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SIGHTHOUND IDENTITY
(By Richard Hawkins, published in The Performance Sighthound Journal USA
July-September 2007. Volume 4. Issue 3: 36 – 47)
The following article, “Sighthound Identity” is addressed specifically to the sighthound community
of North America, and concerns the meaning and substance of the word “sighthound”. It
discusses its interpretation in different parts of the world, and some of the consequences of its
misinterpretation specifically in the USA. The article briefly surveys the age and origins of
sighthounds, and it explains at some length the essential differences between “scent hounds” and
“sighthounds”. For defining a “sighthound”, five classical criteria have been used
etymological,
cynegetica (hunting literature/history),
legal,
cynological,
anatomical..
Those characteristics that are frequently quoted as being sighthound specific - but which do not
define the sighthound, are also discussed. Using some notable examples of non-sighthounds that
are being called sighthounds, the article describes how such misconceptions are seriously
misguided and why they may have far-reaching consequences.
The bibliography contains some fifty references from publications on dogs and sighthounds from
the USA (30%) from Europe (18%); as well as from international scientific articles on sighthound
physiology and dog genetics (24%); and from academic cynegetica (28%). They reflect some ten
years of research spent on preparing and editing a foreign language edition of Arrian’s
Cynegeticus (On Coursing) and compiling its accompanying text which discusses the history of
hunting with hounds and sighthounds.~ RKH
When dogs lose their work they are in great danger of losing their identity.
Sighthound age and origins
Many of today’s sighthound enthusiasts have come of age with lure coursing as opposed to live
or open field coursing as a way of testing for performance. It is an innovative way of maintaining
some ability for sighthound work, in a time when live coursing has been generally prohibited.
Unfortunately it also has the potential to promote a collective form of amnesia as to the true
meaning of “sighthound” in North America where some lure eligible breeds are definitely not
sighthounds. If we fail now and in the future in our fundamental understanding of sighthound
identity, it will have serious consequences for those breeds that are now being confused with
sighthounds because they chase a lure. This also has the potential to compromise their breeding
if they are being bred to resemble sighthounds.
So, what is a sighthound? Let us consider some essential aspects of the sighthound, its history
and function – in other words its identity. In addition, it is important to examine the mechanism
behind the erosion of that identity in North America and some of the consequences that are
appearing here and overseas. As the American Kennel Club (AKC) itself does not (yet) have a
formal Sighthound Group, the responsibility for creating and maintaining the image and identity of
the sighthound in North America has been left to breed clubs and lure coursing organizations.
Sighthounds originated in the Old World. There is no such animal as a true “New World
sighthound” in the modern sense of a “purebred” breed with a working history. This may be a
factor in so many contemporary North Americans’ lack of understanding the sighthound proper -
the fact that the Americas have no indigenous sighthound breeds of their own. The absence of a
historic background creates an important void in sighthound culture and sighthound recognition.
All true sighthounds were imported into the New World. The only real contender for an indigenous
American coursing hound or sighthound, would be the coyote hound or staghound. Despite
1
having been purpose-bred for almost two centuries from imported sighthounds and for a specific
indigenous prey, these hounds of mixed breeding are for obvious reasons not recognized as
purebred breeds by the AKC. If the absence of any native sighthound is a factor in the gradual,
and likely unintentional erosion of sighthound identity in the USA, ironically, there is a case to be
made that the term “sighthound” originated in America1. In American cynological literature, both
historical and contemporary, there is a considerable consensus on the defining aspects of the
identity, hunting and function of the sighthound in the works of: Hull, Van Hummel, Roosevelt,
Williams, Almirall, Copold, Salmon, Belkin and von Recum, as well as on the essential structure
of the functional gräoid2 type in: McDowell Lyon, Constance Miller, Curtis Brown, and Belkin.
Today the strongest mechanism changing the identity of the sighthound inside and to a certain
extent outside the USA, is the role that the American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) has
played in welcoming an increasing number of non-sighthound breeds to become eligible for ASFA
lure coursing competition. Lure coursing is great fun, and almost any breed of dog, with a little
encouragement, will follow the lure. So it’s quite understandable that those breed clubs, which
wish to have their breed competing on the lure field, follow the regulations by making a proposal
to ASFA that they consider their breed to be a “sighthound”. If that proposal and request for
eligibility is accepted, the breed may become an ASFA-lure-coursing-breed, regardless of its lack
of recorded live coursing credentials. Furthermore, as the American Kennel Club (AKC) lure
coursing organization follows suit, the public may take such breeds as the Basenji, Rhodesian
Ridgeback, and possibly in the future, the Peruvian Inca Orchid, and the various Portuguese
Podengos to be sighthounds. These breeds, however, do not have the defining aspects of
sighthounds as discussed below.
The age and origin of sighthounds have frequently been exaggerated and often mythologized. It
has been customary for some authors to simply attribute Ancient Egypt with the creation of the
Greyhound3 and many other modern breeds - for which there is little or no real evidence. The
prick-eared, ring tailed Egyptian hunting dog depicted in Ancient Egyptian artwork, the tesem,
does not appear to have been a true sighthound, but more importantly it does not appear to have
a direct living sighthound descendent (Heidi Parker et al). The lop-eared Oriental type of
sighthound of the saluki/sloughi type, which is portrayed in Ancient Egyptian art of a later date,
appears to have been imported (Brixhe), probably from the Near East.
The sighthound or gazehound as a very specific variety of hunting dog, has been recorded in art
and literature for at least as long as the last two thousand years. It has been visible in cultural
artifacts from a vast geographical area: the length of the East-West axis of Eurasia; and, from the
coast of Europe in the West to the borders of China in the East (Przezdziecki). Somewhere along
that axis, in Eurasia, its origin was likely related to the development of horse domestication and
riding. As a consequence, the age of the original sighthound would certainly be much greater
than two thousand years.
Just like the earliest recorded dog varieties, the sighthound was probably first known to outsiders
under the name of its people or their homeland, by the name of its work or its activity, or the
name of the prey it had been developed to pursue. The first complete description of the
sighthound is European. It is from the second century, and it is an account of Celtic hunting
tradition recorded by the Greek historian, Arrian. He was a military man, writer, magistrate and
famed later for his biography of Alexander the Great. Arrian was Proconsul around 135 AD for
1 See for example Steve Copold, page 93, “[In the … 1960’s] …Thus the first parent body of organized
competitive coursing in the US was founded, the Advisory Committee on Sighthound Coursing.”
2 gräoid: denoting greyhound body-type, derived from greyhound
3 Greyhound: this article follows the convention of “greyhound” denoting the type of dog, and “Greyhound”
denoting the modern breed.
2
Rome in the province of Baetica, Spain, where
it is believed he saw his first sighthound, the
vertragus 4.
He recorded that it was the Celts that
introduced sighthounds into Western Europe,
a region that was then becoming increasingly
deforested and consequently more suitable for
the sight hunt. His distinction between scent
hound types – the main hunting dogs of the
time - and this singular early sighthound variety and how it was used,
is clear and concise. It would enter into European jurisprudence centuries
later when civil and hunting law found it necessary to distinguish between
the two types. Paraphrased, that distinction, borrowed from Arrian, is:
Figure 1: A Celto-Romanic bronze
(3rd century) of a recumbent
vertragus, a Celtic greyhound, the
earliest recorded European
sighthound. With thanks to the
National Museum of Archeology,
Leiden, The Netherlands.
This graceful early sighthound
sculpture is often taken to be a
“twin” of the similar but less refined
sculpture, “Lydney dog” found in
England, which itself is erroneously
claimed to be an Irish wolfhound.
scent hounds can catch a hare despite their build (i.e. by endurance);
sighthounds can catch a hare thanks to their build (i.e. by speed).
Sighthound types have been kept by
many, and differing peoples; as a rule by
equestrian cultures, where the handlers
could keep pace with their swift dogs.
Shepherds and nomads, farmers and
hunters, sometimes even city dwellers if
they had access to landscapes that had
one common characteristic, open space.
This is the only type of terrain on which
sighthounds can hunt properly. Typically
this terrain was found along the edges of
the forests, on the moors, the fields and
estuaries, the wetlands of the Atlantic
coast, the stony plains and grasslands of
the Mediterranean and North Africa, the
deserts, steppes and high land of the
East, deep into Asia. Outside that open
landscape, the sighthound simply did not
exist, until it was imported or was re-
invented.
Sighthounds are specialists as no other
dogs are, not only because of the speed
of their chase, but also because just like
their masters they are sight hunters. At
times they are and were used together
with tamed hawks and falcons, those
other sight hunters that humans use to
take their prey by the surprise of superior
speed. As they are adapted to their own
environment and their specific prey, each
sighthound variety differs somewhat in
appearance but they share essential characteristics for which they have been selected. These
are: the physical attributes that provide great speed and agility; the recognizable build which
promotes that; and with it, the behavioral qualities of a passionate, independent hunter that,
unlike most scent hounds, does not require the discipline of a handler.
Figure 2: The only known likeness of
(Lucius) Flavius Arrianus (circa 95-175 AD). He is known to us
as Arrian, author of the Cynegeticus (On Coursing), which is the
first description of a sighthound, and of coursing. From a ‘herm’
pillar in Athens, Greece.
4 vertragus (Latin), from the Greek ouertragos, according to Arrian the equivalent for Celtic “fleet of foot”
3
The sighthound became a highly specialized addition to the larger family of hounds. It was often
used as a solo hunter by the pastoralists of Eurasia for their “subsistence” hunt. Since the early
Middle Ages it accompanied the scent pack of the European nobility. There it stood in the shadow
of the pack hounds during the long rise and then decline of the complex, “royal hunt” right across
Europe, where sighthounds were often used as a last aid after the drive on large game (Twiti,
Phébus, Turbervile). It is worthwhile remembering that large sighthounds, namely the Greyhound,
have been used for centuries to course deer long before they became so associated with
coursing the humble hare. This latter deceptively simple activity where the prey is not required to
be killed, became the “art of coursing” rather than the “sport of hunting.” It reached a modest
height in the 19th century, and then only in a few European countries. At that time the traditional
hunting fields were being systematically closed to the sighthound as the dawn of a new political
era curtailed the old privileges of the landowner and nobility. Now most of those hunting grounds
are closed to hounds of all sorts.
The first question that needs to be addressed in understanding sighthounds is, “What is a
hound?”
Hounds have a history that goes back long before the English language itself existed. The word
“hound” denotes a hunting dog, in particular a dog of the chase, most especially the tracking or
scent chase. If the zooarcheological theory is true, that it was only since the development of
hunting with projectile weapons such as arrows that early humans found it necessary to use
tracking canids to assist them in retrieval of wounded game (Juliet Clutton-Brock), then scent
hounds are much older than sighthounds. For a long time in recorded history, scent hounds
would appear to be more valued than sighthounds. After the withdrawal of Roman control over
the European Continent, the Leges Barbarorum, the collected laws of the predominately
Germanic peoples in the mainly forested parts of Europe, indicate a higher material value placed
on scent hounds (Merlen). They were called the “learned hounds” because they were trained,
unlike sighthounds that are almost by definition not trained. That higher appreciation of the scent
hound in this context is understandable in an environment where the speed hunt, coursing, would
have been generally impossible because of the forest cover.
A scent hound breed is one of a large and varied group of hounds that methodically pursue game
by scent, usually in a group called a pack, most often in covered terrain. Usually they are under
control of their handler, and pursue and overtake their prey by endurance and their numbers, then
immobilize or kill it. They are aerobic, endurance sport specialists. Generally speaking their build
is muscular, more solid, their ears longer than those of sighthounds and they should be able to
perform a sustained trot or slow gallop endurance run, with their head to the ground so that they
can scent on the move. They often signal their presence in dense cover, the closeness of the
game or the heat of the chase, by giving tongue.
Scent and sighthounds both can and will sight their game. Both groups can and will scent their
game (with varying success). Both will attempt to run their game down either by speed or
endurance. Yet thanks to their heredity and to a much lesser extent their experience and training,
each has no choice but to perform one or the other hunting technique.
So, what is the difference between a scent hound and a sighthound?
The difference is obvious.
That is the short answer. Its source is the modern British commentator, Adrian Phillips, who has
the knowledgeable eye of a British coursing man, well acquainted with a number of the coursing
breeds and the authoritative sighthound literature.
The difference should then be clearly visible.
Of all the organizations concerned with structured and systematic canine knowledge (termed
Cynology), the Fédération Cynologique Internationale is the only one that has a formal group for
4
sighthounds. The group, currently consisting of 13 different breeds, is characterized by dogs,
which have in principle been physically formed by their function as speed or sprint-hunting dogs.
They have a defined gräoid body-type, most recognizable as a typical greyhound form that is
shared, and is directly related to their original coursing function. This is a function, which is
generally proven through documented history. Sighthounds were recognized as an entity long
before the conventions of “breeds”, “Kennel Clubs” or even “breed groups” were invented.
Sighthounds do not have the proportionally shorter legs, heavier head and larger ears of the other
breeds with their more solid brachoid 5 body-type in the Hound Group that are principally used to
scent, track, drive, and methodically chase game.
Both hounds and sighthounds run their game. Hounds however force their game by endurance,
which is not to be confused with sighthound coursing, where game is overpowered by speed.
The form that follows the function, and the physical attributes that characterize a true sprint
hunter, are genetically stamped or molded in the body of all sighthounds. The long, lean limbs,
the light dolichocephalic6 head, the spare frame with tucked-up abdomen and long tail, often
collectively termed as ‘graceful stature’, the classic gräoid structure, all readily identify the
conformation of a sighthound - even into its grave. While zooarchaeologists could not tell us if the
ancient remains of any other dog variety that had been found in the ground were typically those of
a scent hound or a working dog, they would have a greater likelihood of being able to
successfully identify a sighthound if they came across the skeletal remains of one, because of
those very same characteristics.
In the opening remarks in his chapter on the sighthound (French: lévrier 7) Gaston Phébus, the
14th century Duke who wrote arguably the greatest hunting manual in history, states:
There are few (gentle)folk that have never seen a lévrier.
He’s telling us that in his time all ‘educated’ people recognized the appearance of a sighthound.
When first translated into English by his ducal counterpart, Edmund of Norwich, around 1406 this
became:
The greihounde is a manner of kinde of houndes, there are few men that have not seen
some.
The lévriers, gazehounds, greihoundes - the various European types of sighthounds of Phébus
and Edmund’s day - the smooth and rough-coated, the large, the medium and the small, were
obviously familiar dogs to most people, the nobility and their servants, especially in a mainly rural
society where hunting was a daily routine. Both Phébus and Edmund knew the hunting dog
varieties of their time very well. It has been claimed that Phébus himself had at a given time 1600
hounds in his 12 or more castle residences. He loved his sighthounds and even kept them as
companion animals. But it was his packs of scent hounds, chiens courants the ‘running dogs’ that
he cherished above all. They could not possibly take game as swiftly as sighthounds do, but
would run for hours. They would run all day if necessary, and that is exactly what the rider to
scent hounds wants.
Sighthounds take their game or they lose it, silently, and usually very quickly, in just about the
time it takes to whistle a tune. Hounds run on, and on, and on, as if the pack and the baying of
5 brachoid: denoting scent hound body-type, derived from rache/brachet Anglo-French for running hound of
the harrier scent hound type, recognizable in some modern European languages as brak = scent hound.
6 dolichocephalic, different breeds display great variation in the form and size of the skull. Those which have
a long, narrow skull (Greyhound, etc) are designated dolichocephalic. Others (Bulldog, etc) having a short
broad skull are termed brachycepahlic. The intermediate form is termed mesaticephalic.
7 lévrier, both old and modern French for greyhound, sighthound, derived from lièvre = hare.
5
their tongues are a symphony in the forest. That was the real “sport of kings”, the royal hunt,
which meant riding to hounds and methodically driving and chasing game, usually deer, all day if
possible. It was not the modest hunting form that coursing is, with only a brace of sighthounds, a
pursuit that is generally done in less than a few minutes8.
If we need to debate whether a breed is a sighthound or not, then it is not.
Such a telling statement, made during a critical discussion on sighthound identity in the USA by
Pat Gail Burnham in 1992, is a resounding and absolute echo of Phébus and Edmund –
everybody knows what a sighthound looks like. If both scent and sighthounds are clearly
recognizable, what then distinguishes a sighthound from a scenthound?
Characteristics that define the sighthound:
Defining aspects of sighthounds (and hounds) can be derived from five different but
interdependent sources, both ancient and modern (Hawkins 2004). The criteria for Sighthound
identity are to be found in language, literature, cynological, legal, and anatomical sources.
(1) Language (etymology):
Even where the original meaning of the name of a historic sighthound may well have
been lost, the fact that it was associated in various texts with sighthound type and function,
stands as an important identifying criterion. Some examples of such names signifying the
sighthound in general are: ouertragos/vertragus, velter leporarius 9 (6th century Salic law),
grehound/greihound, lévrier, windhund/windhond 10. Other historic names that originated from a
similar source related to local names for sighthound, may now appear to us to be closer to
naming a “breed” of sighthound in particular, such as: agar, borzaya, chort, galgo,
saluqi/sloughi(çaydi), tazi etc.
(2) Literature (Cynegetica, hunting literature/history):
A critical, defining source of sighthound identity is the literature surrounding the coursing
or hunting activity. It should preferably record the specific activity the dog was involved in and the
type of dog. Some examples in which sighthound hunting or coursing is described are: Arrian (2nd
century Roman Greek), Phébus (14th century French), Ibn Mangli (14th century, coursing and
hunting in North Africa), Turbervile (16th century, the first explanation and discussion of English
coursing of deer, hare, and fox), van Heenvliet (17th century, coursing in the Lowlands), Walzoff
(20th century, hunting and coursing in Russia).
(3) Cynological (from within the framework of the organized canine sport or fancy):
Dog types or varieties with a common work heritage, or with a particular conformation,
are classified in Breed Groups. These groups are conventions that use categories of different dog
types to allow a better understanding, comparison and evaluation of the individual breeds
involved. No system is perfect in this aim, yet true sighthounds appear to be as close to a self-
determining breed group as any dog group can be.
Within the framework of 20th century conventional classification of sighthounds as created
by some European National Kennel Clubs, see for example the concept of the sighthound as
given below by Jan van Rheenen.
8 90-120 seconds is the approximate anaerobic limit for dogs. Course duration given by various sources:
depending on the terrain, the prey sort and the sighthound breed, is approximately 30-120 seconds on small
game, 4-5 minutes on large game, with exceptional runs taking 10-15 minutes.
9 velter leporarius: derivative of vertragus, & leporarius Latin for “hare catcher”, as in lévrier.
10 windhund/windhond (German/Dutch for sighthound): derived from the name of the Slavic peoples, the
Venati of Illyria; previously simply wint/wind itself the equivalent of sighthound.
6
The sighthound … has gained through the ages a singular, and even at great distance,
highly recognizable build: long legged, lean bodied, with a deep and generous chest for
powerful lungs, a sprung back that can launch it like an arrow, a long pointed head and
slim body which may appear aerodynamic, while the long tail forms a powerful rudder
that helps it change direction. The sighthound with few exceptions, hunts not by scent but
by sight, and has a different character than other dogs.
Within the framework of 21st century International conventional classification, the concept of the
sighthound is best represented by the specific individual breeds of the FCI Group X:
http://www.fci.be/nomenclatures_detail which is currently the single Breed Group for sighthounds
only.
There has been a long and enthusiastic cynological tradition of listing numbers of past and
present dogs from all parts of the world in works concerning sighthounds. In the bibliography
below, the works of authors as Daub, Hauck, and Denise Como can be considered as laudably
inclusive. However, where they omit to research and authenticate the original coursing function of
each type listed as a sighthound, they fail in their identification of those dogs as sighthounds.
(4) Legal (jurisprudence):
Where sighthound hunting is specified and either permitted as a legal use or then
proscribed and made illegal, jurisprudence helps define the sighthound. This has occurred in
various European Forest and Hunting Laws, such as English Forest Law of 1016 prohibiting
hunting with Grey-hounds in the Royal Forest. Typically also with the national prohibition of
coursing with sighthounds - but not prohibition of hunting with scent hounds - in France 1844, and
Germany in 1848. A notable case is that of Holland where traditional organized hare coursing
was legal up until 1924. Both early legal and the later illegal use were defined, including a concise
definition of the generic sighthound(s) involved, being that type of dog which:
without using its nose to track game, follows solely by sight, chases hares and thanks to
its build is able to catch up with and thereby take them (1857).
(5) Anatomical (zoological):
The sighthound is an expert athlete in the field of the anaerobic sprint run. There are
major anatomical factors, which contribute to those capabilities. No hunting dog can be
understood when considered outside the context of the landscape, climate and prey with which it
had originally to deal with and by which it has been shaped and evolved so as to achieve its
present day breed conformation.
The modern coursing Greyhound excels in the fastest mid-distance sprint in a mild
climate and on mild terrain. The Saluki excels in arguably the longest sprint in its original tropical
climate and harsher terrain. The original type of Afghan hound excels in the sprint at altitude in
some of the harshest inclined terrain. The Whippet excels in the ultimate short sprint and in its
agility during that pursuit. These and the other sighthounds are specialists in varying degrees of
the most extreme form of gallop; they excel in the form of double suspension gallop, which was
best for their original work. Based on this and related characteristics contributing to sighthound
function, certain physical characteristics have evolved over time. As discussed for example by
Curtis Brown, the galloping breeds have a flexible spine and proportionally long lean legs, which
aid in maximum ground cover, and the swift reach and return of limb movement in both the
collected and extended phase of the double suspension gallop. Based on measured data, Brown
recognizes that in principle sighthounds have a straighter front, upper arm and shoulder,
assembly than the average dog. This probably aids in optimal energy regain from passive recoil,
the spring-like power source activated from the elasticity of stretched tendons and muscles. This
fact is clearly very much at odds with the over-employed “well laid back shoulders” desired in the
show ring, and required by so many dog breed standards.
There are two facets of anatomy that are fundamental to defining a sighthound: the external and
the internal.
7
(5.1) The external anatomy. Historic examples of the descriptive anatomy of sighthound
specific conformation, are the forerunners of sighthound breed standards, and appear in Arrian
(2nd century Roman Greek), in both Gace de Buigne and Phébus (14th century French) who
provided the origins of the familiar “Properties of a goode Grehound” attributed to a ‘Dame
Berners’ (15th century English) i.e.
A Grehound 11 shulde be heded like a Snake, and necked like a Drake, Fotd like a Kat,
Tayled like a Rat, Syded like a Teme, Chyned like Beme12
And in the text by Caius (16th century English),
For it is a spare and bare kinde of dogge (of fleshe but not of bone); some are of a
greater sorte, and some of a lesser, some are smooth skinned, and some are curled.
Contemporary examples of descriptive anatomy, which are based on modern data, for example
from Constance Miller, Curtis Brown and Belkin, are instrumental in illustrating and explaining
structure and function that distinguish sighthounds from other breeds.
(5.2) The internal anatomy. Modern scientific investigation has been elucidating other
important intrinsic factors that contribute to the characteristic properties and athletic success of
sighthounds. As Dan Belkin remarked:
… [The] things you cannot see are more important than things you can.
It has long been known that Greyhounds have a heart that is on average twice the size or more,
heart weight to body weight, of that of normal non-sighthound dogs. Their cardiovascular
properties are a hereditary adaptation to their typical form of hunting, they are not exercise
induced (Steel, Snow, Pape). Those properties are to a certain extent shared by other
sighthounds, and recorded as such for instance in the Saluki (Yocham) and Deerhound (Vollmar).
The chest depth is by necessity fairly great for an especially large heart, (not necessarily large
lungs – of that we have no adequate proof). As well it allows for rapid leg movement along the
chest wall. The depth is visually accentuated by the abdominal tuck-up, which allows extreme
contraction of the body at the collected phase of the gallop. The heart size and its extreme heart
beat capacity is key to the high tissue perfusion and oxygenation necessary for muscular energy
requirement, exchange of blood gases, and cooling in mid to long distant sprints.
Sighthounds appear to have in general a high to the highest blood pressure of all dogs, which
may be an aid to instant perfusion and energy exchange (Angela Bodey). There are other
hematological parameters that are shared by various sighthounds such as the high whole blood
cell volume and hemoglobin values (Merja Hilppö).
Of great importance in the anatomical and physiological properties of the sighthound type is the
high percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers that only a number of sighthound breeds have. This
muscle type is essential for a sprint performer, and has physiological consequences for energy
requirements and exercise tolerance (Aguera, Dobson, Guy).
Not all sighthounds will have the same properties to the same extent. The Afghan hound might
appear to have considerably less fast twitch fiber (Gunn) than the Greyhound (Snow) or the
Galgo (Aguera). This is of course dependent on a number of factors such as the context of the
original use, the heredity of a given breed, and the amount of cross breeding which has occurred
11 Grehound/greihound etc: historic versions of greyhound, precise origin unknown, the oldest recorded
reference is Grey-hound from Canute’s English Forest Law of 1016.
12 Teme: obscure, balanced/symmetrical as in team? Possibly a reference to “deep chested (sided) like a
pregnant form. Beme: (chyned=backed) like a beam.
8
in the previous century. Unfortunately too few of all the sighthound breeds have been included in
the quoted research projects, and not all research has been as rigorous with sighthound and non-
sighthound group comparisons as that of Angela Bodey. However, there are substantial
indications that all of these physiological properties tend to define a discrete and unified group of
specialised athletes.
The growing interest in the application of DNA profiles will help to clarify the inheritance and
history of sighthound type. It may eventually definitively answer the question if these breeds have
historically evolved as a related group, which would appear probable in the case of the Occidental
or British and Continental sighthounds, or independently as appears to be the case with the
Oriental sighthounds such as the Saluki and Afghan (Heidi Parker et al).
Figure 3: Three illustrations of the “sighthound” by different artists.
A drawing (first left) from Caius (known as physician to Queen Elizabeth I) reproduced as an engraving of a “Scottish
hare hound” in Gesner’s Icones Animalium 1603.
The same, re-interpreted as a woodcut (centre) from Phyllis and Delphis Gardner The Irish Wolfhound 1931,
representing the “Scottish greyhound”, quote from Caius: Scotice, ane grew hound, Anglice a grehunde.
A bronze (right - photo inverted) by Pierre-Jules Mêne, first exhibited at the Paris salon of 1845 (originally with a hare in
its jaws), titled ‘Lévrier Espagnol, Grand Espèce,’ in other words a Galgo, (the bronze is sometimes erroneously taken to
be a Sloughi).
All three can be seen to represent artistic visualizations of a ‘generic’ sighthound.
The first an Occidental or British sighthound, the last a Continental sighthound, with a possible Oriental influence dating
from the Caliphate and Muslim rule in Spain 8th-15th century, when the North African Sloughi was reputed to have been
crossed into the Spanish greyhound – long pre-dating similar crosses to the Galgo of Greyhounds in ‘Franco-Spain’ of
the 20th centur
y
.
Characteristics that do not define the sighthound:
The sighthound excels at the double suspension gallop. However, that gait is not exclusive to the
sighthound (see Curtis Brown), sighthounds can simply do it faster and more efficiently.
Consequently not all breeds that can run with the double suspension gallop should be defined as
sighthounds.
Although sighthounds might appear to be so, they are not aerodynamic in any real sense of the
word - the sustainable speed at which sighthounds run, is well below that requiring any significant
advantage from aerodynamic “bio-engineering”.
Sighthounds as far as we know have no higher visual acuity than other breed. Most, if not all dog
breeds have less visual acuity than their antecedent the wolf.
Sighthounds are not endurance athletes. Some may be able to trot and hunt for hours, but it is
not what they were best designed for.
Sighthounds are not multi-purpose hounds. They were developed for speed, no more no less.
The closest that a sighthound can get to a multi-purpose hound is a lurcher, the result of crossing
a working breed with a sighthound to slow it down and give it more brains.
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Sighthounds are not the most intelligent of dogs, in the way we recognize intelligence in the
working breeds. They were bred to be passionate independent hunters, to run fast with little time
to think. They are not particularly amenable to any form of training other than physical
conditioning.
Misconceptions concerning the identity of the sighthound may have far-reaching
consequences.
Cynology and all its related pursuits, such as registration of pedigree stock, evaluation for
breeding and hunting or coursing purposes, is essentially the art and science of conservation. Its
aim is to preserve the heritage, and authenticity of the dog breeds it protects.
With respect to evaluating coursing, we should not forget that in live or open field coursing, it is
the game itself, which determines the eligible type of hound. Only those breeds that have been
bred to successfully chase fast, unwounded game such as deer, antelope and hare, are usually
considered eligible. The cottontail or “bunny” rabbit, due to its lack of run and its propensity to go
to ground, has never been true coursing game.
North American (ASFA, and consequently AKC) lure coursing was developed from NOFCA
(National Open Field Coursing Association) coursing on the jackrabbit. It was designed for
“sighthounds” - not “hounds” in general. The subjective cross-course judging criteria of the whole
field of sighthounds (as opposed to the classic objective judging of pairs of Greyhounds in a
knock-out competition) were developed from the very same criteria used in NOFCA hunts. They
were designed to evaluate the running characteristics of swift sighthounds on swift game. The
lure course layout should also allow for, and demonstrate, the capabilities of fast galloping
hounds. When those criteria are modified because scent hounds are competing, in a form of a ‘no
dog left behind policy’, then the ASFA Mission Statement of “preserving and further developing
the natural beauty, grace, speed and coursing skill of the Sighthound” is no longer true to itself.
Neither is the AKC statement in its description of the purpose of its lure coursing: “to demonstrate
that they can perform the functions for which they were originally bred.”13, being fulfilled in the
case of those breeds that were not originally bred to course
With respect to evaluating pedigree sighthounds in the show ring, we should reflect on the AKC
objective of “advancing the study … of purebred dogs.” The AKC has held Advanced Institutes
for the purpose of Judge’s Education. These Institutes have considered, as should any show
judge, the supposed “breed function” as an essential factor for evaluation purposes. As the AKC
Hound Group is diverse and cumbersome, on occasion it has been decided to divide it (for
education purposes in the Advanced Institutes) and create a Sighthound Group - a group, which
includes all the breeds that are eligible for AKC lure coursing events. Attempting in this context to
understand, study and evaluate the conformation of all the breeds that are eligible for lure
coursing in the USA as “sighthounds” is fundamentally misguided, as this group includes other
hounds which were not originally bred to course game in the manner of a sighthound. It will
certainly not ensure that these breeds are kept true to their heritage - something for which we all
should be responsible.
Referring to original function, and in the process giving us a concise definition of a sighthound,
Curtis Brown points out that,
A sighthound’s primary function is to follow game by sight with speed in open areas as
opposed to scent hounds following a trail by odor. High speed causes the double
suspension gallop to occur. It is not the criterion used to determine what is or is not a
13 ASFA judges are advised to analyze and study individual breed running characteristics. Similarly the AKC
expects lure enthusiasts to honor the history and integrity of the breeds and sport. Both approaches should
of course concern themselves with the original form and use of the breeds involved, to avoid compromising
their integrity in any way.
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sighthound. Because a Basenji or a Doberman uses the double suspension gallop does
not make them a sighthound; neither has a primary function of hunting game by sight in
open areas with speed.
The Basenji itself was originally presented in the USA as a dog that points and retrieves, drives
game into nets, and hunts wounded quarry. All of which are excellent qualities, but do not qualify
it as a sighthound. Now, a generation after it was accepted by ASFA, it may be that few breed
specialists know Basenji hunting history. Many owners really believe that this versatile pack scent
hound, which is used in dense cover, is a true sighthound. Understandably, they are gratified that
it is eligible to lure course.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback, which is a comparatively modern product of white colonial Africa, has
no significant history of coursing as defined above. An excellent utilitarian hound, companion, and
guard dog, it has been used to chase, drive and run down prey - but that is a claim that can be
made for almost every single breed in the Hound Group. Its presence in the ASFA/AKC lure-
coursing group is no indication of true sighthound status, simply proof of ASFA’s generosity to
those who seek to reward their hounds with healthy recreational fun.
We should be cautious and consider with care the effects of appropriating breeds from other
countries and turning them into “lure-coursing breeds”, if in doing so they are given the status of
“sighthounds,” a status not equal to that which they have in their country of origin. This has the
potential for some significantly negative effects both in work, breeding and show judging, which
do not correspond to authenticity in heritage, preservation, understanding and study of these
breeds.
The following cautionary remarks concerning the Ibizan Hound were made by Manuel Pinto, who
emphasized the effects of confusing the “identity” of breeds. The Ibizan hunts then, as now, “both
as a retriever and pointer”, most noticeably in a pack, on the rabbit. It is a commentary previously
recorded in the paragraph on “Disqualifying Characteristics” in the Podenco Ibicenco (Ibizan)
breed standard (attributed to Heuillet in 1934, by Hauck) and is humorously scathing on
connecting hounds, such as the Ibizan, in any way with sighthounds. This connection was seen to
jeopardize the function and identity of this breed:
Characteristics indicating an infusion of greyhound blood, which disqualify a dog,
because while they increase speed, they impair hearing, reduce agility in jumping without
a run, and above all, affect the sense of smell, all of which are the principal physiological
qualities of this dog, to say nothing of the reduction of intelligence and astuteness …
Remarks from the renowned Ibizan hound expert Miquel Elena Rosselló illustrate the value that
scent hound connoisseurs place on the function of their hounds in opposition to the characteristic
function of the sighthound. In this case, the Ibizan is compared to the Spanish greyhound, the
Galgo:
Consider the Galgo … any commentary is completely superfluous - but here goes
anyway - the Galgo hunts only in open terrain, it doesn’t have a “nose”, and it can only
hunt its game on the run without searching for it. It will follow by sight and when the game
has found cover, it will lose it. It will take off at once, with no other strategy than that of
speed, and when it comes to some obstacle, such as a wall or fence, it will get caught
and its game will escape. If it were to hunt in a group, it will not give tongue and warn the
rest of the pack, it will not co-operate, and it will not follow anything either by the spoor of
the prey or that of the pack. The Galgo is a dumb “scout”, with no will to use its nose or
its hearing – but, just like a Podenco [Ibizan] - it does run on four legs, and it does have a
tail.
Reviewing the commentary above on the Ibizan Hound, anyone would be understandably
puzzled when reading the 20th edition of the AKC’s “The Complete Dog Book” (and earlier
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editions), “These dogs [Ibizans], which are also referred to as Galgo Hounds (sic) …”, and further
“The Ibizan Hound Club of the United States has been most stringent in impressing upon the
owners and breeders of this hound the importance of fully retaining the fine qualities of this dog
first and foremost, and has kept its pledge to preserve it true to form.” However, the true identity
and working form of the Ibizan have been meticulously described and recorded amongst others
by Rosselló. English translations of his description of a field trial for Ibizans have been widely
disseminated (even to the Ibizan Hound Club of the USA), and they describe the methodical
tracking, pointing, hunting and retrieving of rabbits in densely covered rough terrain, in short:
scent hound trials. They closely resemble field work descriptions for both the Kelb tal-fenek
(Pharaoh Hound) http://www.kelb-tal-fenek.com/fieldwork.htm and Cirneco dell’Etna
http://www.cirneco.com/about_field_trial_reg.html, both of which are clearly defined by their
original work as scent hounds.
Unfortunately all these Mediterranean island hunting breeds, including the Canary hound, have in
the past been romantically and likely incorrectly linked to the Ancient Egyptian tesem. Due to the
somewhat leggy stature of some of them, having evolved as agile jumpers in rough and/or
covered terrain, they have in Europe been considered as half-sighthounds or sighthounds by
cynological ‘authorities’ outside the country of origin, who paid scant attention to the original
function of the breeds. Consequently these breeds have been moved through different breed
Groups inside the FCI structure, such as the Hound group, the Sighthound Group and have now
been relegated to the “Spitz and Primitive Type Group”. Although still allowed to lure course at
the national level without the possibility of earning field titles, they are now breeds without an
“official” work trial. If they had remained in the FCI Hound Group they would have been eligible for
International FCI scent trials in couples or packs, which is entirely appropriate to their original
function. This would have been the very best guarantee in preserving them true to form.
This is just some of the heritage of sighthounds and hounds.
Should we be compromising breed identity for the convenience of those that appropriate, re-
name, and misunderstand or do not know the history of their breeds? Recreational lure coursing
is a social activity with great merit for many dog breeds and their owners. It should be recognized
as such without falsifying identity. The lines between breeds created for coursing game and those
breeds created for other purposes that now lure course for fun must not be blurred.
Considering the predictable outcome of continually adding hounds to the lure coursing group, it
would not only be just, but also wise, if ASFA and those that are following this course such as the
Canadian and British counterparts, CSFA and BSFA would consider deleting the word “sight”
from the name “Sighthound Field Association”.
Another form of lure coursing, “all-breed lure coursing,” has been tried with some success in
Europe. With a shorter course, adapted to non-sighthound speed and agility, and with the
possibility of modified judging to cater to non-sighthound characteristics, it could supply the
answer to a rising demand for recreational coursing.
This story is not going to go away just because it may make some of us uncomfortable. It has an
ancient and authentic past; it can and should have a rich but authentic future.
Richard Hawkins
bh@fernhill.com
[Richard Hawkins has chased antelope with pariah dogs in East Africa, coursed the hare with
Borzoi and Whippet in the UK, and the hare and the lure with Scottish Deerhounds and Galgo in
Europe. For a number of years he was closely involved with all aspects of promoting, organizing,
and running lure trials in Holland. He has owned, coursed and lure coursed Scottish Deerhounds
for some 25 years. For the last nine years he has been living in Canada. He co-authored and
edited Arrianus, de lange jacht en lurecoursing, Eburon Academic Press 2004, a Dutch book on
the origins and characteristics of hunting and coursing with hounds, specifically sighthounds. He
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was nominated as a finalist in the Dog Writer’s Association of America annual writing competition
with his article in Dogs In Canada “What is a sighthound” of April 2006.
Together with Barbara Heidenreich (Fernhill Scottish Deerhounds), Richard is currently working
on “the definitive book” on the Scottish Deerhound (http://www.fernhill.com/. prospectus pdf).]
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