# My Silken Windhound Zephyr



## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

Hello! I'm relatively new here, but I haven't taken the opportunity to show off my little man yet! So without further delay, here is Zephyr!


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

He's very pretty! I know very little about Silken Windhounds, but I'm quite fond of them. As far as new breeds go, the community seems to be incredibly level headed, realistic, and _nice!_


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## Mizuno (Jun 9, 2010)

Beautiful boy! I might be a little biased towards hounds, buuut, he is still so pretty!

Do you course with him? (I think ASFA is the major club that lets them run?)


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

RaeganW said:


> He's very pretty! I know very little about Silken Windhounds, but I'm quite fond of them. As far as new breeds go, the community seems to be incredibly level headed, realistic, and _nice!_


Thank you! Yes, I think the breed's founder and the International Silken Windhound Society are going about everything right in getting this breed established. Silkens are being recognized by more and more sports venues and kennel clubs (they just gained UKC recognition earlier this year).



Mizuno said:


> Beautiful boy! I might be a little biased towards hounds, buuut, he is still so pretty!
> 
> Do you course with him? (I think ASFA is the major club that lets them run?)


Thank you! I have a definite hound bias too.  I have only taken him to one coursing event so far (unfortunately my local sighthound club only sponsors one or two a year). Since it was his first time, he just did a practice run, but he did a really good job. There is a very terrible-quality video of part of his run here. St. Louis Area Sighthounds will be hosting another ASFA event in November, so I will definitely take him to do a Singles Stakes race and perhaps do a certification run.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Very very pretty or should I say handsome man you have there!


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## Allyfally (Mar 4, 2011)

He is stunning!


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## BrittanieJo (Sep 23, 2010)

I have NEVER heard of this breed but he's very handsome. Love seeing new breeds (to me at least!) on here.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

I love sight hounds! He is very handsome...I better not let my Roxxy see him or she may ask me to come steal him! Going to google the breed now...

Ok, it's official...I WANT ONE! Zeph reminds me of a saluki mix that I had. She was a bit aloof and didn't cuddle but always wanted to be near me, and she was so fun to watch. She would play "leap dog" with my other mix...


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> I love sight hounds! He is very handsome...I better not let my Roxxy see him or she may ask me to come steal him! Going to google the breed now...
> 
> Ok, it's official...I WANT ONE! Zeph reminds me of a saluki mix that I had. She was a bit aloof and didn't cuddle but always wanted to be near me, and she was so fun to watch. She would play "leap dog" with my other mix...


He is really an amazing dog. He is my first sighthound, so I was a little nervous since they seem so different from most dogs temperamentally. He definitely loves to be close by too; he's not the biggest cuddler but I wouldn't characterize him as aloof. I was afraid he would be because so many sighthounds are, but silkens tend to be a bit more people-oriented, more like greyhounds and whippets than salukis and Afghans. He _is _very timid around strangers, especially children, but he's really sweet and friendly once he gets to know a person. And he's a total clown! I see sighthounds and think they look so dignified and regal, but he's really a total goofball.


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## Polywoggy (Mar 7, 2011)

New breed to me too. Beautiful. I love a dog with feathering. I find the colouring of your Zephyr to be especially appealing.


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

Polywoggy said:


> New breed to me too. Beautiful. I love a dog with feathering. I find the colouring of your Zephyr to be especially appealing.


Thanks! He's actually one of the least furry silkens I've seen, though he just turned two, so his coat could still coming in. Some have feathering, but many have a longer coat more like a borzoi's. His color was totally different when he was a puppy--he was mostly gray--the breeder told me he would brindle, but other than that, I had no idea what his color would end up looking like!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

He's gorgeous. Do you have any puppy pictures? It would be neat to see how his color changed!


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

Crantastic said:


> He's gorgeous. Do you have any puppy pictures? It would be neat to see how his color changed!


His breeder is a photographer so she takes much better pictures than I do! Here are the puppy pics she took of him when he was seven weeks old (he is "Tumnus").

http://wildflowerwindhounds.com/narnia_week7.html


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Those are wonderful -- I love it when breeders are good photographers. So many breeders' sites still look like they were made with a webpage builder and a 2-megapixel camera back in the late '90s, haha. He was an adorable puppy, and it is cool to see how his color changed. I love the light brindle he is now.

His siblings are beautiful, too.


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## Mizuno (Jun 9, 2010)

Porphyria said:


> Thank you! I have a definite hound bias too.  I have only taken him to one coursing event so far (unfortunately my local sighthound club only sponsors one or two a year). Since it was his first time, he just did a practice run, but he did a really good job. There is a very terrible-quality video of part of his run here. St. Louis Area Sighthounds will be hosting another ASFA event in November, so I will definitely take him to do a Singles Stakes race and perhaps do a certification run.


Fun! There's nothing better than a running hound  while not ASFA (because the closest usual ASFA trials to here are TX and KS) you could always let him do fun runs at AKC trials. I know it isn't as fun as getting points, but it would let him run. 

He was a gorgous puppy and looks so alert, so interesting that the grey/fawn turned in to all that brindle!


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

I have been curiously following this lovely breed for a couple of years now. My family, me particularly, was interested in a whippet or a greyhound before we ended up with Gypsy (she found us). In many ways, a whippet would be the perfect dog for me. Aesthetically I'm "meh" on most whippets, though. The Silken Windhound not only seems to have the more-personable type sighthound character that I like, it is also exactly the appearance I love in a dog. Definitely my next dog. Your Zephyr is GORGEOUS! 

I'm wondering, how active is your boy? What kind of exercise does he need?


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

Such a stunning handsome dog! I know it's been said but I am going to say it again!


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

Kirsten&Gypsy said:


> I have been curiously following this lovely breed for a couple of years now. My family, me particularly, was interested in a whippet or a greyhound before we ended up with Gypsy (she found us). In many ways, a whippet would be the perfect dog for me. Aesthetically I'm "meh" on most whippets, though. The Silken Windhound not only seems to have the more-personable type sighthound character that I like, it is also exactly the appearance I love in a dog. Definitely my next dog. Your Zephyr is GORGEOUS!
> 
> I'm wondering, how active is your boy? What kind of exercise does he need?


I was definitely drawn in by the appearance of the silken, but when I read about the temperament I was definitely sold! They are wonderful dogs!

He loves to play (I think he's a bit more rambunctious and playful than most silkens tend to be), but he sure loves to sleep too! He likes to have a couple wrestling matches with my mom's collie every day, and he also likes to run around the yard at very high speeds for very short periods of time once or twice a day. The fenced portion of the yard is really small but it's no problem for him, he just runs back and forth across it. Sometimes he runs with the collie, sometimes I play with him, and sometimes he just starts running all by himself, which is really funny to see! I admit it's bad, but I'm a slacker when it comes to walks. I like to take him ocassionally, but I don't do it nearly as often as I probably should. He does like to scope out the neighborhood but I really think as far as exercise goes, he prefers running to walks anyway. He has ocassional short bursts of energy, but for the most part he is a very calm, low-key dog. He usually goes to bed around 8 PM (earlier in the winter), and once he's out for the night nothing will wake him up! He's perfect for me because I don't have the time/energy to keep up with a really high energy dog, but I also want a dog I can play and have fun with.


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## igmomma (Jul 24, 2011)

What a beautiful boy, I adore the Silkens, I almost got one before I got into Afghan Hounds, but decided I wanted to stick with something I could compete with in AKC events - They sure are wonderful dogs, though!


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Igmomma...I love your Iggies! The DP I go to has a bunch that go there and I have come to love the little rascals. I don't think I would own one because they are so fragile! I think a Whippet would suit me nicely...except for the energy level. OMG, there is one who comes up there and she never stops.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

Here is a (bad) picture of my (what we think is) Saluki/Poodle mix. I had to shave her during the summer because she would get so hot; in the winter, everything stuck to her like velcro.










She was about 13 in this picture (and Mort was just a baby) and she HATED the cat.


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## igmomma (Jul 24, 2011)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> Igmomma...I love your Iggies! The DP I go to has a bunch that go there and I have come to love the little rascals. I don't think I would own one because they are so fragile! I think a Whippet would suit me nicely...except for the energy level. OMG, there is one who comes up there and she never stops.
> 
> Sorry to hijack the thread!
> 
> ...


She's darling!!!

Most IGs are not as fragile as they look! And the more you do with them, the less fragile they are. In 6 years of very active IG rescue, I've only ever had 4 dogs that have broken a leg (not counting dogs that were surrendered with broken bones), and 3 of the 4 where mill rescues, the 4th is my little Sara, but she's just plain crazy, and very petite compared to my others. I've placed nearly 200 of them now. With my own kids, I do lure coursing, agility, fly ball, rally, obedience, confirmation - You name it! Keeping them active and keeping them on a great diet helps, but they're generally pretty tough little dogs if you keep them in good condition. Most people that have them just don't keep them exercised enough to have the bone and muscle tone needed to make them less injury prone - That said, leg fractures are a concern always with this breed! I think I'm lucky I've had so few to deal with!!!

I use to own a whippet, and while I like whippets, they are higher energy then IGs, and tend to be very high prey drive. After my whippet went after one of my IGs and had her by the jugular in SECONDS (thank heavens I was right there - But it's still amazing she didn't kill her!), I decided to rehome her where there wasn't small dogs or cats around! I also had an IG/whippet mix I adored, sadly my mom was house sitting for me, let the dogs out and didn't watch them like I'd warned her to do, and somehow Heather was either taken out of the yard or escaped (I'm still VERY suspicious she was stolen - If she'd found a way to escape, I know at least 2 of my IGs would almost certainly have followed her!), and despite months of endless searching, flyers, ads, etc, I finally had to accept I wasn't going to see Heather again - I love whippets, but they're just to high energy and prey drive, even my mix was alot more intense then my purebred IGs.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

You can send Sarah Jane to me right now...


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## igmomma (Jul 24, 2011)

Some days I'd be SO tempted ROFL I love little Sara, but she sure can be a handful HAHAHA, Aiyana has alot of health problems and sometimes just isn't in the mood for puppy nonsense, Sara never gets the message! Good thing Aiyana is to sweet to follow up on her growls and grumbles about the pesky puppy! But she's sure a sweet girl, I waited a long time for little Sara, I knew just what I wanted - And she's it, but I guess that goes to show you should be careful what you ask for ROFL


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## IWlover (Sep 4, 2009)

What a pretty dog and what a pretty breed 

Did a little online research on the development of the breed. They sound like really neat dogs!


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Zephyr is beautiful! I love Silkens. They're a breed I'd really like to own someday. There is someone at my local dog park with two Silken Windhounds and they're both so incredibly sweet!


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## Intrepid (Aug 6, 2011)

Porphyria said:


> I was definitely drawn in by the appearance of the silken, but when I read about the temperament I was definitely sold! They are wonderful dogs!
> 
> He loves to play (I think he's a bit more rambunctious and playful than most silkens tend to be), but he sure loves to sleep too! He likes to have a couple wrestling matches with my mom's collie every day, and he also likes to run around the yard at very high speeds for very short periods of time once or twice a day. The fenced portion of the yard is really small but it's no problem for him, he just runs back and forth across it. Sometimes he runs with the collie, sometimes I play with him, and sometimes he just starts running all by himself, which is really funny to see! I admit it's bad, but I'm a slacker when it comes to walks. I like to take him ocassionally, but I don't do it nearly as often as I probably should. He does like to scope out the neighborhood but I really think as far as exercise goes, he prefers running to walks anyway. He has ocassional short bursts of energy, but for the most part he is a very calm, low-key dog. He usually goes to bed around 8 PM (earlier in the winter), and once he's out for the night nothing will wake him up! He's perfect for me because I don't have the time/energy to keep up with a really high energy dog, but I also want a dog I can play and have fun with.


You have certainly described my dog as well! I too have a SWH pup named Zephyr that I acquired about 6 days ago . I think he is definitely more rambunctious than other silkens tend to be. He's still getting used to play with our housemates heeler mix but loves children and adults and always wants to go chase them to play. He likes to bust out running and does not enjoy walks the greatest but that's because I take him early in the morning before he has a chance to eat. Otherwise he has a blast shooting through the grass and experiencing all the sights and sounds. I took him up to the mountains for the first time today and he did a lot of climbing! Quite surprising considering I have the hardest time convincing him he's surely capable of jumping in and out of the car. I see you got your dog from Crystal. I must say that her Willow & Apple are probably my 2 favorite and because of them may be the reason I love the red brindle so much. Your Zephyr is absolutely gorgeous btw! Message me sometime if you would like, I am always looking to connect with Silken owners. 

Ciao!


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## TravelingKoolie (Jan 4, 2011)

He is absolutely stunning. I adore sighthounds and I love fringe so I'm drooling over here. Gorgeous dog



Porphyria said:


> His breeder is a photographer so she takes much better pictures than I do!


You are SO lucky on that front. My breeder is a rancher in his 70s, getting him to take pictures of the puppies is like pulling teeth


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

oh my gosh, Zephyr is so stunning and the puppy pics....how could you stand the cuteness?!


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> oh my gosh, Zephyr is so stunning and the puppy pics....how could you stand the cuteness?!


Thank you! I know Silken puppies are adorable!


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## Lotus (Jul 31, 2011)

This is also my first time hearing of this breed. Your boy is gorgeous! How much does he weigh?


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## Porphyria (Jul 18, 2011)

He is 22 in. tall and weighs 35 lbs.


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