Could I get a sighthound if my neighbour has cats?

[Caninelover]

I have been researching the best breed fir our family for months. Having debated at length I think a sighthound would suit us perfectly. Probably w retired greyhound but I also love Lurchers and whippets.
The only thing is our new neighbours have cats. We do have a high fat hedge of about 6 feet tall but the cat still often comes in. Obviously I’m worried that this could be an issue . Most of the dogs I’ve seen are either not cat friendly or not tested.

Most greyhound charities will cat-test their dogs :)

Thanks all. I assume we will wait until the new year now because I’d hate to think a rescue thought we were after a dog fir Christmas.

Depends on the dog, we have a cat and a whippet and the cat definitely rules the roost, my parents rescue lurcher was also cat safe. However I do know someone else with a rescue lurcher that does go for cats. I second looking at sighthound specific rescues x

I'd say it would be difficult if you're taking on a rescue, as best time to get them used to cats (say, in the home) would be as a puppy.

I have a staffy that I rescued at 8 weeks, but there is no training her prey drive out of her! Cats & squirrels. She's caught 2 squirrels.

My beagle would prob be ok with cats, even as a rescue, but he barks so loudly. I'd say sight hounds & terriers wouldn't be easy, as rescues with cats.

You have an obligation to control your dog off your property, but it’s not your fault if a neighbor’s cat trespasses in your garden.

My greyhound cross is no problem at all with my cat. And genuinely lovely.

Check out Evesham greyhound and lurcher rescue 👍

I used to have a SalukiXLurcher and he was fine with our 2 cats (he came after and the cats ruled the roost) but saw any other neighbourhood cats as fair game. He was always on a short lead until we got to a field or rec for a good run.

Queen Greyhounds rarely come as puppies, the vast majority are bred by the racing industry so have been bred, schooled and raced at least a few times to determine their suitability for racing. Some like mine are rehomed fairly young (they can't be trialled until 15mths and then will have trials round the track with just a couple of dogs and the hare to get an idea of their potential and then raced in a meet) and others retire having fulfilled their careers to whatever extent.

OP a small Greyhound rescue won't think any such thing! We got ours via a rescue and as it turned out we visited and got her directly from her racing kennel. The kennel was one of the good ones and never retire a dog to rescue kennels. They just used them to advertise, do the home checks and set up the meetings. If now isn't the right time of course wait but for smaller rescues (and even the huge ones like Battersea/ Dog's Trust) waiting if you're ready will just mean a dog being in kennels over Christmas when it could be in a home. On a bed or the sofa. Having it's first proper family Christmas dinner. Being wrapped in tinsel. Helping itself to whatever it wants out of the bin because they're tall enough for it to be like a buffet. I LOVED my Grey's first Christmas.
If you do decide to go ahead start a Greyhound specific thread and look on here for previous ones, I got so much advice and tips, they're very different to any other breed. (Fantastically so, she says after a glass of wine, ignoring the times she's shouted 'send it back!! It's a nightmare!!' 😂)

There was an incident local to me regarding a greyhound and a cat.

The cat jumped into the greyhound's neighbouring garden and the greyhound dispatched the cat quickly. This caused a lot of bad feeling in our village and the police were called. As the cat was trespassing and the dog was in its own garden (although unmuzzled) there were no charges brought. You couldn't really make this up - just so you are aware......

Oh dear Aurea that’s just what worries me. I don’t think a cat lover would ever see it from a dogs point of view. Obviously I would not want harm to come to a car either as they are someone’s pet.
Where was the kernel you went to Pugsley?

Our last dog was an ex racing greyhound, super chilled out but would bark at cats like crazy when we first got him, and pull on the lead trying to get to them. We found that although we had neighbour cats come into our garden before he arrived, they never did once he was there. After a couple of years he seemed to stop paying attention to cats on walks - we did no particular training because he didn't pull hard enough that it was uncontrollable - I think he just realised he wasn't going to get at one. We never let him off lead in escapable areas because he would just trot away.

Our current dog we got 6 months ago, he's a very bouncy playful lurcher. When we picked him up from rescue there was a cat wandering around the grounds, and he totally ignored her despite being very close - so I suspect maybe he's lived with cats before. Again, the neighbour cats no longer come into our garden now we have him. He does sometimes bark at things in the garden, but I don't think he could catch anything, the garden isn't large enough for him to get up to full speed. In the park he chases birds sometimes but has no chance of catching one, they spot him before he gets close. I'm not sure if he would actually kill one of he did manage to catch it, his chasing seems like play. Nevertheless we are working on his reactivity towards birds, and it's definitely improving.

Lots of rescue lurcher will have been bred for hunting so you do have to be careful - but I wouldn't let it put me off. Both greyhounds and lurcher are lovely family dogs.

Have you considered a Galgo? I have a bull lurcher, a whippet and a galgo (Spanish sighthound). We also have 3 cats. All our pets are rescue. I struggled to find a cat trainable sighthound to adopt. However galgos are thought more likely to be okay with cats. I contacted a rescue in Spain. They were really quick to get back to me. Within a week I had been vetted, home visited and matched to a dog. It did mean that we first met when he came off the transport van. I can say that for us it was really successful. They were a reputable rescue organisation so I had telephone backup from an animal behaviourist and they would have stepped in if it didn't work. The key with any adoption is to be honest. Galgo del Sol, the organisation I used, rehome in several countries, they also have dogs of all ages from puppies to oldies.

I have owned whippets for 30+ years, who have lived alongside cats. Would I trust them with a neighbours cat...most definitely not!!!
Cats are wiley creatures and neighbouring cats do not venture into my garden.
What I would say though is that there is a misconception that sighthounds, greyhounds, whippets are lazy, sleepy animals. They are a fine gentle addition to any household, but do require a good run off the lead and lots of exercise as do any dogs. If you've got the time, a perfect addition to the family 😊

This is all rubbish we have an ex racing rescue grey hound and we also have 3 cat's and they all live happily together