Other Breeds Compatible With Greyhounds

[Guest LewisHWilson]

I realize this question largely depends on the dog's individual personality, as well as the temperament of the dog I'm trying to introduce, but I figured I'd ask anyways.

 

What are breeds that are typically compatible with greyhounds with high prey drives? Obviously small dogs are out of the question, and other greyhounds are often good matches, but any others?

 

I've looked online and I've had trouble finding any answers, so does anyone know based on personal experience?

 

Thanks!

[Guest BlueCrab]

I think you're going to find that it's largely individual dog-dependant. Some greyhounds are "breed snobs" that don't like other breeds at all. Other dogs are great with all large dogs, but not great with small. Some are great with all dogs - plus cats. So it's very individual - I'm not sure youre going to be able to generalize that a certain breed is better / worse than others as far as compatibility.

 

In addition to our grey, we have a large herding dog, two adult cats and a kitten. Trixie gets along great with them all. She got along great with my mom's little 8-pound fluff-dog mutt. But she visibly dislikes small children and we have no idea why, as she went from the track to foster with a single adult female who lived miles away from any kids, then came directly to us - who have no kids.

[GeorgeofNE]

"prey drive" doesn't necessarily mean a hound cannot live with a small dog. Dogs learn who is part of their pack (or family) and will learn to accept that animal. A part of your pack is NOT prey. Just as many hounds can live with an INDOOR cat but would merrily chase down and kill an outdoor cat.

 

Based on my reading on this board for a few years, it seems to me that you'll find examples of pretty much every breed living happily with a hound or two!

[Hubcitypam]

OMG. Over the years between all my fosters (greyhound and mixed breed), neighbors dogs that have dropped in, stray dogs and paid dog sitting clients I've had greys get along just fine in my house with:

Yorkies

Carin terriers/terrier mixes -only agression has come from the terrierX

Poodles

Galgos

Chows/Chow mixes

Lab/lab mixes

GSDs

Pit bulls/bully breeds and mixes

Bouvier de Flanders

Poms

Coonhounds

Spaniels

...and I'm sure many more breeds that escape me right now.

[kickchick2000]

English bulldog

 

I've had the bulldog greyhound combo for 8 years and it's worked great. They are both low energy, calm, loving, and affectionate. Ok, well they do look a little funny together

 

On a more serious note I think it's all about personality and energy. We occasionally foster for my shelter and have had 4 dogs in the past year, a rat terrier, a dachshund, a basset hound and a shepherd. All got along wonderful except the 7 month old shepherd who wanted to play play play all day long, and it's not that they didn't get along it's that my two are old farts and had no tolerance for a young playful pup.

[krissy]

It very much depends.

 

Summit has no prey drive (he lives with 3 rabbits). He gets along with small dogs just fine. But he would destroy a husky or any dog with blue eyes in 2 seconds flat. Why? You got me, but when I see huskies or any breed that might have a blue eye (border collies, Aussie shepherds, etc.) I give them an extra wide berth.

[Hubcitypam]

It very much depends.

 

Summit has no prey drive (he lives with 3 rabbits). He gets along with small dogs just fine. But he would destroy a husky or any dog with blue eyes in 2 seconds flat. Why? You got me, but when I see huskies or any breed that might have a blue eye (border collies, Aussie shepherds, etc.) I give them an extra wide berth.

How funny you should post that. I was just coming back to add a husky to the list of dogs my guys have done well with - I forgot about RoyII the husky that showed up as a stray (as opposed to RoyI the spaniel that fathered some of my neighbors litter). It DOES very much depend.

[GreytHoundPoet]

You are right, it does depend on the hound's individual temperament and personality. You will find a wide variety of breeds and mixes, as well as species, that have lived with Greyhounds. Just be conscientious when you choose and introduce new dogs and other species into your home. Make sure that you do your best to set your hound up for success.

 

[Guest june]

I agree it depends on the dogs. I've posted this picture before but here is a good example of greys and a variety of breeds. Some of these dogs just met this day and they all got along great.

 

Edited March 20, 2013 by june

[Yamaha_gurl]

Have a looksie: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/296518-the-fins-we-domai-sister-and-i/

 

It depends on the dogs personality, both dogs that is Do you have a certain breed and you are looking to add a greyhound?

[Riverhound]

English bulldog

 

I've had the bulldog greyhound combo for 8 years and it's worked great. They are both low energy, calm, loving, and affectionate. Ok, well they do look a little funny together

p.

Joe's best buddy at the dog park is an English Bulldog. They are hysterical together! The bulldog play bows, and Joe runs a lap of the park while the bulldog takes about 5 steps. Rinse and repeat 3 or 4 times and Joe is exhausted, but the bulldog is still ready to go. So cute!

 

I'm not sure I'd want one, but only because of the health problems. They are really great dogs.

[Guest Blitzkrieg]

my female St.Bernard got along great with Blitzkrieg

 

my little Husky mix tends to ignore Wilbon although he trys to get her to play

 

[Saharasmom]

My greyhounds were pretty easy going. I think they could've lived happily with any friendly dog that didn't badger them to play all the time. They both enjoyed my borzoi, especially once he outgrew his puppy antics!

[a_daerr]

It definitely depends on the individual dog, but in general, it's a good idea to match dogs based on their temperament and energy level. Henry gets along with 99% of other dogs, but I know he'd be stressed out if he had to live with a high-energy dog, like a young lab or boxer. I will say that neither of my dogs interacts the same way with other breeds as they do with greyhounds. If there's 20 other dogs at the dog park, they'll always single out the one other greyhound.

[Guest FijiHound]

Nuggets BFF Cassie is a German Shepherd She is 12 years old now - so their energy level is about the same

 

They're not snuggle buddies - Nugget does NOT snuggle, but they're buds.

[Guest TofuNifty]

I have a Great Pyrenees that gets along great with my Greyboy. She initiates play when she wants him to chase her and she stops running when she's tired. I think it does depend on their temperament though- Lily is really laid back and only aggressive with her food.

[Guest WhiteWave]

I have had so many breeds with Greyhounds over the years, I probably can't remember them all. Never had a problem with any of them and the Greyhounds, but I would say the Dobes and mastiff breeds were the best fit. But really it depends on the individual dogs. Any breed can work as long as the dogs in question have a compatible temperament.

 

Dobermans

Dogo Argentinos

Great Danes

English Mastiff

Bullmastiff

Cane Corso

Boerboel

Cocker Spaniel

Jack Russell

Dachshund

American Eskimo

Chihuahua

Min Pins

Italian Greyhounds

Redbone Coonhounds

Pit bulls

French Bulldog

Boston Terrier

Toy Manchester Terrier

German Shepherd

Rottweiler

Basset Hound

Labs

Siberian Husky

Shih tzu

Pomeranian

Rat Terrier

[Guest LewisHWilson]

Thanks so much everyone! I am adopting a 4-year old male greyhound named Rocket next Saturday and it's just question I've had in the back of my mind. He showed a lot of interest in smaller dogs, so as of now he's only compatible with larger ones. My girlfriend loves smaller dogs (Bichon, poodles, etc), but I've pretty much ruled that option out due to Rocket.

 

I'll definitely wait a few months to make sure he gets used to me and the apt, but from the way it sounds with proper training he may be able to tolerate smaller dogs. Of course, I'd never leave him alone with one.

[Guest borzoix4]

Borzoi... yup... Borzoi...

[PrairieProf]

I don't have a lot of experience in this area except dog park interactions, but I will note that greyhound play is intense and I find some other dogs (even large dogs) are intimidated by Beth when she is "ramped up." Remember all that "mellow, low-energy" business is history for the brief periods when the greyhound's "on" switch is flipped! Dogs who like to wrestle-play don't seem a good match with greyhounds who want to play by running and chasing (and catch any dog they chase and like to play-bite at that dog) -- they don't get the wrestling thing very well and even if they do their skin is so thin it isn't too safe a way for them to play. I have seen Beth and a similarly assertive greyhound bark at wrestling dogs who are wrestling in frustration because they want them to run so they can chase them. I've also seen both a huge St. Bernard and a Deerhound get nervous and submissive when chased hard by Beth, who is NOT overall a high-prey hound (lives with cats) and is fine with any dog in the house or on leash -- she's very dog-friendly and well-behaved. That said, some of her best buddies are some Dobermans she knows well -- they are confident, assertive dogs in their own right and match well with my confident, occasionally somewhat dominating greyhound.

 

My view is that reasonably fit, active retired racer in "chase mode" is more dog than most pet dogs have ever encountered. Other breeds which like to run and are fast are good play buddies (I'm thinking of something like a Weimeraner). In the home, it probably doesn't matter too much.

Edited March 22, 2013 by PrairieProf

[seeh2o]

Mine get along with all breeds as well, but their hands down favorite - Boston Terriers. Ed has two Bostons and they are my dog's best friends. Carl statues and cries when he sees random Bostons on walks, I really think he thinks he is a Boston Terrier when he is around them.

 

Carl with his pack

 

Captain and Carl are best buddies

 

Doodles and Manny are best buddies, they like to trot side by side back and forth in the backyard, that's how Doodles and Manny "play"

[a_daerr]

I've also seen both a huge St. Bernard and a Deerhound get nervous and submissive when chased hard by Beth, who is NOT overall a high-prey hound (lives with cats) and is fine with any dog in the house or on leash -- she's very dog-friendly and well-behaved.

 

You hit the nail on the head. We run into this problem a lot at dog parks. Our dogs don't want to wrestle, rough-and-tumble play like most of the other dogs there. They want to chase! Especially if there is another dog fetching a ball or frisbee, they will chase that dog. Then, often times the other dog gives up on his toy because he's intimidated and doesn't enjoy being chased. Some of the sporting dogs have a lot of energy and don't mind playing that way. But I find that most of the working dogs and small breeds don't like it. With good reason too... if a dog double or triple my size was chasing me at 45MPH, I'd be really scared!

 

I have a dog "bucket list" of all the different dogs I want to own before I die. I really debated getting another breed when we were looking for a second. We had our eye on a wolfhound x great dane named Findley. We were prepared to adopt him, but when we introduced him to Henry, it was just eh. They didn't seem to care about each other one way or the other. For us, it came down to the fact that Henry gets a sparkle in his eye and acts more outgoing with greyhounds than any other type of dog. We were less concerned about getting another dog for ourselves, as we were about having a companion and friend for Henry. So we made the decision to get our second greyhound, Truman, for his benefit.

Edited March 22, 2013 by a_daerr

[Guest DragonflyDM]

I don't have a lot of experience in this area except dog park interactions, but I will note that greyhound play is intense and I find some other dogs (even large dogs) are intimidated by Beth when she is "ramped up." Remember all that "mellow, low-energy" business is history for the brief periods when the greyhound's "on" switch is flipped! Dogs who like to wrestle-play don't seem a good match with greyhounds who want to play by running and chasing (and catch any dog they chase and like to play-bite at that dog) -- they don't get the wrestling thing very well and even if they do their skin is so thin it isn't too safe a way for them to play. I have seen Beth and a similarly assertive greyhound bark at wrestling dogs who are wrestling in frustration because they want them to run so they can chase them. I've also seen both a huge St. Bernard and a Deerhound get nervous and submissive when chased hard by Beth, who is NOT overall a high-prey hound (lives with cats) and is fine with any dog in the house or on leash -- she's very dog-friendly and well-behaved. That said, some of her best buddies are some Dobermans she knows well -- they are confident, assertive dogs in their own right and match well with my confident, occasionally somewhat dominating greyhound.

 

My view is that reasonably fit, active retired racer in "chase mode" is more dog than most pet dogs have ever encountered. Other breeds which like to run and are fast are good play buddies (I'm thinking of something like a Weimeraner). In the home, it probably doesn't matter too much.

 

For Boomer-- and I have been looking at what dog might be a good companion for Boomer when I get this house sold and moved to Pittsburgh-- the other dog needs to be mellow. Certainly, Boomer does not like any dog that jumps on him or tries to play chase. He is very cat like in how he interacts with other dogs: rushes over to sniff butts and balls, then sticks his nose up and wanders off.

 

At the dog park, if a dog runs up and tries to jump up at him, wrestle, fight, or "play" he will growl them away if possible. If he can't he will leap about 80 feet in the air like a manga comic super-ninja bark as loud as possible and then try to run away. Boomer does not like conflict.

 

My ex-wife's cat, whose name is actually ninja, will jump out of nowhere to hiss at him and Boomer barks once and runs a full gallop the 20 feet to the other side of the house, leaving behind a very ferocious bark where he ran from.

 

I have two cats who leave him alone or quietly snuggle. There is no drama in my home and we cuddle on the couch or in bed and relax. He doesn't fetch, play tug of war, or anything. He just wants hugs and food.

 

So-- finding him another dog will probably have to be another greyhound-- but I like the idea of a long haired whippet (but you don't see many rescues or shelters with them). Or another dog that is senior and got the puppy out. A borzoi or a lazy regular senior whippet would be cool.

[Guest k9soul]

Rudy and my 6-year-old female lab mix get along beautifully. She's very gentle and sweet and not pushy except when food is being handed out.

 

 

 

He also got along really nicely with my parents' smooth collie.

[Guest WhiteWave]

After having 2 Greyhound puppies and fostering a young male. Younger Greyhounds do in fact like to wrestle! Joey will chase, but he prefers wrestling as long as the other dog isn't overpowering. He wrestles hours a day with a pit bull and a Boston Terrier.

 

Ronon (retired racer) however is just a plain bully and no dog of any breed will play with him. His idea of play is to run them into the ground and bite them and stomp on them until they scream. He will do it to anyone, but other Greyhounds running sets him off more than other breeds. When I had Xander who had more energy than any Greyhound I have ever seen and had to spend 2 hours plus daily after work running this dog. Ronon would stand and watch and then take off and run him down. So Ronon had to stay muzzled and leashed if he went with us. Xander now runs in NOTRA in his new home and doesn't have Ronon bullying him. He placed #1 Greyhound and #4 All breed in 2012 and just won a big race in Jacksonville! But he owes his speed to Ronon since had to run so fast to keep away from him!