Silken Windhound vs Cretan Hound - Breed Comparison

Silken Windhound vs Cretan Hound - Breed ComparisonCretan Hound is originated from Greece but Silken Windhound is originated from United States. Cretan Hound may grow 8 cm / 4 inches higher than Silken Windhound. Cretan Hound may weigh 10 kg / 23 pounds more than Silken Windhound. Cretan Hound may live 4 years less than Silken Windhound. Cretan Hound may have more litter size than Silken Windhound. Cretan Hound requires Moderate Maintenance. But Silken Windhound requires Low Maintenance

Basic Information

Group:
Hound dog
Hound dog
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Greece
United States
Height Male:
60 - 68 cm
23 - 27 inches
47 - 60 cm
18 - 24 inches
Height Female:
60 - 68 cm
23 - 27 inches
44 - 55 cm
17 - 22 inches
Weight Male:
20 - 30 kg
44 - 67 pounds
10 - 20 kg
22 - 45 pounds
Weight Female:
20 - 30 kg
44 - 67 pounds
7 - 17 kg
15 - 38 pounds
Life Span:
12 - 14 Years
15 - 18 Years
Litter Size:
3 - 7
1 - 4
Size:
Medium
Medium
Other Names:
Kritikos Lagonikos, Kressa Kyon, Ntopio
Silkens
Colors Available:
grey, Fawn, sandy, tri-colored , white, black or brindle
tuxedo marked or solid colored , white to black with brilliant brindles and solid red, in between. They can be spotted
Coat:
Short and smooth
silky coats of middling length longish to very long, with feathers. Some are straight, some are very curly
Shedding:
Moderate
Minimal
Temperament:
Affectionate, Alert, Cheerful, Courageous, Curious, Docile, Energetic, Friendly, Gentle, Independent, Intelligent, Lively, Loving, Loyal, Outgoing, Playful, Quiet, Responsive, Social
Affectionate, Gentle, Intelligent, Outgoing, Playful, Stubborn
Grooming:
Moderate Maintenance
Low Maintenance
Trainability:
Easy
Moderate
Hypoallergenic:
No
No
Kids Friendly:
Yes
Yes
New Owners Friendly:
Yes
Yes

History

cretan houndAlthough the Cretan Hound or the Kritikos Lagonikos is recognized in both Greece and Germany, the hunting dog breed is from the island of Crete, Greece. The dog’s history goes back thousands of years. It is an ancient breed and some believe it is one of the oldest hunting breeds in Europe.

The Cretan Hound has been bred as a working dog, combining sight and scent to track down their prey. Today it is still a rare dog breed that you won’t easily find outside of Crete.

Greece kennels recognize this dog as well as some European kennels, but it isn’t recognized by the American Kennel Club.

silken windhoundThe 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.

Description

cretan hound puppy - descriptionKnown for its extraordinary scent abilities as well as its speed, this dog has always been used as a hare hunter because of these skills.

It’s a slender dog of medium to large size and stands at about 60-68cm in height and weighs between 20 – 30kg. It is lean, strong, muscular and swift with a body that is inclined to be longer than tall.

He is slightly heavier than other scenthounds and his ribs aren’t seen. The head is wedge-shaped and the ears drop down, are folded back or can be semi-erect. The eyes are dark and the tail is long and curves upwards with longer hair being found on the tail.

The coat is short and smooth, and coat colors of the dog are varied and can be fawn, sandy, grey, white, black or brindle, and it can be tri-colored too.

Temperament:

The Cretan Hound is alert to sight, sound and scent and when it senses prey, the tail moves in a circular way and the dog becomes rigid for a while before he is off on the hunt.

He is a gentle, intelligent dog, reserved around strangers but making an excellent family pet as he gets on well with all his human family members as well as pets in the house. With good training and socialization, the dog becomes more relaxed around strangers.

He isn’t an aggressive dog, and while he is alert to sounds and smells, he doesn’t make a particularly good watchdog.

silken windhound puppy - descriptionThe 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.

Characteristics

cretan hound dog - characteristicsThe Cretan Hound is an energetic, curious dog, but when it comes to being a family pet, he is affectionate and gentle.

He is a reserved dog around strangers. He likes to be busy and will love his walks and games with his human family members. He is smart so is readily trained and he likes to be obedient and to please.

The Cretan Hound will live in harmony with other dogs in the home and they’re also patient and good around disciplined children who have learned to respect animals.

Provide your Cretan Hound with his fair share of love and attention and he will go out of his way to be a loyal and loving family friend.

Characteristics

silken windhound dog - characteristics1. 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.

Health Problems

cretan hound puppies - health problemsThe Cretan Hound is a healthy, robust dog breed, but even so, he can suffer from some common health problems that other dogs are also susceptible to. Some of these are hip dysplasia , cancer, ear infections, bloat and cherry eye.

Remember that if you don’t want your dog to have puppies, they can actually benefit health-wise from being spayed or neutered. Doing this for your pet can prevent a number of health issues later on down the line.

Make sure too, that your puppy receives his vaccinations in a timely fashion so as to avoid terrible, life threatening illnesses such as parvo and rabies.

silken windhound puppies - health problemsMost 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

Caring The Pet

cretan hound dogs - caringYou’re certainly not going to have to do too much grooming with the Cretan Hound as he is a low maintenance breed.

The dog is a short haired breed and an average shedder, so a good brush twice a week will keep the coat free of loose hairs and maintain the condition of the hair.

As with all dogs, the nails as well as the ears must be checked and attended to. The veterinarian can advise you on how to keep his ears clean and free of infection, as prodding around without knowing can damage his ears.

Exercise:

This Cretan Hound has high activity needs. He is energetic and also hard-working, and you’ll need to be taking him on long walks and providing him with some highly energetic playing sessions. Throw ball for him and take him with you when you go jogging or cycling.

silken windhound dogs - caring1.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.

Comparison with other breeds

  1. Silken Windhound vs English Bulldog - Breed Comparison
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  3. Silken Windhound vs Golden Retriever - Breed Comparison
  4. Silken Windhound vs Labrador Retriever - Breed Comparison
  5. Silken Windhound vs West Highland White Terrier - Breed Comparison
  6. Silken Windhound vs French Bulldog - Breed Comparison
  7. Silken Windhound vs Beagle - Breed Comparison
  8. Silken Windhound vs Yorkshire Terrier - Breed Comparison
  9. Silken Windhound vs Poodle - Breed Comparison
  10. Silken Windhound vs Rottweiler - Breed Comparison
  11. Silken Windhound vs Boxer - Breed Comparison
  12. Silken Windhound vs English Pointer - Breed Comparison
  13. Silken Windhound vs Siberian Husky - Breed Comparison
  14. Silken Windhound vs Doberman Pinscher - Breed Comparison
  15. Silken Windhound vs American Bully - Breed Comparison
  16. Silken Windhound vs Abruzzenhund - Breed Comparison
  17. Silken Windhound vs Affenpinscher - Breed Comparison
  18. Silken Windhound vs Afghan Hound - Breed Comparison
  19. Silken Windhound vs Aidi - Breed Comparison
  20. Silken Windhound vs Airedale Terrier - Breed Comparison
  21. Silken Windhound vs Akbash Dog - Breed Comparison
  22. Silken Windhound vs Akita - Breed Comparison
  23. Silken Windhound vs Africanis - Breed Comparison
  24. Silken Windhound vs Askal - Breed Comparison
  25. Silken Windhound vs Atlas Terrier - Breed Comparison
  26. Cretan Hound vs English Bulldog - Breed Comparison
  27. Cretan Hound vs German Shepherd - Breed Comparison
  28. Cretan Hound vs Golden Retriever - Breed Comparison
  29. Cretan Hound vs Labrador Retriever - Breed Comparison
  30. Cretan Hound vs West Highland White Terrier - Breed Comparison
  31. Cretan Hound vs French Bulldog - Breed Comparison
  32. Cretan Hound vs Beagle - Breed Comparison
  33. Cretan Hound vs Yorkshire Terrier - Breed Comparison
  34. Cretan Hound vs Poodle - Breed Comparison
  35. Cretan Hound vs Rottweiler - Breed Comparison
  36. Cretan Hound vs Boxer - Breed Comparison
  37. Cretan Hound vs English Pointer - Breed Comparison
  38. Cretan Hound vs Siberian Husky - Breed Comparison
  39. Cretan Hound vs Doberman Pinscher - Breed Comparison
  40. Cretan Hound vs American Bully - Breed Comparison
  41. Cretan Hound vs Abruzzenhund - Breed Comparison
  42. Cretan Hound vs Affenpinscher - Breed Comparison
  43. Cretan Hound vs Afghan Hound - Breed Comparison
  44. Cretan Hound vs Aidi - Breed Comparison
  45. Cretan Hound vs Airedale Terrier - Breed Comparison
  46. Cretan Hound vs Akbash Dog - Breed Comparison
  47. Cretan Hound vs Akita - Breed Comparison
  48. Cretan Hound vs Africanis - Breed Comparison
  49. Cretan Hound vs Askal - Breed Comparison
  50. Cretan Hound vs Atlas Terrier - Breed Comparison