Exercise and Enrichment

The benefits of a walk

Slow down and give your greyhound time to use their amazing sense of smell to explore the environment. Although walks provide physical exercise, walks should also allow enough time for mental stimulation.

• Sniffing is calming: Studies show sniffing lowers the pulse rate and promotes calmness
• Reduce stress: Sniffing reduces stress and lowers cortisol levels - the stress hormone
• Promotes wellbeing: Important for mental and emotional wellbeing - provides an outlet for natural behaviour
• Choice, freedom and agency: The freedom to choose to stop and sniff helps dogs feel more in control of their environment and builds self confidence
• Reduces cognitive decline: Sniffing different things and interpreting that information requires mental effort which helps reduce cognitive decline.

How often should I walk my greyhound?

Although greyhounds are the fastest breed of dog, they achieve their incredible speed in one all out sprint and do not have a lot of endurance. For this reason, greyhounds require less exercise than breeds of dogs and are generally happy with one or two short walks per day of around 15-20 minutes. If you intend to walk your greyhound for longer periods, you will need to start at 20 minutes and gradually build up their stamina.

Where should I walk my greyhound?

Greyhounds have often not had recall training so ensure you walk your greyhound with a good quality lead under effective control. Due to your greyhound's speed, retractable leads are not recommended as they can cause injury to you, your dog, other people and animals.

Remember your greyhound must be kept on a leash at all times when in public. While there are off-leash dog parks in Victoria, it is illegal for greyhounds to be offleash in them.

There are also many greyhound walking groups around Victoria which is a great way to socialise for all involved. You can find groups listed in the Walks tab, found here: https://gap.grv.org.au/news-events/upcoming-events

What about other mental enrichment?

Soft toys, puzzle toys with food treats, daily exercise and training are essential in creating a mentally enriching environment for your greyhound.

Toys could include chew toys, rope toys or kongs (rubber dog toys in which food can be hidden). Other activities you may include are hiding small amounts of food around the outdoor area for the greyhound to find or freeze a treat in an ice block (water or stock) for the greyhound to lick and chew (also good for cooling in summer!).

Remember to avoid feeding immediately before or after exercise.