Multi Breed Homes?

[Guest OKenn]

Have any of you brought a greyhound into your home with a different breed of dog? My boyfriend and I have a lab, but are wishing to bring a retired greyhound into the mix, but are unsure if it would cause issues!

[cleptogrey]

i had a welsh terrier when i adopted my first greyhound. one of my fosters went to a home w/ a lab. she was a spit-fire- perfect match. my dogs get along w/ any breed- as long as they aren't all over them. but that's the way all of my dogs- terrier or saluki have been.

 

go for it!

[macoduck]

If you look at my siggy you'll see the our non-grey is Pudge the mutt. We've had many senior greyhounds join us. With each new dog Pudge is very jealous of sharing them with me. After 2 days of semi-snarkiness she'll finally catch on that her world has not come to an end with the new arrival. Gracie is the only greyhound she's wanted to play with.

She was the same way initially with the italian greyhounds.

In her younger years we would never have trusted Gracie with the littles. Now they don't interest her.

The first few days and weeks of bringing a new dog in are closely supervised, especially outside. New ones are separated while we are away from home. Little Tessa gets crated.

Your adoption group should be suggesting you bring the lab to meet potential greyhound candidates. They should be able to interpret the interaction between the dogs and how to make a smooth transition for the new dog into your home.

How high is the energy level of your lab?

Edited September 13, 2012 by macoduck

[Guest OKenn]

Im glad it worked out for you!

My main concern is probably how hyper our current dog is with other dogs...

Do you think an older, mature dog will help to calm him down?

[macoduck]

An older mature dog might not be amused by a young one. In your other thread you mentioned your lab isn't fixed. Fixing that might help calm him down.

[Guest OKenn]

I'm trying to convince my boyfriend to fix his dog, but for some reason he wants to breed him (he's not even pure bread, so good luck to him on that one). So it's probably best to wait until his youngin' is fixed, to bring a grey into the picture.

 

Sorry forgot this part... Our lab is very hyper around other dogs because he was never really socialized as a pup (from what I'm told) but on his own he's calm!

[cleptogrey]

you really want to match energy- if you read my post the "spit fire" that i fostered went w/ a young lab. she was full of vim and vigor- barked, ran like a banchee, chewed non-stop. a perfect match for a lab. my welsh was 11 years old when i adopted my first grey. she was 4.5 years old and really done racing- 168 races. perfect companions, they both were mellow(the welsh just mellowed out!) and the two just communicated well. a good adoption rep will pair your dog up w/ a partner.

 

but, seriously- do neuter the dog and how about some training??? bringing another dog in will NOT train or settle your dog.exercise and training will-who will own the grey anyway??? you or your boyfriend?

[Guest OKenn]

I'd love to have the lab neutered but unfortunately he's not actually my dog, so it's not up to me

The grey would most definitely be my dog, and I'll ensure he or she will be very well trained.

[OwnedBySummer]

I wouldn't want to bring a grey into an environment with an untrained, boisterous, probably rude and non-neutered lab. IMHO.

[Guest OKenn]

Thank you for your opinion, I really do appreciate it!

Well I suppose it's gonna be lots of persuasive facts about neutering directed towards the boyfriend, haha.

[GreytHoundPoet]

I have a multi breed home. I have Greyhounds, Ibizan Hounds, a Galgo, and a Dalmatian. Half of my house is very high energy and the other half is really chill. It ends up meaning that, as long as I fulfill everyone's physical and mental needs, I have calm inside and lots of running and playing outside. My Ibizans are intact males and everyone else is spayed and neutered. Pairing energy levels and temperament/personality, along with training and socialization, are key to a successful match. Let your adoption group know what you need.

 

I hope that your boyfriend does make the responsible decision to neuter his dog and not breed him. Neutering can be beneficial and help calm him down some as well. However, whether or not he chooses to, I implore you guys to heavily socialize and properly train him now. While he may have missed out on valuable socialization as a puppy he can still be socialized and trained. I have taken intact and altered dogs who were never socialized or trained as puppies and made them into confident, happy dogs who live well in a pack and do well with other dogs. Bringing a new dog into a situation with an out of control dog is a recipe for disaster. I know he is not your dog but hopefully you can work with him or convince your boyfriend to. This is not meant to sound harsh. It is meant to be encouraging on the lack of socialization front so hopefully you see it that way.

 

Best of luck to you.

Edited September 13, 2012 by GreytHoundPoet

[Guest OKenn]

Thank you so much! It's actually so helpful to hear these kinds of stories! I've been spouting off facts and benefits of neutering, and the boyfriend is flat out refusing, because he wants puppies (which I am totally against) and in the middle of what I thought was helpful and interesting rant, I was completely disregarded and ignored... I don't think there's any chance of changing his stubborn mind!

[brandimom]

We brought several gh's into our pack which consisted of two afghans and three cats. Everyone gets along. We take our two gh's on home visits where folks have other breeds and there has not been an issue.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

We had a lab-mix, Lucy, here when I brought my bridge girl, Piaget, home. Lucy was a great "big sister" to Piaget, and they were the best of friends. Piaget came straight off the track without any fostering, so we really had no idea how she would be with other dogs. We never had any issues between them, but then Lucy was not what I would call a hyper dog. I think, like so many things, it depends on the dogs, but it's very possible to have a happy mixed-breed family.

Edited September 13, 2012 by PiagetsMom

[Guest OKenn]

I'd love to give it a shot, but not unless our first dog is fixed

[TheFullHouse]

Our little Jilly Bean has survived our adding 13 greyhounds over the years and has trained each and every one of them.

[Guest OKenn]

Haha what a big family!

[dex95lucy]

I brought my first grey home to two very headstrong mini dachshunds. Worked out well. Two more greys after she died. All adjusted well. I became a pet sitter and keep two more greys, one male who is not neutered, keep a lab who is not neutered. The lab is fairly young and high energy so the grey makes him run, yes, MAKES him and he cannot keep up with her.

Please understand that I very carefully introduce them to each other. Supervision, separation, etc, until I am comfortable that they are okay together. And still, I usually muzzle my grey when I send her out with others as she is so assertive and mouthy.

 

Oh, I forgot the cats. Two very nosy, busy, fearless cats. I often keep the cats confined for the sake of the dogs I may be tending. The cats are ruthless and sometimes tease the heck out of the dogs.

[Guest OKenn]

Sounds like most of the multi breed homes work out fantastically! Maybe there is hope!

[Brindles]

We had an 8 year old retriever when I brought my greys home. He was unsure at first (he'd been an only dog his whole life) but eventually learned to love them. When he went blind, they were his seeing eye dogs. I've since added a Great Pyrenees and the boyfriend's Australian Shepherd. I agree that the dog should be neutered, but to say that a greyhound can't coexist with an intact dog is ridiculous. The grey may likely put the lab in his place (and it's been my experience that females are the best at teaching this lesson, though that's a generality), but once the lab learns his boundaries they should do really well together. Definitely try to match energy levels. There are plenty of high-energy greyhounds out there that would get along famously with a non-greyhound. Good luck in your search!

[galgrey]

When I adopted my first greyhound, many moons ago, I had a 5 month old weimaraner pup. She was, like most weimaraner pups, very high energy. Frostman was a very chill kinda greyhound and was to his credit, very patient with Hannah, the weim. I kept a close eye on things and was very careful not to let her annoy him too much. When he'd had enough of her antics, I would put up a baby gate so he could relax without her chewing on him. He really appreciated that and would give me the look to let me know he needed some alone time. He remained very patient with her until right before he second birthday and then he put her in her place quite loudly one day for trying to take his chew toy. He didn't hurt her at all, but scared the daylights of out her (and me). From that day on she never tried to take anything of his again and was much more respectful. She really adored him. He, on the other hand, seemed to just sort of tolerate her. He was never nasty with her after that one time, but they were polar opposites in almost every way. He was a master sleeper and she was constantly on the go.

[Guest AceyGrey]

My Ace loves Labrador's , largely because they're roughly the same size as him and have plenty of energy to burn with him. Why not take your boy along when choosing a new grey? Many people I know did this and the dogs normally pick each other.

 

Good Luck

[Guest june]

Take your boyfriend to your local pound. Show him the dogs and puppies that have been turned over because someone wanted their dog to have puppies. Have them talk to him about the numbers of dogs that are put down and the reasons why they are surrendered and how many were just abandoned, found wandering or get hit by a car and found on the side of the road. There is the risk that you will end up adopting a shelter dog, but hey any dog rescured is a plus.

 

On another note. It sounds like you and your boyfriend have very different ideas and values; at least in some areas. These are things you might want to think about if your relationship is goinig to survive. I don't mean this to sound harsh or condeming, just years of experienice trying to save you both some heartbreak in the future.

 

Good luck and I hope you are able to work through your differences. Adopting a greyhound is a wonderful experience.

june

[Guest OKenn]

All of your stories are making me feel better about adopting, even with his intact lab. I think him NOT neutering his dog is very irresponsible, but there is absolutely not hope in convincing him! So like a few of you have suggested, I will probably take Captain to go meet them when or if the time comes!

[Hubcitypam]

Our little Jilly Bean has survived our adding 13 greyhounds over the years and has trained each and every one of them.

Poodle has overseen 6 greyhound brothers and sisters and 100+ fosters of varying breeds, but mostly greyhounds. He and Jilly run tight ships. Currently he is supervising a 7 year old grey, a 4 year old terrier mix and a less than 2 year old shar pei/pittie.