| Greyhounds: the most honest dog breed review you'll ever find. Information about Greyhound personality and behavior. |
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My book, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide (published by Henry Holt & Co.), includes a full-page profile of the Greyhound, including these excerpts:
"With his quiet dignity and independence, the Greyhound is often likened to a cat.
Once past the puppy stage, he is calm and quiet indoors, moving lightly and gracefully, not toppling your lamps and fulfilling his role as couch potato quite admirably.
Though he needs a safe, enclosed area in which to sprint all-out a couple of times a week, he is built for sheer speed rather than endurance and doesn't require hours of exercise.
The fastest of all breeds (he can outrun a horse in a sprint), once he has exploded into his powerful driving gallop for a short time, he is content to sleep for the rest of the day.
This sensitive breed prefers peace and quiet and soft-spoken people. He does not do well in an environment with frequent tension or loud voices.
Most Greyhounds are politely reserved with strangers, and prefer to lean against their owner's leg.
They are peaceful with other dogs who are medium to large in size, but because of their heritage, they can be a serious chaser of cats and tiny dogs. Some individuals can learn to coexist with these smaller pets. The Greyhound rescue leagues carefully screen their dogs to find out how they get along with smaller animals.
Greyhounds are nonaggressive (freezing when challenged or attacked) and can be touch-sensitive (startling when touched unexpectedly). Because they are so docile, they must be trained with a very light hand and much more praise than correction and never jerked around.
This quiet dog seldom barks, but many individuals take great delight in stealing and hoarding food and toys."
History
Developed in ancient Egypt, the Greyhound used his keen eyesight to locate prey and run it down across open terrain. Today he is being exploited for racing, but fortunately this cruel industry is slowly being eradicated in the U.S.
Size
26-30 inches and 55-90 lbs |
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Greyhounds
What's good about 'em
What's bad about 'em
- Has a tall, slender, elegant build
- Has a sleek easy-care coat that comes in many colors
- Is extremely athletic and graceful -- can run swiftly and jump great heights
- Has a calmness and quiet dignity that is often likened to a cat
- Is polite with people and other dogs
- Is readily available through the many Greyhound rescue organizations for ex-racing dogs
A Greyhound may be right for you.
| If you don't want to deal with... |
- Providing a safe enclosed area where he can occasionally gallop
- Strong instincts to chase other living creatures that run
- Fearfulness and timidity when not socialized enough
- An independent "what's in it for me?" attitude toward training
- Emotional sensitivity to stress and abrupt changes in schedule
- Slowness to housebreak
- Serious health problems
A Greyhound may not be right for you.
| If I were considering a Greyhound... |
My major concerns would be:
- Providing enough running exercise. Greyhounds don't need miles of running every day, but they MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy a few times a week. Otherwise they will become restless and bored -- which they usually express by destructive chewing.
| Greyhounds need access to a large fenced area -- fenced because these independent dogs are likely to take off and not come back. If there is a dog club in your area, get your Greyhound involved in lure coursing (chasing a mechanized lure around a track or across an open field). This is an appropriate outlet for the full-speed galloping behaviors that are "hardwired" into his genes. |
- Timidity. Standoffish by nature, Greyhounds need extensive exposure to people and to unusual sights and sounds. Otherwise their natural caution can become shyness or fearfulness, which is very difficult to live with.
- Chasing other animals. Most people do not realize just how fast and agile sighthounds are -- or how strong their instincts are to chase and seize fleeing creatures. They could seriously injure or kill your neighbor's cat or toy dog. In today's society, the legal liabilities should be considered.
| Fortunately, most Greyhounds today are placed in their new homes by Greyhound rescue organizations who have already done rigorous screening to evaluate and determine each dog's behavioral tendencies. These groups are usually experienced at predicting whether a given Greyhound will be reliable around small pets. |
- The independent temperament. Greyhounds are not Golden Retrievers. They are independent thinkers who don't particularly care about pleasing you. Many Greyhounds are stubborn. They can be manipulative. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
| To teach your Greyhound to listen to you, "Respect Training" is mandatory. My Greyhound Training Page discusses the program you need. |
- Emotional sensitivity. Be honest...is there tension in your home? Are people loud or angry or emotional? Are there arguments or fights? Greyhounds are extremely sensitive to stress and can end up literally sick to their stomachs, with severe digestive upsets and neurotic behaviors, if the people in their home are having family problems. Sighthounds are peaceful, sensitive dogs who need a peaceful, harmonious home.
- Housebreaking. Some ex-racing dogs are easily housebroken, while others learn much more slowly.
- Health problems. Greyhounds are extremely prone to a life-threatening digestive syndrome called bloat. In addition, an alarming number of Greyhounds die early of cancer.
| To keep this breed healthy, I strongly recommend following all of the advice on my Greyhound Health Page. |
| Not all Greyhounds are alike! |
- There are energetic Greyhounds, and placid Greyhounds.
- Hard-headed Greyhounds, and sweet-natured Greyhounds.
- Serious Greyhounds, and good-natured goofballs.
- Introverted Greyhounds, and Greyhounds who love everyone.
| If you acquire a Greyhound puppy, you can't know for sure what he or she will grow up to be like. Because a good number of purebred puppies do NOT grow up to conform to the "norm." |
| If you're considering an adult Greyhound... |
There are plenty of adult Greyhounds who have already proven themselves NOT to have negative characteristics. If you find such an adult, don't let "typical breed negatives" worry you.
When you acquire a puppy, you're acquiring potential -- what he one day will be. So "typical breed characteristics" are very important. But when you acquire an adult, you're acquiring what he already IS.
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