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Breed guide · Dogs
She knows it's walk time before I do. I'm out before sunrise to beat the heat.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
You ask, they look at you, and they decide whether it is worth it.
What's going onDogs like them lived for a long time without anyone feeding or protecting them, so they work things out for themselves. Make the right choice the one that pays, and they learn quickly. No two desert dogs are the same mix, so the scores on their card are a best guess. Yours will soon show you the rest.
At home
They may back away from guests, or quietly leave the room.
What's going onWariness of strangers kept dogs like them safe. Ask visitors to ignore them and drop a treat on the floor, and let them decide when to say hello.
At home
They know you are going out before you find your keys, and they follow your eyes to the treat jar.
What's going onStreet dogs that read people well ate better and got hurt less. It makes them easier to train than people expect, and it means they notice when the house is tense.
At home
Every bin on the walk gets a look, and the kitchen counter is never quite safe.
What's going onFor dogs like them, passing up food was the mistake. Keep them on a lead past the bins, and swap anything they pick up for something better rather than pulling it out of their mouth.
At home
A hand over their head or an arm around their body can frighten them, even if they have never been hurt.
What's going onFor a dog living free, being grabbed or cornered meant danger. Touch a paw for a second, then give a treat, and build up from there. It makes every vet visit easier.
At home
Flat out in the shade at noon, wide awake at first light and again after sunset.
What's going onThey cope with heat by getting out of it, which suits a Dubai summer. On a lead they cannot choose the shade, so walk them when it is cool.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their food
Built for: Finding their own food.
In Dubai: Dinner that arrives every day, from you.
Their people
Built for: Choosing who to go near.
In Dubai: A flat, where you decide who comes in.
Their trust
Built for: Keeping clear of a reaching hand.
In Dubai: Learning that the hand reaching for them is safe.
Some desert dogs close that gap in weeks. Some take months.
You cannot rush it. You can make it easier for them, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their own record: what their body and history show at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Most desert dogs arrive with gaps in their history, and parasites and infections are the first risks on their health record. Some of what looks like behaviour in the first weeks is an upset gut or pain.
Every age, in their first two weeks home
Why
Most desert dogs arrive with gaps in their history, and parasites and infections are the first risks on their health record. Some of what looks like behaviour in the first weeks is an upset gut or pain.
What to do
Book within two weeks of bringing them home. Bring every piece of paper the rescue gave you: vaccine card, microchip number, tests, treatment. Tell the vet everything the rescue told you, even the guesses.
Every greeting they are pushed into teaches them that people come closer when they do not want them to.
Every age, most of all when they arrive as an adult
Why
Every greeting they are pushed into teaches them that people come closer when they do not want them to.
What to do
Give them a corner or a covered crate that is theirs, and never pull them out of it. Ask visitors to ignore them and drop a treat on the floor. If they come over, good. If they do not, that is fine too.
They will need nail trims, tick checks and vet visits all their life, and being held still can frighten them.
Every age, easiest in puppies
Why
They will need nail trims, tick checks and vet visits all their life, and being held still can frighten them.
What to do
Touch a paw, an ear or their collar for one second, then give a treat. Build up over weeks. If they move away, go back a step. If they arrived as an adult, start with the places they already let you touch.
Swallowed bones, packaging and socks are one of the commonest reasons young dogs end up in surgery.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
Swallowed bones, packaging and socks are one of the commonest reasons young dogs end up in surgery.
What to do
Keep them on a lead near bins and picnic spots. Teach "drop" by swapping what they have for something better. Pulling it out of their mouth teaches them to swallow faster. At home, lid the bin and clear the counter.
They are built to search for food, and searching for dinner tires them more than a longer walk.
Every age, simpler puzzles from 7 years
Why
They are built to search for food, and searching for dinner tires them more than a longer walk.
What to do
Feed at least one meal a day from a puzzle feeder or a snuffle mat, or scatter it on the grass. Use part of their daily food as training treats, so the treats do not add weight.
They cope with heat by finding shade. On a lead they cannot choose it, and hot pavement burns their paws like any dog's.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
They cope with heat by finding shade. On a lead they cannot choose it, and hot pavement burns their paws like any dog's.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after sunset, which is when they want to go anyway. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Take water.
Until they have decided this is home, a frightened desert dog will run, and they may be very good at not being caught.
Their first three months home, at any age
Why
Until they have decided this is home, a frightened desert dog will run, and they may be very good at not being caught.
What to do
Lead on or inner door closed every time the front door opens. Make sure their microchip is registered to you, with your current number, before they go outside for the first time.
They will usually tell you quietly before they tell you loudly. If the quiet warning gets them told off, they learn to skip it.
Every age
Why
They will usually tell you quietly before they tell you loudly. If the quiet warning gets them told off, they learn to skip it.
What to do
Watch for lip licking, yawning when they are not tired, turning their head away, the whites of their eyes and going still. When you see them, give them more room. Never punish a growl.
Parasites and tick-borne disease are on their health record at every age, and a dog from the street may already have met both.
Every age, and before any travel
Why
Parasites and tick-borne disease are on their health record at every age, and a dog from the street may already have met both.
What to do
Give prevention on the schedule your vet sets, every month of the year. After walks on grass or sand, check their ears, between their toes and under their collar.
Nobody can tell you about their parents' health, so their own record has to do that job.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Nobody can tell you about their parents' health, so their own record has to do that job.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands over their ribs, spine, hips, belly and feet. Once a month, weigh them and write it down. You should feel their ribs easily without seeing them. If they are still learning to be touched, start with the places they already allow. Tell your vet about any new lump or stiffness.
All of these you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
The type
Most carry the local type: medium, lean, with pricked ears and a curled tail. Long legs, a deep chest and eyes on anything that moves suggest some Saluki. A dog who guards the door may have shepherd in them. Their shape and habits are the best clues you will get.
Colours
Nobody bred them to a pattern, so their colour, size and quirks are entirely their own. Choose the dog in front of you, not the coat.
The first months
Fear, hiding, not eating, guarding and toileting accidents in the first weeks are common, and many fade as they settle. Anything involving teeth, or anything that gets worse rather than better, means contacting your vet.
Just adopted: the first vet visit
Getting the flat ready
Give them a quiet corner or a covered crate, and never pull them out of it. Lid the bin, clear the counter, and keep the lead by the front door for the first three months.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask for every piece of paper: vaccine card, microchip number, any tests or treatment. Most desert dogs come with little paperwork, so whatever the rescue knows becomes the start of their record.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: Just adopted: the first vet visit · Parasite prevention in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
They'll always know walk time before you do. If they stop asking for it, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
Long before breeds
For a very long time, dogs like them lived around the towns and camps of this region, mostly belonging to no one. The ones that did well found their own food and learned quickly which people to keep clear of.
What they still carrySelf-reliance, caution with strangers, and a habit of eating whatever turns up.
The 20th century
A dog trainer in the Levant found that the local semi-wild dogs, living on the edge of settlements and with Bedouin families, coped with the desert better than imported guarding breeds. They became the Canaan Dog.
What they still carryA recorded breed that behaves like the dogs still living here: a guide to them, not their family tree.
What genetics says
Studies of village dogs, Middle Eastern dogs among them, find long-standing local lines. In many places those local dogs have also mixed with imported breeds.
What they still carryA desert dog may be mostly local type, part Saluki, part shepherd, part anything.
Their life before you
Many desert dogs in the UAE were born outside or abandoned, then found, and spent time in a shelter or a foster home before adoption. Many arrive as adults, and nobody knows their first years.
What they still carryHabits from their old life that can fade in a settled home, and a health history with gaps.
Today
For many of them, this is the first time they have belonged to someone.
What they still carryA dog shaped to look after themselves, now in a flat where someone else decides the food, the doors, the walks and the visitors.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Desert and mixed-breed dogs suits you, so might these.
SalukiThe same kind of dog: many desert dogs carry some Saluki, the long-legged sighthound of the Gulf.
Canaan DogThe same kind of dog: a natural breed from the Middle East, made for hot weather, and quick to bark at anything new.
BasenjiAnother old, natural breed from hot country, smaller, and famous for a yodel instead of a bark.
Australian Cattle DogA similar size and a short coat that handles heat well, in a herding dog with energy for hours.
