Treeing Walker Coonhound vs Silken Windhound - 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 Treeing Walker Coonhound originated in the United States and comes from English and American Foxhounds.

The fact that the dog has the word ‘Treeing’ in its names means that it is a hound dog that runs after its prey, sending it running up a tree to escape until the hunter reaches the tree and can shoot the prey.

The dog was originally classified as an English Coonhound.

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.

The Treeing Walker Coonhound looks very similar to a Beagle, just with much longer legs.

He stands at between 51 and 69cm in height both male and female and it weighs between 23 and 32kg.

The coat is short and glossy being either bi- or tri-colored – white, tan and black. The body and legs are strong and muscular. He has fairly long, floppy ears. The eyes are brown, intelligent and alert while having quite a gentle expression.

The muzzle is long and narrow. He has large, floppy pendant ears. The eyes are large, brown and have a soft and gentle expression. The tail is set high and is long.

Temperament:

This breed may be an excellent sport dog but he loves spending time quietly with his human family too, making a great family pet.

He is gentle and makes a great playmate for disciplined children. He is intelligent and it will do both owner and dog the world of good to have him trained and socialized.

They’re stubborn dogs, so it simply makes him well behaved, balanced and a pleasure to have around. He will learn commands easily and readily. If you want a good family pet, the Treeing Walker Coonhound is even-tempered and non-aggressive.

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.

These dogs are loving, loyal confident, social and intelligent, making good companion dogs.

Whether they're outdoors being full of energy and on a hunt, they always give of their best. When they're at home with their human family, they put work behind them and become gentle, mellow pets, loving to just take it easy with their human family.

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 Treeing Walker Coonhound is looked upon as a healthy dog breed that can be 10 – 13 years of age. Even so, there are diseases that can plague him, and hip dysplasia and ear infections are two that you need to be aware of.

Hip Dysplasia:

This is when the ball and socket joint isn't formed properly so that there is a grinding action of the joint instead of it sliding smoothly. This common skeletal disease is found in young and old dogs, and it seems more prevalent in larger dog breeds.

Your dog will have pain in the hip joints and even loss of muscle mass in the thigh area. You’ll notice that he becomes less active. Your dog will need to get to the vet so that the vet can suggest treatment for pain and to make him more comfortable.

Ear Infection:

As a floppy-eared dog, the Treeing Walker Coonhound will scratch at his ears and shake his head if he has an ear infection. With an ear infection inflammation affects the ear canal and can result in deafness. With his floppy ears moisture within the ear can attract bacteria and yeast.

Your pet will need to get to the vet because an ear infection is a painful condition.

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.

● A healthy diet with vitamins and minerals as well as essential fatty acids is imperative. To get this in a commercially manufactured dog food, you will need to buy the best, high-quality ones. Some of the inferior brands have all kinds of bad stuff in them such as colorants preservatives and fillers.

Try and give him some homemade food such as boiled chicken, brown rice and vegetables. Dogs want simplicity in their foods. They can't stomach highly spiced, salted and exotic foods. Plain, wholesome foods keep him healthy and happy.

● It is recommended that you have your dog spayed or neutered. Not only will you prevent an unwanted litter, having them spayed or neutered prevents serious diseases later on. Also, have

your Treeing Walker Coonhound immunized to prevent some of the deadly canine diseases there are.

●These dogs are active, sporty dogs known for their stamina. To keep them lean, athletic and fit, they will require lots of exercise. They love a walk but will require more than a regular walk. Hikes are more what they have in mind. They never tire of hectic ball games, hide and seek and swimming. Because they are active, alert and intelligent dogs, they will need mental stimulation too.

● Your Treeing Walker Coonhound isn't a high maintenance dog because their short coat is easy to keep groomed just by giving him a good brush once or twice a week.

Make the grooming session a time to check him over for ticks and fleas and any unusual lumps on his body. It's a time to look at his eyes to make sure they're clear and bright without any discharge. Check inside his ears for redness and infection.

Trim his nails too. Remember he can't tell you about his teeth, so try and look inside his mouth to see that all is well. A good sign of bad teeth is bad breath. There are professional groomers who are willing to do all these grooming chores for you.