Silken Windhound vs Rajapalayam - Breed Comparison

The Silken Windhound is a breed intentionally developed by Borzoi and Deerhound breeder, Francie Stull. Although the first litter of the Windhoud was not born until 1995, their development began in discussions ten years later. Bred as a cross between her beloved Deerhounds and Borzoi, the first Society for the breed formed in 1999 and they were recognized by the UKC in 2011.

Ms. Stull wanted another breed for her kennel and decided on a smaller sighthound than her Borzoi. She wanted a long coat, a good temperament, good health, and possessing the same athletic abilities, grace and poise as the sighthounds that are larger. She developed the Silken Windhound based on this vision.

With this in mind, the kennel purchased the pick of a litter from the American and English Borzoi Champion bitch, Stillwater Virginia Reel. This puppy was eventually bred to Stillwater White Lightning and produced puppy that was a blue brindle. This dog, Stillwater Kristull Peacock, had the coat, personality and structure that Ms. Stull wanted for the new breed. She was bred to Deerhound Windsprite Autumnal Xenon to form the foundation for the Silken Windhound.

Over time champion Borzoi were bred with multi-generation Whippet based dogs and small Whippet from coursing and show lines. Finally, all of this work was rewarded with an incredible little sighthound to fit in the line of sighthounds between the giant and large breeds and the smaller whippet type breeds.

The Silken Windhound lives today in 24 different countries. They take their place in hound competitions all over the world in obedience, lure coursing, and racing. They are a Limited Stake Breed in the ASFA and competed with 40 other dogs in 2010. Then they were accepted by the NOFCA or National Open Filed Coursing Association, also in 2010. Finally, in 2011 they were fully accepted by the UKC.

The Silken Windhound is recognized in addition to the UKC, by the Dog Registry of America, the Rarities Inc., the American Canine Association, the Kennel Club of Slovenia, the American Pet Registry, Inc., the International Silken Windhound Society and the International, All-Breed Canine Association of America.

The Rajapalayam dog hails from India, from the small town of Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu.

Known also as the Poligar Hound, this Indian Sighthound has been the companion of royalty in Southern India.

Though the breed dates back a few hundred years, the developers of the breed brought about an albino dog. This Indian breed dog is almost on the verge of extinction. This is a pity as he is a splendid dog. Breeding centers have been set up to prevent the dog disappearing altogether.

The Silken Windhound is a breed of beautiful, athletic medium sized dogs. They have the long coat, athletic build and classic lines of the sighthound/coursing dog. Just looking at them and you know they have strength, balance and grace in those medium sized bodies. Their running ability is exceptional. They perform well in the confirmation rings.

They are sine boned, balanced with smooth muscles – a sleek hardy looking dog. They have almond-shaped, large, dark eyes with small folded ears. Looking in their faces you see intelligence, friendliness and alertness. The head is long with a well balanced muzzle and a dark, slightly down-turned nose. Her lips are dark and full and her neck long and slender. The Silken Windhound must have a flexible loin because they have a gallop of double suspensions and are amazingly fast. A deep chest is also a must with a flexible, curving tail. Her legs are straight and long, as she is built for speed.

This is a large dog, graceful and elegant standing at between 65–75cm and weighing 22 to 25kg.

This is a hound dog, lean and muscular and will rely on good exercise to keep him in tip top working condition.

He is somewhat heavier than other sighthounds with a deep chest and long straight legs. He is a low maintenance dog with the white coat being short and fine. The ears are floppy ad the tail is slim and long and sometimes held up and curved.

Temperament:

The Rajapalayam has always been used for hunting wild boar, and today he makes a good guard- and watchdog. He needs a lot of space and exercise and isn’t suited to living in small spaces in the city.

He is a loving dog and becomes loyal and devoted towards his owner, being essentially a one-person dog. They tend to be aggressive and aloof with strangers.

Training and socialization will be important for this intelligent dog if you want him to behave around people. He doesn’t particularly get on well with other pets in the home, but training and socialization can change this.

Characteristics

1. Children friendliness – they are great with children and would romp with them all day.

2.Special talents – speed and agility.

3.Adaptability Like most sighthounds they can be couch potatoes but being medium sized they can live just about anywhere as long as it is inside.

4.Learning ability - They are smart but their learning ability can be hampered by their stubbornness.

A Rajapalayam dog has always been a hunter and this makes him an excellent watchdog, always on the look out for intruders.

The Rajapalyam has always been a dog deeply attached and loyal to his owners.They are good family companions and pets and with so many good characteristics, one hopes that this dog will still be around for a long time.

Most inherited diseases and conditions are rare. There is some drug related sensitivity, especially to ivermectin, and some dogs carry a MDR1 (multi-drug resistance gene) that is defective. Breeders are attempting to breed this out of the Silkens. A few other rare instances of concern include:

• Cryptorchidism – a birth defect resulting in undescended testicles.
• Lotus Syndrome – an occasional birth defect resulting in death.
• Umbilical hernias – may require surgery.
• Cataracts - may lead to old age sight problems
• Deafness

The Rajapalayam isn’t a fragile dog, and he can live to 10, 11 or 12 years of age. There are always a few things to look out for with him. With white dogs, there is always a high incidence of deafness. Puppies born with blue eyes are often deaf.

Deafness:

White coated dogs, because of the piebald gene, are often affected by deafness. The piebald gene is because of an absence of melanocytes. These are cells which create pigment. When a dog is born without the genes to create melanocyte cells, a white hair coat and sometimes blue eyes are the result.

There are also skin problems associated with these all white dog breeds such as mange and dermatitis. Check him over for ticks and fleas.

1.Feeding the puppy This is a medium sized, active breed. They need high quality dog food with plenty of protein. Feed them 3 times a day from a food made for high energy active medium sized breeds.

2.Feeding the adult - Feed them 2 times a day from a food made for high energy active medium sized breeds.

3.Points for Good - Exceptional agility and speed.

4. Games and Exercises The breed is active, and they love to run. They need daily exercise and they usually excel at flyball, agility, obedience and therapy. Obviously, they are very good at lure coursing and racing. They love to run or jog with you.

General Grooming:

The short coat does shed so he will need to be brushed once or twice a week.

You will also need to follow a regular grooming program with this dog, checking inside his ears for infection, checking his eyes for discharge and checking inside his mouth for bad, rotting teeth. Teeth- and gum disease aren’t just about losing a tooth - bad teeth and gums can cause a host of health issues for other body parts like the heart and kidneys.

His toe nails too wll require clipping to prevent splitting and chipping.

Exercise:

Provide your pet with lots of exercise – a walk every day, a run in the park off his leash as well as ball and frisbee games.

Diet:

You can’t ever become lax with giving your pet good food. Good, wholesome food promotes health and longevity.

There are some good commercially manufactured dog foods which are wonderfully convenient – you just want to be sure its the high quality ones full of vitamins and minerals.

Also, provide him with uncomplicated, home-made dog food too. Boiled chicken, brown rice or pasta, sweet potatoes, carrots and spinach, all chopped up and mixed in twice a week with the dry kibble will ensue health and contentment.

Try and add some raw meat in as well. This simple diet plan will be gentle on your pet’s digestive system.

Make sure he always has a bowl of fresh, cool water available to him.