Greyhounds do well with well behaved children. Hopefully, all family members participated in the selection of your newly adopted Greyhound and those introductions have
already been successfully made. But, you may have friends and neighbors anxious to come over and meet him. Don't
forget that he is already nervous and with too many people reaching out to touch him or crowding over him, he might panic a
bit. It is not unusual for kids to get bitten or nipped if they rush up screaming at the dog and try to pet him
roughly. He has no idea what the child's intentions are and has not yet become relaxed in his new environment.
Put off introductions to outside people until the next week after your Greyhound has had a chance to settle in. Teach
your children and any others that will come into contact with your new Greyhound how to properly behave around the dog, and
never allow them to mistreat or harass the dog at any time but especially while he is sleeping, eating or chewing a raw hide
bone.
Teach children how to act when with your Greyhound! Small children often want to express their affection for the pet
Greyhound by patting/slapping the top of the dog's head, hugging or clinging on the dog. Though Greyhounds will endure
all sorts of irritating treatment initially, in silence, their limits will be reached and they may growl, bark or even snap.
Greyhounds never intend to do harm, but if the child's body is in the path of their snap, harm could unintentionally occur.
They'll also start avoiding your children and will cringe when they approach. You don't want this to happen, so teach
your children the correct way to interact with a Greyhound by gently stroking the neck and side of the shoulders or gently
brushing instead. Also enforce that tails, ears and mouths are private things, not play things.
Do not let young or inexperienced children play with your Greyhound (or any dog) unsupervised. New human introductions
should also be one at a time, preferably on leash for extra control should it be needed. Let your Greyhound take the
initiative to greet the new person or child. He may want to sniff the person first, before any gentle petting is
done. Take your cues from your new Greyhound -- How comfortable does he appear with all of this extra attention?
Many Greyhounds are real hams and love to be the center of attention. For them, the more the merrier with new
people. Others may be a bit more overwhelmed with their new situation.
Common sense should rule the day!
We recommend Brian Kilcommons' "Childproofing Your Dog". You can find this at your local library or purchase at your favorite bookstore.
Thanks to RecycledRacers.org for the preceding information.
Greyhound Care Manual compiled & written by Marnie Grosz of Recycled Racers Inc
- © Copyright 2003
