Mistaken Statements about the North African Sloughi
by Dr. Dominique de Caprona 
© de Caprona, 2009 

The North African Sloughi is culturally, genetically, historically and geographically a breed of its own. 

However, it is often confused with other breeds, and the statements below have effectively undermined the understanding, and therefore the preservation, of this breed.

Wrong, the North African Sloughi is always smooth and therefore cannot be a variety of a breed which comes in 2 coats, smooth and feathered. If the Sloughis were smooth Salukis, some would be carriers for feathering and would have feathered puppies, which they don't.
The Sloughi is endemic to North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya), outside of the countries of origin of the Saluki. 

2) The French imported Salukis from the Sahara Desert
Quote:prior to World War 1 " France was an exception, for here officers of the French army returning from Algiers, where the French had been established for half a century, occasionally brought back with them Salukis bred in the Sahara"
Page 54, in "The Saluki in History, Art and Sport", by Hope and David Waters (1969), David & Charles Publishers, Newton Abbot, Devon, United Kingdom

Wrong, French officers imported North African Sloughis, not Salukis. When the first Syrien sighthounds were imported to France in the 1920s, several famous French Cynologists described the clear differences between the North African Sloughi and the Middle Eastern Hounds. 

3) from North Africa to Afghanistan, all Sighthounds are the same breed
Quote: Lady Amherst " distinguished between 'the Tazi', the 'North African or Saharan Slughi' and the 'Ahk-Taz-eet' or 'Kirghiz Greyhound', whereas today the Salukis of North Africa, Arabia, Syria, Persia and the steppes are all recognised as being of the same breed and of only two varieties, smooth-coated or feathered."
Page 54, in "The Saluki in History, Art and Sport", by Hope and David Waters (1969), David & Charles Publishers, Newton Abbot, Devon, United Kingdom

Wrong, the North African Sloughi has been recognized as a separate breed since the beginning of the FCI, and many years prior to that. Much later, in the mid 1920's there were 2 standards describing the Saluki and the Persian Sighthound in France. Later on only the Saluki standard remained. The Saluki and the Afghan Hound are separate breeds within the FCI system as well. The various Tazis are considered to be separate breeds by the people who breed them. Germany and the Netherlands have always considered the North African Sloughi to be a breed of its own.

Wrong, the North African Sloughi is always smooth and therefore cannot be a variety of a breed which comes in 2 coats, smooth and long coated.
If the Sloughis were smooth Afghans, some would be carriers for long coat and would have long coated puppies, which they don't.
The Sloughi is endemic to North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya), thousands of miles away from Afghanistan. 

Wrong, although Sloughis can have cowlicks on various parts of their bodies, none has ever been documented to have a ridge on its back.
This photograph of the first 3 Sloughis imported to the Netherlands, on which this statement is based, shows only a shadow of a back muscle on the dog left of the picture. Muska, Haoeesj and Oereida were famous and quite the attraction at the time. They were evaluated by many judges, none ever saw a ridge on them.

Original picture from “de Hond” of 1932

Wrong, these documents identify a top winning Dutch Greyhound at the time, named Alwin, owned by Mr.G.Camman, as being a Sloughi. 
Peter van Arkel & co. in Saluki Heritage, issue 14, Spring 1988, write: "The caption under the photograph does not mention the breed but only the name of the hound and that of the owner. The person responsible for the composition of the Greyhound section in Hutchinson probably concluded that, since the photograph of Alwin appeared below an article on Sloughis, he must be a Sloughi, despite the fact that he has all the characteristics of a Greyhound.  Thus was planted the seed of a new legend to be born 50 years later that there were particoloured Sloughis in Holland.”

Wrong, the Sloughi is an ancient Sighthound breed endemic to North Africa. 
Charles IX of France, of the Valois Dynasty, King of France from 1560 to 1574, is reported to have received such dogs as a present from the King of Algiers.
Eugène Gayot, in “Le Chien” (“The Dog”) (1867), citing the Baron de Noirmont, writes:"These dogs, highly treasured and difficult to find when they are pure-bred, were well known and appreciated by our ancestors; in a letter written to Charles IX by Pierre Bon, consul of Marseille, one sees that the King of Algiers sends to this prince Barb horses, lions and fawn sighthounds....”

The North African Sloughi became popular in Europe for artists and writers, the military and others in the early 1800s, and was the source of inspiration for many masterpieces of the 19th century. He was presented at shows long before the Middle Eastern Salukis and Afghan hounds were known. 
The western breeding is based for the most part on North African dogs imported from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Today's serious breeders still outcross to Sloughis of North Africa. See the section about Breeding

To know more about the first 100 years of the breed in the Western World please consult “The Sloughi 1852-1952”