Greyhound attacks

[doingwhatican]

At the risk of starting a Mumsnet war, have others had experiences of greyhounds attacking their dog? Our last dog, a poodle, was attacked 3 times over a few years, always by a greyhound. She was absolutely fine with other dogs and was very submissive. They’d come chasing across the park and just go for her. And yesterday I ran into a beagle pup owner whose dog had been attacked by a greyhound. Similar situation with the dog running at the puppy from afar. The puppy ended up with a puncture wound.
It’s d not something I have seen any articles about. Is it the chase instinct?

Well if they are going to chase and hold small firth things they need to be on a lead near other dogs.

Most owners DO keep them on a lead and quite often muzzled. The one near us that killed the dog is always on a lead and muzzled and we all know not to approach with our dogs, even though mine is far too big to be at risk. The owner of the small dog that was killed did request that the Greyhound NOT be PTS but that it be muzzled

My greyhounds have all been OK with small dogs after socialisation, but I'm a worrier so they just ran in our safe big garden, they've also paper thin skin & not uncommon for them to run into things.

Part of the issue is many only see other greyhounds in racing lives so don't realise dogs come in such a wide variety of shapes. Sighthounds are primed for spotting movement at distance so can find dogs running about very exciting, usually this becomes such a normal sight it lacks interest.
My Girl grey had a very high prey drive and I did muzzle early as she had dogs charge over or do flybys which freaked her out & not best impression that these aliens were actually friendly. She was eventually great with all sizes of dogs but I'd never let her off as she would ignore me while on lead if spotted a squirrel.

Dogs can get predatory drift when excitement levels high, lose head & play can switch to hunt. They can also behave differently in a pack than when alone. Muzzling a dog doesn't necessarily make it safe as they can still injure another animal by flipping or whacking it, so care needs to be given before allowing off lead.

I've met plenty of ex-racers that do go off lead with no issues (some aren't very real prey driven or just prefer to plod & sniff) but usually the owner has spent fair bit of time on training & assessing around other dogs before deciding to let their greyhound off,being selective about when & where is best. Then you get some that are either very naive or just take unnecessary risks and gives people a bad impression of the breed, sad outcome for all involved.

Tbh, I do cringe a bit on here when the endless evangelical posting about retired greyhounds starts.

The prey drive really is an issue, as is the sheer size of them and lack of toilet training. They aren’t guaranteed to be the laid back family pets so many people on here insist they are.

I agree, the lovely retired couple who adopted the Greyhound I mentioned earlier haven’t got the dog they expected and can’t do the things they had hoped with her.
I am not sure if they were naive or the Rescue misled them but it’s really not worked out how they hoped but they can’t return her so have had to modify their plans

I have actually never come across a greyhound whilst walking my dog who we've had for a year. We've come across quite a few hostile dogs who have been a variety of breeds. Like someone else said, any breed can be aggressive. We've been lucky so far that our dog is very good with other dogs. He's a JRT. Sad to hear of the awful stories of attacks.

We have a greyhound and around here other greyhounds are always on the lead (for fear of them running after a squirrel and getting lost) and tend to be the subject of attacks rather then the other way round.

Of course any breed can be aggressive, but I do find those comments a bit naive.

Nothing against greyhounds either. Some breeds are bred to be gentle and laid back. Some are bred to be formidable and intelligent. Some are bred to hunt, or chase.

I know greyhounds can be lovely. I’ve known some really, really lovely ones, who are the sort of animals you read about on here. But they are not all like this, and I just personally wouldn’t describe a dog I can never let off the lead or walk without a muzzle as a perfect family pet.

I've never seen an off lead greyhound where I live, they are always on lead and appear gentle and laid back. When I walk past with my dog (basset) they don't seem interested.

Around here it's the smaller dogs that are off lead that cause issues.

Not many greyhounds round here but few that are always on lead
Any dog breed can be aggressive round here there is a husky and a staffy who are aggressive quite often but its not the dogs faults its the owners , both owners let their dogs escape regularly and often have them off lead with no control.
But greyhounds especially ex racers will have a high prey drive , which is why people should research a breed before they get.
We have a border collie and they are intelligent but also require a lot of time and attention , and have their querksall things we knew before getting

No, there are two at my dogs daycare, but as they’re ex racers they have to be muzzled at daycare apart from drinking time which is carried out in a different room.

Mine has been chased a few times by various dogs, but they have been friendly dogs that have just been too excited and don’t have great recall. Our dog is confident without being overbearing so luckily when this has happened he has had a good play rather than being scared/nervous.

I discounted greyhounds as a suitable breed as I have a cat, ignoring that they’re also too big for us. They’re cute though.

As always, it's difficult to generalise. Racing greyhounds are trained to run fast and chase a mechanical rabbit round a track, not a small furry dog in a park. Historically they were bred and trained to be hunting dogs alongside other breeds of dogs, each with their specific role, so any greyhound that started attacking another member of the team or whose recall wasn't good would have been out on its ear.

I may be wrong but I believe the muzzle is primarily there (as racing dogs and in kennels) because greyhounds can get over exuberant and nip each other when they're playing together - and because they have thin skins, it's a protective measure. For rehomed greyhounds, it may be that some do need it to stop them biting other dogs who come up to them when they're on lead or to stop them going for cats within lead distance.

Many types of dogs chase cats and squirrels and it doesn't seem to be a matter for comment. The difference with a greyhound is that it has a better chance of catching it (though squirrels shoot up trees very quickly).

Ours has always disliked off lead small dogs leaping up at him when he's on his lead but has never been aggressive with another dog, on or off lead. We've worked very hard on his recall (as has he) and he often goes off lead (well away from roads and cats) and happily socialises with other dogs (and likes to show off his speed). He's put on lead if we approach an on lead dog (out of good manners) and walks to heel or we hold his collar if we're approaching walkers, especially with children (as he does sound like a small horse if he runs past).

But as I say, it's difficult to generalise, whether for greyhounds or other breeds. Ours is just an example of the opposite experience from those posting earlier.

I talked with one greyhound owner who said that his was fine until the dog he is socialising with, whatever the size, start zooming.

He let him and my dog do the introduction whilst on the lead and then let him off. Played a bit with mine and then we moved in and even though mine took off running, he didn't follow.

@Welcometonowhere

Tbh, I do cringe a bit on here when the endless evangelical posting about retired greyhounds starts.

The prey drive really is an issue, as is the sheer size of them and lack of toilet training. They aren’t guaranteed to be the laid back family pets so many people on here insist they are.

Same here. I'm sure greyhounds are great for some people, but IMO they are quite restrictive dogs.

They're large dogs. Yes, they can fold up small but big dogs come with bigger food and insurance costs.
Their speed and prey drive can mean they have to be muzzled and leashed for life. To be that seems incredibly dull and limiting. I know for some only needing to walk them 20 minutes a day is a good thing, but for many that wouldn't be much fun.
If they're ex-racers they may have never lived in a. home before and may have no idea about toileting. Toilet training a big adult dog is very different to training a puppy.

I think people want different things out of dogs. I'm on a waiting list for a greyhound, waiting for the right one.

My worst nightmare would be a jumpy, barky dog that demanded active attention the entire time. I've met zillions like this when I visit people's homes as part of my job.

I'm content to always have the dog on a lead as I'd prefer that anyway, it feels safer. And I will muzzle for the first year or so.

Since looking into this breed, I've started to become aware of just how many dogs there are off lead with no owners anywhere in sight. They run up to me, which has been fine, but I have family who hate this as they hate dogs (so when they visit we can't do my favourite walk), and I know a greyhound will hate this too! It's going to have to wear a bright yellow warning coat I think and I'll have to carry a stick as I'm certainly not avoiding the areas I like.

Horses for courses I think.

Yes I've had high energy breeds, hounds and terriers. Right now in my life greyhounds are right for me and my family. I am not craving the puppy zoomies or training recall etc. I've done it. It was worth it. But now? I like ambling along with dogs who don't pull and react. Don't need ongoing training. They've done their 'job' and are now retired. Much like a rest home I'm happy to provide a warm sofa.

They are fun in their own way, but no - mine don't jump up or bark. They're placid and laid back. I do think they can be pretty misunderstood. Especially on here 'have a retired greyhound and work full time'. I think most people trotting out that advice haven't actually owned one.

Even most well behaved dogs have there moments , my very well behaved collie decided to pee all over a little jack russell the other ft , I was mortified

I used to have a greyhound and she would never have chased another dog. She would happily walk off lead with other smaller dogs. She’d chase rabbits in the fields and disappear after them!

Im sure she’d have chased strange cats too given half a chance, though happily lived with two and never chased them even when she was new to our household.

Our greyhound never raced as she's too timid. We walked her with a muzzle to begin with but as she ignore wild rabbits, squirrels and small dogs, stopped using the muzzle.
She's only off lead if there are no other dogs around;

We don't let our grey off lead where there are other dogs. When dogs come up to him he doesn't even seem to recognise them. There was a JRT running under him and between his legs once... no reaction. He does like standing at the bottom of trees after squirrels.

The closest he gets to our cats is mutual head rubs.

He was a champion racer in his day, but now very much CBA. Definitely depends on the dog, and you have to be very adaptable in how you keep them.

Sighthounds do also have an unusual play method. They can play very very rough and they love to nip and bite at each other - usually the haunches but they also go for the face. In sighthound circles it's known as "bitey face". Obviously this is very different to some of the PP comments of animals being killed by sighthounds (which definitely can and does happen) but it's also very easy to misunderstand a sighthound's playing.
Ours is muzzled and kept on a lead out in public (though I let her off lead if field is empty, she has good recall, so long as nothing more interesting comes along...she will run flat out for 2minutes then come back to me). But she goes to doggy day care with an ex-vetinary nurse who knows her sighthound's and she is like an absolute maniac. She will run from the opposite side of a field towards another dog, bowl it over (she's taken out a Rhodesian Ridgeback before) and then nips at its haunches to get it to play chase. Other sighthounds generally get it, but spaniels etc tend to just hunker down as she's goes flying past.
Like I say, only in controlled circumstances though.
When we first had her we would let her off in the local park but realised quickly she was a bit much for the local cockerpoos.
Her favourite buddy is a German Shepard who she runs side by side with constantly air biting and mouthing at as they run.

She's a Saluki X greyhound.

Apologies for all the stray apostrophes in there, my autocorrect has had a grammar meltdown!

Lurchermom Goldies love a bit of Bitey face too, if you aren’t used to it it can look like a duel to the death. Luckily it mostly involves a mouthful of hair and nothing more.
When Hoppingdog and his Bestie (also a Goldie) wrestle it can be a bit disconcerting for people not used to it, they are both big boys but it’s all good (often muddy) fun and if anyone goes too far they tell eachother

@Hoppinggreen aww that's good to know, but you're right - to the uninitiated it can look terrifying! Our girl gets wound up on lead (making herself look like more of a maniac) because she doesn't understand why all these other dogs can run around together and she can't. But she'd be like a bowling ball and them skittles...

My dog played with a couple of lurchers today that looked like there was greyhound in them.

Mine is a basset and is happy with rough and tumble as well as chase.

Lurchers were doing a lot of bitey face and mouthing at the neck of mine. But she's grown up being well socialised and I know it's just play. It's easy to tell if it gets beyond playing, but that very rarely happens.

I think if you aren't used to seeing dogs play it looks scary, but it's clear it's just play. It's similar play to a collie mine loves.

Owner of the lurchers kept checking with me if the play style was ok with me (it was).