The characteristics of the saluki or Persian greyhound highlight its slim, muscular body and an elegant appearance. This greyhound has a cheerful, intelligent and affectionate character, but at the same time independent. It is known as the desert greyhound or the royal dog of Egypt. At Petlifey, we explain everything about the Saluki dog breed .
Character of the Saluki breed
The character of the saluki dog is reserved with strangers, but never fearful or aggressive. It is a dignified, intelligent and independent animal.
It is a dog with an elegant, witty, cheerful, playful and very affectionate temperament, but it also has a point of stubbornness that is important to keep under control.
Sometimes, even sometimes, it turns out to have a slightly haughty personality and seems to look at humans with a certain condescension. It does so, as if it feels superior or knows themselves chosen, and believes that it is he who has the deference to share its time with its human family.
This sense of haughtiness is especially noticeable in its behaviour with strangers, whom it generally ignores and with whom it does not even bother to be aggressive or violent. With its human family it behaves like a splendid companion.
Jovial, affectionate and calm, it adapts very well to living as a family, but it cannot spend the whole day shut up inside the house, because it likes the company of its family but it also needs to socialize and exercise to be completely happy.
The saluki is a dog with a strong temperament and a high level of energy, so it should be taken regularly to open spaces where it can exercise freely and interact with other congeners.
Saluki owners, therefore, can feel very fortunate to have such a distinguished, elegant, docile and intelligent dog as this one.
- Energy: You need to do a lot of exercise every day.
- Temperament: rustic, reserved and independent, he is very intelligent and dignified. At home he is affectionate and calm.
- Adaptability: medium / high. He prefers life in a house with a garden or with easy access to an open field where he can exercise, but he can adapt to life in the city.
- Sociability: It is affectionate and sweet with its family, but distant with strangers, without being aggressive.
- Health: It is a healthy breed.
- Longevity: medium / High. Live 10-15 years.
- Utility: versatile. It is a hunting, companion and exhibition dog.
- Use: hunting and company.
Saluki Characteristics
Before commenting on the characteristics of the Saluki dog breed, it should be noted that there are two varieties that differ basically by the presence or absence of fringes (also called “feathers” due to their delicacy), on the ears, the tail and the part back of the legs.
In its structure and physical appearance, the saluki is a compendium of grace and harmony of forms, and its body denotes the great speed and resistance associated with the strength and vitality of the race.
Also known as the Persian greyhound or desert greyhound, the saluki is one of the oldest sight hounds in existence and comes from the Middle East, a region where almost all the breeds in this group come from.
With an appearance that exudes supreme elegance, it has traditionally been used to hunt gazelles together with falcons, another of the great treasures of the hunting arts of the Arab people.
At present, the breed is recognized throughout the world and enjoys a more than acceptable level of popularity, as it is highly appreciated in the environment of dog shows. Let’s see in more detail the characteristics of the saluki sighthound.
Its body is large in size and square in structure. It has a slim body, with well marked bones and muscles. The back is curved, with the cross well marked in the upper part of the dorsal line, and the rump is slightly raised.
The head is long, slim, and elegantly slender in profile. The nose-frontal depression is poorly marked and the nose can be black or brown.
It has slightly oval eyes, with a lot of shine. They have a dignified and kind expression. The iris is dark hazel in color, with black rimmed eyelids.
The ears are elongated and covered with long, silky hair. They are inserted above the eye line and hang closely to the skull.
It has strong, flexible feet with long toes, close together and well curved. In the feathered variety they are covered with long hair in the interdigital spaces.
The tail is long and reaches to the hocks when stretched out. It has fringes or feathers of long, silky hair at the bottom. It is implanted low.
As for its hair , it has a silky and smooth texture, with fringes on the legs and the back of the thighs, in the feathered variety.
In the short-haired variety, it lacks fringes. It can be of any color and present all possible combinations.
Let’s now see in more detail what the saluki and the breed standard are like:
Saluki breed standard
- General appearance: it is a square-built dog, very muscular and elegant, with a distinguished and almost haughty appearance.
- Size and size: very large.
- Height at the withers: between 58 and 71 cm for males and between 56 and 69 cm for females.
- Weight: between 15 and 30 kg for males and between 14 and 29 kg for females.
- Origin: Middle East / FCI Patronage.
- Varieties: feathered and short-haired.
- Body: square and with good bones and muscles.
- Head: long and thin, with a profile of great nobility.
- Skull: moderately wide between the ears.
- Muzzle: it is sharp and long.
- Nose: it can be black or brown, the latter color in liver-colored dogs.
- Eyes: dark hazel in color, they are bright, large and oval, although not prominent. Its gaze is faithful, but distant, and it displays a dignified and gentle expression.
- Ears: set high, long and covered with long silky hair; They are highly mobile and hang close to the skull.
- Nose-frontal depression (stop): it is not very pronounced.
- Jaws: they are strong and the bite is regular, perfect and complete in scissors.
- Neck: long and elastic, with strong muscles.
- Chest: it is deep, long and moderately thin.
- Back: medium width, with a slightly arched loin with good muscles. On the croup, the tips of the hipbones are well apart.
- Forelimbs: they are strong, muscular and straight. The shoulders are light, but muscular, and endowed with a good incline. The forearms are long and straight and the arms are the same length as the shoulder blades and form an open angle with them.
- Hind limbs: they have great strength, which enables the animal to gallop and jump. Its legs are well developed. The knees have a moderately marked profile. Their hocks are set low.
- Feet: of moderate length, with long, well arched toes. In the feathered variety, the interdigital spaces are covered with hair or “feathers.” Together they are strong and flexible.
- Tail: long and covered with silky hairs; it is set low and describes a curve. When the dog is at rest it reaches up to the hocks. Except when the animal is playing, it never leans on the line of the back.
- Color: Any color or combination of colors is possible, except brindle.
- Hair: in the variety with feathers, it has a silky and soft texture and has fringes on the legs and the back of the thighs. Adults can also have fringes on the throat, and puppies on the thighs and shoulders, although in this case they are rather woolly. The short-haired variety lacks fringes.
- Movement: the trot is regular, easy and harmonious. The dog moves lightly and dynamically, showing both good momentum and a long stride.
- FCI Classification: FCI No. 269 Group 10 – Sighthounds. Section 1 Long-haired or fringed sighthounds.
Saluki Cubs
If you are looking for information on saluki, you may be considering adopting or purchasing a saluki puppy dog. But first there are a number of aspects that you must take into consideration before making the final decision.
For example, it is essential to carry out a good socialization work starting early, even before the puppy leaves the breeder’s house.
It is essential to channel this work towards the relationship of the saluki with a very varied number of people, the more the better, as this contributes to endowing the animal with a capacity for relationship that is not typical or typical of the breed.
It is also essential to strengthen its relationship with other dogs from very early on, since although it tends to tolerate other dogs of the same breed well, it tries to impose its superiority with those of other breeds, which can lead to unexpected confrontations.
And with pets of other species you have to be even more careful, because it can bring out their hunter instincts and cause unpleasant situations.
In this sense, it feels a certain predilection for chasing cats and only if it has been accustomed to living together from a very young age can he live with them normally.
We recommend that you also read the education and training section below for more information in this regard.
Education and training of the Saluki breed
The saluki dog breed is characterized by having a lot of energy and by needing a lot of physical activity so as not to get bored and be in good shape, so the city is not the most suitable environment for life.
The saluki prefers a house in the country or, at least, with a patio or a small garden on which it can establish its dominion, and with good access to open spaces where it has the possibility to exercise in freedom, if possible to daily.
On the other hand, as it is a very curious, intelligent dog with a tendency to get bored if it has nothing to do, it is advisable to program a wide variety of activities that challenge it and stimulate its intelligence at all times.
If not, you may be looking for fun on your own and getting into all kinds of adventures and sometimes even trouble.
If bored, the saluki becomes an unwieldy, stubborn, and destructive dog, and it is easy for them to develop behavioural disorders, such as separation anxiety, if left alone for many hours a day.
Luckily, it is a very clever dog that learns quickly and can be taught a multitude of different tricks. Which also represents an important challenge for its owner, since the dog is capable of discerning and reasoning about what is entrusted to them.
If it perceives that these are incongruous orders, it may even react by making its own decisions and stop considering its master as a trustworthy leader.
Thus, although it is not a particularly difficult dog to train, it is best if it is in the hands of an owner with some experience, if possible, in handling sight hounds.
In the event that the owners are inexperienced and have approached the breed attracted by its beauty and the fame of its affectionate and friendly character, it is highly recommended that they seek the advice of the breeder in the first months of life .
And then they try to go to a professional behaviorist or a work club, because only in this way can they perfectly shape the temperament and behavior of your pet.
Persian Greyhound diet
The saluki is a dog that loves to run and show great speed. To cope with this high energy demand, the most important thing is to provide a rich and balanced diet.
Such a diet should be rich in good quality protein and healthy fats (such as Omega 3 and 6). This will help keep your appearance, skeleton, muscles, joints and hair in perfect condition.
It is advisable to divide the daily food intake into several intakes in order to avoid stomach twisting. Something very typical of this breed.
Fortunately, in the market it is easy to find food for dogs of this breed in specialized pet stores or buy it online.
Saluki health and diseases
As good desert hunting dogs, Salukis greyhounds have been the subject of intense selection. For this reason, it is a very resistant breed. Despite this, as they get older, they can be prone to cancer and certain eye diseases .
The average life expectancy of the Persian greyhound is between 10 and 12 years. Of course, if the animal has been destined for hunting, it will have a greater physical wear and tear than those that are only as a pet in a home. Therefore its longevity is less.
Specific care of the Saluki breed
At home the care required by the Persian greyhound is minimal. They are a fairly healthy breed, suffering from few major illnesses, and whose coat does not require any specific grooming or care, apart from a simple brushing every three to four days.
As for the bathroom, it is only necessary to bathe them sporadically only when it is really very dirty. In fact, if this coat is very light, it sometimes generates pigmentation problems that make it sensitive to solar radiation.