Post by Gerrys Desert Panda on Oct 10, 2012 2:36:30 GMT -5
Dianne: I have a doxie too!! She is the apple of my eye and am right there with you in regards to doing whatever needs to be done to protect my dog. My baby just turned 2 and she is the smartest little bugger! I call her my pebble-pie. She's a mini doxie (before her, I didn't even know such a thing existed!!), which takes little dog syndrome to new heights.
I enrolled her in behavior school when she was just a few months old and what a difference it made! There in her "class" of puppies was a greyhound. I agree, they are very beautiful dogs and it's a shame they are mistreated as so many other breeds are as well. I too am an animal lover and hate to see any animal be abused or mistreated in any way, which is why I've been a supporter of the Humane Society for years. Every little bit helps.
Anyhow, back to my point. The greyhound in my puppy's class was very high strung - as most puppies are, however the difference is that they are very LARGE puppies. This dog was constantly jumping on people and lunging at the smaller dogs in the class - mine included. It was very hard for the owner to control her and often times her husband had to step in and try to calm Bella (dog) down. Usually the instructor had them walk away until she calmed down because she would get so excited. There were several times when Bella would stand on her hind legs and come at you. I was shoved from behind a few times by Bella in this manner in an effort to get to my dog. Even though she was a puppy, she was strong and it was scary to have this dog pounce on you. The owners recognized she could be a danger and were always very upfront with us all and would tell us to be careful around Bella. However, I always appreciated the fact that they were there trying to curb some of the behavioral issues they saw in Bella.
Although this is the only time I've come into contact with a greyhound and I saw firsthand what the temperament CAN be, it doesn't mean it defines the breed. All dogs, regardless of large or small breed, are capable of acting out for a number of reasons. This incident doesn't mean that I've now put ALL greyhounds into this category. That is a mistake a lot of people make. One bad incident and now ALL dogs are the same. It was mentioned somewhere here earlier about pitbulls and the bad rep they have. There are several breeds that have the bad stigma attached to them, but it mostly boils down to the training the animal has received, IMO. They all have instincts according to their specific breed, however it is up to responsible owners to recognize them and learn to train their dog and themselves on how to react in said situations.
In this particular incident, I too agree that GB would not intentionally hurt an animal as it seems that he very much loves animals. And like most of us animal owners and lovers, would've done whatever was necessary to protect his pet. However, I also agree that Lolies should've been on a leash. I've seen pics of them together walking down a street where he'll have her leash in his hand but not on her or she'll be walking beside/behind him w/out a leash. For her safety and that of others I don't think he should ever leave her off the leash. I'm glad it didn't spiral out of control, but hopefully he learned his lesson and doesn't ever walk out the door with Loli sans leash.
Ok, I'm done and stepping down from my now.
BTW, thanks for this thread. I'd heard some time ago about this, but only briefly and hadn't ever heard the full story.
I enrolled her in behavior school when she was just a few months old and what a difference it made! There in her "class" of puppies was a greyhound. I agree, they are very beautiful dogs and it's a shame they are mistreated as so many other breeds are as well. I too am an animal lover and hate to see any animal be abused or mistreated in any way, which is why I've been a supporter of the Humane Society for years. Every little bit helps.
Anyhow, back to my point. The greyhound in my puppy's class was very high strung - as most puppies are, however the difference is that they are very LARGE puppies. This dog was constantly jumping on people and lunging at the smaller dogs in the class - mine included. It was very hard for the owner to control her and often times her husband had to step in and try to calm Bella (dog) down. Usually the instructor had them walk away until she calmed down because she would get so excited. There were several times when Bella would stand on her hind legs and come at you. I was shoved from behind a few times by Bella in this manner in an effort to get to my dog. Even though she was a puppy, she was strong and it was scary to have this dog pounce on you. The owners recognized she could be a danger and were always very upfront with us all and would tell us to be careful around Bella. However, I always appreciated the fact that they were there trying to curb some of the behavioral issues they saw in Bella.
Although this is the only time I've come into contact with a greyhound and I saw firsthand what the temperament CAN be, it doesn't mean it defines the breed. All dogs, regardless of large or small breed, are capable of acting out for a number of reasons. This incident doesn't mean that I've now put ALL greyhounds into this category. That is a mistake a lot of people make. One bad incident and now ALL dogs are the same. It was mentioned somewhere here earlier about pitbulls and the bad rep they have. There are several breeds that have the bad stigma attached to them, but it mostly boils down to the training the animal has received, IMO. They all have instincts according to their specific breed, however it is up to responsible owners to recognize them and learn to train their dog and themselves on how to react in said situations.
In this particular incident, I too agree that GB would not intentionally hurt an animal as it seems that he very much loves animals. And like most of us animal owners and lovers, would've done whatever was necessary to protect his pet. However, I also agree that Lolies should've been on a leash. I've seen pics of them together walking down a street where he'll have her leash in his hand but not on her or she'll be walking beside/behind him w/out a leash. For her safety and that of others I don't think he should ever leave her off the leash. I'm glad it didn't spiral out of control, but hopefully he learned his lesson and doesn't ever walk out the door with Loli sans leash.
Ok, I'm done and stepping down from my now.
BTW, thanks for this thread. I'd heard some time ago about this, but only briefly and hadn't ever heard the full story.