Petzlover
Schweenie is originated from United Kingdom but Silken Windhound is originated from United States. Schweenie may grow 10 cm / 3 inches shorter than Silken Windhound. Schweenie may weigh 11 kg / 24 pounds lesser than Silken Windhound. Schweenie may live 3 years less than Silken Windhound. Both Schweenie and Silken Windhound has almost same litter size. Both Schweenie and Silken Windhound requires Low Maintenance.
The Schweenie is a hybrid dog, with the parent breeds being the Shih Tzu and the Dachshund.
The Schweenie dog has been around for about 4 decades when breeders were looking for a dog that would be free of the health issues of the purebred parent breeds.
Because the Schweenie is a mix breed, it doesn’t qualify to be part of the American Kennel Club. He is however recognized by the Designer Breed Registry and some other clubs.
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 Schweenie will be a smallish dog standing at roughly 27cm to 50cm and weighing 4 – 9kg.
Because of the Dachshund parent, he will likely have a long body. The coat is shortish to medium length and can be a variety of colors – from a rusty color to brown, black, grey and even a cream shade. The ears are floppy and the tail medium length.
He is a small dog who is smart and bright and who wants to please his human owners. He loves people and wants to be around them and involved in their activities.
Small and cute though he is, he can be a stubborn dog and become a little big aggressive too if he is feeling a bit moody. He will need to be trained and socialized if you want him to obey your simple commands such as sit, stay, lie down and come.
He is intelligent enough to learn these simple commands with ease.He is both alert and vigilant, and this makes them good watchdogs.
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 Schweenie can be somewhat reserved and they need exercise regularly as well. If they don’t get enough exercise, they tend to become jittery and this can make them become a bit snappy. The are more prone to be snappy and aggressive with children who haven’t been taught how to treat animals gently and with respect.
They’re small enough to adjust to life in the city or countryside but will still need to be exercised.
The little Schweenie, with the right kind of owner can become a great little pet and companion.
1. Children friendliness – they are great with children and would romp with them all day.
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.
With good care, your Schweenie can live to be 12 to 15 years of age. Every dog, no matter how healthy, can get some of the health problems that plague many dogs.
This is where the cushions between each vertebra come into contact with the spinal cord. It can result in nerve damage and sometimes even paralysis. Because the Shih Tzu is one of the parent breeds, you will need to be aware of this ailment as these dogs are more susceptible to this disease.
Hypoglycemia is fairly common in small dogs and it is where there is a drop in blood sugar. It can be brought on by stress. It can also be referred to as low blood sugar and it can be deadly. If your pet is hypoglycemic, you will notice a loss in appetite, extreme lethargy, trembling and unusual behavior. You will need to get your Schweenie to the vet immediately for tests and treatment.
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:
Your Schweenie will need to be brushed at least twice a week to rid him of loose hairs. Because of his floppy ears, you will need to clean them and check for redness. If you don’t like the idea of probing inside the ear, professional groomers or the vet will do it for you.
Trim his nails if they don’t wear down on their own.
Provide him with a nice dry, warm spot to sleep.
Provide him with nice chewy toys that will keep him occupied.
Exercise him every day. Taking him on walks and playing ball games with him will keep him fit and trim but also help with staving off boredom.
Ensure his vaccines against deadly diseases are up to date. See that he gets to the vet when he appears to be under the weather.
He is a small dog so you have to be careful about how you feed him. You need to feed him a nutrient-rich dry kibble. Read the packaging and buy dog food according to his size, age and activity levels.
Try and include some home-made food into your dogs diet. A little bit of boiled chicken, brown rice or pasta, sweet potatoes, carrots and spinach all chopped up will do him good and can be added into the dry kibble twice a week. Some raw meat should also occasionally be added in as this can help to prevent some skin problems. Be sure that cool, fresh water is available for your pet at all times.
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.
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.