Sloughi

History

The Sloughi is a breed originating from North Africa, precisely from Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia.

Its history goes back thousands of years and we have traces of this race also in the Koran.

Born as a hunting dog on sight in the desert and faithful companion of the Bedouins, it was bred and jealously guarded by the various families who passed down from father to son, orally, the family tree.

Fundamental auxiliary for everyday life in the desert, he was not only a skilled hunter, but also an excellent deterrent from predators who approached the camps at night.

It risked extinction towards the end of the 19th century for many cases of Rabies and for the ban imposed by France on the French colonies on hunting on sight.

This led to a very drastic drop in numbers in the area, but luckily some European and American enthusiasts decided to export some specimens and breed them, especially in France.

With the end of the French colonization the law was abolished, in fact even today we can find on the North African territory some specimens of Sloughi bred and used for hunting.

Standard:

As in all other breeds, the Sloughi also has a standard, that is a "model" to follow, such as proportions, dimensions, height and defects, which it is right to know and which reflects the breed in its functionality and beauty.

General appearance:

Due to his appearance, the delicacy of the tissues and the dryness of the muscles, his general appearance is that of a very elegant and classy dog.

Morphology:

The head seen in profile is elongated, elegant, fine but rather important. Seen from above it has the shape of a very elongated wedge, where the skull is the widest part; narrows towards the tip of the nose.

The long neck comes out well from the shoulders and slightly arched above. The length is almost equal to that of the head. The skin is fine, taut, without dewlap; the hair is short.

The top line gently and harmoniously curves with the hip bones protruding, equal in height or slightly higher than the withers.

Chest not too broad; in depth it hardly reaches the elbow. Well developed in length. Ribs are flat.

Tail slender, gaunt, set on the extension of the rump and carried below the topline. It should be at least long to the point of the hock. At rest, its extremity presents an accentuated curve.

The skin is very fine, close to the body, without folds or dewlap.

The various colors of the coat can vary from light sand to red sand (fawn) through all the possible different shades; with or without black mask, with or without black blanket, with or without black stripes, with or without black stripes.

Height differs between the two sexes:

Males from 66 to 72 cm

Females from 61 to 68 cm

For more information about the standard, see https://www.enci.it/media/2455/188.pdf