Question about trusting your dog to run free for exercise ...

[kimlovescats]

I have never had a dog that I was able to take to a park and just turn loose to run. We don't have a dog park here, so it would have to just be a regular park that isn't fenced in. I would so love to be able to let Kenny run around, but I am SO afraid he would run off and I wouldn't be able to get him back. One day just on a regular walk, he pulled the leash from my hand and wandered off into someone's driveway. He was just sniffing around their car tires, but I panicked ... so afraid I wouldn't get him back. Thankfully his lead got hung uder one of the tires!

Anyway, is there a good way to work up to this gradually ... or should I just stick with being drug by a lead. :eek: ;)

[caseysmom]

I bought a 50 foot lead from petsmart for when I take Casey to the beach, you could use that to try to teach the recall command.

[ramanth]

The best thing to do is to make a lead. I bought a 30 ft. nylon leash to use when I was practicing Kia's recall.

Pretty much you clip it on when they are interested in something else. Then let them wander around the yard or park. Call the dog to you. If they come, treat them. If you see that they've noticed a squirrel (or something they may chase), step on the lead.

The rule of thumb is, if you have a slow dog, make a short lead. If you have a fast dog, make a long lead. And it can be out of any material of your choice. Nylon, rope, leather. :)

Once I got to the point that I knew Kia would recall, I knew I could take her to parks offleash or let her run around my parents yard. :)

[Muddy4paws]

we have always done as Caseysmom has suggested, buy a long lead and teach recal and make sure they still do it with plenty of distractions and alot of tasty treats work too!

[borzoimom]

My breed can NOT go in a unfenced area- they travel too fast- too quick- and quickly get out of ear shot... I never put my dogs in a unfenced area- or a area where they did not know the barrier.. In a field- they would take off like 35 mph flight...
At home, they are trained as the woods being the barrier. I walk the barrier edge daily with the dog I am training, and correct when they step into the woods. Except for Galina- they all trained quickly as they would rather run on open ground then go crashing in the woods..

[kimlovescats]

Ok, I will try that. I'll have to wait until my hubby can go with me though. I am very weak-armed, and I imagine the 50 ft. lead would just be 50 feet that I would drag behind Kenny! :eek: :p

[Freedom]

We don't have a dog park here in my city. BUT . . . thanks to the jerks who don't pick up after their dogs, city council passed a local ordinance that dogs are NOT permitted in the parks.

So yu may want to check or at least keep it in mind if you don't know for sure that dogs are OK in the park you are heading out to.

[GreyhoundGirl]

(if you can trust him ) Go deep into a forest. Far enough he'd give up running before he got to a road. Bring some really tasty treats. (Jenny reccomends last nights' roast beef!) Call and if he comes lavish him with prase and beef!

[applesmom]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

[lizbud]

If Kenny pulls that hard, maybe he needs a different type of collar. Have
you ever tried a prong collar? They are not as evil as they look. :) Works
great with strong pullers. I only used mine for walking & nothing else.

[CathyBogart]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

Jasper is one of those. He's very single-minded, and if he spots a squirrel, he's GONE, even if I'm holding the juciest rib roast you could imagine. :) Makes me suspect he might have whippet in him. ;)

[agilityk9trainer]

I have never had a dog that I was able to take to a park and just turn loose to run. We don't have a dog park here, so it would have to just be a regular park that isn't fenced in. I would so love to be able to let Kenny run around, but I am SO afraid he would run off and I wouldn't be able to get him back. One day just on a regular walk, he pulled the leash from my hand and wandered off into someone's driveway. He was just sniffing around their car tires, but I panicked ... so afraid I wouldn't get him back. Thankfully his lead got hung uder one of the tires!

Anyway, is there a good way to work up to this gradually ... or should I just stick with being drug by a lead. :eek: ;)

Your dog is not a candidate for going off lead. And, as Applesmom said, NO dogs should be allowed off lead in an urban environment. I teach my students that only hunting dogs should be allowed off lead AFTEr much training and a 100 % reliable recall and then only in a hunting environment (the country).

Find a fully fenced public area where you can allow your dog some roaming space. I find tennis courts to be great places. Also, some parks or schools have nicely fence, enclosed large spaces for your dog to run free.

The rule of thumb is: Never off lead in the city unless in a fenced in area. Period. Off lead in the country ONLY with a 100 percent reliable recall AND far away from roads.

Remember, one mishap, and your dog can be dead. Not worht the risk. I'm a professional trainer with titled dogs, but I never allow my dogs off lead outside of a fenced in area - even in the country.

[elizabethann]

What about a ball park? Sometimes those are fenced in (if only partially).

I take Fenway to several ball parks down the street. So far, he hasn't taken off (except 2 years ago when he saw a kitty on the other side of the fence & crawled under it and ran after it - I freaked).

Do you have hiking trails nearby? I take Fenway to several. Some I can't take him off his leash. But others, I can. When he starts to run off, I just call him back and he eventually comes back. When I get closer to the road or parking lot, I make sure his leash is on.

Good luck in finding a place you can take your dog.

[cmayer31]

Jasper is one of those. He's very single-minded, and if he spots a squirrel, he's GONE, even if I'm holding the juciest rib roast you could imagine. :) Makes me suspect he might have whippet in him. ;)

My Frankie is another one that can never be off leash. She could care less if I praised her until I turned blue as was holding an entire platter of the best smelling foods. Once she sees an opening she is off and running.

Riley on the other hand is afraid to leave the end of our driveway, so she is sometimes allowed off leash, but mostly there is a 30' lead that she is attached to.

My parents have a large yard, so we just go there for off leash fun.

[critter crazy]

My Duke cannot be trusted to be off lead. Being half bloodhound, once his nose catches a scent, he is gone, no matter what!:rolleyes:

[cloverfdx]

Your dog is not a candidate for going off lead. And, as Applesmom said, NO dogs should be allowed off lead in an urban environment. I teach my students that only hunting dogs should be allowed off lead AFTEr much training and a 100 % reliable recall and then only in a hunting environment (the country).
I have to disagree with this... with some basic recall training Kenny could be just fine. No dog is going to have a 100% recall, they are dogs after all. Things must be a bit different here as most dogs are allowed to run off lead at parks (Un fenced, but council permits them to be offlead).

A drag line is a great idea.. Tinny wears one when we go hiking out bush in the middle of no where.. she has a fondness for hunting and getting lost ;). Goodluck with your training Kim, i would love to know how you get on & have fun Kenny.

[Kfamr]

Kiara is only ever left off lead when we are at the beach. And even then, I often put her on the lead because I get paranoid.

Kiara has one of the best recalls I've ever known in a dog. She rarely wanders from myself or someone in my family. She has no prey drive, little to no interest in other dogs or animals, and couldn't care less about other people unless they are throwing a frisbee or tennis ball.

However, she still ran off one day because she was spooked. She will never be allowed off leash in a neighborhood again.

I often put her on a 30ft leash and allow her to run with that in our front yard. If her recall doesn't work I can easily run atleast 30ft behind her stepping on her leash.

I trusted her but after her missing for 5 days, that trust has been broken, and I will not trust any of my other dogs off leash in a urban area again.

[shais_mom]

Shaianne my greyhound who all but one time - the only time she was "loose" was an accident! I took her to a ball diamond once but was so nervous that even tho it was enclosed I stayed right behind her the entire time and she never even knew she was offleash!
Keegan on the other hand is usually pretty good unless a neighbor is out and she goes visiting. My parents call her the neighborhood PR person.
At their house they have 3 acres so she is rarely on the leash at their house. If we are taking a walk - she is on leash.
At my parents cottage - if we walk I have her leashed - now my dad can take her for a walk down the road and have her off leash and you couldn't tell it - she stays right by him and listens. She knows she has too. Me - PUSHOVER - ehh not so much. So I don't chance it - when we take walks unless its in the middle of a trail or woods - she is leashed.
I would try some of the local schools or parks if they have baseball diamonds fenced in - just make sure you clean up after him to be a good "neighbor". :)
Does Kenny like to retrieve? that is another incentive - if we go walking at the resevoir I usually keep a couple balls with me b/c she just LOVES tennis balls and keeps focused on them so she doesn't go far. I've even take them to the vet before!
Also Keegan is 5 years old but with her bilateral hip dysplasia - she doesn't run off much anymore **((knocks on wood))** b/c after awhile her hips get tired and she lays down.-
having a big dog is so much fun. I mean you can do all of this with a little dog but romping in a field isn't the same. :) And the only reason I say this is b/c my neighbor is an avid hunter and they have a 10 pound shih tzu and he has tried taking her with him before just to check his stands and she can't jump over the fences or gets stuck in the weeds - and her hair is so long then he has to spend an hour brushing the cockleburrs out of her coat when they get home (or catch h-e-double hockey sticks from "mommy" ;)). Zoe the shih tzu LOVES to go with daddy but he has to pick her up and carry her half the time. :)
good luck and have fun

[Taz_Zoee]

We don't have a dog park here in my city. BUT . . . thanks to the jerks who don't pick up after their dogs, city council passed a local ordinance that dogs are NOT permitted in the parks.

So yu may want to check or at least keep it in mind if you don't know for sure that dogs are OK in the park you are heading out to.

We have a park right behind our house. It is dog friendly, but they MUST be leashed at all times. Yeah, well we don't always abide by the rules. :p
Zoee is pretty good about staying close to us, and if she chases a squirrel it usually runs up a tree or fence so she doesn't go far. And we stay at the back of the park, away from the road. And I have to leash her when another dog comes around anyway.

Good luck Kim with Kenny! :D

[borzoimom]

My guys can haul you know what in a run- see dog general post 3 Borzois in the snow first video to show you how fast- ..

[shais_mom]

My guys can haul you know what in a run- see dog general post 3 Borzois in the snow first video to show you how fast- ..
:)
reminds me of my greyhound - my dad always said she was beautiful when she runs as long as she was RUNNING TOWARD you and not AWAY from you! which didn't happen very often.
ahhh the stories I could tell in the 2 short years I had her....

[cyber-sibes]

We trained Star to come when called with a long rope, as described in above posts. We were concerned that she learned to stay away from the fence in our old house, it was only 4'. She has pretty good recall for a husky, but we would still never try leaving her off leash except in the backyard with us standing there. I have to keep an eye on Sherman at all times - he's escaped from the back of my car twice when I've unclipped his leash - jumped right back out & ran off at the park once, and once in the parking lot of petsupplies plus - nearly gave me a heart attack with all the traffic!
Just keep working with Kenny, try him in fenced areas, but I would always be careful in public places - you never know what might catch his attention and he's off ina flash.
*for the pulling, try a Gentle Leader head collar, they work great.

[pessimisaurus]

honestly there are VERY FEW dogs that I would consider 100% reliable off leash. there are plenty of dogs who are close to it, but in my opinion if you cant call your dog off a squirrel, or away from another dog, it has to stay leashed- PERIOD (unless in a dog park). I worked for over a year with Alki before I would let her off leash, and even then I can only do it in certain places, and at certain times. I know there are times when she is in a certain mood and is not going to reliably come to me from a dog.

when I lived in the city more, I took my dogs to the big park across the street often, one leashed & one not. this park was not an offleash dog area but most people let their dogs off leash there anyway, and *most* were good. but there were plenty of times when other dogs whose owners were clueless, came up to my dogs- who are NOT friendly with other dogs when onleash or playing fetch, and Ive had to literally yell to owners yards away, to call their dogs! to people like myself that have dogs who arent always dog friendly, its really stressful and annoying to have an unleashed dog rush up to your leashed (or 100% under voice control) dogs. so anyway, thats just my little pet peeve/rant! ;)

that said! I agree with everyone else- get a long nylon leash, they sell them from 20-50 feet at most petstores. you could also get a flexi since they you wont have leash dragging around to trip on. but even with long leashes, only use it in pretty unpopulated places, and after youve worked up to a pretty decent recall, because a non-friendly person or dog could come within your long-line's reach. (AWESOME article on training a reliable recall: http://pets.aol.com/articles/petfinder/_a/the-prodigal-dog/20060712102509990003 written by a top person in the animal learning theory world of dog training)

as for the pulling- buy this: http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=74 or this: http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=17

They are humane (unlike prong & choke collars), and they WORK instantly. You can find them at petsmart & I believe petco as well, and most other pet stores I imagine.

GOOD LUCK! :)

[GreyhoundGirl]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

When I join new forums the first thing people usually do is harp on me for letting a grey off leash. :( :mad:

So that people don't harp on me here either. Yes, she is a grey, but I trust her recall completly. I have called her off hot pursuit of a rabbit before.

[borzoimom]

When I join new forums the first thing people usually do is harp on me for letting a grey off leash. :( :mad:

So that people don't harp on me here either. Yes, she is a grey, but I trust her recall completly. I have called her off hot pursuit of a rabbit before.
WOW MICHELLE!!! :eek: THAT IS QUITE A FEAT! No way would mine do that one!! VERY VERY VERY GOOD!!!! :D

[Sophist]

My Duke cannot be trusted to be off lead. Being half bloodhound, once his nose catches a scent, he is gone, no matter what!:rolleyes:

Same problem, my beagles normally have excellent recall, but once a scent catches their attention, they go deaf :rolleyes: .

As for my big mix, she's got even better recall, but I think if coming back to us meant leaving 'her' beagles wandering alone, she'd stick with the beagles.


That aside, in the areas around here that are rural enough to go off-leash, coyotes, mountain lions, skunks, and rabid wildlife are a concern (rabies is a concern due to aggression, my dogs of course have their rabies shots), so it really isn't an option.

I still work with all of them on recall though, and would strongly encourage you to follow some of the recall training suggestions given here. Recall is super-important to try to instill and periodically reinforce, even if you don't plan on using off-leash. Accidents happen, and it could be a life-saver.

[cali]

I teach grass barriers, I start with a long lead or a flexi and play loads of chase games(AKA dog chases ME, never ever ever the other war round) when the dog gets near the edge of the grass I ran away bouncing and calling lik "oh happy day!" lol when the dog comes running(placing front paws ON me) I praise and praise like no tomorow, play tug and such. once the dog has that down at least 99% of the time I start letting the dog off leash for short periods, when apporching the edge of the grass, run away calling and bouncing, when the dog comes a running more praise and games. eventually they figer out that edge of grass mean run back to mom! I have never had issues with this, and I have done this with 3 dogs and it has yet to fail. it was pretty funny how impressed people were when a biker went by on the other side of the street and Misty went galloping and barking right to the edge of the grass and went right into a U-turn back to me as soon as she reached the edge lol

[bckrazy]

You should look out for off-leash Obedience classes, with an Obedience club. Gonzo has a very solid recall & stay after going through a few months of classes and practicing a lot.

I also don't recommend bringing him off-leash in any unfenced area until you've practiced a lot in fenced areas with distractions, and you're fully confident. I would never let my dogs off-leash near any cars, ever.

[Canis-Lupess]

Hello

I found this information in one of my dog behaviour books and thought it might come in handy for you to use on your dog.

"Recall
This is probably one of the most difficult problems to overcome because, from the dog's point of view, not coming is more rewarding than coming. If the dog does not obey, the walk is extended, if he does obey, the walk is stopped and he is taken home. Ultimately, the responsibility of keeping the pack together should lie with the pack leader, and if the dog is ignoring the owner's command to return, the owner should look at his relationship with the dog in general.
Whenever An owner complains about his dog's failure to return when called, I usually ask how readily the dog responds in the house or garden. Generally he tells me that he has no trouble, but after he has been in my office for about ten minutes and I ask him to call the dog over to him, it usually takes three or four calls before the dog obeys. I am not suggesting that owners like this have told me a lie about the dog's readiness to respond at home, it is just that it has not created a problem and therefore they have no noticed.
At the end of the day, if the owner has to keep repeating the recall command to the dog in the confines of their own home, they can hardly expect the dog to obey them when they are out in the park with all the added distractions of different smells and other dogs. Obviously, they should first improve their recvall at hime and garden before the dog is allowed off the lead in wide open spaces.
Assuming this has been done, the first few sessions should be carried out in a fairly enclosed area, with the dog trailing a light line. One command only should be given, and if the dog does not emmediately respond, the line should be tugged, not as a correction, only to reinforce the command. It is a good idea to feed the dog only after it has had it's run and, if the dog id only fed once a day, changing to two or three smaller meals. with each portion following his exercise, will increase incentive to return. Failing this, taking a portion of his daily food ration to the park should to the trick.
Once the recall response has been improved, the owner should get into the habit of calling the dog three or four times during each walk. Praise the dog and give a tit-bit or play with a toy and then allow him to run off again. This will overcome the dog's idea that being called back is a prelude to going home."

This might also help you if your dog is particularly stubborn....from the same book.

" There is a method that has been proved to be successful in the past and its effectiveness is thanks to a ruissian scientist called Parlov. You may be aware of the research that he did into conditioned reflexes, but if not, one of the experiments that he conducted was on the dog's salivory rate. he proved that, by rining a bell and then blowing meat powder into the dog's mouth, he could quickly get the dog to salivate when he rang the bell on its own. What has this got to do with the recall?
Simply that a conditioned reflex is something that the dog has no control over; therefore if you teach your dog to salivate when it hears a certain sound, you are more than halfway towards curing your problem. If the dog is salivating, it will need to satisgy the physiological urge that has been triggered off. If you have any juicy tit-bits with you, it's a dumb dog that will run in the opposite direction.
Buy yourself a whistle - any whistle will do providing the dog has not heard that tone before. Whenever you want to, give your dog a tit-bit, and I would arrange that part of his daily food ration is given in the form of tit-bits so that they can be given about a dozen or so times a day. Prior to giving him one, blow the whistle, but do not say anything. Do the same when you feed him the remains of his food. If you continue this regime for a few days, you will notice that the whistle will produce the same results that Parlov achieved.
You can then start to blow the whistle when your dog is in the garden and you are in the house. By the time he comes through the door, he should be well and truly drooling. This unpredictable regime of whistle, salivate, tit-bit/daily food ration should be continued until the recall itself becomes a conditioned reflex. Once you stop the tit-bits, the salivation at the sound of the whistle will quickly extinguish."

[Giselle]

Greyt advice by all but I just wanted to add to the whole greyhound thing: most American greyhounds owners are vehemently against letting their dogs off-lead in unfenced areas. We've seen FAR too many cases of lost/hurt/killed dogs. Trust is a very deadly disease. When people say their greys have solid recalls, I invite them to let their dogs lure course, wait 5 seconds (since that it usually one's reaction time), and recall their dogs. I would eat my arm if the dog came back.

On that note, I would also like to add that many English greyhound owners routinely let their dogs off-lead. I assume it's a regional thing. And FWIW, I walk my other dog off lead. It's a matter of training, breed characteristics, and the environment itself.

[Canis-Lupess]

I'm in the UK and many greyhound owners here, mostly racing greyhound owners, don't let their dogs off lead for fear of them injuring themselves mainly but also because they are often really aggressive towards other dogs that might pass by with their owners.

My dad owns and races greyhounds although I have very little to do with it all. I don't like what happens to many of them once their racing careers are over.
I know he sometimes lets his off, mainly when he wants them to have a run and one person holds them and he walks off over the field and then he shouts them and the other person lets the dogs go. They always run straight to him and then he puts them back on lead again.
He'd only allow them to run free on a nice level flat field though or up a slope that doesn't have humps and potholes etc.... Anywhere with humps and bumps would be off limits for running around and he has to get them on lead if any other dogs come into view. He also keeps them on lead if the ground is too hard...say in the middle of summer when there has been no rain for a while and the ground is all hard and dry.

On occasion, he does take them to this really large flat beach. Race horses are trained there etc......it's a couple of miles from the sand dunes to the sea when the tide is out. He lets the dogs off there. I went with him on one occasion.

[borzoimom]

Its highly unusual for a sighthound to be aggressive towards other dogs- they will chase a small animal, but not aggression. However- I have heard many times that retired racers, having been around nothing BUT other greys, have a hard time accepting that a dog can look so different from them. Usually however- this is manifest in shyness not aggression.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Its highly unusual for a sighthound to be aggressive towards other dogs- they will chase a small animal, but not aggression. However- I have heard many times that retired racers, having been around nothing BUT other greys, have a hard time accepting that a dog can look so different from them. Usually however- this is manifest in shyness not aggression.

Ditto. Greyhounds are around other greys their whole lives, they are anything but dog aggresive.

[Alysser]

My dog is perfect offlead. She knows recall if anything, but she would NEVER leave my side outside. She doesn't chase other animals, she does have SOME interest in them if she sees them, but most of the time she doesn't. I always keep the leash on her no matter what of course. I once left her outside in the yard for 10 mins, in a stay postion. She stayed there for 9 minutes. I swear, I was watching her the entire time. She only got out of it to look in the door to see if I was coming.

This proves some dogs can be off lead, others like sighthounds, its not a good idea. I hope to get a rescue retired grey in the near future, or distant future and I already know he/she will never be offleash in an unfenced area.

Someone told me, when I e-mailed a greyhound rescue this question, that retractable leashes are not good for greys at all and if he/she started to run it would snap. Is this true?

And do they have long 30 foot nylon leashes?

[borzoimom]

The longest flexi/lead I have found, other than a check cord, is 26 feet.. Check cords can be alot longer but risk having legs tied up..

[applesmom]

Anything beyond 25 feet doesn't really give enough control in sticky situations. With a longer lead, even a 40 pound dog can pull a human down when they hit the end of the lead at a run.

We made our own check cords with 1/2 and sometimes even 1 inch cotton rope. It's not as flexible as the retractable leashes and there's much less chance of the dog becoming tangled. We've never had one of those break even when a 65 pound dog hit the end at an all out run. With the rope check cords--wearing gloves is highly recommended!

Wouldn't recommend it for the smaller breeds though! ;)

[shais_mom]

Someone told me, when I e-mailed a greyhound rescue this question, that retractable leashes are not good for greys at all and if he/she started to run it would snap. Is this true?

And do they have long 30 foot nylon leashes?

pretty much - I used a flexi on my greyhound but it was only 15 feet. I often said if I had one longer I would have to anchor myself b/c she'd knock me off my feet (no easy feat) since they top out at about 30 feet. That is why greys are not supposed to be tied out - they can top out their speed and break their necks. I did tie mine out on a tie out (15 feet) and she clotheslined herself once and from then on never tried it again - but what she DID do was run around and around and around - and unscrew the tie out from the ground! She did that once and started on her merry way but got caught by a tree stump! And there she stayed until I rescued her! ;)

[CathyBogart]

Jasper (19 lbs) knocked me down at the end of a 16 foot flexi once. Just be careful!

[Canis-Lupess]

Ask my dad and he'll tell you how nasty racing greyhounds can be with other dogs.

He's had one of his own dogs rushed to the vets a few years ago when his brother attacked him and made a real mess of him and the sister decided to join in too and some of them go completely potty whenever they see another dog when out being walked.
Not far from where I live, there was an incident where a dog walker had his dog attacked and killed by two greyhounds and the owner of them just walked past and did nothing. :eek:

I've also seen other greyhound owners walking their dogs on lead on the fields where I walk mine and they would go totally potty whenever another dog came into view.
Even on the dog track, fights between the dogs aren't uncommon, especially when the race is finished thats why they wear the cage muzzles and many of them wear box muzzles when not racing to stop them going for each other. My dads dogs often wear them.
He used to have dogs at a proffessional greyhound kennels and I painted one of the kennel owners retired greyhounds and, when I was looking round the place, many of those dogs were wearing box muzzles when they were in their kennels.

Yes, when hyped up on high protien diets, racing greyhounds are often neurotic but they calm right down once retired.

My dad says his dogs see other small dogs they don't know as prey rather than other dogs. He says they'd kill little dogs if they got hold of them.

I suppose it is partly how they are reared and always in kennels and walked only on lead and not socialized with other dogs outside etc...

Even at the track, they are often kept muzzled...they don't let the greyhounds play together and get to know each other, put it that way.

I have personally seen lots of racing greyhound show aggression so I know they can be that way. I'm sure the ones I saw being walked on our local fields would have run straight over and gone for my dogs had they not been on the lead. He'd walk about 5 at once, you could tell they were racers.

[borzoimom]

THAT IS HIGHLY BIZARRE!!!! HIGHLY! :eek: And not like a sighthound at all.. I know several people that work with active racing greys and adoptees- NONE HAVE EVER ACTED like that.. Very strange for sure! I emailed this to one of the directors, and her response was not positive.. Where is do these dogs race?

[lizbud]

None of my dogs have been dog or people aggressive, but I would never
trust them on recall so they are never let run off lead.They can run their
little feet off within a fenced yard, and a dog park, but never without
boundaries.

[Canis-Lupess]

Nah, this is in general. Not just dogs at a certain track or owned by certain people. Even though I don't have that much to do with it all myself, I have met quite a few other greyhoud people via my dad and when they talk and such, the general jist is that racing greyhounds can be dangerous with other dogs, cats...etc...

My dad had a greyhound which was neurotic and aggressive and, when she was a racer, she'd kill cats or small dogs etc if she had ever gotten a chance...but when she retired and was rehomed, my dad heard about her further down the line. The new owners had a cat which she was now scared of, lol, and she was totally different, as placid as can be. A different dog totally.

All of the said greyhounds have been fine with other people and dogs they know most of the time. My dad has two border collies as well and the greyhounds are ok with them because they know them. Still, one of my dads border collies has a chunk missing out of one of her ears...that one of the greys did.

He's had some that had dominance issues and were aggressive for that reason.

I know high protien diets that racers are fed on are enough to make any dog hyper and can affect behaviour too so I think thats what a lot of it boils down to as well especially as many of them seem to change into a totally different dog shortly after retirement and their diet is changed and training stopped etc.... In my dog behaviour books, it says that diet can have very big influences on behaviour. I know that Border collies aren't supposed to be on too high protien because it sends them neurotic as well. Mine were always on 18%.

Still, at the same time, my dad has had some more placid greyhounds who wouldn't attack other dogs.

The dog I mentioned in the previous post who was attacked by his siblings was photographed in the vets surgery when he first arrived and I saw the photos. Sheesh, he was a total mess, just laying on the floor covered in severe wounds and bleeding. I saw him a few days afterwards with all little pipes sticking out of him. He was a placid dog himself. He didn't even try to fight back when he was attacked.