Come and tell me about your pointy hound and children please .

[TheTillster]

Thanks for all the advice so far , greyhound comes home Wednesday!!!!! and I'm veering between excitement and terror ! We have 2 children , one 7 year old with ASD and one almost 2 year old oh and a cat 🙀. The greyhound trust have tested the little girl with a one year old child in a house ( she ignored her ) and a cat ( also ignored her ) so they deem her ok with children and cats . We have been recommended a crate so have managed to squeeze that into the living room and made it all den like and cosy . Have stairgates on every room so I can separate dog and children unless I am present and supervising interactions .
I just feel for the poor dog , she is coming from a quiet peaceful kennel into a noisy house and with sometimes screeching children !
Im desperate to not let the dog down and also keep my children safe with her .... have I missed anything 👀 please come and tell me your greys moved in and coped with your young children !
Not that I'm terribly nervous about all this !!! I think that's a good thing though .... possibly .. this is as bad as bringing our first newborn home !!!

We didn’t have children of our own, but our greyhound coped excellently with any that came his way. He was good at curling up in his bed (or on our spare bed!) and pretending chaos wasn’t going on around him.

They can be a bit robot like to begin with, but as they settle their preferences certainly start to show through. They are definitely ones for comfort and mine refused to ever set foot in a crate, so just be prepared to maybe change things around a bit once she’s settled in. We had a dog bed in the hall for ours, but he taught us that dogs don’t like sleeping in the hall and made a quick progression to living room and then spare bed.

I would make sure she has somewhere safe and quieter that she can retreat to if it all gets a bit much, and make sure she is left alone when she is in her bed so she feels secure there.

I’m very jealous - I’d have another pair in a heartbeat. Good luck

All our greyhounds are great with children, however, they are still dogs so will give a warning growl if hurt (one of ours got trodden on once and growled), but they are very gentle.

We volunteer for the greyhound trust at horse racing events and family days and 4 of mine are brilliant with the kids (had little ones hanging off them even).

Do make sure that she has a quiet place to go if things are a little hectic at first, but I'm sure she'll settle in beautifully.

(Please watch her with the cat).

Our greyhound is brilliant with the children however he dosen't like to be fussed when he's on his bed & will give them a warning growl if they do. They have just had to learn (as all children do) that the dog is entitled to his own

He's an amazing dog & a huge part of our family, I hope you have many happy years with yours.

Thank you 🙏. I will watch her closely with the cat too , on the plus side the cat is elderly , very grumpy and sleeps 23.5 hours a day on my bed ( certainly no running around going on ) she has also lived with a dog previously where she took full control of the situation , attacked him with a hiss and full on swipe to the nose and they lived happily after that albeit with the cat in control . He would have quite happily eaten cats outdoors but indoor ones were not fair game and had sharp edges.
I will be keeping the dog muzzled around the cat and doing introductions through either the crate or a stair gate , hopefully if the Worst happened the cat has the ability to get over the gate which the dog doesn't and can get away .
I think we have chosen (and been recommended ) a great hound for our circumstances , very self confident but not bouncy , rather aloof and self contained but unconcerned just ignores things . We walked her and came across a few small dogs on lead , she didn't give them a second glance .
She decided herself to give up chasing and racing .. .. hopefully a nice comfy home will be what she fancies now . Only 3 so everything willing she can have a long retirement with us

They are brilliant around children. I actually disagree with the advice above. Dogs should not have a quiet place no children are allowed in as that gives them licence to growl. Dogs - not children- get told off when they growl.

That said, greyhounds do like peace and snoozing so, yes, it is kind to had a quiet spot for them.

@PersonaNonGarter
That’s terrible advice.
Dogs must be entitled to their own space and not bothered by children all the time. Mine don’t make a fuss of the dog if she’s flat out on the bed. I would hate to be woken by being pulled around by kids.
And NEVER tell a dog off for growling. It’s their last warning. Take that away and the dog may bite without warning.
We have a wolfhound. Not keen on loud noises. Soft and gentle with the kids but be aware of their size. A bouncy hound can knock a child over!!

Have to say I need time away from my little darlings sometimes .... and I chose to give birth to them ! So I don't blame a dog at all for needing a space away from them . I was hoping putting a crate in the living room would keep her involved in life but she can tuck herself out of the way if she feels the need to . And I totally agree about the growling being the only warning they can give without biting . I had a few grumbles
from our old boy especially when he had high value treats ( anything for a pigs ear 🤮) so I only used to give him those when he could be left in peace with it . He never guarded anything else , just bones and pigs ears .

Dogs should not have a quiet place no children are allowed in as that gives them licence to growl.

This is absolutely appalling advice. Dogs are perfectly entitled to their own space and some peace and quiet!

And growling is a good thing. If you teach a dog not to grow you have no warning sign.

I’ve had five , about to think about our sixth , and they’ve all learned to take themselves off to various spots in the house they chose for their quiet place. DC’s learned even as toddlers to leave them be , and also to call their name before approaching them , because all of mine have had the trick of sleeping with their eyes open . Other than that , all without exception have been inseparable companions , knowing often before I did when a child was unwell . In fact they were a better indicator than anything else , because they would suddenly attach themselves to the poorly child like a leech.

All the greyhounds i’ve met have been what you expect for the breed.
Sweet, lazy, gentle, nice and tolerant with kids.

That said, I’m a bit concerned by your description of child testing..

A dog ‘ignoring’ a 1 year old in the house isn’t terribly reassuring for me.
They may be ignoring because they are uncomfortable and practising avoidance.

Did they test the dogs reaction to being approached by a child? Stroked?
What about a child playing noisily nearby?

Those would be better indicators of child friendliness in my opinion.

My dog wouldn’t ignore a strange child at close range in a house, and she is very friendly and I would say ‘child safe’
Ditto for my brothers dogs.
And my in laws dogs...

DoggyDoggy I think the lady from the rescue meant more the children could play and be noisy around her and she would ignore them
. She was also careful to find a less bouncy hound as one we were interested in was lovely with children but less so for little ones as he tended to be more forward and bowl them over in excitement . She is a more aloof hound i think love from her will have to be earned not just given to anyone but fingers crossed we can make her feel happy here .

Jeez please ignore the terrible advice from persona.

Of course dogs should have somewhere quiet to escape to if they want. Of course they should be able to warn, via a growl, that they feel threatened or uncomfortable.

My greyhound takes herself upstairs to bed (mine!) when she wants some quiet time.

Just wanted to say congratulations!
I have two gorgeous greys and I'm currently 7 months pregnant so they will soon have a little human brother or sister.

Definitely agree with others, Ive always been told never punish a growl. Sometimes that makes it difficult when my boy does a growl and a dance at other breeds!

The den you've made sounds a good idea. We'll also be putting in a couple of stairgates so I can separate the baby and the hounds when I need to.

A few months after getting our first grey my SIL, BIL and their two children aged 4 and 1 moved in with us for 4 months. We made sure they knew never to approach him on his bed and to call him if they wanted to fuss him. He's a super nervous dog but he adapted to them and he soon learnt that a 1 year old in a high chair meant lots of extra food!

All the best!

How are you getting on tillster?

She is perfect !! I'm in love ( with a dog with the arse from hell 👀😂)
Great with the children so far , cat training is going well I can easily redirect her with a leave it almost ready for face to face meetings ( with muzzle and lead on )
I suspect we may have some separation anxiety brewing as she is a bit Velcro and follows is from room to room only seeming settled when we are all together in one room but it's still very early days and I have started gating her out of rooms I'm in so she can see me but not get to me as a start of being left alone .
Thanks for the replies and advice ...Pointy dogs do indeed rock ( and fart ... a lot 🤮)

We would all like to see a picture?

Oh yes .Picture's mandatory

Sounds like you and her are doing great.
Yudigest pills help our hound stop stripping paint with her farts.

A whole page of comments and no one has put a photo? YABVVVU

Here's a picture of my grey sleeping on my shoulder.

Here's my pack, all have their own individual personalities.

Youdigest pills? Why have a never heard of these???

I have scented candles lit constantly.

gettingtherequickly they're just lovely!

My previous grey had very sensitive digestion and his farts could floor a charging bull. I've managed to find some food that suits my present girl and she never smells. I think with some of them you have to trial different foods to find one that suits.

I have two greys and a lurcher and the best food I've found to stop the smelly bums is CSJ champ adult.
All the best with your retired hound. She'll follow you for weeks but will settle. I've had five greys and there's only one I would be wary with with kids.