Comparing Behaviors

[Guest gurehaundo]

The other day I was thinking about the differences between Ace and Jac. While Ace actually went to racing school, Jac supposedly never left the farm. Ace walks perfectly on a leash, Jac is a backwards-walking disaster. Ace does well in a crate, but so does Jac. I'd say that Jac would rather hang out on a dog bed instead of being put in a crate, though. Ace does what he's told (ex: "Go outside", "Go to bed", "Move", "Let's go", etc.). Jac, on the other hand, will go outside most of the time if you tell him to, but he's usually the one running to my bedroom when I open the door (like it's just too darn cold outside for him at that moment). Jac will "go to bed", but that's probably because "Go to bed" means "I'm going to work so you have to hang out with Dad in the bedroom, and you'll get a cookie." If there's no cookie, then Jac will just look at you as if you've lost your mind. If Hajii (my husband) is cooking something in the kitchen, Jac will plop himself down on the rug and refuse to get up. Telling him to move does nothing. Jac is also known as our kitchen roundabout. Ace won't lay down in the kitchen, but will stand in the way. If we tell him to move, then he'll exit the kitchen and stand just outside of it. During walks we sometimes have to tell the dogs "Let's go!" to keep them moving. All of the dogs know what this means, but Jac... Well, I'm not sure he really cares to know what it means. Jac will just grin at you as if to say, "Nah! YOU go first!"

 

Jac is a very funny dog. The boy snorts, breathes through his mouth when he's sleeping, and seriously seems to dislike standing up - he'll lay down anywhere! Jac is also super sweet and cuddly. He taught himself how to get on the couch and human beds, and he never rips up anything. I don't think he can be bothered to put forth the effort to be destructive. Jac doesn't play with the other dogs. Oh, I adopted Jac when he was about four months shy of his third birthday. He's now four years old.

 

Ace is also a goofy boy, but he's a bit more elegant in his behaviors than Jac. Ace will not lay down just anywhere. He doesn't roach and is a silent sleeper. Ace does the whole face-rubbing thing on you to show you how much he loves you. Ok, he could just have an itchy face. I had to teach Ace how to get on the couch. Interestingly, he refuses to get on the human beds. Ace has ripped up a few things, mostly bed sheets. He loves to play with Gus and Six Pac even though his size just makes him look awkward. Ace was just over three years old when he adopted us. He is now six years old.

 

Another observation that I made, and it's probably anthropomorphizing the boys, but it seems that Jac loves to make people laugh while Ace doesn't seem to care one way or the other. Jac will watch you to see what kind of reaction you have to whatever it is that he's doing. It's weird.

 

After I started thinking about the differences between Ace and Jac, I began to wonder if whether leaving the farm (or not) makes a difference in a Greyhound's behaviors. It might be safe to assume that Ace's leash manners are a result of going to school, but does that mean that Jac was most likely never walked while living at the farm? Did Jac not have any rules at the farm, and was he just let loose to run and play with his family? I wonder if Jac was even crated. Ace is a creature of habit and routine. Jac is ok with whatever and doesn't seem to have a schedule.

 

If the boys were human men, I could see Ace being the business-suit-wearing-going-out-only-for-martinis-after-work kind of guy. Jac would be the messy-haired freelance artist who would only wear shorts and a tank top along with a pair of flip-flops. Jac would spend most of his time on the beach making girls laugh. Ace would be professional during the day, but more relaxed at night (after a couple of drinks).

 

Ace and Jac are similar in a lot of ways, but their differences are quite amusing to me. How do your hounds differ from one another?

 

Edited to add: I corrected Jac's age.

Edited January 26, 2010 by gurehaundo

[greysmom]

Ah, a classic case in the on-going discussion of nature vs nurture! Some of what your describing could be due to genetic differences in their personalities, and some in how they were brought up. A grey that goes to training school and racing, even if they flunk out early, is going to have a different perspective on living than one who never experienced that day-to-day discipline.

 

All four of mine are very different and I wouldn't have it any other way!

[Guest Swifthounds]

The raced vs. unraced persoanilty quirks are a sort of chicken and the egg question for me. I have a silly, goofy boy who made it to training, but never racing - he's 4.5. I have a female who raced her heart out and finally won a maiden, raced a bit more, and then washed out - she's almost 4. I've often wondered if they didn't race Blitzen because of his silliness, or whether he just never had the structure of the track.