Morphometric determinants of running speed in greyhound dogs

The aim of this study was to identify morphometric parameters associated with running speed in Greyhounds. The study sample comprised 49 purebred Greyhounds of Russian breeding (31 males, 18 females). Twenty-one linear measurements were taken from each animal, and 7 body condition indices were calculated. Maximum running speed was recorded using electronic timing. Correlation analysis revealed that the strongest correlations with speed were exhibited by the body format index (ρ = −0,47, p 0,001), the thoracic index (ρ = −0,47, p 0,001), and the speed index (ρ = 0,43, p 0,01). Individual linear measurements did not show statistically significant correlations. Using multiple stepwise regression, which included all 29 traits (21 measurements, 7 indices, and sex), four statistically significant predictors were selected: body format index, thoracic index, leg length index, and bone index. The model was statistically significant (R² = 0,38, p = 0,00024). The body format index made the largest contribution to speed prediction (p = 0,0071). The obtained results can be used for ranking dogs by speed potential in breeding work.