him to be more comfortable. Either size would work though.

Did you get toys yet? How about a raised feeder? In my experience with fostering and owning my girl, they don't seem to be too big on chew types of toys, but love squeaky toys. Mine loves this squeaky toy since the squeaker is super loud and strong, and this plush toy. A little while after we got her we also realized that while she wasn't into small balls like tennis balls or anything, she really loved big balls like soccer balls. I was sick of her destroying soccer balls quickly, so I got her one of these since it was recommeded to me by someone at the dog park, and that thing is seriously indestructible. As far as feeders go, if you haven't gotten one yet then I'd recommend this one. $20 and comes with two bowls. I've had it for a year now with no problems.

We use Merrick grain free pork and sweet potato. I am not sure if it's available outside of Texas though. We had good luck with Castor and Pollux Organix grain free, but we wanted to find something similar that used local ingredients. One thing to note is that we tried various formulas of Merrick until we found the one that produced the most solid stool. You might be able to find another Blue Buffalo formula that produces firmer stool.

We use Kong's Zoom Groom brush. It's great both for bath time and for regular brushing. It's gotten pretty hot here in Texas, so I take the hounds out to the courtyard in our apartment complex and brush them there. This brush gets handfuls of hair out of them!

Ok so i have a Grey and an IG that have been on a raw diet for over a year now. Right now we feed chicken backs twice a day. Once a week we substitute a meal with beef brisket bones. I dont suggest doing the beef until they have been on raw for at least a month as it is harder to digest. Every three days we substitute a chicken feeding with a tripe mix. We use tripe, chicken hearts, a can of pumpkin (or sometimes canned salmon), a cracked raw egg, and cod liver oil all mixed together. After a meal the IG gets one half and the grey get one vitamin (link provided below is the best price). Since putting them on this raw diet both dogs coats are more full and thick as well as shiny. Also their stools are solid and they decompose in the yard within 72 hours.

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Tabs-Plus-Advanced-Formula-Made/dp/B0002HBNW0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382391263&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+vitamins

Get one of these for your backseat and let the dog have the back seat. It's fantastic. It comes with a couple leashes where one end is a seatbelt clip. He can't fall into the floor this way and has padding across the whole backseat. Plus it's waterproof. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CMZ11TX

Also get him a harness (chest-attach area) like this and seatbelt him in, either with the above or with this one's carabiner. Helps give him an anchor and keeps him safer. Keeps him away from you a bit better too, distracting you is the #1 safety factor.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00164ZWBG or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064ACNLO

My 2 cents, skip the raised dishes, and definitely skip the create.

Realistically you need at a minimum, a bed, food and water dishes, food, I strongly recommend sweet potato chews. It'll help with the stress induced diarrhea, a few toys and a Duckworth (see link below) I have yet to meet a dog that doesn't love them.

Multipet Duckworth https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000084E7Y/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_8T4QDb0BKC3DQ

Edit: obviously collar and leash, but those should be supplied by the rescue

I live on a different coast, so I can't talk about AZ, but we've all been through this. Everything will be fine.

Get yourself a copy of the greyhound bible, Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies. Stairs are a completely surmountable obstacle. Yeah, it might be rough for a week, but they'll get the hang of it. As long as you're willing to put in the walking time (most orgs recommend 2 walks, 30 minutes each), a condo is a totally fine situation. Everything will be fine.

That particular bed was Costco and it was only like $35, great deal. Crate and crate pad were from Amazon. Here's the crate...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QFWCLY/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is she the only dog? She's never been alone before.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/separationanxiety



Your placement rep should have some very good advice for you as well as other resource people in you adoption group.




This book by Patricia McConnell is often recommended for separation anxiety.

This one by Malena Demartini-Price is also often recommended.

Good gracious! Get one of these
Slow feeder
https://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound-Feeder-Bloat-Small/dp/B00L3O4JI6/

This is the toy she has! I wish it squeaked a little louder but it will definitely go far! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LR3D2EK/

We don't worry about it unless it's after strenuous exercise. If she's eating after running around, we wait until she's done panting, which can be up to 20 minutes. Sometimes we use a slow feeder to be safe. Normally she eats her food in about 30 seconds, but with the slow feeder it's more like 4 minutes. We use this one in the small size (fits up to 2 cups of food)

Amazon. And you definitely want to provide raised food bowls. If you adopted from us at VAGA we’d require.

The 1st is what i use with my 2 girlhounds. One for water and a 2nd for food. 15”

https://smile.amazon.com/Ethical-Pet-hygienic-stainless-conditions/dp/B001CPSEC8/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=raised+food+bowls+for+dogs+18”&qid=1563095715&s=gateway&sr=8-5

This one is 18”. But pricey, you’ll only buy it once tho

https://smile.amazon.com/Platinum-Pets-Double-Stainless-Caribbean/dp/B006GIO0FG/ref=mp_s_a_1_18?keywords=raised+food+bowls+for+dogs+18”&qid=1563095856&s=gateway&sr=8-18

Yep! Collapsible crate. It’s a bit worn out, Amazon tells me I bought it in September 2015, and it’s been all around the country w/ us, but it’s held up well and enough room for Red who stands 32” at his shoulder and was almost 90lbs when he retired. Here’s the exact one,

Noz2Noz 669 N2 Sof-Krate Indoor/Outdoor Pet Home, 106.7 centimeters, for Pets up to 90lbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P9ZFEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.l7GDbHGCJJK1

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You can do it! Need two people. Large sharp scissor style clippers., Styptic powder. Get her on a bench. Heights keeps them from trying to bolt and saves your knees. Helper get an arm under the chest. Cut a tiny bit at a time. Each nail takes at least 5 quick little clips. You start to be able to tell when you get near the quick by how the cut section looks. (Dog will also get more nervous.) Starts to bleed tap some styptic powder on and provide pressure. Clots in 5 seconds. The more often you do it the quicker and easier it goes.

The bench is key though. Way easier!

We have this one (there's also a version that's just a seat cover). When we went on a longer trip we put his dog bed in there and he enjoyed that. The hammock also means you can still put some stuff in the real footwells if you need the cargo space.

Yep! Collapsible crate. It’s a bit worn out, Amazon tells me I bought it in September 2015, and it’s been all around the country w/ us, but it’s held up well and enough room for Red who stands 32” at his shoulder and was almost 90lbs when he retired. Here’s the exact one,

Noz2Noz 669 N2 Sof-Krate Indoor/Outdoor Pet Home, 42 inches, for Pets up to 90lbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P9ZFEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.l7GDbHGCJJK1

Try checking out Lee Livingood's "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" if you haven't already. There is a lot of good information in there covering a wide range of breed-specific topics.

Its hard to say specifics without knowing the exact situation, but I fostered a hound with separation anxiety and I found the book I'll Be Home Soon very helpful.

I recommend this book!

Regularly put my 80lb male in the back seat of a Toyota Yaris. A seat hammock helps: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Waterproof-Hammock-Seat-Cover/dp/B00QHC041A/

Search Hygena Scoop on Amazon or go directly here: 👉👉 https://www.amazon.com/34.33-7.4-90.4-r3-yuil/dp/B07D45RJV3

ORDER @ Amazon👉 https://www.amazon.com/4-6-sdz4-rr-h/dp/B07D45RJV3

Here you go, but I'm not seeing the XL size anymore.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2H3ZLK

Here is the mobile version of your link

It's not uncommon for newly retired greyhounds to have separation anxiety. They're never alone in the racing kennels. They've been torn from everything that's familiar and put somewhere unfamiliar and likely all by himself for periods of time. (Most of us have to work or go to school.) This is a very good (small) book that gives you steps to teach your grey how to tolerate being home alone: https://www.amazon.com/Ill-Home-Soon-Separation-Anxiety/dp/1891767054

Kurgo Dog Harness | Car Harness for Dogs | Large | BlackPet Safety Seat Belt | Certified Crash Tested Harness | Car Seatbelt | Tru-Fit Enhanced Strength Style https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064ACNLO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_frCyDbAVN53GC

That's what I got! It's a harness and then it wraps around a clipped seatbelt. They can still move around, but then if the car stops, the seatbelt stops and holds them in place.

This should fix your problem, and put your mind at ease...
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Retract-Bow-Barrier-White/dp/B00DG7FZO0

I have two of this: Chuck It travel bed

It smushes into a travel drawstring bag, so it’s no trouble to carry when we go out.