Greyhound breed guide

AKC calls the Greyhound the cheetah of the dog world: perfectly happy to lounge around the house all day but capable of great speed and energy when faced with prey, a tennis ball or a coursing lure.

Training can frustrate anyone who does not understand the origins of the sighthound temperament, since the breed was developed to course game independently of humans, making decisions on its own.

Greyhounds live 10 to 13 years. AKC calls them overall very healthy. As a deep-chested breed the Greyhound is susceptible to bloat and gastric torsion, so owners should know the symptoms and seek medical attention immediately.

A condition called Greyhound neuropathy seems to be isolated in the breed.

The short, smooth coat needs little grooming beyond regular baths and weekly rubdowns with a damp cloth or hound glove. The strong, fast-growing nails need regular trimming if they are not worn down naturally.

Greyhounds need a regular schedule of exercise and chances to run full out, safely.

Prehistoric art shows doglike creatures and men chasing game, but the Greyhound story begins properly in Egypt some 5,000 years ago, when pharaohs' hounds were designed to detect, chase, capture and dispatch the fleet-footed wildlife of the deserts.

Ever after, from Alexander the Great's Macedonia to the Moscow of the Tsars, nobles looked a bit nobler with an elegant hound at their side.