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Males average 26 - 30 inches high at the shoulder and are usually between 65 and 85 pounds. |
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Females average 23 - 26 inches high at the shoulder and are usually between 50 and 65 pounds. |
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Come in the widest range of colors of any breed of dog: black, white, gray (blue), fawn, red, red brindle, fawn brindle, black brindle, white and fawn, white and brindle, white and black, and many other combinations. |
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Lifespan is typically 12 to 15 years, some can reach the age of 17. |
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Often called "cat-like" because of their natural grace and cleanliness. |
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Have no "doggie odor." |
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Are usually leash trained and are used to being led around by a collar and leash. |
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Are "crate trained." This combined with their natural desire to stay clean often makes house breaking surprisingly easy. |
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LOVE their humans! Usually want to be with their humans the majority of the time and will often follow them from room to room if given the chance. |
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Generally quiet, docile, and affectionate. |
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Very sensitive for a dog. Respond readily to their humans' mood and emotional tone, including a firm, corrective tone as well as a happy, loving tone! |
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Are non-aggressive toward humans (adults and children) and generally toward other medium to large dogs. Some can, however, view small dogs and cats as potential prey. |
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Accustomed to physical handling by humans, making it easier to administer medications, bathe, trim nails, etc. when necessary. |
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Are pack animals and generally get along well with other medium to large dogs. |
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Generally are not "jumpers" or "diggers." Accustomed to fences and usually do not try to jump over or dig out of them. |
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Are 40 mph "couch potatoes!" Would rather spend their time sleeping on the couch with their head on your lap than anything else except maybe a quick chase after a squirrel in your fenced-in backyard! |
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Built for speed. Greyhounds are the fastest breed of dog, reaching speeds of up to 45 mph. For comparison, a race horse can reach about 48 mph while an Olympic class human sprinter can reach about 28 mph. |
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Long legs, long and flexible spines, lean musculature, aerodynamic head with ears that tuck back, long neck, deep chest with large lungs, thin skin, and less than half of the body fat of other breeds of similar weight. |
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Capable of a double suspension gait. A greyhound has all of his feet off the ground twice during a full cycle of running steps. Other dogs only have all feet off the ground once in each full cycle of running steps. |
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Have a heart slightly larger than other dogs with thicker muscles on the left wall. The thicker left wall allows the heart to pump the blood out to the rest of the body more efficiently. Greyhounds also have more red blood cells than other breeds allowing oxygen to be more easily transported throughout the body. |
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Are a sighthound. Greyhounds were bred to hunt primarily by sight and especially focus on moving objects. |
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Are a low-allergen breed. Shed less and have less dander than most dog breeds. Fewer people have an allergic reaction to greyhounds than other dog breeds. |
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Are not prone to many of the common hereditary conditions seen in other large dogs (e.g., hip dysplasia). |
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A few health issues: sensitive to certain anesthesia, the development of benign and malignant tumors, and prone to hypothyroidism. |
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Lots of love and attention! Greyhounds are sensitive dogs and generally respond rapidly to loving attention from their humans. |
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Offer 2 balanced meals a day. Do not over feed. Most greyhounds eat about 3 to 5 cups of dry food a day. Provide fresh water ad lib. |
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Only need periodic grooming such as brushing and nail trimming. Greyhounds require baths only when dirty. |
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Need no more exercise than most dogs and much less than many. A few minutes to run in a fenced-in area several times a day and/or regular walks is all the exercise that a greyhound needs to stay healthy. |
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Keep flea preventative (Frontline) and heart worm medication (Interceptor) up to date. |
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Provide padded bedding. Because of the lack of body fat, greyhounds require and prefer some type of padded bedding such as a dog bed. |
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Train your greyhound. It helps with bonding and will make for a much nicer family member! If possible attend a basic obedience course with a qualified instructor. Greyhounds generally respond best to gentle teaching methods. |
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And...remember the Big Three: Greyhounds must live as inside pets. Greyhounds must be kept in a fenced in yard or on a leash when outside. Greyhounds can not be chained or tied out. |
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There are close to 50 tracks operating in 15 states in the US with the greatest concentration in Florida. Organized greyhound racing can also be found in Mexico, Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia. |
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The most common distances in modern greyhound racing are 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, and 9/16 of a mile. This means that races are either under half a mile or just over half a mile...BUT...they are completed in approximately 30 seconds at speeds of up to 45 mph. |
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Racetracks are created out of deep sand and banked to assist the dogs in making the turns. Each race officially ends at 'the wire', or finish line. |
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A photo is taken at the wire of every race to help determine the winner. The winner is expressed in 'lengths', or how many body lengths they crossed the wire in front of the dog in second place. Often, however, the winner is a matter of milliseconds! |
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Greyhound racing is entirely determined by the dogs themselves. Once placed in the "start" boxes, they run on their own instincts and abilities without any interference, guidance, or assistance from humans. |
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Except for a few rare exceptions, each race is designed for 8 dogs. The dogs wear numbers and colors indicating their "start" box (the number graphics you see on this page are replications of these numbers/colors). |
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Greyhounds may not begin to compete in actual races until the age of 18 months and typically retire before the age of 6 years. Active racing greyhounds may race every third or fourth day, depending upon their racing schedule. |
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Each dog is 'graded', or given a letter evaluation, based on their past racing performance. The grades range up to the highest "A" level. This system ensures that dogs race others of matched ability levels. |
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May be the oldest pure bred dog. The greyhound shape and purpose has not changed in over 7000 years. |
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The ancient Egyptians immortalized greyhounds in their murals dating from as early as 2200 BC. |
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From about 1000 to 1800s, greyhounds were largely reserved for the nobility for hunting or sporting events. |
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By the 1800s, coursing with greyhounds was a very popular pastime for the upper class in England. |
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Greyhounds came to the Americas in the early 1500s with the Spanish expeditions and later with the early European settlers. |
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Greyhounds became well established in the United States when the early settlers in the Midwest used them to hunt wild jackrabbits and other game. |
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Organized racing in the US began with Owen Patrick Smith's invention of the mechanical lure in 1912. The first organized track opened in 1919 in Emeryville, CA. Greyhounds bred for racing are part of the National Greyhound Association (NGA). |
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The name greyhound is so old that its origin is unknown. It may derive from the term "gazehound" another name for sighthound. It may derive from the Latin word "Gracillis" meaning slim or slender or the Latin word "Graius" meaning Greek. Or it may derive from the Saxon words "Grech" or "Greg" meaning Greek. But the name is not a reflection of the color gray. Although some greyhounds are gray, it is a recessive trait and does not occur very often. |
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Diana, Greek Goddess of the Hunt, was most often shown with a greyhound. |
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Alexander the Great's favorite dog was a greyhound. |
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General Custer, of our early Western cavalry, was a greyhound fancier and took them on campaigns with his party. Fortunately, he left them behind on the day of the Little Big Horn. |
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President Abraham Lincoln had a greyhound on his family Coat of Arms. |
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In Homer's "The Odyssey," the main character, Odyseus, returns home after being gone many years. His faithful greyhound is the only one to recognize him. |
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Shakespeare often included greyhounds in his works, including Henry V, Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing. |
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In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, a white greyhound symbolized power and majesty. |
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Is the only breed mentioned in the Bible (Proverbs 30:29-31). |
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Questions? Ask June, Kim, or your area representative. We will be glad to help!
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