Page 25 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 2 5

But the Sloughi is not only a fast sighthound. The Sloughi has good hearing, a good nose
and sensitive paws that let him feel the slightest vibrations of the ground and thus
indicate where to direct his attention. But he also has a fine perception and an excellent
sense for the impressions in the environment. He is an intuitive hunting dog who can and
must decide for himself.

A lady who used to go on holiday to the seaside with her Afghan hounds and Sloughis had

always wondered that the Sloughis stood in the car for almost the entire ten-hour drive,
while the Afghans lay unmoved on the bare floor. The vibrations of the car, which put the
Sloughis on constant alert, did not allow them to lie relaxed in the car while driving.

The Sloughis, with their broad-based hunting characteristics, as well as the skills a dog

needs to defend herds and home, seem to us to be dogs of the original kind, because
specialisation is expensive! Breeding a dog specifically for one type of hunting is a luxury
one must be able to afford! For nomads, for example, such a luxury would not make sense,
so such a dog would be useless for them.

This can still be seen today in the rural areas of the Maghreb. Having a dog, or even a
horse, does not mean having an accessory that shows that you can afford! It is above all

necessity and it is responsibility towards the animal, whether one can feed it and afford
the things of daily use. So the dog has to be versatile [14].

The Sloughi depends on the reliable social conditions in his environment. Less the luxury
of superficialities than substantial attention and the fulfilment of his needs. Mutual trust
between man and dog are the basis of reliable enormous performance into old age.

In order to formulate these needs a little more clearly, we need to address a major issue:
“Domestication”. At what point is an animal a “wild” animal and at what point do we have
a “domesticated” animal before us?