Adopting a greyhound near Edinburgh: the Kinross kennels, rules and costs

The count under the short answer is live: every greyhound and greyhound cross listed with us within about 25 miles of Edinburgh, nearest first. When we checked on 29 October 2026 all 21 greyhounds were at Greyhound Rescue Fife: 13 females and 7 males, with one not stated, aged from 1 to 6. Our Edinburgh greyhound page shows today's dogs, and our Edinburgh lurcher page shows the crosses.

Greyhound Rescue Fife's adoption page sets out a simple order, and it would rather you meet the dogs than choose from a photograph.

1. Phone first. The call is to talk through whether a greyhound suits your home and your week.
2. Visit the kennels at Gairneybank and consider every dog, not only the one you saw online. Bring everyone who will live with the dog.
3. Sign the adoption agreement and pay the £180 donation when you collect your dog. The agreement makes you responsible if the dog injures another animal.
4. Expect a follow-up from the rescue to see how your dog has settled.

Its rules are published on its adoption page, and these are the ones Edinburgh homes meet most often:

Plenty of Edinburgh adopters live in flats, and Greyhound Rescue Fife will rehome to one as long as the corridor door locks securely, so the dog can't slip out onto the stair or the street. Without a garden you will be walking for every toilet break, so be honest about how near a safe green space you are.

A greyhound needs less exercise than people expect. The Greyhound Trust says greyhounds are "built for speed, not stamina" and are happy with two twenty-minute walks a day, and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home says they generally prefer around two 30-minute walks. Stairs are the thing to ask about: many retired racers have never lived in a house, so ask the kennels how the dog you like copes with steps before you commit to a top-floor flat.

The thin coat matters on a cold, wet walk. PDSA says greyhounds need a warm coat in cold weather and shorter outings. On muzzles, the national charities differ: the Greyhound Trust says greyhounds "do not need to be muzzled at all times" but suggests one until you know how your dog behaves around other breeds, while Battersea says ex-racers "will always need to wear one when out walking in public spaces". Greyhound Rescue Fife sends every dog home with a muzzle.

A lurcher is a type rather than a breed: Dogs Trust describes it as a sighthound such as a Greyhound, Whippet or Saluki crossed with another breed. Lurchers turn up at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home at Seafield, the one dog rescue we list inside the city; it had a five-year-old lurcher when we checked on 29 October 2026. You apply online for one dog, it replies within a week, and there are no drop-in visits, so the first meeting is by arrangement.

For other sighthound crosses, Dogs Trust West Calder, about 17 miles west of Edinburgh, and the Scottish SPCA's Edinburgh and Lothians centre at Balerno, about 7 miles away, both rehome dogs of every kind. We don't list either, so search their own sites. Our guide to Edinburgh dog rescues compares them all.

Most come out of racing. The Greyhound Trust says most greyhounds retire between three and five years old, and its homepage puts the number retiring each year at about 8,000, of which it finds homes for about half. That is why the Kinross kennels hold mostly young adults, and why a visit usually means a choice of several dogs.

The donation pays for work you would otherwise fund yourself: vaccinations, neutering, and the collar, lead and muzzle a greyhound needs from its first walk. A bought puppy costs £400 to £3,000, says Blue Cross, with that vet work still to come.

Running costs are the same however you get your dog. PDSA worked out in 2024 that a large dog costs at least £8,200 to £18,800 over its life, with £560 to set it up, first vaccinations and neutering included, and £116 or more a month. PDSA counts the greyhound as a large breed.

Ask what vet work the dog has had beyond the vaccinations and neutering the donation covers, whether it has old racing injuries, and how its teeth are; our greyhound breed page sets out the conditions UK breed sources name, and its lifespan.

Rescue greyhounds are almost never puppies: they come out of racing at about three to five. No rescue sells a dog; the money is a donation or fee, and the rescue helps decide which dog suits your home.

Buying instead? Ask a vet before you look, and use The Royal Kennel Club "Find a puppy" service rather than a classified advert. Police Scotland advises against paying for anything you haven't seen, and you can report an online marketplace fraud to it online, by phone or in person.