Greyhound 101

Welcome to your new greyhound

So you’re bringing a greyhound home, welcome to the cult! We’re kidding, but also you really are about to embark on a whole new chapter.

But luckily, you won’t be doing it alone. This guide has been put together by the Houndy Helpers team, each of whom has at some point been in your exact position, welcoming a noodle horse into their home for the first time and wondering where on earth to start.

We know the questions we get asked frequently, what we were told, what we wish we were told, and if none of this fits your query then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, it’s what we’re here for.

3:3:3

“3:3:3” is something you’ll often hear rehoming organisations talking about. It refers to the three main ‘stages’ of a greyhound settling into their new environment.

It represents the idea of the first 3 days, 3 weeks, and 3 months.

They are broad and general guides, as every dog is different, but it is a good reminder that in a human-paced world with deadlines and clocks, these dogs sometimes need a little patience. The dog you bring home on the first day won’t necessarily be the dog you have a while later.

Your hound has just had a huge life change and each handles this differently. Some may be clingy, some may want their space, but it is in this period it’s critical to allow them to feel safe and decompress.

This will be when you see your hound at their most vulnerable. They might pant or pace a lot and not want much to do with anyone. Rest assured, this will lessen.

It is in this period you might notice your hound testing boundaries, working out where they sit in the household dynamic, and even trying to escape or hide.

Our tips:

Read our section below The First Night about set up.
Do not force interaction or overwhelm them, as much as you may want to. Let them decide how much they’re comfortable with.
Ensure they have a safe space (often a crate.) It seems counter-intuative, we know, to get a new dog then ‘lock them away’ but this can bring a hound back ‘into’ their body and regulate themselves.
Maintain a strong but calm presence and introduce boundaries and routine.
Be kind to your dog, and be kind to yourself. This is a big transition for you both.

Within the first three weeks, you should start seeing your hound’s personality starting to peek through.

While things are still new, your new hound will start to understand your routine and dynamic more. They will get accustomed to the routine and should start to settle into their new environment and create bonds with you.

This should mean:

Less crying
Better sleeping
Better eating
Better toileting

This will also be the time when behavioral traits may start to show, so remain consistent and vigilant so any boundary tests are quickly and calmly communicated.

Our tips:

Start taking them for walks, slow at first, let them go at their pace and don’t force them. This is expanding their world and it’s scary but exciting! The muzzle is useful in this stage until you know where to trust them more.
Lots of praise - greyhounds are sensitive so if you’re working on training them, the best chance of success is to use positive reinforcement.
Encourage their curiosity about things they may not have encountered much of yet. Soft toys, stairs, human couches, non-greyhound friends.

Boundary tests are common in this period as your hound starts trying to work out where they fit in their new environment. It can be alarming at first but remember that they don’t know their place yet and so will naturally start to test where the boundary lines are as they come out of ‘survival mode’.

Boundary Tests can look like:

Snarling or growling
Resource guarding
Jumping on counters/tables
Chewing or stealing household items
Ignoring commands they may have previously known

While these behaviours can be startling, your hound is not a bad dog. They are testing the rules to see what constitutes a threat or if a rule still stands as they’re likely to have recognised a change of pace as their presence becomes more ‘normal’ in the home.

Contrary to the frustration you may feel, in many instances it is actually a good sign. They’re starting to gain confidence and explore their limits in what they’re now recognizing as their new home.

If you need help with how to correct and reinforce boundaries, reach out to your rehoming agency - many have behaviourists and contacts that will be able to guide and support you in your specific situation. You can also talk to Houndy Helpers and utilize the community.

The so-called “Puppy Blues” (even though most houndy rehomes are adult dogs,) is a common period of emotional turmoil new owners can find themselves in.

It’s important to remember that while you are guiding the hound through a big transition, you are also experiencing it with them and it’s normal to feel emotions at all ends of the spectrum.

If you find yourself feeling consistently low, second-guessing your decision and wondering if you’ve made the right choice, you are not alone. You can also feel immense guilt as you watch your hound starting to enjoy their time with you and start blossoming, while you still feel trepidation.

Many owners, even those that are well-researched and firm in their choice to adopt, can experience this.

If you’re in the ‘Puppy Blues’ trenches, we recommend:

Connect with other owners. The hound community is a particularly tight one. The Houndy Helpers team is always happy to speak to you at any stage in your journey without judgement. Your rehoming agency can also help you adjust to these changes, and even third-party forums like the greyhound subreddit can help you feel less alone.
Google it! It’s easy to catastrophise and think this is a “you problem”, but it’s a well known phenomenon and understanding the process can help.
Take time outs. Leave your hound in their crate to rest while you go about things you normally would. They will be okay and it will give you reprieve from feeling “on” until it feels more natural. This is also where community can be useful - a friend, family member or other hound owner can step in and watch for an hour or two so you can get some ‘normality.’ (You will possibly even find yourself missing them through this, which can feel confusing. You gotta laugh sometimes at the absurdity of it all!)
Gently work on the aspects that worry you, but don’t obsess. Sometimes the feelings are generalized, but other times they’re connected to particular parts of the integration. Toileting, other pets etc. If you aren’t in the right emotional place to work on something with your hound, don’t push it, but when you are, do it! It will advance that aspect of their adjustment, strengthen your bond, and give you a feeling of progress.
Time. Be patient. Be kind to yourself. Sometimes owners don’t even know when the “Puppy Blues” have left until someone asks how they’re doing down the line and realise… it’s all good!

Around the three month mark, you will likely find you’ve settled into life with your hound. They will be recognising you as their family by now, and seeing you as their safe space. You will possibly notice you’ve got a snoot-shaped shadow as you potter around the house, or you’ll see the coveted ‘roach’ (see Common Questions) happening.

During this period, your hound will be starting to understand that they’re actually a pet now and this isn’t just a weird thing they’re getting through. This is home.

They will be starting to understand what’s expected from their toileting and sleep routines. They’ll possibly start waking you up if you sleep past their breakfast time (by even a minute, they can be remarkably punctual!) which - while a bit annoying - is the best way to wake up and is a testament to the fact they feel safe enough to ask things of you.

A lot of owners report that around the three month mark is when the zoomies and play starts. Sometimes this happens earlier, sometimes later, but normally it’s around when a hound starts to feel comfy at their core. Introduce toys (but watch for resource guarding,) and encourage them. Play bows, open mouths and sneezing are all dog body language for ‘I want to play!’ so watch for those!

Our tips:

Stay the course. Keep working on training and reinforcements.
Expand their world. If they’re the adventurous type, you could start taking longer, more exploratory walks or take them further from home and meet up with friends. Give them the full doggy experience!
Enjoy it. You guys are besties now.

3 Days, Weeks and Months are often spoken about and are a well understood general timeline, but sometimes there’s a sort of secret ‘3’ with hounds - 3 years.

After the readjustments, the learning, the emotions, the testing, the transitioning… there’s your hound. People report seeing more and more character starting to sneak out of their hound over time, even over the years. Given their new environment, you’ve allowed them to change and find themselves as a pet over time and grow into what that looks like for them.

3 years down the line, it will be amazing to look back at the dog you brought home versus the dog you have now. Recognize and celebrate that growth!

The First Night

The first night home, both you and your new hound will be at your most alert, so it’s good to be prepared and know what to expect.

You will need some essentials to make this as easy as possible for all;

A large crate
A muzzle
A dog bed
Water Bowl
Food Bowl
Dog Food
Collar (We recommend Martingale styles, and we work closely with Adventure Doggo for ours, who put proceeds back into animal welfare and rehoming efforts)
Lead (NOT a retractable lead)

Optional:

Comfort toy
Treats (they will argue this is not optional)
Pet gates for separating areas
Harness

On your first night home, your hound is going to be confused. It depends on their personality as to whether they will respond to this confusion with curiosity or timidness, but it’s important to read their feelings so as not to push them.

Nervousness

Nervousness in your hound could look like;

Shaking or quivering
Pacing
Panting
‘Whale Eyes’ (wide/dilated eyes)
Very flattened ears (or very alert ears)
Tail tucked under themselves
Hesitation to go where you want them to

If they are exhibiting these signs, they need your guidance to bring them back ‘down to earth’ from this heightened state of anxiety. The best way to do this is to provide them with a dedicated ‘safe space’. We recommend setting up their crate somewhere calm, and putting them into it to decompress. It feels weird - we know - getting a dog and wanting to broaden their horizons only to lock them up, but they have known kennels and crates throughout their lives so far, so it's a familiar comfort to them.

If you aren’t able to crate them, having one room or space that they can retreat to and can be (lovingly) confined will do. Use baby gates, bedding and doors to help create this.

Once they’re calmer in their crate (or dedicated space) they come back into their body a bit, they may clean themselves or start to lay down and rest. Take them for toilet breaks and see if they want to be brave and explore a little after this, or if they want to go back to the crate. That is fine, let them. You want them to have that little bit of agency to begin trusting you.

From their safe space, they will slowly get used to the happenings around them. Your voices, smells, and environment. Then, when they’re ready, they will start to interact with them. This may not happen on this first night (See 3:3:3 ) so don’t feel disheartened.

On the first night, your hound may cry or whine. It’s also quite possible they may have toileting accidents. Try to take your hound out to the toilet before you go to bed for the night to give them the best chance of making it through, and offer rewards for good toileting. Don’t punish them for accidents, especially this early on, just quietly and thoroughly clean it so they don’t continue to smell and associate the spot with toilet time.

Some find that their hound prefers to be nearer to them and that lessens any crying. In their kennels, they had their own space but were amongst other dogs, complete with their noises, smells, snores and presence, so this crying is often down to loneliness.

If you feel comfortable with it, moving their crate or ‘space’ into or nearer your room, it can lessen their whining. If this isn’t feasible (you've got existing pets in your room that won’t like it, you don’t want dogs in the bedroom etc.) another option is to have a white noise machine or radio playing quietly for them.

Some owners dust off old baby monitors or dog-cams and set them up so they can check on the dog throughout the night without disturbing them. It’s certainly not a must-have, but if you’re nervous it can offer good peace of mind.

Some hounds will sleep through, upside down with their legs in their air, farts blasting and tongue hanging out and you don’t have to worry at all. Every hound is different.

There may be parts of your house that your hound needs to navigate and don’t know how. This is most often glass doors/windows and stairs - neither of which your hound will have much experience with.

To avoid any head-on collisions with glass, we recommend putting some masking or coloured tape across at their head height, so they have a more visual indicator that there’s something solid there. The last thing you want is your dog thinking there are secret force fields in their new environment. Once they learn the secrets of the doors, you can remove the tape.

Stairs can sometimes take more time (and a lot of bribery,) to master. If you have hard-floor steps, it can be useful to put down sticky carpet mats, at least while they're learning. A lot of coaxing, patience and treats will really be the trick long term for this but in the short term, you may need to learn how to pick up and carry your hound in the most comfortable way possible (see Common Questions).

Your new greyhound will be fully capable of some things; others not so much. Be prepared to show them the ropes on the few aspects of pet life.

God-speed. But seriously, if you do this right, you’ll be one of the ones that gets to say “aaak-chu-allyyyyy…” whenever someone says they can’t have a hound because they have a cat.

If you’ve adopted a hound with a cat, it means they will have been assessed to be cat-trainable. Note they don’t say cat-friendly, as there will be work to do. You can’t just chuck them together and hope for the best. Thoughtful integration and guided transitions are the key to forging the best long term relationship between your animals.

Start before they arrive

The best tools you have for introduction are a muzzle, a crate and a baby gate.

If you can, introduce the hounds scent to the cat prior to bringing it home and vice versa. This will help them start to build a sense of familiarity and grow used to each-other even before they share a space.

Managing first encounters

When you first bring your hound home, make sure you know where your cat is. Being vigilant and in control of the situation will always put you in the best position for success. If you have a cat that affectionately likes to wait for you and bat your ankles from behind a wall, perhaps take extra care locating them.

Upon getting the hound home, secure an area that the cat can’t access by itself. If there’s a door between them and the new hound, all the better. They may be able to smell one another through gaps underneath and this will help them grow accustomed to one another. Scent swapping remains a key part of this beginning phase.

While you don’t want either animal to feel trapped, the cat should be allowed more freedom at this stage if it was in the home before the greyhound, and should be allowed safe vantage points and spaces so it’s never put in a precarious position. For the first couple of days, your hound may be in the process of decompressing (See 3:3:3 and The First Night) so possibly won’t have free roam anyway.

Next steps

When you progress to letting them meet, ensure these are low-pressure and very controlled settings. Crates and barriers are very useful in this stage. If you have a crate you’re using, you can secure the hound in there and then let the cat into the room. You can reward disinterested or calm behaviour, but you may not get that on the first try. That’s okay, as long as the animals are safe. Remember to keep your energy calm and reassuring too - tense and cautious energy will affect how the animals react.

Alternatively (or in addition to,) the crate, you can have safety barriers between the pets. This could be glass doors/ranch-sliders/windows or a fencing type material (with gaps not large enough to allow the cat to slide through.) Expect interest and acknowledgement but try to reward calm behaviour around each-other.

The above steps can be done several times until they are less stimulated by one another's presence, and then the muzzle becomes handy. Note that it’s not a fail safe - greyhounds are significantly larger than cats and can injure them without use of their teeth so while it’s an important safety precaution, don’t rush the initial steps before this. You want them to at least casually know of each-other by the time you graduate to muzzle stage, which may be after a number of days or even weeks.

When it is time to use the muzzle, put it on and also leash your hound to ensure you have the most control possible. Have a second person around to handle the cat. Stay calm and chill. If you’ve ever seen your dog's energy ramp up when you say ‘walk’ then you’ll know they rely on our cues for how to feel about situations and if you’re wound up, they might feel that. While muzzled, reward calm behaviour before bringing them together. They may interact, they may freak out, just stay in control and recognize if you need to revert to the earlier steps for a while if needed.

Keeping an eye on things

After a while, you will get a natural feel for how their interactions are feeling. More and more controlled meetings through fences/barriers/muzzles will eventually become routine for them - especially if you’ve reinforced calmness. From there, you can start deciding if you trust them to go unmuzzled or without a leash in your own time.

Note that this all applies to the cat and hound sharing the home, not necessarily outdoors. A greyhound that has a friend inside may not translate that outside. It may be that he recognises ‘Oscar my inside friend,’ but outside, Oscar could become CAAAT! Repeat the steps you used indoors, but in your outdoor environment.

Training your hound with the ‘Leave it’ command can be useful for cat-training as well, giving them a prompt to associate with disengaging and remaining calm. This can come in handy for a lot of other things too so it’s a worthwhile one to look into.

A lot of the preconceptions about greyhounds being unable to live with cats is oversimplified. The biggest difference between a dog that wants to chase a cat and a greyhound that wants to chase a cat, is that the greyhound could probably catch it. They’re faster, more agile and have been bred with hunting instincts and eyesight that can spot a twitch from ages away, so while a lopey lab’ might decide to play chase and give up at the end of the driveway, a hound will not. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a hound who has learnt to live with their feline friends, it just means that you have to be a bit more sure.

We encourage you to make use of the community - there are plenty of people that have gone through the training process with tips and tricks as well as support in abundance. If you want to more thoroughly look into some cat-training tips, we recommend this pamphlet written by Susan McKeon (MAPDT), a certified animal behaviourist for the Greyhound Trust.

Due to their ability to become a motion-blur in the blink of an eye, many owners do not like to let their hound off the lead and this is a caution we encourage - better to be safe than sorry!

For those with hounds that are more trainable or if you have a more active lifestyle, you may want to explore recall training so that you feel confident letting them have more off-lead freedom when the situation allows.

You may be lucky and find yourself with a greyhound that is fully competent with stairs but the chances are they've lived life on ground level and have never encountered them. Many owners find that accomplishing this is one of the biggest milestones in the retirement journey, so unless you want several years of being a human ski lift for your greyhound, you will need to broach stair training with them.

Every hound will be different, so it's important that you find the balance between pushing their boundaries while being patient with their pace. Often once they make it part way up they will work it out but a couple of ways to get that ball rolling include:

start with a short flight of three to four stairs with wide treads as an introduction to the idea. Get them confident with this before moving on. Parks or schools after hours are great spaces to find these.
try placing a trail of high value treats up the stairs. This is good for positive association as well as coaxing up
place them on the stairs near the bottom then encourage them up. They may like to have someone on hand to support them physically (and you might feel more comfortable with this too!)
See if they are more comfortable coming down the stairs rather than up. Doing one direction often gives them confidence to do the other.
Don't be stingy with the rewards once they achieve either going up or coming down! Some greyhound owners find it useful to keep treats upstairs as well as downstairs so the reward association is obvious to the hound.

Sometimes the tricks aren't necessary and they just work it out for themselves. You will find the whole experience a lot easier if a) your stairs are carpeted and b) you stairs have risers (many greyhounds are a bit put off by open stairs).

Remember, being a longer dog with a front loaded centre of gravity can make stairs a little more challenging so make sure they don't rush, especially downwards. And be aware of when they've had enough, you don't want to put them off stairs altogether; around 5-minute sessions is usually the limit.

Disclaimer: Greyhound 101 is a peer support resource. The advice given in this section is based on our and our community members' lived experience of greyhound ownership. It should not replace professional advice and veterinary care should always be sought if you have any concerns.

Next section: Anatomy & Health >

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Welcome to your new greyhound

3:3:3

Nervousness