Sighthounds, also called gazehounds, are a type of dog, hounds that hunt primarily by sight and speed, rather than by scent and endurance as

scent hound Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...

s do.

Appearance

These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overpowering it by their great speed and agility. They must be able to detect motion quickly, so they have keen vision. Sighthounds must be able to capture fast, agile prey such as

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, and

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...

s, so they have a very flexible back and long legs for a long stride, a deep chest to support an unusually (compared to other dogs) large heart, very efficient lungs for both anaerobic and aerobic sprints, and a lean, wiry body to keep their weight at a minimum. Sighthounds have unique anatomical and physiological features likely due to intentional selection for hunting by speed and sight; laboratory studies have established reference intervals for

hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

and serum biochemical profiles in sighthounds, some of which are shared by all sighthounds and some of which may be unique to one breed. The typical sighthound type has a light, lean head, which is dolichocephalic in proportion. This shape can create the illusion that their heads are longer than usual.

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

and other

wild dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of ...

s are dolichocephalic or mesaticephalic, but some domestic dogs have become brachycephalic (short-headed) due to

artificial selection Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...

by humans over the course of 12,000 years. Dolichocephalic dogs have a wider field of vision but smaller overlap between the eyes and therefore possibly poorer

depth perception Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions. Depth perception happens primarily due to stereopsis ...

in some of their field of view than brachycephalic dogs; most, if not all, dogs have less visual acuity than their antecedent the wolf. There is no science-based evidence to confirm the popular belief that sighthounds have a higher visual acuity than other types of dogs. However, there is increasing evidence that dolichocephalic dogs, thanks to a higher number of

retinal ganglion cell A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and reti ...

s in their “visual streak”, retain more heightened sensitivity than other dog types to objects and rapid movement in the horizontal field of vision. Sighthounds such as the Saluki/Sloughi type (both named after the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

) may have existed for at least 5,000 years, with the earliest presumed sighthound remains of a male with a shoulder height around 54 cm, compared to a Saluki, appearing in the excavations of Tell Brak dated approximately 4,000 years before present. The earliest complete European description of a sighthound and its work, the Celtic ''vertragus'' from Roman Spain of the 2nd century C.E., comes from

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

's '' Cynegeticus''. A similar type, possibly a moderately sized male sighthound, with a height of 61–63 cm, of approximately the same historic period, the ''Warmington Roman dog'' is described from a well-preserved skeleton found in England. Although today most sighthounds are kept primarily as pets, some of them may have been bred for as many as thousands of years to detect movement of prey, then chase, capture, and kill it primarily by speed. They thrive on physical activity. Some have mellow personalities, others are watchful or even hostile towards strangers, but the instinct to chase running animals remains strong. Apart from

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...

and

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, various dog sports are practiced with purebred sighthounds, and sometimes with

lurcher A lurcher is a cross-bred dog resulting from mating a Greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type, commonly a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher was for hundreds of years strongly associated with poaching; in modern times it ...

s and longdogs. Such sports include

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

lure coursing Lure coursing is a sport for dogs that involves chasing a mechanically operated lure. Competition is typically limited to dogs of purebred sighthound breeds. The AKC has a pass/fail trial for all breeds called the Coursing Ability Test (CAT) ...

, and other events.

List of sighthound breeds

Afghan Hound The Afghan Hound is a hound that is distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed is selectively bred for its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is ( ps, تاژ ...

* Azawakh * Borzoi *

Chippiparai The Chippiparai is a breed of sighthound from the State of Tamil Nadu in southern India. The Chippiparai has typical streamlined sighthound features with long legs and a lean and lithe frame built for speed. The breed is usually white in colour, a ...

* Chortai * Galgo Español * Greyhound * Irish Wolfhound * Italian Greyhound * Kaikadi *

Kanni The Kanni (கன்னி), meaning pure (also known as the Maiden's Beastmaster), is a rare indigenous South Indian sighthound breed of dog found in the state of Tamil Nadu. Their native breeding tract is located around villages in the Ti ...

* Kombai * Levriero Sardo *

Magyar agár Magyar may refer to: * Hungarians * Hungarian language * Magyar tribes, fundamental political units of Hungarians between the period of leaving the Ural Mountains and the entrance of the Carpathian Basin * Zoltán Magyar (born 1953), Hungarian gym ...

* Mudhol Hound * Old Croatian Sighthound † * Patagonian Greyhound *

Polish Greyhound The Polish Greyhound ( pl, chart polski, pronounced ) is a Polish sighthound breed. It is known as the Polish Greyhound, although it is not a direct relative of the Greyhound dog. History The first records for the existence of greyhounds in Po ...

* Rajapalayam *

Rampur Greyhound The Rampur Greyhound is a breed of sighthound native to the Rampur region of Northern India, which lies between Delhi and Bareilly. It is believed the Rampur Greyhound descends from early Afghan Hounds, with their present-day appearance due to e ...

Saluki The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was origin ...

* Scottish Deerhound * Silken Windhound *

Sloughi The Sloughi , or Arabian Greyhound (Arabic: سلوقي), is an ancient breed of domesticated dog, specifically a member of the sighthound family. It originates from North Africa and is found in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya. History ...

Taigan The Taigan ( ky, тайган), and also known as Kyrgyz Taighany ( ky, кыргыз тайганы ) (Kyrgyzskaya Borzaya in Russian), Mongolian Taiga dog is a breed of sighthound from Kyrgyzstan. The Taigan is found in the alpine Tian Shan reg ...

* Tazy * Whippet * Xigou †

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

Crossbreed sighthound types

* Kangaroo hound * Longdog *

Lurcher A lurcher is a cross-bred dog resulting from mating a Greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type, commonly a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher was for hundreds of years strongly associated with poaching; in modern times it ...

* American Staghound

Breeds considered to be controversial, not having by origin a sighthound function

A number of breeds or types of dogs which do not hunt solely by speed and sight, as well as a number of non-hunting breeds, are currently being recognized as sighthounds, either formally or informally by kennel clubs, or lure and live coursing clubs. These include: * Andalusian Hound * Basenji * Cirneco dell'Etna * Ibizan Hound (Podenco Ibicenco) *

Peruvian Inca Orchid The Peruvian Hairless Dog, Peruvian viringo, naked dog, or Chimú dog is one of several breeds of hairless dog. It is native to Peru and it is usually raised as a pet. It has been officially recognized as part of Peru's cultural heritage. ...

* Pharaoh Hound (Kelb tal-fenek) * Podenco Canario * Portuguese Podengo *

Rhodesian Ridgeback The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a large dog breed bred in the Southern Africa region. Its forebears can be traced to the semi-domesticated ridged hunting and guardian dogs of the Khoikhoi. These were interbred with European dogs by the early colon ...

* Thai Ridgeback

Kennel club classification

When competing in

conformation show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a '' breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ...

s, most Anglophone kennel clubs, including the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Ke ...

and The Kennel Club ( UK), group pedigree sighthound breeds together with

s in a Hound Group, the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

groups them in a dedicated Sighthound Group, whilst the

United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to individ ...

groups them in a Sighthound and Pariah Group.

References

* Almirall, Leon V. ''Canines and Coyotes''. Caldwell, Id.: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1941. * Anderson, John Kinlock. ''Hunting in the Ancient World''. University of California Press 1985. * Belkin, Dan
"The Functional Saluki: Lessons from the Coursing Field"
''Field Advisory News'', November/December 1993. * Bengtson, Bo. "What IS a Sighthound?" ''Sighthound Review'', charter Issue, May–June 1984. * Bengtson, Bo. "What ''is'' a Sighthound?" ''Sighthound Review''. January 2011. * Bennett, D. & Timm, R.M., The dogs of Roman Vindolanda, Part IV: Large sighthounds and guard and utility dogs. ''Archaeofauna'' (30) 2021, 185-216 https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/9/4/74 * Brown, Curtis. ''Dog Locomotion and Gait Analysis''. Wheat Ridge, Colo.: Hoflin Publishing, 1986. * Burnham, Pat Gail. "Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and the Question of What Is a Sighthound?". ''Field Advisory News'', March/April 1992. * Copold, Steve. ''The Complete Book of Coursing: Hounds, Hares & Other Creatures'', rev. and expanded 2nd ed. Wheat Ridge, Colo.: Hoflin Publishing, 1996. * Copold, Steve. ''Hounds, Hares & Other Creatures: The Complete Book of Coursing'' (1st ed.). Arvada, Colo.: D. R. Hoflin, 1977 (1996). * Couto Veterinary Consultants
"Are Sighthounds Really Dogs?"
* Cunliffe, Juliette. ''Popular Sight Hounds''. London: Popular Dogs Publishing Co. Ltd., 1992. . * Dansey, William
''Arrian on Coursing: The Cynegeticus''
London: J. Bohn, 1831 * Grant-Rennick, Richard (ed.). ''Coursing: The Pursuit of Game with Gazehounds''. Saul, Gloucestershire: The Standfast Sporting Library, 1977. . * Hancock, David. ''Sighthounds: Their Form, their Function and their Future''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press Ltd, 2012. . * Hawkins, Richard. "What Is A Sighthound". ''Dogs in Canada'', April 2006. * Hawkins, Richard
"Sighthound Identity"
''The Performance Sighthound Journal'', July–September 2007. * Hull, Denison B. ''Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1964. * Miller, Constance O. ''Gazehounds: The Search for Truth''. Wheat Ridge, Colo.: Hoflin Publishing, 1988. * Parker, Heidi G. et al
"Genomic Analyses Reveal the Influence of Geographic Origin, Migration, and Hybridization on Modern Dog Breed Development"
''Cell Reports'' (#19) 697–708, 2017. * Phillips, A. A., and M. M. Willcock, (eds.). ''Xenophon & Arrian on Hunting with Hounds''. Oxford: Aris & Phillips, 1999. . * Recum, Andreas F. von, ''Hunting with Hounds in North America''. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Co. 2002. * Russell, Joanna. ''All about Gazehounds''. London: Pelham, 1976. . * M. H. Salmon ("Dutch"). ''Gazehounds & Coursing''. St. Cloud, Minn.: North Star Press, 1977. . * M. H. Salmon ("Dutch"). ''Gazehounds & Coursing: The History, Art, and Sport of Hunting with Sighthounds'', Rev. and expanded 2nd ed. Silver City, N.M.: High-Lonesome Books, 1999. . * Severtsov, A. S. Shubkina, A. V.
Predator as a universal breeder
''Science in Russia'' 2014 No. 5 (#203) * Severtsov, A. S., Rosenzweig, M. L. and Shubkina, A. V.
"Predators detect the welfare of their potential prey and cull those that are poorly"
''Evolutionary Ecology Research'', 2017 18 (#5), pp. 555–569. * Suchanova, J. & Tovstucha, R. E.
"Problems in translating the names of dog breeds from the perspective of different nomination principles & linguistic relativity"
''Coactivity: Philology, Educology'' 2016, 24 (#2): 113–121. * Uhrikova, I. et al. "Haematological and biochemical variations among eight Sighthound breeds". ''Australian Veterinary Journal'', Vol. 91 (#11), 2013

by Dr. Dominique de Caprona. * Wimmer, Barbara
''Genetic Differences between Western bred Sighthound (FCI group 10) and Primitive breeds (FCI group 5)''
Se

by Dr. Dominique de Caprona

External links

* {{Authority control