Brandiandwe

Yep, my greys recognise other greys, and my prey driven, leash reactive two are much better with whippets and Iggies than other breeds. Actually an elderly and frail Iggie is one of the only small dogs Paige never tried to eat. Even a wolfhound was fine, except Brandi hid behind me. Any other breed, all bets are off, or they ignore of react to energy level. I'd love them to meet other sighthounds and see.

Can I also say that I have people asking if my dogs are aggressive or if they'll bite while patting them? I can understand beforehand, because two are muzzled, but why pat the dog before asking???? And further, if I've brought my dog in as a therapy dog, it's unlikely to be the unpredictable one......

I've had a few, but the worst was a man who was walking his dog coming towards us. We went to cross the road, he crossed first, but began screaming atbus. When he started screaming, his dog began pulling at us, getting very excited and pulling him towards us. Unfortunately, I was still poop picking, so I could only stand still, and juggle increasingly antsy greys as he screamed that my dogs are vicious, aggressive, and that he'd shoot them if they killed his cats. His dog, who was getting increasingly excited, got him close enough to trigger Brandi's protective instincts, and she ramped up enough. Seeing a bigger brindle grey begin showing what they can do seemed to make him think twice and he dragged his dog off screaming all the way. Talking to someone else, I found out that he and his son are regularly in and out of prison, that he is regularly drunk or high while out and about, and told me the house. Guess who is responsible for many if the free range cats in the area? I avoid him and his house. I also reported it to council. I'm kinda known in the area as the greyhound lady. Normal crazy I can manage. Crazy with a serve of extra unpredictability and a known history, I don't put it past possibility for further problems including attempts to bait my dogs. On the other side, there's the little Asian woman who is quite elderly and less than four foot tall. She walks laps around a park we cross. I always kept out of her way until she stopped walking to look at the dogs. She bowed, waved and moved on, but we began greeting each other and she got closer and closer. Then Hermon took matters in hand and walked straight up to her. She was pretty surprised but he rested his head up her chest and made direct eye contact with his nose touching her chin as she cradled his head. They both stayed perfectly still for a minute while the girls and I watched. She then gave him a big cuddle and stroked him, patted the girls, bowed, waved and smiled at me then we moved in. Next time, Hermon headed over and was greeted with delight and she said to me, while pointing at him, Ching Hai. I looked it up, and it's apparently a sect of Buddhism (matching an insignia on her jacket). I don't fully understand what relationship she feels it has to Hermon given our interactions are mainly sign language, smiling and good mornings, but I think she recognizes Hermon's old soul. Or she's a sucker for a handsome hound. Either way, I feel happier for having seen her each time.

We had the same issue with Brandi when Paige went out. So we got a third. Seemed obvious to me......And obviously not for everyone.

The only issue with them being in these homes, and this isn't specific to greys but to all animals in that environment, is the need for someone to be responsible for that animal. Some end up very obese because all the residents love feeding them (and, yes, Brandi has her half arrowroot biscuit each time we do a visit from one resident), but no one monitors intake, exercise, etc. So it needs to be watched. But greys are the perfect size. Brandi is the right height for pats in beds and wheelchairs, happily pops up on beds more gently than at home, and really brings people out of themselves. We do occasionally have issues if she sees the rabbits who live in the parking lot though! Edited to add that I think the grey on the Central Coast is a big black boy called King. He was most recently spotted sporting a very snazzy St Patricks Day jacket. But if Stan would enjoy it, why not give it a go?

Tricky in peak hour in Sydney though! It's odd, because I'm more used to horse floats, which are obviously bigger and heavier, so harder to forget and easier to see. But I just thought its one of those things. The Royal is on in the centre of Sydney, and through the week, whereas most dog shows are on the weekends and not right beside where thousands of commuters are trying to get to work, so there's more room for maneuver, more time and less pressure. And the M4, while it feels like my second home sometimes, is a complete b!@%&(* of a road. Just an unfortunate series of events which could have ended badly which made me think. Didn't mean to offend anyone. And, yeah, I've jack-knifed abox trailor. I've found that no-one needs to mention that smashed brake light. Ahem.

I know of two greys who have been adopted to work as therapy dogs in a home for people with mental illnesses (local to me) and at least one who lives very happily in a retirement village who has a very impressive collection of homemade coats and jackets. There has also been some talk of using them as companion therapy dogs for military and ex-military members dealing with PTSD here and elsewhere, though one of the drawbacks is the training needed and a lack of familiarity with the breed among members. And Brandi is a therapy dog who visits an elder hostel with me. Thanks for posting the link!

Majestic Collars do a spook harness which is supposed to be great for greys who are spooks which might work. Three straps around, but they are designed for sighthounds so I don't know about fit. I doubt they'd stand up to chewing either..... ETA I just checked and they will do harnesses made to measure for your dog and seem to ship to Australia.

I'm sure this doesn't apply to most people, but please, if you're driving with your trailer, especially if you're going somewhere unfamiliar, PLEASE remember that your car is effectively about twice as long as it usually is, ensure that your side mirrors give you enough vision of what's going on around you, remember that your blind spot is bigger than normal, and that all of your lights and indicators on the trailer are working. Check your route, remember that in peak hour, queues for exits off motorways do build up, and be a hyper-vigilant driver who has planned their route. This morning on the M4 I saw someone who, I think, was heading for the Sydney Royal almost merge into a car travelling beside them. There would have been enough room for the merge (just, assuming that the engine bay of the other car was included in the braking distance), but the dog trailer headed straight at the other car. The other car sounded the horn continuously (and I heard it two lanes of traffic over), but the towing car continued over, and the other car had to brake very sharply and swerve onto the shoulder to avoid the trailer. As I said, this doesn't apply to everyone, but after images of dogs loose on the M4 in peak hour as well as the rest of the mess that could have resulted, I thought it worth posting.

The right grey can certainly work. But the best results are often with cats who aren't skitty or likely to run from the hound but is likely to stand its ground.

I can't help with the training but if you go to the Greytalk website and do a search for threads on Tidbit, they tell the loooong story of a very spooky and skittish hound. It took nearly a year of living at the Magic Foster House, but the changes are documented there, so it's a story of hope, patience and eventual success.

Hi there. I'm here because I'm interested in trying this out with one of my greys. She's very prey driven, bossy and too smart for her own good, so I'm hoping that this might work for her. I'm in Sydney and have emailed the TRacking Dog Club, but is anyone else on here about who might be around? I'm hoping to get to the open day on the 28th, but would love to see some trialling as well.

Still thinking of you, little Maddy and Stan. Let me know if there's anything I can do.

Sending positive and healing thoughts. And feeling sick. My greatest fear with my greys who are so vulnerable.

I guess the question is whether the dogs attacked her (by which I mean went for her in a deliberate attempt to harm her or scare her off) or leapt at her in play/ greeting and injured her accidentally. The outcome for her is the same in either case, because she was injured unnecessarily, but for the dogs it might be the difference between being put down for being aggressive or needing more training and much better handling. Actually better handling in any case. The question for me is why were these greys not muzzled? If they were greencollared who was the assessor? The standards for rehoming greyhounds have dropped dramatically and someone needs to be held accountable. But there isn't just one group rehoming them, and we know that different people are told very different thing so some people believe greys don't need to still be muzzled, some are rehomed without any kind of discussion about their nature..... But I'd still be astonished if it was a grey who bit someone's face. Yes, it's all possible, but it seems very out of character. Maybe I've been lucky. Having said that, those muzzles can and do leave bruising. Edited to add: as a greyhound owner in the Hills, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised by a visit from council in the next little while? And make sure the vacuuming is done and laundry put away?

I guess the question is whether the dogs attacked her (by which I mean went for her in a deliberate attempt to harm her or scare her off) or leapt at her in play/ greeting and injured her accidentally. The outcome for her is the same in either case, because she was injured unnecessarily, but for the dogs it might be the difference between being put down for being aggressive or needing more training and much better handling. Actually better handling in any case.

And, TBH, I wouldn't care whether it was teeth or nails, friendly or otherwise, because of the damage done. As far as the victim is concerned, she was going about her lawful business and wound up in hospital. But it matters because if the dogs are deemed dangerous as a result, it could be a poor outcome for the dog and the breed.

I just learnt something! Would it be possible for you to try a few styles on? I've got a few spare ones you could try depending where you are (greyhound basket muzzles). Some vets and pet stores also carry them.

OK this came out wrong. If they were greys and unmuzzled, they should have been green collared. But yes to everyone else. I shouldn't post when sick obviously. I can fully imagine that damage being done by claws. Brandi is a bouncer and adores people. It's been a long hard road to stop her leaping on everyone she meets, waving her paws around and smiling. I obviously don't let her, and move out of the way, but I can imagine it happening accidentally to someone if they don't know or aren't prepared. Because the movement is upwards, not forward, it's harder to stop but doable. I hope that she's ok, and that they work out who's responsible and what really happened. It's a very different story if someone is attacked by bites to the face compared to someone meeting a quick moving claw from an over enthusiastic greeter.

I'm just hoping that if they were greys they were green collared because it's hard enough already.....

As I said, all of my greys are perfect, one is definitely physically protective of me ( and is big, brindle and muzzled) , and two alert bark. The third would sit on an intruder. But I wonder in terms of obedience and showing..... It would depend on level and motivation. The two I have done obedience with really do excel at standing stock still, looking somewhat aloof, then lying down or doing something more interesting. One is an accredited and working therapy dog, so they aren't untrainable, but if obedience is something wanting to be done competitively, a grey will be more work. It can be done, but I'd think that to be competitive, you'd want something a bit easier perhaps? For a fun activity and to bond with the dog, then a grey would be great.

I have anxiety and I love my greys. They give me a huge amount of confidence, one is very protective, two bark at strange noises at night (including DH coming home late) and all three are very happy to pin you down for love. But much as I love them, given the other requirements especially the showing and obedience, she'd need either a show bred dog, a race bred pup and, TBH, a lot of patience. I'm loving that breeds who are on my 'I want' list are making it here. A Rotti or a Dobe (which I'd never really considered before and which I'm going to check out now) would be good if she doesn't want a Lab.

I thought that one of the reasons for choosing a particular breed would be because of its characteristics, particularly it's attitude to people? As for training getting rid of undesired characteristics, my greys have the chase instinct. No amount of training, which can be measured in months, will ever entirely overcome a characteristic bred in over 100s or 1000s of generations.

See, I have greyhounds and one is an ex-racer. They would all be miserable if not with their humans. Greys are kennelled but have other greys for company. Leaving them outside, in my opinion, is risky because they will find the one pointy stick to rip themselves open, and, as you say, aren't especially biddable. Many groups also insist on greys being indoor dogs because of their lack of insulation, and mine are indoor because of the neighbourhood cats and wildlife - I really like seeing all the reptiles! :)

I'm not an expert, but I also can't see this working out. I have three dogs. They live indoors with us, and even with each other for company, me working at home 1-2 days a week and having a more independent and lower exercise need (supposedly) breed, mind still need over an hour of exercise everyday, 20-30 minutes per dog of individual attention every day, and they still miss us when we go out. Do you think you're being realistic here?