Greyhound off lead?

[lestershaw]

im not and have not been a dog lover, but my girlfriend has recently got a rescue greyhound. i get on really well with the greyhound and try to go for a walk with it every evening.
however, my girlfriend is paranoid about the greyhound biting another dog, as it seems to want to chase after everything small and furry, which of course as an ex racing dog, its been trained to do! I am quite strong and am confident i can stop the greyhound if a problem arises, but my girlfriend is not so sure about herself.
There is a really nice wood near where we live but she is reluctant to go through it as so many dog owners have there dog off of the lead, but i want to go through this wood as its a really nice place to be. As responsible dog owners does it become only our problem as we are responsible or should other dog owners be aware of the problems of having their dog off lead and the potential consequences. I consider it the other dog and their owners problem if they are off the lead and get accosted by our greyhound when our dog is on the lead.
there are a few solutions but they all seem to be ours to sort out
wear a muzzle
dont go in that wood
keep very very alert and modify our behaviour when we spot a dog in the distance.
all these things are ok, but each of them means that we cannot do what the other owners can do, which is take a nice casual walk through the wood s with our dog on the lead and without a care in the world.
i accept that as a greyhound owner we were aware of this but i am also aware of the fact that NO dog can be considered completely safe when off the lead and I am 100% sure that whatever you think NO dog is completely in control when off the lead.
so my question is, should we feel guilty about the potential consequences when we go through the wood, or go elsewhere?

my first post as a dog supporter

[lestershaw]

thanks for your input
i run a building company and put a 300ft fencing perimeter at my house for him to run around in, but he tries to put his nose under the fencing and he may just be able to get out.
That still doesnt answer or solve my problem about walking through the lovely woods near me.
we wont let him off lead, but if we did we would have one of those chipped trackers, or buy an old iphone with a broken screen that has satnav in it so we could track him

[bexVN]

If she rescued it from a greyhound charity they should have done a load of checkes to see what it's character was like re: other animals. recall etc and advised her accordingly. Most rescues can eventually be allowed off lead but some will wear a lightweight greyhound muzzle just in case they mistake a yorkie for a rabbit.

Maybe enquire with the charity for advice.

And just to add, it is your responsibility aswell to ensure your do is safe to others (not just dogs but children, cyclists, runners etc etc) If little yorkie is trotting along happily and causing no trouble then your dog decides it's prey that is your fault not the yorkie owners.

Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 30th April 13:27

[lestershaw]

bexVN said:

If she rescued it from a greyhound charity they should have done a load of checkes to see what it's character was like re: other animals. recall etc and advised her accordingly. Most rescues can eventually be allowed off lead but some will wear a lightweight greyhound muzzle just in case they mistake a yorkie for a rabbit.

Maybe enquire with the charity for advice.

And just to add, it is your responsibility aswell to ensure your do is safe to others (not just dogs but children, cyclists, runners etc etc) If little yorkie is trotting along happily and causing no trouble then your dog decides it's prey that is your fault not the yorkie owners.

Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 30th April 13:27

i dont think you have read my post properly
we spent a long time choosing the right dog, we have no children. the dogs temperament is great, but we worry.
if you re read the post you will see we have not even considered taking it off the lead, our worry is when other dogs who are not on leads approach us.
do you have an opinion on the various outcomes in the instance of our dog being approached by another off the lead, and therefore NOT under control.
our dog is ALWAYS on lead, we ALWAYS pick up his mess, we nearly ALWAYS modify our behaviour around other dogs when we are out, although other owners dont seem to do the same.
but we want to be able to enjoy the woods as well as the owners who just let their dogs off the lead

[bexVN]

I did read it.

I don't quite know what you are trying to find out though.

My point was even if on a lead if your dog takes a lunge at a dog that is not causing any trouble then you could still be at fault. Obviously if you have a dog come charging up barking at yours etc and yours is on a lead then it would be the others at fault.

However if you have a dog that is known to bite other dogs esp if not particularly provoked into it (a dog wandering along the same path is not enough provocation to me) then you should have your dog muzzled as well.

Some dogs are worse re: this type of behaviour when on the lead.

I don't deny you are being responsible owners in every respect, why would I doubt otherwise? what do you mean by modify your behaviour?

I have a whippet and quite a bit of experience re: rescue greyhounds and generally most of them do very well off the lead. Hopefully this is something you will be able to do in time.

[lestershaw]

bexVN said:

I did read it.

I don't quite know what you are trying to find out though.

My point was even if on a lead if your dog takes a lunge at a dog that is not causing any trouble then you could still be at fault. Obviously if you have a dog come charging up barking at yours etc and yours is on a lead then it would be the others at fault.

However if you have a dog that is known to bite other dogs esp if not particularly provoked into it (a dog wandering along the same path is not enough provocation to me) then you should have your dog muzzled as well.

Some dogs are worse re: this type of behaviour when on the lead.

I don't deny you are being responsible owners in every respect, why would I doubt otherwise? what do you mean by modify your behaviour?

we chose our dog wisely we think.
our dog has NEVER bitten but then again we behave in such a way that we circumvent problems. the greyhound information that we are aware says that most greyhounds will chase small furry objects and i guess they would catch the furry thing and then what, im not sure.
on nearly every walk we go on, my girlfriend and i never talk casually as we are looking out for potential problems and hoping to train our dog to walk properly and under control.
what we would like to do, is to be able to walk in these woods casually, chatting to each other, strolling with our dog, having a cuddle, NOT constantly aware of everything. As i say our dog has never bitten, but we dont want to be held responsible if another owner lets their dog off lead and something bad happens.
i often see families out dog walking, chatting, running after their kids, laughing and joking but rarely looking out for problems and maybe glancing at their dog now and again. We want to go out like this occasionally and our dog will still be on its lead. we dont Know if our dog will bite, and the other owners are NOT sure if theirs will

I have a whippet and quite a bit of experience re: rescue greyhounds and generally most of them do very well off the lead. Hopefully this is something you will be able to do in time.

[230TE]

We are now on our fourth ex-racing greyhound, and none of them have ever been allowed off lead in public. Two reasons for this:

Firstly, greyhounds have very sharp eyesight and tiny brains. They will spot potential prey long before you do, and they don't usually stop to think through the consequences, they just go. Not all greyhounds are like this: some are retired as 'non-chasers', meaning that they aren't interested in pursuing small fast-moving objects. But if your dog is walking along on a lead and keeps looking into the far distance, ears up so that the tips are almost touching, you can take that as a reliable indication that he/she is not safe to be let off a lead. Clive, our latest, is now over ten years old and still so prey-driven that I always put him on a lead, even just to take him from the house to the car. We live on a busy road, and it just isn't worth the risk of him seeing something in the distance and running at top speed under a truck.

Secondly, and not always fully appreciated, greyhounds are fragile creatures. Ex-racers will often be carrying hidden injuries, and there is a chance that if you let an older greyhound run free it will come back lame or worse. One of ours shattered his hock just running round the garden. They also have very little stamina and are quite capable of running themselves to total exhaustion in a short time. This makes them easy to catch, but very heavy to carry the mile or so back to the car.

The good news is that I have never yet met a greyhound who didn't like being walked on a lead. They just love being with people. During their racing career they will have been exercised on leads every day, and perhaps they associate the lead with the chance to get out of kennels into the fresh air.

[simes43]

My boy out walking with his GF Betsy.

[bexVN]

I think you are being very sensible but it would be nice for you to relax on the walks. I can't remember if you said how long you'd had him for. Where did you get him from?

He will pick up on your tensions so it would be lovely for all of you to be able to relax mire.

Some owners so seem to let their dogs do anything without apparent control but there are plenty of us that may seem casual when walking our dogs but we are actually keeping a look out at all times

When I first read up about whippets the warning was they should not be let off the lead in public. Jimmy has nearly always been off lead in fields etc abd been great.

It'd be really useful to know his history, even if you don't let him off lead you deserve to enjoy your walks with him more. (I still think a muzzle may help you with this at least initially)

[lestershaw]

we have had him 9 months, he is a rescued dog from bishops stortford, the rescue centre are very good, vigoroous with their checks and their place is very clean and tidy.
he came straight from the racing environment to the centre, where he lived in the house with 2 other grehounds and the owners. this was because he is such a well mannered and well behaved dog.
we understand about greyhounds lack of stamina and potential for injury. we do not want him to be able to get off the lead we would like just to potter around with him where the nice places are and not have to be on our guard every second, just to be oblivious and daydream if we want to when we are out.
when we first got him he was muzzled all the time but now he isnt. he often shows an interest in other dogs and i let him walk towards the other dogs if they are on leads but i am ready and strong enough to take him away from the other dog if i have to. he will not growl or become agressive unless the other dog responds that way and then we take him away from that situation. if we dont let him have the interaction with other dogs, how is he ever going to learn? he is fine with other greyhounds .
i know we can put a muzzle on him and then all might be well, but my thinking is why should we have to when the situation only changes when somebody elses dog approaches him as they are off lead. but the over riding reason i will NOT put his muzzle on unless he is amongst children or a place where he cant help come into close proximity to other dogs, is that with a muzzle on he cannot defend himself and i am not prepared to let that happen

[Karyn]

Have you considered one of the extendable leads for the more rural walks?

It allows you to keep him by you as on a normal lead when walking on pavements, near people/other dogs, etc... then when you get to the wooded area, you can say, "off you go" and allow him the greater freedom afforded by the longer extension of the lead, whilst still retaining an element of control of him (certainly enough to stop him sprinting off into the distance!)

You can also practise his recall with this lead, as well - when he's at its extent, sniffing in a bush or whatever (i.e. distracted from you), practise recall with him. Would perhaps set the scene for off-lead jaunts when you're all completely and utterly settled on walks.

[lestershaw]

Thanks Karyn, but its not being on a lead that is a problem, although i feel that being ona n extendable lead would not help with my concerns.
my area of concern is when a dog not on a lead approaches us or comes in close proximity, that is my worry :-):-(

[Chris71]

We've had a couple of rescue greyhounds. One was very placid and didn't pay attention to anything small and fury and would only ever run away if presented with an aggressive dog. The other would go after anything that moved - including the family cat which didn't last long after we got the dog - and, although not aggressive as such, was far less tolerant of other dogs if they pestered her.

Neither had raced competitively, but we think the latter might have been trained as a racer before being abandoned. Despite the comments she was actually the most characterful, intelligent and affectionate dog we've had. Assuming there was nothing to chase she'd just go off and race round in circles at huge speed - quite something to watch.

Greyhounds are absolutely brilliant pets, but you need to see how that individual dog reacts.

[YoungOne]

Just to warn it isn't a good idea to use an extendable lead with a greyhound. If they decide to run they can be doing 40mph in six strides and you will either drop the lead or damage their necks.
Also most greyhounds will be scared to death of the lead rattling along behind them and not stop running.