Greyhounds and Sighthounds: Are They Really Dogs?

The dog was domesticated approximately 14,000 years ago1 . Due to both natural and human selection, there are now over 400 morphologically distinct breeds; these breeds are included within groups (per the American Kennel Club). The AKC Hound group is composed of over 25 breeds, and includes the sighthounds, dogs that pursue their prey by keeping it in sight. All sighthounds have similar phenotype; they are slender, dolichocephalic, agile, and fast. There are over 15 recognized breeds in this group, including the Afghan Hound, Azawakh, Borzoi, Chart Polski, Galgo Español, Greyhound, Hortaya Borzaya, Irish Wolfhound, Italian Greyhound, Magyar Agar, Saluki, Scottish Deerhound, Sloughi, Whippet, and Rajapalayam. Although one tends to think of sighthounds as “sprinters”, several of the breeds are indeed “endurance” runners (e.g.; Galgo Español).
There are fossil records of sighthounds in Sumer dating back to 7,000-6,000 BC. In other words, this group has evolved quite tightly during several thousand years. Recent genetic work suggests that Greyhounds have unique genomic features that are different from those in other breeds. Anybody who has owned or worked with Greyhound patients knows how different they are from dogs of other breeds. Most sighthounds share similar biological features. […]