USA Bus Lines - How do you go about ownning a greyhound?

How do you go about ownning a greyhound?

I am 17 and would like to buy a greyhound.I am willing to spend about 500euro. sorry a racing greyhound

Public Comments

There are lots of retired greyhounds real cheap. To buy a racer, talk to the experts. If you can get them to talk to you.
To race or a retired one as a pet ?, you can probably get a retired one for nothing. http://www.greyhoundrescue.co.uk/ The above is a UK site but It should have links to Ireland. If you want to race one I think you'll need more money than that.
You dont say if you want a racing greyhound or not but if you dont, try the greyhound retirement trust. They are in Britain but you may have the equivalent in your country. There are alot of retired greyhounds that need rehoming and Im sure you will get one fairly easily.
PLEASE rescue a retired greyhound. i know lots of people who have rescued them and they're great.
Good on ya! once greyhounds loose a few races they get dumped in shelters! its unfair! good idea getting one! heres some stuff youll need
There are loads of greyhound sanctuaries around the UK and Ireland. Some racing greyhound owners destroy their dogs when they retire (they cut the ear off that has the identification tattoo first to prevent traceability), so these sanctuaries take these dogs from anyone that has one to retire. They make fantastic pets. They are placid, loving and don't require running. They will happily walk (their own choice is to walk very slowly) for a long way. They can get a bit exuberant if there appears to be something to chase. My elderly parents bought one a couple of years ago and he is wonderful. It was a bit of a heartbreaker when I took my kids round as they had bought the greyhound some toys to play with. He ignored the toys as he had never had playful fun in his life and didn't know what the toys were for. Conact greyhound resue like the other contributor said, they will be able to pass you on to the most local sanctuary to where you live. The sanctuaries only want to make sure that the dog goes to a great home. Most just ask for a donation, with a recommended minimum amount, but will allow a dog to be taken for any price, if its new home is perfect and its new family are a bit skint.
Best go to a greyhound race at the back of the track where they come out you will see the owners and their staff (usually young lads). They will talk to you in between races and they know everything about the dogs and who is selling. Don't say anything about 500 euro or you will be taking one home with you. ( see it racing before doing anything!).
if you are wanting a greyhound pup (young dog) to race, best place to have a look round is the local dog tracks. its full of breeders and people who want to make money. do you have any knowledge in racing dogs? I presume you dont as you would already know where to get one from otherwise. You need to consider that 1st - its not as simple as buying a dog and sticking it in a dogtrap and hoping it chases the rabbit and wins. its ignorance and lack of genuine love for the dogs that lead to the problem of retirement greyhound homes. They are such gentle animals, its such a shame. i used to work in a boarding kennels - owners side line was racing - he kept his when they were too old/injured to race - most dont.
The rescue associations usually require the adopters have a fence since the greyhounds will chase from bird to bird to leaf etc. and may be easily lost.
1. Make sure you have a plan for what you are going to do with the dog *after* it has finished racing. Ideally that means keeping it as a pet, or at the very least finding space in a shelter. NOT just dumping the dog when it's finished. 2. I cannot stress number 1 enough. The sport is in serious danger of dying out because of people not taking good enough care of the animals they rely on. It's giving (the increasingly powerful) anti-racing groups more than enough ammo. IMHO rightly so. If you really don't want to keep the dog as a pet and can't find it a space immediately, keep it, care for it and socialise it until you can find a space. 3. Go to your local track and ask for a list of trainers. Speak to some of them, find out if they have any dogs available. Take it from there. With 500 euros you're unlikely to get a derby winner lol, but it's probably a good place to start with the lower graded races. Also, don't expect to make money. Whilst it's true that your dog may win a few races and bring in some cash, kenneling fees, training fees, veterinary fees etc. will soon swallow that up. Work out the financial cost to you and see if you can afford it. Remember it's also possible that your dog may be an unsuccessful racer. It might be years before you break even - maybe you never will. It's probably best to consider this an expensive hobby. As a money-making exercise I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Sorry to concentrate so much on the ethics of racing (believe me, I haven't gone into the half of it), but there are a great many dogs involved in that sport that do not get the care they deserve. Make sure yours is not one of them. There's some great people who will be far better able to help you on here: http://www.greyhound-data.com/knowledge.php?b=0&z=N4FJJ7
hi my nan and dad own about 7 greyhounds and they are all racing dogs!! they find them from people they know at the track and in a newspaper called the 'sporting press' thats in Ireland. If you wan't a really good breed of race dog, you might have to be willing to spend a bit more than that if you want to make a profit from the winnings. i would advise you to look for a local paper or head to your local racing track and talk to some people before making any hasty decisions!