Lurchers and very small dogs

RobinHood

RobinHood

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This could be quite long, sorry.

I have a 10 month old neutered lurcher that's grown up with 3 other dogs (lurcher, lab and yorkie) and spent every day 7 til 5 on a yard with about 12 different yard dogs and visiting agility dogs, so I'd consider him well socialised.

My yard owners moved out last week along with their 4 staffies which my lurcher got on very well with. He's always known he's at the bottom of our family pecking order and he's always accepted his place at the bottom of yard pecking order.

The new yard owners have a small hairy dog, a papillon, that's 3yrs old, unneutered and always humping everything in site. It's owner is very protective of it, understandably because her last dog was killed by a german shepard infront of her. She was cautious about it socialising with my lurcher but I assured her he'd grown up with a yorkie, never ever shown any signs of agression towards another dog and knew the difference between a dog and a rabbit
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Well on saturday as usual the papillon was constantly humping my lurcher and he was starting to get irritated. He kept moving away from him and papillon's owner kept calling it off. It came back and immediately started humping again, so my dog growled and walked away. Papillon came back again, only this time when my dog growled the papillon retaliated and snapped at him. My dog shoved him onto his back and then went to walk away, but the papillon started to scream... just like a rabbit. Well my lurcher just switched and it was only thanks to my friend who was nearer than me that no damage was done.

Obviously I will never take my lurcher there again but now I'm worried about small dogs in general. We've met a couple since saturday and he's been absolutely fine as usual, but I can't imagine how awful it would be if your dog mauled someone else's. Incidently my yard owner has been very good about it and says papillon has stopped harassing the other dogs so much, but I'm still mortified.

I just wondered if any of you have ever had bad experiences of sighthounds and small dogs?
 
I have had whippets for years and my whippets used to go Hare coursing, so they knew how to kill stuff. On several occasions they charged up to small dogs only to veer away at the last minute when they realised it was a dog and not something to kill.

I doubt your dog would have actually killed the Papillon, you would be surprised how much horrible noise dogs make when they are having a scrap only to find that no blood has been spilled.
 
Not sighthounds but I agree with Tracey, some dog scraps sound a lot worse than they really are - I bet there was no broken skin, just a bit of bodyslamming and pinning down?

I'm just back in with my two, brother and sister, they were rolling around on the ground, teeth bared, noses wrinkled, snarling, grabbing each other - but they meant no harm - when one goes too far, the other will put them in their place and I am with them, beside them, to break it up - by shouting or slapping my leg - and it's over, when I say it's done, it's done and I am sure your boy is the same.

If he is fine with other small dogs I would just put it down to him putting short stuff in his place, because it overstepped the mark despite repeated warnings - but in future, you or the other owner should be the one to sort it out - it's a risk you run when strange dogs are loose together - but it sounds like short stuff has had the wind taken out of his sails...
 
Thanks for your reply. I'm really not so sure he wouldn't have killed it. He had it in his mouth like a rag doll
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He play fights a lot with my other lurcher and also his brother who he currently lives with so I know all about the horrible noises they make whilst scraping. This really wasn't a scrap - the noise it made triggered a reaction I've never seen before. I can only hope it was a one off and he can just wear his muzzle where they are likely to be small dogs. I think a jack russel or similar would be fine, it was just the screaming reaction of this one.

Hopefully I'm worrying over nothing.
 
I think he will be fine.

If he was going to have a problem with them he would have gone for the ones you have seen since.

I think making him wear a muzzle may very well make the situation worse.
Like small dog = muzzle on will make him think he has something to worry about.
 
I know exactly what you mean but he's already used to wearing a muzzle as he's a wildlife enthusiast. Rabbiting on the farm is good, catching squirrels in the park and making small children cry is bad!

Apparently papillon has been much quieter around yard manager's dogs today which is a good thing, I just wish it wasn't my dog that had to sort him out. Out of courtesy to the owner he'll have to stay in the car whilst I'm at the yard. He showed his displeasure today by chewing the steering wheel (handbrake, gear stick and seatbelt already chewed
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If he is used to being muzzled then I would let him run with his muzzle on then - I bet they won't have much to do with each other again, and if you're worried, to an on-lead introduction and see what happens.

If it wasn't your dog, it would have been someone's, and maybe one a lot bigger and heavier and that would have done more damage.

Keeping him away from other dogs, especially ones he has been used to playing with, could heighten or create a sense of frustration.
 
I'm afraid i have to go against the others here. I've had a similar experience as you and when my lurcher turned she did attack the smaller dog (JRT).

There was my lurcher and my sisters lab and JRT. We were playing a ball game in the garden and it was getting very competitive. There was lots of barking, growling and play fighting for the ball. They all went for the ball, the lab got to it but the JRT tried to steal it, the lab told the JRT off he rolled over and then made a squealy noise and my lurcher just leaped on him and started shaking him like a rag doll. Someone managed to pull her off him but he had several cuts where the skin had been peireced and then had pulled open. I'm quite sure she would have killed him if they weren't separated.

We've since reintroduced the two dogs and they are currently curled up alseep together but my lurcher will be muzzled in any situation where i think it could happen again and we only ever play ball games with her when we are completly alone as it really gets her blood up.

I think your idea of muzzling yours when around the humping dog is a good one, especially as on a yard i'd imagine you can't keep an eye on them at all times.

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Unfortunately there's no way the yard owner will allow him back on the yard so he now has to wait in the car. He showed his displeasure yesterday by chewing the steering wheel so there's another use for the muzzle... In 4 weeks time we go back home for easter and then I've only got one term left at uni so it's not a long term thing. He's more than welcome where I have my horses at home and he comes with me to work every day on a yard. I understand it is someone's home and it's good of them to allow other people's dogs in the first place.
 
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