Theo the new bee dog

[Slowmodem]

I believe that is refered to as a tail Greg...  rolling eyes 

I've never seen one that straight.  I thought they pointed up or were bobbed.  ::shrug::  I donno

[Perry]

My money says that was photoshopped. 

[Bakersdozen]

One of the things I like about the greyhounds is that they are couch potato's. I like a dog that can lay around and be comfortable at my feet. And I'm looking at another breed of dog that doesn't shed so much.

Greyhounds are beautiful dogs that will do just that, not shed and lay at your feet.  They are great for people with allergies.  Some come with baggage because they are not reared in a household setting.  Scary ceiling fans, no knowledge of stairs, bad teeth from a poor diet, and as Perry mentioned shortened lives are some of the hang ups they can have.  They can also be the biggest show offs by prancing like a horse or racing around the back yard. 
In our case, we adopted a retired racing greyhound from the race track.  We were inspected by someone from the track, who visited our house to make sure we had adequate fencing.  If we had other dogs/cats, we had to let them meet prior to adoption.   We also had to promise to NEVER let him go off leash except in an enclosed area.  A wonderful couch potato that developed bone cancer.

[Jen]

Thanks for that Baker, I love the idea of taking a dog that has been under strenuous circumstances and giving it a loving home to rest. How old was your greyhound when he came off of the track? and how many years did you get with him?

[LazyBkpr]

This lady says her puppy will be a big dog one day....................

   Photo shopped or not, that is still one HUGE Dane.    Thats what I need for a yard dog..   Dog door in the wood shed so he can go inside and be warm next to the stove, and when he gets hungry I can feed him chickens, cats, coons, and trespassers!
   If that size is real.. I can use the dog door to haul wood in with the TRACTOR

[Jen]

Actually Scott, that is a true breed of dane, they are so Awesome. I would have one that big but our house is 1,300 sq. he/she would take up about 1/2 of that just laying down, and he/she would need a few acres to run free for excercise. Maybe later if we own a house with more land.

[Bakersdozen]

Thanks for that Baker, I love the idea of taking a dog that has been under strenuous circumstances and giving it a loving home to rest. How old was your greyhound when he came off of the track? and how many years did you get with him?

He was older, about 5 years.  His racing name was Quick Fix, he answered to Eddie. At the retired greyhound kennel, he liked to take people by the hand and walk them over to his kennel.  Many who were interested in him lost interest, when he did that, as they were afraid he would hurt small children.  We loved that about him.  My son was in junior high at that time.  He was with us for about 4 1/2-5 years.
A side note: I don't know if this is true at all race tracks, but at this now closed track, owners and trainers put the dogs down when their career was over.  An exceptional dog will be given the chance to be adopted at the adoption kennel.  Once they entered the adoption kennel they were in the no-kill zone.  By exceptional, I mean a dog that they think will adapt to a family environment.

[Jen]

5 years seems like such a short amount time with a dog, but I would like to give it a try ~

[Perry]

We got "Mohican Dimple" (Rosie) when she turned 4.
Age 3 or 4 and for the most part they're "used up". Don't bother googleing what happens to many of them when that happens cause you won't like some of what you find.

[Jen]

I'm sorry to hear that Perry :(

[Riverrat]

Baker, I'm not surprised. I have a friend who's neighbor had two danes. My friend witnessed an awful fight between the two danes and one other dog in the neighborhood. Needless to say the danes won that battle. So sad. However, it has been stated that if you have one dane that the possibilites of it being a fighter are almost nill. One dane would be enough for me 

The Dane was originally bred to hunt wild boar hogs. Danes are also referred to as the German mastiff. They was original bred out of wolfhounds and a greyhound cross. They actually look like a greyhound when they are running at full speed.  The Danes of today have been bred with specifics on temperament and are no longer the same as dogs of yesteryear. They can , however, show that side on rare occasion.  I have had my 2 Danes BamBam and Pebbles get into a knock down drag out fight over a bowl of dog food when pebbles was in heat. After that fight and the only fight I have seen involving danes. We had to feed them separately. When they got into it in the kitchen I got a hand tore up pretty bad trying to separate them by myself.  The best way to separate 2 dogs fighting is to pick there hind legs up off the ground they will stop when there feet lift off the ground.  But when there's one of you and 2 of them its almost impossible to separate them. They are very powerful but obedient dogs.  Bam BAm was 175lbs and 36 inches tall at the shoulders pebbles weighs 130. Once I did get them separated and the dogs back in there right mind we never had any other problems.  They are very protective of they're turf. BamBam thought he wanted some of Pebbles food and it was on. Both at times thought they was the alpha dog as they are pack animals.  In the 17 continuous years I have had Danes this is the only time I have seen the aggressive side of these gentle giants.  When the kids was little and out in the yard with Annie our first Dane if anyone came into the yard she would get between the kids and the person coming onto the property no other aggressive acts. It was her way of protecting the kids and make sure they was safe. Once we acknowledged the person Annie would go up to the newcomer and lean her side on them looking for them to pet her. We do pay a little more on our insurance to have the danes.  But it all goes back to how the dog was raised.  A chiwowow can be a viscous little guy more often than the Danes.


this is a pic of bam bam when he was about 10 months old I am 5' 8" so that will give you an idea of his size even as a pup.  We would put a football jersy on bambam and take him to the local highschool football games I would lean on the fence with my arms he would put his front paws on the top of the fence and stand to watch the game with us until the school board passed a rule no dogs at football games. Most Danes will grow for the first year and a half then fill out. You actually feed the dane in a way to try to slow the growth down to help the bones stay strong.

[Jen]

Good story Rat. Dane's are comical as well. Now my mom's dane, Shane, would back up and sit down on the couch with his front legs still on the floor when company came over ~

[Riverrat]

Good story Rat. Dane's are comical as well. Now my mom's dane, Shane, would back up and sit down on the couch with his front legs still on the floor when company came over ~

That is a Dane Trait I never seen one that didnt do this. They generally have there own chair or a chair they believe is theirs.  On several occasions our Danes have set in front of company staring at them. When asked what the dogs problem was. I would tell them your setting in their spot.  I would ask them to move and watch. once they moved the dog would back up and set down in the chair with her front paws on the ground and amaze the people visiting.

This is pebbles favorite chair and she sets like this about every night while we watch tv.

[Riverrat]

Thanks for that Baker, I love the idea of taking a dog that has been under strenuous circumstances and giving it a loving home to rest. How old was your greyhound when he came off of the track? and how many years did you get with him?

He was older, about 5 years.  His racing name was Quick Fix, he answered to Eddie. At the retired greyhound kennel, he liked to take people by the hand and walk them over to his kennel.  Many who were interested in him lost interest, when he did that, as they were afraid he would hurt small children.  We loved that about him.  My son was in junior high at that time.  He was with us for about 4 1/2-5 years.
A side note: I don't know if this is true at all race tracks, but at this now closed track, owners and trainers put the dogs down when their career was over.  An exceptional dog will be given the chance to be adopted at the adoption kennel.  Once they entered the adoption kennel they were in the no-kill zone.  By exceptional, I mean a dog that they think will adapt to a family environment.

Yes this is true of the Track in Wichita. The dogs that was put down was usually ground up and fed to cats at the zoo.  I have a friend that had a cougar and got the food for the cat at the greyhound  park. Greyhounds have limited choices of what can be done with them once they are retired. A good dog may go into a breeding program. A dog that can adjust to a pet home will be adopted but most dont make the cut. Its a dark side of racing. The dogs have very little early human interaction that would make them good pets. They are kept in small kennels and trained  to chase a fake rabbit around a circle. If they use a live rabbit as a lure the dog will run faster. Kansas law classifies it as inhumane to use live lures for training. Florida at one time allowed the use of live lures. Not sure if they still do.  Another fact if the lure malfunctions and the dog catches the lure it wont race again.

[Riverrat]

Actually Scott, that is a true breed of dane, they are so Awesome. I would have one that big but our house is 1,300 sq. he/she would take up about 1/2 of that just laying down, and he/she would need a few acres to run free for excercise. Maybe later if we own a house with more land.

Danes require very little room actually they are not a dog that goes out and runs all day. They cant take the heat or the extreme cold. That is why most are house dogs where they lay around and keep us entertained.  The dog shown is actually a breed of European Dane they are bred bigger  than the American Dane. Euros are being imported. Bambam was 3/4 euro Dane but unlike this one didn't have his ears cropped

[Jen]

Sad. Now, there must be a way to get a grey hound that has not been bred to race?

[Riverrat]

yes greyhound farms that have pups they believe wont make good race dogs are sold or given away as pets after they are weaned. people have started breeding the dogs for pet use only. Was quite a few greyhounds breeders down in this area up until the greyhound tracks in kansas closed. I have always been told you have to keep greyhounds that was trained to race on a leash if in a pet home. If they see a cat or rabbit they will take in after it. Our neighbor had a small greyhound to little to race she made a great pet but when she got out of the fence she was hard to catch. It was a game to her when they tried to catch her

[Jen]

Interesting... thanks rat! 

[Perry]

Further to what Rat said, greys have an incredibly strong "prey drive", one that is reinforced at the track. Being off-lead and something as simple as a styrofoam cup blowing across a parking lot can set them off.

[Bakersdozen]

5 years seems like such a short amount time with a dog, but I would like to give it a try ~

We put Eddie down shortly after discovering the cancer.  A limp  and a quickly growing mass tells you the dog was in pain.

If I may use the phrase, "they are rode hard and put away wet".  The are treated like property, not pets.  Their teeth are usually horrible.  They are not fed a very good diet.  Eddie had a number of scars that looked like he had run into something.

 I know of a couple that have a retired greyhound revolving door.  They have one very large brindle male that they have kept for the longest!  They were frequent visitors to my neighborhood for exercise.  The male always wanted to walk to the fence to see if Eddie was out.  He did that for a long time after Eddie was gone. 
There may be breeders that sell the unwanted pups, but I am just sure you would have to spay or neuter prior to purchasing one.  You have to spay of neuter if you adopt a retired greyhound too.

Riverrat comments:  If they see a cat or rabbit they will take in after it. Our neighbor had a small greyhound to little to race she made a great pet but when she got out of the fence she was hard to catch. It was a game to her when they tried to catch her

So true!  And anything can send them into a chase mode, if off leash, like Perry said.  That's why they shouldn't be allowed off leash unless in a confined area.

I forgot to mention.  Eddie wasn't accustomed to grass.  The greyhounds had sand for a back yard.  Kind of like a giant litterbox. On the plus side...that dog had a bladder of steel!  Never had a single accident in the house.  Never got in the trash, and never got on the furniture.  He had his beds in several rooms of the house and that was his comfort zone.