Adoption Advice
Greyhound owners and adoption groups agree that greyhounds make wonderful pets and we hope you will go on to adopt a dog of your own.
Thank you for considering Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue to adopt a new family member from and you may like to know what our procedure is, from making the first enquiry to that day when you take your new dog home: the Gotcha Day!
Greyhounds are usually quiet, gentle and loyal to their family. They are very affectionate creatures, enjoy the company of their humans and other dogs and are usually as friendly with strangers as they are with their family.
Whether a greyhound enjoys the company of other small animals or cats depends on the individual dog’s personality, like any other pet.
Most of our dogs are ex-racing greyhounds who have now retired and will make superb pets. Usually the dogs are friendly with other dogs but it is unlikely that they can live with a cat in the household due to their former training.
Generally they are great pets to walk on the lead and are easy dogs to look after. Most greyhounds are happy with moderate exercise (perhaps two 20 minute walks a day), they will need somewhere warm to sleep with a soft bed (an old duvet is ideal), meals and your time.
At most race tracks, greyhounds are housed in crates for sleeping and are very familiar with crates but they are also very eager to join you on the sofa if given the chance.
We always recommend that owners keep their greyhounds on a fixed lead whenever out in public, except in fully enclosed areas. This is due to their chase instinct, their speed and, like many pets, their lack of road sense.
Greyhounds live most happily as pets in quiet environments. They do well in families with children as long as the children are taught to treat the dog calmly with politeness and appropriate respect, like any other pet. Greyhounds have a sensitive nature, and gentle commands work best as training methods
A common misconception regarding greyhounds is that they are hyperactive, need lots of space and require lots of exercise but in fact, due to their calm temperament, they can live comfortably in small homes and flats, sleep close to 18 hours per day and enjoy moderate exercise.
Although some greyhounds may bark, they are not known as barkers and fit very well into a suburban environments. In fact, many owners describe their greyhounds as “45-mile-per-hour couch potatoes”.
DCGR usually has around a dozen dogs in need of homes at any time and in order to find the best matched dog for you we start by asking for some information about your needs and preferences.
So if you see a Greyhound you might like to join your family please call us on 07873 381470 for a brief, no-obligation chat to find out more about the dog of interest.
Whether you contact us via this website’s contact page, ring us on 07873 381470 or if you chose to email us at enquiries@dcgr.org.uk we will ask you for some further information by sending you an Adoption Enquiry Form to complete or by speaking with you by phone to gather that information. Click on the link to read the form.
Adoption Enquiry Form
After we have your preferences and requirements we can start matching you to the dogs currently looking for forever homes and someone from the charity will call you to follow up. We may ask to come and visit you at home, perhaps bringing a greyhound with us, to see what environment a selected dog will need to be suited to and to advise or answer any questions you have about the breed or the dogs in our care.
If there are multiple dogs who may be suitable for you, we may then ask you to come to meet the dogs or if we think we have the right dog to make the right match we may bring that dog to you. But any dogs you meet and think are right will be hoping to start their new life with you as soon as possible and ideally the adoption will be completed within a few days to a week after the first meeting with your chosen dog.
Adoption Information Booklet – (pdf doc.)
Many of our dogs are ex-racing greyhounds, usually adult dogs and some may not have lived in a home before but we will tell you as much as we can about their life up to now. We will give you an adoption information booklet with your dog or during the process in order to help with frequently asked questions and how to help settle your dog into their new home. Click on the link to read the information booklet.
Prior to adoption, all the dogs are vet checked including a dental procedure and have been neutered, microchipped and fully vaccinated. They will come to you with a lead, a collar and a muzzle and also with 1 months free pet insurance. We will give you their vaccination record and tell you when we last parasite treated them for worms, ticks, fleas and lice etc and any other medical procedures or known information about them.
As a Charity run entirely by volunteers we depend on donations for the care of the dogs, however we don’t have a set adoption fee required as payment for our dogs. We will gratefully accept anything you’d like to give, perhaps £125 – £150. All donations received are used for the welfare needs of the dogs in our care and to allow us to continue rescuing and rehoming dogs in need.