Greyhound
A greyhound is a gentle, quiet sighthound built for short sprints and long naps. Australian adoption programs say many sleep up to 20 hours a day and most need only a 15–20 minute walk. Greyhounds are affectionate with their people, often reserved with strangers, and should stay on lead in public places.
| Origin | Ancient sighthound; the AKC traces it to Egypt |
|---|---|
| Size | Large, about 65–75 cm and 30–45 kg |
| Life expectancy | About 10–14 years |
| Exercise | A 15–20 minute walk a day for most |
| Sleep | Up to 20 hours a day |
| Colours | Black, brindle and fawn most often; also blue and white |
What is a greyhound like?
Gentle, quiet and very good at lying down. The AKC calls the greyhound “gentle, noble, and sweet-tempered” with an independent spirit, and Victoria’s Greyhound Adoption Program lists it as calm, clean, trusting and, in its own word, lazy.
Greyhounds are affectionate with family and tend to be reserved with strangers. They’re sighthounds, bred to chase by sight and make their own decisions on the run, so training goes best short and gentle. The AKC puts it neatly: they’re more interested in doing things with you than for you.
The AKC traces the breed back some 5,000 years to Egypt. In Australia, many come home through adoption programs that rehome greyhounds retiring from racing.
How much do greyhounds sleep?
A lot. Greyhounds as Pets says greyhounds can sleep for up to 20 hours a day, and the Victorian program calls them “champion nappers”.
For comparison, the AKC says dogs in general spend as much as half the day asleep. A greyhound pushes well past that, which is where the couch reputation comes from.
They’re also tidy about it. Greyhounds as Pets notes they need much less room than other breeds their size and are often found curled up somewhere in the house.
How much exercise does a greyhound need?
Less than you’d guess. Most need a 15–20 minute walk a day, according to Greyhounds as Pets; GAP says often just 15 minutes. They’re sprinters, not marathon runners, and needs vary with age and energy.
The sprint still matters. The AKC recommends regular chances to run flat out, but only in a securely fenced area, because a greyhound may not resist chasing something small. GAP is blunt about public places: letting a greyhound off lead there is, in Victoria, both illegal and extremely dangerous.
Is a greyhound a good dog to work beside?
Probably the easiest on the list. Greyhounds as Pets describes them as great for busy working people, and a dog that sleeps most of the day doesn’t ask much of a desk worker.
A short walk before you start, a stretch at lunch, a soft bed out of the walkway. They’re long dogs and they sprawl.
The white greyhound
White is a standard greyhound colour, just a less common one. The AKC lists white, and white with black, blue, red, fawn or brindle, among its recognised colours. GAP names black, brindle and fawn as the most common, with blue and white less so.
Nothing in the sources here links coat colour to temperament, sleep or exercise. A white greyhound is a greyhound.
In Doggydoro, “Greyhound – White” is its own dog in the picker, with the same habit line as the others: “Asleep by minute 2. Flat out.” For the striped coat, see the Brindle Greyhound.
The Greyhound in Doggydoro
The app’s Greyhound has this habit line: “Asleep by minute 2. Flat out.”
Both the Greyhound and the white greyhound are free. 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, which has some greyhound in its family tree.
Every dog is named by you. The card at the end of a session says when yours dozed off, along the lines of “25 minutes. Pepper dozed off around minute 2.”
More of the dogs
- Brindle Greyhound: Asleep by minute 2. Flat out.
- Bull Arab: Settles in after about four minutes.
- Shiba Inu: Ignores you for five minutes, then sleeps.
- All ten breeds