Greyhound and Small Dogs

[Goosegander]

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Hi all,

myself and my partner recently adopted a lovely 3 year old former coursing greyhound. He is gentle, fun, lazy - a typical greyhound. We were told by the rescue charity that he was great with other dogs and have picture based evidence of this - him lazing happily with both large and small dogs.

to date however, his interactions with other dogs have been not great, to say the least. He barks in (what we assume to be) a playful manner at the dog next door over the fence. And when out on walks, he seems eager in a playful way to get to some large dogs and then ignores most others.

however, when we tried to introduce him to my parents dog, a very energetic, yappy, bouncy, small shihtzu collie cross, he tried to bite her. Thankfully we had the muzzle on. We then went for a walk with the two dogs together and he was ok, but then began to whimper and bark in a scared way. This is upsetting for us as it is very important to us for a variety of reasons that he gets along with my parents dog.

That was one of the first days we got him. Fast forward two weeks, we have kept walking him with the muzzle on (alone) and until last night when we went for a quick walk, muzzle off. Bad idea. A small, adorable, fat little Labrador puppy bounded towards him on the lead and our greyhound picked him up by the face and grabbed on. The screams from my partner, the puppy and the puppy’s owner were traumatising to listen to and will stay in my head.

I got bitten in the process of separating the dogs. The puppy is fine, a cut to the face, and thankfully, the owners were a pleasure to deal with. But this could have been much, much much worse, from every perspective. The puppy could have been injured worse, as could I. The owners had every right to not be understanding also.

im sorry for the long post but desperate for advice. I don’t understand how our dog could have been so great with dogs both big and small previously and is now aggressive. We are now strictly walking him on a muzzle only basis but now unsure how he will ever learn that small excited dogs are not prey if we constantly keep him away from them?

it really is so important that he does eventually learn to tolerate, if not love, my parents dog. Would be so grateful for any advice.

 

[JudyN]

I'm sorry this has happened - it must be very stressful, as well as disappointing. Have you talked to the rescue charity about this? Sometimes dogs don't come out of their shells till they're in a new home, and sometimes rescues might be economical with the truth... or they might not have 'tested' this dog with small excitable dogs.

What breed is your parents' dog, and how old/lively is he/she?

It might be that this dog can never be trusted off lead and unmuzzled with other dogs. I would at least consider that this is not the dog for you, because the earlier you can return him, the more likely he is to find a home more suited to working around his needs.

I'm not an expert though, so others might have suggestions for reconciling him to the other dog.

 

[Hemlock]

This is very early days yet.

I used to work with someone who homed a lot of retired greyhounds. He was emphatic to the new owners that they should always be muzzled and always on a lead when out, that they weren't nasty but most had never seen dogs that weren't greyhounds. From the greyhound point of view, some small dogs look rather like prey. Even if they have never seen prey, the images are hardwired in to them. The new owners often couldn't believe that their gentle dog could hurt another, but they can. It isn't nastiness, isn't aggression - it's prey drive. This dog may eventually be okay with other dogs, or may not, but even if the former, not yet and maybe not for a long time. Leads and muzzles are managment tools, prevent accidents, keep everyone safe. Taking the dog out unmuzzled and offlead should not be seen as a goal to aspire to.

With the puppy it probably wasn't a prey response - lots of dogs don't like puppies and this one may never have seen one. But as I didn't actually see the incident, I can't be sure.

 

[lurcherman]

Hemlock makes perfect sence in this reply, I’ve never seen it but if you look into any sighthounds eyes you will find this, I know my avatar is a bit small but my two are doing just that , looking across the fields for what to them seems normal, my bestie is on his 2nd ex racer and both not been off lead, most ex racers have had enough off lead in there time so a good walk will do them but some may be ok,

 

[Ragsysmum]

You may well find he is fine with quiet, placid, polite dogs of any size (as my greyhound is) but still reacts strongly against any bouncy yappy, fussy dog of any size (as mine does). Luckily where we live people don't let their dogs run up to others if they are not already known to be ok together, so we usually get to see them at a distance and meet them when they are calm and quiet.

 

[Biker John]

I wonder how it would react to other Sight hounds, my Whippet is comfortable with any from IG's up to Wolfhounds. Its just like she can easily 'read' them far easier than other dogs.

 

[JudyN]

Yep, I find sighthounds generally recognise and like other sighthounds - and when mine used to be distinctly dodgy with other types, I could rely on him being fine with them, even young puppies dangling off his ears!

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

@Goosegander ... thing you will have to remember is, he isn't a ex racing greyhound,he's a ex coursing greyhound,there's a big big difference between them.

 

[lurcherman]

Never had a coursing greyhound or a ex racer, but had grey x and whip x and Saluki x so might be wrong but what difference would it make? As both would look, chase, kill.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Never had a coursing greyhound or a ex racer, but had grey x and whip x and Saluki x so might be wrong but what difference would it make? As both would look, chase, kill.

If I was looking to produce a litter of pups for working dogs and I had a choice of stud dogs. A good racing greyhound or a good coursing greyhound, I'd pick the coursing greyhound Every time.
Both can do the same job,but one will do the business on a different level to the other.

 

[lurcherman]

Oh I agree with that for sure rinky, just pointing out both have the same keen eye for prey

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Oh I agree with that for sure rinky, just pointing out both have the same keen eye for prey

I agree with you,I'd just expect one to execute better than the other.
With it being a ex coursing dog,I'd lay money on that it had seen foxes,don't you think. This day and age these lads don't play by the rule book.

 

[lurcherman]

Agreed again , but that wasn’t the topic at the start, the start was biting of a small dog, so just pointing out again that ex racer and ex courser have the same mindset

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Agreed again , but that wasn’t the topic at the start, the start was biting of a small dog, so just pointing out again that ex racer and ex courser have the same mindset

I will politely disagree with you on that one

 

[Tinytom]

If your greyhound was a coursing greyhound then that is very different to an ex racer ....
Unfortunately coursing greyhounds are usually used (as it is illegal ) to chase down and kill lots of wildlife including deer ,foxes and badgers ....
An exracer has been trained to chase a lure and get a reward at the end .....
An ex coursing dog should not be off lead and should be walked in a muzzle for other animals sake ...i homecheck for several different greyhound rescues and the rule of thumb is the dog is to be walked onlead with a muzzle on ...
Ex coursing greyhounds are wired to seek and kill as quickly as possible ...so if one was to spot a figure in the distance he may not recognise it isnt prey ...
He sounds like a lovely dog indoors ...but it will have to be about management. ..i would only walk him onlead and with a muzzle and not at any parks or where there is likely to be offlead dogs as this may make him excitable. ...
As for your parents dog i would still keep your dog muzzled around the other dog even indoors ....it takes seconds for an accident to happen. ..in time he could be desensitised to other dogs but i think you have to think are you prepared to have a dog that has to be kept onlead and muzzled whilst around other dogs. ...
I would also have a talk with the rescue you got him from ...and dont feel sad if you have to return him

 

[Lennor Magill]

If your greyhound was a coursing greyhound then that is very different to an ex racer ....
Unfortunately coursing greyhounds are usually used (as it is illegal ) to chase down and kill lots of wildlife including deer ,foxes and badgers ....
An exracer has been trained to chase a lure and get a reward at the end .....
An ex coursing dog should not be off lead and should be walked in a muzzle for other animals sake ...i homecheck for several different greyhound rescues and the rule of thumb is the dog is to be walked onlead with a muzzle on ...
Ex coursing greyhounds are wired to seek and kill as quickly as possible ...so if one was to spot a figure in the distance he may not recognise it isnt prey ...
He sounds like a lovely dog indoors ...but it will have to be about management. ..i would only walk him onlead and with a muzzle and not at any parks or where there is likely to be offlead dogs as this may make him excitable. ...
As for your parents dog i would still keep your dog muzzled around the other dog even indoors ....it takes seconds for an accident to happen. ..in time he could be desensitised to other dogs but i think you have to think are you prepared to have a dog that has to be kept onlead and muzzled whilst around other dogs. ...
I would also have a talk with the rescue you got him from ...and dont feel sad if you have to return him

 

[Lennor Magill]

I agree with you about keeping this dog muzzled and on a lead while out or around other dogs. My two greys are gentle boys around other dogs. Small dogs somtimes try barking at them and they respond in kind. A good barking match at times.They are of show dog stock so are larger than most greyhounds and look a bit intimidating . They are
never walked off lead but are not muzzled.
On the other hand coursing greys are trained to hunt and kill quickly from very young puppies and it's instinctive for them to chase and hunt other animals. Perhaps the whimpering is a result of not being able to do what it's bred to .
Maybe he's not suited to your family as there is a smaller exuberant dog which he mistakes for pray. It's no fun having to keep a dog muzzled within the home. You must think long and hard about the future happiness of both you and the dog.

 

[lurcherman]

Geez I’m not denying they are different but a ex racer of lead in a field will do the same thing, run, and rag which will end in the prey being killed, if you haven’t seen that then I’m at a loss ,,D.N.A.

 

[Tinytom]

DNA has nothing to do with it..it is the way in which these dogs are trained in totally different ways...
My friend has 2 exracing greyhounds who are happy with small dogs (took alot of work )

 

[lurcherman]

Geez calm down, if your telling me a ex racer will not bite, or attack then as I said I’m at a loss, you be telling me they never have next, my two dogs are ex or was ex coursing dogs all be it lurchers, they have the eye for it and if I don’t watch it the brindle would have a wee nip , and he was a saint really hehe, anyway , some ex racers just want a sofa to lie on some don’t .