503 – Examining the History of Sighthounds with Bo Bengtson
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which is the pursuit of game with sighthounds … that is a sport that’s now these days illegal in most of US… It’s been superseded by lure coursing, which is an artificial form of coursing.
“Hunters Homeward Bound,” 10th Century AD. Courtesy of Bo Bengston.
“(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.
316 — Ireland’s “Heritage Status” for Native Dog Breeds
Ireland Designates “Heritage Status” for Native Dog Breeds
Sean Delmar, president of the Irish Kennel Club and Kerry Blue Terrier breeder, has just achieved the holy grail of “heritage status” for the nine native Irish breeds.
Heritage Status
JULY 16, 2019
I am pleased to announce that the 9 Irish Breeds have been granted National Heritage status by the Minister.
This is a wonderful step in the future protection and development of our amazing Irish Breeds and comes after many years of representations by those committed to Irish Breeds.
On behalf of The Irish Kennel Club I would like to specifically acknowledge the commitment of the following who put there heart and soul into making this a reality. Cathy Delmar, Eddie Burke, Vincent Flannelly.
Sean Delmar, President
“I thought there was a chance these breeds could go out of existence,” Delmar said. “I thought the Government should take some responsibility. We wanted to convince them these dog breeds are part of the patchwork quilt of the Irish people.”
This exciting success required a lot of initiatives over 10 years, Delmar noted. The small group of folks involved did demonstrations, paraded dogs at schools, had dogs on “chat shows” on TV.
“We built up a portfolio so we had something to show the government, not just an idea,” Delmar said. “We created a heritage weekend revolving around dogs. Even hawking with setters in the midland bogs. People learned a lot about Irish breeds. The general populace is now more aware.”
The Irish Kennel Club was only the national body that made the application. So much enthusiasm and work done was from a handful of devoted fanciers, Delmar said.
“Dogs developed because of working ability originally,” Delmar observed. “Ireland has the Irish Wolfhound and Kerry Beagle, Red setter, Red and white setter and Water spaniel. In the terrier group we have Kerry Blue, Irish, Glen of Imaal, Soft Coated Wheaten.”
Purebred dogs are history and art
Wolfhounds are one of the ancient symbols of Ireland along with the shamrock and harp. Kerry beagle are a hunting pack unique to Ireland. During the potato famine in Ireland, ships carrying refugees to the US, took Kerry beagles with them. Delmar expects these dogs could be found behind coonhounds in the US.
Romantic figures in Irish history hunted on horseback with hawks and setters, using nets before guns were invented.
Delmar’s telling of the rich tapestry of Irish history, includes Grace O’Malley — one of the earliest known female pirates, born around 1530 in Ireland and growing up to lead a 20-ship fleet. Her contribution to the development of the Irish Water Spaniel was the connection to her incursions on the Iberian Peninsula.
“We just undersell everything we do,” Delmar said. “We don’t spend enough time telling people that what you get with pedigree dogs is predictable qualities, predictable characteristics. Don’t get that in crossbreds. Can be great dogs. They might have one or two of the qualities. But it’s a lucky get. Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates.”