Originally posted by smokey the elder
One question I did have: the hounds seem to have a lot of scars, and seem very thin when they come from the track. Is this normal? (I've never met one with a bad temperament.)
The best analogy to make is to compare a greyhound to a race car. 5,000 years of selective breeding has produced a dog that has a tremendous power to weight ratio. Like a race car that has no extraneous items on it and a thin aluminum body, greyhounds have almost no body fat and their skin is extremely thin.

Breeders keep litters together through 12 months of age and puppies play hard. Their teeth have not been worn down by use and are needle sharp. Anyone who has played with a puppy can attest to that.

As they get older their playful romping can occasionally turn into a fight and bites occur. Scars are very common in greyhounds---I've had five and not one was without a scar. Here's a pic of the famous sire Ample Time; note the scar on his side:

http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?show...ime=1083317350

Here's my late, greyt JC. Note the scars on his left flank (light lines):

http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?show...ime=1083317432

Note the difference in their appearence. Ample Time looks to be in racing trim, while JC had been a pet for a few years in that picture and weighed too damn much in my opinion. It's hard to keep them looking "racy."

Here's Kiowa Sweet Trey in race trim:
http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?show...ime=1083317456

Note the difference in Flying Penske in race condition and a more recent shot as a stud:
http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=80423