Retired Racing Greyhounds For Dummies

by Lee Livingood

“The next best thing to having an experienced Greyhound owner living with you.”
―Joan Belle Isle, President, Greyhound Project “Anyone who reads this book and follows its guidance will have a happier, healthier dog and be a happier, more relaxed dog owner.”
―Hal and Karen Hawley, Greyhound Friends Northwest The Greyhound has been celebrated in song and legend for thousands of years. Nowadays, Greyhounds are bred almost exclusively for racing. In the bad old days, prior to the 1980s, dogs that didn’t make the grade at the track, and those past their primes, were destroyed. According to official estimates, 60,000 of these noble, mild-mannered dogs were destroyed each year! Fortunately, a number of organizations now exist devoted to rescuing these unwanted dogs and placing them in good homes. Thinking about adopting a retired racing Greyhound? Or maybe you’re already sharing your life with one of these charming animals. Either way, this friendly guide tells you everything you need to know to: With plenty of good humor and straight-talk, Lee Livingood drawing on her forty-years of experience training adult rescue dogs to cover all the pros and cons of being a retired racing Greyhound owner, and she fills you in on: Bursting with expert advice on all aspects of living with an ex-racer, Retired Racing Greyhounds For Dummies is must reading for anyone considering adoption or who’s already taken the leap.

Genres: Nonfiction, Dogs, Animals, Reference, Pets, How To, Adult

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2000

Reviews

[Jen]

In preparation to adopt a retired racer, I read this because of a requirement of the local greyhound adoption rescue. As it turns out, this book really is fantastic not just for greyhounds but for all dog breeds. Chock full of training tips and behavior recognition, I already knew some of the material since I already own a dog. However, I found most of it to be new and incredibly helpful. This particular Dummies book will retain a permanent position on my bookshelf.

[Shauna]

This had lots of helpful info as we prepare for the arrival of a retired racing greyhound on New Year's Day! There were a few typos and grammatical errors, but I'm going to go ahead and blame Wiley for that.

[Hannah Sanders]

Can you believe I actually have sat and read this, like, three times? This book calls me a "dummy," and I just roll over and drool like the four-legged friend I long for. I'm a sucker for nearly useless facts.

[Pj Anderer]

Required reading for my greyhound addiction group. I found it useful.

(That is supposed to say adoption, but both words fit)

[T]

This may be good to read before you have the dog.

I fostered a greyhound for a month and I learned as much, if not more, from that experience (and a greyhound human mentor)!

[Leslie Brummett-Douglass]

A required read

I am in the process of adopting a retired racer (hopefully) and this was a choice for a required read. It is very informative. It presents facts and ways for your hound to enjoy life. Highly recommend!

[Katelyn]

We are currently considering adopting a retired greyhound into our family. The adoption agency requires that we read this book prior to continuing on in the process.

There is a chapter that is suppose to help you decide if a retired greyhound is a good fit for you. However, the chapter really didn't provide much more than good advice for adopting any type of dog.

The information about training is one we will revisit for whatever dog we do decide to adopt, because it is just good advice about repetition.

[Cathy]

I thought this was a good primer on dog ownership, with tips specific to greyhounds (who require special care because of their speed, lack of body fat, and aerodynamic build) and to other canines generally. I do have some questions I need to research further - should you really feed your dog yogurt? Is it really necessary to calculate the percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and moisture in any given food? The greyhound rescue I was researching required the reading of this book, and even if I don't adopt a greyhound, it was a good read. Who knew that greyhounds have more issues with white small animals than other colors? Good tidbit, since I have a white chinchilla.

[Heather]

A very helpful and informative book! Provided a lot of insight to the differences between greyhounds and other breeds. Lots of helpful training tips. The author's passion for the breed positively radiated from the pages--makes you wonder why everyone doesn't have a greyhound!

A great first step for anyone contemplating bringing home a retired racing greyhound.

[Dana *]

Well written practical guide to things you need to know about greyhounds. I think it was a bit odd to keep pointing to another section of the book, instead of just putting the small related information in the larger section of info. For instance, " in this section I will tell you a, b, c. For a, see section 3. For b see section 9."

[steve j brahlek]

Good Read

While I haven't adopted a retiredr racer yet, I feel better prepared than before I started the book. I am mire confident in my ability to provide a good home, and I am sure now that a retired racer is the right dog for me.

It is a great resource, more than I could take in during one reading, but I have the book and will be able to refer to it as the needs arise.

[Susan]

Best dog training book I've ever found and I've read a good few of them. This is full of real wisdom and insight, and it's not just about greyhounds. Livingood's "methods" make training into companionship and teaching; not drudgery, not time consuming, but part of every day communication with your dog and fun to do. And his advice really works.

[blossorn]

As a first guide and a time to time reminder it is absolutely superb! I do thoroughly recommend checking this book out for people who ae interested in adopting a greyhound. However, it is worth noting that for some sections more informatino from outside of this book has to be gathered - so sometimes it serves merely as a guideline for things.
Still, great read of a great book!

[Carolyn Drake]

Yep. we're getting one.
This is a comprehensive and clear guide to the the particular kind of big lump that will be joining our household in a few weeks. Greyhounds are a very unique breed ('hardware of a dog, software of a cat', someone once told me), and this book gives any prospective owner lots of useful insight and tips. Let's hope we can put some of it into practice...

[A.]

Very informative

Very informative and specific to the breed. Greyhounds, especially retired racers, are their own kind of dig and deserve a well written text just for them. This is that bpok.

[Lauren]

Was required to read this book before adopting a retired racing greyhound. Learned some interesting information regarding greyhounds, including training tricks that I will be using in the future. Recommended read for those looking into adopting a retired racing greyhound.

[Adam C]

I feel bad only giving this book 3 stars, because it's a non-fiction "for dummies" guidebook and hard to compare to anything. While it has plenty of good, accessible information, it would benefit from an updated version.

[Amy]

Informative Read

This book was full of useful information.

It covers a wide range of topics form breed history to tips and tricks to training. It is fairly thorough and a good reference.

[Tami Gallupe]

Solid, quick read

This book gives you a great overview of what you should be ready for when getting ready to adopt your greyhound. Some references are obviously dated but the content is timeless it seems.

It makes sense why all agencies have this as required reading. It’s really fast to read, super simple language and organized easily.

[Josie]

Great information if you are considering adopting a racing greyhound.

[Robin Orozco]

Great resource

If you want to know if a retired racer is the dog for you read this book. Filled with valuable information.

[Dawn Lenzen]

Very helpful and informative book. I will keep it as my quick help guide for raising my retired racer.

[Laura Tenfingers]

Very informative and readable. Nothing about raw feeding unfortunately.

[Alan Williamson]

Packed with information to reassure both new hounds and their humans.

[Pauline (Polly)]

Must read for any greyhound adopters. Had so many great tips and scientific information- almost all rescue groups we’ve spoken to swear by this book ❤️

[Ann]

I will definitely be coming back to this for quick reference.

[Megan]

Well I feel exhausted about the entire concept of dog ownership and may just await the day we get fuzzy robots

[Laura]

I got halfway through and DNF but I will save my copy for future reference. Some of the information appears outdated / unnecessary.

[Twyla Pearson]

Lots of great information and history!

[Amber Frame]

Educational read

I had to read this to be eligible for adoption for one of these precious dogs. It was insightful, as they are slightly different from the collie we had at home.