The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam owns the magnificent painting "The hunter" by Adriaen Cornelisz Beeldenmaeker (1618 - 1709) the depicted sight hounds are clearly Galgos. If however a Brit is shown the same canvas he would immediately say: "Those are Greyhounds!"
Dog races have spread wide in Spain and even in Northern Africa, many 'Cynodromes' were built. In Spain people started focusing on breeding fast dogs, for which purpose the Galgo was crossed with the Greyhound. This objective was achieved and with it the essence of the Galgo was nearly lost. Crossbreeding of Galgos and Greyhounds became such commonplace late 1900's that of the original Galgos only a faint memory remained. When the Galgo is on the brink of extinction someone in Spain loves the Galgo so much that he moves heaven and earth to revive the species.
Just like other sight hounds the Galgo has an aristocratic appearance.
On average the shoulder height for a male is 65 cm/26 inch and for a bitch 60 cm/24 inch. It's very built suggests power and speed, coupled with endurance, agility and maneuverability. Inside the home the Galgo is very docile, provided that we give him ample opportunity to disperse his colossal amount of energy by allowing him to run in wide open spaces. Even at rest he remains attentive to every event which occurs in his surroundings.He is a gentle friend to children in the household but keep in mind that an animal is never to be considered as a toy! He will only recognize the one that understands and appreciate him and that he feels that loves him. As such it is definitely no chain dog. He only feels happy when he is in the company of his master.