Calling All Greyhound Owners: Greyhounds and Birds

[WillowNMurphy]

Hi all,
It's been a long time since I've been on the Avenue, I'm now about to be married (less than 2 weeks!!) and have my own place.
I still have Murphy and my husband-to-be and I are wanting a child asap, and talking about getting more pets a few years after that.

We want to get a dog once our baby is in preschool (we're looking at being one and done), so I have plenty of time for the dog and so our child will be old enough to start understanding how to treat animals. I'd love to adopt a greyhound, there's so many for adoption in my state and they're really a hidden gem. I'd obviously not have the dog inside when Murphy is inside and keep them both as separated as possible, especially in the early days.

My question is: how are your greyhounds around birds?

At the end of the day I know it's up to the individual dog but I want to see everyone else's experiences with greyhounds and birds!
Thanks in advance <3

 

[Shezbug]

I had a whippet (passed away about 3years ago), greyhounds and whippets are sighthounds and have the natural instinct to chase down anything that moves fast- I found fluffy and feathered things were a real hassle for my dog to ignore as was anything moving at a decent speed.


It’s going to be a challenge with whatever dog you get so as long as you have safe designated areas and free time in place for all animals and children I’m sure it will be fine if managed well.

I know of a few families who adopted greyhounds and totally regretted listening to the happy stories as their experiences with kids and pets were pretty horrific, the people I know of who suffered the most were farm people experienced with various animals but they had constant behaviour issues with cars, other pets and even their playing children being chased down- in one day they had their dog pens/runs busted up so their rescue could get out and terrorise their other animals, they lost most of their beloved pets and hobby farm animals (including some very young infants), all their poultry destroyed, some of their hobby goats and sheep destroyed or damaged and they also owed their neighbours a fair bit of money for a smaller heard of sheep that were chased through fencing and those caught were chewed on.

There are obvious success stories out there, these are what we usually hear- we have some members on the site with many rescue greyhounds.
Just always remember that rescues have an unknown past and can be triggered by previous training you weren’t aware of etc. so always have multiple protections in place for all living beings at your home.

 

[WillowNMurphy]

I had a whippet (passed away about 3years ago), greyhounds and whippets are sighthounds and have the natural instinct to chase down anything that moves fast- I found fluffy and feathered things were a real hassle for my dog to ignore as was anything moving at a decent speed.


It’s going to be a challenge with whatever dog you get so as long as you have safe designated areas and free time in place for all animals and children I’m sure it will be fine if managed well.

I know of a few families who adopted greyhounds and totally regretted listening to the happy stories as their experiences with kids and pets were pretty horrific, the people I know of who suffered the most were farm people experienced with various animals but they had constant behaviour issues with cars, other pets and even their playing children being chased down- in one day they had their dog pens/runs busted up so their rescue could get out and terrorise their other animals, they lost most of their beloved pets and hobby farm animals (including some very young infants), all their poultry destroyed, some of their hobby goats and sheep destroyed or damaged and they also owed their neighbours a fair bit of money for a smaller heard of sheep that were chased through fencing and those caught were chewed on.

There are obvious success stories out there, these are what we usually hear- we have some members on the site with many rescue greyhounds.
Just always remember that rescues have an unknown past and can be triggered by previous training you weren’t aware of etc. so always have multiple protections in place for all living beings at your home.

thank you! yeah, that's why im researching now, because i want to figure out how itd work and i can't find many real experiences just the romanticised versions of "my bird and greyhound are best buddies", which frankly scares me. I've had friends who have greyhounds or whippets and theyve been fine with their birds but it definitely varies from dog to dog. We're hoping to foster so we have an idea of temperament and if it's just too hard, we'll let them be adopted. But if they fit in with our family we'd foster fail. I'm trying to listen to all experiences because my partner doesn't really think of that kind of thing haha.

 

[flyzipper]

Pepper was a retired racing greyhound and I was fortunate that her prey drive was non-existent (she didn't chase squirrels outside, or birds inside, but I still didn't push my luck by relying on that). I remember going to visit potential dogs in the kennel and when the doors opened, most of the dogs erupted with barks and excitement, but Pepper was very chill (I knew right away that we'd get along). I still have a scar on the back of my hand from another greyhound that I met during that visit -- in her excitement, she accidently slashed me with a very-sharp dew claw when she jumped up to greet me. A nice dog, but not what I was looking for.

Pepper's best canine friend was a Petit Brabançon (Brussels Griffon) who weighs less than 10lbs and we were very nervous about their introduction because the smaller dog's parent had a different friend who lost their toy dog to a greyhound who ripped it apart in an off-leash dog park. I was always very nervous at dog parks and tended to avoid them. Even without a prey drive, greyhounds are annoying to other dogs because the slower dogs can't get away, and greyhounds are skilled in tripping their "prey" by taking out their back legs -- causing a high speed spill. I preferred going to greyhound-only runs, where size and speed was roughly equal, and muzzles were mandatory.

My first greyhound, Vienna, was adept at killing squirrels.

Even though I love the breed, I'm enjoying the freedom and relative lack of stress that comes with only having birds.

At the end of the day I know it's up to the individual dog

That's the start and the end of things really

​

 

[Shezbug]

You may find @fluffypoptarts dog thread interesting and helpful... The Backstory of Our Dogs Sad Update Post #211

 

[Shannan]

I absolutely adore greyhounds and my friends did greyhound rescue. I also have had breeds that were not supposed to get along with birds and so I am always willing to look at the individual. (had a wolf hybrid that was actually afraid of the bird) That being said, I don't have a greyhound because they are so fast and have such a high prey drive that any problem would be over before you got a chance to react. Also greyhounds generally do not do well in weather extremes so no throwing them out in the yard for a couple of hours while the bird comes out to play is not an option. The other thing about greyhounds is that they are extremely thin skinned and very stoic. Toddler's are not always careful. I would love a greyhound but with Walter and my cats, I have opted to go love on my friends greyhound whenever I get the urge. That being said, if you do have your mind set, I would work with a rescue, take your time, and put into place all of the protections (remember young children are not good about closing doors or gates). Make sure you have the fortitude to send a dog back to the rescue if it is not working out. My parents did not have that fortitude and the rescue took advantage of them and they were stuck with a dog that did not suit them and will never do a greyhound again, despite the fact that they are an ideal situation for the right one. Twice in 40 years have the dogs gotten close enough to hurt Walter. One time, we were lucky (dachshund). A minute later and it would have been the end. The other time was with a beagle/ spitz mutt and they could have played all day and nothing would have happened. Same with cats so just plan carefully, carefully choose the right dog, and hope for the best.

 

[macawpower58]

The biggest problem I see is that Greyhounds have been bred for one thing, and that's coursing, or chasing something full speed in order to catch it.
That genetic desire to chase and catch is a no win situation for most small, quick moving animals.

There is always that one dog that does fine.
But betting your bird's life on the chance that you get that one dog is not the best plan IMO.

Only you know if you're able to properly keep dog and bird separate at all times.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I adore greyhounds. They are fantastic dogs.

However, I would not trust any predatory animal with a prey animal (so no birdy-dog interactions), and we keep our birds and dogs separated at all times. I would especially not trust a sighthound. The dogs and the birds stay in separate areas of the house with closed doors between them.

Honestly the only thing I dislike about greyhounds is that they are a big danger to little creatures, even cats and some small dogs (more greyhounds are safe with small dogs, especially if the small dog is another sighthound as in our house). We are forever on yard patrol to try to prevent any incidents and the wild critters don’t seem to understand how fast these dogs are. Thankfully our biggest concern is possums right now, who play dead the minute the dogs come after them and are thus no longer interesting to the dogs. So one of us then picks up and holds the little possum until the dogs are back inside.

So only get a greyhound if you can achieve that separation and caution in your household. You definitely can’t leave a greyhound out in the yard for any period of time because as a previous poster said, they are indeed vulnerable to temperature extremes. Even after 10 minutes outside in this heat our dogs are panting and to get back in the house.

Oh and yes, you’ll get to know your vet very well after he’s had to staple/stitch your thin-skinned dog up a few times! My wife has learned how to clean and staple wounds, but sometimes they need real stitches. My oldest boy just had stitches between his toes because he somehow tore the webbing really badly.