Coursing means the high speed pursuit of game (or a subsitute for game such as an artificial lure) by a predator hunting primarily by sight. On the walls of the tombs of the ancient Egyptians we see images of slim limbed, swift coursing dogs dating back almost 4000 years.

The FCI recognizes the Windhounds (Coursing Dogs) as primary subgroup of dogs (Group 10) which includes these breeds:

Long coated or fringed windhounds

Afghan Hound (pendant ears) (AKC, FCI)

Saluki (pendant ears)(AKC, FCI)

Borzoi [Russian Long Coated Windhound or Psovaya Borzaya](rose ears) (AKC, FCI)

Rough coated windhounds

Irish Wolfhound (rose ears)(AKC, FCI)

Scottish Deerhound (rose ears)(AKC, FCI)

Short coated windhounds

Galgo Espagnol [Spanish Greyhound](rose ears)(FCI)

Greyhound [English Greyhound] (rose ears)(AKC, FCI)

Whippet (rose ears)(AKC, FCI)

Italian Greyhound [Piccolo Levriero Italiano] (rose ears) (AKC - Toy Group, FCI - Windhound Group)

Magyarorszag [Magyar Agar] (rose ears)(Hungarian Greyhound)(FCI)

Chart Polski (rose ears)(FCI)

Azawakh (pendant ears) (FCI)

Sloughi (pendant ears)(FCI)

In English these specialized dogs are often referred to as 'sighthounds' or 'gazehounds' because their pursuit of prey occurs after they have sighted the game. In most of other European languages the group name for coursing dogs refers to their speed - ie Levrier in French, Windhund in German, Labrelles in Italian and Borzaya in Russian. Because of the inclusion of a number of more generalized hunting breeds in the lure coursing sport I am choosing to refer to the physically highly specialized coursing hounds as windhounds to distinguish them from less extremely built hunting dogs such as the podengos (Ibizan Hounds, Pharaoh Hounds) and others that will pursue prey by sight (as well as by scent) but lack the extreme physical specialization for high speed locomotion.

It needs to be kept in mind, when consulting translated literature that 'Windhund', 'Borzoi(Borzaya)' and 'Levrier' are general words for this group of dogs in their parent languages. So, for example, when a Russian writes about the Crimean 'Borzoi' or the English 'Borzoi' he is refering to a Crimean windhound in the first place and the breed we call simply the Greyhound in the second place.

In addition to the FCI recognized breeds, which are more extensive than the AKC recognized breeds, there are a number of rare windhound breeds as well as some deliberately created crossbreds of the windhound type. Here are some that I know about.

Rare windhound breeds

Ramphur Hounds (India) (smooth coat, semi pendant ears, greyhound size)

Russian Highland Coursing Hound (Mountain Borzoi) pendant ears, short coat, described as the size of the Psovaya Borzoi)

Central Asian Tazi (long pendant ears, long silky feathering, smaller than a Psovaya Borzoi)

Deliberately created crossbreds include:

The Lurcher

The lurcher has a long tradition in England. They are a deliberate cross between a windhound and a terrier or a drover's dog (especially a Border Collie). They are expected to capture prey, principly hares (often illegally) and retrieve them to the owner when the owner signals for the retrieve. A first generation Lurcher will generally be bred back to a windhound breed. They vary greatly appearance depending on the parent breeds. Many look like wire haired whippets because of the terrier crosses. Generally they are rose eared.

The [American] Cold Blooded Greyhound

A dog of the American high plains (also sometimes called a 'Stag') these are the product of crossing various windhound breeds - generally Greyhounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Borzoi and Irish Wolfhounds to produce a durable dog for coursing coyotes and jack rabbits in the rough country of the American west. These are normally rose eared but may be wire coated or have longer and thicker coats than a full blooded Greyhound. They are bred to have thicker skin that does not tear as easily as a Greyhound's. They are not as swift as a full blooded Greyhound but possess greater endurance.

Silken Windsprite

A controversial windhound breed in the process of evolution is the Silken Windsprite (also called - over the objections of the American Whippet Club - the Long Haired Whippet). The best of these look rather like whippet sized Borzois with rose ears and the silky full body coat of Borzois with long silky feathering. However they do not yet always breed true to type and a great deal of controversy surrounds their origin. The problems and controversies surrounding these dogs are a good education in the difficulties of creating a new breed, both from the practical point of view of establishing a true breeding lineage as well as the human social interactive problems related to breed recognition.

With the introduction of Lure Coursing in the United States and Canada a number of breeds of what the FCI classifies as Primitive Type Hunting dogs (FCI group 5, section 7) have come to be reguarded as sighthounds. However sight triggered coursing of prey is a primitive basic in dogs and it is my feeling that the FCI is correct in reserving the classification Levrier or Windhund for the breeds of dogs with exaggerated modifications of the body for high speed locomotion.

In any case a more extensive discussion of these will be found in our section on generalized breeds of hunting dogs.

Windhounds are quite similar in body build. They differ physically in coat type and ear type. There are two main ear types, the small folded rose ear typified by the ear of the greyhound and the softer, larger hanging ear typified by the Afghan and Saluki.

Windhound coat types range from the smooth short coat of the Whippet to the leg and tail fringes on a short coat look of the Saluki to the long silky coat of the Borzoi with its even longer leg, tail, neck and chest fringes. Two breeds are wire coated (Irish wolfhound and Scottish Deerhound).

Finally there is the distinctive coat of the Afghan hound with its short guard hairs forming the saddle on the back and long silky undercoat growing on the legs and sides of the body.

As a group adult windhounds are relatively low energy. This is one of the great pluses of windhound ownership. As with all dogs, smaller individuals and smaller breeds tend to be more active than larger indiduals. So whippets are more active than greyhounds and greyhounds more active than Irish Wolfhounds.

However puppies and adolescents are high energy and can come as a shock to someone whose prior windhound owning experience is that of owning an adult. Windhound puppies need access to a safe fenced area where they can run and play several times a day. Adults can get by with two walks a day and an intense high speed running and play session in a safe area a couple of times a week. This tendency to become a couch potato is one of the great benefits of adult windhound ownership for the overage American dog owner and is undoubtably one of the reasons for the great success of the retired racing greyhound as a pet.

In personality the windhounds can be viewed as spanning two extremes: The western European windhound personbality and Oriental windhound personality.

The Western European breeds recognized by the AKC are the Greyhound, Whippet, Irish Wolfhound, Italian Greyhound and Scottish Deerhound. In my experience these all are more typically 'doggy' in their behaviors than the Oriental breeds or breeds such as the Borzoi with a considerable share of Oriental windhound in their makeup.

What do I mean by this? It reflects on ease of obedience training (willingness to 'please' the owner), tendency to stick around if they get loose, attitude with strangers.

The extreme of the Oriental windhound personality is an aloof, almost catlike dog who allows you to provide a comfortable home for him. He may decide that he would like you to pet him now, or he may ignore you when you call. He is generally quiet and undemanding in his needs. He may be frustrating to train to title competitive levels in obedience yet he quiuckly learns the necessary things that a day to day companion needs to know except for this matter of coming when called. Often these dogs are rather suspicious of strangers. In extreme cases they may be quite shy to all but their owners. However the shyness is not a necessary component of the Oriental windhound attitude.

On the other extreme is the Western windhound personality shown by the outgoing greyhound or wolfhound who is happy to see his owner, actually wags his tail, and UNLESS something really interesting to chase is in sight - they usually comes when called! However rememeber the UNLESS gets a lot of them killed by cars.

My own breed, Borzois, are a breed in which different individuals show different mixtures of these traits. Strangely my two Borzoi from Russia are much more 'Western' in their personalities while most of my Borzoi with US and English pedigrees are more 'Oriental'.

Almost all of the great minuses of windhound ownership relate to their predatory behaviors. They have no sense of property lines, they love to chase after things and can become quite adept killers of cats and other small animals unless carefully socialized on potential 'prey', their brains seem unable to recognize a moving car as a threat, and they are difficult to train to ALWAYS come when called.

If you are considering ownership of any of the windhound breeds you really need to accept that these dogs love to run and need a safe place in which to do it. You cannot expect them ever to be reliable off lead if something that triggers their chase response appears. In my 20 years of rearing Borzoi and Greyhounds the single commonest cause of death to dogs I have sold has been being hit by a car. Generally this has happened to dogs I have sold to people who had owned other breeds, especially working and herding dogs, prior to buying a Borzoi who insisted that they could train the dog to be reliable off lead.

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