Borzoi vs Deerhound

[Romy]

Borzoi owners warned me that these dogs can be prone to kill small dogs and farm animals, tend to run too far and for too long and get lost and, because they run so fast, they can hit fences, trees and other objects and break their legs. Even when running on a fresh plaughed filed, they can hurt their legs.

This is true, but with a little work you can find individuals who are able to understand the difference between livestock and game. Strider's sire is used as a livestock guardian for goats, he has killed coyotes that got into the kid pen at night and he hunts jackrabbits, yet understands that the domestic rabbits free grazing in the yard belong to his masters and leaves them alone. He is fine with poultry, even the tiniest baby chicks. His dam couldn't be trusted around any livestock, but she was a good running dog. Strider is like his dad. He thinks goats are his long lost brothers, gets along with horses and cattle. I wouldn't trust him with a bird but cats and small dogs are fine. He won't hurt a rabbit in the house.

We got a pair of skid boots for him because I was tired of skin tears on his ankles, but any sighthound has that problem.

If I take Strider out to run in a huge area (like my aunt's 20 acres pasture, or capital peak where the snow pictures were taken) he stays fairly close and if there is another dog he pretty much packs up with that dog and stays with that one. With our terrain, if he tries to course an animal he either catches it right away, or it gets up a tree before he can get very far away.

I think his most impressive catch was a swallow in an open field.

 

[ufimych]

Well, I have never tried other sighthounds, but the Saluki is a primitive breed, which means hard to train and the hunting is natural. This is what I like. Why to train, if you can enjoy your dog without it? Now, when I have three Saluki, I do not need other sighthounds. They are good vermin killers and chase deer away well enough. I am reading stories how whippets pull their muscles and break leg bone even when they are running on the flat terrain, if it is rainy and the dirt is slippery. Saluki is better running, when weaehr is hot.

 

[Romy]

Hey ufimych? What is a saluki's running style? I know that greyhounds and whippets hit their top speeds in about three strides and tend to just run themselves full bore until they drop. As opposed to a borzoi, which is supposed to pace their quarry at about 28-30 mph until the game gets tired, then they put on a burst of speed with a 35+ mph run-by neck grab. It may be the running style of greys and whippets more than the body that makes them prone to injury.

And Strider is a much better ratter than my parent's neighbor's JRT boston mix.

 

[Pops2]

they're pacers but keep in mind they're pacing at 35-40 (which is actually where the borzoi pace as well, 28-30 is where nonsighthounds pace before sprinting at 35). whippets & greys bred for field don't suffer anymore injury than other sighthound and salukis don't suffer any less. that's propaganda just like most of the baloney you hear about other breeds. the lines prone to injury are pure show whippets (the density of bone is bred out) and hotblood grey for the track because their muscles exert more force than their bones can handle under certain circumstances.
ETA: a shock collar goes a long way to helping a dog figure out what is & is not acceptable game.

Ufimych
you don't train in hunt drive (ALL good hunting dogs have it), what you train is what the dog is & is not allowed to hunt because it may not always be your chickens it's killing. failing to do so is irresponsible and setting your dogs up to be shot by an angry farmer. also by not training and the behavior untrained dogs exhibit you cause problems for other dog hunters by leaving a poor impression w/ the residents where you run. better to treat the dog harshly than to have it shot by the neighbor.

 

[ufimych]

Pups2, you are right, the Saluki is not a superdog, but my Saluki are out of Tazi used for hunting in Kazakhstan, hard hunted dogs. They catch game, hardy to hunt in cold and hot weather, avoid injuries, when running on ragged terrain and have incredible sense of direction, always come back on their own.