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These are some of the supplies you will need to welcome your new greyhound home. We will supply your new greyhound with a nylon martingale collar and a 6 foot leash. You may wish to purchase other fancier collars for your greyhound but we recommend waiting until he/she is home with you so that you can find a collar to match their coloring/personality. In our adoption packet, we have a long list of collar (and coat) manufacturers. A 6 foot leash is the longest you will want to use with your greyhound for safety reasons and a retractable leash should NEVER be used for various health and safety reasons. Crates You should purchase wire crates that are at least 31 inches high. We do not recommend the plastic, airline-type crates since the dogs can often feel claustrophobic inside them. You can get a nice wire crate by MidWest from Care A Lot in Virginia Beach for a very reasonable price. If you go to their website, www.carealotpets.com, and search MidWest, you will see a crate listed as MW 1642DD Double Door Crate w/Divider Panel. That crate is $64.95 and shipping is usually $10 or so. Raised Feeding Dishes Bedding We do not recommend using dog beds inside of your greyhound's crate. We would recommend using a blanket or comforter that can be purchased rather inexpensively from stores such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc. You do not want your expensive dog bed to be shredded by the teeth of a bored or upset greyhound. You can find nice dog beds at CostCo for about $20 that are the perfect size for greyhounds. For use around the house, you can purchase nicer dog beds through several different companies and you should buy what you feel comfortable with. We have had good success with L.L. Bean dog beds (with Dri-Weave Lining). Other manufacturers to consider are: Orvis, R.C. Steele, Doctors Foster and Smith, and JB Pet Wholesalers. Food Your greyhound should be fed a high quality DRY dog food. We prefer to feed our greyhounds (both personal and fosters) a diet that is free of chemicals and preservatives and have recently started them on Innova Evo and they are doing very well on it. It is a very high quality, grain-free dry kibble that is all-natural and preservative free. And since this diet is free of the grain fillers in most other dog foods, we are also feeding much less and they still get all of the food and nutrition they need to be healthy and happy. Another plus is that with the Evo diet, we have noticed their feces are smaller and firmer meaning there is less to clean up in the yard. There are also a lot of other natural dog foods available that would be good for your greyhound. Some of these are Wellness, Canidae, Solid Gold, Innova (regular), California Natural Lamb & Rice, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, and Organix. Other brands of good quality are Eukanuba (Euk. Naturals Adult Large Breed Lamb & Rice was the food we fed before Evo), and Nutro. Please do not feed your greyhound any of the supermarket brands of dog food, table food or canned dog food. None of these support your greyhound for optimum health and nutrition. They are full of fillers (meaning more poop), fat and calories. A high quality, dry food (as mentioned above) will give your greyhound a healthy coat and good nutrition. Kong We strongly recommend that you have a Kong toy on hand for when your new greyhound comes home. A Kong toy is a valuable resource for use when crating your greyhound. It allows them to have something to do when you leave instead of dwelling on your leaving. They can be found at most pet stores and we recommend the Large or X-Large Kongs for greyhounds. Once getting it home, wash it with soapy water (or put it in the dishwasher on the top rack) before stuffing it with dry dog food and a small amount (~1 tablespoon) of peanut butter or canned pumpkin. Your greyhound will appreciate it. Dental Care Supplies Proper dental care is an important way of keeping your new greyhound healthy and happy. We recommend brushing his/her teeth several times weekly (daily is best) with a toothpaste made for dogs. You can purchase doggy toothpaste & toothbrushes at local pet stores or your vet's office. You may also want to try a small child's toothbrush. Squawker The squawker is a prey call device used at the track to recall greyhounds after a race is done. A squawker is a greyt item to have on hand in the case that your greyhound might escape from your home, yard or car. It grabs the grey's attention and brings it back to you. Most greyhounds respond well to this device, although laid-back, spooky or older dogs might ignore it or become frightened by it. Never use the squawker as a toy. We do recommend that you train your greyhound with it before the unfortunate happens to see what your grey's response is. A squawker can be purchased from the National Greyhound Association for about $15. It is item # 7004. You may want to have one for your home and for your car. Since you never know when you might need it. ID Tag Your greyhound will come with a CVGreys tag with our information on it but you will also need to have one with your information. We recommend a tag with the following information: Grey's name, your home phone number and your cell phone number on the front. If possible, buy a tag that can have information printed on the back, too. On the back, we recommend the following: REWARD, If I am loose, I am lost. You can get one-sided tags made at PetsMart or you can buy two-sided online at Boomerang Tags. They make a very nice plastic tag that can be imprinted on both sides. The cost is about $7-8 and they usually arrive in 3-4 days. Try to have your tag ready for adoption day, if possible. Coats/Collars Your new greyhound will
come with a 1-inch nylon martingale collar. You may also want to purchase
a fancier collar and/or a coat for your greyhound (see our Links & Information
page). We would recommend that you wait until your grey is in your home
before making these purchases. You will want to get accurate measurements
for coats based on which coat maker you are using and also have neck
measurements for collars. Besides you will want to make sure that the
color you choose will look good on your new family member. One word of
warning: Do NOT buy coats from local pet stores. They will not fit
your greyhound properly since their physique is rather unique in the dog world.
Also, only buy collars that are in the martingale style. Buckle or snap
collars are not safe to use with greyhounds. |