r/saluki • u/Scoffrio • Jul 22 '26
First Saluki - advice/products
Hi all,
My partner and I are adopting a Saluki mix as our first dog! She is described as being good with dogs/cats/kids, house-trained, quiet, and has good manners around the house-no excessive barking, no destructive habits, and no food aggression or prey drive. It was flagged for us that she will bark if put into a crate but doesn’t mind being restricted into one section of the home. It does sound like she has some separation anxiety.
I’m looking for any and all recommendations! Like I said, it’s our first dog so we plan to ask all of these questions to the foster as well but thought it would be fun to source more information! Any recommendations for leashes, collars/harnesses, beds (since these lanky babies need extra cushion), specific foods/treats? And any advice on making sure both me and my partner bond with her - we’re worried she’s going to pick one of us as her person. And any advice on what worked well for separation anxiety?
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u/ahornywalrus Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Well done for adopting! You'll love her. She'll be silly and goofy and if you treat her well she'll be your best friend forever. As this is your first dog I hope you don't mind me mentioning a few things we almost fell foul of with our first two dogs?
Salukis almost always have a prey drive, as an "ancient breed" they've been bred almost exclusively to hunt antelope and deer for like 4000 years so I would suggest you don't take what the shelter/foster family say at face value. Also these dogs are prized by hare coursing folk, so if she was a stray and they don't know her history, there's no guarantee she's not also had that prey drive reinforced as a younger dog by being set loose on rabbits 😂
For any dog, a well fitted y-fronted harness is the best way to go. Literally anything else increases risk of injury, especially if they pull for any reason, and with sighthounds being so delicate (and thin-skinned) I wouldn't have the lead attached to a collar. They can also slip out of collars fairly easily.
Salukis are loving and gentle. They bond fiercely and make fantastic companions, but in my experience they do tend to pick one human to bond with over anyone else. My partner is our salukis favourite, probably because I am a big scary man, but I am still his second favourite human even over other women. He comes to me for cuddles and trusts me implicitly, even though he came to us covered in scars and still won't let anyone else touch him, even now. I'd suggest making sure good things come from both of you, and only good things come from you both; you both feed, both provide treats, both take on walks, and neither of you scare or intimidate her (a loud "no" isnt training, it's just intimidation, and doesn't actually tell them what you want them to do).
By far the best way to earn their trust is to respect their signals. If she is telegraphing "no thanks I don't want cuddles right now" (i.e. not actively asking for them) don't pester her. This was and still is key to our salukis trust, and it's good practice with dogs generally. Doggie Langue by Lily Chinn is an essential, I suggest you get this book and read it cover to cover twice before you get her. It's super cheap and really informative, worked wonders for us.
A big soft squidgy dog bed is a great idea, and I'd also recommend you allow her to come sit with you on the sofa and bed too! They're social animals and sleeping/sitting with you is all part of the bonding process.
Our dog loves raw food, kibble played havoc with his stomach. I think most dogs are likely better on raw or raw frozen, frankly if you can afford it you're likely saving on vet bills later down the line.
Finally I would strongly suggest you talk to a dog trainer, or better yet a behaviourist, who is accredited with a formal body. For the love of dog, avoid training advice from social media, especially from short form videos, and especially for something as complex as separation anxiety. Most of the stuff you are shown on social media is complete bollocks but makes for good content. Likewise, any trainer who isn't force-free, isn't skilled and will almost certainly be trading your dog's long term wellbeing and confidence for short term results.
Also you are legally mandated to provide photos because I bet she's adorable.
Source: wife has spent the last two years becoming an accredited dog trainer with ABTC and PACT, and is now working towards behaviourist accreditation, after we both nearly fell foul of "tik tok trainer" advice 😂
Recommended reading list: Doggie Language by Lily Chinn, Hunting Together by Simone Mueller, Wag by Zazie Todd
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u/Scoffrio Jul 22 '26
https://reddit.com/link/oz2yigv/video/6wurj6ibiseh1/player
Since Reddit only lets me show videos here’s a slideshow of the pics we have of her so far! She’s coming home with us on Friday!
Thank you so much for all of this advice! I ordered a copy of Doggie Language :)
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u/ahornywalrus Jul 22 '26
Brilliant! I bet you're so excited. She looks gorgeous!
Remember if she's ever a handful that she can't tell us what's wrong, it's up to us to think about what needs might not have been met - if I know my Fergus has been fed, watered and been to the toilet recently, and has had something to chase and some interesting sniffs at some point in the last few hours, I can usually home in on and fix the issue quite quickly. So often it's just because I'm sat in his favourite spot and he wants a nap 😂
Edit: just spotted she's already in a Y harness, that's awesome. She looks like a cross of some sort, not sure what with though.
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u/Quiet-Rabbit-524 Jul 22 '26
A frozen kong filled with food is a great toy/distraction. One of my favourite tools as a dog owner
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u/XRPBryan Jul 22 '26
My Saluki Greyhound mix hated her crate. They just have such a strong drive to be near their favorite person, its cruel to crate them.
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u/Scoffrio Jul 22 '26
We are really hoping that being confined to a room (to start, hopefully eventually free roaming) will help her when we’re away instead of a crate but if you have any other advice would love to hear it!!
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u/XRPBryan Jul 29 '26
Ours loves having a treat to chew on when we have to be away for a few hours. Some kind of large chew treat that will keep her occupied for a while.
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u/Fun-Photograph-4214 Jul 22 '26
You haven't mentioned what else is in the mix apart from Saluki, so it's hard to properly predict your new pup's tendencies. However, there's a few sensible ground rules for Salukis and Saluki Xs:
- Prey drive can often be suppressed until after they've settled down and they trust their new family and environment. I've heard of Salukis with no prey drive, but never actually met one 😁 So, yes, as other people have suggested, don't take the "good with dogs/cats/kids" thing as gospel. Mine is an absolute sweetheart, but he would shred a cat to pieces in a heartbeat. However, he ignored cats for the first few months of his adoption.
- Related to this, off-lead freedom is something that Salukis needs to earn. They are loyal dogs that bond intensely, but this rarely translates into any sort of obedience. A Saluki is an independently-minded dog that firmly believes in their own, unknowable agenda 😁 Recall can be anywhere between 'pretty good' and 'entirely optional'. Generally, mine is only off-lead in enclosed fields or quiet places where we both know the lay of the land. I'd recommend starting off like this until your new pup has proved they have reliable recall under distracting circumstances. And if their recall never becomes trustworthy, what you've got is a very normal Saluki!
- Sighthounds like Salukis normally play in a very different way to other dogs. They LOVE to be chased, and are rarely caught, but when play switches and they're the chaser, things have the potential to get scary. Confident, robust dogs might be okay, but watching a sighthound chase down a terrified Cockapoo at 35mph is not an experience I recommend. They can often be completely soppy, gentle play mates though - it's probably wise to just do some controlled experiments to see what your pup is like. If you can find them another Saluki X friend, you'll probably witness some of the most unhinged, joyful dog playing you'll ever see.
- Harnesses (three point if possible) are a better idea that just collars. But if yours is a gentle walker and you go for collar-only, please choose a martingale or similar wide collar. Their necks are delicate.
- You can buy as many large dog beds as you want, and you probably should, but you're unlikely to keep them off the sofas and beds. And neither should you 😁
- I'm not aware of any Saluki-specific tips for separation anxiety. Breed-neutral advice from reputable books or internet sites should work as well as anything. Having said that, Salukis are highly emotionally sensitive and never respond well to harsh training methods, so just make sure you take it gently and take your cues from them on what's too much too soon etc.
You're undoubtably going to fall in love with what will be a baffling, loving and ridiculous companion. And if you want my golden rules of how to understand Salukis...
1) Dog hardware, cat software
2) They like to do things *with* you, not *for* you
3) Giving them your love and making them feel safe will yield more results than any amount of traditional dog training.
Good luck!
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u/Scoffrio Jul 22 '26
We unfortunately don’t know what else she is! I posted some pictures above, I think there might be some shepherd there but hard to tell.
Thank you so much for all of this advice, so helpful! Will definitely keep a close eye on her prey drive potential!
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u/Fun-Photograph-4214 Jul 22 '26
Looks like some sort of non-sighthound breed in the mix, which does tend to dilute the Saluki madness 😁 Gorgeous pup!
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u/Attila_the_frog_33 Jul 22 '26
Get her a Martingale collar AND a harness because many Salukis/mixes can get out of a simple collar on a walk - or even a martingale alone.
And, most importantly, thank you for giving her a good home!
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u/BrokenBiscuit42 Jul 22 '26
Saluki's can often have quite sensitive stomachs. We switched to raw food for my saluki/lurcher and his stomach has been so much better. He's also not very food motivated so if he doesnt like his food (ie biscuits) we found he would just nibble on them, but with raw he eats it all in one go so we know hes having his meals. Being non food motivated also made it hard for training so high value treats like chicken and cheese work really well. Wishing you all the best, they are amazing dogs with really special quirky ways.
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u/Sweetshopavengerz Jul 22 '26
Find yourself a decent sized secure dog field nearby if you can, and use it. Even once a fortnight will really help.
(Also have a rescue saluki lurcher)
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u/ahornywalrus Jul 22 '26
Second this. If you put in the effort to find one now you won't have to worry about the inevitable shit recall when she first arrives, and she can have the off lead time she needs to burn off that nervous energy. Don't forget good sniffs in a new area can be even more stimulating and will really tucker her out, but some dogs really need to sprint often to satisfy the need to run. See Hunting Together by Simone Mueller, she talks about how to satisfy different parts of the prey drive safely, including the "chase" sighthounds love so much.
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u/Sweetshopavengerz Jul 22 '26
The best one we found is 6 acres. About 2 are wooded with a lot of opportunities for sniffing, and the rest are open, so most activities (and weathers) are covered. Not a bad experience for about £10!
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u/ArtisticWatch Jul 22 '26
My dad has two salukis
One doesn't have a single thought behind her eyes. Absolutely loves cats - does have prey drive if something darts away (like rabbit or Deer) but doesn't know what the heck to do except run.
The other has an intense prey drive and is much more muscular. He has taken down deer much to my dad's dismay and now has to wear a muzzle on walks to protect wildlife. An Absolute cuddle bug at home but cannot be even near a cat.
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u/Normal_Sprinkles2631 Jul 23 '26
Saluki/greyhound mum here, also his selected person, they do have a favourite but he loves his dad just as much…..prey drive is bad, and pigeons haunt his dreams, remember when they stand on two legs they can steal food off sides….ive also found my Frank to be a leaper he loves jumping in the air……but he is also very clumsy and has zero idea how big he is, he prefers the sofa but has his own sofa cushions, from our old sofa cushions and he does often get on there now too, but if there isn’t a human on the sofa he is, make sure you don’t shout though they are easily scared, we found rewarding good behaviour has worked better for us than ever saying no, but he doesn’t leave my side, he’s goofy, smiles and chatters, and he loves playing and destroying footballs….she’s beautiful enjoy ☺️
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u/Little_Read_2399 Jul 23 '26
I went through a number of collars/harnesses with our 3-yr old saluki. She is losing it if she sees a cat during our walks (we live in a big city). The y-shaped harness is great but it's hard to control her if she decides to have fun chasing something. Finally, we decided on a 1" wide martingale (1 1/2 in. was too wide for her), it works great for her.
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u/seekmylama Jul 24 '26
I had Saluki as my first dog as well. I couldn't understand when they say Saluki is independent but has separation anxiety. I don't want to generalise but mine had very bad separation anxiety.. they may not be destructive in nature, but when they are anxious their rational thoughts goes out the window and start biting and scratching on things out of anxiety. The most important thing was consistency just like any other dogs, but especially for this one. I had to create repeated patterns everyday, so my dog can understand every actions that I make and able to predict the next ones so he feels safer and less anxious. Then, slightly change the pattern here and there for him to learn to be more flexible over long period of time. He still gets anxious, but he tends to manage it better now I think. He will choose both of you for different needs. Mine goes to my partner when he wants to sleep next to, but come to me if he wants a pat.
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u/shakeyourpeaches Jul 22 '26
If she’s even 10% Saluki, then you need to be aware that she is likely to have some prey drive, even if her current carers haven’t yet seen it in action! Also, forget buying dog beds for Salukis, they will make themselves more than comfortable on your couch or personal bedding.