From Track to Home: Part 2: Settling In at GAP – Health, Care & Getting to Know Them

In Part 2, we’re taking you behind the scenes at GAP, to show you exactly what happens once a greyhound comes into our care, from their very first health check through to the personality profile you’ll eventually read on our website.

Arrival and initial health checks

The moment a greyhound arrives at GAP, our focus is on making sure they’re happy, healthy, and comfortable. Every dog receives a full veterinary health check, which includes a general physical examination, dental check, and assessment of their overall body condition. Greyhounds are also vaccinated, microchipped, wormed, and desexed (if this hasn’t already happened) as part of our standard process before they’re made available for adoption. Because racing greyhounds can occasionally carry old injuries from their athletic careers, things like a previous hock injury, for example – our team also looks closely at mobility and movement, noting anything an adopter should be aware of down the track. This is also when we identify if a dog might benefit from things like joint supplements or ongoing vet monitoring in their new home.

Getting to know who they really are

Once the health basics are taken care of, the real work of getting to know each individual dog begins. Every greyhound has their own personality, and our team spends time observing each dog to understand their energy levels, temperament, and quirks – are they a confident, treat-loving extrovert, or a quieter soul who prefers to watch the world go by from a comfy bed? We pay close attention to how each dog responds to everyday situations: how they react to other dogs, whether they show any interest in cats or small animals, how they cope with children, and whether they seem suited to apartment living or need a backyard to stretch their legs in. Some greyhounds also take part in our Behavioural Rehabilitation Program, where they receive extra training and support to help them feel confident and settled before heading into a home.

The role of foster care

For many greyhounds, this stage of the journey includes their very first experience of life inside a home, thanks to GAP’s wonderful network of foster carers. Foster homes give our team invaluable insight into how a dog behaves in a genuine domestic environment – things that are hard to observe in a kennel setting, like how they settle at night, how they respond to household noises, or how they get on with resident pets. Foster carers play an enormous role in shaping the detailed, honest profiles you see on our website. When you read about a dog being “crate trained,” “confident on stairs,” or having “a playful, puppyish energy,” that’s often information that’s come directly from time spent in foster care.

Why we do it this way

All of this – the health checks, the behavioural observations, the time in foster care – exists for one reason: so that when you read a GAP dog profile, you’re getting an honest, detailed picture of who that dog really is, not just a generic description. It’s also how we’re able to make thoughtful matches between dogs and adopters, which is exactly what we’ll cover in Part 3 of this series.

Previously: Part 1 – Retirement: A Well-Earned Next Chapter | Next: Part 3 – Finding Their Perfect Match: Welcome Home