Greyhounds And Young Children.

[Guest Amba1027]

Update: After a few discussions my boyfriend agreed to getting a greyhound now instead of waiting til we've been in our new house for a year. So I did some searching and came up with a few rescues that will adopt to homes with young children. We picked one and sent in the application yesterday. We are also going to a Meet and Greet they are having this weekend. Unfortunately we won't have my boyfriend's son with us (he goes back to his mom on Thursday) but I think he will do well with a dog in the house. He is very good at being gentle with the cats and leaves them alone if they want to be left alone. I hope I hear from the rescue soon. I am so excited!

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

Congratulations! That is so awesome! I am probably a terrible example, because I have a Greyhound, a small dog and a 5 year old, but they can all live happily together! I have introduced several Greys and kids. Supervision and appropriate expectations are key. At first, keep the interaction short. I always tell my son that he can give the dog a few quick pets until they get to know him. Then he can pet the dog longer. It's cute cause he asks me everyday if the dog knows him now.

 

Good luck and post a picture of your new doggie!

 

Here's my son when he was about 3 with my bridge pup, Ella. He was telling her about his phone and you could tell, she was very interested, haha! She was so sweet!

 

Edited August 29, 2012 by 2dogs4cats

[Guest SparrowLake]

We are preparing to adopt a retired Greyhound in the next few months from a kennel. In preparation, we have been reading anything and everything we can get our hands on. Some of the information that we read that describes interaction between Greyhounds and children/pets worries me. It is difficult for me to assess the likelihood of there being a conflict.

 

We have three children ages 11, 9 and 5, including a 15 pound Maltese. Everyone is very loving and well behaved.

 

What are the chances that we encounter issues? What percentage of people with children had a very positive experience? Have all of your Greyhounds exhibited sleep, toy, food aggression from day one? Do these issues subside with training?

[OwnedBySummer]

Something nobody has mentioned... your step-son will soon be turning 5 and presumably will be in school full-time. So his 1-week-a-month visits will be stopped and his visits will be much less frequent.

 

Re exposing him to dogs: M&G's are great. You can also take him to local dog events or even spend some time in PetSmart -- there's always dogs to pat there and most people, I find, are pretty happy to introduce their dog to strangers. Just make sure you actually pick friendly, calm dogs, LOL!

 

Re timidness in greyhounds: Not the norm here in Canada, either. But then, we get all our hounds pretty much from the US. We always laugh at how friendly they are and how they are more than happy to be petted by anyone. I often joke and pretend to hand the leash over when Summer is loving heavily on someone. And heaven forbid that I try to walk past a senior citizen! -- she will pull hard to get to them. Mind you, I do understand that -- 2 years of therapy dog work in nursing homes has taught her to greet all old people.

Edited August 31, 2012 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

We are preparing to adopt a retired Greyhound in the next few months from a kennel. In preparation, we have been reading anything and everything we can get our hands on. Some of the information that we read that describes interaction between Greyhounds and children/pets worries me. It is difficult for me to assess the likelihood of there being a conflict.

 

We have three children ages 11, 9 and 5, including a 15 pound Maltese. Everyone is very loving and well behaved.

 

What are the chances that we encounter issues? What percentage of people with children had a very positive experience? Have all of your Greyhounds exhibited sleep, toy, food aggression from day one? Do these issues subside with training?

 

I have had 4 GHs and babysat for several and I can say NONE of them exhibited any kind of aggression. My opinion is that these behavior issues are in the minority, but if you read this forum, you would think it happens all the time. It's just that people who are posting are seeking help. There are many without behavior problems and sometimes behavior problems stem from owners or environment.

 

I think you have to be realisitic about what type of household you have and what you are looking for in a dog. ANY dog will have it's limit. If your household is loud, rough and tumble, a GH may not be a good fit. I think GHs in general tend to like a calm environment without a lot of yelling, running etc. However there are some that would do fine with it. Hopefully there is an experienced rescue that will pick a dog that will fit your household. Good luck! I have had GHs in my house for over 10 years and I just love them!

[Guest SparrowLake]

We are preparing to adopt a retired Greyhound in the next few months from a kennel. In preparation, we have been reading anything and everything we can get our hands on. Some of the information that we read that describes interaction between Greyhounds and children/pets worries me. It is difficult for me to assess the likelihood of there being a conflict.

 

We have three children ages 11, 9 and 5, including a 15 pound Maltese. Everyone is very loving and well behaved.

 

What are the chances that we encounter issues? What percentage of people with children had a very positive experience? Have all of your Greyhounds exhibited sleep, toy, food aggression from day one? Do these issues subside with training?

 

I have had 4 GHs and babysat for several and I can say NONE of them exhibited any kind of aggression. My opinion is that these behavior issues are in the minority, but if you read this forum, you would think it happens all the time. It's just that people who are posting are seeking help. There are many without behavior problems and sometimes behavior problems stem from owners or environment.

 

I think you have to be realisitic about what type of household you have and what you are looking for in a dog. ANY dog will have it's limit. If your household is loud, rough and tumble, a GH may not be a good fit. I think GHs in general tend to like a calm environment without a lot of yelling, running etc. However there are some that would do fine with it. Hopefully there is an experienced rescue that will pick a dog that will fit your household. Good luck! I have had GHs in my house for over 10 years and I just love them!

[Guest SparrowLake]

Thank you for your feedback Mary. Getting a balanced perspective is really helpful.

 

One other concern that I have frequently read about is housebreaking. It seems that the Greyhounds have extremely sensitive digestive systems and as a result have very runny or soft stools, and frequent accidents. Is this typical initially after adoption but improve with time? I have read about peeing in the house, and peeing and soiling in their crates as well.

 

[Feisty49]

Thank you for your feedback Mary. Getting a balanced perspective is really helpful.

 

One other concern that I have frequently read about is housebreaking. It seems that the Greyhounds have extremely sensitive digestive systems and as a result have very runny or soft stools, and frequent accidents. Is this typical initially after adoption but improve with time? I have read about peeing in the house, and peeing and soiling in their crates as well.

 

I can only answer for my girl, Annie Bella. I adopted her July 2011. She has never once peed in the house. In the first week or so after adoption, she did poo twice, in a room that is used only for storage, and her "accidents" were entirely my fault because I was ignorant of her signals for having to go. Once I got it -- even old humans can be taught new tricks -- there were no more poos in the house.

 

Annie Bella *hated* her crate but for the first few days after adoption, I did crate her when I left the house. She did not soil her crate. After three days, I stopped crating her, though I left the crate up with the door open for another two weeks, and there was never a problem other than the two times mentioned above.

 

I have many friends who have Greyhounds and none of them have ever had issues with frequent accidents in the house after adoption. There may have been a learning curve but the curve wasn't longer than a week or 10 days.

 

Regarding soft stools or diarrhea: Yah, it seems like that topic is always talked about but that's because there are few posts that talk about bouncy/normal poos. Annie Bella does have some issues with 'normal' stools. They seldom bounce, so to speak, but after some experimentation with food and shaved beet pulp, they are formed. I think a lot of Greys have the best poos first thing in the morning with a deterioration in the consistency as the day goes on. Annie Bella poops 2 to 3 times a day, and the last one, about 6 PM, is much softer than the 6 AM poo. Whatever the consistency, though, she has never gone in the house except for the two incidences mentioned above.

 

I think that if I had read this forum before adopting my girl, I might not have adopted her, even though I had wanted a Greyhound for over 15 years, just because it seems there are many problems. I know, though, because I've read some other forums, that every breed seems to have issues that their parents worry about. These types of forums are often the sounding board for people with questions and problems, but if you do a lot of reading, you'll see that there are many of us who have Greys with no issues at all.

[Guest SparrowLake]

That's wonderful and so positive. Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful in balancing out my perspective.

[Guest OPointyDog]

We have only had our grey for 5 months now, and she's remarkably adaptable and friendly with all people - she particularly loves kids and will stand patiently and quietly while small kids pet her. She doesn't jump or lick around them - she's very calm with kids. Like Summer, she seems to be offended when anyone goes by on a walk and doesn't pet her. We don't have children in our house, but she seems to know that she has to be calm around them anyway. I would never leave her with a child unsupervised, because you just never know, but I don't worry about her around them in general. She came that way - we didn't do any training with her with kids.

 

Regarding the poo - ours does have on-and-off soft stools, which we're still trying to sort out and find the right food. But she has never, not once, from day one, ever had an accident in the house. We do crate her when we're not home, since she has been known to chew on magazines and books. She seems happy in her crate and will even go lie in there sometimes on her own. We make sure it's comfy and she can see us from the crate, and she just seems to regard it as her place. We're gradually leaving her for longer times out of her crate unsupervised, but she likes it so much we may just stay with it when we're at work.

[Guest SparrowLake]

Thanks! That is great that things are going so well!

Did you do a stool sample after you adopted? I am wondering if this would be common practice to check for parasites since they are coming from the kennels?

[Guest OPointyDog]

Yes, absolutely you should have a recently adopted dog screened for parasites, as I think it's not so uncommon for them to pick them up at the kennel or on the transport. Zoe had hookworms, as did apparently about 40% of the dogs on her transport. She had two rounds of dewormer and has been retested twice and so far still negative.

 

I think a visit with your vet in the first week you get a new hound is common practice, just so you can get the dog checked out. Our vet found the worms and also picked up on the issue with Zoe's leg. She broke it racing, and the owners had surgery done to put in a pin and spring to repair the break. The pin either came out or was misplaced, and was irritating her tendon, so 6 months post-op, she was still pretty lame when we got her, and our vet felt she should have made more progress and referred us to an orthopedic specialist. She had surgery again shortly after we got her (which our fabulous adoption group paid for) and she's healed so well that most people now can't even tell that anything was wrong. We knew when we adopted her that her leg had been broken, so that part wasn't a surprise. I think the complications she had were fairly unusual, but fortunately she's doing well.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

Thank you for your feedback Mary. Getting a balanced perspective is really helpful.

 

One other concern that I have frequently read about is housebreaking. It seems that the Greyhounds have extremely sensitive digestive systems and as a result have very runny or soft stools, and frequent accidents. Is this typical initially after adoption but improve with time? I have read about peeing in the house, and peeing and soiling in their crates as well.

 

I think that GHs are very easy to housebreak. I have had other breeds and definitely the GHs are easy. Most come to you somewhat housebroken and some fully housebroken depending on where they come from. As someone else said, sometimes their cues are subtle, but I know now if they get up and give me "the eye", they have to go out. When they go in their crate, it's probably either a medical problem or SA. I think every dog (not just GHs) has their degree of need for company and it varies widely. I had a GH that had been returned for SA and after a few months, he was fine here. I do have the luxury of working from home, so the dogs get a lot of company around here. I pretty much ignored the whining etc when I did go out and it progressively got better. I think it was because I was home so much of the time though that he figured out I would be back soon. Then my girl Ella probably could have cared less if I was home at all. Actually my maltese mix is the neediest of all the dogs I have had.

 

I think that research goes a long way and knowing how to handle situations before they arise. If you can head off a problem in the beginning, it goes a long way. I usually give my new dogs plenty of space when they arrive, I don't baby them or give them too much attention in the beginning. I think they are more comfortable taking their own time to adjust. It can be hard with kids because they always want to pet the new dog, play with them and hug them etc. It can be scary and overwhelming for the dog. To me, the very beginning is important for how the dog settles in. Once the trust is established, GHs are big snugglers. I am sure you have seen the pics of people snuggled in their bed with their GH.

[Guest Jacks_Human]

Jack, who came from Ireland (which is not a nice place to be a greyhound), has always been great with kids, even though he used to be terrified of men (and most women as well). My theory is that since he was never hurt by a kid, he didn't have any bad associations. Before me, Jack had been adopted to a home with two children under 5, and apparently did wonderfully with them (he was returned because the woman decided she didn't want to deal with the bother of building up Jack's weight, etc...charming).

The rescue group I got him from apparently does take extra time with families with little ones to make sure they are placed with an exceptionally tolerant greyhound.

 

Most US greyhounds are not shy or fearful at all, though, unlike many Galgos. The vast majority are very friendly and have had very happy lives and love all people.

I think this is true for the majority of dogs bred in Scotland and England as well. They have often spent time with the trainers' families, and may have met children previously.

However, I am amazed by the resilience of many dogs who came from places like Spain and Ireland, and love their humans even though they were badly treated.

 

Why not start by taking the young lad to some Meet & Greets?

Great idea. When I went to a few before I adopted, people had brought their kids along. The dogs seemed rather bemused by the whole thing, since they just wanted to lounge and the kids wanted to race around like loonies

 

One other concern that I have frequently read about is housebreaking. It seems that the Greyhounds have extremely sensitive digestive systems and as a result have very runny or soft stools, and frequent accidents. Is this typical initially after adoption but improve with time? I have read about peeing in the house, and peeing and soiling in their crates as well.

I think they're as easy to housebreak as any dog-- the US-bred hounds may be even easier, since they're used to not soiling in their crates, and waiting for their humans to take them out for potty time.

Jack had somewhat runny poop for the first day or so after I adopted him, while he was adjusting, but I weaned him onto his new food and he was just fine afterwards. He seems to have an iron stomach, and will eat all manner of strange or gross things unless I stop him. (His greyhound buddies from the dog park are just as bad, and also seem to have pretty strong stomachs-- maybe it's an Irish dog thing?).

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

We brought our first Greyhound home when our daughter was 5 years old, we had found a group willing to find us a greyhound who would be ok with a child and 3 cats. our daughter had grown up with dogs (jack russels,and an american Staffordshire terrier,) and she knew that she could not be rough and jump on the dog or pull at it she knew not to touch the dogs food or touch the dog when sleeping ( she did learn if you call the dog until it wakes up and walks over it was ok to pet the dog).

 

You need to work with the child to understand appropriate behavior around dogs and how to properly greet the dog, he needs to understand not to bother the dogs when you say so and many things like that.

 

many racing greyhounds are raised on farms who have kids around and are not bothered by the quick movements and funny sounds they can make. Just speak to the group and work with them so you can find the right dog for your house hold.

[philospher77]

The reason that my adoption group gives on why they do not adopt to families with young children has nothing to do with aggression, but I do think needs to be considered. And that is that a small child, who happens to be standing in the wrong place when a 60 pound dog goes flying by at 30+ miles an hour, doesn't just get bumped. They get hit with a large force, knocked down, bruised, etc. And that can happen with the most friendly dog around. Perhaps even more likely with them, since they are going to be the ones more likely to be running around everywhere. Now, I grant you that this is more of an issue with the younger kids, and smaller ones, who are less likely to be able to get out of the way and more easily knocked around. But they apparently had many dogs returned from homes with young kids for this reason (apparently one kid even wound up with a broken arm from it), so now the rule is that they don't adopt out to families with small kids. However, if you bring your kid to the meet and greets so that they get to know you, your kids, etc., it's a lot harder to say no. Just some things to ponder.

[Busderpuddle]

I have only had one greyhound so far but I will tell you that she has been amazing in so many ways. We adopted her when our grandson was 2 (4 1/2 now) and she was chosen for us because she had been raised around several small children. She is wonderful with him and he is wonderful with her. He can lay on her bed for hours and used to take his afternoon naps there every day. He can sit beside her with any kind of food and she ignores it. Her tail wags non stop when he comes over and that is always the first place he goes when he gets here. She is his "Woobie" and they have a mutual love. I am cautious with her and the 2 new grandbabies because they are small, but so far she seems to love them too. I don't leave them alone together however, but I don't leave my grandchildren alone with each other either.....lol.

 

As for the housebreaking.......we took her out as soon as the people brought her here and she pottied. We praised her and that was it. Never has peed in the house and will whine if she needs to go out. She has only pooped in the house once but she couldn't help it. We had been gone and she had been at the kennel for a week. I heard her whine (she sleeps in her crate in our room) and I thought she was just happy we were home. I heard her whine again, and before I could get the light on, I heard her have a blow out. She was humiliated but it was completely my fault. I then found out the lady at the kennel had fed her beef which she is allergic to. That is it. Easiest dog I have ever been around. I wouldn't worry about housebreaking. It really is pretty easy for most of us on here. As for "bouncy" poo ? You'll find a food that agrees with her and all will be well.

Enjoy your new greys !

Edited September 10, 2012 by Busderpuddle

[Guest kess]

I have 2 dogs one a Greyhound and one a Merle Koolie (yes Koolie not Collie) the Greyhound is typical lazy couch potatoe and the Koolie is a rough and tumble lets have fun dog. Lots of kids like to play with dogs and our grey likes to laze around most of the time so I wouldn't consider him a good dog for kids where as the other dog loves 'em. Bobby the Greyhound would rather just stand there and let them hug and pat him.

[Guest Ummon]

Here is my take, after having two VERY different Grey's. While most dog rescue places mean well, sometimes they end up getting run by lunatics. When I wanted to get Ace a housemate I wanted to get a dog more local to home. Mainly because I wanted to participate with other Grey owners. Let me tell you these people were NUTS. It took weeks and they Insisted that we take a dog we really didn't want. I contacted my old rescue group and in 24 hours I had Fawn. She ain't perfect by any means but she is a good dog.

 

I have 4 kids and 2 Grey's. Both of which adore the children both full time and those that come on the weekends. You know how many incidents we had? 1, Fawn nipped my son who is autistic shoved his finger up her ass. Did she break skin? nope. Did he learn? Yup. Would I have bit him? Damn sure.

[Brandiandwe]

We don't have kids and suspect both of our two had limited interactions with children before coming to us. Both have shown themselves to be remarkably tolerant and friendly towards all children. Paige is more reticent and doesn't deal well with swarms of kids but Brandi loves it and gets in there. Paige is fabulous with more timid children.

[Guest lindywil]

I agree with the other posts. We got our first hound when my daughter was one and my elder son three. Never an issue with him. Got our second hound this year after first one passed away, kids are now 10, 8, 6 and still no problem. Of course, we have taught the kids how to treat a dog. Don't touch them when eating, don't startle them when sleeping, no hitting etc. Have not had a problem, you will just need to spend the time watching the dog and child interact and choose a hound that has a placid nature. A good breeder or adoption agency will be able to provide you with that information, but supervision (especially initially) is the key. Good luck!

[Guest FrankieWylie]

We have 3 greys and 4 kids.....7, 9, 12 and 16. The 7 year old was bit just this August. Completely and totally her fault. She knows the rules and disobeyed them. Actually, it couldn't have happened better than it did. She wasn't severely hurt, never once cried, and needed 4 stitches.

 

All of our pups have REALLY improved in their sleep startle reflex and sleep with us ALL the time (except Charlie, he refuses). Magic and Sherry both are the BIGGEST snuggle bugs ever. Both right up on your body. Well, the 7 year old, Ella, took advantage of that fact and one evening when Magic was asleep in my husband's lap she got in his face, grabbed him and tried to kiss him. He startled, went for a warning snap and connected with her face. He was TRULY mortified that anything was in his mouth and immediately pulled away and looked confused. She didn't cry, had a little bleed, but we took her in to get seen anyhow.

 

All of this to say.....

We have children, they know the rules, they sometimes slip up, not a fault of the dogs, but a fault of the kids. Ella knows she was wrong, and she BEGGED Magic to forgive her for not being a good pet owner. How your children are with the pups depends on YOU, not the pups. Make sure you are on top of your kids, and when something DOES happen, because, it will, no matter how small.....99.999999% of the time, it's a human who's at fault

[JJNg]

Actually, it couldn't have happened better than it did. She wasn't severely hurt, never once cried, and needed 4 stitches.

 

How refreshing to hear from a family with a realistic outlook about an interaction like this. It seems that the more common response these days is outrage that the dog dared to bite (or even snap at) a child, often resulting in the dog losing his home, if not his life. I've had a dog presented to me for euthanasia for a lesser incident (no doctor's visit or stitches needed). I talked them into surrendering the dog to the clinic and found him a wonderful new home.

[a_daerr]

Most US greyhounds are not shy or fearful at all, though, unlike many Galgos. The vast majority are very friendly and have had very happy lives and love all people.

 

We have two galgos in our group who are therapy dogs at Children's Hospital.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/03/16/rescued-greyhounds-cheer-up-patients-at-childrens-hospital/

[Scooby172]

Have not followed all of this thread but, my galgo, Valor was a Certified Therapy dog from age 2 to 11 when he passed. Valor worked with children at the World Trade Center aftermath, he was amazing.

Linda, Keeva and Valor