Thinking About Giving Greyhound Up + Aggression Issues

[Guest SusanP]

Some thoughts: There are no "perfect" dogs any more than there are "perfect" people. There needs to be commitment, and relationships take work--human-human and human-dog. With each of our 5 greyhounds, there have been issues, mostly in the first year, but everything worked out in the end. Our old broodie Simon nipped my dd on the face a couple of times very early on--even though dd was only sitting there, a couple of feet away, talking softly to Simon. But after several months, when Simon relaxed, they were the best of friends, though for her whole life (she died at 11) no one could *ever* put their face close to Simon when she was lying down, though she welcomed tummy rubs from a decent distance. That's just what she needed, and it didn't mean she wasn't a wonderful dog, beloved by our whole family. Dr. Doug nipped my son in a sleep aggression incident early on, and me many years later, but he is the sweetest, gentlest dog you'd ever meet when he's awake. We have one who is easily over-stimulated and growls frequently but has never bitten, we have one who is thunder phobic, we sometimes have stair phobias develop, etc... We work around all of these issues just as we do with the human members of our family, with the understanding that we all have our quirks. No dog, spouse or child will turn out to act just as we wish all the time. We look for the unique gifts each member of the family brings.

 

In general, greyhounds do not become "playful" in the way most dogs do. They are gentle, sensitive, loving, and lazy in most cases. I liked the suggestion that you read Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies. I own a copy of this book and love it! Always a good reference...

 

The incidents you describe do not sound terrible to me, really and truly. Your adoption group seems to understand less about dog behavior than they should. GT was the right place to come for advice, for sure!

 

You might take a fresh look at your pup and think of the things you *do* enjoy about him. They may not be the things you went into this expecting, but they may be just as good. It sounds like you have realized that you do love him...but if you have any doubts about your willingness to commit to him for his lifetime, or if you think your SO may be having issues that could cause you to think of giving up, I'd return him now, while he's still young enough to find a new home easily.