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Hound Handbook
Insurance guide
Breed profile

Greyhound

A 70 km/h sprinter who would rather sleep on your sofa for 18 hours.

Close-up of a brindle Greyhound with amber eyes in front of a red brick wall
The Greyhound: sprinter by build, couch potato by choice.Photo: Vincent Eisfeld / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Weight
27–40 kg60–88 lb
Height
68–76 cm27–30 in
Lifespan
10–14 yrs
Group
Hound
Origin
United Kingdom
Popularity
#151 US#188 UK · 2025

Known for: Flat-friendlyQuietLow grooming

Energy
Shedding
Trainability
Barking
Good with kids
Flat-friendly

Temperament

Gentle, Quiet, Sensitive, Calm.

Health problems to know about

  • Dental disease
  • Osteosarcoma
  • Thin skin that tears easily
  • Sensitivity to some anaesthetics (vets familiar with sighthounds adjust)

Ask breeders for the parents' health test results, and check what your national breed club recommends screening for.

Daily care

Two moderate walks a day plus a safe sprint area. Coat needs very little care. Many need a coat in cold weather.

A good fit for

Apartments (yes, really), calm homes, adopters (many retired racers need homes).

Probably not ideal for

Homes with cats or small pets unless the dog is cat-tested, places without secure off-lead areas.

Sources

  1. Royal Kennel Club: Greyhound
  2. University of Bristol: Bad teeth revealed as biggest problem for pet greyhounds
  3. Karlsson et al. (2013), Genome-wide analyses implicate 33 loci in heritable dog osteosarcoma, Genome Biology
  4. Wikipedia: Greyhound

Popularity: AKC 2025 registration rankings (US); Royal Kennel Club 2025 registrations (UK, ranked by us). Breed traits are tendencies, not guarantees. Individual dogs vary, and mixed breeds and rescues can be wonderful fits too.

Similar breeds

All breeds
Fawn feathered Saluki galloping across dry, sunlit ground

Saluki

Ancient desert sighthound: graceful, gentle and reserved, with a chase instinct that overrides everything.

Sand-coloured male Sloughi standing in long grass under a summer sky

Sloughi

Smooth-coated North African sighthound: sensitive, reserved and quietly devoted to its family.

A red-wheaten Rhodesian Ridgeback stands in profile against a grey wall

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Athletic African hound with a ridge of backward-growing hair along the spine. Dignified, loyal and quietly protective, with a will of its own.

Close-up of a white and cream Borzoi resting its long narrow head on a cushion

Borzoi

Tall, silky Russian sighthound. Quiet and catlike indoors, explosive when something runs.

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