3d • Sighthound Science
Sighthounds are not lazy, they are energy - efficient
Dogs vary a lot in how much energy they use, both at rest and during activity. Different breeds are built for different kinds of work, so they don’t all use energy the same way. Scientists measure this with calorimetry, which is the standard method for tracking how much energy a body actually burns.
Sighthounds are built for sprinting, not for constant movement or long-distance running like huskies. Sled dogs are designed to burn steady energy over many hours. Sighthounds are designed to use a large amount of energy in a very short time.
''The study compared anaerobic (sprinting) exercise in Greyhounds with aerobic (endurance) exercise in sled dogs.
Greyhounds were run ~400 m (sprinting) and blood samples were taken before and after exercise. Sled dogs ran 3.5–5 hours per day over several days.
Greyhounds showed no major change in leptin or adiponectin after sprint exercise, but a rise in irisin shortly after sprinting.
Sled dogs showed changes in leptin related to endurance activity.
Sprinting and endurance exercise affect physiology differently.''
Sprinting Greyhounds produce metabolic responses consistent with short, intense effort, while endurance dogs show different energetic effects.
They evolved to chase prey with extreme speed over short bursts.
When they start running, they accelerate fast and use a lot of power at once. That’s why they don’t spend the whole day moving — their bodies keep energy in reserve.
So when you see a sighthound resting for hours, that isn’t laziness. It’s conservation. They stay in a low-energy state so they are always physically prepared for intense effort when it matters.
For example a Greyhound that ran hard for an hour would not have the same explosive capacity left for a sudden chase later. Their physiology protects that burst ability.
They can sleep most of the day and still produce incredible speed when needed. That makes sighthounds efficient at rest and powerful in motion.
Sighthounds Are Not Just Couch Potatoes
Yes, they nap. Yes, they love comfort. But above all, they were bred to run and chase. They sleep to sprint.
Without proper exercise, they can develop behavioral and physical issues.
A sighthound may be a couch potato at home, but that “couch potato” needs to run daily to stay happy and healthy.
Sources:
Bell MA, Levine CB, Downey RL, Griffitts C, Mann S, Frye CW, Wakshlag JJ.
Influence of endurance and sprinting exercise on plasma adiponectin, leptin and irisin concentrations in racing Greyhounds and sled dogs.
Australian Veterinary Journal. 2016;94(5):154-159.
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Zaldívar-López S, et al.
Haematological and biochemical variations among eight sighthound breeds.
Veterinary Clinical Pathology. 2014.
Morrison P, et al. Comparative locomotor costs of domestic dogs reveal the energetic economy of wolf-like breeds. Journal of Experimental Biology. 2017;220:312-321.
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Sighthounds are not lazy, they are energy - efficient
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