One of my friends, who shall remain nameless, was very confused when she met my (black) greyhound. “Oh!” She said. “But she’s black! I didn’t know they came in black, I thought they were all grey!”
“Blue,” I corrected her. She frowned.
“But aren’t they called greyhounds because they’re grey?” She asked.
“Clearly not,” I laughed, indicating the decidedly black greyhound sprawled at her feet.
The fact is that most greyhounds are black, probably due to the large number that are related to the most successful sires, who happen to be black. The vast majority of greyhounds in our kennels are black, probably about 90% at the moment. Black greyhounds are also the hardest to rehome, especially the black boys, and stay in our kennels much longer than the fawns, the brindles and the blues.
Probably because of the vast numbers of black greyhounds, those who aren’t black tend to stand out more, whereas the black dogs tend to blur together after a while, and it’s harder to tell them apart. Even those of us who spend a lot of time with the dogs at the kennels have to ask who’s who every so often! Yes, the black greyhounds tend to show when they’re greying more, and often don’t look as pretty whilst in kennels because their coats haven’t reached their full potential, but the truth is that the black dogs are just as gorgeous as the non-black dogs.
There’s no difference in temperament, and once these black beauties get into a home, are groomed more regularly, and get a few sardines to eat, their coats gleam and shine like no other colour will.
When we chose our greyhound, we weren’t bothered about colour. We wanted a dog based on their temperament and how well we got on together. It didn’t matter whether the dog matched our sofa or not, as the dog wouldn’t be on the sofa! (Little did we know…) We ended up with a black greyhound purely because she stole my heart the first time I walked her. She didn’t pay much attention to me on the walk: there was too much for her to see and do, but when I put her back in the kennel and sat down to give her and her kennel-mate a cuddle, she stood next to me and put her head on my shoulder. From that point on, I was hers, and she was mine. I’m sitting here writing this and she’s sleeping, curled up against me.
I wouldn’t be without our gentle, loving girl, and other owners of greyhounds say the same, no matter what their colour. So please, give the black beauties a chance. They’ll repay you with more love than you know.
Wonderfully put and so, so true.
Once a greyhound has shed its kennel coat & is fed a decent diet,including sardines & sunflower oil their coat improves. Then regular grooming produces a 100% improvement…once adopted & receiving this care & attention Black Greyhounds develope a soft ,glossy coat like black satin.
Witl their streamlined figure, gorgeous coat & graceful stance they are the most elegant hounds not out of place on any cat walk.