Greyhound Breed Guide

Greyhounds are remarkable athletes with a unique, lean physiology that requires specific nutritional considerations. Whether they are retired racers or active family pets, they benefit from a complete and balanced diet that helps maintain their lean muscle mass. While obesity is less common in greyhounds than in many other breeds, maintaining an ideal weight is still key to their long-term health. Using a kitchen scale to measure their meals is a helpful way to ensure they receive a consistent amount of food and to help manage their body condition throughout their life.

Selecting a food with high-quality ingredients is key to meeting a greyhound’s nutritional requirements. Look for recipes featuring protein sources — like chicken, lamb, or salmon — to help maintain their powerful, lean muscles. To help support a healthy skin and coat, look for omega-6 fatty acids from sources such as vegetable oils and chicken fat.

Fish oil provides the omega-3 fatty acids needed to help nourish their brain, joints, and organs, while prebiotic fibers like fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or beet pulp help support healthy digestion. Finally, balanced levels of calcium and phosphorus help support the strong bone structure needed for their active bursts of energy, helping ensure your]greyhound stays healthy and comfortable.

Greyhound puppies are considered large-breed dogs, so it's important to feed them foods that support healthy joint growth. A large-breed dog food that's formulated for their life stage is a good starting point; your vet can always give you more information based on the individual dog.

Greyhounds typically stop growing between 12 and 18 months of age, at which point your vet may recommend transitioning from puppy food to adult food. This should happen over the course of a week (even if it's the same brand) to let your dog's digestive system adjust. A large-breed adult maintenance food is generally a good choice.

Greyhounds are considered seniors at about 6 years old, even though many are "retired" at a younger age. Senior food is usually lower in calories. Some may benefit from a highly digestible dog food formula, as well.

Many greyhounds tend to maintain their sleek athletic builds without much effort. But check in with your vet about your dog's weight. If your greyhound needs to lose a few pounds, your vet can guide you on a feeding plan, which may include a weight control formula dog food.

Greyhounds are often loving, calm and intelligent, but they're also athletic. Many have a stoic personality, not getting overly excited nor upset, which makes them easy to live with.

People looking for a dog that is easygoing, but also enjoys the occasional long walk.

People of all ages, other dogs. Always monitor children around dogs.

Homes with cats (depends on the individual).

Before adopting any breed of dog, it's a good idea to speak to a veterinarian to determine if their health and care needs fit with your household, budget and lifestyle. 

If you are looking for a running or walking buddy, you have found the perfect friend! Greyhounds do best with around 60 minutes of daily exercise, but they likely won't get destructive if you miss a day here and there. They're just as happy to hang out with the family as they are to get outside.

Greyhounds are often food- or praise-motivated, and clicker training tends to work particularly well for this breed. Any rewards-based system is great for these dogs. Some may be fearful or shy in the beginning while they learn your habits and style. 

Remember, greyhounds are very intelligent, and they are studying and learning about you as much as you are learning about them! Positive reinforcement and consistency are key to you and your greyhound understanding each other. When training your greyhound, it's easy to dish out the treats generously! While they are fun, treats shouldn't make up more than 10% of the dog's total daily caloric intake. Praise, affection or even a toy are often good rewards, so it's important to try different things to find out what rewards makes your greyhound the happiest.

Greyhounds make great pets for many different types of families. However, they do come with some health considerations.

Greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. Many greyhounds require dental cleanings under anesthesia yearly, and despite best efforts, often require teeth to be extracted because they are so diseased. Gingivitis, tooth decay and foul breath often accompany the dental disease. Talk to your vet about a teeth cleaning regimen for your greyhound, which may involve brushing their teeth daily with a dog-specific toothpaste and providing dental cleaning chews.

Greyhounds' skin is surprisingly thin, despite being a large and athletic dog! Running through brush can cause an open wound requiring stitches in a greyhound! The breed is so stoic, many astute pet parents may not notice anything is even wrong until much later.

As they age, greyhounds can develop arthritis along their back or in their legs. Keeping your dog a healthy weight will not prevent this completely but it can help minimize discomfort.

Greyhounds respond differently to anesthesia drugs than many other breeds. This does not prevent them from undergoing anesthesia successfully, it's just a unique health aspect of the breed.

With such a short hair coat, greyhound grooming needs are minimal. They do shed, often seasonally, and once-a-week brushing is typically sufficient. Baths can be given as needed, and they will likely need regular nail trims, depending on their activity level.

Greyhounds are easygoing, intelligent and overall low-maintenance. Many pet parents of greyhounds realize they can't have just one, and eventually become families of multiple greyhounds. The breed has a tendency to grow on people! Low energy requirements and a loving personality make greyhounds overall great pets for many families.