Temporary foster homes but not permanent rehoming?

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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We have a lovely natured 3 yo saluki bitch who is very, very good with children, other dogs, cats, and so on. We've spent a lot of time training her and she has good recall, and has been trained to ignore hens, sheep, etc.

However, through a horrible bizarre set of circumstances, this morning she killed one of our parrots. Now I don't blame her, she is a saluki and her instinct is to kill. She has never been allowed contact with the parrots but as I say, it was a complete freak accident. The problem is that it culminated in a snatch and grab incident and by the time I retrieved the parrot it was dead. She did give it up quickly but being 9 months' pregnant, I had very little agility or speed to catch up with her in the first place. And herein lies the problem. She is very gentle and has always been good with children, even toddlers. But after what I witnessed this morning I feel I cannot trust her around a newborn, no matter how well we supervise - as this morning proved, accidents happen. I honestly feel she will be fine when baby is bigger and walking, etc, but the possibility of her viewing a newborn as prey and grabbing him...it just doesn't bear thinking about. Some dogs don't see babies as human and they are so vulnerable.

My mum loves looking after her when we go on holiday, and I know if she had a bigger house and garden she would have her for 12 months in a shot, but she doesn't and I think it would be a huge burden. Where we are, the dogs have loads of space and exercise, and it really is a great setup for a saluki. I really don't want to have to rehome her, but looking online at foster information it all seems to be aimed at fostering prior to rehoming. I would definitely want her back... is there any reputable rescue that might help? The only other situation where temporary fostering happens seems to be in cases of domestic violence.

I know people will shoot this whole idea down, and say the dog should come first, or we should work around the situation, dog proof the house, etc. But she is a typical saluki in being a sneak, and I just feel the risk is too high. Any ideas?
 
your saluki sounds like she has a good temperament and is trainable.....so why not train her to keep away from the baby the same way you have trained her ignore hens,sheep etc....if you really feel you cant do this it would be better for her to be completely rehomed rather than fostering for a year ,getting settled and then being uprooted again and who is to say that when she came back to you she would be ok with the then toddler. sorry you are having to make a horrible decision but its only you who can decide...
 
As a mum and a (part bred) saluki owner I think you are overthinking. I am sorry about your parrot and it must have been awful.
The only time my Sash would bite a child (and she has done) is if they squeeze her. A baby can't do that. A saluki can easily avoid a toddler, which won't happen for months as baby will be immobile, and unless she is a complete psychopath she will keep away from the baby. Really, crate training and a child gate will almost certainly be fine. Salukis react to movement, not crying, they are not like terriers.
You do though have to do what is best for you and your baby and your peace of mind. I would sleep on it and think again tomorrow.
 
parrots and babies are very different. keep dog away from baby - I don't thin I have ever heard of a saluki or similar type eating a baby
 
Honestly, mine are whippets not salukis but my dog is working bred with a prey drive through the roof. I reckon if they suddenly met a parrot in the house they would have a go at it. No way would either of them ever bother a baby/child. I wouldnt trust one of mine with other peoples cats if they were to jump up and run in front of him, yet our cat is his best friend. They know the difference.
 
I am a saluki breeder and owner, and member of both our welfare society and a committee member for the national club. Please message me asap.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your parrot but as a new mother with an 8mth old I was in a similar situation. I have a working shepherd whom as a pup had a fierce prey, working drive if not being channeled. I could not do this 24/7 & as new boundaries were being laid she had free roam of outdoors with my older dog. I have chickens, who if escaped fell victim to a pup who would go after movement, isn't this their purpose. She killed one, plucked a few. My husband was terrified this may be our child. I had to explain that this was prey drive, our child would NEVER be left alone with any dog for any length of time for anything untoward to happen. We had months of discussions, should we rehome her, can I still give her the attention, stimulation she requires as a working dog. The answer was yes & she was a family member. We kept her, she was a year old when our daughter was born, laid boundaries and now she is very tolerant and accepts the baby higher in the hierarchy & loves to see her pram, walker come out as she can leave her ball for her to throw and stand and watch (currently baby sucks on ball given, gross). If you have confidence in your dog & understand that animals and babies are very different ( she will still have the odd dive at a chicken in joking) & teach that baby is higher in the hierarchy, it's harmonious and dog very protective (obviously that breed).
 
Slightly different scenario but I have a Sloughi and she is great with our 3mo and is fantastic with her, she is good with children of all ages albeit a bit over excitable but she is only just 2. Sloughi's are naturally aloof and have a strong guarding instinct as well as high prey drive which is a bit more unusual for a sight hound but she will guard the baby with her life from people she doesn't trust.

She has been raised around small animals and horse and is generally ok with them with the occasional slip up but given half the chance she would've done exactly the same as your saluki. The baby will be with you most of the time in all honesty and you can always shut the dog in a room if you need to and can't be around to supervise. No dog should ever be left alone with a child IMO.
 
I would suspect that being in the very late stages of your pregnancy, all your emotions are very heightened and I can completely understand why you feel as you do. I do think you are getting ahead of yourself though. As I think you state, your dog has been trained to be good around children and various animals but not trained around parrots, more you have avoided letting her come into contact with them, which I would think is an extremely sensible thing to do, given what a delicate fragile thing a parrot is. I dont really think there is much comparison between what happened this morning and you having a baby in the house, I wouldnt think that a Saluki would be so motivated to grab a small, fairly immobile baby as a fluttery bird. Yes, you need to be very sensible in how you manage the situation, but I would be saying that whatever breed of dog you had, its just common sense and you seem to have lots of that :) I would suggest waiting until the baby comes home and just get a bit of a feel for how the dog behaves, if you still feel really worried then I think a permanent rehome would be fairer to the dog. Maybe you could organise doggy day care for a couple of hours a week so that you can completely relax, equally a couple of hours a week where you can leave the baby with OH/parent and have some dog time, a long walk without the pram. Good luck with the birth and making the right decision for you all, not an easy one I know, but please dont rush into anything whilst you are obviously shocked and upset x
 
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