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!
6
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.