KickReturn Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 A little anecdote and a warning about our favorite breed. A little while ago while out with Hester and his 63 lb velvety soft sweetheart gal pal, we decided to visit a very large area where many dogs of all breeds are free to roam and cavort. Well the girlie dog loves to run and when she took off it highly aroused the chase instincts of a number of other dogs. One very fit, large, American Labrador made an impressive sprint after her. Well girlie dog notices the chase out of the corner of her eye and eases up to allow the Lab to close. The Lab passes her, probably thinking he could have been a contender, and goes to full after burners. Girlie dog, in a gentle canter lets the Lab fly by, and then in an explosive acceleration darts up to the Lab's side and gives it a sharp smack under its chin with the top of her skull. The impact throws the Lab off balance and it goes into a violent rag doll cartwheel on the grass. It finally comes to a stop and does not get up. Those of us watching rush to the Lab. He is perfectly fine, just lying on his side gasping. He pops right up wagging his tail and slobbering on everyone. He trots off with no sign of a limp. I haven't seen this type of behaviour before nor since, but I always make a point of letting owners now that playing with a Greyhound isn't always like playing with other dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Good reminder. For all their paper thin skin, thin fur, and no protective layer of fat (all of which the lab had) these guys play rough! Glad no one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Annie used to do something similar. She'd run shoulder to shoulder with a "contender," sprint ahead and then cut him/her off, often resulting in the other dog taking a tumble. This was a couple of summers ago when I would occasionally go to a dog park. I stopped going because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Two of my hounds would work together as a team. My female would bark and get the "mark" to jump and run with her, then she would accelerate away, the whole while my large male boy would be behind the mark and as soon as my female would accelerate away, Bart would start to nip at the hamstrings of the mark. If the mark didnt quickly quit, Bart would simply take his head and swipe the mark's rear end out and end the fun. My female would circle back and bark and parade around the mark daring said mark to get up again. Very cruel those two. I saw this happen twice, then I wouldn't take those two out to the park together. While it may be entertaining to watch, not much fun for the poor slow dog that thinks running with the Ferrari's would be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 That's how my Peggy lost the white tip to her tail... running and spinning in her usual outrageous show-off manner in front of a lurcher mixed breed that she knew. She allowed it to catch up just too close and it chomped the end of her tail with two 2-3" cuts down it and a lot of blood. Unfortunately the vet wasn't able to stitch those wounds so poor Peggy lost the white bit that she often liked to twirl after. I learned my lesson after that.. a cheeky Greyhound can kick start extreme prey drive in others with a mix of sight-hound genes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlies_Dad Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Yup, Greys have there way when it comes to playing and it's not always like your average dog. Quote Kyle with Stewie ('Super C Ledoux, Super C Sampson x Sing It Blondie) and forever missing my three angels, Jack ('Roy Jack', Greys Flambeau x Miss Cobblepot) and Charlie ('CTR Midas Touch', Leo's Midas x Hallo Argentina) and Shelby ('Shari's Hooty', Flying Viper x Shari Carusi) running free across the bridge. Gus an coinnich sinn a'rithist my boys and little girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest normaandburrell Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Greyhounds knock their prey off their feet, the same way cheetahs do. The head butting sounds like a variation on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Yep greyts are very competitive. I've seen my greyt pack work together to knock down my very large and very strong farm dog; not to mention biting each other to keep from being passed :gh_run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jetska Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 what a cheeky little minx! you'd think to headbutt like that would hurt .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 He's a pretty big boy with a large square head (he's a roman nose so his head is a bit misshapen). Not much hurts him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 It's probably amusing to you because your girl came out on top this time, but she does that to the wrong sort of dog, and it turns on her, she'll be at the e-vet before you can say "there goes Swifty." Add me to the list of dog park avoiders with my greyhound with tissue paper skin! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinw Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Greyhounds are nasty when they play. I will only let my galgos play with a couple at a time. Once somebody brought a saluki to playgroup and the greyhounds knocked her around like she was a toy. Quote Xavi the galgo and Peter the cat. Missing Iker the galgo ?-Feb.9/19, Treasure (USS Treasure) April 12/01-May 6/13, Phoenix (Hallo Top Son) Dec.14/99-June 4/11 and Loca (Reko Swahili) Oct.9/95 - June 1/09, Allen the boss cat, died late November, 2021, age 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Yeah, i concur with the "nasty play habits." We stopped going to dog parks long ago, and seldomly attend grey runs. Kasey is such a troublemaker. But the labs - they can take it Edited March 17, 2015 by XTRAWLD Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ms3569 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Thank you for your reminder. I recently adopted a male grey. My son has a large female lab, who is pretty athletic and visits frequently. Both my grey and the lab get along well in the house. One day we had them both out to go to the bathroom in our fenced yard. They started running and it quickly became very competitive with my grey growling and showing his teeth. It was enough to make the lab back off. We no longer let them out together for fear of an injury to either of them. Your reminder is very important for those of us new to greys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandiandwe Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 My four run together. Three are muzzled and always will be because of competitiveness. And they're always supervised outside. We also never play with other breeds. Too much can go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlueCatch Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Intereseting. My brother has a lab and if they are together inside the house, they are fine but once outside, Catch will growl. Thought I just had a mean grey. Happy to know it isn't just her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenEveBaz Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 One of my co-workers, who has a 35-lb mixed breed dog that is "very fast," just can't understand why I won't invite her dog over to run with mine in the big back yard. Quote Ellen, with brindle Milo and the blonde ballerina, Gelsey remembering Eve, Baz, Scout, Romie, Nutmeg, and Jeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfish Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 One of my co-workers, who has a 35-lb mixed breed dog that is "very fast," just can't understand why I won't invite her dog over to run with mine in the big back yard. Ha - you get that all the time when you're a greyhound owner! 'My lab/mongrel/cockapoo/JRT is so fast, he'll give your dog a run for his money'. Famous last words. Our first greyhound, Jim, was safe with all kinds of dog breeds, so he used to get to play with them all, from a CKC spaniel to a doberman and back. The only dog that could beat him was a border collie who used his smarts; Jim would run in crazy circles in the big meadow and the collie would start off by chasing him, realise he didn't have the speed, and simply cut across the circle and head him off at the pass. Quote The plural of anecdote is not dataBrambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amber Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) Think it depends on the greyhound, the other dog and the situation. When i used to go to a greyhound play group i observed tnat it was the new dog that arrived that tended to get ganged up on by the other greys (some of them). So it can be other greys too, not just down to breed Also some ( not all) greys are rough players to the point of bullying especially if the other dog is soft/submissive/easy target. Many jack russells would turn round and bite a big bully; some other greyhounds will be submissive 'kick me' types that will cowtow to a fast competitive grey. The same dog could chase a small feisty terrier and back off when told, yet chase and bring down another grey of the submissive type. There is some risk in everything we do in life, but i guess it boils down to owners knowing their dogs well and trying to find compatible dogs to play with. It's also down to the owner not to put a shy dog with a 'kick me' sign in with a bunch of other dogs that they do not know! Edited March 22, 2015 by Amber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 My Galgo is way more rough than either of my Greys. Been thinking of changing her name from Mousie to Crazy Woman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jetska Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Think it depends on the greyhound, the other dog and the situation. When i used to go to a greyhound play group i observed tnat it was the new dog that arrived that tended to get ganged up on by the other greys (some of them). So it can be other greys too, not just down to breed Also some ( not all) greys are rough players to the point of bullying especially if the other dog is soft/submissive/easy target. Many jack russells would turn round and bite a big bully; some other greyhounds will be submissive 'kick me' types that will cowtow to a fast competitive grey. The same dog could chase a small feisty terrier and back off when told, yet chase and bring down another grey of the submissive type. There is some risk in everything we do in life, but i guess it boils down to owners knowing their dogs well and trying to find compatible dogs to play with. It's also down to the owner not to put a shy dog with a 'kick me' sign in with a bunch of other dogs that they do not know! Agreed, but feel sorry for the poor 'kick me' dogs. We have a local dog park that we go to when there's usually nobody there. Last week there was a Rottweiler who came in who was very timid. Mouse tried to run with it, didn't even do her growling thing, and that was enough to send the poor dog to go stand on top of the dog walk! We left so that she could play without being scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amber Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Aww poor rottie. I feel sorry for these types too. I remember one time someone brought a timid whippet cross to our playgroup with the hard n fast big greyhounds and the whippy x was just coming into season too !! You can imagine that was a disaster. No actual injuries but the new dog was chased down several times and pretty terrified. i mean why would you do that to your dog? I guess its a learning process and people cant help inexperience. With the rottie too, leash walks with well socialised, friendly and calm dogs could help build confidence, a dog park with lots of unknown dogs is likely to be overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jetska Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Aww poor rottie. I feel sorry for these types too. I remember one time someone brought a timid whippet cross to our playgroup with the hard n fast big greyhounds and the whippy x was just coming into season too !! You can imagine that was a disaster. No actual injuries but the new dog was chased down several times and pretty terrified. i mean why would you do that to your dog? I guess its a learning process and people cant help inexperience. With the rottie too, leash walks with well socialised, friendly and calm dogs could help build confidence, a dog park with lots of unknown dogs is likely to be overwhelming. Yeah I've met a few whippies who I wouldn't let my hounds run with, sure they are fast but they are often just too timid. Mouse has some confident whippet friends and they are great buddies. I should have suggested that to the Rottie owner, didn't think of it at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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