Greyhound Aggression with other dogs

[jackson]

I have a problem male greyhound who was neutered 3 weeks ago due to his behaviour with other dogs but he still barks at all dogs (except other greyhounds) and tries to get to them. I've muzzled him and let him off the lead in a confined space but he just chases all other dogs and tries to corner them which upsets other dog owners. He pulls really hard on the lead and nearly pulls me over trying to get to other dogs and seems to be getting more aggressive. Can anyone help with this problem

[Nettie]

Jackson, it takes more than 3 weeks after castration for hormones to die down, usually its more like 3 months and castration isn't a cure all on its own. Your boy still needs training and controlled socialisation with other dogs. If you are having problems holding him when he's walking you might want to look into a harness or headcollar for him to give you more control. Many people on here who have dogs that are hard to handle recommend the roughwear harness - impossible for the dog to get out of and also has a handle on the harness which can be useful if he's kicking off.

[Flaperoo]

Hello Jackson and welcome,

As Nettie has said it takes 3 months for neutering to take full effect.

You don't say how long you have had your grey or what his history is and that would be helpful. Agression can have many causes and you need to try and get to the bottom of what is causing this. Firstly I would always muzzle even when on lead. I wish more owners would muzzle their dogs but at least greys are used to them.

I have had a total of 8 greyhounds over the years and I am probably the voice of caution on this site. Other grey owners views may be just as valuable to you.

Without other information I would keep your grey on a lead. Most greys just out of kennel have never met any other type of dog so need careful socialisation. Do you have other dog friends that you could lead walk with to get him/her used to other dogs., Forget offlead for now, lead walking with other dogs is where to start. Try this excercise in socialisation and see how you go. My experience says you must take things safely and slowly. Even if the body language of your dog is just excitement and not agression, the last thing you want is for people to avoid you on your walks, as this will not be helpful.

Did you rescue your grey; if so please contact them for help.

In my experience most greys are capable of eventually socialising very well, it just takes time. Please try to find a training class you can join - this will undoubtedly help. MyFlash (now 11) used to pull me everywhere, it took a year of training and careful introductions to feel he was safe offlead (but always muzzled) with other dogs> he is now even bombproof with cats. Roo (a GG dog) was very quickly safe offlead, I have another who I have had for 6 years now and sadly I can NEVER let her offlead - she is deadly and Rocky my other GG dog is a work in progress, but given he came to me having killed another dog, albeit because he was just left to his own devices and had to hunt to eat, I am very aware of the variability that the character and experience can bring to your greys behaviour. What I can say is they have all been wonderful with people, however old or young, fit or disabled and they love you with complete devotion.

I hope, apart from this you are enjoying your dog. Play with him/her and build a bond. They are a truely wonderful breed, but unlike all pet breeds they have been worked and as such have been handled with money not socialistion in mind.

As I mentioned earlier, if patient you will probably have a fully socialised dog that will bring you much joy. What I can say is when you have a dog that causes problems and you manage to turn things round, there is no greater feeling of sheer joy.

Please update I would love to hear how you get on.

Good luck

Mxx

[sue39]

Loads of dog shows thats what we did. Duke when we first had him would really bark at other dogs but with load of shows n classes and socialisation he is so much better. didn't happen instantly though, think with Duke it was partly a time 2 adjust thing, he's so much better now. I'm quite ignorant as far as sight hounds go so this is only advice about what worked for us. If you want really experienced advice better speak to Lisa or Liz. x

[julies]

Hi

Like the others have said its (usually) down to a lack of socialisation and if he's an ex-racer then he won't have seen other breeds of dogs so is probably terrified .. if he came from a rescue organisation like was advised they should have given you some booklets about racing greys and I'd totally agree with others NOT to let him off lead if he is untrustworthy with other dogs.

On lead walking with another calm friendly breed is ideal to start .. people should be between the dogs and the dogs may have to be 6 or 8 feet apart (I have known racers who need to be further away at first) .. check out your dogs body language .. once he is relaxed about the other dog (it can take weeks) then you can get closer .. when he's relaxed about being closer then you can walk with the dogs by each other - distance between them may need to be further apart again as you've changed things. I'd always suggest that he be introduced to the other dog by walking him in a curve/arc towards the other dogs shoulder and allowed to sniff for a max of a minute .. and be on your guard that you may have misread him and he lunges at the other dog so you need to be ready to pull him away (I always suggest a lead attached to the collar but also put round his chest as you have lots of control and can move him around or a harness with a double ended lead - one clip to the collar and one to the harness.)
If he's ok with this first intro then you can build it up to a little longer and then allow the other dog to approach on lead in the same way ... don't forget that any dog on the lead can feel very vulnerable cos he can't escape so often his only answer can be to attack

Before you let him off you should have excellent recall ... its difficult to give advice without seeing the dog but I'd muzzle him like you do and start in a very small enclosed space with no other dogs ... kiddies play areas are ideal but you have to be there very early as you're not supposed to be there ....

if he is an ex-racer you'll need to be patient and work at his pace ... the world is new to him and is very scarey but they do come round you just need to give them as much time as they need.

j x

[clairehope]

I am certainly no expert, I got my first greyhound, Lance, nearly 18 months ago. He has very strong prey drive and had no socialisation at all. He never off leads and I doubt he ever will except in very controlled spaces. He has a harness with a double ended lead which is also attached to a martingale collar. He wears a 'halti' as well as his muzzle, which does make it easier to control him when he becomes a 'whirling dervish'!

I was starting to think he would never get any better, I kept taking him to places full of dogs and the response was always the same - aggressive! He tries to bite whatever is nearest to him, bite through his lead to get away etc. The good news is that he is starting to calm down. On recent camping trips he hasnt even raised his head when other dogs have walked past our pitch and one day I even managed to have a chat with a couple who were walking their 3 white poodles which would normally have driven him into a frenzy. I think it's a confidence thing, the only times he responded whilst camping last weekend were when two dogs came rushing (off lead ) over to our pitch and when a boxer who clearly wanted to play, appeared suddenly from behind a hedge.
I don't think he will ever be totally reliable around other breeds and i accepted when i chose greyhounds that my dreams of seeing them running free over the fields near my house may never be realised, however, we are now getting to the point where I can take him for a walk pretty much anywhere without a major drama. I will happily settle for that, especially since Lance himself seems very happy with his life

[mdjo]

Whilst I don't have a full greyhound I have a lurcher who has a lot of greyhound in him. We rescued him from the pound and he was un-neutered and totally unsocialised and we experienced lots of issues that you are describing. However, don't lose heart. We kept him on lead for a few months until we were sure on recall etc, but also found a great friend (who had spent years rescuing GSD's) and she kindly escorted us on lead walks with as many dogs as she could lay her hands on. We started him off walking a good distance away from the dog, eventually moving closer until they were walking side by side. We also took him to lots of places where there were lots of other dogs (like horse shows/dog shows etc). We tried to make sure that everyday he met another type of dog. We also made it VERY clear that it wasn't acceptable to growl, bark, launch at other dogs. What we have come to realise is that he isn't aggressive, more nervous, and that's only when he is on lead. (he still tends to treat small fluffies as play things but we can recognise this well in advance and get him on lead) 18 months later he is the model of a well balanced socialised dog - just recently we went on a camping trip with my best friend and he was teaching her very ill behaved JRT about socialisation (the little horror launched a full on biting attack and he just dodged out of the way). We went to a local horse show last weekend and he won 'family dog' beating about 20 other dogs including labs, westies etc; showed no interest in the other dogs at all. I think they need time to build confidence and see a bit more of life/dogs.

[pebs]

:)as a grey and lurcher owner and foster myself, have had loads of diff situations, agree muzzle always at mo, and your body language if you feeling tense the hound will be also, but they can get there have seen it with some of mine, they just warning before other hound, must have been in situations where it was picked on so to speak, so mouthing off before situation happens, you just have to stay calm and give reassurance to your hound, and it does help if owner of other dog helps, but know not all do so tell them it is a rescue and you in training with him or her, find the owners come round but we must remember some of these hounds have not had a social life

[dobo]

Hi. How are you getting on now? I'm sure many of us have had problems with our dogs' behaviour at times so can sympathise.
If you are not experienced you should consider getting a qualified behaviourist to help diagnose the reason for the behavior. By qualified I mean at least an APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) or APBC (Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors) member. There will be many good trainers who are not members of these associations, but unfortunately you have no guarantees. It is amazing the number of people who set themselves up as dog trainers with minimal training and understanding. Don't get drawn into ideas of dominance. As people have said it is likely to be due to nervousness / lack of socialisation but you need to be careful with introductions to other dogs not to make the problem worse.
Walking with a head collar is a good idea for a dog that is hard to handle. This video on You Tube with Jean Donaldson is very good explaining how to get your dog to accept a head collar (hope the link works).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wakterNyUg

Unfortunately a head collar doesn't work with a muzzle, but as you are controlling the head a muzzle may not be needed (depending on the situation). Use a muzzle if close proximity to other dogs can't be avoided. Some owners don't help and still insist on coming close even when your dog is obviously upset by the proximity of another dog!
Good luck. David.

[julies]

Hi David

Totally agree with you about being wary when introducing greys to other breeds and especially about avoiding the old dominance theory however in my experience most pet dog trainers (including APDT or APBC members) have never worked with sight hounds and particularly ex-racers therefore will label them stupid or stubborn which in my view simply means the trainer can't think of anything else to use to help. Many of the grey rescues have very able, experienced trainers who have worked with the rescue's greys so I'd ask around- approach your local greyhound rescue organisation and see who they recommend .. and if its Mr Millan run a mile.
I would never suggest that you use a headcollar/halti on any dog without having a double ended lead and attaching the other end to the flat collar or a harness, our dogs can accelerate in an instance and do themselves a lot of damage with just a head collar on.

Best wishes

Julie

[Lisa]

If you need to use a muzzle and headcollar combination you can not beat the dogmatic. Sam has to have two collars on, a dogmatic, a ruffwear harness and a muzzle! Its like taking Lecter out and the reason he is still here. The Dogmatic to me sits more comfortably than a head collar and the loop comes easily through the bottom of the muzzle (dont use the leather its still get the material one). Sam is a bit of a freak entity though as he can dislocate his shoulders and escapes anything including half a foot open sunroofs on cars, half open car windows and get under 8inches of gate Bit of a novelty considering he is 29inches to the shoulder ;D In total he saw three behaviourists just for the novelty factor I think, all three handed him back and wished me luck! He has been with us 6 years in January since just 12mnths old but sadly he has an eyesight problem also that mean the rods and cones are dying at the back of his eyes making him more aggresive and volitile so instead of getting back he gets erm even more of a pleasure to deal with NOT! I often think when he does eventually go totally blind as he is now night blind my life will improve 10 fold bless him!