Project 365 - 323

Project 365 - 323

Bear.

Seeing as one of our two greyhounds made an appearance a few days ago, i thought it only fair that our other one did too.




This is Fred, affectionately known as "Freddie Bear". Probably the more intelligent of the two, but only just, and defintely the more elegant he always carries himself well, where as Dot tend to stomp a little, possibly due to an injury gained in her previous life.

As greyhounds they are also catergorized as sighthounds, which are hounds that primarily hunt by sight and speed, instead of by scent and endurance as scent hounds do.

These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overpowering it by their great speed and agility. They must be able to detect motion quickly, so they have keen vision. Sighthounds must be able to capture fast, agile prey such as deer and hare, so they have a very flexible back and long legs for a long stride, a deep chest to support an unusually (compared to other dogs) large heart, very efficient lungs for both anaerobic and aerobic sprints, and a lean, wiry body to keep their weight at a minimum.

There is no science-based evidence to confirm the popular belief that sighthounds have a higher visual acuity than other types of dogs. However, there is increasing evidence that dolichocephalic breeds, thanks to a higher number of retinal ganglion cells in their “visual streak”, retain more heightened sensitivity than other breeds to objects and rapid movement in the horizontal field of vision.

Sighthounds such as the saluki/sloughi type (both named after the Seleucid Empire) have existed for at least 5,000 years, with the earliest presumed sighthound remains appearing in the excavations of Sumer dated approximately 7000–6000 BC. The earliest description of a sighthound in European recorded history comes from Arrian's Cynegeticus, of the 2nd century AD. Although today most sighthounds are kept primarily as pets, they have been bred for thousands of years to detect movement, chase, capture, and kill prey primarily by speed. They thrive on physical activity. Some have mellow personalities, others are watchful or even hostile towards strangers, but the instinct to chase running animals remains strong.

I know this to be true as anything small and furry that move is spotted instant by our two, in fact this shot was taken as he was watching a squirrel, they aren't however as excited by such events as they used to be, here, he was showing an alert interest, but probably realised there was no chance of getting of the lead.

Den

Tags: Project 365 365 project.