Aggression in rehomed greyhound

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Nala79

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Hi, just after some thoughts please from experienced owners, particularly of greyhounds.

We have had our dog almost 2 weeks now and she has been absolutely perfect - not put a foot wrong!

We heard today from somebody that had previously rehomed her - we weren't told she had been rehomed before, it now turns out we are her 3rd family - that she had bitten a family member on the face and drawn blood and on a separate occasion almost attacked again which is when theY returned her. She was rehomed again for a few weeks and then returned - don't know the reason just yet for this return. We also have been told she showed aggression in the kennels and was assessed for a few weeks to see if she was suitable to be rehomed again.

My husband has gone to talk to the place we got her from today to find out all the details as none were mentioned when we took her but in the meantime, what are your opinions on this please?

She has not put a foot wrong here and seems like the sweetest most well behaved dog ever!
 
Lots of greyhounds suffer from sleep startle which can result in them snapping when woken up. I've heard of bites occuring from that.

If she's been fine with you, I wouldn't be rushing to send her back. I'd be careful not to put her in a position where she feels she has to snap.

Remember greyhounds might be adults when they come to you, but they have (generally) very little experience of household goings on, this can induce a level of underlying anxiety in them.
 
So, I have been asked to come back to commnent on this thread.... I've had greyhounds since 2002, I have volunteered extensively for a couple of greyhound charities, I have picked up greyhounds literally straight out of training, I've picked up greyhounds that have been appallingly treated and abused, I've seen them in kennels, in homes, etc etc...... and I have never encountered a greyhound which has been aggressive towards people. Ever.

I'm not sure how your informant knew that information but it really doesnt sound right to me? I have been thinking this through since I was contacted about the post, and the only time I can recall any greyhound acting in a way that could be considered aggressive towards a human was my little white girl Flick - she was a starvation case when she was picked up off the streets, so she had a real food obsession when I got her 10 years ago. I hadn't had her that long when I visited my family and my father decided it would be OK to allow my niece to feed Flick some ham from the fridge - a real 'head desk' moment since he knew very well about her food obsession! - Flick went for the food with great enthusiasm, and my niece got a little nip in passing. That is genuinely the only incident I can recall. So people do act in stupid ways with dogs which can cause a reaction, but that doesn't mean the dog is aggressive, it could be startled, in pain, hurt etc

I will be interested to find out what the rescue organisation say to your husband. My only thought was whether she is a pure greyhound, with ear tattoos? Lurchers are a very very different proposition to greyhounds, however much they can look like them :)
 
I haven't got greyhounds but I have lurchers, and for big dogs they are very easily hurt and are not a childrens pets. Yes the are quiet, but they like their space, my kids taught from being very small to leave them a lone. They slope off and find a quiet corner or go and lie down the back of the sofa. They are sneaks because they know they would lose a fight.
They only want you when they want your sofa, and the majority of their life is spent loafing. They want the best spot, and if they want to be with you its us only to check you haven't got anything they can cadge.
I would keep her away from strangers and muzzle if you can not control the situation.
 
It depends on the lurchers breeding. There are many different types of lurchers, I’ve owned whippet/beddys, saluki/greyhounds, i’ve never owned a Lurcher with collie blood though & in my limited experience they can be sharper.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Dogs do react to the way they are handled. Maybe she doesn't like having someone's face close to hers, or having her ears played with, or something else. If you haven't seen a problem, I would just continue as you are doing.
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I agree completely with this. Our new boy will let you use him as a pillow and is totally fine with being close and hugged. Our girl is fine with everything except for having your head resting anywhere near her and will let out a mini growl to tell you. Without further information from the previous homes I'd suspect someone over-stepped a boundary.
 
honetpot said:
I haven't got greyhounds but I have lurchers, and for big dogs they are very easily hurt and are not a childrens pets. Yes the are quiet, but they like their space, my kids taught from being very small to leave them a lone. They slope off and find a quiet corner or go and lie down the back of the sofa. They are sneaks because they know they would lose a fight.
They only want you when they want your sofa, and the majority of their life is spent loafing. They want the best spot, and if they want to be with you its us only to check you haven't got anything they can cadge.
I would keep her away from strangers and muzzle if you can not control the situation.
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Blazingsaddles said:
It depends on the lurchers breeding. There are many different types of lurchers, I’ve owned whippet/beddys, saluki/greyhounds, i’ve never owned a Lurcher with collie blood though & in my limited experience they can be sharper.
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Hmm, deed not breed (or type) is screaming to be said.
My last lurcher could not give two hoots for being manhandled and she was very much a one person dog, if I was there she was happy with anything. The current one loves a fuss on her terms but does not like faces near her, she looks uncomfortable and moves away-i make sure people respect her comfort.zone (as with all dogs), current one does not like her back end being touched when she is asleep and erupts, to date with no bite attached. Occasionally the other house dog or current puppy touches her when she is sleeping but it's rare and we are careful too.
I would only have her living in a house with young kids if she slept in a secure crate, awake she loves kids as my other lurchers have.
OP I have had my current lurcher for almost three and a half years and it was less than a year ago that her quirks with being touched when sleeping came to light, she had always had her own place to sleep till I moved so she had never been touched when asleep before.
Personally I would assess and deal with the dog in front of me if there were no young kids involved. You have no idea what position she was put in that made her 'bite'.
 
Does ANYONE like other people they don't know that well, sticking their faces in close, unbidden? ;) I'd probably bite too.
PS same issue goes for cameras. The dog doesn't automatically know you want a nice cute picture, some just see a weird object being shoved in their face.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Does ANYONE like other people they don't know that well, sticking their faces in close, unbidden? ;) I'd probably bite too.
PS same issue goes for cameras. The dog doesn't automatically know you want a nice cute picture, some just see a weird object being shoved in their face.
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I don't get the whole (not on this thread) removing the dogs food bowl, to show you can. I would definitely bite if someone moved my dinner.

What did the rehome place say, OP?
 
We seem to be chatting to ourselves about this issue. Do you think the OP will be back with an update.
I agree with you Clodagh about taking food away. I actually think mine would let me and just look confused! But I don’t do it.
I don’t allow possessiveness of things though but hardly get any trouble with it in my breed.
 
I'd just end up with food everywhere, both of mine are a) smart and b) very tactile with their paws and would just bat the bowl out of my hands. It's easier to start with an empty bowl and add food, far less confrontational....

My bugbear is boarding kennels taking pictures of dogs eating, at face level with dog. I explicitly asked for this not to be done once and found a picture of my dog on Facebook giving some serious side-eye to the camera a few days later.
 
I can take Aled’s food away, which is strange considering he would have my hand off over a peice of paper! I don’t make a habit of taking his bowl off him I will add, just have on a couple of occasions when I’ve forgotten to put his meds in.
 
I have dogs here that push their heads up around your neck and under your chin seemingly just for the physical contact.
My new pup does it too, but that's them coming into my space not th other wy round and I don't kiss or higher dogs heads or wrap my arms around them.
As for the food thing, feed the dog and leave it alone, I have never understood the whole taking food from a dog thing, adding food yes but removing it nope.
I doubt it would be an issue with my lot but don't see what there is to gain by trying it, as long as I can call them off dead stuff they find that's great.
 
Levrier said:
So, I have been asked to come back to commnent on this thread.... I've had greyhounds since 2002, I have volunteered extensively for a couple of greyhound charities, I have picked up greyhounds literally straight out of training, I've picked up greyhounds that have been appallingly treated and abused, I've seen them in kennels, in homes, etc etc...... and I have never encountered a greyhound which has been aggressive towards people. Ever.

I'm not sure how your informant knew that information but it really doesnt sound right to me? I have been thinking this through since I was contacted about the post, and the only time I can recall any greyhound acting in a way that could be considered aggressive towards a human was my little white girl Flick - she was a starvation case when she was picked up off the streets, so she had a real food obsession when I got her 10 years ago. I hadn't had her that long when I visited my family and my father decided it would be OK to allow my niece to feed Flick some ham from the fridge - a real 'head desk' moment since he knew very well about her food obsession! - Flick went for the food with great enthusiasm, and my niece got a little nip in passing. That is genuinely the only incident I can recall. So people do act in stupid ways with dogs which can cause a reaction, but that doesn't mean the dog is aggressive, it could be startled, in pain, hurt etc

I will be interested to find out what the rescue organisation say to your husband. My only thought was whether she is a pure greyhound, with ear tattoos? Lurchers are a very very different proposition to greyhounds, however much they can look like them :)
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Thank you for your reply, she is a pure greyhound with ear tattoos, the rescue said she was returned the 2nd time for biting a child in the home. To be honest we don't know what to think, it's all so confusing and unexpected - thank you again.
 
i have had 2 border collie/whippets and they were not at all sharp, easiest dogs to train IMO, this was my first one, an amazingly gentle, responsive dog..P1010589.JPG
 
We have two greyhounds, and also help out on occasion at the rescue we got ours from so we've got some experience.

I'd want to know more details where the child was concerned. One of ours startles easily when asleep and whilst he hasn't ever bitten anyone, if someone surprised him whilst he was sleeping I wouldn't put it past him to nip. Likewise our other boy is led by his tummy and has to be muzzled if we have a BBQ with small kids around...he would never mean to bite but he has tunnel vision when it comes to food and is rather enthusiastic if anything tasty happens to be at his height.
 
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