Any greyhound people?

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Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:07 pm

Any folks on here with experience with greyhounds? Particularly former racers?

In particular would love to hear how/if your greyhounds integrated well with other pets.

My boyfriend is looking to adopt a greyhound. We don't live together, but plan to soon. I have a cat, so the rescue he's working with is looking for 'cat tolerant' greyhounds for him. Though, it would be great to hear first hand experiences.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby fergusnc » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:09 am

Thought about one at one phase of my life. Asked lots of questions. Super cool dogs, great feedback from folks who'd gotten rescues off the track, and from vets who'd had them as clients. What didn't mesh with me at the time was their sensitivity to temps...hard time regulating extremes...and where I lived, how I spent my time, my work schedule...lots of outside time and adventures in all temps, locked and fenced yard for periods of my work day in cold temps, etc. wouldn't have been a good match. They also seemed a bit cat-like in personality and I am a more in your face, I adore you, let's go do life personality as far as dog choosing. I met owners, foster homes, rescue volunteers who did have luck with them living with cats....just a matter of waiting for the right one. I think they tend to be pretty welcoming of dogs. Never off leash outside of a fence, ever ever ever, due to prey drive and how fast they go from zero to speedy when they see a squirrel...and how they will ignore all else in that state of mind, including cars. One thing the vet told me is that since they have little padding, when they play and wrestle, and race and nip in excitement, they often end up with little tears that need to be stitched. Some owners with really playful pairs will muzzle the dogs to prevent this. They aren't aggressive or anything, just a bit delicate in comparison to totally acceptable use of their mouth that wouldn't be an issue for dogs with more padding or fur.
I love running into them out and about at rescue events and such...they are just really cool.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby heddylamar » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:33 am

A former coworker of mine had a greyhound and 2 cats who seemed to get along from photos and stories he shared.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby PaulaO » Tue Aug 13, 2019 12:15 pm

My friend has had at least 3 off the track greyhounds (not at the same time). There were cats and another dog in the house, and each greyhound got along. She has a big fenced yard so the dogs were able to be outside off leash. In the house, each dog was essentially a couch potato. Very loving, very sweet dogs.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby musical comedy » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:12 pm

My good friend had one. You could PM her on coth if you like (I'll check with her and see if it's ok to give out her board name). She had cats and horses at home. Against the rules, she allowed the dog to be unleased. That went ok. However, one day it met with an unfortunate accident and died. It wouldn't be a breed I'd ever consider, but to each his own.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Aug 14, 2019 12:07 am

No direct experience, but I've high prey-drive dogs for years (without cats). The greyhound people I knew over the years from dog parks with cats said with an indoor cat, it was usually fine, but they would expect an outdoor cat to die from the dog(s).

I do love the quiet temperament of the greys...and many people seem to get another after the first! As hounds, they like company---but they are really quite big dogs! Like, I'd have to get a mini van instead of a euro-wagon lol! I'm hoping to one day transition to whippets in my post-pointer life....

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby NancyP » Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:59 pm

Me! me! Me!
I have had Greyhounds for 9+ years... 5 of them. Not all at once... 2/3 at a time!
Currently have 3, although only 2 are retired racers. One from the US and one from Ireland. The other just came to us 2 weeks ago from Spain.
We lost our Nixon 18 months ago at age 12.5++ and we just sent our Ruby 12.5 to the bridge a month ago.

When we got Nixon we had a GSDx and a PointerX and they all got along just fine.
I do not have any house cats but I do know many people who have cats and Greys living quite peacefully together.

fergusnc gave some good basic info above. And yes... they are just really cool!

For us a fenced in yard is a must as there is no way I'd be able to cope with dogs (no matter what breed) in an elevator or having to leash-walk them for potty breaks.
They can't ever be let loose in an area with no fence. They are way too fast. Just like you can't stop a Lab from picking up sticks or a BC from herding, you can't stop a Grey from chasing/running. They are FAST. Very FAST!

Yes... once they have done their morning zoomies around the yard they are couch potatoes!
And yes... muzzling is very common...and often recommended... as they play hard and have no hair to protect from their buddies little play nips.

I am in Ontario and my guys have light weight fleecy coats for indoors, mid weight fleecys for cool fall days and heavy weight winter coats for the minus 20 outings. Kind of like a pampered OTTB ;)

As well, all of my retired racing greys are / have been Certified St John Ambulance Therapy Dogs.
To me, this says a LOT about their calm, easy going temperaments and the way they were raised, handled and trained was top-notch.
Nixon and Nigel are/were reading dogs for 3rd graders. Ruby and Sid are/were visiting at Long Term Care. Sid will take his TD Childrens test in October. I will have Kibo the new Spanish fellow TD tested in the spring.

I'm happy to answer any other questions...

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby Koolkat » Thu Aug 15, 2019 5:41 pm

NancyP wrote:They can't ever be let loose in an area with no fence. They are way too fast. Just like you can't stop a Lab from picking up sticks or a BC from herding, you can't stop a Grey from chasing/running. They are FAST. Very FAST!


This reminds me of an incident 30+ years ago when I would go to a high school track in the early evening to run. At the time, we had a GSD, and one evening someone had brought their greyhound with them. Both dogs were off leash. The GSD and greyhound ended up in a friendly tussle, and the greyhound broke away and began running (catch me if you can!). Of course, the greyhound was at the end of the field before the GSD was at the 50 yard line! What was interesting though was that the GSD (she) persisted. And kept chasing the greyhound who would lie down until the GSD was upon her again. After 10 minutes of this, the greyhound was exhausted and would no longer get up and run. An interesting difference in strategies/breed tendencies. That greyhound was jaw dropping beautiful in motion, I'll never forget that scene.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Fri Aug 16, 2019 12:23 am

A question for Nancy P:

How safe does a fenced area need to be for grey to blow it out and run?

We have 3+ acres fenced (with woven wire) on our 20 acre property but it has trees, shrubs and meadow plants. Basically it looks like a bird field for training bird dogs. Would sight hounds just get torn up with so many obstacles? Our pointers love it...but the texture is what makes it interesting to them and draws in wildlife. Plain grass would be boring for pointers...but maybe safer for sight hounds? The lure coursing events I've seen are all done in very open fields.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Fri Aug 16, 2019 12:36 am

Thanks all, this has been super helpful.

My biggest worry is that my cat is very playful and often plays by darting around the house, which might be a trigger. But we have time to do the introduction slowly and carefully. And we'll utilize a muzzle in there beginning to be extra safe.

The rescue my bf is going through does a prison program. So, before he gets the dog it'll have gone through 9 weeks of training and adjustment off the track. It'll come with basic commands (sit, stay, down, heel, etc), house trained, and crate trained. So, I think it'll be good to get a dog that already has some solid basics. He also can take his dog to work, so it won't have too much alone time.

He lives in an apartment. But my house has a fenced yard (6ft wood fence with no gaps) that will hopefully eventually be something nice for the dog.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:31 am

All of the sight hounds I dealt with when a vet tech and with personal dogs (we had a part ridgeback for 13 yrs, 95 lbs of love) I enjoyed handling. They were all lovely dogs (greyhound, saluki, whippet and our part RR). Cat testing is always recommended, though our RR went from wanting to eat the cats with training lived for years with an outdoor indoor barn cat(s) no problems. Recall was an issue on our RR, but he was able to loose on the farm for the most part. The sight hounds I dealt with all loved people of any shape or size. RR can be a bit different but ours was part and absolutely never met a stranger, was not as welcoming with strange dogs though.

If I was set up differently here on the farm I would have a retired greyhound. My DH does not like the looks of them though. One retired grey that one of the vets I worked with owned was quite large at 80 lbs, a big boy.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby redsoxluvr » Fri Aug 16, 2019 5:25 am

My sister does greyhound rescue and has had many come through her doors. She has not had any that have had issues with cats or other small pets.
However, there was a definite transition period when her current greyhound moved to my farm. My dogs are expected to heed when they are off leash and the greyhound had always been on a lead. She had to learn recall as she had none and had no idea what being off leash meant.

That being said, she is a smart dog and figured out quickly that come means NOW and no dawdling. She also had to learn how to be around the smaller livestock as she had no idea what they were and had to learn they were off limits. She never chased them or showed aggression per se, but we have hard rules on my farm. Livestock are to be ignored without exception unless something is being herded. ( I have cardigan corgi working dogs who herd but they are the only ones allowed to interact with livestock.) It took her a month or so to understand that no means NO. No whining, no staring, no pacing. At my farm, livestock are to be treated with the same interest as a rock on the side of the road. They are there but that is as far as it goes. Yes, I am a hard ass with my zero tolerance rules but I hate it when people allow their dogs to chase or savage livestock. I have taken dogs from every possible situation - castoffs I found on the highway, rescued puppy mill dogs and even fancy purebred show dogs. They can all learn, and they do. Now my dogs regularly have my hens or goats loose next to them and they do not give them a thought. The dogs do give the goats a wide berth, but in their defense the goats have horns and are absolutely willing to drop a dog that gets too close.

Truthfully the greyhound is a couch potato. She goes out to feed with my pack and will burn off a couple of laps around my barn area at warp race dog. Once she is done, she is back on the couch. She is a kind dog and learns quickly. One thing I didn't know is that the dogs physically cannot sit. I have no idea why. I have never seen the dog sit even one time and have been told by several of the greyhound people that they cannot. She stands, lies curled up or flat out. She hardly barks at all. She did have a few issues with housetraining initially but was solid within about a month. I think she raced like 15 (?) times. She is quite tall but weighs around 50-60 lbs.

I would not seek one out, as my focus is herding dogs but she is a pleasant, agreeable dog all the same. She is fine with strangers and really is kind of like a large cat.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Fri Aug 16, 2019 4:37 pm

I did forget to add that grey hounds (the lighter sight hounds period) are tricky with anesthesia. That was a big concern when I was a vet tech because of their low body fat content and their very muscled bodies.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby NancyP » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:15 am

Not sure about the varied footing... I'm sure it would be fine... just have to be watchful of the thin skin.. nicks and scrapes might be an issue. Mine run under low cedar tree branches in our small yard and when we walk they are in and out of bushes with no issues.
Our yard is small... 'U' shaped ...maybe 50' long x 15' wide. The 2 ends maybe 30' x 20'? They can zoom up and down there easily...and they can spin and turn on a dime! Lots of fun.

We have 4' chain link on one part of our yard and 5' welded mesh on the rest. I've not have any of mine ever try to jump. Only very occasionally do they even jump up with their paws.

Indoor running cats could be problematic, but tell your Group about this and they should be able to weed out the very prey driven dogs. There is no way my new Spanish boy could deal with a running cat, but he is not a retired racer. he was rescued from the streets of Spain.

I believe the Prison Programs are very good. I've heard they have greyt results.

Yes... they have issues with anesthesia.

Yes... the CAN sit. They just don't like it...the way their tail lays plus the rear thigh muscles are huge.
I have taught 3 of my 5 to sit. Sid the Irish boy prefers to just lay down. He will lay anywhere! The Therapy Dog testing does not require sit. Kibo the new Spanish fellow is still settling in, but I intend to teach him to sit!

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:44 am

Thanks for the details. Truly, my worry with having sighthounds in our current environment is that they would slice their skin open. I know that sounds horrid, but it is a real possibility. The whippets I've known in rural environments seem to do fine, though.

BTW, my English Pointers also are not that fond of sitting, due to general bony-ness---but they (mostly) will do it when requested.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Wed Aug 21, 2019 1:26 am

"sit" is one of the commands my bf's future greyhounds should have learned in the prison program. Though, we were warned that some tend to 'cheat' on their sit and either crouch or just go lie down with the head up and when you say 'down' they put their head down. ha! Lie or sit, I don't care--as long as they know some command that involves them settling down in one location.

He's been matched with a 2 year old female (15 races under her belt). She's white and red (mostly white). We don't have a ton of info about her yet, but we will start getting updates through the prison program soon. All we know is that currently her new trainer is working on hand feeding to build trust and that she's settled in easily.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby NancyP » Sat Aug 24, 2019 11:53 pm

Ohhhh.... a red and white cow doggie :)

And yes... 'Crouch' is perhaps a better way of describing how most Greys 'sit', although our Ruby had a 'normal' sit and did it quite easily. It's just my boys that don't like it. Men!

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:30 am

Well over a year later.. I have some updates. Above boyfriend is now husband and has moved in as of this week with his grey.

The cat is not thrilled but she's getting braver. The first few days I honestly don't think the dog realized the cat even existed, as weird as that sounds. But as of this morning, she is definitely now aware. She will perk up when she sees the cat, but if we call her name we can divert her attention. Thought I have to admit this makes me very nervous. My worry is that as the cat gets braver she will approach and then she run away the dog and the dog will instinctively chase.

We're keeping them separate most of the time still and dog is always crated when we're not home. We've also been crating her at night. We are trying to muzzle the dog any time they are in the same room. Any dog people with advice on how to encourage the dog to ignore.

I am wanting to be far more conservative and careful than my husband, but right now he is agreeing with my more conservative approach even if he thinks it's Overkill.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby exvet » Sat Nov 28, 2020 2:51 pm

Overkill? No. Having grown up in a house full of siberian huskies which also included cats, it only takes one time and it's usually the one you least expect that will initiate. We did have the added dilemma of having more than one so pack instinct can quickly takeover but you have a breed that is bred to hunt and go after something that runs away from it. I've known households with one grey hound that do just fine; but, again it's that one time.........

As you can guess I've been asked to put together more than one cat that got too close to the dog or the dog chased it (and never did it before).....not always predictable based on breed but any dog with a high drive to chase can become the 'aggressor' and isn't always intentionally trying to 'kill the cat' but Big on small often doesn't end well.

I will also say that the cat that is elusive, independent and likes to live 'high' as in up on stuff is usually the safest cat around dogs. I had one cat that grew up with the dogs and used to 'tease' them. My pack was a group of jack russells with a random corgi over the years, another situation that isn't always great for cats. Mine never killed or seriously injured the cats but I did have one cat that just begged for it and added to my grey hairs.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby Srhorselady » Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:09 pm

Many years ago my father retired and moved in with me. He brought his retired champion show dog Bedlington Terrier who was VERY aggressive toward cats. Cats had teased him on the back walls of his previous residence. I, of course, had a cat. We proceeded as you are doing. Separate rooms for each and when we were home the crated dog in the living room with us and the loose cat. It took a while but it did eventually work. At first it was very noisy with dog barking agressively and throwing himself at crate and cat extremely skittish. We then progressed to dog on leash with us in living room with loose cat. Eventually they even shared a dog bed. However when we left house I always separated them as a “just in case” since the size/weight differential was so great I didn’t want any accidents. When the dog was crippled with age and arthritis I did leave them alone. It took some time but it was successful. However, it did NOT apply to other cats. This cat was family, but other cats were still prey.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby Srhorselady » Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:19 pm

By the way for those who are not familiar...Bedlington Terriers are built like sight hounds, roached back and similar galloping running style. Only they have hair similar to a poodle (softer and no shed, grooming required), about 20 lbs. they look like lambs, but have terrier temperament.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Sat Nov 28, 2020 4:25 pm

Cats that act like prey often end up as prey. For me the most important part of the mix is the cat temperament. Ones that are dog friendly tend to be fine with most dogs and are a huge part of training dogs that are cat aggressive. I’ve been lucky to have some great dog friendly cats over the years to help me in training dogs. I fostered for years and only one was so aggressive to cats that I would never have put him in a cat home.

I use positive reinforcement for training and to teach them to ignore the cat. I’ve started with the cat in a crate with my big RR but with most I just start out with the dog on a leash. They should already have the basics in obedience training having a down and sit and implied stay. Do some googling there are some good videos out there on training dogs to accept the cat

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Sat Nov 28, 2020 5:44 pm

Bedlingtons really do look like little lambs! But i've never interacted with one.

The dog in question knows lie down, stay, and 'look at me' quite well. She is used to being crated when people leave, so that will always continue esp with the cat no matter how fine they seem. That we both agree on. And for now I feel good about her being crated at night too. The dog is perfectly content with the crate. She doesn't love the muzzle as much, but it the safer way to go.

What worries me is that my cat has gone from hiding to being braver. But that bravery involves her slowly coming up to the dog and I am worried if she gets scared she might also suddenly run away, which will be the worst option. I've heard that it's often effective if a cat will sass the dog and give it a little slap with the paw or something. But I'm not sure that's in my cats nature. Her instinct when she's scared is also not to go high but to go away. she will often go under things, which i suppose is ok because the dog won't be able to get under all the places she can go. But still I wish she had more of a jump up than run away instinct.

The leash is also a good idea.I don't know why i hadn't thought of that. But we should start using that when they're together and not just the muzzle. she tends to want to be around and stay close to my husband, so the leash won't really be a pain because it will be slack most of the time. One thing in our favor is that the dog is really quite timid and we only have one dog. So, no pack mentality. And we're dealing with a dog who is very easily scared and does not play with other dogs because she is usually too scared.

I just really want to keep her safe and do whatever I can to make sure the two can coexist safely.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:25 pm

Another management idea: Even my mother who has Old English Sheepdogs who are cat lovers puts her cat or cats in a room with a closed door away from the dog/s at night. This is to prevent accidents or undue rowdiness. It also helps the cats behave and not swing from the lampshades at night (they are very well behaved during the day). Because the grey is already getting crate time during the day, I'm not suggesting containing the dog more at night (but rather the cat).

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:54 pm

piedmontfields wrote:Another management idea: Even my mother who has Old English Sheepdogs who are cat lovers puts her cat or cats in a room with a closed door away from the dog/s at night. This is to prevent accidents or undue rowdiness. It also helps the cats behave and not swing from the lampshades at night (they are very well behaved during the day). Because the grey is already getting crate time during the day, I'm not suggesting containing the dog more at night (but rather the cat).



Keeping them separate at night is a good idea and something we're doing. Actually the grey is not in the crate during the day much. He takes her to work and when I work late I lock myself and cat in a room. So we have been crating the grey at night in our bedroom. I haven't been closing up the cat--she used to sleep the whole night literally in my arms like a teddy bear (she squeezes herself in under my arm). So I think closing her would be hard.

Husband is a night owl and I'm a morning person so usually I'm in bed 3 hours before him. Cat sleeps with me then. Then when the grey comes up and gets in the crate, the cat had been going downstairs and sleeping on the couch. Today she came back up and slept with me. So I need to make sure that doesn't result in her taunting the dog.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:26 am

You have good separation going on during sleep, but it also sounds somewhat easy to mess up. That's my cautious voice speaking.

BTW, we recently found a very sweet orange and white young cat on our farm (cornered by our pointers to a rafter in a barn). We put pointers in the house, asked kitty to come to us (nice cat, did), and assessed. Absolutely lovely young cat with a rabies tag from a far away county. We took the cat to our county shelter----fingers crossed for that lovely kitty, but staff were optimistic + given a good donation---but the cat was clearly safer there than with our pointers!

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby NancyP » Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:36 am

Hello! Congrats on the wedding!

I still have 2 Greys and our Galgo. No cats here. The Galgo has a crazy high prey drive.
I think you're doing all the right things. Muzzling for sure! Leashing also a good idea.

There are 'baby gates' that are taller/wider than normal that have small built-in openings for cats.
https://www.petsmart.com/dog/crates-gat ... gid=100229

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Mon Nov 30, 2020 11:43 am

NancyP wrote:There are 'baby gates' that are taller/wider than normal that have small built-in openings for cats.
https://www.petsmart.com/dog/crates-gat ... gid=100229


We have one of those for the room where the cat's food and litter is! That room is the cat's room and it's upstairs. The grey also has her own room downstairs. I might also get another one of these gates for the bottom of the stairs


@piedmont easy to mess up because of the cat potentially taunting the grey in the crate at night or for another reason? Please let your cautious voice speak--safety is most important!

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:10 pm

Blob, it's the transition at night when you're sleeping and your DH is sleepy/going to bed that sounds tricky, as your animals are moving from their places. Unless I misunderstood the process?

Making a more active management decision of separation while someone is fully awake (you?) seems more cautious.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:41 am

piedmontfields wrote:Blob, it's the transition at night when you're sleeping and your DH is sleepy/going to bed that sounds tricky, as your animals are moving from their places. Unless I misunderstood the process?

Making a more active management decision of separation while someone is fully awake (you?) seems more cautious.


Ah, I see. Yes, this could be a challenging time. The grey is taken from the 'game room' where DH spends his late nights to her crate in the bedroom on leash. So there is some control. But you are right it is a period when both animals are on the move and we should be extra vigilant.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:07 pm

Things had been going well. The dog mostly ignoring the cat. The cat getting more comfortable. The cat standing her ground rather than running when the dog came near (was almost always just to pass by, not to pay any attention to her). And I was starting to feel good that everything was going to eventually be ok.

However, in the last two days the dog has suddenly become very interested in the cat. She appears to be often looking for the cat and will stare at the cat when the cat is in sight. Yesterday the cat was playing and the dog trotted off after her. It was thankfully a trot and a not a bolt and of course she is still wearing her basket muzzle any time the two are in the same space. But I don't like this shift in behavior. And there have been a few times where the dog appears very tense when watching the cat. My guess is that now that the dog is more comfortable in the house, she's turned her attention to the cat. We've been able to divert attention so far and scold the dog when she trotted after the cat. But it has me worried that things have taken a turn in this direction.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:02 pm

Blob this video shows some of what I did but I used a leash at all times since we were outside using my barn cats

https://youtu.be/vHrHBZIA5h4

In particular that moment of the dog noticing the cat and then looking back at the trainer is what I focused on. So the dog is rewarded for turning their attention away from the cat. My cat now ups the ante by running through the dogs as we are walking on the farm. They’ve learned to ignore his shenanigans

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Wed Dec 16, 2020 1:12 pm

khall wrote:Blob this video shows some of what I did but I used a leash at all times since we were outside using my barn cats

https://youtu.be/vHrHBZIA5h4

In particular that moment of the dog noticing the cat and then looking back at the trainer is what I focused on. So the dog is rewarded for turning their attention away from the cat. My cat now ups the ante by running through the dogs as we are walking on the farm. They’ve learned to ignore his shenanigans



Thank you, Khall. This has been very helpful. We've been using a lot of disengaging with the dog and she's doing well. We've also had the good fortune of a few of our 'no's' being perfectly timed with the cat's hiss. So, now she is starting to actually see the hiss as a sign she should step away, which is ideal. The dog is not just ignoring the cat most of the time, she's also avoiding the cat. She will go the long ways around to say hi to me if it means not getting in the cat's way. I don't think it's because she's actually scared of the cat but rather that she knows the cat is not something we want her to engage with.

The other day I was sitting on the couch with the cat in my lap when DH and dog came home (he takes her to work). She started running up to greet me (i don't think she even saw the cat). The cat stood up and hissed and half way over to me the dog stopped, put her head down and turned around. So that also felt like like a good sign. The dog was rewarded and greeted afterwards.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Wed Dec 16, 2020 1:29 pm

Glad it helped! I sent a similar video to one of my former foster adopters who was moving in with two cats. My former foster ended up living happily with them.

What I find interesting is that my dogs know and accept our cats but if a feral shows up they will chase it.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Wed Apr 07, 2021 5:42 pm

I wanted to share an update and thank every one again for the good advice.

So far cat/dog integration is going well. But we are still cautious and won't ever leave them free alone together (simply not worth it). On the rare occasion when DH and I are both out of the house the dog is in the crate and the room to that door is closed so the cat can't harass or taunt her. When we're both home the animals are free to go where they please for the most part. But the cat stays with me and the dog stays with DH, so when one of us is working or when we're doing our own thing the animals are usually not in the same room. And at night the dog is in the crate. She's come to really like/expect being crated at night and now happily runs straight into her crate if you say "goodnight, Jolene'.

For the most part the dog has learned to avoid the cat. And the cat stands her ground (no running or darting away from the dog) though she is hyper aware of the dog if they are in the same room. The dog still tends to take the long way around to avoid crossing paths closely with the cat and we still verbally reward her for making those decisions and giving the cat her space. There are some times when the cat has been extra frisky and tried to initiate play with the dog, but we redirect her play energy elsewhere, as that seems like a recipe for disaster. And if both animals are getting hyper at the same time we sometimes will separate them just to be safe. In fact, that seems to be the biggest thing we are being careful about right now--making sure that excitement doesn't lead to the cat pouncing and the dog reacting.

The 'look at me' command has been very helpful. And on the occasion when the dog does seem like she's maybe watching the cat a bit too closely, all we have to do is say 'look at me' to break up that focus.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:46 am

Excellent blob! I do have to say though I did and do have dogs and cats that play together. My first cat and our 80 lb hound would chase each other up and down the hallway. My cat now will intentionally run by the dogs to initiate chase my pit will go after him to catch and lick him. But glad the living together has worked for you all. Greys are such cool dogs.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Thu Apr 08, 2021 12:45 pm

khall wrote:Excellent blob! I do have to say though I did and do have dogs and cats that play together. My first cat and our 80 lb hound would chase each other up and down the hallway. My cat now will intentionally run by the dogs to initiate chase my pit will go after him to catch and lick him. But glad the living together has worked for you all. Greys are such cool dogs.


Maybe they will grow into playing with each other! I do think right now the cat will choose to play by pouncing on the dog and the dog might end up in a position where she doesn't know how to react. The dog in general is not super playful--very sweet, but I don't think she's learned how to 'play' with other animals. She is quite clueless when it comes to other dogs.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby khall » Thu Apr 08, 2021 1:08 pm

That is very true blob and it’s understandable with a former racing grey. In general I like the sight hounds. Lovely dogs. I do have to say that the cats that play with my dogs have all been orange tabbies. They tend to be dog like:)

Do you ever get to see her run? Watching a grey run a lure course is just so much fun

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby exvet » Thu Apr 08, 2021 1:14 pm

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but I wouldn't let your guard down. I do feel that you've done well managing and integrating the two. I too have had dogs and cats that played together and lived harmoniously; but, I've also have had those that did so and then one day, out of the blue, something pulled the trigger and what was play to one turned into serious injury to the other. The prey-drive instinct can be very strong and deep-seated but not be demonstrated until or unless the 'right' trigger is pulled. I applaud you for the relationship and control you've built thus far; but as you know body language is key to cats and dogs, and I strongly believe that there are subtleties that we humans often fail to pick up on until it's too late.

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Re: Any greyhound people?

Postby blob » Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:11 pm

exvet wrote:I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but I wouldn't let your guard down. I do feel that you've done well managing and integrating the two. I too have had dogs and cats that played together and lived harmoniously; but, I've also have had those that did so and then one day, out of the blue, something pulled the trigger and what was play to one turned into serious injury to the other. The prey-drive instinct can be very strong and deep-seated but not be demonstrated until or unless the 'right' trigger is pulled. I applaud you for the relationship and control you've built thus far; but as you know body language is key to cats and dogs, and I strongly believe that there are subtleties that we humans often fail to pick up on until it's too late.


I fully agree! It's why I am choosing not to let them play together and to separate them when i feel like one of them has too much energy. Even non-aggressive playing could result in injury, so it's not worth it. For the most part the goal will continue to be to reward and encourage the dog to simply avoid the cat because i do believe that is the safest way forward for long term harmony. And the precautions we've done so far will all be permanent, with the exception of the dog wearing the muzzle/staying on the leash. But other things--separating when alone or when we're asleep or even when we can't watch closely will continue. And we'll continue to redirect the dog's focus from the cat any time she seems too focused even if it might seem harmless (she only does this when lying down, but we all know she can go from lying to running in a blink). We will continue to be cautious and thankfully separating the two is pretty easy as both animals have designated 'spaces' or rooms.


khall wrote: Do you ever get to see her run? Watching a grey run a lure course is just so much fun

We have a fenced 'side yard'. It's not great for hanging out as it's long and thin, but makes a perfect dog run. She will often do zoomies up and down it. But i've only seen her hit full speed in a long stretch once in a much larger open space. It was very impressive! Too bad we didn't see her run when DH first got her. Her thigh muscles were SO big then. It took awhile for them to slim down. She's still all muscle and bone, but she no longer looks like she has steroid hamstrings.


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