The Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) in Australia and New Zealand: A survey of owners’ experiences with their greyhounds one month after adoption

Research on canine rehoming to date has focused on shelter dogs and currently no published studies evaluate greyhound rehoming schemes. This prospective study examined the success of greyhound adoption attained by the Greyhound Adoption Program or Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) in Australia and New Zealand. We followed 245 greyhounds adopted between February and June 2008 using a questionnaire posted to new owners 4 weeks after the adoption and information on post-adoptive returns provided by GAP. The questionnaire asked owners to report on the frequency of specific behaviours observed in their greyhounds during the first month and to rank the behaviours of most concern to them. A 78.8% response rate to the questionnaire provided information on 193 adopted greyhounds.The owners of 175 dogs (91.1%) were ‘very satisfied’ with how well their greyhound fulfilled their expectations as a companion animal. Owner reports showed that anxiety reactions and predatory behaviours were common during the first month of adoption, but greyhound behaviours were largely comparable to those of a previous study of newly adopted shelter dogs, with the exception of greyhounds being more destructive and less hyperactive. Owners of 70.9% of the greyhounds nominated at least one behaviour of concern to them, with separation anxiety being the most frequently reported, but only 29.2% of owners with concerns about their dog's behaviour telephoned GAP for advice. The 1-month post-adoptive return rate was 3.3%, which is lower than that reported in shelter dog studies with comparable follow-up periods. Behavioural problems were the main reason for return. Although univariable associations were limited by small sample size in this study, findings indicate trends observed in shelter dog studies of increased odds of return for dogs reported to have shown separation anxiety (P = 0.04), noisiness (P = 0.025), aggression towards children (P = 0.045) and problems getting on with existing pets (P = 0.035). The strongest association found was between dog return and owners having consulted a veterinarian regarding canine behaviours of concern (P ≤ 0.04).These findings suggest that greyhound adoption through GAP has favourable success rates in the short term compared with the rehoming of shelter dogs. We recommend that GAP provides more routine home visits to potential adopters with children and existing pets, and increased education and follow-up support to new owners regarding behaviours shown by greyhounds in the first month, particularly separation anxiety, because these may place their adoptions at risk.