Case Profile: The Sighthound
In this case profile, we explore some of the most common behaviours that clients experience in a group of breeds that only have two speeds - On, and Off. The Cheetah of the dog world that also doubles up as a couch potato - the Sighthound.
BREED(S): Greyhound, Italian Greyhound, Whippet, Saluki, Lurcher, and an honourable mention for the Bedlington Terrier (it’s basically a sighthound that got lost).
Owners most commonly see me for: Reactivity and Aggression towards other dogs and occasionally people, out of control behaviour on a lead, anxiety and/or lack of confidence, overstimulation and over excitement.
Most Common symptoms include: Flipping about like a kangaroo whenever they see another dog, and pulling their owners into the road.
Occasional symptoms include: Separation Anxiety that makes no sense because they’re always sleeping and couldn’t care less where you are until you leave.
Case Breakdown: Of all of the breed groups that we work with for reactivity, I think it is the sighthounds that would appear to surprise people the most. Perhaps because the ones you see most often tiptoe along, minding their own business, wrapped up in a coat and shivering on a mild day. But when sighthounds react, their stature makes them one of the most volatile dogs to deal with, despite the fact that their reactivity is rarely if ever a major problem.
Introducing your sighthound to a Halter (there are many different brands available) or figure 8 lead is normally a straightforward process, particularly if your dog has come off the tracks and is already used to a muzzle - and completely changes the handling dynamic from one where you are fighting against your dogs power, to one much more similar to guiding a horse or other livestock. There is a good reason why we don’t walk cows and goats on a harness!
The Two flavours of Sighthound reactivity.
Almost every sighthound we work with falls into one of two categories, with only a few exceptions. The first group are the nervous dogs, which really just want to be invisible, but end up becoming very frantic on the end of the lead if they don’t feel safe. This reactivity is generally very easy to resolve once you can fulfil this need, even though it usually looks and sounds quite intense. I have lost count of the number of sighthounds who have been described as dangerously reactive, and we can quite literally take from 10-0 in one or two sessions with a little bit of defensive handling.
The second group is the slightly more challenging - and the Saluki genetics are normally present - when dealing with overstimulated, excitable or fixated sighthounds. These dogs tend to be more confident, and fundamentally quite playful - but playful behaviour in a hunting dog tends to result in an over expression of prey drive and an inability to stay calm around other dogs - which is difficult when your dog is built like a Kangaroo. You could argue that this group is a contradiction, because they are rarely aggressive, but require much more conscious handling.
Weak legs, not weak necks.
One of the big challenges that we find for sighthound owners is that they feel they should only be using a harness, or a dedicated sighthound collar, due to their dogs ‘weak and vulnerable necks’. This is typically what the rescue organisations and ‘breed experts’ advise - which ironically, puts the dogs and the owners at the greatest risk of injury due to the volatile nature of their dogs reactivity.
In reality, the nature and build of a sighthound is such that their necks, as with all dogs, have incredibly strong thick muscles, making them incredibly adept at snatching a hare and absorbing significant impact. By comparison, the most common injury in sighthounds is a broken leg, or dysplasia’s which result in many racing hounds being shot or abandoned. In practical terms, what this means is that the worst thing that your dog can be doing is leaping around and landing heavily on their joints - they just aren’t built for it.
Introducing your sighthound to a Halter (there are many different brands available) or figure 8 lead is normally a straightforward process, particularly if your dog has come off the tracks and is already used to a muzzle - and completely changes the handling dynamic from one where you are fighting against your dogs power, to one much more similar to guiding a horse or other livestock. There is a good reason why we don’t walk cows and goats on a harness!
Relaxation - outside
For a group of dogs that find relaxation indoors to be a way of life, it can be very difficult to get a sighthound to relax outside. Sitting down is not a motion that they practice easily, and some can do it better than others - whilst lying down presents a whole other level of challenge when not on a bed. This really matters when it comes to teaching any dog not to engage with their environment. A dog that is permanently stood at the ready and cannot switch off is going to hold tension far longer than one which can sit down and relax.
Reactivity and Proximity
A very commonly taught approach to reactivity is to start your dog at a long distance from what they have a tendancy to react to, and move them closer slowly over time. Personally we don’t find this particularly effective, but never more so than with breeds which have a strong tendancy to fixate on things moving at a significant distance away from them. Most sighthounds are always going to be more reactive if you take them to a big open field with one or two fast moving objects in the distance, whether that is a rabbit, a dog chasing a ball or a kid on a bike - so this system fundamentally sets the dogs up to succeed.
By comparison, working at ‘social distance’ within 5 meters - in a calm and controlled way with other calm dogs - is far more effective at teaching our dogs to relax with other dogs near them. This is where the right tools and the right environments layer in a really effective way. A low energy but relatively busy envionment like the local market is - believe it or not - a better place to succeed if you also have the right tools.
Steps towards resolution:
Get a Halter or other form of head collar for safe control without a physical battle.
Avoid wide open areas, and opt for places where you can find calm dogs on a lead in a crowd.
Understand relative positioning - knowing how your dogs perceive the more and less responsible sides of your body on a walk, and keep your dog in the least responsible position, helps them to understand that they are not required to alert you to the world around you, instead being able to float beside you safely.
Practice relaxation in more places - bring a blanket if you need to and practice place work activities.
