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The exact origins of the breed date too far back to be completely known and remain speculative. Representations of African Sighthound-like dogs go back to the 8th-7th millennium B.C. and artifacts of Ancient Egypt show us how valuable straight eared and lop-eared smooth Sighthounds were in those days. |
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The smooth lop-eared Sighthounds of ancient Egypt are thought to have originated from Asia (east of Egypt), but they were also part of tributes to the Pharaohs from Nubia (South of Egypt). This ancient hound resembles today's Sloughi, Saluki, Azawakh and smooth Afghan, and it is impossible without any genetic study to know whether it was a breed of its own, whether it was identical to one of these 4 breeds, or whether it was the ancestor of all lop-eared Sighthounds.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Sloughi was almost extinct. Political upheavals had disrupted highly sophisticated breeding by leading families. A French law introduced during French occupation which prohibited hunting with Sighthounds had resulted in the shooting on sight of these dogs. |
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 Photographer: Pepper Nix |
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Like all Sighthounds, Sloughis are open space hunters which rely on excellent vision, speed and stamina to catch their prey. They chase on sight anything that moves, however far away. |
