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sight hounds

Deelove

Wise Old Thumper
Does anyone have sight hounds with house buns? I am considerig a greyhound x lurcher rescue. He has been cat tested, but I've always tried to avoid hunting breeds when considering a dog as obviously the buns come first.
 
I have a collie x whippet (more whippet than collie) and she is brilliant with my buns. She is very obedient, and although would chase wild bunnies/hares/squirrels etc (she's 15 now and rather blind so doesn't do that anymore) she would never hurt my bunnies. I'd never leave her unattended with the rabbits but I have no worries about letting her in my room to sleep (when she has been poorly) with my buns free ranging about. They generally leave her alone, but if they hop over, she will jump up and run away from them. :lol:
She is certainly interested in them, and wags her tail and sniffs them, the important thing to remember is to never let a dog get excited around small animals. Whenever Rosie looks like she is taking too much interest in them, I say "no" and she walks off. I only need to do this when they are running around, obviously every dog has an instinct to chase; sight hounds have a stronger instinct so it's just a case of not letting them get to the point where their instinct completely takes over.

It depends on the dog tbh. Rosie is a very timid, calm dog. My friend has a lurcher, who is completely insane! :lol: He won't chase wild animals but loves to chase my buns around the run. :roll: He is very excitable and loves to run; he bounces about like an idiot all the time and would definitely not be good to have around rabbits or small animals.
 
We got a sight hound puppy (saluki x greyhound) last year. I didn't really want a puppy - would have preferred 6 months - 2 years. I looked for about a year in rescues to find one that was small furry friendly but couldn't find one that was reliably OK with all our other (mainly rescue) furries. I specifically went for a very non-working upbringing so he had absolutely no experience of the chase / killing. He was brought up with other animals (mainly horses and dogs, some larger animals and birds). It was also suggested that he was never given soft toys to play with so that he does not make an association with fur and playthings - dogs often rip out the stuffing.

People told me that sighthounds can accept their own pets in the house, but will chase anything outside. This is certainly true for us. I would not trust him off the lead with anything. If it moves, he will chase it if he sees it. He loses all common sense when the instinct kicks in. He likes to run after rooks in a field, but this seems more for fun than a serious chase. I would not trust him with sheep (EVER - bad experience), deer or cows. In the house, I can groom cats or rabbits near him and he won't move. I would never trust him alone with anything furry. All pets have safe areas and there are baby gates across a couple of doorways to keep the cats safer, although he could jump the barriers and dig into runs on grass if he tried. He has never got hold of a live animal before.

Having said that, it is amazing how much he doesn't see / smell when we are out and it is quite easy to be one step ahead. He walks nicely on a short lead and it is enough to prevent him chasing. Other dogs are really more of a problem as he is a very big and very bouncy puppy who wants to play with everyone. Hopefully in another year he will have matured nicely.

We also have some safe-ish places where he goes off the lead - recall is an optional extra still so we are always vigilant and armed with sausages.

So, don't let it put you off - but be wary. Good, consistent training goes a long way to set acceptable behaviour - including a sharp 'No' to any hint of going for a bunny / cat / guinea pig. And sausages.
 
Me! And just earlier, Katy groomed Islay for about 15 minutes :love:

It all depends on the dogs involved. Todd and Katy, I trust 100%. They have had the small animals hopping about their feet, and don't so much as look at them. Lucy I wouldn't trust, she's fine if I have them sitting on my knee, but if they went on the floor she would without a doubt kill them. She didn't pass her cat test though, so its pretty impressive I've trained her with the cats but rabbits are still a bit hard to resist for her.

They also are fine outside, but again, Lucy isn't. Just depends on the dog.
 
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