Logan thinks Silkens are sexy, even if they're boys and neutered. That's all I really know. We were crated next to a silken at our last dog show and HOLY CRAP THE FLIRTS.
LOL, this is so Lugia :rofl1: My friend's backyard is right next to a popular trail for dog walkers, and the fencing is chain link so Lugia can easily interact with the other dogs through the fence. She totallyyy flirts with anything that moves and will go to great lengths to get the other dog's attention...
I have a question for you guys. I know greyhounds are prone to bloat, are Silkens and Whippets as well?
Bloat is rare in Silkens, there hasn't been a case reported until 2008 (this is a breed that started being developed in the late 80s) and there have only been a handful of cases since then. In many of those cases, it was a young male at home surrounded by bitches in season. Apparently the extreme stress is what causes the bloat; I don't know what the exact mechanism of action is, though.
Like LHW, Silkens are very easy dogs to live with. Lugia is naturally very quiet and doesn't even alert bark (her mom is pretty barky, though). She was a breeze to housetrain and doesn't get destructive if left alone. I really think that they are a dog that does best in a multi-dog household. Cathi, the owner of one of Lugia's littermates, has 4 Silkens and she says that they have racetracks worn into the backyard grass from the dogs running around with each other daily.
Right now it's just me and Lugia, but this summer I'm planning on getting a second dog, mostly for myself, but I also think that Lugia will be absolutely delighted when she finds out that she's getting a full-time, live-in playmate.
Lugia's temperament is more similar to a LHW than a typical Silken, I would say. She's kind of bananas, for a Silken, but I love that about her. She's got an excellent off-switch, so she's fine with quietly laying around the house for much of the day. She's also got a ton of energy to expend if given an outlet, but has poor endurance. During the school week I'll probably give her 4-5 30 minute play sessions spread throughout the day in the backyard and she'll crash for the night at around 8:30pm. On the weekends she gets together with her dog friends and will run around and play for the entire day... so she can be very high-energy, but would probably do just fine with much lighter exercise. Her recall is all right, I'm still in the middle of training a solid recall; I've called her off of running to go play with some dog in the distance, but I haven't gotten the opportunity to call her off of prey, yet.
She LOVES playing fetch and tug, and I'm hoping that someday I can get her into discdog. Her drive has definitely been increasing as she gets older; when I first got her at 3 months old she wouldn't chase/retrieve/tug things and had to be taught how to play. Her friend Cozi (a 2-year old Silken from a different kennel) has a similar energy level, and will fetch a ball for days. Her owner does agility and nosework with her and says that she is a joy to train. I'm pretty sure she doesn't compete with her, it's just for fun.
I consider Lugia to be fairly trainable, in that, she loves her training sessions and seems to light up when she gets a trick right... however... she's kind of slow :rofl1: It took us a month of daily practice to get her to finally catch a Frisbee. It took another 3 weeks to teach her to put her front feet on an object and pivot around it. I'm on day 4 trying to get her to free shape a "roll over"... I don't mind though, I have endless amounts of patience for this girl, and she really does try her best. xD
I wonder if it's because it's still a new breed, but there's a really big variation as far as temperament/energy level goes in individuals; there are even huge differences across littermates. Lugia's sister Birdie (who lives with Cozi), is MUCH more laidback, in fact her owner said that for the first two months that she had her, she never once saw her RUN around in the backyard. Birdie is far more glued to her people compared to Lugia, she'll even try to squeeze herself onto her owner's lap as she's sitting at the computer... Lugia would never even DREAM of doing something like that xD Lugia likes being where "all the action" is, but she's not at all a Velcro dog. She keeps a close eye on you (she wants to make sure she's not missing out on anything fun haha) and keeps track of your whereabouts, but she doesn't necessarily have her nose up your butt all the time. I've heard that male Silkens tend to be a lot more clingier to their owners, and that female Silkens will start to bond even more tightly with their owner after their first season.
Lugia's fairly small and compact at less than 30lbs, so I love taking her with me wherever I go. She's incredibly well-behaved out in public and is such an Ambassador for her breed. She definitely gets a lot of attention from little old ladies xD She is very bubbly and friendly when meeting new people and dogs; if someone new comes over to the house, she'll try to bring over her toys and stuff to get strangers to interact with her, but if they make it clear that they don't want some dog clamoring for attention (all they have to do is ignore her and she "gets it"), she'll quietly leave them alone, and curl up on her spot on the couch with a bully stick.
I definitely get that "dignified and aloof" vibe from most Silkens (that description doesn't really match Lugia yet, but she's only 8 months old right now). I went to a Silken get-together and there were about 25 Silkens in attendance. You'd be amazed at how -quiet- the dogs were, and how calm! The humans were definitely making the most noise, whereas their dogs would silently stay by their side, politely greeting anyone that came up to him/her. When you let them offleash, they come to life... watching Silkens running around with each other -- such an incredible display of athleticism!
Well guys, let me know if you have any specific questions about Silkens in general... I ended up spending this whole post waxing poetic about Lugia instead xD She's such an awesome little dog. And so much fun to photograph!