Sighthounds
Sighthounds are a group of super speedy dogs that hunt through speed and sight, rather than scent and endurance like most dogs. Whippets, lurchers and greyhounds are all sighthounds but there are dozens of dog breeds that fall into the sighthound category.
Sighthound ownership
Sighthounds are awesome dogs and make for the best companions. They were bred to catch the quickest and most nimble of prey, such as deer and hares. These dogs are characterised by a flexible spine, long legs to and a deep chest. Sighthounds, and in particular, whippets, are a dog breed that I wholeheartedly recommend for first time owners.
Whilst they are the world’s fastest dog breeds, they do not need a huge amount of exercise. They are like F1 cars: fantastic performance, but not built for long drives! They are the world’s fastest couch potatoes and love nothing more than snuggling up with their humans.
Since they are so lean, sighthounds do feel the cold and this means that they do benefit from wrapping up warm in colder weather, so investing in a dog-jumper is a must for the UK winters.
Since sighthounds are so sight-motivated, they can need more work to proof their recall in the face of prey (squirrels, cats, rabbits) and so benefit from recall work from the very beginning. Many sighthound owners choose to walk their hounds on a longline indefinitely, for peace of mind, but with enough time and consistency, it is possible to teach your sighthound a solid recall.
Anatomy
Their legs are long to give them a long stride, allowing them to move faster, and their chests are deep in order to support their unusually large hearts and very efficient lungs. Sighthound hearts are larger compared to other dogs of similar weights, which equips them for maximum efficiency when it comes to both anaerobic and aerobic sprints. Their lean bodies keep their weight to a minimum, which further increases their speediness.
All of this results in a dog who is very uniquely shaped, when compared to other canines. As such, it can be a struggle to find harnesses that fit comfortably and are escape proof, as catering for their small heads, long legs and barrel-like chests is not what most harnesses have been designed for.
I always recommend owners use a harness over a collar, especially for puppies or rescues, as they distribute the pressure evenly and we aren’t applying any pressure on the delicate area around the neck. As such, this presented a bit of a problem…
Enter: Snootiful Hound.
Snootiful Hound
Snootiful Hound is a small business set up with sighthounds in mind; their main product is a harness designed just for sighthound breeds, catering specifically to their unique body shape to create a harness that is escape-proof, comfortable and stylish. The owner, Maleki, was inspired by his own sighthound, Blondie, a rescue Saluki-mix.
He quickly found out that Blondie had a knack for escaping traditional dog harnesses, and with a bit more research, he found out that it’s actually quite common with sighthound breeds. Their body shape makes it quite easy for them to ‘back out’ of many harnesses and once they’re loose, their speed can make it very difficult to get them safe again.
To address this problem, Maleki set out to design an escape proof harness designed just for sighthound breeds.
The harness
Firstly, the harness had to be escape proof. Although a sighthound’s unique body shape is what makes them susceptible to slipping out of traditional harnesses, it also helped to come up with an escape proof design.
See, behind the big barrel-y chest, is a very slim waist. By adding a third strap to the harness which tucks behind the chest, it would make it impossible for the harness to slip forward.
But why stop there? Sighthounds have other unique needs too, so it also has extra padding, 5 points of adjustment to get a perfect fit, 2 handles for extra control and more unique features!
Maleki is passionate about sighthounds and does a lot of charity work for local sighthound charities. Due to their use in racing, many greyhounds are discarded when they can no longer race and end up looking for rescue homes, or they risk being put to sleep. 10% of all profits are donated to sighthound charities, so by supporting this small business, you are also supporting the wellbeing of these amazing dogs.
If you have a sighthound, I can wholeheartedly recommend Snootiful Hound’s fantastic range of products. Maleki and I have even been speaking about how to adapt the products with puppies in mind, to make lead walking training comfortable and easy.
You can check out his website here and use code JESSDOGTRAINING10 for 10% off all products.
