Adopting A hound: What Questions Should You Ask?

There  is nothing quite as exciting as booking in to go view hound for  adoption…but it can also be nerve wracking, and in the muddle of  emotions, it can be so difficult to be clear headed in the moment and  easily to fell head over heels in love with the first hound that is  brought out to meet you, and then every subsequent hound after that!

We’ve  seen many adopters come in with the intention of ‘letting the hound  choose them’ but while it is a nice sentiment, care should taken when  choosing this light hearted approach.  Many hounds won’t show their true  personality during an adoption viewing, and likely won’t until some  weeks or months into living with you.  

Though,  while finding that connection is important, feeling that instant  relationship in the moment does not relate to their being the right  hound for you.  Your perfect hound, in temperament, personality and  suitability, may not seek you out or show interest in any form during  the viewing meaning you could end up with a hound that is completely  unsuitable for home or lifestyle.

There  are so many factors to take into consideration when choosing a hound,  which is why it is so important to choose a responsible rehoming centre,  or rescue, to facilitate this for you.  Ideally, a centre that will be  honest and thorough in choosing the best match for you rather than  letting you do it yourself.  
The reason for this is,  as we’ve said above, it is very easy to get carried away in the moment  and make a snap decision without having all the facts.  The staff and  volunteers that work with the hounds will know their personalities,  preferences, and quirks, and will be best suited to know which hound  will be the best fit for your family and home.

Apart  from choosing a respectable rehoming centre, and being matched with a  hound, you also want to make sure you receive as much information as  possible so to make an informed decision on whether you want to take  your chosen hound home.

Ideally, a  lot of these questions should have been answered before you even meet  your to-be hound, or other potentials, as the rehoming centre should be  able to provide you clear and detailed information about the dogs and  their background.

However, if you  are going into the viewing blind, take a list of questions with you so  you don’t forget in the moment!  Here are some of our recommendations on  questions to ask:

- What is  their history?  Naturally, if you are adopting a greyhound, it will have  come from the racing industry.  They may or may not have raced, but  there will still be information to relay about their lives prior to  coming into the rehoming centre.  In an ideal world, the racing trainer  or kennel hand that dropped the hound off at the centre will have  provided some background information or key points to be passed along to  their potential adopters.

You’ll  also want to confirm whether they have they been adopted or fostered  previously, if so, how many times and if they were previously adopted,  why did they get surrendered or returned?  

-  A follow on from this would be to ask if they have any pre-existing  medical conditions, injuries, allergies or intolerances? This is beyond  important as any pre-existing conditions, or previous injuries, can  influence whether they can be insured, how much exercise they are  allowed to do and if there is going to be any ongoing or future  veterinary costs.  Any known intolerances will impact diet options  moving forward as well.

- Have  they been given a health check by the vet?  Smaller organisations will  most likely cost-save on this and just do an in-house check over, but  larger organisations will do an initial health check when an animal  arrives in their care to take appropriate measures regarding their care  moving forward.   Don’t forget to ask if they are fully vaccinated, and  make sure they have evidence of this!  So many hounds are double  vaccinated because the adopters weren’t given a vaccination card or  veterinary history, and this is not good for them!
Also,  have they been treated for parasites? Have they been neutered? Are  their teeth in good condition? If not, will all this be done before you  take them home?

If the dog is  not up to date on all its veterinary care, and they intend to rehome the  dog *without* getting it done, and do not intend to support you in  getting it done post-adoption, that is a massive red flag and you should  walk away!

- Have they got all  their paperwork? A full veterinary history? It isn’t always possible to  have a full veterinary history for a rescue, but if they have it, make  sure to get it as this will help in securing your insurance policies and  help with any veterinary treatment in future!

-  If they have been in a home, whether adopted or fostered, you’ll want  to know as much information as possible about their time there.  For  instance, did they do stairs?  Are they house trained?  Were they good  on the lead?  Did they react to traffic?  Were they good with other  breeds? Did they live with or have visiting children?  Were they good  with children?
This information is very important, as a hound’s behaviour in the home is not always accurate to their kennel behaviour.  

Though,  should a hound have been surrendered, or bounced back, the information  provided by the previous owner will not always be accurate.  Sometimes  people will make a hound out to be much more desirable in their  behaviour in the hopes that the rehoming centre will accept them in.   Because of this, you want to ensure that the centre have re-assessed the  dog themselves and are not basing their knowledge purely on what  they’ve been told.

- If they  haven’t been in a home before, and have come straight from racing, it is  still important to ask if the centre have done, and documented, a full  behaviour assessment.  Smaller centres may not document things as  thoroughly as the larger organisations, but ask, nonetheless.  So, have  they been dog tested? Do they share a kennel with another hound?  How  are they with the other greyhounds on walks? Have they met children? Do  they travel well? How do they react to wildlife or traffic?

Also,  what is their temperament like?  What personality quirks have they got?   Get as much detail as possible about their likes, dislikes or whether  they are afraid of anything?  You want to make your new family member is  happy and that you are not putting them in situations they may find  stressful!

- On the same train of  thought, ask what their behaviour is like in the kennels.  Are they  good on the lead?  Are they clean indoors?  Do they eat well?  Are they  generally quite relaxed or are they typically always standing at the  door watching what’s going on?  Are they quite stressed?  Do they bark?
A  dog’s behaviour in kennels does not necessarily reflect on how their  personality and behaviour will develop in the home, but it is helpful to  know if they find that environment difficult.  This is applicable  should you want to go on holiday in future, and need to make alternative  arrangements for your hound such as home boarding, friends or family,  or a pet sitter, rather than stressing them out in kennels.

-  Do they share a kennel with another dog?  We mentioned this a couple of  points back.  If you are only intending to adopt one (though chances  are you’ll go back and get a second before long!), you want to know how  they respond to having a companion.  Are they very reliant on them for  confidence?  Are they quite bonded?  Do they rile each other up or play  together?  Do they prefer their own personal space?  Have they ever  demonstrated bed guarding?
How well they kennel with  another dog, and how they interact with the other hounds, can say a lot  about their sociability, ability to cope as an only hound, and also  potentially flag up any guarding issues that could arise after adoption.
It  could be that they are kennelled on their own because there is no  suitable partner for them, but it is definitely worth delving into this!

-  How much exercise are they currently getting and what do they think  will be their preferred exercise after adoption?  If you’re looking for a  hiking companion, you aren’t going to want a lazy hound that puts on  the breaks 15 minutes into a walk, and equally if you want a lazy hound,  you don’t want to get a young, bonkers hound who wants a couple hours  exercise a day!  Different dogs have different energy levels, so knowing  what kind of exercise or enrichment a dog needs will say a lot  regarding their suitability for your home.

-  This is unlikely, but if they have been in a home before you can also  ask if they know any words like ‘paw’, ‘wait’ or ‘no’.  It may even be  that the kennel volunteers or staff have taught them a few tricks!

BUT!

More important than any of this is why is this dog suitable for us?

A  lot of centres will let you view dogs generally, often showing you  several hounds in the hopes that you chose one, and don’t necessarily  have a ‘matching’ process.  However, as you have probably gathered if  you have been following our page for a while, not every dog is suitable  for every home!

Make sure to ask  the staffs opinion as to why the dog they are showing you is  appropriate for your home situation, as they may be doing a naughty!!

Over  the years we have seen that not everyone in this industry is honest.   There are those who will take shortcuts or try to trick people into  adopting hounds that aren’t suitable to them.  Such as choosing to  parade out the hardest-to-home hounds first, like the biggest, strongest  most reactive black males, with limited details, in the hopes that the  adopter falls in love and doesn’t want to see any more.  They are then  inevitably returned, ready to start the process over again, often  resulting in several adoption payments to the centre before finding a  home that sticks!  We wish we were making this up, but we’re not.

But we’re getting off topic again.  

Make  sure you are absolutely certain that the hound you ultimately end up  adopting, is the right one for you.  The worst thing is having to return  a hound back to the centre because you dived in too quickly…not only is  this heart breaking for you, but it’s also stressful for the hound and  disappointing for the centre.

If  you fall in love with a hound, which is inevitable because they’re all  gorgeous, ask to put a provisional reservation in place while you go  home and sleep on it.  Do not let yourself be pressured into doing a  same-day adoption as these quite often backfire.  Adopting a hound takes  a lot of pre-planning, and you really should try to take some time off  work and clear your calendar to allow yourself the time to get your  hound settled in, house trained and build up their separation training.