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ENDLESS POTENTIAL

ENDLESS LOVE

About Silkens

What is a Silken Windhound?

A Silken Windhound is, first of all, a member of the Sighthounds, that group of dogs that hunts by sight and has evolved to then run that game down. But they are even more than that. As a whole, they are clean, graceful, easily trained and beyond loving, and one of the best pets out there.

How is the breed doing?

Silken Windhounds are an active and growing breed with well over 1,200 litters and more than 5,000 registered individuals since the establishment of the ISWS computerized Registry in 1999. 

There is an expanding fancy in the UK, Canada, Europe and Japan. Silkens are in the forefront of event participation around the world.  We have representative individuals in at least 30 countries at this time. They are officially recognized overseas by the Slovenian Kennel Club, the Swiss Kennel Club, the Hungarian, Dutch, and German KCs and the Kennel Club of Japan, with more countries ready to add their recognition to the list.

Very soon, we hope to be recognized by the FCI, as well as the AKC.

Puppy Sweepstakes

SilkenFest ~ Our National Specialty

Our National Specialty is called SilkenFest and has been held every year since 1999, except for the spring of 2020. It now spans nearly a week, featuring

  • a day for Puppy and Veteran Sweepstakes Show,
  • two days for the regular Conformation Shows,
  • Seminars,
  • Health Testing,
  • Obedience,
  • Rally-obedience,
  • plus individual days each for
    • straight racing,
    • lure coursing, and
    • oval track racing.
  • SilkenFest travels around the country on a seven year rotating schedule.

Before the pandemic, the last two SilkenFests hosted 137 and 155 dogs respectively in the regular Conformation classes with over 200 entries including both puppy and veteran Sweeps. This year, 2024, we had 171 dogs entered with 299 entries. This does not count any of the field events with over 100 more entries.

Best Puppy in Sweepstakes

Regional Specialties

Regional Specialties are a big part of showcasing the breed’s conformation and beauty, turning out both high quality and high numbers, year after year. The first Regional was held in Northern California in 2003. Both the number of show-giving regional clubs, and entries in each of these events, increased rapidly over the years. These numbers reflect unique dogs entered and exclude the Puppy and Veteran Sweepstakes entries:

  • The Silken Windhounds of California (SWC) has held a Western Regional Specialty every year in October known as “BooFest”. In 2023, 94 dogs were entered into this popular Regional Specialty Show.
  • The Great Plains Fanciers held two shows in Oklahoma City in the summer of 2023 with 93 dogs entered in each show,judged by International judges including the Vice President of the FCI.
  • The Silken Windhound Texas Tapestry (SWTT)  Specialty is also held yearly and is hosted in the region that birthed the breed. In 2021, this Specialty had 82 dogs with entries from all around the country. They changed their venue and date last year but still pulled a respectable 43 entries.
  • The Midwest Silken Windhound Association’s (MSWA)  “Ohio Classic” hosted 78 dogs in 2023.
  • Fanciers in Colorado hosted “The Rocky Mountain Silken Showdown”  in 2019. A total of 56 participants from around the country supported this specialty, and there are plans to revive it this year.
  • The East Coast Silken Windhound Club (ECSW) hosted a show with 65 dogs in 2024.
  • Silken Windhounds for Endurance, Performance, & Training (SWEPT)  had 87 participants in their “Pacific Northwest Fest” in 2024.
  • Silken Windhounds are the ultimate show dog. Easy to groom, shown naturally and the perfect size for travel.

Apply for ASWS Membership

If you live in the US and are over 18 years old, then come and be part of the birth and development of this US club. The American Silken Windhound Society is a necessary step in the process to join the AKC. There is no reason to wait until we are forced to form it while trying to negotiate the steps that we feel necessary to our future.

Learn More

Silken Field Events

Silkens are made to run. Their build and heritage are based on hunting game by sight. From the very beginning of their acceptance into Field events, they have excelled. They are consistently one of the top number of entries, as well as some of the top winners in each venue, including multi-Best in Fields and even Best in Events over all Sighthound breeds.

Large Gazehound Racing
Association (LGRA)

Silkens were accepted into  The Large Gazehound Racing Association (LGRA) in 2010, and when LGRA was posting numbers publicly in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Silken Windhound was their #1 breed. Silken Windhounds have earned LGRA’s K’lar Award  (awarded to the top racer of the year of all breeds) and the Fahal Award (awarded to a female that has won the K’lar Award twice).

The American Sighthound
Field Association (ASFA)

The American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA), fully accepted the Silkens in 2014. In the last 7 years, the number of new Silken Windhounds has more than doubled. Silkens have won top competition honors in ASFA, including the International Invitational Best in Event (over all breeds), NLC’s Christmas Cup, the Best of the Best both 3 and 4 days Continuum Competitions and the Best of the Best SoCal Cup Invitational.

The National Open Field
Coursing Association (NOFCA)

The National Open Field Coursing Association (NOFCA), where dogs are run on wild black tailed jackrabbits in their native habitat, accepted the Silken Windhound as a rare breed in 2010. Since then, they have won both mixed and rare breed hunts.

The National Oval Track
Racing Association (NOTRA)

The National Oval Track Racing Association (NOTRA) recognized Silkens 2013, and since then, the breed has become one of their top entered breeds. They were #4 in 2018, tied for #2 in 2019, and were #2 in 2021.

Silken Governance

The International Silken Windhound Society

 

The International Silken Windhound Society (ISWS), is the umbrella organization that oversees the worldwide welfare of the breed. It was formed in 1999-2000 when the breed was already over 17 years old and down as many as 7 generations from the first representative individuals.  The International Silken Windhound Society has done a masterful job over the last 25 years, of developing one of the best breed databases in the industry, based almost totally on DNA parentage verified dogs. Most of the lines go back to the Founders with full DNA verification. Since the beginning of the ISWS, no litter can be registered without full verification of the parents.

 

Other International Societies

Many countries also have a Society looking out for the welfare of the dogs within their boundaries.  With Silkens already introduced to over 30 International Countries, it is no surprise that we are hoping to be on the verge of full FCI recognition, allowing the Silken Windhound full showing rights in nearly every country outside of the USA and Canada.
Here is a listing of the countries that already have Silken Windhounds represented:

  • Austria                          Japan
  • Bahamas                      Netherlands
  • Belgium                        Norway
  • Canada                          New Zealand
  • Croatia                          Mexico
  • Czech Republic        Poland
  • Denmark                      Romania
  • Estonia                          Serbia
  • Finland                          Slovakia
  • France                           Slovenia
  • Germany                      South Africa
  • Great Britain              Spain
  • Hungary                        Sweden
  • Ireland                           Switzerland
  • Italy                                 United Arab Emirates
  • United States of America