by Psyber » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:37 pm
A neighbour had a greyhound that he was racing when I was a kid. I used to exercise him [Tam] some of the time. He was really good with kids but did want to chase any small animal that ran.
In the playground he would run at you at speed and just duck around you at the last second, provided you were clued in and stayed still so no misjudgement occurred.
We have had their larger cousins, Scottish Deerhounds and Irish Wolfhounds over the years, and have considered a Greyhound as a smaller hound as we get older.
If we were not about to go overseas for some time we would have considered him.
I always enjoyed the "Ted Bulpitt" skits about his greyhounds, Repco Lad and Gay Akubra, and his taking them for a walk in a wheelbarrrow.
I think the compulsory muzzle came about in the days when racing dogs were "blooded" or used for hunting rabbits as well, and were perhaps as a result seen as inclined to snap at small animals passing by, leading to fears they would bite children.
EPIGENETICS - Lamarck was right!