Brindle Greyhound
A brindle greyhound is a greyhound with a brindle coat, typically black stripes on a red base. It isn't a separate breed; brindle is one of the standard greyhound colours and among the most common. Underneath, it's a greyhound: gentle and quiet, happy with a short daily walk, and asleep for most of the day.
| Breed | Greyhound; brindle is a coat colour |
|---|---|
| Coat | Short; typically black stripes on a red base |
| Size | Large, about 65–75 cm and 30–45 kg |
| Life expectancy | About 10–14 years |
| Sleep | Up to 20 hours a day |
What is a brindle greyhound?
A greyhound in a striped coat. Brindle is a coat pattern, not a breed, and it’s one of the colours the greyhound standard allows.
Wikipedia describes brindle as typically black stripes on a red base, sometimes called tiger-striped, though subtler than an actual tiger. The stripes come from the dark pigment eumelanin; the base from the red-yellow pigment phaeomelanin.
It’s not rare, either. Victoria’s Greyhound Adoption Program names black, brindle and fawn as the most common greyhound colours.
What colours of brindle are there?
More than one. The AKC’s list of greyhound colours includes black brindle, blue brindle, red brindle and liver brindle, plus versions with white, such as white and red brindle.
So brindle greyhounds vary: darker or redder, bluish or liver-toned, or mostly white with brindle patches.
Brindle also turns up well beyond greyhounds. Wikipedia lists it in breeds from Great Danes and Akitas to Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and the breed standard for the Bull Arab, which has greyhound in its ancestry, allows it too.
Is a brindle greyhound different from other greyhounds?
Not in any way the sources show. Nothing we found ties temperament, sleep or exercise to coat colour, so a brindle greyhound is best understood as a greyhound, full stop.
That means the AKC’s “gentle, noble, and sweet-tempered” sighthound, affectionate with its people and often reserved with strangers. For the fuller picture, see the Greyhound page.
How much do brindle greyhounds sleep and exercise?
Lots of sleep, not much walking. Greyhounds as Pets says greyhounds can sleep for up to 20 hours a day, and most need only a 15–20 minute walk.
They’re sprinters, so a chance to run flat out in a securely fenced area helps. Off lead in public places is a no; in Victoria, GAP points out, it’s both illegal and extremely dangerous.
Is a brindle greyhound a good dog to work beside?
Yes, for the same reason any greyhound is. Greyhounds as Pets describes the breed as great for busy working people, and the sleep figures back that up.
The practical bits: a walk before you start, a bed somewhere you won’t step on it, and patience with a long dog stretched across the floor. The stripes are a bonus.
If you’re adopting, ask the program about the individual dog rather than the colour. Greyhounds as Pets notes that some need more exercise and some less, depending on energy and age.
The Brindle Greyhound in Doggydoro
The app’s Brindle Greyhound has the same habit line as the other greyhounds: “Asleep by minute 2. Flat out.”
It’s a Pro breed. Free users start with any of the eight non-Pro breeds and earn others with bones; Pro adds the Brindle Greyhound and the Bull Arab.
You give your dog its name, and the end-of-session card uses it, along the lines of “25 minutes. Tigs dozed off around minute 2.” Browse the other breeds.
More of the dogs
- Bull Arab: Settles in after about four minutes.
- Shiba Inu: Ignores you for five minutes, then sleeps.
- Miniature Schnauzer: Keeps an eyebrow on you for five minutes.
- All ten breeds