After having Mitch for 1.5 months now I am convinced that greyhounds make the best pets for most people.

1. Very gentle. Have not seen any aggression towards anyone yet. Has been OK with kids touching him. Has been OK with clipping his nails, touching his feet, putting clothes, muzzle, boots, etc. on him.

2. Very quiet. Not a barker. In the morning when he is ready for breakfast and to go outside he has this cute little yip he makes, but that is about it, and then he only yips a few times and then stops. No whining. No barking when someone comes to the door or sees another dog walking in front of the house. If you want a guard dog then a greyhound is not for you. I don't think he would be very good protection while walking down the street at night, but I think just his size would be enough to deter someone from bothering you. He is a big dog, and someone that didn't know he was a greyhound or what a greyhound is like would just see a big dog and leave you alone. But if they decided to mug you anyways I don't know if he would do anything. Goliath was good protection. If he sensed that one of us didn't like someone walking on the sidewalk towards us, or thought there was someone in the house, backyard, etc. he let them know he was there and was pretty scary about it.

3. Very affectionate. He needs lots of petting and attention, and that is the way we like our dogs. When Sheri is at home working all day he needs to be in the same room with her and every couple of hours he gets up to check-in with her and get some petting. Just about every time I get up to use the rest room he has to get up and follow me in to make sure he doesn't miss anything. This might not be good for some people, but we like it that way. I think cat-people generally like their pets a little more standoffish.

4. Clean. Greyhounds do not have undercoats, do not shed very much, and have very short hair. If Goliath rubbed up against you after putting on a suit you would have to get the tape to get the hair off. Little balls of his hair would accumulate in corners and under the bed. We called them tumble weeds. Mitch can rub up against you and you will not find one hair on your clothes! Some people that are allergic to dogs can actually tolerate greyhounds.

5. Attention getting. I like the attention he attracts while walking him. I can't wait until the summer months and all the new girlfriends he is going to attract! The few times we have taken him downtown it seems every head turns as we walk past. Some stops us at least every 15 minutes to ask about him and to pet him.

6. Low exercise requirements. It seems like the world's fastest dog would need a lot of exercise, but they don't. They are huge couch potatoes. Of course regular exercise is good for them, and us, but they are not demanding about it. Some dogs start acting up and chewing inappropriate things as an outlet if they don't get enough exercise, but greyhounds are content just to sleep and cuddle most of the time. Sometimes while watching a movie we will notice that he seems a little restless. He will get up, come see us. Pick through his toys, walk around. We will pause the movie and take him outside. A lot of times he will do a few high-speed laps around the yard, take a pee, and then come in the house and go to sleep. When we do take him for walks he needs at least a couple hour nap afterwards to recover. The excitement of a car ride is enough to wear him out for a while too. I have no doubt he could keep up with an active runner that ran several miles a day, but he is totally fine with just hanging out too.