I cannot imagine committing to buy a puppy without seeing the animal and if possible the sire and dam. OTOH, a rescue (or adoption of an older dog) is a different thing. My last two Basenjis came to me sight unseen, and turned out to be wonderful dogs, but the breeders I got them from wanted to place their dogs in an experienced Basenji home, and I only paid the cost of getting the dogs to me. One came by air, one was personally transported to me by his breeder. If she hadn't been happy with what she found I expect she would have taken him back with her when she left. I also had to commit to return him if ever I couldn't keep him. Good breeders care about where their dogs end up.
Some *real* sighthounds
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Beautiful dogs, but i do hate to see ribs so prominent on any breed….
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What an awesome gallery! I like all the "variations" too (A Puli is a sighthound?? Oh wait… =]). Where were these taken? You have such a wonderful variety of dogs.
I've yet to meet an Azawakh. But I am always excited to run into the one Sloughi that I know. Meeting him was what made me learn that there are different kinds of "skinny" when you're talking about sighthounds. But I think I need to see more pictures and meet more dogs to understand overall structure and weight, so thank you for sharing these.
I also really like the wire-haired Galgo. That hair length is perfect, not too "unkempt" in my opinion, though I suppose grooming has something to do with it.
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What - no Saluki - my favourite.
(other than basenjis of course…)All kidding aside, I love the Azawakh head shots - beautiful.
No.. sorry.. I skipped the Salukis and Afghan hounds… and walked straight towards the ring with the dogs you don't see that often on common shows
@Curlytails: this was at a speciality for a specific part of the sighthounds: Afghan hounds, Salukis, Podengos, Ibizan hounds, Pharaoh hounds, Galgo espanols.. the 'not so common' ones
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I have a hippie cousin with the same hair-do as the Puli! :p
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Lovely pics! I love sloughi's. And Pulik (had one years ago, really fun dogs, but they bring a lot of dirt in the house…)
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Love these pics…but no podengos? :(..no, just kidding :D...I have enough here at home..
There is a Puli breeder in the next neighborhood over from us, and I simply love those mops....don't want one..but they are cool... -
Seems the ones dogs ribs are showing a bit too much??
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Great photos! Thank you for sharing them. Is that fluffy puppy a powderpuff Chinese Crested?
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Some of those dogs showed ribs alright - too much it seems to me, just my opinion. There are four retired greyhounds who go to one of our dog parks, none show that much rib, and they are all really healthy looking.
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@Shaye's:
Some of those dogs showed ribs alright - too much it seems to me, just my opinion.
I feel the same way. Ribs showing with some of the breeds is one thing, but on some pics you can see the spine and hip bones pointing out. That's a bit to much.
But you often see that at dog shows. Not only with sighthounds. The last few times I went to a dog show, most of the staffords, dogo argentino's… also had that. Have been talking to some, and they do it just because some of the judges like it that way. They starve their dog a bit for a week or 2 to get that look for the show, and then start feeding them normal portions again after the show.
Not something I would do, but according to them, it's the only way to win a show... -
Perhaps it's in the breed standards (I don't know as I haven't looked them up), but I really don't like seeing a dog that is so thin that his/her ribs, spine, and hip bones show…reminds me of the models/movie stars with anorexia and/or bulimia.
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I feel the same way. Ribs showing with some of the breeds is one thing, but on some pics you can see the spine and hip bones pointing out. That's a bit to much.
But you often see that at dog shows. Not only with sighthounds. The last few times I went to a dog show, most of the staffords, dogo argentino's… also had that. Have been talking to some, and they do it just because some of the judges like it that way. They starve their dog a bit for a week or 2 to get that look for the show, and then start feeding them normal portions again after the show.
Not something I would do, but according to them, it's the only way to win a show...Voodoo, I agree with you regarding the hip bones showing. That just doesn't look healthy to me.
Also, regarding 'starving' the dogs for a couple of weeks to get that look, I think that is unhealthy. When you starve a dog, I would think more complex internal changes happen other than just the look. -
Unless an animal is working extremely hard, I don't think they should be "ribby". And I certainly don't like to see hipbones prominent! I used to walk a Greyhound for a disabled woman. This dog was athletic, but not thin. Her ribs could be felt and certainly seen when she exerted herself, but were not obvious otherwise, and certainly no protruding hipbones! If an animal is running from sunrise to sunset, it may be in extremely fit condition, but then the muscling will be more pronounced and normally the hip bones will not be prominent, to say nothing of protruding vertebrae! It is well known that race horses that are down in weight seldom win races! There is a reason for that. IMHO, show dogs can only be kept this thin by underfeeding them.
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Don't forget that a Greyhound is a very different breed than the Azawakh or Sloughi. A greyhound is a sprinter, with more 'bulky' muscles, just like a Whippet. They won't show their hipbones as fast and prominent as a long distance runner, like the Azawakh or Sloughi, that have very flat muscles.
And I rather see a bit too much rib than dogs with too much fat. Certainly because an owner quickly thinks his/her dog is skinny.. when it isn't.. Lots of owners totally miss the fact that their dog can loose some pounds :S
Here a couple of Azawakhs that we met at the European Lure Coursing Championship
They show ribs as well, but in my opinion, they are not too skinny. And I don't think their owner will starve them to make them look like this.. because it wouldn't help with LC
I showed some pics of Tillo in the other thread, and a lot of Basenji people I meet think Tillo is too skinny when he looks like that.. I can't understand it :S
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Isn't the reason the likes of the Sloughi and Azawakh are so thin, something to do with the way they store (or not store) fat?? I have a friend who breeds Salukis and I'm sure she told me this.
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Here a couple of Azawakhs that we met at the European Lure Coursing Championship
They show ribs as well, but in my opinion, they are not too skinny. And I don't think their owner will starve them to make them look like this.. because it wouldn't help with LC
These look far better then the ones in your first post. These have muscles, the previous ones don't. They need to look skinny, that's the way they are, but there is a big difference in skinny and skinny. Here you also see hip-bones, but not pointing out as much as in the other pics. Same for the spine.
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That's also because these one are standing still.. I know that the first Azawakh male in my first post is also a courser.. And he sure has nice musculature..
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It's allways hard to tell from a few pics. But I usually see a big difference in dogs used for shows only, and dogs used for coursing (or other sports). Skinny isn't bad, if the dog has enough muscles to 'strenghten' his body. But if they don't have that, it isn't healthy for them and not nice to look at for me. Then I rather see pure show dogs a bit to fat, then as thin as some judges want them to be. Fat isn't healthy, but neither is to skinny.
Now, I don't know that many Sloughi's and Azawakhs. Those are pretty rare over here, even at coursing events. But guess you know Marein also Janneke? She has some Azawakhs and some Sloughi's (next to a lot of other sighthounds, mostly Afghans). Her dogs look good to me. Not to fat, but also not to skinny. Have to see if I can find some pics of them.
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With Sloughis and Azawakhs there isn't that much of a difference between coursing and showing.. lot's of them are used for the same thing. And the ones that are 'only' being showed aren't kennel dogs that never see the outdoors. The dark red male in my first post is the same male as this one:
This for me is too thin:
Could also be the pic of course.. but it doesn't look ok from this point of view.
In september we will be going to a large Azawakh meeting in Germany. 100+ Azawakhs! I'll make sure to take pictures.. I can't wait to see differences in type and weight.. Would also really like to see pics of Marein's dogs. I do not know her.
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Great photos! Thank you for sharing them. Is that fluffy puppy a powderpuff Chinese Crested?
Yes it is! Such a cutie!!
