The Husky Greyhound mix, also called the Houndsky or Grey Houndsky, is a popular husky mix that has a lot of energy and affection.
The Husky Greyhound mix is a great choice for those with an active lifestyle who are looking for a highly affectionate and sometimes sensitive breed that loves to be around people.
In this guide, we’ll explore this mix in-depth, including how much exercise they need per day, how often they need to be groomed, and much more.
Contents
Quick Profile
Before we get into the specifics, here’s an overview of just about everything you need to know about the Husky Greyhound mix.
- Other Names: Grey Houndsky, Houndsky
- Average Lifespan: 10-14 years
- Average Height: 24 to 30 inches
- Average Weight: 40 to 70 lbs
- Coat appearance: Typically short and smooth, in a variety of colors & markings.
- Eye Color: Brown, black or blue.
- Activity Level: 1 to 2 hours of exercise per day is suitable.
- Grooming Frequency: Usually will have a short and smooth coat that doesn’t need much grooming.
- Typical Temperament: Very friendly and affectionate towards other people. Can be wary of strangers and tend to have stubborn streaks, which can make training difficult.
- Daily Food Consumption: Very high – 2 to 4 cups of dry kibble daily.
- New Owner Friendly: Can be difficult for new owners as they need a lot of exercise and are hard to train.
- Suitable to live with children? Suitable, but need to be careful with smaller children as they can be full of energy.
- Suitable to live with other dogs? Suitable for living with other dogs.
- Suitable to live with cats? They are likely to have a high prey drive, so early socialization is crucial.
Keep reading for more detailed info about each point.
Appearance
Most Husky Greyhound mixes take after the Greyhound in terms of body shape and overall appearance, with coloring and other features inherited from the husky.
They’ll also usually have more of a husky/wolf-like face, with larger eyes than a greyhound and larger, erect ears.
In order to get a better idea of their appearance, let’s take a look at the parent breeds to see how they compare.
Greyhound Appearance
Greyhounds are quite a large breed in terms of height and have long, narrow bodies built for speed.
They have a long and narrow head, with a pointed snout and ears that are small and folded back, again for speed.
Greyhounds come in a wide variety of colors, including black, white, red, fawn, and many more.
Husky Appearance
The Siberian Husky is a medium to large-sized dog. They are slightly longer than they are tall.
They have graceful lean bodies. They are very strong and athletic because they were used to pull sleds across the Arctic ice.
They have an elongated head and a medium-length snout. They have medium-sized, erect ears.
They sport a long bushy tail that they can curl around their body to keep them warm.
Huskies come in a wide range of colors, which can have a direct impact on the appearance of the Husky Greyhound mix. These include red, black and white, agouti, and many more.
Average Size
Husky Greyhound mixes are larger than the average husky, with a weight between 40 to 70 lbs and a height between 24 and 30 inches.
A lot of people assume that huskies are larger than greyhounds but this is not actually the case.
Huskies weigh anywhere from 35 to 60 lbs and grow to 20 to 23.5 inches in height, which is significantly smaller than the greyhound, which reaches 27 to 30 inches in height and 60 to 70 lbs in weight.
This does mean that the Husky Greyhound mix tends to have a slimmer physique than the Husky despite having a larger overall size.
Coat Appearance
Most Husky Greyhound mixes take after the greyhound and have a short coat.
This means that they only need to be groomed once a week or so, and they won’t shed as much as a normal husky would.
In some cases, they may adopt the double coat of the husky, which requires a lot more grooming, but this is not very common.
Physical Features
Husky Greyhound mixes inherited several physical features from both parent breeds.
As well as their overall size and slenderness from the greyhound, they usually have larger, pointed ears seen in huskies. They’ll also have a slightly wider snout than the greyhound and larger eyes.
Their heads will also be slightly wider than that of a greyhound but smaller than a husky.
Grooming Guide
The Husky Greyhound mix is much easier to groom than a Husky as its coat is usually much shorter.
They may still inherit a double coat, but shedding should still be much less than if the coat were longer in length.
A quick grooming session each week should be more than enough to keep their coats in top condition.
Bathing
Bathing can be done once every 4 to 6 weeks as needed. If they inherit the double coat, you should only bathe once every 2 to 3 months as it can interfere with the oils and overall function of the double coat.
Nail Trimming
Highly active dogs don’t require frequent nail trimming as they will naturally keep their nails shorter through exercise.
You should still check them every week for signs of overgrowth, especially if you don’t exercise regularly on concrete. We recommend using electric nail grinders rather than clippers if you need to shorten them.
Is The Husky Greyhound Mix Hypoallergenic?
The Husky Greyhound mix is more suited for people with allergies than a Husky would be as their coat is usually much shorter, and they shed much less.
Check out other husky mixes that don’t shed often in our article right here.
Temperament
Husky Greyhounds mixes have great temperaments.
They love to spend time around people and are very affectionate, which makes them great family dogs for active families.
Here are some other aspects of their temperament to consider:
Not Great Guard Dogs
If you want a guard dog or protective breed, then this mix is not for you.
Huskies are known for being terrible guard dogs because they befriend strangers, and greyhounds are more likely to be afraid of strangers than anything else.
Husky Greyhound mixes can either be very friendly with new people, or they might take some time to warm up to them, but they won’t be very protective.
Stubborn
Another key personality trait is stubbornness.
Huskies and Greyhounds are both known for being stubborn, which means that training can be very difficult.
They are not particularly interested in pleasing their owners but will enjoy doing activities with you, such as walking or hiking.
Highly Affectionate
Perhaps the most endearing quality of the Husky Greyhound mix is affection,
Both parent breeds are known for being highly affectionate and friendly, sometimes even towards strangers. There’s no doubt that this is a dog for people who love to be cuddled up on the couch.
Energetic
It should come as no surprise that the Husky Greyhound mix is highly energetic.
Huskies are built for endurance and can pull sleds for hundreds of miles when trained properly, and Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on the planet.
One to two hours per day is crucial for keeping this mix happy, and they should also be given time off lead in a secure area for sprinting as well (just keep their prey drive in mind).
Are Husky Greyhound Mixes Good Family Dogs?
Husky Greyhound mixes are great family dogs as they are very affectionate, loyal, and love to be around people.
They are more suited for active families due to their high energy and exercise needs, and they can sometimes be issues with small children due to their size and how energetic they can be.
Prey Drive
One thing to keep in mind with this mix is that it has a very high prey drive.
A high prey drive means that they are likely to chase small animals, including cats or small dogs, without realizing they are doing so.
This is important for keeping a Husky Greyhound mix with small dogs or cats – early socialization is crucial for success.
Health
Both parent breeds are prone to a few health issues:
- Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV) – This is also known as bloat. GDV requires immediate medical attention and often occurs when food is consumed quickly, leading to an expansion in the stomach which can have several consequences, including causing the stomach to twist.
- Teeth Issues – Greyhounds are more prone to problems with their teeth than other breeds, and huskies can also develop teeth issues. Regular cleaning is necessary, as well as healthy supplements for their teeth like Dentastix.
Generally speaking, the Husky Greyhound mix is quite a healthy crossbreed. Both of the parent breeds are active and can live very long lives if cared for properly.
Is The Husky Greyhound Mix Intelligent?
Huskies and greyhounds don’t rank highly in Coren’s intelligence of dogs.
This means the Husky Greyhound mix is not likely to be very intelligent, although conventional ways of testing dog intelligence are disputed.
Huskies, for example, show great intelligence in communication and problem-solving, and owners would definitely argue that they are very intelligent.
The difficulty with these breeds is that they are stubborn and don’t have a high drive to please their owners, which makes training hard. Lots of dog intelligence rankings look at trainability directly, which then lowers how these breeds are perceived.
Are They Easy To Train?
The Husky Greyhound mix is incredibly hard to train for the reasons mentioned above.
Obedience training is still recommended for mental stimulation and teaching some basic commands, but it will need to be consistent and can quickly become a very tedious task.
How Much Do They Cost?
There aren’t many breeders for the Husky Greyhound mix currently, which means that the price you will pay can vary massively.
You can expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand, but we recommend checking the breeder carefully as it’s unlikely that they will be following best practices such as screening for health issues.
In Summary
The Husky Greyhound mix is one of the most energetic and loving mixes. If you want a great family companion that loves to be around people, then this is the mix for you.
This is a demanding breed, however, as they require a lot of exercise and can be very difficult to train properly. They are also not very suitable to live with cats and small dogs unless they are socialized from an early age.
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