Anyone unacquainted with greyhounds could be forgiven for thinking that gathering more than 50 of them in one space is a recipe for chaos – all edgy energy and the strutting aggression often displayed by human sprinters at the Olympics.
The reality at a meeting set up by Needlenose Hound Services on Wellington’s Kapiti Coast is far different. It turns out the world’s fastest canines are a pretty chill bunch when not rocketing around at speeds exceeding 60km/h, happy to lounge around, stretching, sleeping, or sprawling in long-legged contentment.
“In general, greyhounds are incredibly lazy dogs,” the SPCA’s Senior Scientific Officer Dr Alison Vaughan told LawNews. “People may be really surprised because they think of them as athletes, but they’re sprinters.
“They might just have one big zoomie around and then spend the rest of the day napping, so they’re actually really good dogs for people who live in apartments or for older people.
“They love to come with you to cafe. They’re usually quiet dogs, not all of them, they’re just really, really lovely creatures.”
Animal welfare organisations, including the SPCA, are currently working to adopt about 1,700 greyhounds as a ban on racing takes effect at the end of this month, in what Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) describes as New Zealand’s biggest ever animal rehoming effort.
To raise awareness, GAP has been granted permission from the makers of US animated comedy ‘The Simpsons’ to use the series’ resident greyhound ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ in billboards promoting the breed’s qualities as family pets.
‘Bloody colourful attire’
The dog owners at the Kapiti meeting need no persuasion about their greyhounds’ merits. Needlenose co-owner Marita Sparrow founded the business as a homestay partly to help people who had newly adopted hounds amid booming interest in the breed.
“Back in the day, we were looking at getting a dog and someone said ‘why don’t you consider a greyhound? They’re beautiful when they run, very clean inside, and they sleep a lot’,” she said.
“So we looked at some and thought ‘Wow, they’re like big, beautiful cats’. We’ve had four now and I probably wouldn’t have another breed.”
Annie van Zyl-Greene, a senior legal assistant at Tompkins Wake, has a similar outlook.
Attending the meeting with her wife Mirinda and their dogs Mia and Zulu, she said greyhounds were “definitely different” to other canines, including specific dietary needs due to their specialised metabolisms.
“They don’t have a layer of fat on them, so you have to make sure they’re warm,” she said.
Because of this, greyhounds need to be covered up when the temperature is 12C or below, giving owners the excuse to display often an often flamboyant fashion sense.
Most greyhounds usually have a selection of coats, for cold weather, rainy weather, or just lounging around the house.
Van Zyl-Greene’s dogs sport matching blue coats with dinosaur prints, while others at the Kapiti gathering had oilskins, multi-coloured leggings, and coats with rainbow hearts, polkadots, and tartan.
“I never thought I’d put a dog in bloody colourful attire, but you do what you need to do,” Van Zyl-Greene’s said.
Beware ‘small fluffies’
Greyhounds are one of the oldest dog breeds, dating back to ancient Egypt around 2,900BC, according to Britain’s Royal Society.
The SPCA’s Vaughan said they have some endearing and unique characteristics, including ‘chittering’, the noise made when their teeth chatter when they’re happy, similar to a cat’s purring.
In a safe, relaxing environment, they’ll also perform ‘roaching’ – falling asleep on their backs with legs sticking up in the air at random angles.
Vaughan said dogs raised in kennels normally walk well on a lead. They’re house trained for toileting but can be unfamiliar with commonplace items around the home.
“They might not have ever experienced stairs or a vacuum cleaner, or toys, any number of things that would be quite normal for a dog growing up in a family home,” she said,
Adoption agencies will check dogs for temperament before matching them with prospective new homes. Vaughan said greyhounds were suitable for most home environments, but cats or other small animals could be an issue.
“It may depend on the cat, often what triggers the chase instinct is when the cat runs. A very confident cat with a greyhound that’s been tested to be okay around cats is normally compatible, but small fluffies are definitely a big consideration (for adoption).”
Maureen Lynch admits she didn’t know what to expect when she adopted her greyhound Tessa about nine months ago.
“Apparently, she wasn’t fast enough to race, although you’d never know when you see her bombing around the beach,” she said.
“She was quite skittish when she first got home. My boyfriend has a big, boisterous dog and she’d get overwhelmed when he was around and go outside to get some quiet. Now, she’s just as bad as him, she’s turned into a proper dog.”
Tough task
All adopted dogs are desexed, and Needlenose’s Sparrow said there were some concerns over the long-term future of the breed in New Zealand following the racing ban, although she feels there are enough dedicate greyhound owners for it to survive.
Vaughan says a litany of animal welfare concerns meant the racing ban had to happen.
“There were three reviews across the decades that all were quite damning about the industry,” she said, “Further to that, there’s also public opinion. New Zealanders overwhelmingly don’t want to see dogs raced. Obviously, people who are involved in the industry have a different view, but they’re very much in the minority.”
Sarah Calkin, a dog handler at Big Time Racing kennels in Palmerston North, has adopted three greyhounds as pets, Moose, Ziggy and Master.
“It’d be dangerous if I had a farm or something, I’d have about 20 of them as my pets,” she told LawNews at the Needlenose meet.
Calkin is pragmatic about the ban, saying the kennel’s priority now is finding homes for its former racers.
“It’ll be an incredible task to rehome that many dogs, it’s definitely going to be tough,” she said.
“We need people putting their hands up to have a greyhound and also helping with the transition, so the dogs are well looked after until they get a new home.
“But we’ll continue to look after them [at the kennels] until that time comes for them to go. As you can imagine, it’ll be heartbreaking, these dogs are like our pets.”
Information about adoption can be found at Greyhound Rehoming Project, or the following organisations: Greyhounds as Pets, KiwiKiwi Hounds Adoption, May Hounds, and Nightrave Greyhounds.
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