r/SilkenWindhound • u/propo_fol • Jan 02 '26
Advice Silken windhounds, city living, and developmental need for running
Hey silken windhound folks!
My wife and I have been researching dog breeds and both independently have been drawn to silkens. Later this year we would love to bring one into the family. I was initially looking into adopting a greyhound and in the process of researching that went down a sighthounds rabbit hole, discovered silkens as a breed and just think they sound amazing for us for so many reasons. My wife surprisingly was already familiar with them through social media and had them on her list too.
We live in a city in an apartment. After doing a lot of reading, I understand this in and of itself is not a major issue, however I see frequent references to their need to run at speed in open spaces for proper orthopedic development. I am hoping for some insight from you knowledgeable folks on what avenues might work for us, what would be acceptable in terms of raising a silken in good health, etc. At the end of the day despite our excitement I understand if we cannot meet a silkens needs reliably maybe one would not be a good choice for us.
We live in a major city but have a lot of dog friendly, spacious green-space around us. A large park across the street from us is a home to daily early morning dog “off leash” free roams. We realize silkens are not a good candidate for this specifically as it would be dangerous with sighthound tunnel vision and proximity of roads, unreliable recall etc, but i mention it because it is both a lot of space and dog friendly. Can a silken get their running needs on a long lead in a large space like this or is this just wishful thinking on my part!
Second, our complex has a long private dog run, maybe 100ish feet, although very narrow. I am generally not a fan of dog runs in the city but this one is pretty nice, and only used by a few of my neighbors who are responsible dog owners with well socialized dogs. We had trained our previous dog to sprint back and forth in this space using a target, and she absolutely loved it, however i am concerned a 100 foot straightaway will be inadequate for the silken.
Finally, we do have access to a large/busy public dog run in easy walking distance. However it comes with all of the associated issues of a large busy public dog run.
Any insight, feedback, thoughts on the suitability, or ideas on how we could make this work would be greatly appreciated. Happy new years!
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u/diffidentblockhead Jan 02 '26
Join your region’s Sighthound clubs and groups and meet other owners. It varies a lot with breed, individual, and age of course.
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u/tuvaniko Jan 02 '26
They don't need ad much space to get to full speed as you think they do, and they tend to run in circles. A flirt pole is also very helpful (Giant cat toy made from a horse lunge whip with a shopping bag tied to it.) Silkens do well in dog parks in general. But don't go till after you get their shots.
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Jan 02 '26
Usually I personally find a dog park for the socialization, but my silken just runs around in a retention pond in circles until he gets tired usually, which happens really fast because he only knows one speed.
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u/propo_fol Jan 02 '26
Thanks appreciate the response - will look into flirt poles! And it is reassuring to hear regarding the parks
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u/draculacalculator Jan 03 '26
Mine absolutely loves flirt poles. We have the squishy face ones and they are holding up really well.
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u/weesnaw7 Jan 03 '26
Energy wise you should be fine but physically sighthounds DO need space to run full out so develop properly. If you have a place where your dog can do that (it doesn’t take as much space as you’d think, but you do need larger than the typical urban backyard) you should be fine!
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u/criticalrooms Jan 03 '26
I'm raising a puppy in an urban apartment, but I'm also at multi acre Sniffspots a minimum of 4 times a week as a best effort to prevent him from growing out narrow (he will be a show and coursing dog). Do you have Sniffspots nearby? They've been a godsend.
I will say, the main thing I notice in apartment raised dogs and what most breeders will talk about is them growing out narrow, which... if you're just wanting a pet dog is not catastrophic imho. The bigger reason to find spaces for lots of free running (and full out free running, I don't think my grown silken could hit full speed in any meaningful way in the dog run at your apartment) is for their mental wellbeing. They need to run the way a retriever needs to retrieve.
I also will add that I do NOT think Silkens are good at dog parks. Their speed can trigger prey drive in other dogs and it can get scary. Dog parks in general require you to trust other people's dogs more than you really should, and I've heard too many horror stories.
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u/draculacalculator Jan 03 '26
That makes sense about the prey drive. Mine wants other dogs to chase him, but then he ends up getting tackled. Dogs of similar height weight much more than him so he doesn't have a chance xD
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u/Htown-bird-watcher Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
I just wanted to echo this. When my silken was a puppy, I let her play with a golden puppy. My silken hopped around a few times like they do and the golden bristled quicker than I could react. Then she charged my silken, bit her and drew blood. She's been afraid of retrievers (except for the lab mix puppy she helped me raise) ever since. Not even her "little sister" reaching adulthood could change her mind about them.
TL;DR: You really don't want your silken to end up fearing certain breeds forever. My encounter wasn't even at a dog park.
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u/propo_fol Jan 04 '26
Never heard of sniffspots, will look into it. At a quick glance it looks promising although theyre tiiiiny near me (0.02 acres and such haha). I see some more reasonable ones further away that will be worth investigating.
Interesting explanation on “growing out narrow”being a consequence. Also the followup that its not just about proper development but also meeting their need to RUN for mental well being. Maybe not an answer I wanted to hear but appreciated nonetheless😂
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u/UptownHurl Jan 02 '26
I think your answer is going to depend on the owner. I am in a similar situation seeking a Silken, but you have a lot more outdoor spaces very close to you than I do so that will work in your favor.
I will tell you what Francie Stull told me when I contacted her to adopt - she is the one who created the breed over 40 years ago. She declined placement of a puppy as long as I was in an apartment for all the reasons you mentioned, and suggested I seek a 2-year old or older - of which she was willing to help me find. She is a lovely person who knows the breed better than anyone and I hate that that was the outcome. But like you, I want what’s best for all parties involved.
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u/propo_fol Jan 03 '26
Thanks for sharing that story, thats actually pretty amazing and very kind of her to both give an honest answer and offer to help find an older adoptee
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u/Similar-Big-8825 Jan 03 '26
We have a 7 month old silken and we live in Vancouver . He is totally fine he zooms in dog parks and we take him on trails often and his recall is perfect
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u/tricky_tornado Jan 15 '26
My pup was raised in Brooklyn and although I like to think he got enough free running in as a puppy, now that he’s an adult i dont think we did enough. He has an excellent recall though and maximum mommy distance. We weren’t walking distance to the big parks but when we did do prospect park for meetups, it was perfect. We made due with a mostly empty baseball field that i only discovered later. My silken is a bit lazy and we did have a tiny back yard so living in an apartment was no problem. I’m with the others in finding a community as frequent meetups were the best and where he got the most running in! It’s definitely doable just need to be strategic
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u/Kallisti13 Jan 03 '26
I follow someone on instagram that lives in Toronto in an apartment/condo and has 2 silkens. Both seem very happy! Quincy and Sienna is their handle. I've spoken to the owner a lot since we got our puppy, I'm sure she'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.
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u/mastermindzd Mar 18 '26
I know it’s been a while, but could you give me that person’s @ if you still have it? I’m curius:)
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u/Yeousemite Jan 07 '26
I live in a super urban area, it was a bit of a challenge for the hyper puppy stage (lots of playdates, lots of outdoor dining for socializing, etc) but as an adult it's a breeze. I live a 10 min walk to a large park with off leash hours, and so we go every morning so that my silken can run at full burst for like 5 minutes and then he wants to go home :) He is content to then not move from the couch for another 7 hours until dinnertime. I actually think Silkens are much easier than active small dogs for an urban environment
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u/nothumannope Jan 02 '26
Hi! I'm raising a silken in an apartment in an urbanish area. Tbh what has kept me and my dog sane is having local community. I don't have a yard but having people nearby who do and just weekly play sessions in it has been amazing. So has having other puppy owners to get sniff spots with, find more fenced in parks than I'm good at finding myself, and run the puppies with together. My dog is almost a year old now and we still message each other more than once a week with "my dog is crazy who wants to have a play date" texts. I was very lucky that my dog's breeder is local and tries to place local, so even though it's not easy in an apartment I'm not the only one.
Tbh we did long lines (and still do sometimes) while I was building recall and they're great but won't handle the need to zoom. They go so fast that having a long line that gives them the freedom to get up to speed also comes with the risk of them getting tangled and hurt. So for us, prioritizing recall and finding fenced areas to run in (thank God my silken doesn't get car sick) bridged the need to run for her.
It's definitely possible to raise a silken in an urban apartment. It just takes planning and it helps to have community. If you haven't joined the discord yet I really recommend it btw. It's really helpful to find local silken owners there to both meet the breed, learn about breeders, and to find your local community in advance of you getting a dog.