The greyhound starter kit: what to buy before you adopt

We have shared the couch with retired racing greyhounds for years now, and the one thing new adopters always get wrong is the gear. These are not regular dogs in a regular dog’s body. A few things actually matter, and most of it is cheap.

A martingale collar, not a buckle collar. A greyhound’s head is narrower than its neck, so a standard collar slides right off, and that is exactly how a spooked hound ends up loose. A martingale collar tightens just enough to stay on and no more. This is the one piece of gear you buy before the dog comes home, not after.

A coat, because they have no insulation. Greyhounds carry almost no body fat and have thin, short coats, so they get cold in weather that other dogs shrug off. Ours wear a winter coat any time it drops below the fifties, and lightweight pajamas around the house in winter. They are not being fussy. They are genuinely cold.

A raised feeder and a real bed. They are tall, deep-chested dogs, and a raised feeder keeps them from folding in half to eat. And those bony elbows and hips need cushioning, so a thick orthopedic bolster bed is not a luxury. Greyhounds are professional sleepers, twenty hours a day, and they will use it.

A slip lead by the door. For the first few months especially, a slip lead over the martingale is cheap insurance on the walk to the car. These dogs were bred to chase, and forty-five miles an hour catches up fast.

That is the whole list. None of it is expensive, all of it earns its place, and the dog you get in return is the laziest, sweetest companion we have ever owned.

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