Dog
Silken Windhound Champions
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Pronunciation:
sil-kuhn wind-hound
Breed Description:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is a beautiful breed of sighthound that is known for their elegance and grace. The breed should have an athletic, lean build that is seen in all coursing breeds and should have long legs and a slightly arched top line. The body should be square in proportion, or slightly rectangular but the body should never be elongated or short. The head of the Silken Windhound should be narrow near the back of the skull and should taper to the nose. It should be chiseled and be elegant and well-formed. The small ears should be folded and should lay back, although they can be pricked or semi-pricked when the dog is alert. The tail should be long and should have a curve to it.
The coat of the Silken Windhound should be thick and should be silky. It should never have a woolly look or texture and it can range in length, however, it should never be too long to affect the overall gait of the dog. The hair can range from straight to curly and there is usually longer, feathered hair on the neck, ears, brisket, tail, forelegs, and hindquarters. The coat can be found in any color and there is no set color for the breed standard.
Temperament:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is known as a breed with a balanced temperament. They are usually very calm and gentle and while they can be active, they are not an overly rambunctious or boisterous dog. The breed is known for being very gentle and they can be a well-mannered companion in any type of setting. The breed is usually very intelligent and they are often eager to please their owners. They can be very loyal and are usually very affectionate. The breed does well with children and can make an excellent family dog and despite their high prey drive, they can learn to live with other pets, including small, non-canine pets, if they are properly trained and socialized.
Height:
The average height for a Silken Windhound is between 18 to 23.5 inches.
Weight:
The average weight for a Silken Windhound is between 22 to 55 pounds.
Health Problems:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is considered to be a very hardy breed and has a low occurrence of health problems. One thing to be aware of is anesthesia sensitivity. Many sighthounds suffer from this due to a low body fat to weight ratio and it can lead to serious complications and even death during an operation.
Living Conditions:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog can do very well in apartments since they tend to be fairly inactive and calm indoors. If they have a yard, they should have a fenced yard and owners should never use an electric fence with them since they will ignore it.
Exercise:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is an active breed and you should expect to give it between 30 to 60 minutes of exercise each day. They should be exercised on leash when they are not in a secure area since the Silken Windhound is fast and can quickly get away if he so chooses.
Life Expectancy:
14 to 18 years
Grooming:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is a very easy breed to groom and usually only needs to be brushed once a week. Bathing should be done when necessary and nails should be trimmed once or twice a month.
Origin:
The Silken Windhound breed of dog is a young breed and can actually be traced back to the 1970's, when a small, longhaired, sighthound was developed at Windsprite kennels. While we know where the breed originated, it is not clear what breeds went into its origins. From those first dogs, the breed was developed by a Kristull Kennel in the early 1980's, when the kennel purchased several dogs that were from the Windsprite kennels. It was Kristull's dog Stillwater Kristull Peacock that formed the basis of the Silken Windhound. The breed was refined by combining a number of champion Borzoi lines with both Whippets and Whippet based lurchers. From these breedings, the Silken Windhound was born and the breed was officially born in 1985 with the first litter of Silken Windhounds being whelped, however, the name was not officially adopted until 1998. Since that time, efforts to maintain the breed and establish a breed standard have been undertaken and the breed has continued to grow in popularity. Comments
The standards for all the breeds accepted to the AKC are used here for breed information, and those not part of the AKC are resourced from FCI standard information, where it is written and coded into the club rules for those breeds.
