By Dennis McKeon
Copyright, 2024. The original post can be found here.
One of the things we try to impress upon adopters of retired greyhounds via these types of essays, is the nurturing of greyhounds, as done by other greyhounds. Most notably, the profound effect of "colony", "pack", and "culture" upon the individual greyhound, not only in the earliest, formative stages of life, but which is reinforced and amplified at every stage of the performance greyhound's career---all instigated and accomplished by other greyhounds.
By the time a greyhound "graduates" from the colony to adoption, he or she is a veritable professor of canine communication and body language, of pack etiquette, and of canine culture and mannerly deportment. The effects of sudden disconnection from that exceptionally well organized and intensely social and educational construct, from that unique culture and its abundant nurturing---which will confront every greyhound upon retirement and adoption---can be a tough row to hoe for some of them.
Where the adopter views the "gotcha day" as an event for celebration and for the expression of mutual joy and the reciprocation of affectionate feelings, it is possible that the greyhound may perceive it as something quite different---vexing, if not intimidating---and which, unsuspected by their adopters, may be the advent of a grieving period for what he/she has inexplicably and suddenly lost.
The overwhelming majority of performance greyhounds (despite pop disinformation narratives to the contrary) who are part of a properly managed and staffed breeding and/or racing colony, are exceptionally well-disposed to their environment, their routine, and their activities, They are superbly adapted to their athletic function. They are, ordinarly, extremely happy, affectionate, sociable and vigorous dogs, who easily find their bliss as a member of the greyhound colony--where the handing down of culture and collective consciousness is reinforced, on a day to day basis, from elder, to veteran, to novice.
The sudden, transformative process of being adopted as a retired pet, is a very big ask of any dog, particularly when they are well past their formative stages. Yet most greyhounds accomplish this transformation without too much bother. This is especially the case, when the adopter is made aware of the actual realities of their greyhound's breeding (which is not to be a pet), their raising, their training, and what the real life, day-to-day goings on, for the vast majority of them are actually like, and what all that involves--as extraordinary and well cared-for performance dogs.
While many greyhounds are quite playful within the confines of the colony and with each other, it is not uncommon for adopted greyhounds to show little interest in inanimate toys---often, to the confusion and frustration of their adopters. Play for greyhounds, however, is chasing things that appear to run away from them--whether that is one another, or an unwitting canine neighbor who initiates a game of chase, an unsuspecting creature of the wild within the greyhound's purview, or a mechanical lure. This is the very essence of their genetic hardwiring and their historic purpose and function. It's quite an honorable aptitude, and, lurking just below notoriously thin skin, is not something that is easily suppressed, unless the greyhound has decided to suppress it, him/her self.