How Do I Know He Won't Eat That Dog?

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

 

I would completely avoid that puppy. Dudley *might* view the puppy differently after he/she has grown up, but not worth the risk now.

Reiteration for other readers: My previous list of prey driven hound signs are usually seen ONLY if hound is leashed. A Greyhound outside in an off leash enclosure like a mixed breed dog park is too fast and precise a hunter for many humans to notice any early signs of "prey" behavior. Often a hound appears fine running along ("playing") with a medium/smaller size dog, but to a retired racer / sight hunter breed, running excitement can quickly heighten to "prey" instinct.

Thanks, we are avoiding the puppy! The lady probably thinks she smells or something

[a_daerr]

I was thinking about your thread yesterday at the dog park. A woman came in with two 8-week-old shih tzu x yorkies. Both of my guys are fine with cats and small dogs, but these things weren't even what I'd consider dogs. They were maybe 2 pounds a piece- significantly smaller than my cats! I thought, "Oh God, here we go." And Truman did get a little wound up during the introduction. But as soon as the tiny dog let out a loud, ferocious bark, Truman immediately backed off. The look on his face was almost apologetic! I thought it was going to be a problem, but to my surprise, both of my guys were very appropriate.

 

I guess my point is, sometimes the excitement wears off after the introduction, and you have nothing to worry about. It might be worth it to muzzle him and see.

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

I was thinking about your thread yesterday at the dog park. A woman came in with two 8-week-old shih tzu x yorkies. Both of my guys are fine with cats and small dogs, but these things weren't even what I'd consider dogs. They were maybe 2 pounds a piece- significantly smaller than my cats! I thought, "Oh God, here we go." And Truman did get a little wound up during the introduction. But as soon as the tiny dog let out a loud, ferocious bark, Truman immediately backed off. The look on his face was almost apologetic! I thought it was going to be a problem, but to my surprise, both of my guys were very appropriate.

 

I guess my point is, sometimes the excitement wears off after the introduction, and you have nothing to worry about. It might be worth it to muzzle him and see.

At the park, I think I would muzzle and see, but on a walk, I doubt any person would be happy with me letting my muzzled dog approach them or their pet. LOL. I am just gonna wait, as long as we can safely avoid them (which is turning out to be easy)

[a_daerr]

Hahaha, you're probably right! "Do you mind if I use your dog to test whether or not Dudley will eat it??"

Edited April 4, 2013 by a_daerr

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

Hahaha, you're probably right! "Do you mind if I use your dog to test whether or not Dudley will eat it??"

Yea oh well, we'll just wait and see.

[Guest iconsmum]

You might ask your neighbor if you could leave a piece of towel or a t shirt with her for a couple of days and then introduce your dog to the scent-only for a while. it's not intended to give the dog a free pass to meet the puppy, just to take the edge off the newness. if you're looking at prey-drive though, you must assume that your dog will kill the puppy in a heartbeat...

[Guest Giselle]

Call me the eternal skeptic, but it probably has to do with the way sighthounds see. Literally. For background information, read:

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s953902.htm

 

Long story short: Long-nosed sighthounds have a visual streak that allows them to hone in on faraway objects, especially movement. They are engineered to catch onto peripheral movement and to hone in on it. They are much less attuned to objects close to them. If you have glasses or vision problems, you'll know what it feels like to be nearsighted or farsighted. Basically, the evidence suggests that sighthounds tend to be farsighted, whereas short-nosed breeds are nearsighted. That could explain why your grey is so attuned to peripheral, far-away movement but does not pay attention to prey-like animals nearby.

 

Also, I see my video has been posted on this thread, so feel free to shoot me a message or e-mail if you have any specific training questions. I may not get to it right away as I've got a jabillion other things on my plate, but I promise I can try.

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

Call me the eternal skeptic, but it probably has to do with the way sighthounds see. Literally. For background information, read:

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s953902.htm

 

Long story short: Long-nosed sighthounds have a visual streak that allows them to hone in on faraway objects, especially movement. They are engineered to catch onto peripheral movement and to hone in on it. They are much less attuned to objects close to them. If you have glasses or vision problems, you'll know what it feels like to be nearsighted or farsighted. Basically, the evidence suggests that sighthounds tend to be farsighted, whereas short-nosed breeds are nearsighted. That could explain why your grey is so attuned to peripheral, far-away movement but does not pay attention to prey-like animals nearby.

 

Also, I see my video has been posted on this thread, so feel free to shoot me a message or e-mail if you have any specific training questions. I may not get to it right away as I've got a jabillion other things on my plate, but I promise I can try.

Thank you, I have watched them numerous times, I appreciate it! It makes sense about the long nose/peripheral vision, there is always a duck right by our door in the morning and he doesn't give a hoot. Luckily we have not run into the small dog again... Maybe she doesn't have it anymore?