Is boarding your retired racing greyhound really traumatic for them?

Question

When adopting our greyhound, we were told never to board them at a kennel. Is this true?

Answer 1

It is not 'traumatic' for greyhounds to be boarded. There are no psychological reasons for a grey to have difficulty boarding in the proper facility. The key is doing your research and finding a 'grey-savvy' boarding facility. Greyhounds do not do well at kennels with all-access outdoor runs and cement floors. You know why :) - in inclement weather they need their coats (and if there is no physical door blocking a draft they may need their coats inside as well) and of course their skin and fur are not thick enough for them to lay on cement without developing sores. Obviously some greys should not be boarded at kennels that allow 'all-breed' playtime with whatever dogs happen to be visiting at the time. But other greys can become stressed if they are segregated from the rest of the dog population.

The best places to board a greyhound keep the pup in a crate in an indoor, climate controlled environment with regular turnouts in either a pen or for leash walks. Many vet offices offer boarding services like this. The key is to thoroughly screen a facility before dropping your grey off.

Answer 2

No dog is gonna be thrilled to be boarded but there is no reason that that a Grey can not make out. The one exception would be if yo are unfortunate enough to get a separation anxiety dog and then you would know it by now since they wouldn't like you going to work either!
The more serious problem did the adopting group make the no board a condition of adoption - and do they feel strongly enough about it to try to reclaim the dog? Some groups get weird ideas and will try to reclaim a dog over some pretty amazing & trivial things. Do they offer tempary fostering as an alternative?

Answer 3

There are two retired racers that come into the vet clinic that I work at to be boarded, and they never have any problems. But if at all possible I would find a friend or family member that can watch him. It just really stresses them out being boarded, and it can be worse with dogs that come from a racing background.