WHY A GREYHOUND ?
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 good with children and in many places overseas, ex-racers are quite often re-homed into Aged Care facilities as therapy pets.  Most Greyhounds are very sociable and mix readily with other dogs when introduced correctly.  Some dogs will get along well with cats, but others have too much prey drive to live successfully with cats or other small furry pets.
THE LOOK Greyhounds are extremely well put together dogs.  Hereditary defects e.g. hip displacia etc is uncommon in greyhounds.  The are built like a true athlete.  They are lovely to watch in full flight and very elegant in stance.  The height and weight of greyhounds can vary from 23kgs up to 40kgs. Greyhounds come in a large variety of colours.  Black, white, blue, fawn, red fawn, blue brindle, red brindle, brindle, dun or any of these combination broken with white.
THE TEMPERAMENT The Greyhounds' temperament is second to none.  Most Greyhounds are suitable in family situations.  They are full of love and the need to please.  They are anxious to please and can be trained to standard obedience commands with patience and consistency. Greyhounds do not typically bite but sometimes show affection as a wolf does with mouth agape, gently grasping. They will lick your hand. They show affection with their whole body and may rub up to you like a cat or lean against you.
IN THE CAR Greyhounds are used to traveling and adapt quickly to riding in cars. They are normally content to lay down and enjoy the trip.
IN THE HOME Greyhounds have an attraction to anything soft to lay on.  You can guarantee that they will find the softest thing in the house and want to go to sleep on it. They are extremely clean and will let you know when they need to go outside.  Being in kennels and runs for most of their lives, it may take a little time for them to adapt to stairs, slippery floors, glass doors, vacuum cleaners, and things that are new to them, but they have the intelligence and patients to adapts rather quickly.  A little patience, love and care on your behalf will go a long way, in the first few months.
WITH OTHER DOGS Most Greyhounds have never been exposed to other breeds of dogs. They know other Greyhounds but may be confused, frightened or simply ignore other breeds.
WITH CATS They do not know cats. And some greyhounds are just not suitable with cats.  They are a sight hound, and are highly prey driven.  Some greyhounds will chase cats, as so will many other breeds of dogs.  Greyhounds do not know how to defend themselves except by flight and will often "freeze" if attacked.
WITH CHILDREN Greyhounds and kids seem to be a perfect match.  Most greyhounds adore kids and most kids seem to have a special attachment to the dogs.  Letting them get to know each other and educating both of them to be gentle and respect each others space, particularly at meal time.
SOME SPECIAL GREYHOUND TRAITS Because of their early training, retired Greyhounds have never been without the company of other Greyhounds and have never had the opportunity to really be a puppy. They may need to act out some puppy behavior, like chewing, which they typically quickly outgrow.   They are used to a leash, love to walk and will learn to heel quickly. Most Greyhounds do not know how to sit, climb stairs or play games only because they have not yet learned. With time they can learn all of these things. Greyhounds have no fat layer on their bodies which makes them sensitive to winter cold or rain. If outside for more than a short time in bad weather, they should be protected with a coat. No dog should be left outside in the cold. They are not barkers by nature, but will bark if excited or trying to tell you something like needing to go out. Greyhounds tend to "cockroach" - this term relates to the way that greyhounds sleep when they are content.  They lay on their back with all four legs pointing straight up. They also require special anesthetic when they require surgery.