Adopting a Greyhound

My Wife and I adopted two beautiful greyhounds a little over a year ago, Luke and Leia. Since then we have had numerous opportunities to learn about the bread and speak to people about them.

Greyhounds are from a family of hounds known as sight hounds. This means that they prefer to "hunt" with their eyes. They continually scan their environment for moving objects such as leaves, squirrels, cats, birds, etc. They do not rely as heavily on smell and hearing as other breeds of dog. For this reason, combined with the Greyhounds inherent speed, it is essential that most Greyhounds be leashed when not in a fully fenced environment. Once a Greyhound decides to pursue something he or she sees, little can prevent them from capturing their target.

On leash, Greyhounds are generally very docile and quickly learn to remain at your side with little or no correction. Since their necks are actually larger in circumference than their heads they do require special martingale colors or they could easily back out.

On our walks with Luke and Leia, we always attract plenty of attention. People are always asking us what kind of dogs they are and they are often surprised to find out they are Greyhounds. Greyhounds love people, and they get very excited when they have the opportunity to meet new folks.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is, "don't they need a lot of exercise?". They are normally shocked to here that they do not. Greyhounds have earned the moniker 45 MPH couch potatoes. They like to get out for a walk or two for sure and they are willing companions if you want for more, but they like nothing better than nesting in some blankets or on the couch (if allowed).

Greyhounds are not watchdogs. Their shear size, muscular features and large teeth can be intimidating but they almost never bark or growl. Greyhounds are far more likely to vocalize with a whine, chatter or purr and that is infrequent as well.

Another great feature of Greyhounds is that they have no undercoat. This means they are virtually hypoallergenic and there is almost no dog smell (even when wet). Shedding is also at a minimum only consisting of the course outer coat that is easily picked up.

There really are only two downsides to Greyhounds as a breed;
They have very thin skin and cut easily. It's always a good idea to have some gauze and vet wrap on hand.
Greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. It's rarely a problem until they get on in age and regular cleanings or other tooth care can mitigate any issues.

If you are reading this and considering adopting a Greyhound, you probably already know what happens to Greyhounds that are not adopted when they are done racing. And if you don't know, you can easily find out with a quick Yahoo search. For the purposes of this article, suffice it to say they need you, and they will do their best to thank you for saving them until the last beat of their hearts.