Page 123 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Issue 15

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 1 2 3

although there is still no dog breeding association and therefore no stud book in Saudi Arabia.

2. if questioned in this way, one would have to realise that the Arabian (Bedouin) dog breeders
are not familiar with the distinction between "Saluki" and "Sloughi". After all, they are two
pronunciation variants of one and the same name. In fact, it is completely absurd to believe
that in Saudi Arabia, for example, two sighthound breeds with different hair coats exist side
by side or ever existed. It is true that some tribes or breeder families have a preference for
feathered animals, others for smooth ones. There is probably also a (albeit loose) relationship
with the environment: feathered dogs are more resistant to cold, but are disadvantaged in
hot sandy deserts or in thorny undergrowth. Especially in Saudi Arabia - which is quite a
large country - there is a transition from the feathered "Saluki" (Persian type) to the smooth
"Sloughi" (Egyptian or Maghrebi type).
In Saudi Arabia alone there are, very conservatively estimated, several ten thousand "Saluqi"
(to use the correct Arabic name). Despite the large number (which can be explained by the
fact that the sighthound, in contrast to the Arabian horse, is still current as a working animal)
and despite certain strain-related variations, these dogs are remarkably uniform in their
actual type, i.e. their physique, - but not in their coat. There are feathered families or

varieties (although never as heavily feathered as some English or European-bred Saluki,
which would also be incompatible with the performance), there are completely smooth
varieties, and there are also quite a few families that vary from moderately feathered to
completely smooth. Now the Arabs, and above all the Saudis, are probably the most adamant
advocates of purebredness that have ever lived. They demand pure lineage from themselves,
from their horses and camels and from their sighthounds. Nevertheless, no Saudi would ever
think that the long-haired and the short-haired Saluqi are different breeds. This idea would
only be met with laughter there, at least among the Bedouins who still live as nomads and
who make up the majority of Saluqi breeding.
My starting animals came exclusively from such sources.

If I have understood correctly, I am accused of having carried out a breed cross
"Sloughi" x "Saluki" in Saudi Arabia with animals of Saudi Arabian origin. I hope that the above
information is sufficient to dismiss this idea as nonsense. The sighthound breed found in

Saudi Arabia is the "Saluqi", which can be considered the origin of both the "Saluki" and the
"Sloughi", but is not identical to either of them. These breeds only exist in Saudi to the extent
that some representatives have recently been introduced there,
and by God I have not included them in my modest breeding programme!

3. it has been made plausible from various sides that the separation of "Saluki" and "Sloughi" is
justified by a separate geographical origin - the "Saluki" from Persia and Arabia and the
"Sloughi"