Is there a breed like a Greyhound....

*blackrose

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#1
....that is also off leash friendly?

Just curious.

By "like a Greyhound", I mean:
- medium to large in stature, but light boned
- low maintenance coat
- athletic and capable of athletic feats, but very happy to just curl up and sleep all day on the softest/warmest place available
- even though is happy to sleep all day, also loves to get out, run, and do things
- quiet
- not very physical, has a "soft" presence
- playful, but on their own terms
- polite/reserved in public
- no DA/HA
- cat safe while in a home environment

But *also* with the ability to be safely off leash when hiking on trails/going to and from the car at the house/etc.

Does such a breed exisit?! Hahaha Are the points listed above even true of Greyhounds?

Like I said, just curious. I was talking with Michael today about Greyhounds (we have one boarding that I was cooing over and warning him they would be my old lady breed) and he seemed really interested in them, as their presence is a lot like Cynder's. But having a dog with off leash capability is also very important to him and is something he really enjoys.
 

milos_mommy

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#2
Not *exactly* as I feel like a lot of those are pretty "sighthound" traits. But ridgeback came to mind as a suggestion, even though they can need a little more exercise on the regular.
 

milos_mommy

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#4
how reliable are Irish Wolfhounds off leash? I've typically heard that they shouldn't be let off leash, but I feel like they're used for hunting in current-day America and they do ok?
 
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#5
I'm not entirely sure how reliable they'd be. The breeder I spoke to the most didn't think it would be a problem, but that's just one opinion. Her dogs did sound to exactly fit the description you listed otherwise, at least.
 

*blackrose

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#6
Ridgebacks seem to me to be too...much. Granted, I have absolutely zero experience with them, but from what I've heard in passing is that they seem like a lot of dog.

An Irish Wolfhound would be too big, unfortunately. I don't know if I'll ever want to own a breed of that stature purely for convenience purposes.
 

milos_mommy

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#7
My ridgeback experience may be slightly skewed because I think a lot of breeds here are kind of watered down to function as city dogs, but I do know a few rural ridgebacks as well. I'm sure some lines are insane, and the puppies I've known have been energetic and even rambunctious, but the adults I've known (one I spent nearly every day for a year with, we had five regulars at day care, and a close friend owns one - his family's first dog), have been pretty calm, good apartment dogs. Sometimes a slight houndy-stubbornness to them, certainly not the bidability of a lab, but pretty easily trained, stable and good with everyone, and mellow indoors.

Granted, they had enough energy where the owners felt they needed daycare (again, all NYC apartment dogs with no yards). But most did just one or two days a week, and the puppies played hard, but the older dogs mostly just chilled. A few had mild separation anxiety. Really comparable to the greyhounds I've known, a slight bit more energy and physicality and I found them a little less soft (still somewhat sensitive) and slightly more protective/aloof with strangers. But very similar.

I have heard descriptions of them being more Cur like. SSA sometimes mentioned. I haven't seen it, but it could be regional.
 

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