Adopting a Greyhound : what I've learnt so far 

Thank you for your kind words ❤️

Wow! It sounds like you have an amazing story and an amazing hound! Have you done a video of yours? Sounds like she has landed in the perfect home ❤️

Guy Herring haha! They’re very expressive 😊

Erssie Major oh, poor fella 😥 I hope Olive will be able to handle the stairs for a good long while yet, as she lives to be where I am and I’ve started letting her sleep in our room which is upstairs. I’ll have to keep an eye on her back legs and mobility.

Cat Trigance thanks Cat 😊🙏🏼

Karolina Ivanova thank you so much 😊

I’m so glad! Good luck with your greyhound if you get one 😊 If you do, you must check out the Longnose Society of WA Facebook page.

I'm also in Perth and looking at a greyhound. Thanks for all the info, very helpful.😊

Haha, I’m afraid you’re right about Olive 😂 How do you find having two greys at a time?

Natalie Powell. We find having two no problem, especially when we go away and they go into kennels where they are happy with each other’s company. Our first pair were an “item”. Pablo and Susie get on OK. He’s nearly eight and quite curmudgeounly but she is a year younger and still very bouncy, so I have to “fight” with her every so often. But they both can sense when the other is getting affection and come and butt in. We wouldn’t have them any other way. Chris.

amajorseven they sound like wonderful companions ❤️

Jeff Harte 10 greyhounds? Wow! You must know way more about them than I do 😂 I don’t think I could ask for a better hound than Olive, she’s such a good girl ❤️ Thank you for watching 😊

Abigail Smith thank you so much for your lovely words and encouragement ❤️ Your description of them is perfect! You’re so lucky to have two gorgeous hounds, I’m jealous!

Expressive Pets thank you 😊 sugar-face - that’s a great way of putting it 🥰

Hi Mouse, I can’t believe my mum took so long to find your message, I’m so sorry! Looks like you live the good life - a caravan holiday sounds like fun ☺️ Glad to hear your mum spoils you 🥰

Trevor Sutera thank you so much! How wonderful that you’re thinking about adopting! I hope my video has been helpful to you. Greyhounds are such wonderful pets! Perhaps you could foster one or have a trial period with one to see how you fit with each other. Good luck!

Well thank you 😊

Gina Neely that’s an interesting mix! Wow, I bet the shedding is awesome! 🤣 Anyone who says greyhounds don’t shed is fibbing 😁

@@NataliePowellAGreytLifeso true!

Susan Tait thank you for your lovely, encouraging words ❤️ You must be very excited to be getting your greyhound! Is it male or female? What colour? Have you decided on a name? I hope it goes well for you. Lots of love and patience as your hound settles in. I wonder if you might be able to take your hound to school, as I have done a few times. Olive loves kids! They make great library dogs as they just want to lie around and sleep, so a great to read to. All the best with your hound, I'd love to hear about it ☺️

I'd love to add a photo of him but I'm not sure how I can. He is mainly white with a gorgeous grey face and grey spots. He is apparently quietly confident and very affectionate so he should be great to take to school occasionally. I will give him time to adjust of course. We are calling him Hugo. He is seven.

Susan Tait wow, so he’s an older boy, then? Good on you for giving him a new home! The boys are often sookier than the girls, so enjoy the cuddles! All the best with Hugo, he sounds lovely ❤️

Thank you so much! And what wonderful news that you're getting a lovely girl of your own. You won't regret it! All the best xx

It’s odd, isn’t it! Thanks for watching 😁

What an amazing story! Gosh - grey mixed with lab! You must have to have combination locks on all your cupboards and fridge! I love the name, too! A chunky version of Olive, that’s funny 😂 Amazing that you were able to get pregnant after bringing Zorro home - what a blessing 🥰 so sad to hear you’re finding health issues - what’s happening with him? Hope he has many more years with you.

Mina Nes65 thank you so much 😊

Susan Tait thanks for watching x3 😂 I bet you’re excited about getting your first hound! Hoping all goes well for you and houndie ❤️

John Ross Campbell thank you 😊 Yes, they are quite determined creatures, our hounds! Thanks for watching 🙏🏼

Aw, thank you 😊

I’m sorry you lost your hounds 😭 as with any kind of dog or pet - they just don’t live long enough, so they! I can’t imaging going through that loss with both of them within 6 months! Poor you 😢 As for reading dog language, I think it’s so important, but having said that, Olive was bitten by another Greyhound (unfortunately) just last week and it happened so fast! I’m always so careful, but sometimes no matter how careful you are, things can happen in the blink of an eye and catch you off guard. The bite this time wasn’t as bad as the last one, but still required surgery to stitch it up. However, she suffered a massive hematoma afterwards, and we had 5 trips to the vet in 4 days! She is recovering nicely now, but is still very swollen, with a tennis ball sized lump on her side.

How fantastic you’re fostering! That’s such an important job! Foster carers are so important in the transition of a greyhound from professional athlete to pet. With you he or she will learn about glass doors, stairs, that the vacuum cleaner is safe, how to get in and out of a car, and, most importantly, that pays and cuddles and people are nice ❤️ All the best with your hound!

plestj thank you 😊 Where in the USA are you?

Natalie Powell Northeast - NY NJ CT

Thank you so much 😊

Tracy Davies thank you so much! I’m so sorry for your recent loss, hoping your broken heart will heal soon❤️ It’s lovely that you are looking forward to adopting another grey. That will help you to heal ❤️❤️❤️

Phalanx Cuthalion thank you so much for your kind words! Yes, the interaction with other dogs can be tricky sometimes, and particularly because greyhounds are a very misunderstood breed and people have very misinformed ideas about them being aggressive and dangerous. I personally believe that they should only be muzzled around other dogs if the other dogs are also muzzled, as, like you said, it otherwise leaves them unable to defend themselves properly if something happens. That’s why when you’re part of a Greyhound community and you all appreciate the breed and how they work, if you can all agree to muzzle them for a group play date, then everything should be fine. Sometimes a muzzle can also be protection from any accusations from people who try to blame your dog for biting if there is a bit of a scuffle. If your hound is muzzled then at least you have a strong argument for defending your hound against any accusations of bites to other dogs. And chasing in play is normal and acceptable as long as there is some turn taking in who is doing the chasing and who is being chased. That’s when you really do need to observe and make sure your hound isn’t being chased in an aggressive way, and also that your hound isn’t chasing in a fixated way that isn’t appropriate. Olive also HATES being mounted by other dogs, and she has defended herself noisily a few times when some male dog has tried with her. That’s really one of the only times we’ve heard her bark and I was surprised at how deep her bark is. Other than that she is totally silent. Thanks so much for watching 😊

Oh! I hope it goes well for you with your new hound 😊 I’m so glad this video was helpful, thanks for watching 😊🐾

Miss Don't want a name thanks for your messsge😊 the dew claws are a pain, aren’t they!? Olive had one removed and only a tiny stump grew back. Probably best that it doesn’t grow back. Thanks for watching 🙏🏼😊🐾

Elvilicious only took me a year 😂

Your New home is great and the bathroom 😍 big hugs to Olive 🤩

Two?! How wonderful! Double trouble 😂 You must be very excited! I’m so glad my video was helpful for you, but of course every greyhound is unique in their own way, and you will have to figure out the things that work best for you and your hounds. All the best with them! Thank you for your kind comments ❤️

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife yeh they sound great. They have come from Ireland to a rescue centre and only 19 months old so hopefully not really been exposed to racing. They are also brother and sister so it’ll be really nice for them to stay together in their forever home x

@@stevenwest000 that’s lovely! So wonderful that you are taking them together, they must have a strong bond. Do you know much about their racing or training history?

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife no don’t no much and don’t think the rescue centre did but I’ll check again when they bring them over on Friday

@@stevenwest000 I’d love to hear how they go settling in with you. Not long till Friday! Do they have names already or are you going to rename them?

Thank you 😊 I’m glad you found it helpful, good luck with finding your hound ❤️

You’re very welcome ☺️

Sleep startle is a bit scary isn’t it! You have two? How lucky you are ❤️

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife yes I've got 2. Belle has kind of got rid of her sleep startle but Sonny still has it, probably always will.

Natalie Dubious in Brizzie your grey could probably run naked all year round! Lucky hound to have a bed in every room 😴 Lots of greyhounds are a bit confused with other dogs, and not sure what they are. Thanks for watching 😊

Xander's Adventures thank you 🙏🏼

And on the topic of Greyhound defense. They tend to have very thin skin as others have pointed out. And they are not built for fighting other canines. In my years of going to Greyhound Gatherings and meeting other people that have Greyhounds I have seen a few hounds that have sustained some horrible injuries inflicted by other dogs who ran up on them as they were being walked on their leash and they were attacked by these loose dogs. The last one I saw I nearly lost his life to a pitbull. Anytime you walk your Greyhound I strongly advise that you carry at bare minimum pepper spray and some type of wedging object like a large stick or something that can be used to pry apart another dog's mouth. Ideally you also want to take the simple steps to meet whatever your State's requirements are for concealed carry and have a firearm on your person when walking your Greyhound out and about. Pepper spray is not always effective against fighting breed dogs that are in what is called a Red Zone state of mind. They cannot be dissuaded by pepper spray and you will have to utilize more lethal protective measures.

Totally agree!

@@TRUTHISABSOLUTE777 in Australia where I live, it’s illegal to carry pepper spray, let alone a firearm. However, I totally agree with the vulnerability that greyhounds have, and Olive has sustained two nasty injuries which happened in an instant from dogs who snapped at her.

PLSaundel our greyhound was a show dog and never raced a day in his life.....but he had a big case of “sleep startle” nonetheless.

ocean bird thank you so much! Your comments have made my day ☺️ It's hard to believe that black greyhounds are the hardest to rehome, but I think they're beautiful. Thanks for watching ☺️

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife black greyhounds are the most beautiful! I love how sleek and shiny like a panther their fur looks ♥️

Thank you 🙏🏼

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife you're quite welcome!

Kate from Antika Nueva Hi Kate 👋🏻 Yes, I’ve heard similar explanations for sleep startle. It’s a good idea to call your hound before touching them, I agree. Sorry to hear you lost a lovely hound last year, but happy to hear you’ve given another hound a new chance on life. Thanks for watching ❤️

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife we adored our Lilly-girl, and our husky girl was about to grieve herself to death without a companion, so we adopted a grey boy about as fast as you humanly can. We still miss Lilly, but our husky girl perked up with a "little" (she's half his size!) brother to boss around, and we adore him too. He's very sweet....they are the gentlest dogs ever.

Hugh Jazz you’ve added some great points! They’re all unique, aren’t they. Thanks for watching 😊

110% all this (well except the barking, Jay is very opinionated)! We haven't tried Jay offlead but he does have lovely recall at home and around the front yard. We have some many beds and our hound is just the sweetest boy and so calm.

Lilamac Guinness123 thank you so much 😊 What is your hound crossed with?

Natalie Powell Well we think 80 % greyhound and maybe a Doberman he’s only 15 months old and quite big really playful and gets on great with our Rottweiler mastiffs x 1 year old brother and sister we must be crazy having 3 dogs I love it ❤️❤️

Lilamac Guinness123 sounds like a lovely and lucky boy 🥰

Thanks 😊 She hates lying down on the ground without it when we go to cafes. In fact she refuses to lie down without her mat 😂 Such a princess!

Gelbsucht thanks for being such a patient and loyal Olive fan ☺️ Yes, it's those unforeseen events that can cause you lots of financial hardship, making pet insurance a must. Thanks for waiting for so long for my video! 😘

Natalie Powell Olive is worth the wait. She’s a babe!

Hazel Buckfield thank you for watching and for your kind words! So glad to hear you’re planning to adopt a greyhound, they are wonderful dogs! All the best with it! ❤️

Thank you

If you have it in your heart to take in a slightly older hound, then go for it! Hounds that age are quite hard to adopt out, even though they still have plenty of years left and if it has been a pet for a while then it will probably have settled into home life very well. My Olive is 6, turning 7 in April. She is getting more relaxed and chill as the years go by but is still young in many ways. I say go for it! By living small, do you mean you have a small space? Greyhounds fit really well into apartments and so on, as they really are couch potatoes most of the time. I wish you well with your decision ❤️🐾

Haha, it was meant to be a mixture. I don’t usually do all in one video, but as we recently moved into this house I wanted to do an all round update.

That’s very kind of you ❤️ Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much 😊 Lots of things to answer, I’ll do my best to cover everything 🤣 How do I get her to stand up: if she’s on the lead, it’s really simple - I just pick up the lead and make a move as though I’m getting up and she immediately gets up to follow me. If she’s not on the lead and lying down at home, can be another matter entirely! If she’s in a bed and I want her to get up to come outside to do her toileting before bedtime for example, I spend quite a bit of time coaxing her up and have to end up either speaking very firmly and a little crossly at her (which I don’t like to do), or I start trying to pick up her bed from underneath her which usually makes her get up. Greyhounds can be very stubborn! 😂 I’ve even resorted to getting her leash and putting it on her to move her off her bed, and that usually works. How do I get her to stay calm on the mat: Greyhounds are usually pretty chill dogs. They also like to lie down a lot, so Olive is good at lying quietly on her mat and if I’m with her she is very happy just to be at my side - unless I get up to go inside the cafe and then she wants to come with me and hops up to follow. If a dog comes over to say hello or have a sniff I do what I described above - make as though I’m getting up to go and make her stand up. I hold onto her lead the whole time so that if she did see something that she wanted to run after, she wouldn’t be able to. How do I get her to face away: I grab her with both hands and manoeuvre her around to face her butt towards the other dog. I wouldn’t do it if the other dog was approaching aggressively though. I’d high tail it out of there! I hope that answers your questions! 😊

They are funny creatures, aren’t they!

Trying to cover all my bases to please everyone 😅

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife yeah i know it has to be hard

Cindy Miller thank you 😊

Oh poor houndie! Glad to hear he’s on the mend, but what an ordeal for you all!

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife extremely distressing, but he came through the surgery all good. Lots of lounging around now until he's all healed 😊

That’s interesting! I thought it was mostly a greyhound thing.

You could always take one on trial and see how they get along.

ch0mper thank you 😊

Thank you 😊 I’ve probably got lots more since I made this video. I’m addicted! 😂

Haha, I’d love to have another greyhound but my husband says no 😭

Hi Angela, it really depends on your hound. Some dogs can be afraid of slippery surfaces and can also injure themselves if they tend to rush around on the floor and slide around. For Olive, she spends a lot of time just lying around sleeping and hasn’t had any problems with our floors when walking around. Also her nails haven’t been a problem as far as scratching the floors is concerned, but that could also depend on what type of wood your floors are made of.

Thank you for appreciating the plant part of my video as well 😁 As for the floors, ours are engineered timber floorboards. They do scratch fairly easily if I accidentally move a piece of furniture that doesn’t have protective pads underneath, but so far Olive’s nails haven’t marked it. I do use a dremel on her nails fairly regularly (I have a video about that on my channel) and I use it when I start to hear her nails clicking as she walks. So I recommend keeping nails filed. Some greyhounds find slippery floors challenging, like tiles for example. What kind of floors do you have?

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife building a house - so just looking at the options. I've heard good things about vinyl planks. My sister has laminated wood floors - they seem easy to chip so would not recommend for dogs.

Miranda R we have a pot of the stain that was used for our timber flooring and if we do scratch it my husband rubs some rain on it and you’d never know it had happened. We’re pretty fussy about looking after our floors and so far there’s no sign of any nail marks by Olive.

*stain not rain 😂

Small world! We also frequent the Little Bay in North Beach as well, lots of dogs go there too. The green collar is given to Greyhounds who successfully pass a test to see how they react with small dogs. If they show no signs of aggression, and can tolerate small dogs being around, they are awarded a literal green collar which means that they are allowed to go out in public without a muzzle. It’s not to be confused with being allowed off lead, which legally no greyhound is allowed to do unless on fenced private property, for their protection and the protection of things they may want to chase. If you adopt a greyhound through the organisation’GAP’ (greyhounds as pets) it will come to you already tested and with a green collar. If you get your hound elsewhere, as I did, you can send your hound to GAP for a few days and pay for them to test your hound and hopefully earn their green collar. Some people choose not to do this because they worry about the stress for their hound, but this means that until the law changes, they will have to continue putting a muzzle on their hound in public. Olive is very sociable with both people and dogs, so she actually enjoyed the experience. It’s also worth noting that the green collar doesn’t guarantee that a hound is friendly with other dogs. Olive’s most recent bite was from a green collared greyhound 😢 Good luck with your greyhound search! Maybe see you around!

Thanks Natalie that's a good thing to know. I have seen GAP at markets in Guildford, precovid. The dogs looked very relaxed and it was hard to get a pat as everyone wanted in on the action! I'll definitely keep an eye out for you both.

@@SargenSmee perhaps you might join the Longnose Society Facebook page for greyhound and whippet etc owners in WA. You’ll see Olive and I on there quite regularly 😊🐾

I shall do. Also I see what you mean about getting carried away with Olive's wardrobe. There's some cute designs and colours.

Oh dear 😂 I’m lucky because Olive rarely barks and only wants to get up in the morning when I do. Where does your hound sleep? Can he see you? Is it that he wants breakfast and a walk and the toilet or is he just wanting to be where you are? Is he crated for night time? Lots of hounds are used to the feeding toileting and exercise regime they had in their racing kennels, so it may be that he hasn’t yet given up that routine. I’m no expert in dog behaviour, but if Olive was doing that, I would probably try ignoring her and not giving her what she wants because of her barking. I’d wait until she was quiet and then let her out. May have to also tell the hound to shhhh as a verbal discipline, but not yelling or anything like that. Just shhh, wait for quiet and then reward with letting him out when he stops barking. However, I’m not an animal trainer or behaviourist so give it a try by all means, but perhaps seek professional advice. Good luck!

Haha there are lots of us 😂

Haha they certainly can be bed hogs!

They do get along, but the cat (who turns 20 this year) is very much the boss...of all of us 😂 If you have a cat, it is very important that you ask for a cat friendly Grey, as some still do have a strong prey drive and this could be difficult. Plenty of greys are cat friendly, and it also depends on the personality of your cat. Our cat is also very good with my son’s greyhound who occasionally comes to visit, and treats him just as he treats Olive. Their first encounter did begin with overly interested attention from the visiting greyhound who was promptly put in his place with a few swipes from the cat. Since then, they ignore each other and the hound has at times stood patiently over the cat as he ate dinner, waiting for him to be finished so that he could finish the scraps 😂 Supervision at the beginning is key.

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife thank you!

Good on you for adopting a rescued pup! I don’t have any experience with greyhound puppies, they’re a pretty rare find, as mostly they are adopted out as retired fully grown racers. You might not know until your pup is fully grown. Whippets tend to have slightly shorter, snubbed noses than greyhounds, and they are smaller. Perhaps your pup may even be a mix? Either way, I’m sure she will be a beautiful dog and a great companion ❤️

How old is your hound? He looks very sweet in your videos. Olive is 6 and going grey around the muzzle already.

@@NataliePowellAGreytLife 7. Yeah he is getting grey fast haha

Thank you 😊

☺️

Your greyhound olive is also so cute my aunt has a greyhound named Koora they sound very alike 😂

@@Strawbry13x thank you, I think she’s cute too 😊🐾 Cool that you’re aunt has one as well! Good on her! 😁

She got her in march

Thank you 🙏🏼

Congratulations on your hound adoption! How exciting! The wall colour is Dulux White Exchange at 50%. It’s a very light warm toned grey.

Jeremy Wilkinson you’re welcome 😊

Thank you 😊 I’ve heard of people getting them as a first dog, but as far as dogs go they’re quite quirky and sometimes don’t behave like other dogs do. If you want a pet who loves to just lounge around with you, they’re great! You’d need to understand the things that make greyhounds a bit different, like not just letting them off for a play at a dog park for example. It depends on what your needs and expectations are out of a dog as a pet, your lifestyle and so on. Maybe go visit a greyhound adoption agency and hang out with some greyhounds and see if they’d be a good fit for you. I think they’re awesome pets, very loving, pretty docile, already toilet trained mostly, can be great with other pets or small animals, but not always. Good luck!