Sighthounds Mentioned In Sar Newsletter!

[racindog]

The April news letter for the National Search Dog Alliance has an article in it on breeds/types of dogs for Search & Rescue work. They mentioned the Sighthound Group in it. I was very pleased that it was positive and complimentary too! Obviously they know a little something about our hounds! Here is what it says (I added bold/highlight).

 

"..........All of this is to give you and your dog an edge in training because
training and experience will shape how the dog will finally work.
Although no test is that accurate, there are some breeds and types
of dogs who will not play fetch at all. These dogs will be very difficult to train, and their heart may
not be in the work.
As an example, often the sight-hounds do not like to play hide and seek games or fetch games. I
recall a funny incident many years ago. I was teaching an advanced obedience class that consisted
of retrieve exercises. One dog in the class was a Whippet. This dog, as is typical
of Whippets, Italian Greyhounds and the others in the Sighthound group, did not
like to retrieve. Throughout the whole program this dog would not do the exercise
to completion. She would only do parts of it. The owner was quite frustrated with
her. When it came to the final class, where everyone had to go through the
exercises, the Whippet executed a perfect retrieve, she ran out, went to the far
side of the dumbbell, picked it up, brought it back to the owner and sat down with
the dumbbell in her mouth to present to her owner. It was obvious that the dog learned perfectly
what she had to do and simply did not want to do it. Needless to say, we were all open-mouthed
and had a hardy laugh. Sighthounds are very smart, have excellent scenting ability, are athletic, and
come in a variety of sizes and coat types. Contrary to what many people believe, they do hunt using
scent as much as any other dog. However, they typically do not have the personality that makes a
good SAR dog......."

 

Actually there are MANY reasons that our greyhounds have an 'edge' in Competitive Detection/Nosework. They CAN-DO. There is absolutely no reason not to get out and do things with your greyhound. And they generally LOVE it and it is tons of fun for both hound and human to get out and do things

Edited April 16, 2019 by racindog

[krissy]

There are many whippets in our area that participate in Scent Hurdle Racing. It's basically flyball, but instead of a tennis ball there is a box of dumbbells. Each one coordinates to the dog's vest number and is scented by its owner. The dog retrieves it's appropriate dumbbell and the next dog gets to go. I believe a team relay is made up of 4 dogs, same as flyball.

[smurfette]

Some years ago a mantrailer (a dog that follows the scentof a person zo gind him) was awarded as best msnteailer in Germany. It was a borzoi.

[racindog]

Some years ago a mantrailer (a dog that follows the scentof a person zo gind him) was awarded as best msnteailer in Germany. It was a borzoi.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

There are many whippets in our area that participate in Scent Hurdle Racing. It's basically flyball, but instead of a tennis ball there is a box of dumbbells. Each one coordinates to the dog's vest number and is scented by its owner. The dog retrieves it's appropriate dumbbell and the next dog gets to go. I believe a team relay is made up of 4 dogs, same as flyball.

Wow! Very cool! I will keep my eyeballs peeled for this. Sounds like fun!