5 Misconceptions I Was Told About Sighthounds
5 Misconceptions I Was Told About Sighthounds
It’s been almost 3 years since we brought Josie home, the dog that would change our lives forever and the dog that kicked our love for sighthounds into overdrive. Before we bought her home I did a lot of research and watched a huge amount about sighthounds and so many of the things that I read at that time and things I often still hear to this day are such huge misconceptions about the breed and these are 5 of the most popular ones in my opinion.
they will run off as soon as you let them off lead
One of the worst pieces of advice I ever listened to was that sighthounds can not be off lead and when we got Josie, I truly believed that we would never be able to let her off the lead. This means we didn’t start working on recall till she was almost 5 months old which is undeniably the biggest mistake we made with her, we should have worked on it from day one as we did with Edie. If you have a hound from a puppy then in my experience letting them off the lead as soon as they’re able to go outside for walks is the best thing you can do to create a solid recall basis. When they’re that young they don’t have the urge to run off like a much older hound might do and they want to stay close to you as you’re all they know. A sighthounds speed and prey drive is something that you have to be very aware of when training but it doesn’t mean they’re impossible to train at all, you just have to find what works for them.
they don’t bark
After living with a very vocal West Highland Terrier for almost 8 years it’s fair to say that I was used to living with a dog that barks and I didn’t want a dog that barked every time someone walked past the house. Sighthounds are known for their quite gentle nature and so many people will say that they don’t bark and whilst Josie and Edie don’t bark at the noise of the doorbell or someone walking past the house. They do bark especially when they get excited or they’re having an intense match of bitey face. So whilst, yes, they are much quieter than a terrier they certainly aren’t a completely silent breed in my experience.
they don’t shed
Something that I wanted when it came to getting my own dog is a breed that required minimal grooming and short hair was a must for us. I was lead to believe that whippets don’t shed and require extremely minimal grooming in comparison to other dogs and well, that’s not true. It now seems obvious to me that they would shed as they’re not a breed that you take to the groomers to be clipped. Edie’s shedding is very minimal and it’s only when the seasons change do we notice her fur changing and as it’s tiny little grey strands of fur it’s not too bad. Josie however, is a completely different story and even though she is a whippet mix she still has short fur but she sheds a huge amount especially when the seasons change. We recently invested in a shedding blade for her and it’s been such a game changer, it was unbelievable just how much fluff came off her and it’s made her coat feel a lot nicer afterwards too.
they’ll confuse small dogs for rabbits
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been told that Josie and Edie will confuse a small dog for a rabbit and become blood thirsty at the sight of them. Whilst I understand the reasoning behind this worry due to how greyhounds are trained to race it’s a pretty cruel stereotype to put on every single sighthound. As we’ve had Josie and Edie since they were both puppies they’ve met a huge array of dogs of all shapes and sizes and it’s always something that we’ve been very conscious of doing. Edie much prefers smaller dogs as she’s quite petite herself and has always been pretty fearful of large and fluffy dogs so if she’s ever going to run around and play with another dog they’ll be small. Whilst Josie and Edie don’t mistake small dogs for rabbits we are very conscious of letting them run around with them as we’ve seen dogs become tangled under Josie’s legs and that can be unsafe for both dogs.
they’re not cuddly dogs
Maybe due to their slender stature or other unknown reasons I’ve been told so many times that hounds are either not cuddly dogs or they’re not nice to cuddle. If there is one thing I know for sure about sighthounds is that they love to cuddle and you’ll have to fight them for a space on the sofa. Josie and Edie are so incredibly affectionate, especially Edie, I’ve never known a dog like her as all she wants is to curl up to you and sleep the day away. And anytime we meet a greyhound or large sighthound on a walk all they want to do is lean against your legs and get a nice fuss, they might enjoy zooming around like maniacs from time to time but at their core, they’re lazy dogs who love to be with their humans.
