Veterinarians today are presented with increasing numbers of clients that have adopted retired racing greyhounds. Because healthy greyhounds and other sighthound breeds (e.g. Afghan hound, saluki, borzoi, Scottish deerhound, whippet) have several medical and laboratory idiosyncrasies, clinicians need to be familiar with these findings to appropriately interpret results of their clinical and laboratory evaluations.

Cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy ("Alabama rot"), a disease unique to grey-hounds, typically affects young adults of either sex and episodes can be cyclical or recurrent both during active training or racing and after retirement or adoption. The cause is poorly understood but there appears to be genetic predisposition and similarities to hemolytic uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombo-cytopenic purpura in people. Most episodes are mild to moderate with malaise and inappetence along with non-painful swelling and edema of one or more limbs. Skin lesions may develop which vary in size and are reddened, tender, crusted swellings that can progress to deep, sharply demarcated slow-healing ulcers. These are nonpruritic and found mainly on the hocks, stifles, or medial thighs, although lesions may also occur on the front legs, thorax and ventrum. In about 25% of cases, renal failure may occur along with the skin lesions or 7-10 days after the onset of skin lesions. The prognosis is guarded for dog with renal failure. Laboratory results usually reveal mild anemia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, and proteinuria. Treatment is symptomatic with topical antibacterials, systemic antibiotics such as cephalexin, and fluid support. Edematous extremities can be gently massaged to promote venous and lymphatic drainage.

Bald thigh syndrome is commonly assumed to be caused in adult greyhounds by hypothyroidism or some other endocrine imbalance. This pattern baldness presents as a bilaterally symmetrical, nonpruritic alopecia of the caudal and lateral aspects of the thighs. Recent study of a large group of intact male and female racing greyhounds found no differences in the concentrations of thyroid hormones or testosterone between affected bald and unaffected control dogs, even though the racing females are routinely given testosterone injections to suppress estrus. Thus, the bald thighs of these dogs should not be attributed to hypothyroidism or testosterone administration.