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Does anyone have any experience hiking with greyhounds? I would like to begin taking my greyhound on some easy hikes with me, but I wanted to hear other people's experiences in hiking with them before I did.

Welcome to HAZ!

I haven't a clue

Be sure to check out ck1's

"Hiking with your Dog" article!
http://hikearizona.com/article.php?ID=4&O=0

You might also want to check out the book "Doin' Arizona With Your Pooch". You can click the books link above and see some info on it.

And welcome to Arizona and HAZ!

I have a friend who has hiked with her greyhounds (rescues from the track) and she has no problems. They are good dogs and very obedient. One of them absolutely loves getting out on the trail.

Ck1's advice for preparing a dog for the trail should be heeded though. My friend spent the time and money preparing her dogs, and it has apparently paid off.

I don't mean to segway the thread, but has it been a positive experience taking on an adopted greyhound? and where does one go to adopt. I need a dog to balance out our three cats.

Well, Snick, I'd love to answer your question completely, but I cannot for another 10 weeks. My friend of whom I spoke is on sabatical this summer. She just left last week.

I do know that she has recommended the process highly and loves her dogs - but I don't know how she went about it.

I imagine though, that if you call one of the local animal rescue shelters, they could probably clue you in to some people to contact. Not to mention that most of the animal shelters also have a number of great dogs for adoption. I have a friend who does some volunteer work with a shelter and she absolutely raves about the quality of the dogs they have for adoption.

According to her most of the dogs they get aren't problem animals, they are either abandoned or the owners simply didn't understand the commitment necessary to taking care of a dog. Problem animals are usually just put down. And hey, it never hurts to look. I've adopted from shelters before and I think the process is quite easy and very nice. One of the shelters even tests if the a dog is compatible with cats and vice versa. It was actually kind of entertaining to watch the test.

I don't have any experience with your particular breed but I have hiked with dogs in general for many years.

They don't do well in the heat so take caution on that note and always carry plenty of water for them. When the weather turns cool they will hike you into the ground. Depending on how well trained yours are, you may want to keep them on a leash. With my Jack Russel and Cairn Terrier, I have to leash them all the time. Some can do without it but usually if they spot some "prey" they will not hear you at all. If your greyhounds go after a jackrabbit, you won't be able to keep up.

I did have a Jack Russel when I was about 10 years old while living in Phoenix and she could hike without a leash. That was one smart dog. My biggest problem with her was she liked to torment a 2000 lb bull down the block. She would run right into it's pen and give that bull a hard time. The owner would yell at us until we took off.

So take them hiking but be very careful of the heat.

Snick, check out these sites, they should answer your questions.

http://www.arizonaadoptagreyhound.org/

( dead link removed )

We have a whippet (a mini greyhound) and he loves to hike and run for short distances. You need to monitor the stamina of sight hounds (of which the greyhound is one). They can run/walk for a SHORT spurt (two miles is usually about it), and they tire VERY QUICKLY. We had two whippets in the past who liked to hike, but the male (much heavier one) would poop out without warning and we had to carry him back to the trailhead. Whippets are much smaller than a greyhound, so if you have a greyhound that tires out in the middle of nowhere, you will not be able to carry him/her back. Just a warning. Sight hounds will lie down and REFUSE to move when they are too tired!!!