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UAE Government Licensed MOCCAE

Breed guide  ·  Dogs

Saluki

The Gulf sighthound. Bred to run down game across open desert, built for speed over distance, and not remotely interested in being told what to do.

Lifespan
12 to 14 years
Size
Large
Origin
Fertile Crescent

Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.

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About the breed

Nobility on four legs.

An ancient desert sighthound, graceful and aloof, who will come when called only after weighing it up and deciding, entirely on their own terms, that they feel like it. Revered across the Arab world as El Hor, the noble one, the Saluki holds deep cultural significance here in the UAE.

Gentle, sensitive and devoted to their family, they are calm indoors and breathtaking at a run. That lean build and short coat are made for the desert, though they still need care and comfort. Dignified and quietly loving, a Saluki is nobility on four legs.

One of the oldest breeds alive, from the Fertile Crescent, built for speed and endurance and capable of 65 to 70 km an hour. In a Dubai flat they are quiet and easy to live with, right up until they see something move.

Traits and characteristics

What they are actually like.

Scored one to five by our clinical team, not by a breed club. The same measures on every breed, so two pages can be read side by side.

Affectionate with family5 of 5
IndependentDevoted
Good with young children3 of 5
Not advisedVery good
Good with other dogs3 of 5
Prefers to be aloneSociable
Good with cats1 of 5
Strong prey driveUntroubled

The bit nobody tells you

Things you did not know about your Saluki.

Tell us how old they are and we will tell you the lot: what to watch for now, what we would do about it, and what it costs. It is all below.

Years oldShow me

The Founding Families offer

AED 199

a month, for anyone who joins before we open. Your Saluki's own plan price is further down.

Register your interest

A breed is only ever a starting point, and every dog writes their own story. But some things are worth knowing before they happen, and they change as your dog does. These are Dr Farah Murrani's six life stages, and the care that matters in each.

  • What matters now

    • A heart murmur they were born with
    • Early signs of the eye condition that runs in the breed
    • A thyroid tendency in the family line, nothing to treat yet
    • Baby teeth that will not fall out, and a crowded mouth
    • Skin that starts to react early

    What we do about it

    • Their full course of puppy jabs, microchip and municipality registration
    • Worm and parasite cover, set up for Dubai
    • Weight, growth, teeth and food checked, and early socialising
    • A first look at the heart, so we know what normal is for them
    • Eyes checked early if anything looks off

    Care in the first six months, without a plan

    AED 2,800

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 400 a month

    Register your interest

  • What matters now

    • The first signs of a heart not pumping as strongly as it should
    • Sight starting to go
    • A thyroid we keep an eye on
    • Gums going, and teeth sitting too close together
    • Skin that keeps flaring up

    What we do about it

    • A heart scan at two, then once a year after that
    • Eyes checked every year from one
    • A conversation about when to neuter or spay, timed for a big breed
    • A thyroid blood test each year from two
    • If something keeps coming back, we look for the cause rather than treating it again

    Care a year, without a plan

    AED 5,850

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 275 a month

    Register your interest

  • What matters now

    • A heart not pumping as strongly as it should
    • Sight fading
    • An underactive thyroid
    • Teeth and gums
    • Sensitive skin

    What we do about it

    • A heart scan every year
    • Eyes checked every year
    • A thyroid blood test each year
    • Brushing at home, and a proper clean every six to twelve months
    • Sun protection for thin skin, with dog safe sunscreen

    Care a year, without a plan

    AED 7,800

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 277 a month

    Register your interest

  • What matters now

    • A heart that is getting weaker
    • An underactive thyroid
    • Sight that keeps fading
    • Teeth that have gone past a clean
    • Skin allergies

    What we do about it

    • A heart scan twice a year, and medication when the cardiologist says it is time
    • Thyroid levels checked, and the dose adjusted
    • Eyes checked every year
    • Dental X rays each year, and a clean every six to twelve months
    • Finding what sets the skin off, then managing it with food or medication

    Care a year, without a plan

    AED 11,700

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 276 a month

    Register your interest

  • What matters now

    • A heart under real strain
    • Kidneys slowing down
    • Stiff, sore joints
    • Cancer
    • Confusion, and nights that get muddled

    What we do about it

    • Full heart medication, and counting their breathing at home
    • Kidney blood tests twice a year, and a senior diet
    • Joint support, and gentle regular walks
    • A full physical once a year, checking for lumps
    • Keeping their mind busy, and their days the same shape

    Care a year, without a plan

    AED 12,450

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 294 a month

    Register your interest

  • What matters now

    • A heart that can no longer keep up
    • Kidneys failing
    • Cancer, further along
    • Joints that make moving hard
    • Deep confusion

    What we do about it

    • Kidney care, adjusted as they need it
    • Pain relief and physiotherapy for sore joints
    • Beds, ramps and non slip floors, so they can still get about
    • Honest conversations about how life actually is for them
    • A comfort first plan, built around them
    • Help planning the end, gently, with your vet

    Care a year, without a plan

    AED 8,800

    On a Paws & Co Plan

    AED 312 a month

    Register your interest

The Subscription

Or you pay it once.

Membership covers everything on that list except the food and the licence: the vaccinations, the annual screen and bloodwork, parasite prevention, dental, and the consultations in between when you are not sure whether it is serious. No excess, no claim form, no argument about what counts.

Loved like family. The gold part is on us.

Care in the prime years, AED 11,700

AED 276

a month, for a four year old. Put their age in above and this moves.

Before they arrive

Four things to sort out first.

01

Register them

Dogs in Dubai are microchipped and registered with the municipality, and the licence renews every year.

Included in your plan

02

See the paperwork

Vaccination card, microchip number and, from a breeder, the health screens on both parents. If nobody will show you the mother, walk away.

03

Create a warm space

There is almost no fat on a Saluki, so a tiled floor and hard air conditioning are colder for them than they are for you. One raised bed, one warm corner, somewhere that is theirs and nobody else's.

04

Know their boundaries

They were built to chase, and they do not check with you first. Find the fenced space before they come home, not after the first time something moves.

The Community Fund

He destroys another toy.
We help dogs who've never had one.

There are Salukis and Saluki crosses in shelters across the UAE right now. If you are choosing between a breeder and a rescue, start with the rescue.

1% of revenue. 1% of employee time. 1% of product.

Similar breeds

If the Saluki suits you, so might these.

Greyhound

Whippet

Pharaoh Hound

Borzoi

Desert Dog

What you are really asking

The ones you type at midnight.

Nobody looks up their dog's breed at one in the morning out of idle curiosity. They do it because they love something that cannot tell them what is wrong. Here is what we would say if you rang us.

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Trusted from day one

Bring them in, or send this on.

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Written by Dr Farah Murrani, our clinical lead. A breed predisposition means an increased risk, never a certainty. What is right for your dog always comes from their own history and an examination, not from a list.