Is There An "average" Size For Greyhounds?

[Susanval]

Hi - looking at some of the racers the dogs look much smaller than my 83 lb. Pongo. Just wondering if most dogs are smaller and how that affects their racing ability. My dog, lucky for him, was a washout Maybe if it was a hotdog going around the track instead of a bunny he would have been a champ!

[turbotaina]

Kinda. Most females fall in the 60- 65 pound range, and males in the 70-75 pound range. Larger dogs will obviously have longer strides, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are faster. Just like with horses. Smarty Jones is a tiny little fella, but he was a nose away from the Triple Crown.

[Guest Murphys_Mom]

Maybe if it was a hotdog going around the track instead of a bunny he would have been a champ!

 

Shhhhh - we don't want to give the tracks any new ideas!!! Now I can't get the picture of a hot dog on a stick going around the track

[Chicocat]

There is an average range. Girls are generally from the low 50's to high 60's. Boys from the mid 60's to about 85 lbs. There are a few exceptions on the high end, but not many. The biggest female I saw was girl named Zoe that weighed 78 lbs. For Males there are some in the 85-90 lb. range and a handful of guys that weighed 92-95 lbs.

 

As far as racing ability -- it's more talent than size. I've seen some little 51 lb. girlies that were very HOT racers! Smalll girls seem to do well in distance races (3/8 of a mile for example). Mulberry Jack weighed 67 lbs. and was a stakes winner and stud dog. We had a couple 95 lb. guys that ran with the best dogs in Grade A. Talent and breeding win!

 

 

[Jiffer]

Most females fall in the 60- 65 pound range, and males in the 70-75 pound range.

 

This is what I've observed as well. Of course, there are much larger and much smaller ones in that scale too.

[Guest LynnM]

Females tend to be around 50-65 pounds, males 65-82 pounds. A girl that's under 55, I'd consider smallish, and over 65 a big girl. A male under 70 pounds is small to me, and over 80 is a big 'un.

 

You don't see many successful racers under 50 pounds or over 85. A tiny girl's stride is often too short for her to make up the distance with increased turning ability, and a huge male (90+ pounds) is most often forced wide in the turns, negating the advantage of his longer stride. Porterhouse is the only HUGE dog I can think of off the top of my head that was what I would call successful in recent years. He makes your 83 pound boy look like a midget.

 

Keep in mind that these generalizations only apply to American track dogs. Irish hounds are, by and large, MUCH bigger than American track dogs.

 

Lynn

[Guest Tenderhearts]

My Lori Ann was a big girl at 75 pounds. She was solid. Randy is probably up in the low 80's now, and was much taller than Lori Ann. My angel Bart was also around 80 pounds.

[winnie]

Our two grey girls each raced at about 60 lbs. One was a terrific racer - the other not so good. I don't think size has too much to do with racing ability.

[Guest myjazzy]

I have a male who raced at 85 pounds and one that raced at 62. They were both good. The little fellow, although don't tell him I said that, because he thinks he's big, raced grades A/B at Derby Lane/Tampa. The big guy, and also big wuss, raced at Birmingham and Southland in top grades and at Wheeling in the middle grades, although he looks so goofy running, I have no idea how he managed it. (He even made the finals of a stakes race at Southland). They both had fairly long careers. It really does depend on ability. I've seen little 55 pound girls go right past some big guys.

[sobesmom]

I agree with the averages. I think Sobe is "biggish" but not huge. He raced at 78 lb, and is about 83 at pet weight, and he's really broad, his hipbones are 2" wider than many greys. Diana is an "average" female at 55 lb.

 

Sobe had a "decent" career. Not outstanding, but he raced until he was 4. Diana, well... never was attentive enough to race (I'm NOT surprised).

 

I think it's more about talent, than size.