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Official Standard of the Sloughi General Appearance : The Sloughi is a powerful and elegant, medium-large, short-haired, smooth-coated, athletic sighthound developed in North Africa (in the region including Morocco, Alergia, Tunisia, and Libya) to hunt game such as hare, fox, jackal, gazelle, and wild pigs. It is an ancient breed, treasured in North Africa for its hunting skills, speed, agility, and endurance over long distances. It is a robust, but elegant and racy, pursuit dog with no exaggeration of length of body or limbs, muscle development, angulation, nor curve of loin. The Sloughi is not a fragile dog; it is a dog with class and grace. The attitude is noble and somewhat aloof, and the expression of the dark eyes is gent le and melancholy. The Sloughi’s head has a sturdy character and is long and elegant with drop ears and a black nose. The body and legs show defined bony structure and strong, lean muscles and black or pigmented nails. The skeletal structure is sturdy. The topline is essentially horizontal blending into a bony, gently sloping croup. The tail is long and carried at or below the topline at its insertion with a small ring or an upward curve at the end. Size, Proportion, Substance : A male Sloughi is very slightly taller, measured from the top of the withers to the ground, than it is long, measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttocks. Ideally, a Sloughi’s length from point of shoulder to point of buttock is 96 percent of its height. Height at the withers for males is normally 26 to 29 inches (66 to 74 centimeters). For females it is normally 24 to 27 inches (61 to 68 centimeters). Somewhat taller Sloughis are allowed. Head : In profile, the head is long and refined with a deep and sturdy character. From above, it has the shape of a long wedge, tapering from the cranial area to the tip of the nose. Expression – The expression is gentle, slightly sad, and melancholy. Eyes – The eyes are large, dark, well set in their sockets, and oval to the almond-shaped. The eye color is shades of dark brown to dark amber. The eye rims are pigmented. Ears – The ears are of set slightly above the eye line, drooping, close to the head, medium in size, triangular and slightly rounded at the tips. Disqualifications are ears erect, raised with tips drooping, or rose ears that cannot drop close to the head. Skull – Viewed from above, the cranial area is rather broad, measuring approximately 4.75 to 5.5 inches (12 to 14 centimeters) between the ears, and is rounded at the back and curves harmoniously on the sides. In profile, the top part of the cranial area is flat, the brows are scarcely projecting, the frontal groove is hardly marked, and the occipital crest and protuberance are barely visible. Stop – The stop is barely pronounced. Muzzle – The muzzle has the shape of an elongated wedge and forms about half the total length of the head. The jaws are strong and regular. Planes – The profile is straight, with the lines of the muzzle and skull approximately parallel. Nose – The nose is black and strong, not pinched. Any nose color other than black is a disqualification. The planes of the nose and the muzzle are almost the same. The nose leather, not being supported by the skeletal structure, is slightly inclined down towards the tip. Lips – The lips are thin and supple, black or dark brown, and completely pigmented. Flews – The lips just cover the lower jaw. The corner of the mouth is very slightly visible. Bite – A scissor bite is preferable; a level bite is allowed. An overshot or undershot jaw is a disqualification. Teeth – Full Dentition; the teeth are healthy and strong. Neck, Topline, Body : Neck – The neck is long and springs well up from the shoulders. It is slightly arched at the crest. Its length is similar to that of the head. It should be elegant and powerful. The skin is fine, tight, with no dewlap and the hair is very smooth. Topline – The
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