The Greyhound: The fastest couch potato

The greyhound is a dog breed that is as old as time. It is depicted in medieval paintings running after hares. George Washington owned one. The greyhound is often referred to as the fastest couch potato. It is a dog that has spurts of energy and a need for speed. Once the burst of energy has been depleted after running (Racing, FastCAT, treadmill, etc.)

They sleep for a while, then get a burst of energy again, and the cycle continues all day.

Greyhounds love to run. They are part of a breed group called sighthounds. (It means they use their eyes to hunt, not their nose.)

Greyhounds are great dogs. They are friendly and enjoy meeting people (If adequately socialized, like any dog from a young age.) They can also run up to 45 miles an hour.

Greyhounds are one of the world's oldest dog breeds. They had ancestors dating back to 4,000 to 6,000 BC. According to An article on the Greyhound history by Jim Jeffers, It states that. "The Romans believed that greyhounds came from Gaul (western Europe), the land of the Celts. The Celts, on the other hand, believed that greyhounds came from Greece, and so called them "Greek hounds" (greyhounds) may be a derivation of Greek hounds). This confusion suggests at least that greyhound-type dogs didn't originate in Gaul or Greece, but probably in the Middle East..."

Greyhounds are a huge part of history. In the Middle Ages, they were rat hunters, and soon, they became invaluable.

Many hunters used them to hunt hares and other vermin. Greyhounds were great hunters of all sorts of animals. (Foxes, hares, etc.) George Washington, the first President of the United States, owned a pack for hunting alongside other hunting dogs, such as the American Foxhound.

Eventually, people started having races with their greyhounds, which led to the creation of the greyhound racing industry.

Greyhound racing has now been around for a long time because of the history of Greyhounds being used as hunters or running races in history for entertainment. Nowadays, Animal rights organizations such as Grey2kUSA, The Humane Society of the United States, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. (PETA) Have accused Greyhound Tracks of abuse and neglectful behavior. (such as deficient diets, small crates, little to no potty breaks, socialization time, etc.) However, that is all false.

These dogs are all well cared for and given a life of love and proper care. They get tons of socialization with other dogs that live on the track. (Although they have to be muzzled for safety.)

They are given a proper diet to be fit and healthy enough to race. When their racing career is over, they are retired and can be adopted by the public.

Greyhounds are relatively easy to take care of. Often, when they are ready for adoption, they have already been trained from a young age before their racing career.

(Although they have a high prey drive for chasing after small things that move, extra recall training, a long line leash, and a muzzle are essential for play outside of a fenced-in area.)

A fenced-in yard is great but not required, as there are lots of other options for exercising your greyhound, such as a sport such as FASTCAT.

An American Kennel Club sport where a dog chases a lure. (Similar to racing, it allows the greyhound to do what they love even though they are retired from racing. They still need some outlet for their energy. Running is their favorite sport, so a sport like this is excellent for them.

Greyhounds typically race until they are about 5-6 Years old. At that point, they might become breeding dogs at the track or be put up for adoption.

Some greyhounds get adopted and then become therapy dogs or service dogs because of their temperaments and because they are already trained. However, due to their body shape, they cannot be mobility dogs.

One organization that trains greyhounds as service dogs after they retire from racing is Greyt Hart Service Dogs in Woodford, VA. They train psychiatric service dogs for people with PTSD and other mental health conditions.

The dogs love their jobs and don't take as long to train because they already have basic or advanced obedience skills, allowing them to get through training quicker than training a dog from a puppy to an adult.

Greyhounds are good dogs that don't require much grooming—just a bath when dirty. They can live anywhere as long as exercise is provided and do well with kids and other dogs. They can live in a house or apartment as long as exercise is provided and don't have significant grooming needs.

If you want to adopt a dog, research the greyhound and see if it's right.

If you want to learn more about this remarkable dog breed. Go to

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/greyhound/