KENAI
Sloughi

The breeds · sighthound · sighthound

AKC Hound · UKC Sighthound & Pariah · FCI standard 188

Sloughi.

AKC: a powerful, elegant, athletic sighthound developed in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya) to hunt game; treasured for hunting skills, speed, agility and endurance over long distances. UKC: an ancient sighthound; "in Africa the Sloughi is a working dog, primarily used for hunting." FCI 188: sighthound, Group 10 Section 3 (short-haired sighthounds), without working trial, racing licence; most Sloughis today are in Morocco, which holds the standard. Wikipedia: still used for hunting in North Africa, and as a guard and watch dog; traditionally coursed game..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

28 / 26INHeightdogs 27.5, bitches 26. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
40–65LBWeight, all linesbreed 40 to 65 lb.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayRKC: more than 2 hours per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 27.5 in (26 to 29) · bitches 26 in (24 to 27)

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 188

FCI is the only source to print an ideal.

Weight

40 to 65 lb

Breed clubAKC

Weight comes only from the AKC page header and Wikipedia (editorial), which are summaries, not the standard. The header range is not sex-specific.

Coat

AKC: always smooth; short, tight and fine all over; presented natural; disqualifications are feathering on the ears, tail and legs, or a coat that is not short, tight and smooth. UKC: same, with coat too long or feathering on tail or legs a disqualification, and coat hard and coarse a fault. FCI 188: very short, dense, fine. Colour (AKC, UKC, FCI): light sand (cream) to mahogany red fawn, with or without brindling, black mask, overlay or black mantle; large white markings are faults or disqualifications by the registry.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Three registries agree on the coat; the colour and white-marking penalties differ in wording and are not all spelled out here.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

5 of 5 · AKC and UKC: always smooth, short, tight and fine all over the body. FCI 188: very short, dense, fine. RKC: carries no subcutaneous fat, which it describes as a cooling mechanism for desert conditions.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard coat description (short single coat = 5). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day; large house and large garden suggested, country. AKC breed page: energy level band 4 of 5. Wikipedia: not well suited to apartment life without a planned regimen of daily exercise that includes galloping freely; extremely high prey drive after millennia of coursing.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC and AKC bands; Wikipedia is editorial.

Energy

AKC breed page: energy level 4 of 5 (AKC band); mental stimulation needs 3 of 5; trainability level 3 of 5.

Breed clubAKC

AKC trait bands, not a study.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · RKC: grooming once a week; short coat; sheds. AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency band 1 of 5, shedding level 3 of 5 (not mapped).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule. AKC trait bands are a different scale and are shown, not mapped.

Grooming

RKC: grooming once a week. AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency band 1 of 5.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC bands are the AKC page trait scores.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC: a powerful, elegant, athletic sighthound developed in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya) to hunt game; treasured for hunting skills, speed, agility and endurance over long distances. UKC: an ancient sighthound; "in Africa the Sloughi is a working dog, primarily used for hunting." FCI 188: sighthound, Group 10 Section 3 (short-haired sighthounds), without working trial, racing licence; most Sloughis today are in Morocco, which holds the standard. Wikipedia: still used for hunting in North Africa, and as a guard and watch dog; traditionally coursed game.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC, UKC and FCI wording; Wikipedia is editorial.

Primary game

AKC: hare, fox, jackal, gazelle and wild pigs. UKC: desert hare, desert fox, jackal, gazelle, ostrich, wild boar and hyena. Wikipedia: hare, fox, jackals, gazelle and other antelope, deer, and terrestrial birds such as sand grouse.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC and UKC lists differ; both stand. Wikipedia is editorial.

Also used on

Wikipedia: guard and watch dog for Sahara nomads and Berbers, "highly alert and territorial" for a sighthound.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source.

Search pattern

UKC: an intelligent and very driven hunter which chases on sight what it considers moving prey, but also relies on olfactory and acoustic cues in the chase. AKC: robust but elegant and racy pursuit dog; endurance over long distances. RKC: desert type lighter in frame than the type used on mountainous terrain. No source read states voice on the line or whether it is hunted alone, in a brace or in a pack.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC states that the Sloughi uses scent and hearing as well as sight; AKC and FCI call it a sighthound.

Field trial standard

AKC Lure Coursing (breed eligible; dogs one year or older): tests are non-competitive pass/fail checks of coursing instinct, trials are competitive. In a trial hounds run in packs of three, each in a coloured blanket, behind a mechanical white-plastic lure on a 600+ yard course; judges score a maximum 50 points: overall ability, follow, speed, agility and endurance, 10 each. Stakes: Open (non-titled dogs), Specials (Field Champions) and Veteran. Titles: JC Junior Courser (two solo qualifying runs under two judges), QC Qualified Courser (a judge certifies a clean run with another hound), SC Senior Courser (qualifying scores at four trials under three judges), MC Master Courser (SC plus 25 more qualifying scores), FC Field Champion (15 championship points including two majors, under two judges; FC goes before the name). FCI 188 lists the Sloughi under "without working trial, racing licence."

Breed clubAKC

AKC lure coursing Get Started and Eligible Breeds pages. The AKC lure coursing rulebook, the ASFA rules (asfa.org was blocked from this environment) and the Schedule of Points by Breed were not read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: only a few genetic conditions confirmed; autoimmune disorders such as Addison disease and irritable bowel syndrome, and progressive retinal atrophy, for which a DNA test exists; very sensitive to anaesthesia, and can be sensitive to vaccines and worming.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source, second-hand. The AKC national breed club recommends the PRA DNA test (see health_tests).

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 2; Watchdog/Protective Nature 2; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 2; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 4; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Sloughi yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Arabian Greyhound, Slougui

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

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