History
The silken windhound is an American breed of sighthound that was started in the 1980s in Texas. They are descended from whippets, borzoi, and shelties, and today the pedigree is maintained by the International Silken Windhound Society (ISWS). Find out more about the history of silken windhounds on the ISWS website.
Temperament and Type
Silken windhounds are a small- to mid-sized coated breed of sighthounds. They were bred to fill this niche in the sighthound family. The silken windhound is an elegant and graceful dog that displays balance and athleticism. They make excellent runners and most take naturally to chasing and coursing activities. Their temperament is friendly, intelligent, and gentle, and they are often less aloof and more biddable than your typical sighthound. Learn more by reading the official breed standard.
Activities
Silkens are successful participants in a wide range of activities. They enjoy lure coursing and racing and do well in these traditional sighthound activities. Beyond that, many silkens do well in agility, flyball, nosework, barn hunt, tricks, rally obedience, and obedience. Others have been successful at weight pull, tracking, and freestyle. There are silkens all over the world working as therapy or service dogs.
Health
Silken windhounds are generally a healthy breed, with many living well into their teens. Bloat is very rare in silkens. The breed does carry collie eye anomaly (CEA) and multi-drug resistance (MDR1), but breeders track the presence of these genes and ensure that carriers are not bred to other carriers. Here at Regalant, we also OFA test dogs for heart, eyes, and thyroid; extreme whites are also BAER tested.
Regalant Silken Windhounds 