AKC Standard

Head

 Long and narrow, skull moderately wide between the ears, not domed, stop not pronounced, the whole showing great quality.

Nose

 Black or Liver.

Ears

Long and covered with long silky hair hanging close to the skull and mobile.

Eyes

 Dark to hazel and bright; large and oval, but not prominent.

Teeth

 Strong and level.

Neck

 Long, supple and well muscled.

Chest

 Deep and moderately narrow.

Forequarters

 Shoulders slopeing and set well back, well muscled without being coarse.

Forelegs

 Straight and long from the elbow to the knee.

Hindquarters

 Strong, hipbones set well aprt and stifle moderately bent, hocks low to the ground, showing galloping and jumping power.

Loin and Back

 Back fairly broad, muscles slightly arched over loin.

Feet

 Of moderate length, toes long and well arched, not splayed out, but at the same time not cat-footed; the whole being strong and supple and well feathered between the toes.

Tail

 Long, set low and carried naturally in a curve, well feathered on the underside with long silky hair, not bushy.

Coat

 Smooth and of a soft silky texture, slight feather on the legs, feather at the back of the thighs and sometimes with slight woolly feather on the thigh and shoulder.

Colors

 White, cream, fawn, golden, red, grizzle and tan, tricolor (white, black and tan) and black and tan.

General Appearance

 The whole appearance of this breed should give an impression of grace and symmetry and of great speed and endurance coupled with strength and activity to enable it to kill gazelle or other quarry over deep sand or rocky mountains. The expression should be dignified and gentle with deep, faithful, far-seeing eyes. Dogs should average in height from 23 to 28 inches and bitches may be considerably smaller, this being very typical of the breed.

The Smooth Variety

 In this variety the points should be the same with the exception of the coat, which has no feathering.


Bedouin Standard

The Bedouin were and are very selective in their breeding. Their pedigrees were never written down, but instead memorized and were transmitted only by word of mouth generation after generation.

There are a variety of sizes and colors, due to the vast region and different terrain. The Salukis were breed to the likeness of the area and purpose. The environment in which they lived also determined their sizes. The smaller varieties tended to arise from the harsh desert climates where a catch was seldom and the game small. The larger salukis with heavier bone and more feathering come from the area where the game were larger and more plentiful.

There are three types of Salukis. The “Shami” has silky hair on the ears and long feathering on the tail, while the “Yemen” and “Omen” have little feathering. The “Nejdi” has shorter hair than the above with no feathering.

Color also differentiated the salukis by region. For instance, the blond and fawns were bred for the golden deserts, the blacks were bred for the black lave deserts and the pale were bred in Northern Africa. Pure white hounds found favor among the Arabs and puppies born with a white star on their heads were considered very special. This mark was often referred to as the “mark of Allah’s blessing.”

The following points are what the Bedouin look for in their desert Salukis.

The snout or muzzle must be long and narrow - this for breed.

The girth at chest must be deep, the deeper the better - this for staying power.

The girth at waist must be fine - this for speed.

The hocks must be well let down - this also for speed.

The width between the tops of the thigh bones measured on the back must also be good, at least the width of a hand including thumb - this for speed.

For the rest of the dog with two hair warts under the chin is better than that with only one and the one having three or four such hair warts is very good.