Persian Greyhound – Saluki

Persian Greyhound – saluki is a beautiful dog with a slender body, covered with smooth, silky hair forming tassels on the ears and back of the limbs. Rarely short-haired. At home calm and quiet, requires a solid run for walks.

Nature

Persian Greyhound – saluki has such a position among dogs that pure-bred Arabs enjoy among horses. According to tradition, these pets cannot be bought or sold, they can only be given.

Skills

Saluki was bred to chase hares, foxes and gazelles. As typical greyhounds, they are fast, agile and have excellent eyesight. Unlike many other greyhounds, they can even retrieve games to their master.

Saluki is a good watchman (he can warn of danger), but he is not suitable for defense. He has a very strong urge to chase moving objects, so you must not unleash him on a leash in an unfenced place. When he sees the prey flee, he forgets about the owner, deaf to call. In gear, it can reach a speed of 55 km per hour! Saluki is not just sprinters. They can run many kilometers by bike (of course on a leash!).

Persian Greyhound – Saluki. Training and education

Saluki is calm, sensitive, gentle and unobtrusive dog. I need a lot of contact with people. You need patience, consistency and gentleness in his training. He will never be a perfectly obedient dog (note: he can hunt small pets!).

Who is this race for?

Saluki usually gets attached to one selected person. He is a good companion for the elderly and children who will respect his independence.

In our climate, dogs of this breed cannot live outside the whole year. They are calm on a daily basis, it is enough for them to be able to discharge energy in a fast race, e.g. on coursing or playing with other greyhounds in a safe area.

Persian Greyhound – Saluki. Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• independent, it is not easy to teach him obedience
• has a strong hunting instinct
• distanced, it may seem inaccessible

Advantages

• run out, the house is quiet and peaceful
• very pure by nature
• easy to care for
• healthy and resilient
• gentle to people and dogs

Health

This breed is characterized by iron health and immunity. However, it happens that saluki suffers from genetic eye diseases, have problems with the urinary tract and cancer.

Feeding

Saluki eats little, although he needs top quality food. If the dog participates in races, increase the meat portion and add a little fat.

Care

Care for this breed is very simple. It is moderately lithium and their hair has no “doggy” smell.

Persian Greyhound – Saluki. History

Persian Greyhound – Saluki is one of the oldest breeds in the world. In the Middle East, it was used for hunting in ancient times. The oldest Sumerian bas-reliefs depicting Saluki type dogs were made up to 7-8 thousand. In the years BC the Arabs always valued Rasa, she was called “el hor”, which means “noble.”

In ancient Egypt, saluki was bred by pharaohs. The breed still holds a unique position in the world of Islam. Although in Muslim countries, dogs are usually considered to be impure creatures, but according to Bedouins, “saluki is saluki”, not a dog.

Saluki greyhounds were used to chase hares, foxes and gazelles. Over the years, the breed was selected for resistance, strength, endurance and speed. Usually, saluki hunted in a group of 2-6 dogs, so today they feel good in a dog herd and do not show aggression towards other dogs. They hunted without strict human supervision, thanks to which they became intelligent and independent.

Greyhounds were usually taken on the back of a camel or horse for hunting. First, the animals looked for falcons, then saluki started to chase. However, since Muslims can only eat meat from animals killed in a ritual way, the dogs were taught not to bite the victims, but hold them until the arrival of the hunter.

The nomads valued their dogs so much that they could sleep in tents with their owners. In this way, they were also protected against theft. They were bred so that they were gentle and tender towards members of the tribe and guests, and distrustful of strangers.

The first specimens of this breed came to Europe as early as the Middle Ages. However, breeding saluki on the Old Continent did not begin until 1897, when Colonel Jennings-Bradley brought two puppies to England, which he received as a gift. The saluki club was founded in England in 1923 and in the same year, the Kennel Club officially recognized the race.

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Persian greyhound – saluki – group X FCI, section 1, reference number 269

• Region of origin: Middle East
• Character: dog full of dignity, intelligent and independent; he is reserved with strangers, but he is not shy or aggressive
• Size: on average 58-71 cm at the withers; bitches are smaller than dogs
• Weight: not specified in the standard, approx. 20-30 kg
• Coat: available in two varieties: with and without feathers; smooth, soft, silky hair; the most common variety has a feather on the ears, back of the limbs and tail; the short-haired variety is much rarer
• Ointment: all colors are allowed; the brindle coat is undesirable
• Lifespan: 12-14 years
• Vulnerability to training: average
• Activity: he needs a lot of traffic, he must be able to run (in a fenced area); run out, at home he is calm and sleeps a lot
• Resistance/susceptibility to diseases: very resistant

Interesting facts

Greyhounds are an extremely homogeneous group of breeds. This is due to the fact that they were all bred to chase fast running animals. Greyhounds have a slim body and long limbs. Their head is elongated, ending with a pointed nose, and their chest is deep (holds capacious lungs and a large heart) and laterally flattened, which minimizes air resistance. When hunting, greyhounds use the sight, unlike hounds, which are guided by smell.

In addition to European and Oriental Greyhounds belonging to the 10th group of FCI, in Group V (Spitz and primitive dogs) we will also find Primitive Greyhounds – dogs from the Mediterranean basin, partly related to Oriental Greyhounds. Their characteristic feature are large, upright ears.