Greyhounds are one of the oldest dog breeds out there! These dogs were around 5,000 years ago, and they existed as hunting dogs for Egyptian pharaohs together with Saluki dogs. These godlike hounds were considered an extension of the ruler’s divine majesty, and they have kept that grace to this day.
Throughout the ancient world, from Macedonia to Moscow, nobles loved having these elegant dogs by their sides.
While Greyhounds sound like they only come in grey, this dog breed can come in almost any coat color, including black, white, red, blue, grey, or fawn.
The reason behind this high number of coat colors is because Greyhounds have existed for so long that many colors were introduced to the breed’s gene pool via crossbreeding with native dogs.
To help you visualize how these dogs look, we’ll explain some of the most common Greyhound colors. Let’s begin!
1. Fawn
Fawn is, actually, a light yellowish tan color – although it isn’t the same as regular tan shade, which is usually deeper, almost rusty. This is one of the most common Greyhound colors out there.
Depending on the dog’s genetics, you can find several fawn shades. For example, you may have a red fawn (also known as Isabella) or a blue fawn.
Regular fawn Greyhounds have a black nose, eye rims, paw pads, and lips. If the nose is blue, the dog will be registered as a blue fawn. On the other hand, a brown nose would likely mean a dog is liver-colored.
2. White
While pure white Greyhounds are rare, many Greyhounds have a white base coat with specific markings. You can easily find white and red Greyhounds, white and black Greyhounds, or even white and blue Greyhounds.
On the other hand, most white markings (when a dog has a specific base color and just a few white stripes) aren’t desirable.
3. Black
Black is the most dominant coat color in dogs. In fact, in a solid black dog, no other color can be present anywhere else on the dog’s body, including his skin. This is why all black Greyhounds also have black noses, eye rims, feet pads, and lips.
However, black is one of the rarest Greyhound colors. Black Greyhounds are challenging to find, and they’ll often have a very sleek appearance. This isn’t a surprise, as black can be a fairly rare color in many dog breeds, such as the Shih Tzus or Shiba Inus.
Most of the time, black is present in the form of markings – usually on a white base coat.
4. Blue
Blue is the result of a dilution gene mixing with black. This gene turns black into a unique shade of grey with a blueish tint, hence the color name.
However, one thing that makes blue Greyhounds stand out from other colors is that this dilution gene doesn’t necessarily have to affect the Greyhound’s coat. What’s important is that it affects the dog’s eyes and skin.
In other words, you may have a blue Greyhound with almost any coat color. As long as its nose is blue, the Greyhound will be considered blue as well.
Still, this dilution gene will almost always affect the base coat color to some extent, resulting in beautiful shades – such as the already mentioned blue fawn.
5. Brindle
Brindle dogs are, in fact, dogs with black stripes. If you see a dog with tiger-like stripes, that’s a brindle dog.
These stripes can be more or less wide. If they’re wide enough, your Greyhound might even appear black.
Also, brindle can come on all base coats. Depending on which, you can find a liver brindle, red brindle, fawn brindle, even black brindle!
Brindle can affect your dog’s entire fur, or it can come in the form of markings. Both are perfectly acceptable according to the breed standard.
One of the Greyhound’s ‘cousins,’ the Whippet dog, is commonly found in brindle color. If you find a brindle Greyhound that is smaller than the rest of the breed but still larger than an Italian Greyhound, chances are this is a Whippet.
6. Red
Red Greyhounds come in a deep, rich color that ranges from almost bright orange to deep mahogany. They have black noses and black eye rims, paw pads, and lips and usually have very dark eyes.
While red is a very common color in the dog world (especially in breeds such as Goldendoodles or Boston Terriers) , it is somewhat rare in Greyhounds but not impossible to find. Most of the time, red markings are found on white dogs.
7. Grey
Despite the color being in the breed’s name, grey isn’t a standard Greyhound color – but blue is.
Grey dogs look more or less like blue ones but without a blue tint. Some might even have dark, almost black noses.
Most of the time, grey Greyhounds will be registered as blue Greyhounds.
8. Slate Grey
While slate grey is a common color in Italian Greyhounds, it isn’t as common in standard Greyhounds.
This is, essentially, a shiny grey color that looks a bit like silver.
Most of the time, slate gray Greyhounds don’t come in a solid color but rather have a few white markings – another reason why they don’t fall within the breed standard. Still, they can be registered.