Greyhounds are gentle, affectionate dogs that thrive on human companionship and their friendly, loyal nature and wonderful temperament make them an ideal family pet.

• A patient and tolerant dog, the Greyhound is usually very good with children and due to their calm, sensitive and friendly nature Greyhounds are very suitable as Therapy Pets for Aged Care facilities and special needs homes.

• Most greyhounds are very sociable and mix readily with other dogs when introduced correctly. Some Greyhounds will get along well with cats, but others have too much 'prey drive' to live successfully with cats or other small furry pets.

• A large dog, the Greyhound stands approximately 62 to 72cm tall and weighs between 24 to 35 kilograms and has a life span of approximately 12-14 years.

• They have a very fine, soft coat and because of this, and their low body fat, they tend to feel extremes in temperature more than most dogs.

• Their short, sleek coat, the absence of doggy odour, their placid, sedentary nature and love of comfort combine to make them an excellent indoor pet.

• They come in a vast array of coat colours: black, white, red, blue (grey), fawn and brindle, or any of these colours broken with white.

• The Greyhound is a strong, lean muscular dog, built for sprinting over short distances. The breed are Sighthounds which hunt their quarry primarily by sight rather than scent and their natural quarry is the hare.

• Greyhounds can reach speeds of nearly 70km/hour. Despite the image people have of them, they do not require a lot of exercise or space. A walk each day is more than enough to keep them healthy and happy.  A small yard is fine, particularly if they are getting regular short walks.

• They tend to be "couch potatoes" and are content to laze around on their cosy bed or on the lounge beside their owners. They rarely bark, usually only when something is wrong or when they get really excited. They are not generally suitable as a guard dog (however the size is generally a good deterrant).

• Due to being quiet, easy-going, predominantly lazy and placid, low-maintenance, and undemanding, Greyhounds make excellent pets for suburban homes and busy families. They are perfect indoor pets.

• The NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 requires Greyhounds to wear a muzzle unless it is on the owner's premises, in a vehicle or at an Obedience Trial or Dog Show. However a new program is now available which allows pet greyhounds to apply for muzzling exemptions. For more information go to... http://www.greenhounds.com.au/                                                                          For those in Queensland, muzzling exemptions have been in place for a couple of years for 'decommissioned' greyhounds.  For more information about the GAP green collar program... click here

 

     Greyhounds (c.1500) Gaston Phoebus,

Book of the Hunt © The Bibliothèque Nationale de France FR 616, fol. 46v

The muzzling laws have helped to create misconceptions about the breed.  Decades of racing promotion, and thinking of them only as those fast dogs that chase small animals has produced a 'stigma' about the breed.

Greyhounds are rather at the mercy of a betting industry.  For greyhounds... it literally is...

the QUICK, or the DEAD.

~  Facts ~

There are around 20,000 greyhounds bred in Australia each year.

Just under half the number bred don't even make it to the track.

Most racing greyhounds are destroyed by the age of 3-4 years when their racing careers are finished or after suffering an injury that prevents them from continuing to race.

Sadly, thousands upon thousands of greyhounds are destroyed each year when they become surplus to racing industry requirements.  Thousands of dogs are injured each year on the track. Please ask yourself...

Why is it that, in today's society where there is a huge focus on animal welfare issues, a breed of one of the world's most favoured companion animals, is bred and destroyed in vast numbers, in the name of sport and entertainment, and incredibly, for the sake of gambling?

Greyhounds make great pets

PETS - NOT BETS!

COMPANIONS - NOT COMMODITIES!

Become a Friend of the Hound - please become a member.

Save a life - Adopt a Greyhound.

For more information, or to express your interest in supporting the Greyhound cause or in adopting a Greyhound, pleaseus.