re: #275 danarchy

Those are completely different things. In one case you are encouraging a dog to follow it’s natural inclination to chase prey and in the other you have to train them not to run when there is all sorts of crazy movie set stuff going on around them.

In one you let them indulge their instincts and in the other you have to get them to suppress them. I am not saying greyhounds can’t be trained but there is a reason most greyhound owners keep their dogs on leash.

In my case, I signed a binding agreement to do so!
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That’s not really because they’re untrainable, though. It’s because the prey drive is so deep, and built on natural instinct, that you can’t be certain they won’t bolt if a squirrel catches their eye at the right moment, and if they bolt, they’re gone. They could be across town in minutes, lost, no idea where they are.

One reads stories of owners who have had a Greyhound for years who was always obedient, always came when called, never bolted, till that one time when they did. And then, they are SO prey-focused they’d run onto a freeway full of cars following a squirrel or rabbit.

So, the GSGA makes adopters sign an agreement never to let their dog off leash outside an enclosed space. But really, having seen many other people’s dogs off leash, I think most or all owners should adopt that. So many times a dog will come running across a park, while their owner keeps calling them, fruitlessly. They always say, “He’s really friendly!” or “He’s just a puppy!”

Okay. But I don’t know your dog. And you don’t know mine. Maybe my dog is the sweetest, friendliest dog in the world. Or maybe he eats poodles for breakfast.

You. Don’t. Know.