The Silken Windhound is an American breed of

sighthound 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 hounds do. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overp ...

. Like most sighthounds, Silkens are noted

coursers The coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that ...

Traits

Appearance

Silken Windhounds are graceful, small- to medium-sized

Sighthounds 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 hounds do. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overp ...

with silky coats of middling length. Silken coat colors can range from white to black, with brilliant brindles and solid red in between. They can be spotted, tuxedo-marked or solid-colored.

Temperament

Silken Windhounds are affectionate and playful, and are good

dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...

for families with children. Due to their friendliness, they are not good

guard dog A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders. The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...

s but are easily housebroken and can be trained to live with smaller household pets. Silkens particularly like

agility Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance. More specifically, it i ...

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many differe ...

flyball Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their h ...

, and obedience.

Training

Silken Windhounds are intelligent and easily trained using rewards and affection in short, positive sessions. They will work eagerly and form strong relationships with their owners if treated well. Like many

sighthounds 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 hounds do. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overp ...

, Silken Windhounds can slip out of buckle collars, so most owners favor semi-slip collars.

Health

Silken Windhounds typically live into their middle to late teens. Bone and joint ailments like

hip dysplasia Hip dysplasia is an abnormality of the hip joint where the socket portion does not fully cover the ball portion, resulting in an increased risk for joint dislocation. Hip dysplasia may occur at birth or develop in early life. Regardless, it doe ...

and bloat are rare. Some individual Silken Windhounds are sensitive to

ivermectin Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat i ...

and related drugs; a simple test is now available to find whether a dog carries a defective

MDR1 P-glycoprotein 1 (permeability glycoprotein, abbreviated as P-gp or Pgp) also known as multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) or ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1 (ABCB1) or cluster of differentiation 243 (CD243) is an important protein ...

, a multi-drug resistance gene. Some owners report cases of

cryptorchidism Cryptorchidism, also known as undescended testis, is the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum. The word is from Greek () 'hidden' and () 'testicle'. It is the most common birth defect of the male genital tract. About 3% of ...

umbilical hernia An umbilical hernia is a health condition where the abdominal wall behind the navel is damaged. It may cause the navel to bulge outwards—the bulge consisting of abdominal fat from the greater omentum or occasionally parts of the small intestine. ...

, and lotus syndrome, plus

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

in old age.

History

Silken Windhounds were founded and developed in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

by Francie Stull, a successful breeder of show and performance

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 ...

Borzoi The Borzoi or Russian Hunting Sighthound is a Russian breed of hunting dog of sighthound type. It was formerly used for wolf hunting, and until 1936 was known as the Russian Wolfhound. Etymology The system by which Russians over the ages n ...

and Deerhounds, using her favored Borzoi and

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 ...

bloodlines. The first Silken Windhound litter was whelped in 1985 and a breed club, the International Silken Windhound Society, was formed in 1999. In early 2011, Silken Windhounds were recognized by 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 ...

. Silkens are now in 24 countries as well.

Events

Silken Windhounds participate in performance sports and showings worldwide, including the NAKC, IABCA, and NCA, as part of the

hound A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...

group. In

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, Silkens are an accepted part of the Slovenian Kennel Club, member of the FCI, also in the hound group. Silken Windhounds also participate in sighthound performance sports, competing alongside other sighthounds in

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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 straight racing events. The ISWS has established straight and

oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a Road racing, road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the directi ...

programs that enable Silkens to compete and win points towards performance titles. In late 2009, Silken Windhounds were accepted as a Limited Stakes breed in the ASFA. Over forty dogs competed in ASFA limited stakes in their first month of acceptance. In late 2010, Silken Windhounds were accepted as a breed in NOFCA, the National Open Field Coursing Association, and can participate in open field events. On March 18, 2011, Silken Windhounds were accepted into the United Kennel Club.

References

{{Hounds Dog breeds originating in the United States Rare dog breeds Sighthounds