A painting of three greyhounds and a king charles spaniel. Hi Pepper if you see this I apologize but I'm only going to do alt text on the photos in the main pages but not in the memes or gallery pages. Just not enough time!

All About Sighthounds

By Courtney Heidenreich

Turns out the list of sighthound breeds officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) is way longer than I thought before I started this project. As such, I’m only featuring the more prominent breeds on this page. Honorable mention to the Irish Deerhound, the absolute giants. They often rival Great Danes for the title of Biggest Dog in the World. I didn’t know they were classified as sighthounds before this project.

Afghan Hound

an Afghan hound standing on a forest trail

Beautiful dogs, just gorgeous. I love their little rat tails. I love their teen-puppy stage where they look like really long Muppets (pictures included in Gallery).

Azawakh

an azawakh standing in a field

I didn’t know much about this breed before making this site. I like how far apart their eyes look when you face them head on. The official AKC website says they originated in West Africa. Neat!

Borzoi

a borzoi mid-run

LOOOOOVE a borzoi. The Epitome of a Sighthound, in my opinion.. They’re so goddamned big and when they lie down their limbs splay out everywhere and you think, “How is this a functioning animal?” and then you see them run and it’s like “OOOooh.”

Greyhound

a greyhound standing in front of leaves

The most well-known breed of sighthound, popularized by dog racing. Is dog-racing unethical? I’m not sure…it sounds like something that could get fucked up pretty quickly but also there’s plenty of greyhounds that race for a couple years and then retire to happy pet homes. Anyway greyhounds are great. I’m lumping both the standard (large) and the Italian (small) breeds together.

Saluki

a lightly prancing saluki

My favorite of the sighthounds and one I could actually realistically own eventually, maybe, if I had $5,000 dollars to afford an ethically bred puppy. I love their little pigtail ears and tufts of fur around their feet.

Whippet

a whippet running on the beach

What are the differences between a medium-size Italian Greyhound? No idea. But I trust the AKC when they say they’re two different breeds.