A Bit of Dog Training

While many admire the greyhound breed’s near-perfect, very sweet and laidback personality, the dog’s high-prey drive is also the known starting point of many behavior and training issues. It is therefore not unusual to encounter a greyhound household busy resolving recall problems. Just to give you an idea, grey owners on walks with their fleet-footed dog bring along the dog’s most favored treats. Recall games are also played throughout the walk. The area of the dog’s walks are also carefully chosen and planned. In general though, the least that grey owners could do is to keep in mind the following greyhound dog training tips: 1. Before experimenting with big open spaces, try out letting the dog off and walking it in an enclosed area. One very good example is an enclosed concrete area in a nearby park, e.g. space used for basketball or tennis. 2. When testing a dog’s recall, use a long lead. The line will need to be attached to a harness, not a collar. This allows the dog the freedom to move around and explore, while keeping it still within reach. Doing things this way lets you have a hint of how the dog will react to you from distances. Long training lines are also available, and also lunge lines. 3. If ever you plan to go off-lead with your greys, visit only areas you know, not anywhere near dogs that are your greys do not know, livestock or children. Bring the dog’s favorite treats too. Knowing your dog, you will also know whether you need to bring a muzzle in case it crosses paths with a cat or a small dog (which, by the way, can also look like prey in the eyes of a grey). If you are in doubt, then bring a muzzle just the same. 4. Neutering or spaying the dog also helps increase the chances of the dog responding to recall outdoors. In conclusion, it seem better to make mistakes on the side of caution when it comes to protecting this gorgeous and reserved but prey-driven dog breed from its ages-old instincts. From the perspective of greyhound dog training, the answer is in the form of a safe, enclosed space.