When you first get your grey home, you might find that they’re quiet or a bit scared. Or, you might find that they’re perfectly comfortable and immediately see your home as their own. It really depends on the personality of the hound. As their owner it’s your job to guide them and help them to learn about the new world that they’re in.
Greyhounds have come from a racing environment and many have never set foot in a home. Common things like sliding glass doors, vacuum cleaners, toilets flushing, television sets turning on and even staircases are completely new to them. In many respects this means they are at “puppy level” of understanding, and while they can often learn quickly, they do need our understanding.
Because many of them have rarely seen the world outside of racing or their kennels, everything might be new and a bit frightening or overwhelming, a bit like culture shock when you go to a foreign country. There’s a learning curve to them work out the new rules and schedules. There’ll be some missteps; but they don’t mean anything by it – they just don’t know how to be a pet yet. Sometimes, it even takes them a while to work out that being patted is a nice thing, so approach this learning curve with kindness.
As you get to know them you’ll work out their quirks, and everyone’ll discover how it all works – but do give them a bit of space. For many hounds, this is the first time they’ve been loved, and you can have too much of a good thing. Respect their space and let them come to new things in their own time.
It’s important to take things at their pace and to use their cues to guide you. Look out for signs of them being overwhelmed or stressed- such as physically avoiding or walking away, panting when it isn’t hot, pacing, or freezing – and take things slowly. Building trust with your hound is the key as they’ll then look to you for reassurance when they’re unsure and you can guide them through tricky or overwhelming situations.
It’s going to be great fun having them in your life. You may want to warn your friends that their facebook and insta is about to be overrun with cute pics though.
To find out more about the gear you’ll need for your greyhound, check out this post.