Saluki

AKC Group: Hound

Club: Saluki Club of America

Corresponding Secretary : Lois-Ann Snyder
Address: 1203 N Coolidge Rd, Oconomowoc, WI , 53066-0000
Website: www.salukiclub.org
Email: lasaluki@execpc.com
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

The whole appearance of this breed should give an impression of grace and symmetry and of great speed and endurance coupled with strength and activity to enable it to kill gazelle or other quarry over deep sand or rocky mountains. The expression should be dignified and gentle with deep, faithful, far-seeing eyes. Dogs should average in height from 23 to 28 inches and bitches may be considerably smaller, this being very typical of the breed.

Colors:

White, cream, fawn, golden, red, grizzle and tan, tricolor (white, black and tan) and black and tan.

Coat:

Smooth and of a soft silky texture, slight feather on the legs, feather at the back of the thighs and sometimes with slight woolly feather on the thigh and shoulder.

History:

The Saluki, royal dog of Egypt, is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog. They are identified by some historians as "a distinct breed and type as long ago as 329 B.C. when Alexander the Great invaded India." Earliest known carvings look more like Salukis than any other breed: they have a Greyhound body with feathered ears, tail and legs. This same exact hound also appears on the Egyptian tombs of 2100 B.C. and again in more recent excavations of the Sumerian empire, estimated at 7000-6000 B.C. The Saluki was so esteemed that his body was often mummified like the bodies of the Pharaohs themselves. The remains of numerous specimens have thus been found in the ancient tombs of the Upper Nile region.

As the desert tribes were nomadic, the habitat of the Saluki comprised the entire region from the Caspian Sea to the Sahara. Naturally the types varied somewhat in this widely scattered area-mostly in size and coat.

Salukis were first brought into England in 1840 and were known as Persian Greyhounds. There was no real interest until the Hon. Florence Amherst imported the first Arabian Saluki in 1895 from the kennels of Prince Abdulla in Transjordania.

Having tremendous speed, the Saluki was used by Arabs principally in bringing down the gazelle. In England, the dog was used largely on hares. Regular coursing meets are held with judging based on ability to turn quickly and over take the hare in the best possible time. The Saluki hunts largely by sight although he has a fair nose.

The Saluki was a well-established breed in England for a number of years before he began to come into his own in this country. It was not until November 1927 that the breed was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club.

Fun Facts:

• The Saluki, royal dog of Egypt, is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog, identified by some historians as "a distinct breed and type as long ago as 329 BC when Alexander the Great invaded India."
  
  
• Salukis were widespread and appeared in Egypt, where they were held in such great esteem that their bodies were often mummified like the bodies of the Pharaohs themselves.
  
  
• The Saluki was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1927.
  
  
• Salukis were first brought into England in 1840.
  
  
• Having tremendous speed, the Saluki was used by the Arabs principally to track and bring down gazelle, the fastest of the antelopes.
  
  
• The Saluki's sight is remarkable, as is his strong constitution and ability to withstand very harsh conditions despite an aristocratic appearance.