USA, PA: Adopting a Former Racing Greyhound

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From www.zootoo.com

Adopting a Former Racing Greyhound

June 13, 2012 | By Amy Lieberman

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Essential information for potential pet parents.

Thousands of racing greyhounds are bred annually to compete in the nearly 30
dog racetracks across the United States, in an effort to produce "winning
dogs," according to the Humane Society of the United States.

The routine practice results in many more greyhounds than are needed on the
racetracks. Not all will get adopted.

April marked the nationwide initiative Adopt a Greyhound Month, to honor
both the urgent need to adopt greyhounds and to highlight the reasons why
they can make great pets.

The Philadelphia-based National Greyhound Adoption Program is one of the
many national non-profit organizations that facilitate adoptions of
greyhounds. Its director David Wolf prefers to refer to the dogs as former
racing greyhounds, and not retired, given that most greyhounds stop racing
between the ages of 2 and 5, not placing them exactly in their older years.

The National Greyhound Adoption Program has adopted out 7,500 greyhounds
over the past nearly 25 years.

Wolf describes adopting a greyhound as life-changing.

"You become a part of an elite group. People will stop you on the street and
say, 'Is this an adopted racing dog?'" he told Zootoo in a phone interview.
"More and more people know about the plight of greyhounds, much more than
they knew 20 years ago, when people would just stop you and say, 'Why is
that dog so skinny?'"

There are certain things first-time greyhound adopters should expect. They
will be getting a mature dog, who will be housebroken, thanks to its
training on the tracks -- so people can expect to forgo the basics with
puppy training.

Greyhounds typically adjust quickly to new environments, but sometimes can
become upset with sudden changes to their well-established routine.

They are, at heart, intelligent, sociable, people dogs, and "lifelong
companions," says Wolf.

"They will wait for you to come home and they will want to sleep in the room
where you are, if given a choice. When they are with you they might follow
you around from room to room."

But former racing greyhounds' early years spent training on the racing
tracks -- and hours spent otherwise waiting in kennels -- undoubtedly takes
a toll, to varying degrees, on the dogs now looking to start anew.

"Sometimes if the dogs have been treated badly they may have a sense of fear
of certain things, like a fear of men, for example, if they were mistreated
by male trainers," said Wolf.

Former greyhounds might also initially be afraid of or nervous around
certain everyday things that for them are new -- like smells and sounds of a
household and unfamiliar dog breeds, according to Adopt-A-Greyhound.org. But
that doesn't mean that with a little time and patience, the greyhounds won't
become more comfortable.

The National Greyhound Adoption Program, which is equipped with a veterinary
clinic, treats about 1,000 to 2,000 greyhounds per year for dentistry
problems.

In terms of health issues, dentistry problems rank high with former racing
greyhounds, says Wolf, because they were fed high bacteria foods when they
were still racing.

As when adopting or getting a pet by any other means, choosing to adopt a
greyhound requires a certain degree of financial responsibility -- and a
commitment to the pet. But people considering adopting a greyhound can
expect to be joined by a graceful, loyal companion, who is in special need
of a new home.

For more information on adopting a greyhound, visit adopt-a-greyhound.org
<http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/> or the National Greyhound Adoption
Program <http://www.ngap.org/index.html> .