8 Reasons You Should Think About Adopting A Greyhound

The misunderstood breed has made headlines recently, following a shocking investigation into greyhound racing in Australia. Here's some reasons why there's more to the dog than meets the eye.

1. Greyhounds are renowned "couch lizards."

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That's right, greyhounds are commonly referred to as "40 mph couch potatoes." They love to snuggle up and lie down on the couch, and spend a lot of the day just chilling out.

Nora, a volunteer at Greyhound Rescue told BuzzFeed that greyhounds are extremely placid and docile.

"They enjoy sleeping and it's often on your couch or bed. They enjoy what we call a 'zoomie' and after a couple of these they will find some shade to lie down."

2. They look great in holiday-themed hats.

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Greyhounds are very regal and elegant, and certainly have a bit of catwalk mystique in their blood. Here's six different greyhounds lookin' glam.

3. They're not noisy.

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Greyhounds don't bark often, mostly just when they are overly excited. They are more known as "watch" dogs, preferring to look out for trouble instead of looking for trouble.

4. Greyhounds aren't inherently aggressive dogs.

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Many think of muzzles when they think of greyhounds - which leads to their aggressive reputation. This is false, says Nora:

"They are extremely affectionate and enjoy the company of both humans and dogs. In Australia most states require them to wear a muzzle due to an outdated law. You can enrol your greyhound to be assessed so that they can walk in public without a muzzle."

5. You CAN teach an old greyhound new tricks.

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Greyhounds are always looking to please their owner, with some even going on to become therapy or service dogs. Teaching an old dog new tricks is very, very possible.

6. They're great with small children.

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Again, this all comes down to the misunderstood nature of the breed. Nora stresses that the dogs are gentle and perfect family companions.

"Greyhounds make great family pets due to their independent and calm nature. Some greyhounds can live very happily with cats, chickens, rabbits and other small pets too."

7. They're short-haired, meaning they don't shed much at all.

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Simple, sleek, and won't make you sneeze up the joint – greyhounds have very short hair that DOES shed, but only slightly. Depending on the level of your allergies, you may be just great paired with a greyhound.

8. And greyhounds are fine around small animals.

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Contrary to popular belief, greyhounds are quite placid – and most of the time are fine with small, fluffy animals – just like any other dog. From birth, many greyhounds are put into the intensive and shocking cycle of the race industry, wherein they are trained and often blooded. This "blooding" is what has many outsiders believing greyhounds are dangerous. The practice of blooding (which is live baiting the dogs to race) is illegal, but still happens. When their racing career is over, greyhounds can be surrendered to an adoption home, abandoned or, in some cases, euthanized.

There are many organisations that work hard to train greyhounds back into normal life when their racing careers are over, and the majority of the time they are successful.

It is always worth remembering that greyhounds are naturally a very calm and relaxed dog.

You can learn more about greyhound rescue here.