Southern Windhund

The Southern Windhund is a medium breed of dog, usually standing at around 1.6 - 1.10 feet at its shoulder, and weighing at around 30 - 45 pounds. They tend to look much smaller than they actually are due to the fact that they have short coats and lithe bodies, which levels out with their long legs. They usually live to be around 12 - 15 years.

Southern Windhunds are a breed of sight hound, meaning they use their eyesight more than their other senses to hunt, and as a result, they have particularly keen eyesight, and are able to see farther and in more colors than most dogs. They do lose out a little on their sense of smell and hearing because of this, though those senses are still much stronger than the average human or elf.

Their coats are short, and usually come in black and white, though brown, merle, and orange are all possible coat colors as well. What makes them stand out is the white blaze on their face that is seen on all dogs in the breed, as well as white down their chest, and sometimes across their stomachs. The tips of their tails are white as well, and their legs will often have some sort of marking on them, though it's not always the case.

Besides their incredible eyesight, their unique feature happens to be their speed. They can get up to speeds of nearly fifty miles per hour, and hold that speed for up to a minute. This allows them to chase down animals such as rabbits, and even deer. With larger animals, such as certain kinds of deer, more than one dog will be set on it so that they can take it down. With smaller animals, a single dog will give chase and catch the animal, usually killing it before bringing it back to its master.

Distribution

They are found largely in southern, hotter areas, though do not thrive in the desert, instead often bordering it. This region is where the breed originated from. Due to their coats, they would never often be found more northern, though can occasionally be spotted in more temperate regions.

Uses

Their main and original use is a hunting dog. They were bred for the job, and specifically to hunt smaller animals such as rabbits, hares, and ground birds. Groups of them can bring down larger animals like deer, but they aren't strong enough to face predatory animals such as wolves, wild cats, or bears.

Their secondary use has been for pest control. They have a high prey drive, and will chase any small animal they see, which often means they will go after mice or rats, or rabbits on their own and kill them. Because of this, farmers or people who don't even hunt will often keep one of these dogs simply to deal with any sort of small pest animal around their home.

Relations

Southern Windhinds are highly social dogs, and enjoy being around their masters and other dogs. Most dogs prefer to live in their owners' homes rather than in a kennel, though when they are awake and active they like to be outside where they can run around. They are not usually one person dogs, and are welcoming towards anyone that may come into their 'territory' which of course, makes them terrible guard dogs.

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