Salukis Are Not Naked Afghan Hounds
Two top winners of their day: The Afghan Ch Tryst of Grandeur and Saluki Ch Sundown Alabaster Treasure. Treasure held the Saluki BIS record for many years, and won the group at Westminster.
While the Saluki and Afghan Hound are doubtless close relatives and share many similarities, there are more differences between them that just coat.
Some of the most obvious can be seen in this picture. The Afghan Hound is generally larger, with a straighter topline, more prominent hip bones and distinct tail.
Size: Actually, the Afghan Hound standard puts it toward the top of the saluki standard: Afghan: "Height: Dogs, 27 inches, plus or minus one inch; bitches, 25 inches, plus or minus one inch. Weight: Dogs, about 60 pounds; bitches, about 50 pounds." Saluki: "Dogs should average in height from 23 to 28 inches; bitches may be considerably smaller." In practice most Afghans in the group ring are larger than the Salukis there.
Topline: Again the Afghan standard could accommodate the Saluki requirements but in practice it is far more level. Afghan: "The back line appearing practically level from the shoulders to the loin. Strong and powerful loin and slightly arched, falling away toward the stern, with the hipbones very pronounced; well ribbed and tucked up in flanks." Saluki: "...muscles slightly arched over loin."
Overall, the Saluki is curvier whereas the Afghan is more angular.
Below are some naked Afghan Hounds for comparison. In general the Afghan has a larger head for its body, longer second thigh, and more shallow chest compared to the Saluki.
The head is also very different. The Afghan head tends to be longer, with a greater inclination toward a Roman nose and downface, slightly less stop, and much more depth below the eye and of lower jaw. The Saluki head is more moderate, with equal muzzle to backskull length, parallel planes, and far less depth or inclination to be Roman nosed. A good Afghan head would be a terrible Saluki head!
From the Afghan Hound standard: "The head is of good length, showing much refinement, the skull evenly balanced with the foreface. There is a slight prominence of the nasal bone structure causing a slightly Roman appearance, the center line running up over the foreface with little or no stop, falling away in front of the eyes so there is an absolutely clear outlook with no interference; the underjaw showing great strength, the jaws long and punishing.... The occipital bone is very prominent..."
Sighthound authority Bo Bengtson says: "Both breeds’ heads are long, showing 'much refinement' (Afghan) and 'great quality' (Saluki), which does not mean the heads should be too narrow, but rather that there should be chiseling and veining, with no loose skin. The Afghan head should be evenly balanced with the foreface, while the Saluki standard rather oddly describes the head as 'long and narrow, skull moderately wide between the ears,' which to me sounds contradictory. I would certainly not like to see a Saluki with a skull that’s more narrow than that of an Afghan Hound. Neither breed should have a pronounced stop; the Afghan’s nose is black, the Saluki’s black or liver. The Afghan should have a level bite (with scissors bite not penalized), while there is no reference to the Saluki’s bite, except that the teeth should be 'strong and level.'"
The Saluki has a high ear set; the Afghan Hound standard specifies the ears should be set on level with the outer corners of the eyes, which is much lower than the Saluki ear set.
The Saluki has a large oval eye; the Afghan Hound has a smaller almond (almost triangular) shaped eye.
The Saluki has a moderately sized and shaped foot, somewhat more hare-footed than the Afghan; The Afghan has a large foot both in length and width, and must have thick pads.
The Saluki's tail is set on low; the Afghan's tail is set "not to high"---the carriage differs markedly as the Afghan standard says the tail should be carried gaily. The Saluki standard does not specify carriage but a tail carried like an Afghan would be too high in my opinion.
Temperament is very different. The Afghan is a much busier, livelier dog, and this extends to the show ring where they tend to be much showier. The Afghan tends to fall back on heavy drama when things don't go its way. The Saluki resorts to pouting and shutting down.
Some of the most obvious can be seen in this picture. The Afghan Hound is generally larger, with a straighter topline, more prominent hip bones and distinct tail.
Size: Actually, the Afghan Hound standard puts it toward the top of the saluki standard: Afghan: "Height: Dogs, 27 inches, plus or minus one inch; bitches, 25 inches, plus or minus one inch. Weight: Dogs, about 60 pounds; bitches, about 50 pounds." Saluki: "Dogs should average in height from 23 to 28 inches; bitches may be considerably smaller." In practice most Afghans in the group ring are larger than the Salukis there.
Topline: Again the Afghan standard could accommodate the Saluki requirements but in practice it is far more level. Afghan: "The back line appearing practically level from the shoulders to the loin. Strong and powerful loin and slightly arched, falling away toward the stern, with the hipbones very pronounced; well ribbed and tucked up in flanks." Saluki: "...muscles slightly arched over loin."
Overall, the Saluki is curvier whereas the Afghan is more angular.
Below are some naked Afghan Hounds for comparison. In general the Afghan has a larger head for its body, longer second thigh, and more shallow chest compared to the Saluki.
The head is also very different. The Afghan head tends to be longer, with a greater inclination toward a Roman nose and downface, slightly less stop, and much more depth below the eye and of lower jaw. The Saluki head is more moderate, with equal muzzle to backskull length, parallel planes, and far less depth or inclination to be Roman nosed. A good Afghan head would be a terrible Saluki head!
From the Afghan Hound standard: "The head is of good length, showing much refinement, the skull evenly balanced with the foreface. There is a slight prominence of the nasal bone structure causing a slightly Roman appearance, the center line running up over the foreface with little or no stop, falling away in front of the eyes so there is an absolutely clear outlook with no interference; the underjaw showing great strength, the jaws long and punishing.... The occipital bone is very prominent..."
Sighthound authority Bo Bengtson says: "Both breeds’ heads are long, showing 'much refinement' (Afghan) and 'great quality' (Saluki), which does not mean the heads should be too narrow, but rather that there should be chiseling and veining, with no loose skin. The Afghan head should be evenly balanced with the foreface, while the Saluki standard rather oddly describes the head as 'long and narrow, skull moderately wide between the ears,' which to me sounds contradictory. I would certainly not like to see a Saluki with a skull that’s more narrow than that of an Afghan Hound. Neither breed should have a pronounced stop; the Afghan’s nose is black, the Saluki’s black or liver. The Afghan should have a level bite (with scissors bite not penalized), while there is no reference to the Saluki’s bite, except that the teeth should be 'strong and level.'"
The Saluki has a high ear set; the Afghan Hound standard specifies the ears should be set on level with the outer corners of the eyes, which is much lower than the Saluki ear set.
The Saluki has a large oval eye; the Afghan Hound has a smaller almond (almost triangular) shaped eye.
The Saluki has a moderately sized and shaped foot, somewhat more hare-footed than the Afghan; The Afghan has a large foot both in length and width, and must have thick pads.
The Saluki's tail is set on low; the Afghan's tail is set "not to high"---the carriage differs markedly as the Afghan standard says the tail should be carried gaily. The Saluki standard does not specify carriage but a tail carried like an Afghan would be too high in my opinion.
Temperament is very different. The Afghan is a much busier, livelier dog, and this extends to the show ring where they tend to be much showier. The Afghan tends to fall back on heavy drama when things don't go its way. The Saluki resorts to pouting and shutting down.
Shaved Afghan
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Shorthaired Afghan. In both Salukis and Afghans, smooth coat is caused by a dominant gene, and occasionaly a mutation occursr resulting in a shorthaired Afghan or smooth Saluki from longhaired/feathered parents.
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