Pure Dog Talk

503 – Examining the History of Sighthounds with Bo Bengtson


Listen Later

Examining the History of Sighthounds with Bo Bengtson
Bo Bengtson, author, publisher and Whippet breeder, attended his first dog show in 1958 in his native Sweden. He joins host Laura Reeves for a deep dive into the intricacies of sighthounds.
“It was, right away, like lightning struck,” Bengtson said. “I was 14 years old and I just knew right away that this was what I wanted to devote my life to. It was really fascinating. It was, as someone once said, a combination of zoo and circus and theater …
A passion for sighthounds
“You have to know a little bit about coursing if you're involved in sighthounds. They have remained the same for thousands of years, the basic type. They weren't breeds early on but different types of sighthounds. if you look at the early description of coursing which is the pursuit of game with sighthounds … that is a sport that's now these days illegal in most of US… It's been superseded by lure coursing, which is an artificial form of coursing.
[caption id="attachment_8665" align="alignleft" width="372"] "Hunters Homeward Bound," 10th Century AD. Courtesy of Bo Bengston.[/caption]
“(Sighthounds developed) before firearms basically, when the only way you had to hunt was through the dogs and whatever they could course and kill was basically today's dinner. Firearms made sighthounds very much superfluous. And I think the sport then became very much a status symbol. (Sighthounds) are of course aesthetically pleasing and so many rich people and aristocratic people preferred to hunt with sighthounds, not because of need but because it was a beautiful spectacle and pretty expensive spectacle too. In various parts of the world, Queen Elizabeth I was very fond of coursing. In Russia they coursed with Borzoi. And in the Far East there were Salukis.
What IS a Sighthound?
“There is no official definition of what a sighthound is. So there is a great disagreement about what breeds actually count as sighthounds. You can count as few as four or five as pure sighthounds and as many as 40 as “sighthound related” or different types of breeds we don’t know in this country. Some we wouldn’t define as breeds but more as types.
(Listen to fascinating conversations about the Caravan Hounds of India here and here.)
History of sighthound development
“I think we have to go back again a couple of thousand years because there have probably always been different sizes of greyhounds. Greyhound types. The big ones which were the ancestor of the modern greyhound. And we have the different, smaller ones that were ancestors of whippet and the Italian greyhounds. I think that Whippets, although they weren't  described as a breed until late 1800s, they have certainly been around much longer. Catherine the Great of Russia had little English greyhounds she called them. And they were very important to her. She nursed them herself and they slept on a pink couch in her bedroom. But whether they’re Italian greyhounds, whether they were whippet, who knows. I mean they were very small and whether Italian greyhounds or whippets, it is kind of irrelevant these days.
“The Greyhound and the Saluki are sort of the “ur” sighthound, what sighthounds are supposed to be like. … if you take one step away from Saluki you get the Afghan Hound, which is a little more powerful. If you take several steps away from the Greyhound, you get the Ibizan Hound and you get the Portuguese Podengo and that kind of thing.”
Listen to the full episode for more detailed insights into all things sighthound.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Pure Dog TalkBy Laura Reeves

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

341 ratings


More shows like Pure Dog Talk

View all
This Is Actually Happening by Wondery

This Is Actually Happening

10,450 Listeners

Cog-Dog Radio by Sarah Stremming, The Cognitive Canine

Cog-Dog Radio

314 Listeners

Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast by Melissa Breau

Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast

231 Listeners

The Canine Paradigm by Glenn Cooke & Pat Stuart

The Canine Paradigm

369 Listeners

Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes

25,320 Listeners

So Supernatural by audiochuck | Crime House

So Supernatural

22,840 Listeners

The Functional Breeding Podcast by The Functional Dog Collaborative

The Functional Breeding Podcast

71 Listeners

Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett by Susan Garrett

Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

665 Listeners

The Good Dog Pod by Good Dog

The Good Dog Pod

65 Listeners

The Bitey End of the Dog by Michael Shikashio CDBC

The Bitey End of the Dog

227 Listeners

Will Alexander's Dog Show Tips by Will Alexander

Will Alexander's Dog Show Tips

14 Listeners

The Dog Show Drive by Will Alexander

The Dog Show Drive

32 Listeners

The Honest Dog Breeder Podcast by Julie Swan

The Honest Dog Breeder Podcast

57 Listeners

The Conformation Conversation by Vicki Ronchette

The Conformation Conversation

7 Listeners

The Marty & Laura Show by Laura Reeves & Dr. Marty Greer

The Marty & Laura Show

11 Listeners