What is a Sighthound?

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84 – May, 2022

By Caroline Coile

When we think of a sighthound, we think of the greyhound: “A Greyhound should be headed like a snake, And necked like a drake, Footed like a cat, Tailed like a rat, Sided like a teme, Backbone like a beam.” (Dame Juliana Berners’ Boke of St. Albans of 1486). To more or less extent, all sighthound breeds are—or should be—a variation on that theme. But it’s not always that easy…

Quintessential Sighthounds

Some are easy: The Saluki has the better claim as “original” sighthound compared to the Greyhound, but its greater emphasis on endurance instead of just pure speed, makes its physique not as “greyhoundy.” But it’s certainly greyhoundy enough to be, without doubt, a signature sighthound. Its AKC standard emphasizes this: “The whole appearance of this breed should give the impression of grace and symmetry and of great speed and endurance coupled with strength and activity to enable it to kill gazelle or other quarry over deep sand or rocky mountains.”

The Whippet, if anything, looks faster than a Greyhound, as it should, as it was bred for sprint speed, period. And even the most discriminating of sighthound purists would never think to deny the Whippet its rightful place as a true prototypical sighthound—even if it does have some terrier blood.

The Afghan Hound, cousin to the Saluki, is arguably one of a continuum of tazi-esque breeds stretching in a long arc along Asia and even into North Africa. While its physique compromises speed for added jumping ability, again, this is unquestionably a true sighthound.

Click here to read the complete article
84 – May, 2022

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