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Chapter on the Sloughi
Weight
Standards: m/f - 45 to 55 lbs
Height
Standards: m - 26 to 28 inches, f - 22 to
28 inches
Coat:
single, smooth textured, in solid shades of sand or fawn
Common
Ailments: bloat, PRA, circulatory problems
The Sloughi
developed in the deserts of Ethiopia over 5000 years ago. They hunted
Gazelles and desert rabbit for the nomadic tribesmen of the area. Then
during the Middle Ages, when their Arab owners were invading Central
Africa, this breed accompanied them to the area bordering the Sahara and
Tripolitania. It is in this area where the largest numbers of this
breed can be found today.
This breed
has very little body fat. Its muscular frame is built for speed and it
has a coat designed for living in a warm dry climate. I mention these
physical characteristics because they are some reasons why the Sloughi
must be fed a different type of food than a breed with a heavy layer of
body fat and a double thick insulating coat to protect its body from the
cold.
Native food
supplies for this breed would have been meat from the desert rabbit,
gazelle, camel, goat, and sage hen. The vegetable crops would have been
of a tuber type or low ground variety and the primary grains were rice
and wheat.
For the
Sloughi I recommend foods that are a blend of horse meat, poultry, brown
rice, avocado, and wheat. However, I feel you should avoid feeding a
Sloughi any soy, beet pulp, white rice, white potatoes, or beef. |
