Originally posted by tricollie4me

Do you find you must have a fenced yard to keep a greyhound happy? I have a 6-month-old collie that we keep on a leash because she's young, but we hope that though she's a herder by nature, she will learn her place and stay on our property as she matures...but I've read that many greyhounds are only safe on fenced/very large property. What are your thoughts? (Because of a utility easement, we are unable to have a traditional fence around our backyard...the city needs to have access to the telephone pole located in the rear corner of our property.)

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Hi! Sorry, just saw this today. I actually don't have a fenced yard at the moment (new subdivision), so when Elvis is outside, he must be leashed at all times. I personally would never allow a Grey off leash in an unfenced area. Although we have done recall training with him, I'm not convinced that if it ever came down to coming back to me versus chasing a bunny, that I would win. And he's a heck of a lot faster than me! That being said, Greyhounds generally are pretty low energy dogs, (they don't get the label "Couch Potatoes" for nothing!) so I find that a trip to a friend's fenced yard once a week and a few good walks a day are usually sufficient to keep him happy. He doesn't need a huge space to run in. He also turns our upstairs hallway into a racetrack a couple of times a week. And the Greyhound world has great resources, for example in my area, we have a Greyhound Walking Club that meets every 2 weeks and we go on a good long walk with all the Greys. That gives both of us a chance to socialize, get some exercise, and tires him out for the rest of the afternoon!

Hope that helps!