Every greyhound has its own personality and will respond differently to other pets and animals. Though there are some things that you can do to assist your greyhound to adjust to their new house mates.

Dogs

Greyhounds are by nature not an aggressive breed. They are generally accepting of other medium to large sized dogs. Introducing smaller dogs can sometimes take a little time but once the greyhound understands it is a dog they will be able to socialise safely.

It is recommended that the initial meeting between pet dogs and the foster greyhound take place on neutral ground whenever possible (sidewalk out the front of the house, park over the road etc.). The recommended way to introduce the foster greyhound to your pet dog/s is to follow the ‘three second hello’ rule, and then take them for a short walk together.

The ‘three second hello’ is where the dogs are allowed to say hello (sniffing, touching) for a total of three seconds, and are walked away from each other after this time (for only 10-20 seconds) then bring them back together for another 3 seconds and repeat. Three seconds allows the dogs to have a meet and a sniff, but does not allow enough time for them to get over excited, playful or aggressive. Walking the dogs past each other and allowing them to meet for three seconds a number of times should diffuse any situation from getting out of hand. This is also the perfect time to go for a ten minute walk around the block or down the street and back.

Walking the dogs together allows them to see/smell each other while also interacting with the environment. Walking can be a stress relief for dogs, and a great way to work off excess energy which may be displaced into unwanted behaviour if the dogs meet in a confined space like the back yard or lounge room.

Once you are confident the greyhound and your pet dog can safely interact, you can allow both dogs to wander around in your yard. The greyhound should wear its muzzle and can still be on lead in case you need to quickly catch it, at least until you completely trust them. Greyhounds can comfortably wear their muzzles at all times other than when they eat; they can easily pant, drink and sleep wearing them and it will not hinder their ability to function normally. We recommend that for the first meet with a small dog the greyhound wear its wire muzzle for safety reasons, and it be on lead.

If the greyhound is persistent with wanting to chase a small, fast, eye-catching member of the family, you must report this back to the Foster Care Coordinator or other GAPSA staff as soon as possible.

It is also important to recognise when a situation should be diffused before it gets too full on. This can include pushy behaviours, over excited play behaviours or uncomfortable insecure growling behaviours from either dog. Please diffuse the situation by calling the greyhound or your dog (more likely to respond to their name than the greyhound) to you, and just hold their collars for 10-30 seconds. Try to remember not to be too rough or ‘scary’ when calling the dogs as they’re more likely to ignore you if you sound angry – why would they come to you when they can have a party with their new friend instead?

Cats

Greyhounds are very individual in their behaviour when it comes to cats, and some will either want to chase them and will never be able to live with a cat; some can learn with training; and others can be playful (in a good way) or even fearful of the cat.

Greyhounds should always be first introduced to an indoor cat that is calm and not running about, or a cat that is willing to stand its ground and growl/hiss/ swipe. Only introduce your cat to the greyhound when the dog is calm. They should be on a secure lead, and wear a cat safe muzzle. Allow the cat to approach the greyhound, and watch for any negative body language from the greyhound or signs that your cat may not be safe. This may include stalking, staring lunging, barking, following obsessively or trying to bite. If this is the case, the greyhound is not cat friendly and you must assess its ability to learn to live with the cat or put management plans in place so the cat is always separated and safe. The best way your greyhound can react is to simply avoid the cat and not want to be anywhere near it.

If the greyhound seems trustworthy after the initial meeting, it should still stay on lead when around the cat and still wear its cat muzzle for a day or two. After the initial day or two the greyhound may wear the muzzle and lead around the house in case they need to be caught at short notice, and then remove the lead and then remove the muzzle as you trust the greyhound more and more.

It is up to the foster carer to judge how well the greyhound reacts, and whether, in time, they would trust the greyhound around their furry friend off lead or without a muzzle. It can take days or weeks for a greyhound to become accustomed to having a cat run around the house without having the desire to chase – after all, chasing is what the greyhound was bred for!

Please ensure the safety of your cat at all times when the greyhound is at your property.

Other pets

When it comes to other pets such as aviary birds, horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, chooks, ferrets, or whatever it is you may own, it is important that similar processes be used when introducing them for the first time. Each greyhound will react differently towards any animal it encounters. Always ensure the safety of your pets, and remember to take it slow.

For a greyhound that is over excited and highly aroused around caged birds, pocket pets or other animals, the greyhound should not be allowed to run up to the aviary/ cage/fence and jump all over it. Special management strategies must be put in place to ensure the greyhound cannot practice the undesirable/dangerous behaviour; such as always having the dog on lead when it first runs outside, moving the bird cage to another room, distracting the dog from wanting to jump at the cage by giving it a toy, treat toy, long lasting chew etc. The more excited the greyhound gets and the more it gets to practice the unwanted behaviour, the harder it will be to retrain the greyhound.

To train the greyhound not to show these undesired behaviours you must always ensure activity around these new animals is calm and slow.

Start with the greyhound at a large distance from them and work on keeping the greyhound’s attention by using their name and feeding them a treat when they look at you, and then decrease the distance between the greyhound and the new animal. Introduce slowly and reward the greyhound for calm behaviours and not staring, barking or lunging. Always finish before you push the greyhound too far, and end on a positive note. It can always be a great idea to distract the greyhound too; for example a greyhound who rushes out the back door to run up and down the chicken coop barking can be distracted by waiting calmly at the door, and when you let the greyhound out throw a handful of treats across the ground. Often dogs forget what it was they were about to do and do not have ‘forward planning’ such as “I will just eat these treats and tend to the chickens in a moment” instead the greyhound is more likely to go “Oh my, it rained treats! I must continue to sniff and search around for more”.

For a greyhound that is scared of a new animal such as a horse, you can attempt to counter condition the dog to change its emotional response from fearful to comfortable. To do this you would have the greyhound where it can see the other animal but is not overly fearful of it, and feed it treats for simply being near the animal. As the greyhound is distracted by food and happy to eat, you can gradually move it closer and closer. Always be aware of how the greyhound is feeling and never put it in a situation where it becomes fearful or aggressive.