The first time I ever heard of a racing greyhound was when I was a kid (probably about 10 years old). It was an episode of Bugs Bunny. The protagonist of the cartoon was a large mean greyhound. Well, from what I've read, there are a few common misconceptions about greyhounds:

A common misconception is that greyhounds are high strung. The truth is that they are pretty lazy dogs. When given a chance to run, they take it. These dogs were indeed built for speed, however they are sprinters. They do not have a lot of endurance, so a few laps around the yard, and it's nap time again.

Some people are concerned because of their size that greyhounds are aggressive. Not true. Greyhounds are big babies. Like all breeds, some dogs are better than others with cats and kids, but take my word on it, greyhounds are very gentle. The sad part about their gentle nature is that it makes them the dog of choice for many labs to use as test subjects for product testing.

Another big misconception is that greyhounds need a lot of room. Not at all. Greyhounds don't require an excessive amount of exercising (no more than any other dog). My first greyhound lived his entire life with leash walking only (with an occasional run down at the local ball field).

One of the things that I am so amazed by is how quickly they fall into a routine, and how much they enjoy people.