I'm with Amber on Corgis being a great first time dog. Not only that, but how can you not love a Corgi? They are cute, fun loving, smaller, but without the annoying small dog habits. They really are a big dog in a small dog body.

What do you guys think of adopting a retired Greyhound? Dobes and Greyhounds are my two all time favorites. I agree that most of the Dobes I know would be way too much for a new dog-person; but Greyhounds tend to be pretty easy "right out of the box". They're very quiet in the house, clean, athletic and sweet. If you're good at picking the right one, they can do quite well in agility and obedience, make great therapy dogs and rarely have dominance issues with people or other dogs. I've had a few of my own and have done foster care for others and I just love them.

I just love greyhounds.

A former client (who has since moved away) was heavily involved with greyhound rescue so we now see a lot of greyhounds. They are wonderful dogs and I've yet to meet an aggressive one.

The only cautions are you can't let them run off-leash and we've seen a few with bone cancer

Greyhounds area breed that is easier to generalize because the majority of the breed are raised in the exact same way - in HUGE packs. It presents some problems for training.

Greyhounds are not free from aggression. It's not seen a lot because of they way that greyhound people deal with it - in the pack. If a greyhound person has a couple males fighting, they'll add a dominant female to the pack to solve the problem.

Greyhounds are "ready to go out of the box." There's no mistaking that. They walk perfectly on leash, are crate trained and usually very quiet. They do make good pets and great therapy dogs. However, there is a limit in their success in certain types of training. Generally they are not recommended for obedience.

They do have breed specific medical anomalies. If you get one, learn these BEFORE you go to the vet for an exam.

When looking for a greyhound, meet it away from it's normal home and away from other dogs. Look for a greyhound that is interested in YOU (or at least treats).

I got screwed over really thoroughly on finding a Greyhound for pet, agility, OB training. If I try again, I'll go directly to the trainers at the track and get the dog before it goes to a rescue organization.

If your first interest is pet - you can't really go wrong with a Greyhound. If you are seriously wanting to train for OB, you may be limiting your success before you begin.

Again, happy hunting!

VERY true about the "off leash" thing. Mine have had great recall after some training, but that sight-hound prey-drive has been enforced by breeding for literally thousands of years. I would always recommend working them in a fenced area for sure, but the prey drive can be exploited . A few can be difficult to train too. I had one "untrainable" Greyhound that my Doberman friends assumed was stupid. She could unlatch all of the gates if they weren't padlocked, climb a ladder to get onto the roof (?!) and then come down again, and then get into the refrigerator for her favorite thing- canned whipping cream- which she had no problem helping herself to. But she wouldn't learn any commands so they called her stupid . She was sort of odd though; the exception not the rule. I know a few that excel in agility and more than a few that are great therapy dogs. Bone cancer seems pretty prevalent in lots of the longer-limbed breeds, unfortunately.

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She could unlatch all of the gates if they weren't padlocked, climb a ladder to get onto the roof (?!) and then come down again, and then get into the refrigerator for her favorite thing- canned whipping cream- which she had no problem helping herself to.

Oh - too funny!

I have two greyhounds and love them. They excell at companionship and chasing bunnies. That's about it. There are a few that can do agility and obedience, but that's more the exception rather than the rule. They are very easy to live with as all they ask from you is to be kept warm and to have a soft place to sleep. They are good around gentle kids and most will stand perfectly still for young and old to pet or hug them. As they are naked dogs, they do have to wear coats in the winter. For the most part, they are big, gentle, sweet tempered dogs that will never chase a ball. They are very prone to bone cancer, but you will almost never see a grey with bad hips or elbows.

If you want a dog that will play with the kids, play fetch, do well in any sport that doesn't involve bunnies, a grey is not for you. If these are things you aren't looking for in a dog, they make great first time dogs.

Exactly. Perfect first-time pet; extremely amiable and easy to live with, but not a first choice for sure if you're looking to compete in obedience trials. Training them can be an uphill battle, having been bred for single-minded purpose. They don't tend to have a lot in the way of behavioural problems though, but still it can be frustrating. My current Greyhound will do spectacular aerial manoevers to catch his frisbee.....but he'll run away and not bring it back. He loves "the chasing and catching" part but... . My first one could be trained to do just about anything, but as terrific as he was, he still wasn't nearly as "enthusiastic" about training as even my cheekyest Dobes. They DO seem to consistantly live longer than other large breeds. The ones that I have known generally have lived to be twelve or so; a couple of them have lived to be as old as sixteen. I just love them.

Awesome responses from everyone! Thank you!

Red- great checklist! I'll definitely keep it in mind...
Amber- Corgis are great! I am seriously thinking about one of those for my boys when they are older and more responsible.
Kristel, Sarah and Anne (among others)- I've have met some greys and I think they are neat dogs, almost got one when I was in Little Rock. But I have small, sometimes very loud children and I didn't know if I could mix the two of them.

Thanks! Those are ALL great responses! I really appreciate it!

V/R

Cat