Do greyhounds behave more like livestock than dogs?

[Glappy]

If my pup were magically turned into a horse, it seems that she would fit the role perfectly. Her mannerisms and body language are more horse-like than dog-like.

She really dislikes being handled. I can't pull her around by her feet, roll her over, slider her while laying down, get her out of the way by making her walk backwards.

I can pick her up fine with one arm under her rump and one under her shoulder/chest. She does very well with that... sometimes won't jump on the bed or couch and stares at me till I pick her up. I'm convinced she occasionally tries to fake injury cause that was the norm after she pulled a hammy once. I've been working on flipping her over just so she's comfortable with being handled. She really wants to flail midway through the flip, but it's getting better... especially now that she realizes a cuddle is coming up next. I often pull her legs just to get her accustomed to it. Not nearly enough to move her, but enough to get the idea across that it's ok.

She does not play like a dog either. My Chipoo seems to think that too and is very cautious playing with her (which is probably a good thing). He loves big dogs and can play incredibly roughly. It seems that he likes being the toy. She very rarely will engage in tug-o-war and when she does, it's brief. The Chipoo will get a couple tugs in then give up. He generally is very toy greedy (plays keep away) but completely gives up if she gains control of the toy. She will get a toy and forget about it once she has it. She doesn't play fetch. She finds where the thing lands, and that's the end of the game (pet emus come to mind... youtube it, it's worth it). If she is in an incredibly playful mood, she'll pick it up then drop it, but that's it.

The Chipoo is incredibly cuddly with other dogs, but not her. He usually will cram himself into another dog (that he knows), but he only lays close to her. He has no problem with her cuddling him tho.

The main livestocky thing she does is rub her face on people and things like a horse. That's how she cuddles people.

She did teach the Chipoo how to howl tho. I had no idea he was a howler. That's the most doggish thing I think she does.

[mansbestfriend]

Hi. I'm guessing the greyhound is a recent addition to your household.

Greyhounds behave like greyhounds but *every* dog is an individual.

In short, I'm guessing that this greyhound is not the right dog for you.  Cheers. 🙂🎄

[greysmom]

A greyhound isn't a retriever or a herding dog or a rat hunter or a lap dog.

A greyhound is a sighthound that has been bred for hundreds of years to do one job and do it better than any other dog breed - run down fast game fast.  So not only are they the fastest dog breed alive today, they have also been bred to work completely independently from people, and make decisions about choosing and hunting prey on their own.  They don't work cooperatively in a pack to hunt together.  They don't look to humans for guidance.  They have been honed into the perfect physical embodiment of a hunting machine by the most selective breeding possible over centuries.  Their instincts are all bent around one fact - find their prey, chase it down.  

They really don't care all that much about toys that don't move on their own - you can't chase what doesn't move!  Some greyhounds do fetch on their own - I've had several who liked the game because they know you're going to throw it (make it move) again.  Given time and encouragement they may end up playing with squeaky toys, but many greyhounds just never pick up the urge.

They are raised in a community consisting entirely of other greyhounds.  Greyhounds new to adoption or just off the track often don't even recognize other breeds of dogs as the same sort of creature as they are.  They know other greyhounds, and are the ultimate breed snob.  Greyhounds don't play like other dogs either - one reason they wear muzzles when out in a group, and why dog parks are often a disaster.  It's loud, involves a lot of wrestling, jumping and biting, and can often draw blood.  That's not how your average dog park dog wants to engage when having fun.  

If you want to compare them to another animal you might consider a large hunting cat like a cheetah rather than a horse.  The old saying about dogs having owners while cats have staff is true for greyhounds as well.  And they are very very good human trainers.  Often better at training than their adopters are!  For example, we have taken the couch cushions off and replaced them with dog beds (because we - apparently - bought a vintage 50s sofa dog bed a couple years ago!!)  But my one dog won't lay on the dog beds unless they are completely flat and straight.  She will stand there, staring at the rumpled dog bed, then staring at me, then staring at the dog bed, then at me - until the dog bed gets starightened and she can get up on the couch!!  And we *always* do it for her.   

You've joined a cult with a lot of fanatical members.  It's best to enjoy the ride!   

[MerseyGrey]

I agree, I’ve always thought of Buddy as being a cat trapped in a big dog’s body. Pretty much everything is on his terms, and we are privileged to serve him 

[macoduck]

My few greyhounds who did like playing with toys did so like your girl.

Not the response you asked about but...

 She really dislikes being handled. I can't pull her around by her feet, roll her over, slider her while laying down

She really wants to flail midway through the flip, but it's getting better... especially now that she realizes a cuddle is coming up next

I don't get why you want to do these things.
Touching feet - is this so she'll be comfortable when you trim her nails? Not unreasonable.
Forcing her to do those other things she doesn't like? I've had 14 greyhounds and never did that to any of them.
Forcing her onto your bed when she doesn't want to go there? You may want to cuddle but she does not.
Forcing her to be flipped? This sounds like the Cesar Milan dominance training that has been criticized by dog behaviorists and other trainers.

One day she may tell you to stop and you'll never see a bite coming because you didn't heed her hints that she was uncomfortable.

I've had a couple of very shy dogs who very gradually relaxed and became more interactive.
I had an extremely super-spook greyhound who preferred to live the bedroom nearly 24/7. It took a over year before he poked his head into the living room to see what we were doing. Still, he preferred to live in his own quiet world.

Love your girl enough to let her be her. Enjoy and praise her for those moments when she initiates those loving behaviors you've been hoping for.

[Glappy]

5 hours ago, greysmom said:

A greyhound isn't a retriever or a herding dog or a rat hunter or a lap dog.

A greyhound is a sighthound that has been bred for hundreds of years to do one job and do it better than any other dog breed - run down fast game fast.  So not only are they the fastest dog breed alive today, they have also been bred to work completely independently from people, and make decisions about choosing and hunting prey on their own.  They don't work cooperatively in a pack to hunt together.  They don't look to humans for guidance.  They have been honed into the perfect physical embodiment of a hunting machine by the most selective breeding possible over centuries.  Their instincts are all bent around one fact - find their prey, chase it down.  

They really don't care all that much about toys that don't move on their own - you can't chase what doesn't move!  Some greyhounds do fetch on their own - I've had several who liked the game because they know you're going to throw it (make it move) again.  Given time and encouragement they may end up playing with squeaky toys, but many greyhounds just never pick up the urge.

They are raised in a community consisting entirely of other greyhounds.  Greyhounds new to adoption or just off the track often don't even recognize other breeds of dogs as the same sort of creature as they are.  They know other greyhounds, and are the ultimate breed snob.  Greyhounds don't play like other dogs either - one reason they wear muzzles when out in a group, and why dog parks are often a disaster.  It's loud, involves a lot of wrestling, jumping and biting, and can often draw blood.  That's not how your average dog park dog wants to engage when having fun.  

If you want to compare them to another animal you might consider a large hunting cat like a cheetah rather than a horse.  The old saying about dogs having owners while cats have staff is true for greyhounds as well.  And they are very very good human trainers.  Often better at training than their adopters are!  For example, we have taken the couch cushions off and replaced them with dog beds (because we - apparently - bought a vintage 50s sofa dog bed a couple years ago!!)  But my one dog won't lay on the dog beds unless they are completely flat and straight.  She will stand there, staring at the rumpled dog bed, then staring at me, then staring at the dog bed, then at me - until the dog bed gets starightened and she can get up on the couch!!  And we *always* do it for her.   

You've joined a cult with a lot of fanatical members.  It's best to enjoy the ride!   

Are greyhounds more “pedigreed” (not sure the word, Accurately bred for a long time) than other dogs? I can trace Stormy’s lineage on greyhounddata to something like the 15TH century. I’d be surprised if other breeds can do that, but they’re just as old. Poodle comes to mind. That does make sense tho. I once read an article where a Russian fella tried to breed foxes to be pets. They basically turned into dogs- legs got longer, tails started to wag. Greyhounds might be a bit opposite. It makes sense that they were bred to be independent and these are the symptoms.

58 minutes ago, macoduck said:

My few greyhounds who did like playing with toys did so like your girl.

Not the response you asked about but...

 She really dislikes being handled. I can't pull her around by her feet, roll her over, slider her while laying down

She really wants to flail midway through the flip, but it's getting better... especially now that she realizes a cuddle is coming up next

I don't get why you want to do these things.
Touching feet - is this so she'll be comfortable when you trim her nails? Not unreasonable.
Forcing her to do those other things she doesn't like? I've had 14 greyhounds and never did that to any of them.
Forcing her onto your bed when she doesn't want to go there? You may want to cuddle but she does not.
Forcing her to be flipped? This sounds like the Cesar Milan dominance training that has been criticized by dog behaviorists and other trainers.

One day she may tell you to stop and you'll never see a bite coming because you didn't heed her hints that she was uncomfortable.

I've had a couple of very shy dogs who very gradually relaxed and became more interactive.
I had an extremely super-spook greyhound who preferred to live the bedroom nearly 24/7. It took a over year before he poked his head into the living room to see what we were doing. Still, he preferred to live in his own quiet world.

Love your girl enough to let her be her. Enjoy and praise her for those moments when she initiates those loving behaviors you've been hoping for.

I’ve had her for about two years, so I’m not just getting to know her. I didn’t start any of the attempted training/ behavior modification until we got to know each other for a year. When I do move her, it’s cause I need her to move and she’s just being stubborn. I do it in a training-ish manner and reward her after. She seems to know what’s going on. The leg pulling I discovered just by normal interaction. She’ll lay down and put a paw or elbow on me and it HURTS. Depending on the position, I’ll either reposition her or become “alpha” and make her move. The leg pulling I do is just incorporated into petting. I just give them tugs as a trust exercise of sorts.

 

Carying her to bed is me giving in to her stubbornness. She is 100% going to get in bed, and if I don’t want to be disturbed in 30 min, I have to put here there. I’m fairly sure she wants to carry her. She goes completely limp and seems to relish the service.

she has “snapped” at me a couple times. I might sit on a paw or pet a scratch. She’ll scream and wrap her jaws around my offending appendage, then go back to normal once the offense is rectified.

Cat might indeed be a better description. I’ve met stereotypical cats that love pets but hate that one spot and will draw blood, then go right back to being angels. Heck I’ve met cats that would inadvertently draw blood in an attempt to prevent me from ceasing petting. It just seems odd that every canine (aside from trained, working dogs) behave about the same and greyhounds are so vastly different. 

[BatterseaBrindl]

 

18 hours ago, Glappy said:

If my pup were magically turned into a horse, it seems that she would fit the role perfectly. Her mannerisms and body language are more horse-like than dog-like.

She really dislikes being handled. I can't pull her around by her feet, roll her over, slider her while laying down, get her out of the way by making her walk backwards.

Hmmmm…. I have had horses my entire life and certainly do not pull them around by their feet, roll them over and slide them around.   My current horses love being handled! 

I’ve also had many large breed dogs over the past 40 years…Greyhounds for almost 13… and none of them ever truly like to be picked up.  
Why does she need to be on the bed?  She’d probably be quite happy on her own bed in the floor. 

Be thankful that she does not actually bite you for what you are trying to make her do.

If you wanted a lap /bed dog you should have got a Pomeranian instead of trying to put your   ‘behaviour modification’ methods onto a breed of dog that you clearly did not research well before purchasing.

 

[Glappy]

A bit of an aggressive post, but I'll play along.

1 hour ago, BatterseaBrindl said:

Hmmmm…. I have had horses my entire life and certainly do not pull them around by their feet, roll them over and slide them around.   My current horses love being handled!

I wouldn't recommend that you do. I don't do that to her either. I was commenting that it seems odd that she has such adverse feelings toward physicality that other many other breeds and mutts thrive upon. I do try to get her to understand that it's ok if I move her around tho. Aggression is not an appropriate response to being scooted over a bit.

1 hour ago, BatterseaBrindl said:

I’ve also had many large breed dogs over the past 40 years…Greyhounds for almost 13… and none of them ever truly like to be picked up.  

Well... she does. She occasionally sits and stares at me, seemingly asking me to place her on her desired perch.

1 hour ago, BatterseaBrindl said:

Why does she need to be on the bed?  She’d probably be quite happy on her own bed in the floor.

She doesn't have to be I suppose. She just wants to. See above response and previous comment.

1 hour ago, BatterseaBrindl said:

‘behaviour modification’ methods onto a breed of dog that you clearly did not research well before purchasing.

You don't train your dogs? I want her to know that it's ok if I reach under her to grab something she may have laid on or giver her a shove. Growling is not acceptable when the corner of a blanket is pulled from under her paw. Yes she is of a unique breed, but she is still a dog.

[greysmom]

4 hours ago, Glappy said:

Are greyhounds more “pedigreed” (not sure the word, Accurately bred for a long time) than other dogs? I can trace Stormy’s lineage on greyhounddata to something like the 15TH century. I’d be surprised if other breeds can do that, but they’re just as old.

There actually aren't that many breeds that can directly trace their ancestors back more than a couple hundred years, when humans began their program of improving on nature through selective breeding.  Yes, a breed called poodle, or Scottish Deerhound, or bulldog might have existed in 1500, but it was a vastly different breed from the dog we know by that name today.  If you were able to see a picture of a bulldog (for example) from even the mid-1800s you wouldn't even recognize it.  And their purpose would also not be the same.  You can see artist renderings of greyhounds from the Middle Ages and have no trouble recognizing this breed.  It has changed very little for hundreds of years.  

Accepted history says the breed is as old as the Bible, and the original sighthounds were developed in the Middle East - the saluki is actually the older breed - but the "modern" greyhound we know today really began as a hunting breed exclusively for royalty in Brittany and England in the 1300s.  Humans being humans, they soon started competing to see whose dog was the fastest courser.  Everything about the greyhound since then has evolved - through purposeful breeding - to be the fastest hunting dog from their brain to their muscles to their enlarged heart.  There isn't another creature on earth built like a greyhound (except a cheetah).

As far as their current behavior is concerned, it *is* very different from other dogs.  Most dogs bred today, for whatever purpose, are weaned and taken from their mothers and littermates by 8-12 weeks old, just as they are entering a critical phase in their mental and social development.  They miss out on all the learning a mother, and, more importantly, their littermates can teach them about being a dog - how to communicate, how to meet and greet each other, how to play, how to behave appropriately.  Greyhounds bred for racing (and increasingly show bred puppies) stay with their mothers longer, and with their littermates for up to year longer, learning how to be dogs from other dogs, not from people.  The "odd" behaviors people comment on about adopted greyhounds are actually the more natural ones. 

I would also encourage you to not follow the whole "alpha dominance" model of dog training.  It has been entirely disproven over the years, and can cause more problems than it solves.  It's also not that effective as a training method for greyhounds.  They either have too soft of a personality and collapse under being "dominated" or have much harder and less malleable personalities that means conflict.  Finding the motivating factor for you particular dog is important, whether that's food rewards, play time, or toys.  Once you do that, they will learn anything as quickly as more trainable breeds.  Set consistent rules and boundaries.  Reward the behaviors you want to encourage and ignore the ones you want to extinguish.

[BatterseaBrindl]

I’m not sure why you came onto this forum …are you looking for answers to why your dog growls and bites? What she won’t jump on the bed? Or play with toys?

We are all experienced Greyhound owners and have given you our opinions and a bit of advice. 

My dogs are well behaved and needed little training…only to understand certain words such as ‘wait’, ‘leave it’ and ‘no’.

If they want to be cuddled they come to me.  
If they want on the bed they jump up.

Some show interest in toys and balls. Some do not, but I certainly don’t stress over it and try and get them to play. 

I have never had any of my large breed dogs …  …Greyhound/ Dobe/GSD … enjoy being picked up and carried.
And they all resist being flipped over.

What I don’t do is try and modify the genetic behaviours that have been bred into Greyhounds for generations.  I did my research many years ago and they are why I love Greyhounds.  I work with the genetic makeup and ultimately end up with very happy dogs.
 

Edited December 23, 2022 by BatterseaBrindl

[FiveRoooooers]

8 hours ago, BatterseaBrindl said:

I’m not sure why you came onto this forum …are you looking for answers to why your dog growls and bites? What she won’t jump on the bed? Or play with toys?

We are all experienced Greyhound owners and have given you our opinions and a bit of advice. 

My dogs are well behaved and needed little training…only to understand certain words such as ‘wait’, ‘leave it’ and ‘no’.

If they want to be cuddled they come to me.  
If they want on the bed they jump up.

Some show interest in toys and balls. Some do not, but I certainly don’t stress over it and try and get them to play. 

I have never had any of my large breed dogs …  …Greyhound/ Dobe/GSD … enjoy being picked up and carried.
And they all resist being flipped over.

What I don’t do is try and modify the genetic behaviours that have been bred into Greyhounds for generations.  I did my research many years ago and they are why I love Greyhounds.  I work with the genetic makeup and ultimately end up with very happy dogs.
 

[Glappy]

I feel that my original post is being interpreted like I’m actively trying to reverse everything I described. That’s not the case. I am, however, interacting with her to ensure that she doesn’t snap anyone… accustoming her to people like you do with any dog. I don’t want a dog that snaps at people if they touch her in a normal dog-touching manner… and I don’t.

8 hours ago, greysmom said:

There actually aren't that many breeds that can directly trace their ancestors back more than a couple hundred years, when humans began their program of improving on nature through selective breeding.  Yes, a breed called poodle, or Scottish Deerhound, or bulldog might have existed in 1500, but it was a vastly different breed from the dog we know by that name today.  If you were able to see a picture of a bulldog (for example) from even the mid-1800s you wouldn't even recognize it.  And their purpose would also not be the same.  You can see artist renderings of greyhounds from the Middle Ages and have no trouble recognizing this breed.  It has changed very little for hundreds of years.  

Accepted history says the breed is as old as the Bible, and the original sighthounds were developed in the Middle East - the saluki is actually the older breed - but the "modern" greyhound we know today really began as a hunting breed exclusively for royalty in Brittany and England in the 1300s.  Humans being humans, they soon started competing to see whose dog was the fastest courser.  Everything about the greyhound since then has evolved - through purposeful breeding - to be the fastest hunting dog from their brain to their muscles to their enlarged heart.  There isn't another creature on earth built like a greyhound (except a cheetah).

As far as their current behavior is concerned, it *is* very different from other dogs.  Most dogs bred today, for whatever purpose, are weaned and taken from their mothers and littermates by 8-12 weeks old, just as they are entering a critical phase in their mental and social development.  They miss out on all the learning a mother, and, more importantly, their littermates can teach them about being a dog - how to communicate, how to meet and greet each other, how to play, how to behave appropriately.  Greyhounds bred for racing (and increasingly show bred puppies) stay with their mothers longer, and with their littermates for up to year longer, learning how to be dogs from other dogs, not from people.  The "odd" behaviors people comment on about adopted greyhounds are actually the more natural ones. 

I would also encourage you to not follow the whole "alpha dominance" model of dog training.  It has been entirely disproven over the years, and can cause more problems than it solves.  It's also not that effective as a training method for greyhounds.  They either have too soft of a personality and collapse under being "dominated" or have much harder and less malleable personalities that means conflict.  Finding the motivating factor for you particular dog is important, whether that's food rewards, play time, or toys.  Once you do that, they will learn anything as quickly as more trainable breeds.  Set consistent rules and boundaries.  Reward the behaviors you want to encourage and ignore the ones you want to extinguish.

All makes allot of sense. I wouldn’t have thought to consider being raised as a litter.

[Bee]

We are relative newbies on the greyhound front relative to some people here, so take this post with that in mind. I do agree greyhounds are different- to other breeds and to my expectations. But discovering the joys of what they are like, and gaining their trust over time to allow cuddles etc, is what makes the journey so rewarding 🥰