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Post by stylishhound on Jul 25, 2006 16:28:33 GMT -5
I'd never take the risk either. The only time my guys are off leash are when they are in a completely fenced area that I am in control of. Otherwise, it's an accident waiting to happen. No greyhound should ever be off leash. It's nice to think you can give your hound freedom but at what cost? I hope one day we don't read a post that your baby has been hit by a car, hurt or even dead. That's the reality of it.
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Post by inkpen69 on Jul 26, 2006 9:11:01 GMT -5
I guess I should not have got involved in this discussion ). My grey (Wyatt) is never put in harms way. He is never off leash on a busy road, or near a busy road. He is always an arms length away from me. He was born to run. He loves it. I cannot possibly deny it, especially after the horrible life he had before me. My vet tells me the scars on his body are from being attacked by other dogs (he got this before i adopted him) and he lived in a crate that was too small for his height. If i can let him run, in a safe and protected area, then I will. That 101 time, well i would not allow for that to happen to him. He is in more danger of having a dog, while on leash, come up and jump on him (as other breeds do, by owners that have no control over their dogs) and rip open his side, then he ever is of running away or being hit by a car. I love my grey and his safety and security are always number one! I apologise if my comments ruffled anyone's feathers, but to think i would ever put him in a precarious situation is insulting.
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Post by jiffer on Jul 26, 2006 12:16:54 GMT -5
I guess I should not have got involved in this discussion ). My grey (Wyatt) is never put in harms way. He is never off leash on a busy road, or near a busy road. He is always an arms length away from me. He was born to run. He loves it. I cannot possibly deny it, especially after the horrible life he had before me. My vet tells me the scars on his body are from being attacked by other dogs (he got this before i adopted him) and he lived in a crate that was too small for his height. If i can let him run, in a safe and protected area, then I will. That 101 time, well i would not allow for that to happen to him. He is in more danger of having a dog, while on leash, come up and jump on him (as other breeds do, by owners that have no control over their dogs) and rip open his side, then he ever is of running away or being hit by a car. I love my grey and his safety and security are always number one! I apologise if my comments ruffled anyone's feathers, but to think i would ever put him in a precarious situation is insulting. I'm sorry but it must be said. By taking that leash off of him, you ARE putting him in a precarious situation. He is a Sighthound. Sighthounds can see things that we do not. It will only take a single moment for him to spot something he finds interesting and he's gone! When it does happen, you'll be coming on here expecting everyone to help you look. If you've ever visited Greytalk.. go to the Everything Else Greyhound and look at the pinned forum: Amber Alert. Only about 1/2 of the runaways are ever recovered safely. You wouldn't believe how many are found dead (attacked, hit by vehicle, etc). The first greyhound I met, they let him offleash at the dog park (at Hamilton Road and Gore in London; before it was fenced) he did greyt for several months.. running and playing with the other greyhounds. Then one day, he took off.. for no other reason than to run. We found him almost 10 km away on a very busy stretch of road at Trafalgar and Highbury. He had perfect recall too! In this situation, I feel bad for Wyatt. YOU are putting his life at risk, that's not fair to him any more than being tethered to you, is. Heck, I'd even advocate a flexi-lead before this, and I DESPISE flexi-leads. Just wanted to add: If you think I don't know what you are talking about, I have two boys who have perfect recall. I used to have them off lead... I had a serious wake up call one day when they got out of the house... their recall went out the door with them. Fortunately, Rene was on his way home and we caught them within five minutes. I have never cried so hard in my life and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped.
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Post by tinastroops on Jul 26, 2006 12:31:34 GMT -5
All I have to say is that your taking a huge risk - A risk I am not willing to take with any of my animals.
Also I take the contract(s) I signed with the adoption groups very seriously. And make it a point of refreshing my memory by rereading it occaisionally.
And that is all I have to say on this subject.
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Post by tinastroops on Jul 26, 2006 12:36:38 GMT -5
Actually I will make 1 more comment - I beleive all cities, town etc all have No "off leash" laws. Your dog is to remain leashed at all times while in public. So why do we feel the need to break the By-Law?
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Post by stylishhound on Jul 26, 2006 13:32:10 GMT -5
I guess I should not have got involved in this discussion ). My grey (Wyatt) is never put in harms way. He is never off leash on a busy road, or near a busy road. He is always an arms length away from me. He was born to run. He loves it. I cannot possibly deny it, especially after the horrible life he had before me. My vet tells me the scars on his body are from being attacked by other dogs (he got this before i adopted him) and he lived in a crate that was too small for his height. If i can let him run, in a safe and protected area, then I will. That 101 time, well i would not allow for that to happen to him. He is in more danger of having a dog, while on leash, come up and jump on him (as other breeds do, by owners that have no control over their dogs) and rip open his side, then he ever is of running away or being hit by a car. I love my grey and his safety and security are always number one! I apologise if my comments ruffled anyone's feathers, but to think i would ever put him in a precarious situation is insulting. Thanks Jiffer for your words of wisdom and so eloquently written. I should leave well enough alone but I can't. You say that you would not allow the "101st time to happen" - how do you know which "time" that will be and what might trigger Wyatt? You also say your grey's safety and security are "number one" but if that were the case, you would not be so quick to dispose of the warnings being given to you by people who once believed as you do, that their hound was off leash trained. Don't be so naive to think that your hound is anything but a hound. I only hope that you will take to heart what you are reading here and on GT and truly be a protector of your pet. We all want to give our hounds the lives they didn't have when kenneled but that doesn't mean risking their life and safety which is exactly what you're doing no matter how you sugar coat it. Make the trip to a fenced yard, a fenced dog park or for long walks on a leash. They will love you, be just as happy and will be alive.
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Post by tinastroops on Jul 26, 2006 13:44:42 GMT -5
I guess I should not have got involved in this discussion ). My grey (Wyatt) is never put in harms way. He is never off leash on a busy road, or near a busy road. He is always an arms length away from me. He was born to run. He loves it. I cannot possibly deny it, especially after the horrible life he had before me. My vet tells me the scars on his body are from being attacked by other dogs (he got this before i adopted him) and he lived in a crate that was too small for his height. If i can let him run, in a safe and protected area, then I will. That 101 time, well i would not allow for that to happen to him. He is in more danger of having a dog, while on leash, come up and jump on him (as other breeds do, by owners that have no control over their dogs) and rip open his side, then he ever is of running away or being hit by a car. I love my grey and his safety and security are always number one! I apologise if my comments ruffled anyone's feathers, but to think i would ever put him in a precarious situation is insulting. OMG Are you kidding me, There could be 500 reasons why you hound has scars - Please When he was young and horse playing with his brothers and sister at the puppy farm or anything else for that matter. Has everyone forgotten that they have paper thin skin which makes for the skin to tear easier with the smalliest of items. Crate to small for him - Have you ever scene the crates at the race track and then kennels - There huge!! Why do people make it sound like they all had such hard lives - Why do you make it sounds like life was hell before retirement. If you could only see them at the race track and how they live to race it would blow you away... Maybe would give poeple a understanding of how happy most of them are in that life.
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Post by greyhound2 on Jul 26, 2006 14:40:39 GMT -5
I'm sorry Tina, I disagree with you on your facts. The dogs don't live at the tracks all the time. Have you ever been to a kennel not nice. The dogs making money are treated and fed well, while they are satifying their owners greed. Once they are of no use they are digarded many killed, ears cut off so they can't be traced. A local newspaper in the HInsdale Race Trak area showed a picture of a front end loader full of dead dogs they found during an investigation. A trainer I met quit his job over being told he had to race at least 22 of his 25 injured dogs if his kennel still wanted to race at this track. He couldn't do it and the owner said he had to so he quit as he knew the dogs would suffer. I just returned from the UK and the dogs there are treated just as bad and actually in some cases just abandoned to fend for themselves and in Ireland some have there ears cut off then let go. My friend cat was killed by a Grey when they called the spca they said it was a racer let go and the couldn't trace it as it's tato's had been burnt off before they let it go. I don't think happy is the word for what feel, they are trained to run they don't know anything different also dogs that fail race school in some states are put down. Gra in the past resued some from a kill state. They are beautiful when they run, I won't disute that, I will on the care and treatment they recieve. Also they are treated so well that alot have issues in trusing people and in some cases won't come out of there kennel or frightened fo teenage boys, or if you pick up a shovel you find them curled up in a corner shaking uncontrolable. Those aren't happy memories that cause a dog to react like that it was abuse. Greyhounds are only of value when they make money. I would say their life hell, I wouldn't want to live like that.
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Post by dogowner on Jul 26, 2006 14:48:12 GMT -5
Wow nice posts...
Great article that Ontariogreys posted. I would recommend that everyone read it prior to adding any further info / comments here..It certainly points out a cautionary tale of how quickly accidents can happen in the most unusual cicumstances and have dire tragic results, for all dogs / animals and not just greys.
But, boy... some of you folks would benefit from using a little more tact to impart your personal experience. I'm uncomfortable by the negative comments posted here especially the last one (Tinastrops). Ease up..and offer more constructive advise!
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Post by tinastroops on Jul 26, 2006 15:12:46 GMT -5
I'm sorry Tina, I disagree with you on your facts. The dogs don't live at the tracks all the time. Have you ever been to a kennel not nice. The dogs making money are treated and fed well, while they are satifying their owners greed. Once they are of no use they are digarded many killed, ears cut off so they can't be traced. A local newspaper in the HInsdale Race Trak area showed a picture of a front end loader full of dead dogs they found during an investigation. A trainer I met quit his job over being told he had to race at least 22 of his 25 injured dogs if his kennel still wanted to race at this track. He couldn't do it and the owner said he had to so he quit as he knew the dogs would suffer. I just returned from the UK and the dogs there are treated just as bad and actually in some cases just abandoned to fend for themselves and in Ireland some have there ears cut off then let go. My friend cat was killed by a Grey when they called the spca they said it was a racer let go and the couldn't trace it as it's tato's had been burnt off before they let it go. I don't think happy is the word for what feel, they are trained to run they don't know anything different also dogs that fail race school in some states are put down. Gra in the past resued some from a kill state. They are beautiful when they run, I won't disute that, I will on the care and treatment they recieve. Also they are treated so well that alot have issues in trusing people and in some cases won't come out of there kennel or frightened fo teenage boys, or if you pick up a shovel you find them curled up in a corner shaking uncontrolable. Those aren't happy memories that cause a dog to react like that it was abuse. Greyhounds are only of value when they make money. I would say their life hell, I wouldn't want to live like that. You are well within your rights to completly disagree with me. I am talking from first hand experience. This has gone off the orginal topic so I will leave it at that.
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Post by proudgrey on Jul 26, 2006 19:31:40 GMT -5
My this is an active topic. I am visiting Ontario and am interested in a greyhound. This looked like an interesting topic. After reading all the posts I just had to register.
Let me start by reminding everyone what the agreement is at the beginning of registering: false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law. This is not only humorous, but legal actions can be taken against you.
Maybe some should read this again and apologise to the person that got personally attacked today.
I won't add comments as I do not have the pleasure of having my own greyhound.
It did seem to wander off topic however you all seem to love your animals and I think these forums would be more useful if helpful information was shared, not threatening one another.
Also, do you not have a bylaw in this province/city about the number of dogs allowed in homes? Some of you seem to list more than three. So if someone is going to start calling someone else out on bylaws, I would suggest stepping out of your glass house.
To all that have rescued, good for you. My wife and I are still contemplating the idea, and this forum has provided a lot of useful information. They seem like they are wonderful pets.
Thanks again, take care
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Post by ocydroma on Jul 26, 2006 20:21:06 GMT -5
By-law wise, in the township I live in, I am not restricted by the number of dogs that I can have.....currently 17. 10 of which are greys. My dogs have more than a half acre to run in which is fenced so they are only on a leash off the property.
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Post by sdsandiford on Jul 26, 2006 23:07:45 GMT -5
This sure has turned into a hot topic!! I am scared to death of letting our boys off leash in any area that is not fully enclosed. All three of our boys know the basics: sit, stay, here/come. Because our yard is large (almost a 1/2 acre) we have had the pleasure of seeing them run... and forget ALL commands when they see something to chase. I can't comment on anyone elses dog/experiences, but I know my boys would eagerly chase something out into the street, or possibly get spooked by some strange noise (especially Stuey) and take off... I am always amazed at the prey drive of these dogs. Inside, our boys are gorgeous, sweet, well-behaved dogs... Outside, they have killed countless squirrels, rabbits birds (yes, birds) and at least one stray cat. Not only do you have to worry about the safety of your dog(s), but also the safety of other peoples pets.... Please be careful!!!
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Post by stylishhound on Jul 27, 2006 5:12:23 GMT -5
Hot topics are the best kinds of topics as long as they are kept respectful and without attacking. The people on the "against" side are very passionate and I must say, with very good reason. When you see the Amber Alert on GT and are one of the people that have lost their greyhound, have hundreds of others out there helping you search to get him/her back, well, it does really open your eyes to the reality of whether it's worth the risk. It is our obligation as greyhound owners to keep them safe and the only sure way of doing that is to keep them leashed.
Thanks to those who reminded us to not attack the people who are pro-off leash as instead of making them feel this is an unfriendly place to come for information, it's better that this is a safe and comfortable place where they can voice their opinions as well and *hopefully* read and listen to the cons of off-leash.
I hope all our Greyhounds remain safe, happy and healthy.
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Post by multiplicity on Jul 27, 2006 8:01:50 GMT -5
Hot topics are the best kinds of topics as long as they are kept respectful and without attacking. The people on the "against" side are very passionate and I must say, with very good reason. When you see the Amber Alert on GT and are one of the people that have lost their greyhound, have hundreds of others out there helping you search to get him/her back, well, it does really open your eyes to the reality of whether it's worth the risk. It is our obligation as greyhound owners to keep them safe and the only sure way of doing that is to keep them leashed. Thanks to those who reminded us to not attack the people who are pro-off leash as instead of making them feel this is an unfriendly place to come for information, it's better that this is a safe and comfortable place where they can voice their opinions as well and *hopefully* read and listen to the cons of off-leash. I hope all our Greyhounds remain safe, happy and healthy. Yup, well said!
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