Evaluation Process

Greyhound Angels Adoption of New Jersey is committed to helping the right greyhound find the right family. All newly retired racing greyhounds are afforded time at the farm to settle in and show us who they are before they are evaluated. The evaluation process starts with an introduction to our agency cats, Dave and Matthew. The brothers meet the muzzled greyhound under the direct supervision of a volunteer. We let the cat move about the room and encourage them to run and play in front of the greyhound. If there is any question or concern regarding the greyhound's reaction, they are deemed “Not safe with cats or small animals”. We do not take any chances with an adoptable greyhound's prey drive.

In order to evaluate the greyhound's temperament, we take into consideration the information given to us from their trainer, owner or the farm that raised him/her. These people have spent the most time caring for and loving their greyhounds and are a wealth of information. GAA puts the greyhounds into playgroups and watches their interaction with the other dogs. We want to read a greyhound's confidence level, how he/she interacts with other dogs, his/her style of play and his/her reaction to confrontation. This is also the time that we touch every part of a greyhound's body from the tip of their tail to the tip of their nose to see how he/she reacts.

We have wonderful volunteers who come out and spend time walking the greyhounds and share their experience for evaluation purposes. This lets us know which hounds walk nicely or need some leash training. We even find out which greyhounds are willing to relieve  themselves while being walked on a leash (for those families without a backyard). We also encourage the greyhounds to take treats from our hands so we can see who is gentle and who needs training. 

When testing for kids, we take into consideration the temperament of the greyhound and the way they respond to noise, food, activity and their level of playfulness. Once we deem them kid safe, we introduce them to a volunteer’s child, ages 2 through 10, to see a dog's true reaction. Again, we do not take any chances. If a greyhound is questionable around children, we will err on the side of caution and not place them with children. There are times that a greyhound is simply too playful to be around little children. It is not because the greyhound does not like small children or is afraid of them, it is due to their level of activity. We do not want a big dog to accidentally knock down a child and scare them.

The entire evaluation process can take up to two weeks, depending on the greyhound, so please be patient with us and our newbies. We want to get the best picture of who that greyhound is before we send them to a home.