- Permissible: Any colour or combination of colours
- Undesirable: Brindles are undesirable
About the Saluki
Origin: Middle East
- Typical life span
- 10-17 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 18-29 kg
- Female
- 16-25 kg
- Height
- 58-71 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Sighthounds
- Origin
- Middle East
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Saluki?
Ancient, elegant sighthound of the Middle East with graceful build, feathered ears and tail, known for extraordinary speed, endurance, and dignified nature. Bred for hunting gazelle across desert terrain.
Saluki history and origins
One of the most ancient domesticated dog breeds, treasured by royalty and Bedouin tribes for thousands of years. Considered sacred by Muslims and revered throughout the Middle East for hunting gazelle and swift prey across desert terrain.
Saluki appearance and size
Males typically weigh 18-29 kg and females 16-25 kg.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Hunting and coursing hound
- Behaviour and temperament
“Reserved with strangers, but not nervous or aggressive. Dignified, intelligent and independent”
Quoted from FCI standard n°269. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Hunting and coursing hound” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Saluki
What you get with the Saluki
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Hunting and coursing hound”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Reserved with strangers, but not nervous or aggressive. Dignified, intelligent and independent”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Smooth and of a soft, silky texture, feathering on the legs and at the back of thighs,…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Saluki
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible and undesirable.
Coat
Smooth and of a soft, silky texture, feathering on the legs and at the back of thighs, feathering may be present on the throat in adults, puppies may have slight woolly feather on thighs and shoulders.
The smooth variety has no feathering
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°269 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Height at withers: Average between 58 - 71 cm (23-28 inches) bitches proportionally smaller”
- FCI distinguishes an ideal from what is permitted.
Quoted from FCI standard n°269. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Saluki into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- FRINGED
- SMOOTH
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Saluki in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Saluki
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Saluki on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Saluki owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Saluki breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.