The world’s very first sight hound was a natural dog with a hunting advantage. This original dog—a landrace existing in Africa many thousands of years ago that we now know as the Basenji—was a keen hunter that gradually developed into many of the extreme sight hunting breeds we know today.(10)

These first hunting companions were favored for their speed, as well as for their ability to acutely perceive prey at a distance. As they were fine-tuned for their attributes, the shape of their bodies began to change in critical ways. Their increased range of peripheral vision and incredible speed resulted in greater hunting success, which in turn caused the structure of their heads to change significantly: The dogs gradually developed dolichocephalic skulls (long and narrow heads with eyes positioned close together), giving them a far wider range of vision (up to 270°, versus the 250° field of view of most dogs). With succeeding generations, legs became longer and chests became deeper, further enabling these masterful sprinters and agile chasers.

By the time early civilization arose in ancient Egypt and the Middle East, the world had its first true sight hounds in the form we know today—long and lean from head to tail. Mankind had also embraced the idea of indoor canine companions, so sight hounds began to appear at the side of Egyptian nobility, and to be buried alongside them honorably in death. The value of these impressive animals as hunters and partners to humans in ancient times is irrefutable, as they were depicted in early art in caves and tombs.

In the Middle Ages in Western Europe, while large guardian breeds of dogs patiently protected flocks in the fields, sight hounds were increasingly used and bred for hunting the wolves that threatened livestock. By the ninth century, wolves were such a problem for humans that there were officially appointed wolf hunters in England and France. The louvetiers, as these men were called, were tasked with keeping wolf populations to a minimum, and sight hounds were an invaluable asset to them.(11)(12)

In this way, the sight hound evolved as a creature of two extremes—one a sudden sprinting hunter and the other a quiet, reserved indoor companion. Though the dogs were powerful and capable hunters in the woods and fields, humans found that sight hounds were not particularly hardy and lacked long-distance endurance for the hunts.