Installment three of the Dispelling Myths series: You can train an adopted greyhound to walk and stay with you without a leash.
This is FALSE! It’s absolute fantasy thinking and this myth can only lead to heartache.
While you might get lucky and your adopted greyhound stays close to your side in an unexpected instance when the leash slips out of your hand, expecting a greyhound to learn to stay put every time you’re outside is asking too much.
Sure adopted greyhounds are intelligent dogs. Of course they can learn all kinds of things in their retirement. But you can’t mess with genetics. Geyhounds have been bred for centuries to run and chase whatever interesting something enters their line of sight. For some greyhounds that interesting something might be you, but for most adopted greyhounds that something will be a creature or an object way off in the distance, that you haven’t even noticed.
No matter how devoted your adopted greyhound is, curiosity and instinct will take over when the leash is off or the fence gate is left open.
Bubbles, our very first greyhound adoption, slipped the leash a couple times and didn’t run off, but in the subsequent 20 years and 30 foster and adopted greyhounds, I’ve never met another grey like her.
Bubbles was also the dog who stayed in the yard when our back gate was blown open after a storm. The gate wasn’t visible from the back door and we hadn’t noticed the problem yet. Kayla, however, went trotting off to the bus stop, ignoring the fact that the family wasn’t with her. Fortunately, she continued the morning routine and greeted our neighbor, who escorted her back just as we set out to search for her.
Clearly, Bubbles was the exception to the rule, but we never purposely let her outside off the leash. Better to be lucky than good, I suppose, and we’re grateful that our rare mishaps didn’t lead to heartbreak.
Keep your adopted greyhound on a leash, unless you’re in a safe, fenced area, and savor every day with your forever friend!
Live the greyhound adventure!
Find out more about choosing the right forever friend with the Adopt A Greyhound Guide available now!
