Sammy's story

Sammy, livestock killing lurcher

This is the story of Sammy, a greyhound/lurcher mix who sadly followed his instincts and killed animals. Sammy is a loving and funny dog who simply couldn't help his bred for instincts. He is another lucky dog with owners who didn't give up. It is natural for sighthounds to want to chase small furry animals, but it doesn't mean you should let them.

Sammy

We'd had a few dogs before, mostly collie crosses and a Lab who we'd lost gradually to old age. We thought we could probably tackle anything as we didn't think we'd ever need a trainer again. One of our collies used to chase cats in the garden and the street although we didn't allow her, she didn't catch one. We really had no idea of the reality of a killer dog.

My wife heard of a dog through a work colleague that needed a home. It was a 7 month old lurcher male called Sammy. I spoke to a few people who said they were a "type" not a breed and that they did chase things. This didn't seem to be a problem to us and my wife felt sorry for the dog so home it came.

The story we got was that they'd had the dog from 6 weeks old and they had cats too. Sammy would chase the cats but they thought he was playing. Unfortunately one day in the garden he caught and killed one of their cats so he had to go. Although this seemed a bit shocking, we didn't have cats and we'd had a cat chaser before so there seemed to be no reason why Sammy wouldn't be fine with us.

He was a very affectionate dog, lazy as we were told greyhounds are and simply liked a mad run around and to sit asleep in front of the fire. We loved him a lot and so when he did something terrible, it was more of a shock as we only saw a lovely, kind dog. Occasionally cats would go through our garden and we noticed he lunged at them when he saw them on a lead. We have lovely fields near us and he did kill the odd rabbit and once a squirrel and we thought that was just him being a dog. I am ashamed of that now.

One summer day Sammy suddenly ran out through the patio doors. We had seen him do this many times and didn't react until we heard the most horrible cat scream. It made me feel sick and my wife and I ran out just as the noise stopped. Sammy had a cat in his mouth, there was blood on the floor and on him and the cat was thankfully, now dead. My wife almost collapsed and I took the cat from him and he just walked away. I recognised the cat but it took me half an hour to pluck up the courage to wrap him and take him home and explain. The family were furious and the child cried and I had little to say apart from sorry and to offer another cat.

Our vet said nothing could be done, Lurchers were bred to kill small animals and this sort of thing happened all the time. This was disappointing and we didn't really know what a behaviourist was but the vet didn't suggest one anyway. In fact I got the impression he thought we were overreacting. He did suggest obedience classes which we hadn't bothered with and so we joined one. Sammy was a nightmare with any small dogs. After 3 weeks the trainer said he couldn't come back as he was scaring other owners. He suggested a behaviourist and we decided to try it.

The first two people we called said not to bother and that having killed frequently there was no way he would stop and to either keep him muzzled or put him down. After an internet search we found Debbie's site and my wife said that if one more person said he couldn't be trained he would have to be put down. We decided to take him for a nice walk the next day and call SafePets when we got home, just in case it was our last walk. Stupidly we let him off the lead and he jumped a fence (he has amazingly long legs) and chased some sheep. Hysterically we tried to catch him and had just done so when the farmer drew up in a Land Rover. Understandably he was livid, pointed to his gun and said "next time he'll get that". We called Debbie as soon as we got in.

We quickly realised we'd done a lot wrong. not socialising him with small dogs, not having proper obedience, allowing him to chase and kill animals as if he'd know the difference between a rabbit and a cat. She said she couldn't guarantee anything and maybe the best we could hope for was simply better control. We booked for a holiday.

The centre is perfect. There are dogs, cows, geese, pigs and chickens. We didn't work near the animals the first day, we sat in the cabin and looked at Sammy's manners and his behaviour when someone came in. What we saw as funny and greeting wasn't that and we were a little ashamed by some of the things we did. But Sammy is clever and learned quickly to greet politely, not bark and run round like a mad thing when going out and even walked on a lead properly for the first time. The second day he was allowed to run on a very long line which made us realise just how little authority we had over him. Again he was clever and learned to come back, even a little too fast!

By the end of that day he was starting to approach some animals and this was steady, using toys and very different body language but I have to say he adored Debbie and nothing thrilled him more than getting a pat and kiss from her when he got it right. This did make me and my wife a little jealous, he once walked off with Debbie and then realised it was us that was holding his line.

The last day he met all the animals, hardly put a foot wrong and we even went to the beach which was full of small, yappy, running dogs. I was very proud when a little Yorkie ran up right behind him and touched him and as soon as he was told no he stoically looked away as Debbie sent the other dog packing.

It has been hard work and now, 8 months on, I still panic a little when I see something small and furry running. We do have to be firm then but so far Sammy hasn't let himself down. In some environments my wife is still nervous of being in charge of him, but she admits he does try hard and does listen. A lot had to change at home but we were never asked not to love or fuss him. My advice is, don't let your dog kill anything. No matter how many dogs you have owned, never avoid training classes, you can't socialise a dog yourself. Ask for help, don't give up even if told there is no hope.

We will never be able to thank Debbie enough and we intend to return next summer for a refresher and maybe some agility!

Mr and Mrs Crosby Jan 2010

Get in touch