In Dundee, recently, a Stsffordshire Bull Terrier escaped from its garden and saw a cat. The dog caught the cat and badly injured it. The case was taken to court and the judge ruled that the dog be put down.
The dog owner made an appeal to the court, but the ruling was upheld.
Our view is that it is up to the dog owner to keep the dog under control, but, if this situation happens, the owner should be punished, not the dog, who is acting naturally.
There is probably more to the story than meets the eye, but, it is a severe lesson never to let your dog off a lead in a public place.
Remember this is Central Scotland where it happened.
Take great care,
Celia and Jimmy.

I totally agree with you Jimmy and Celia. What is more few dogs are aggressive by instinct. Most often it is people who shape their personality this way. Very irresponsible people...

Here Here! People often comment about us never letting Ace of the lead, but we would rather be safe than sorry.

So many owners of other breeds of dog happily let their dogs off the lead, and although their dogs might be quite friendly, they do not realise the risks they are taking until unfortunately its too late.

And it is really annoying when we are walking Ace on the lead and other peoples dogs are dashing about - if he were to go for them (which he wouldnt cos he is such a suke) we would no doubt be blamed.

So do the safe thing people, keep them on a lead and dont run any risks.

Kaz

I totally agree. Other people's dogs are the reason poor Sammy2 is still walked with his muzzle on. I hate it and, normally, he is such a big gentle giant, but he will react to other dogs, especially small ones. I'm amazed at how people allow their dogs to come right up to mine. They, effectively, hand all responsibility for their dog's safety over to me.

Surprise surprise I am also going to agree!! The problem are the people not the dogs and there are too many people just NOT being responsible for their dogs actions which puts both their own and other dogs at risk.Just about every day I see something going on which could have been prevented if the dog was on a lead - whether that be in a minor way like dogs doing their business when owner is too far away to be aware and clean up or whether its the classic dog running up to Bambi with the owner shouting "Its ok it'll not touch you" when Im walking with a muzzled greyhound!

Yup they need to start punishing the owners and NOT punishing the dogs as all dogs can be kept and made safe with the correct precautions. Don't know if anyone watched the documentary about Battersea Dogs Home that was on a while back but for any of u guys with a grey that would go for other dogs (like myself) its an interesting watch but be prepared to suddenly realise halfway through that if your dog had ended up there it would have been pts.Scary! x

Hi Joan, I did watch the Battersea documentary and I found it quite distressing, as I'm sure many dogs that were slightly defensive/aggressive in their confined test conditions were destroyed before they were given a chance to adapt. For example, think of Ariel, who was a wee demon in a kennel environment but apparently a perfect lady once rehomed.
Most dog breeds have had the chase/catch/kill instinct bred out of them but greyhounds actually have it honed when they are being bred for racing. Celia and Jimmy ask us to be aware of that when we rehome their dogs. Some will be fine with other dogs, even cats. Others will need to be protected from their own instinctive actions. The thing is, we know about this, because Celia and Jimmy make sure that we do. Most other dog owners don't give it a thought. So, if we want to keep our hounds safe, we also have to take their dogs into account. It's just the price we pay for the privilege of owning a greyhound.

We learned a very scary lesson a while back when Archie picked up a spaniel that was annoying him and gave it a right good shake-the dog was traumatised it had puncture wounds in its groin and Robert got a bitten chin while separating them-and yes archie was on his lead the other off it-unfortunately he was not muzzled-never again!we had a very large vet bill to pay.

Very sad news about this dog. I think the judge is misguided and perhaps ignorant in doggy matters/ways.

We also have to remember that this dog was not let voluntarily off the lead, it escaped from the garden. For all we know these owners are responsible and do not let their dog off the lead outwith their garden. The fact that this dog injured a cat when it escaped, does not mean that other dogs cannot be safely let loose in a controlled open area such as parkland or fields etc, to say so, represents a huge assumption.

I am not advocating letting all dogs off the lead, obviously some are not suitable, and I've seen my fair share of dogs that should not be allowed off the lead. My own greyhound has been on the receiving end of a few attacks, from such dogs, but I still think that it is acceptable to let well behaved dogs off the lead. Of course incidents can still happen but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

My greyhound is allowed off the lead, he is beautifully behaved and has never fought with another dog. He has the prey drive that most dogs have (all my friends dogs hunt and none of them are greyhounds), but is able to differentiate between other dogs (even chihuahuas) and rabbits or squirrels!

I have notced a big difference in rural and urban areas, with urban owners being much more inclined to allow unsocialised, aggressive or unsuitable dogs off the lead. Also dog walking and off the lead excercise in urban areas tends to be confined to parks, in which tensions between dogs can run high because of the lack of space and the increased numbers.

The answer is for some owners to become more responsible or sensible...how do we acheive this? I don't know, it's a difficult one! :)

As Celia and Jimmy said above, there is often more to these cases than meets the eye so I don't think we can make any assumptions.

I keep my dogs on the lead because of the proximity of roads as much as anything. I can't bear to think of them having or causing an accident.

Please read this.

This is an excellent text.
Celia and Jimmy.

That piece of writing always makes my skin prickle!! It is just so true!! Altho fear not Celia and Jimmy I have never been tempted to see if Bambi would be ok off the lead it just will never happen! I have to say also that many of the incidents I see so often are with non greyhounds who seem to be in the same situation - that something interests them and it overpowers any training they may have had and it scares the living daylights out of me to see dogs running out into the road!! Im forever gripeing about dogs running off lead cos of my Bambi's reaction to this but when push comes to shove the dogs safety is paramount and not only do I not want these dogs to do mine and Bambi's heads in I also dont want them flattened by a passing car!!! x

I think the excellent text that John put on this forum says it all.
Maybe it should be given to every new greyhound owner, and anyone who does risk their greys off the lead needs to read this and maybe rethink things.

We never let Ace off the lead but we have stopped using his muzzle as he seems so soppy with other dogs, and the reaction we get from other people when he is wearing a muzzle is really annoying. But I am having second thoughts on this now.

Kaz

Kaz, please don't muzzel Ace again, I hate those things, they give people the wrong impression of greyhounds and make them think that they are vicious dogs. Also, the greyhound isn't able to defend himself if another dog attacks him if he is wearing a muzzel. No, this is a completely different issue and nothing to do with keeping your dog on a lead, that should be done at all times but muzzels NO, I would never ever use one on our greyhounds, they don't need them if the dog is controlled properly and they shouldn't be used as an excuse or replacement for proper owner supervision.

John,
I respect what you say about the muzzle but a few hounds have a very high chase and catch drive and it can be hard to control them if another dog comes running up, particularly if you have more than one hound on the lead. I always carry a muzzle so that I can quickly put it on if I spot a dog who looks out of control. That action in itself tends to alert owners to the need to control their dogs.
The same applies to deer. I have a hound who becomes very excited on sighting deer and is liable to snap at my other hounds if they are in range. So I am always on the alert and muzzle him as soon as I spot a deer.
I have one greyhound who runs free on the beach with no muzzle, one who stays on the lead with no muzzle (Foxy with the broken leg), and one who stays on the lead and is briefly muzzled as required (he also occasionally gets to run free with his muzzle on when the beach is deserted).
So I guess what I'm saying is that there can be no hard and fast rules. You just need to get to know your greyhound and play safe. The relationship is built on mutual trust so I don't see trust as a 'disease'.

Hi All,

I have been reading with interest over the past few days to gather peoples opinions. I have to agree with Marions last post. Trust should not be classed as a disease. I agree that on very few occasions a dogs natural instinct may take over and unfortunately may have fatal consiquences. We were having trouble with our Grey , Suzie, as her behaviour had changed at home and we were at our wits end with her. We were given the number of someone to call by Celia and Jimmy. This person has been of tremendous support to us and helped us turn Suzies behaviour round in a flash. During our chats we broached the subject of letting the dog off the lead (while muzzled). We were advised that this is something that could be worked on but would definitely be possible as long it was not next to roads.(This person also has Greys and allows them off with the muzzles on). Following the advice that we were given Suzie had been off the lead several times along the beach and in woods and has reacted brilliantly to this. Re call can sometimes be a small issue but this is something that can only get better by working with her in these safe places. Working on re call in the garden or the house will not be of benefit when it comes to letting her off on the beach. She has trotted up to other dogs on one occasion last week. I never gave the "She only wants to play" excuse as i know how annoying that can be to hear. The other person was perfectly understanding that Suzie was only being nosey. If the other dog walker had reacted badly i would have been quite happy to explain the use of the muzzle as not all people are aware of why it is there.
I appreciate that every hound is different and some have a higher chase instinct than others however we are confident and trust in the advice that we are being given in relation to our Hound.

There are photos on this site of people walking on the beach with their dogs off the lead so i share Marions feeling that this is solely down to the owner and how well they feel they know their dog. The owner is responsible and we are priviliged to have dogs as beautiful and loving as they are, but if we as owners feel that our dog should be Trusted enough to RUN FREE then surely that is a private choice.

Just my opinion

Thanks for the post John. I have decided not to muzzle Ace. He is a big softie and shows no aggression whatsoever to other dogs and as you say, if he were to be attacked he would need to defend himself. He will never be let off the lead - my opinion is that no matter how well you think your grey is trained, the price you may have to pay if something goes wrong is just not worth the risk.

Kaz

For those of you who choose to let your grey off the lead, I would make the following points;

- a grey at full speed can still cause a lot of damage to another dog or small animal even if they are wearing a muzzle.
- if you rehomed your grey from GRF you signed an agreement stating (among other things) that you would keep your dog on the lead in public places and that you would be held liable for the consequences should your dog be off the lead in public. Other greyhound rescues have the same clause in their rehoming agreements.

These two points are fact, not opinion.

If they do not sway you then I can tell you that many greys get injured chasing after rabbits or other animals because at speed they simply do not always see barbed wire fences or deep rabbit holes. There was the case where a grey running free in a supposedly safe area caught and maimed a cat leading to the cats owner persuing the greys owner for thousands of pounds of vets bills. There was another case where a grey was let off the lead on the beach and ended up killing a smaller dog which, I believe, ended up in the grey being destroyed.

If a grey gets spooked by distant gun shots or a firework or thunder they will run away. In the worst case they will put themselves at huge risk. You may remember the horrific injuries that Paddy suffered after bolting from thunder, falling 12 feet down onto the road and then struck and dragged along the road by a car. He never made it. I watched his desperate fight for life for two weeks. It broke my heart to see his suffering, and see him put to sleep. If I had allowed that to happen, if I was responsible for that, I couldn't live with myself. Do you really want that for your grey?

Well said Steve.

I also urge all Greyhound owners to take note and please keep your dogs on a lead in public places.

In fact, I would like to see it made law that ALL dogs of any breed are kept on leads in public places, then the sorts of things we have been reading about and heard about on the news etc would probably not have happened at all. Yes there will always be the unfortunate incidents where things happen, I dread the thought of the neighbourhood cats getting caught by Ace in our garden - even after he has chased them they dont learn and keep coming back.

Kaz

It's simple.
Dog on lead is under owner's control.
Dog off lead is under dog's control.
Any consequencies are the fault of the owner.
That's why GRF get your signature confirming that you will not let them off lead in public places. It's for the dog's safety. You are welcome to let them run free at the kennels in the safe runs.
Jimmy.

Just to perhaps lighten the mood a little (altho I know how serious a subject this is so Im not making light of it at all) My Bambi who would not run at all when I took her to the safe area at Union Farm during their open day has found somewhere she is more than happy to run free...unfortunately it is my work...Bambi feels it is a lovely indoor and therefore weather safe area where there seem to be many Im sure she said "suckers" who will sit and spend hours petting her in between her careering up and down the centre of the day centre (yes I did say day centre!)at high speeds!! For me I feel that this is probably the best option for both myself and my little princess who is now ABSOLUTELY exhausted by her day! x