We do not recommend the feeding of complete dry foods alone.

We use the following basic foods for weaning our puppies: Royal Canin Junior along with tripe, raw beef, raw chicken, goats milk, porridge and eggs.

We have also found that the adult dogs like the rings and pellet types of complete food and whilst we wouldn’t use them as a sole diet, they are extremely useful to add as appetising ‘toppers’ to tripe meals. We have found a handful on the dinner very helpful to keep weight on our adults in cold winter weather.

Secondly diets consisting of flaked maize and resembling bird seed. We prefer to leave these for birds to eat! It is not natural for a dog to eat finely ground up meals.

NOTE: If you wish to change the diet of your puppy from the recommended one which follows - please do it SLOWLY by starting with just a little of the desired food mixed in with his normal one. Increase the amounts of the new feed at each meal over the course of a week or more until it completely replaces the original.

Increase the amounts of each meal steadily, week by week as your puppy grows. We usually find that the puppies begin to prefer the meat meal as they get older and by the age of 12 weeks one of the milk meals can be dropped and the quantities of the other three increased. Do not worry if your puppy does not always finish all of the food, especially if you have just brought him home. Moving is a very stressful time for him and he will take a while to settle in and adjust to his new surroundings.

DAILY DIET FOR YOUNG PUPPIES

The amounts stated are only very rough guidelines.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF OVERFEEDING. IF THE PUPPY CLEARS UP ALL THE FOOD AND LOOKS FRANTICALLY FOR MORE THEN IMMEDIATELY GIVE HIM MORE FOOD AND INCREASE THE AMOUNT AT THE NEXT MEAL. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN OVERFEED A PUPPY. THEY WILL EAT WHAT THEY NEED.

We prefer to see puppies who are carrying some extra body fat, though not more than about 10% as the extra weight will start to affect the bones and joints. If they are “well covered” they have something to grow into and if your puppy should become ill for any reason they will have some extra fat stores to rely on. A thin puppy can fade away very quickly.

If your puppy engages in frantic licking of your face he is usually trying to tell you he is hungry. In nature this is what the puppy does to its mother to make her regurgitate food. It is very flattering to think that your puppy just loves you a lot but the reality is that he is trying to tell you something!

RECOMMENDED DIET SHEET FOR AN 8 WEEK OLD SALUKI PUPPY

FOUR MEALS DAILY

BREAKFAST 7.00 - 8.00

Milky meal: Warm about  300ml of goats milk with a large knob of butter and 2 -3 teaspoons of honey.  Mix in 1 whole Weetabix,  Pap & Go, Brinta, Farley’s Rusks or Ready-brek. Make sure the butter is melted and the porridge is not overly thick. The mixture should  be at body temperature when served.

Alternative breakfasts: Rice Pudding served at body temperature

Scrambled egg mixed with goats milk and butter. Add a slice of diced wholemeal bread. Soak    the bread in the mixture, cook and cool before serving.

LUNCH 12 noon approx

Tinned Pedigree Puppy (about ¼ can) mixed with Royal Canin Junior (about 1 cupful).

Many salukis, but not all, like tinned sardines and one full tin along with the oil can be mixed with a slice of diced toast or Royal Canin Junior.

TEA 5.00 - 6.00pm

Meat meal: 75gr of RAW minced green tripe AND 75gr of RAW minced or diced chicken or beef mixed with Royal Canin Club Trad which has been soaked in hot water or gravy for about 45 – 60 minutes.

Once or twice each week substitute an organ meat (heart or liver) for the chicken or beef.

SUPPER 10.00-11.00pm

Rice Pudding, Farley’s Rusk and Milk, Scrambled egg with wholemeal bread OR tinned Pedigree Puppy (about ¼ can) mixed with Royal Canin Junior (about 1 cupful).

Scambled egg can be made in advance and allowed to cool.

FRESH WATER SHOULD ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE!!

 

As the puppy gets to about 4 months of age they may not want porridge any longer. You can substitute whatever is convenient in the morning - dry food, toast, eggs, etc. so they have something for breakfast. We give all our dogs, breakfast regardless of age. As puppies get a little older eliminate one meal and by the age of about 12 – 18 months you can feed just twice a day. Bonios, large square biscuits, shapes, chews etc can be given at any time if desired, but remember that if the puppy is full of snacks you cannot expect him to be hungry at meal times.

Quantities

As a rough guide, when your puppy is about 6 months of age they can have about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of Royal Canin Junior mixed with ¼ can of tinned food or 125grams of raw meat for one meal or the equivalent of other food. Puppies can have growth spurts when they demand extra nutrition so the guideline of 1 ½ cups can be increased when necessary to provide enough to keep him satiated without becoming overweight. Adults have about 2 – 2.5 cups of dry food (after soaking) with 125 -  200grams of raw meat for dinner. They should have organ meat about once a week. If your saluki is doing a lot of running they need more protein and if they are less active the protein can be reduced. Remember to assess your dog every few days and add or subtract a small volume of food accordingly. If the coat is dry or losing its shine you can drizzle a generous teaspoon of sunflower oil (not olive oil) on their food each day.

Finally on feeding ~ a word about bones

We give our salukis bones to eat provided they are the non- splintering type - i.e. beef knuckle bones, chicken wings and necks). We avoid feeding long bones, like thigh bones, or tiny carcass bones that may get caught in the throat. The digestive system of the dog in designed to digest RAW bones only. They cannot digest cooked bones which are also prone to splintering. NEVER give cooked bones of any description. You can substitute any meal by feeding chicken wings. For young puppies, cut a whole wing into the 3 separate joints and just feed the smallest two joints. Initially the puppy may throw it in the air, pounce on it and decline to eat it. After a day or two when it gets the idea to eat it, there is no substitute in their eyes for the real thing. Large dogs can be fed the whole wing.  2 – 3 whole wings constitutes a complete meal for an adult dog with all the protein, fat, calcium, vitamins and minerals in one neat package provided by nature.  Bones are also very helpful for cleaning teeth and will remove plaque effectively. We are great advocates of feeding dogs naturally and if you are interested please ask us for advice. You can find many books on the BARF diet which explains how to feed this way. Salukis can also enjoy lightly steamed vegetables, fruit, cottage cheese, yoghurt

Salukis also occasionally like to graze on rough green grass and this usually has the effect of making them sick! We never stop them from eating it, provided it hasn’t had any chemicals sprayed on it, as they seem to know if or when they need it.

Weight: We already mentioned that we like to see puppies well covered, carrying a little bit of extra weight. As your dog matures and grows into himself you will need to adjust the amount of food accordingly. There is no hard and fast rule about food quantities as each dog is different and expends or requires differing amounts of nutrition. Look at your dog at least every 3 days to assess his weight and condition and adjust his food intake accordingly. A mature saluki in good condition should show the outline of the last 3 ribs. This is not to say that the ribs should protrude, only that you can see their outline when viewed from behind. You should also be able to see the outline of the 2 pin bones of the hips. If these areas are well-covered and the outline is not discernible just cut back a little on the quantity of food given each day until he is back to the right weight again. Never allow your saluki to become obese. If he is looking too skinny increase his intake accordingly.

Bowls A 10” diameter Stainless Steel bowl is a good size for an adult to feed from.

Worming Your puppy will have been wormed at least three times before you collect him or her. You will need to worm him again at least once or twice (particularly whilst young), so consult your own veterinary surgeon when you attend for inoculations and he will prescribe the correct tablet. We recommend Drontal or Drontal Plus as some of the other compounds seem to cause upset tummies or are not as effective.  It is useful to worm adult salukis on a regular six-monthly basis, whether or not you suspect there are worms present.

Vaccinations: We have usually had the first two main inoculations against Distemper, Hardpad, Parvo-virus, Leptospiosis,  etc. already administered by the time you collect your puppy. A third vaccination is required at 14 weeks of age. The Pet Passport will have all your puppy’s details recorded including the type of vaccine used. You should have your vet administer the same brand of vaccine when it is required.  We booster again at 1 year old and do not believe, from the scientific evidence currently available, that it is necessary to boost your dog again annually. Current veterinary advice is to boost once every 3 years except for leptospirosis. Unless your dog goes swimming in rivers or runs on farm land this may not be necessary either. Despite the cost, we prefer to have our vet take a blood sample and do an antibody titre test to determine the antibody level rather than boost indiscriminately. Do not be persuaded to boost your Saluki every year. It is absolutely not necessary, unless there is an outbreak of one of the serious canine diseases in your area. Your vet will miss the money but you will not be over-vaccinating your Saluki. If in doubt whether to boost or not have a titre test done and it will tell you if your dog’s anitbodies are too low or not.

Until such time as the puppy has completed all his course of inoculations he will have to these diseases and therefore care should be taken out of the confines of your own home or garden. Your puppy should be carried and not allowed to walk in public areas where a lot of dogs frequent  until fully vaccinated. Only allow your puppy to be introduced to dogs you know to be full vaccinated. It is important during this period to do some ‘Car Training’ and take your puppy out for short drives to get him used to the car and seeing new and strange things.

Teeth Around 16 weeks of age the first set of baby teeth will slowly be shed and the second permanent set will come through. As the dog gets older there will be a tendency for the teeth to gather deposits of brown plaque around the base close to the gums. To prevent decay try to keep this removed before it has a chance to build up into hard stone-like deposits. Large knuckle bones and cow hooves are very good for cleaning teeth and will also provide hours of amusement.

Toe Nails Keep an eye on these as long nails can cause extreme discomfort if untrimmed. Ask your vet to cut them if you are afraid to do so yourself. Alternatively some dog groomers will offer this service. Also watch out for stones, mud and chewing-gum! compacted in the hair between the toes as this can become very painful if left untreated. Salukis are generally very sensitive about have their feet handled and some can even scream when getting their nails cut! To try to ensure they are not over-sensitive as adults we get them used to having their feet stroked and gently handled when young. You should make an effort to stroke or massage your dog over its entire body so it gets used to being handled and no area becomes off-limits for you to touch.

 

Grooming For regular grooming you need the following tools:

Nylon / bristle mixture brush – medium size

Slicker or Pin brush – the 6cm x 4cm head has fine metal tines. Use a “soft” version sold for cats

 Hound Glove for finishing

We use Mason-Pearson (Junior size) nylon/bristle mixture brushes for grooming. These are manufactured for human use and are obtainable from good department stores or shows. They are expensive at around £ 35 plus but a worthwhile investment as they are particularly effective. A thorough brushing once or twice a week will keep the coat and skin in good condition. Use a fine metal- tined slicker brush for the ears and other feathering. Always hold the ear leather and tail while combing through the feathering to prevent the skin being pulled when grooming and never allow matts of hair to accumulate. A final brush over with a hound glove or chamois all over the body will remove any loose hairs.

If your Saluki has a very dense coat use a Furminator to remove any undercoat and dead or loose hairs. When the weather changes Salukis can shed, though not as profusely as heavily coated breed. Even on a fine-coated Saluki, a Furminator will take out most of the loose hair. Salukis have thin skin so work gently with this tool and do not go over the same area too many times. Often black Salukis a little need more attention to their coats as they have twice the number of hair follicles per square centimeter compared to the other colours.

Your puppy’s first bath should be a fun experience but it should be accomplished with some speed so the puppy doesn’t get bored or panicked by the process. We usually don’t bathe for the first time till they are about 6 months old and only bathe when necessary or about every 4 - 6 months. If you can put your puppy in a bathtub with an extendible shower hose this is the easiest method. Have two people, one at the front to keep him steady and occupied and one at the rear to start washing. Try feeding treats while the puppy is being shampooed to keep him distracted. Use warm water and start wetting the hind legs and quarters before moving to the belly, front legs and finally the back. If you use a horse shampoo or baby shampoo they produce a low suds level so rinse out quickly. Use a facecloth to clean  the muzzle and top of the head. Never spray water onto the inside of the ear. Always apply a conditioner – either human or a dog preparation and rinse thoroughly out of the coat before towel drying. Dry the head and ears thoroughly before moving on to dry the rest of the body.  Be sure to dry the ears well as dogs can get a chill from leaving their ears wet. Plan to bathe your dog early in the day so he can run outside to dry if the weather is warm. If not, you can gradually get him used to being dried with a hair drier, but ensure the heat is on low and do not concentrate the air flow on one area, but keep it moving over the dog. Your puppy should be thoroughly dry before the evening when the weather turns cooler.

If your dog gets muddy when out walking or running you can pop them in a bathtub and just hose off the muddy parts and towel dry.

Ear Cleaning Check your dogs ears regularly. Any wax build up should be gently removed using a veterinary ear cleaner. Black material may indicate an t infestation of ear-mites or a yeast infection. These conditions are not to be ignored. If they persist after using a standard ear cleaning product, see your vet. Dogs should not scratch or shake their heads excessively at any time. If they do it usually means an ear irritation of some kind needs attention.

Exercise There is no need to exercise your puppy before all inoculations are completed as natural playing in your home and garden will be enough. After completion of all inoculations, the puppy can be gradually lead trained and taken for short walks. This is more to socialise than to exercise. Build up the distances very slowly leaving longer walks for when the puppy is well over six months of age. Salukis can become very thin as a result of over-exercise as youngsters. Do not allow them to over-exercise. When they are having fun they often don’t know when to stop so be mindful of how much energy they are expending when having a good time. Don’t allow them to exhaust themselves.

 

Free Exercise From the age of six months or so, your saluki will need some free galloping off of the lead in a safe open space. Salukis are running hounds and take no greater pleasure in life than running free. They also need to gallop to open up their heart and lung room and burn off excess energy.  Do remember though that salukis can cover a huge area in a short space of time, so be sure you are far away from roads or in a safe, enclosed area.

Never, ever let your dog off lead on or near a road. A cat or other object can catch their attention and they can be under the wheels of a moving car in seconds. Always pick up after your dog no matter where you are! Always carry a plastic bag in your pocket and spare ones in the glove compartment of your car. Don’t allow your Saluki to be anti-social. If they bark at other dogs turn swiftly in the other direction and give them a sharp command. Nip bad behaviour in the bud. It is easier to teach them good behavior from the outset than trying to correct bad habits. Don’t excuse a puppy any bad behavior because “its cute” – no hand biting or other activity that is undesirable in the longer term should be allowed.

Most of the above is second nature if you are an experienced dog owner, but if this is your first puppy please take note as there are quite a few ‘anti’ dog people around these days and we do not want to add more ill feeling towards our pets. They need to share our homes and our general environment so try to rear your dog to be a socially acceptable Saluki.

Collars and Leads For very young puppies, an inexpensive, lightweight puppy collar and lead will suffice to begin with, then later, a leather hound collar is ideal. There are also specialist hound collars that are designed to prevent your saluki backing out of them. We supply these through our own manufacturing company so please enquire if you are interested.

If you are having problems with your youngster pulling on the lead we recommend the use of a lightweight, nylon harness called a Lupi which is available on-line through the Company of Animals. These have proven to be invaluable even for strong dogs that pull a lot when they suddenly become controllable in a Lupi.  Of course, you need to work on your dog’s training to walk to heel properly in the first place, but Lupis can be a valuable tool. Do not use head collars (Haltis) on salukis as they hate them and will do somersaults to try to get them off..

Insurance there are many companies offering medical pet insurance. It is a personal decision whether to have this or not. Generally speaking Salukis are a healthy breed and policies will not cover vaccinations, teeth cleaning, pregnancy and a myriad other things. Excesses can also be high but so can vet’s fees if your dog has an accident. At the very least make sure your dog is covered for 3^rd party liability through your household insurance policy.

Kennel Club Registrations All puppies bred here will be registered with the Kennel Club and sold with full pedigrees which will be given to you at the time of purchase. They will also be microchipped and have a pet passport. Some puppies may need their final vaccination when you bring them home, depending on their age.

Breeding It is most definitely NOT essential to breed from your bitch for “the good of her health”, and certainly not to satisfy your children’s curiosity about having a litter of puppies. If you are thinking about breeding then please contact us and we will explain some of the essentials.  Most of all remember that every Saluki born needs a permanent loving, understanding home and those are not the easiest to find. Every puppy brought into the world is the life-long responsibility of the breeder so it is a big commitment to decide to breed a litter.

Accidental Mating: If your bitch ever does get mated unintentionally DON’T PANIC! -telephone your veterinary surgeon as there is an injection that you can have that will almost always prevent the unwanted litter. However, there are health risks associated with this injection so do your utmost to prevent your bitch getting mated in the first place.

Neutering - Don’t! We do not recommend either spaying a bitch or castrating a dog unless a health problem warrants it. If neutered the coat of your saluki will change from the normal shiny silky texture to a very woolly dry and long bushy coat in almost all cases. Spaying a bitch also seems to cause incontinence problems later in life. Hormone injections are available to prevent bitches coming into season and implants are available for males which provide a chemical castration. Usually both methods are fairly safe but we do not recommend using them for dogs under 2 years of age as they are hormonal treatments which may affect your dog in other ways. Always be advised by a trusted vet when using these medications.

Much better to make sure your garden is secure with proper strong fencing so your females can’t escape or jump over them and males can’t dig their way in.

Beds Oval plastic beds of 30 inches long or larger are ideal for salukis of both sexes. For young puppies and adolescents who are still at the chewing stage a double thickness of Vet Bedding is ideal to provide a cushioned base and is machine washable. When they have out-grown the chewing stage you can use a cushioned pad with a piece of Vet Bedding over top.

Bathing Our own dogs are all bathed from about the age of six months.  It has never had any adverse effect on their general health - in fact we are often complemented on the shiny condition. We do not use any special shampoos, just very good human ones, but we always use a cream conditioner afterwards which keeps the coat lying correctly and makes them smell nice too!. You can gently blow dry with a hairdryer whilst brushing with the lie of the coat, or keep giving the dog a brush as he dries naturally.

Two Puppies We do not recommend that you take on two small puppies at the same time - unless you have previous experience. This is because it is much easier to obedience and house train one puppy at a time. Also two puppies will tend to run off and play together, ignoring you, making them difficult to catch. We would recommend that the first puppy be at least 12 months old before you take on another.

Please keep in touch It is always interesting for us to see how our puppies turn out when adult and we love to see photos. We have given them the best start in life and trust that you will rear your puppy into healthy, happy adult and give him a great life. It is very rewarding for us to see that our puppies have grown up to be loved as an important member of your family and are well adjusted adults.

Minor Problems Remember if you have any problems or concerns connected with your saluki or queries on dogs in general, please do not hesitate to telephone us. We are always available to provide advice by phone or e-mail.

IN CASE OF DIFFICULTIES All our puppies are sold with a proviso that you never sell or pass your Saluki  on to another person or organization. Even though you are sure at the moment that your puppy will never need a new home, occasionally domestic circumstances do change and there may be a time when you are no longer able to keep your dog. If this happens to you we insist that your dog is not kenneled or passed on to a third party. Please contact us and we will arrange to take your saluki back to our home. We may decide that he will live out the rest of his life with us or if we have a suitable, very experienced home where he will fit in, we may rehome him. We will always do what is best for your dog so if the worst happens do not hesitate to contact us. If you ever lose our address you can always trace us through the internet www.saluki.nl  or via the Kennel Club (Canapus Salukis or Felix van der Drift) or email through our website:  www.saluki.nl  or www.diamonddogs.eu ( our business site which has our contact information).

And finally when you lose your best loved friend Over the years we have come to meet many families who have just had to face the death of their previous dog. Usually they feel bad about even thinking of replacing their much loved pet and constant companion with another young puppy.

When you find yourself in this position try to think of your next puppy not as a ‘replacement’ - for he never will be - but as a new young personality and member of the family.

Past experience has shown that we can guarantee you will love him for a whole host of new and different reasons within a very short time.

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