In case you’re fortunate sufficient to personal a sighthound, or have simply come throughout one in your life, you might have seen that they’ve a number of distinctive options that make them stand out from different breeds of canine. What it’s possible you’ll not understand nevertheless is that with these distinctive traits, comes some distinctive wants, particularly by way of the tools we’d like for our sighthounds.
What’s a sighthound?
Firstly, let’s simply be certain we’re on the identical web page about what a sighthound is.
Sighthounds are an historic group of canines which might be identified for his or her sight, velocity and agility. They’re one of many few breeds that hunt utilizing sight and might see far into the gap and boast an insane 270 diploma discipline of view! Mixed with high speeds of as much as 45 miles per hour, it’s no surprise that these canines made such nice looking companions for our ancestors.
At present, we see these canines extra as pets and their distinctive personalities shine by. They’re the quickest sofa potatoes you’ll ever meet and are identified for his or her humorous quirks, and their impartial however mild nature. Commonest sighthound breeds immediately embody however are usually not restricted to the greyhound, whippet, saluki, lurcher, Afghan hound, Podenco, Galgo and extra.
Why do sighthounds want sure tools?
Sighthounds are distinctive in additional methods than one, but it surely largely comes all the way down to their physique form. They’re characterised by their modern, slender our bodies and heads, deep chests, slim waists, and lengthy highly effective legs. Due to this, it could possibly make conventional tools laborious to make use of with a sighthound which doesn’t take their distinctive form under consideration, however we’ll discover that extra in depth under.
What collars do you have to use with a sighthound?
While a standard collar could also be high-quality for informal use round the home and for attaching ID tags, it isn’t going to be proper for walks, and there’s a couple of causes for this.
Firstly, it is extremely more likely to slip proper off. Because of a sighthound’s slim head, there isn’t the pure barrier that you’d discover with say a Labrador the place the pinnacle is considerably greater than the neck, so the collar can slip proper off.
The opposite challenge is that sighthounds are quick, and I imply actually quick. In addition they have slim, fragile necks, a recipe for catastrophe. Most conventional collars are solely about 1” thick in order that concentrates any pulling power round a really small floor space and that’s not secure for our sighthounds. You need a collar at the least 1.5” thick, probably 2” for bigger breeds to unfold the power over a bigger floor space.
So, as a substitute you might have a couple of choices for collars you should use along with your sighthound.
Leather-based hound collars:
You may additionally see these referred to as fishtail collars, and they’re significantly good for sighthounds. They’re slim on one aspect to maintain them light-weight, and broad on the opposite aspect the place strain is utilized, as much as 2” broad in some situations. As beforehand talked about, we wish this extra floor space if we’re utilizing a collar with our sighthounds to alleviate a number of the strain ought to they pull or lunge at something, which is sort of widespread as sighthounds have an extremely excessive prey drive.
These don’t fully remedy the slipping out challenge although, which brings us on to the following possibility.
Martingale collars:
These may also be referred to as sighthound collars as a result of the design is ideal for sighthound breeds. They’re usually thicker than conventional collars, which once more, is nice, however in addition they have a design that stops a sighthound from slipping out of them.
A martingale collar consists of two loops, one which goes over the canine’s head, and one other that the lead attaches too. When your canine pulls or tries to again out of the collar, this pulls the second loop which tightens the primary loop round your canine’s neck. This prevents it from with the ability to slip off, and as quickly as your canine stops pulling, the strain is relieved and it returns to a pleasant unfastened becoming collar once more.
Some individuals surprise if that is merciless because it sounds a bit like a choke chain, however it’s fully completely different. They’re designed to solely tighten by a small quantity, simply sufficient to cease it slipping off however not sufficient to be uncomfortable, and are often produced from tender supplies.
Harnesses:
Some individuals want collars for his or her sighthounds and that’s high-quality, however at Snootiful Hound we do advocate a very good sighthound harness for most of the similar concerns we’ve already made. Primarily, it doesn’t simply cut back strain on the neck, it removes it altogether. That is particularly vital if you wish to use an extended lead as it’s best to by no means connect a protracted line to your canine’s collar.
So will any harness do for a sighthound? No, they’ve distinctive wants right here too! It gained’t shock you to listen to that sighthounds are additionally liable to slipping out of conventional harnesses – belief me, my rescue Saluki Blondie used to do it ALL the time! The rationale for that is that they’ve large barrel-y chests, so if the harness slips ahead in the direction of the entrance legs, it leaves an enormous hole. Once more, their slender heads make it straightforward for them to suit by this hole, and hastily you might have a sighthound on the unfastened! They don’t name sighthounds the Houdini’s of the canine world for nothing!
As an alternative, you need a harness with an escape proof design utilizing 3 straps, the place the third strap tucks behind the chest. This prevents it from slipping forwards.
Sighthounds are additionally very delicate as they haven’t any physique fats and a few breeds even have little or no fur, which suggests no pure cushioning. That makes it very important to deal with your hound to a pleasant padded harness. You will have it to be padded on the chest piece, chest strap, and stomach strap if selecting an escape proof design.
A ultimate consideration on consolation is that you really want a y-shaped entrance as it will stop the harness from rubbing across the pits. It might sound foolish, however I see this drawback always when sighthound homeowners use harnesses which have a large chest plate.
Leads:
Fortunately, leads are fairly easy with sighthounds, any lead will do so long as it’s sturdy sufficient to deal with your canine’s exercise. There’s just some issues to bear in mind.
- Don’t connect a protracted result in a collar, ever.
- Your canine is quick – watch out with any lead longer than about 1.5m. They’ll attain high speeds in just some strides and so they might pull you over when you’re not paying consideration.
Many individuals additionally use a double ended lead with their sighthound as this provides them further management which is very helpful in case your hound is reactive and likes to tug. You merely connect one finish to the collar to redirect them, and the opposite to the harness to behave as a brake so you’ll be able to safely deliver them to a cease.
Conclusion:
Sighthounds are as distinctive as they’re particular, and it’s our job to pay attention to this. With simply this fundamental data try to be forward of the sport and prepared for a life full of love and pleasure alongside your sighthound companion.
