We will be in touch soon to confirm.
Breed guide · Dogs
She had never seen a staircase. I walked down every step beside her.
Last updated 12 October 2026
We will be in touch soon to confirm.
What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Two minutes flat out, then the sofa for the rest of the day.
What's going onGreyhounds are sprinters, built for a short burst at full speed and a long rest either side of it. Sleeping 16 to 20 hours a day is normal. Two slow walks a day and a short chase on a flirt pole twice a week suit them far better than a long jog.
At home
Out cold on their side, those long legs stretched right out.
What's going onThat long, bony frame carries very little padding. Lying flat out on something soft takes the pressure off their bones, which is why they sprawl like this.
At home
Frozen at the top step, or stopped in front of a glass door.
What's going onA retired racer has usually lived in a kennel, so stairs, glass doors and a room of their own may all be firsts. Give them a few quiet weeks, and teach the stairs one step at a time, with you beside them.
At home
A jump, a growl, sometimes a snap, when touched in deep sleep.
What's going onSome Greyhounds startle when they are woken, and react before they are properly awake. It is not a bad temper. Say their name before you touch them, keep their bed out of the walkway, and teach children to let them sleep.
At home
Calm in a muzzle, as if they have always worn one.
What's going onRacing Greyhounds wear muzzles on the track, so many are used to them. On walks near street cats and small dogs, a muzzle keeps everyone safe.
At home
A limp after a run that has not cleared up a few days later.
What's going onMost limps are knocks and strains from sprinting. But Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) is a risk for Greyhounds from a young age, so if a limp does not clear up, keeps coming back, or comes with a swelling, contact your vet rather than resting them longer.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their run
Built for: A flat-out sprint, bred into them over generations.
In Dubai: Very few places they can run off the lead safely.
Their ground
Built for: Open fields, after a hare.
In Dubai: Ground too hot to try for five months of the year.
Their home
Built for: If they raced, a kennel and a fixed routine.
In Dubai: A home they have to learn from scratch.
Most of what is hard about their first months comes from that gap.
You cannot give them the track back, and they do not need it. You can give them a safe sprint, a soft bed and a quiet house, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the bones, stomach, thyroid and teeth a Greyhound is prone to, at every age.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
At full speed they can be out of sight before you reach the gate, and a narrow head slips an ordinary collar.
Every age, for life
Why
At full speed they can be out of sight before you reach the gate, and a narrow head slips an ordinary collar.
What to do
Use a martingale collar, which tightens just enough that they cannot back out of it, or a fitted harness. Keep them on a lead or a 10 to 15 metre line unless the space is fully fenced. Keep training the recall every day, and never rely on it near a road.
They were bred to sprint, not to trot for miles beside you.
Every age, shorter and more often from 7 years
Why
They were bred to sprint, not to trot for miles beside you.
What to do
Two walks of twenty to thirty minutes, with time to sniff and stand and look, suit them better than one long march. Let them choose the pace for half of each walk. For a puppy, five minutes per month of age is plenty.
They hunt by watching, and watching tires them out.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
They hunt by watching, and watching tires them out.
What to do
A spot by a window at their height where they can see the street. On walks, let them stand and stare into the distance for a minute without hurrying them on.
They are sensitive dogs. Pressure makes them shut down, and it takes them a long time to come back.
Every age, and gentler still as sight and hearing fade
Why
They are sensitive dogs. Pressure makes them shut down, and it takes them a long time to come back.
What to do
Reward the thing you liked, straight away. Say a cue once. Keep sessions short. Leave out the shouting and the lead jerks. A Greyhound learns far faster from a quiet voice.
Bloat (Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus, GDV, a twisted stomach) is a risk from their teenage months, most of all in deep-chested dogs like them.
From 6 months, for life
Why
Bloat (Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus, GDV, a twisted stomach) is a risk from their teenage months, most of all in deep-chested dogs like them.
What to do
Split their food into two meals. Keep them calm before and after each one: no sprinting, no rough play. A swollen belly, retching with nothing coming up, or pacing after a meal is an emergency: contact your vet now.
They are quiet about pain, and dental disease and bone cancer are risks from a young age.
Every age
Why
They are quiet about pain, and dental disease and bone cancer are risks from a young age.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands down each leg, feeling for heat, swelling or a spot they pull away from. Brush their short coat once a week and their teeth every day. If they limp, note the day it started.
If they raced, the lure never let them win. At home it can, and a chase that ends in a catch leaves them tired instead of wound up.
Every age, gentler for puppies and from 7 years
Why
If they raced, the lure never let them win. At home it can, and a chase that ends in a catch leaves them tired instead of wound up.
What to do
Use a flirt pole: a lure on a line on a pole. Three to five minutes, twice a week, on grass or sand, never on tiles. Let them catch it at least twice each time, and stop while they still want more. Puppies get 60 seconds, low and slow.
They have very little body padding and a thin coat, so the pavement burns them and the air conditioning chills them.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
They have very little body padding and a thin coat, so the pavement burns them and the air conditioning chills them.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Put dog-safe sunscreen on their nose, ear tips and belly. Indoors, give them a blanket or a light coat if they shiver.
Some Greyhounds live happily with cats and small dogs, and some never can. A racer spent their working life chasing a lure that looked like prey.
Every age, most of all the first months home
Why
Some Greyhounds live happily with cats and small dogs, and some never can. A racer spent their working life chasing a lure that looked like prey.
What to do
Introduce cats and small dogs over weeks, on a lead and muzzled, and never let a chase happen. If they stare hard and go very still, calmly move them away. Teach the muzzle early, with treats, and keep it on for walks where street cats gather.
A bony dog with thin skin gets sore joints and pressure sores on a hard floor.
Every age, orthopaedic from 7 years
Why
A bony dog with thin skin gets sore joints and pressure sores on a hard floor.
What to do
A thick, padded bed, long enough for them to lie flat out, in the room where you sit. If they have claimed the sofa, put a blanket down and make it theirs. From 7 years, choose one that is low to step onto. An orthopaedic evaluation (a joint and bone exam) is in your plan from age two to seven.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Show or racing
Greyhounds come from two lines that rarely mix. Show Greyhounds are bred for the show ring, and are larger and heavier. Racing Greyhounds are bred for speed on the track, and many come to a home only when they retire. In the UAE you may meet either.
Greyhound colours
Black, blue, fawn, red, white and every shade of brindle, on their own or broken up with white, and no colour is better than another.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Puppies need 18 to 20 hours of sleep and only short, low runs while their bones grow, and it is the easiest time to teach the muzzle.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Give them a thick bed long enough to stretch out on, in the room where you sit, and check every gate and door. If they have come from a track, gate the stairs for now and walk down them together.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder, or the group rehoming them, about the parents' health and the dog's own history: injuries, teeth, and whether they have lived with cats. Bloat, bone cancer and dental disease are the first risks for a young Greyhound.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
They'll get braver on the stairs. If they start to struggle on them again, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
The ancient world
Long-legged hounds of Greyhound type were painted on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. They show a type of dog, not a family tree.
What they still carryThe long legs, the deep chest and a chase that starts with the eyes.
The Middle Ages
In medieval Britain, a law said only royalty and nobility could hunt with Greyhounds.
What they still carryA gentle manner, from hounds that were valued and handled kindly.
1836
Two dogs were slipped together after a hare and judged on how they ran it. The Waterloo Cup began near Liverpool in 1836.
What they still carryThe sprint, and the way they lock onto anything small that runs.
1873 to 1885
The Greyhound was among the first breeds registered by The Kennel Club in 1873. The American Kennel Club followed in 1885.
What they still carryShow lines, bred for the ring alongside the runners.
1919 to 1926
Greyhound racing behind a mechanical lure began in the United States around 1919 and reached Britain in 1926, at Belle Vue in Manchester.
What they still carryIf they raced, a muzzle they may know, and a house that is new to them.
Today
Here Greyhounds are family dogs. Some are retired racers rehomed from abroad, some come from breeders.
What they still carryA sprinter's body and thin skin, in a 45-degree summer, usually on the sofa.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Greyhound suits you, so might these.
WhippetThe same kind of dog: a Greyhound in miniature, bred in England from Greyhound stock, and just as calm indoors.
SalukiAnother sighthound built for speed, a little lighter, from the Arab world and much more at home in the heat.
Pharaoh HoundThe same gentle, steady temperament and bursts of speed, in a playful, ancient hound from Malta that handles warm weather well.
BorzoiAnother large sighthound with the same calm, quiet way at home, often heavier, and with a long, silky coat to brush more than once a week.
