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 Adopting a Greyhound -- Kid testing |
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How can you tell if a greyhound likes children? Easy. A greyhound that wants to be with children will actually seek out the child's attention. | |||||
 A greyhound who looks away or walks away is a dog who will not be happy with kids, and a dog who should not be placed with youngsters. Over the years and with all the placements we've done, we've had few kid-related problems, largely because we kid-test. We're very thorough and careful.
Each dog is introduced while still on leash with a kennel supervisor present. The child stands quietly while the dog smells his/her face. The dog is then let off-leash to gauge how it reacts to the child taking it by the collar and walking it around the enclosed kennel run. If the dog accepts the child as being "in charge," we progress to the child acting like a kid, running, hugging the dog, and maybe acting just plain silly. All the time, we judge how the dog accepts the child's behavior each step of the way. We note whether the greyhound is gentle with a "little person," or is too rambunctious and may be capable of knocking a child over. We watch for shy behavior, and we pay particular attention to any dog that pointedly ignores a child, which is a greyhound's way of saying it would prefer not to have to live with youngsters. And that's what's important to us: placing each greyhound in the home where it will be happy because the "fit" is perfect. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Greyhound Newsletters
At the Greyhound Adoption Center, we use child volunteers between the ages of four and seven. This age works particularly well since the child can take instruction, yet is still small enough that a greyhound recognizes it as something other than the adults they're used to seeing.