Sloughi

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 60-70cm (23½”-27½”).
Colour: Sable or fawn with or without a black muzzle.
Coat: Tough, short and fine.
Gait: Free flowing and capable of great speed.
These elegant sight hounds must be muscular and lean. The flat, moderately broad skull has a pronounced occiput, while the equally long muzzle is wedge shaped. A barely perceptible stop separates large dark obliquely slanting eyes. The ears normally hang to the side of the head, but at times may be flung back. The arched neck runs into a body with well laid shoulders, a chest that nearly reaches the elbows and then cuts up sharply to the abdomen. Well boned fore and hindlegs are long with good hind angulation and thin oval feet. The long tail is carried out, but never over the back.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Being similar to the smooth coated variety of Saluki, this breed often is mistaken for one of them. Sloughis may be either a heavier compact ‘mountain’ type, or a more slender ‘desert’ type. One of the rarer sight hounds, they display gentleness, reliability with children, discernment with strangers and a natural guarding instinct. Periodically, they benefit from being taken for racing or lure coursing, where they can stretch out in a full gallop. Like most sighthounds, they are not big eaters and their coats require minimal care. They do not handle the cold well and might need coats during winter.
HISTORY
Sharing the same ancestry as other members of the sighthound family, Sloughis’ origins can be found in the original Egyptian Greyhound who was depicted so often on the walls of tombs. Later they moved with nomads across Africa to Morocco, where they were reported to be self-appointed guardians in their villages, guarding their masters’ homes either in front or from the roof. Once a predator was sighted and attacked by one Sloughi, reinforcements from neighbouring dogs were immediately on hand to give support. When the fray was over, the Sloughis returned to their normal observation posts at the homes of their own masters.