Dommerkommentar Joanne Mahon, England

NORWEGIAN SALUKI SPECIALTY SHOW 02/06/2019
IMPRESSIONS FROM THE JUDGE

 

The hospitality shown by the Committee was second to none and the setting for the show at the Midgard Viking Centre was exceptional. Thankfully the light sprinkling of rain quickly dissipated to make for ideal showing conditions for most of the day. My most grateful thanks to each and every exhibitor for giving me the honour and pleasure of judging your lovely hounds and for accepting my decisions so graciously. Several classes were very closely contested, where I was forced to split hairs between quality hounds, and who might change places on another day, which speaks to the overall high quality of Salukis in Norway. 

 

I was especially pleased to find that all the Salukis, without exception, were without any
exaggeration, in particular no over-angulation in the rear, no toplines that slope away to the rear and no elongated or ewe necks which are all anathema to the breed but which are now seen in many countries.

I found the quality of both dogs and bitches to be of a very high standard and almost without exception they were presented in good, clean, well-muscled condition. All the hounds displayed a correct, typical outline for the breed with a slight rise over the loin – thankfully, no flat backs to be seen. It came as a surprise to me that all the hounds displayed correct light, lifting and effortless movement in the rear. Even those who moved wide behind when setting off settled into correct rear movement showing sufficient drive and almost without exception all had excellent long, wide croups with correct, wide first and second thighs, all of which are so crucial for sufficient muscle attachment for an endurance hound. Let’s hope it remains that way because these correct conformational points are a real asset to the breed in Norway. In some countries we are now seeing flat backs with no rise over the loin, short steep croups and thin, weedy thighs which have insufficient musculature, also high hocks and hounds lacking drive in the rear. Hopefully Norwegian breeders will steer clear of importing these faults and it was a genuine delight to see that these problems have not crept into the breed here. However, when it came to front movement I found quite a few hounds who were short stepping or paddling because they did not have the well-laid back shoulders and return of upper arm called for in the breed standard. The importance of correct angulation in the forequarters cannot be stressed enough as it responsible for carrying 60% of the dog’s weight, supports their centre of gravity and to a large extent determines the speed and stamina of the hound – it does in excess of 40% of the work in galloping. A well laid back shoulder with good return of upper arm allows for maximum forward reach at the gallop giving an advantage to the well constructed hound who requires less steps and therefore less energy to cover the same amount of ground as a hound who has poorly laid back shoulders. When running your hand down the neck there should be quite a long gap from the base of the neck to the top of the shoulder blades which should be set on smoothly so there are no lumps or bumps. A hound seen trotting around the ring with correctly laid back shoulders and return of upper arm should display sufficient reach of the foreleg so that the tip of the toes reach to an imaginary vertical line drawn straight down from the tip of the nose. If the stride is too long or too short it costs the dog extra energy to go from point A to point B so correct front anatomy serves many functions. Correct lay-back of the shoulders and good return of upper arm also provide correct fill-in of the forechest. This is because the shoulder blade and forearm are only joined to the rib cage by muscles, tendons and ligaments, not by bone. The ribcage is slung between the two forelegs in a cradle of muscle and, if everything is in the right place, that muscle provides fill-in of the forechest. We are not looking for a pro-sternum, like a Dachshund, but sufficient fill of forechest so there is not the inverted V of the breastbone showing. Even if you don’t understand shoulder and upper arm angulation it is easy to see if the forechest is well filled-in or not. If it is not, it indicates that there is a lack of forequarter angulation. Correct angulation can be seen from the moment a puppy is born and while the musculature improves with age and condition you cannot change the basic structure of the dog. Many long-term breeders say that it takes a minimum of 8 generations of careful breeding to correct poor front angulation – one of the reasons that only the best should be bred to the best. Breeders need to take care that their choice of stud dogs are only those with correct forehand angulation, preferably coming down through the sire’s line from many generations of correct angulation, otherwise this problem will only become more entrenched and wide-spread in the breed. I applaud the Norwegian breeders for maintaining typical hounds though some improvement is needed in this specific area.

The other conformational fault that I noticed in a number of hounds was short, upright pasterns. Pasterns need to be of moderate length and slightly sloping for good shock absorption at the gallop and flexibility when turning at speed. Straight pasterns, frequently found in combination with a straight upper arm and / or an upright shoulder, causes the shockwaves of the gallop to be transmitted straight up the leg. Feet also need watching as they should be quite long, well knuckled-up and with good padding. One must always consider that the Saluki evolved to be a totally unique athlete in the animal kingdom. In order to bring down a Dorcas Gazelle, the type commonly found in the Middle East, a Saluki would need to gallop for long distances of 15 - 25 kilometres at a constant speed of 50 – 60 kph. They need extraordinary stamina for the chase because firstly, once they sight their prey they have to run towards it, then run fast enough to keep their prey in sight until the gazelle begins to tire, and finally be able to put on a sprint at the end of the course in order to bring it down. There is no other animal in the world who has the physique to fulfil this phenomenal feat; most other speedy hunters, like cheetahs and lions, are reliant on the element of a surprise attack and a short course of a few hundred metres to capture their prey. In the entire animal kingdom it is only the Saluki who evolved to fulfil this function single-handedly rather than being reliant on other pack members to help in a long chase, like the African Wild Dog or the wolf. Therefore, the body has to work like a well-oiled machine with no weak or exaggerated parts, allowing the hound to move with maximum efficiency, which in turn costs him the least amount of energy and provides the speed and stamina required for a marathon chase. It should also be remembered that the breed standard was developed by a group of owners who had imported proven gazelle hunting Salukis of various types, who all agreed that their dogs had exactly the same conformation regardless of their hound’s country of origin or type. This means that the Saluki who excelled at hunting gazelle in Turkey or Iran had the same underlying conformation as the hounds that came from Syria, Jordan, the Sinai desert or elsewhere, regardless of other superficial differences such as size or strain. It is helpful to familiarize ourselves with photos of Salukis from the earliest photographic records from the late 1800’s to the 1980’s or early 1990’s to see what correct Salukis looked like and aim to preserve those same anatomical features. After that time a lot of changes started to creep into the breed as a direct result of poor selection by breeders and / or those who bred for fads or fashions of the show ring. Whether we are owners, breeders, judges, exhibitors or puppy buyers, we are all the guardians of the breed and must always strive to select and maintain correct conformation and not to change it for the sake of show ring wins or fashion, or simply because the importance of correct conformation is not clearly understood by the breeder. In order to preserve the Saluki which we inherited from hundreds of generations past, all breeders should have sufficient knowledge about correct Saluki conformation and understand why each element of the breed standard is so very important in order to select breeding mates of the best quality. It is not necessary that every bitch is bred from unless she is of the quality required to produce the next generation. Oftentimes breeders select a top winning male to use at stud but in today’s show world, the top winning male can often be nothing more than a generic type dog who is lacking important breed-specific points, who carries exaggerations, and who doesn’t have correct breed conformation. He is likely to be a flashy dog with flashy movement with a jumbled, diluted pedigree that cannot reproduce his good points but only serves to create more exaggerated progeny. It is only through very careful selection of breeding partners that our hounds of the future will still be able to fulfil their function even though they don’t need to catch a gazelle for our dinner! It is prudent to point out that it is not our prerogative to change the Saluki that was created through the harsh selection process of survival of the fittest. In the past, tribal hunters relied on Salukis to provide them with protein (it is known that they were anaemic), and only the best hunter was bred to the best hunter so all other hounds were eliminated from the breeding process and gene pool, however, in modern times, usually the quality of the puppies produced is only as good as the knowledge of the breeder because they are the ones who have to select what to improve or eliminate from their breeding programs. In this respect, not all breeders are equal. Also, many of today’s hounds can excel on the race track or in lure coursing but sadly neither of these pursuits can emulate the rigours of hunting a gazelle, so we can’t test their speed and stamina. In any event, the breed standard must remain our blueprint for the breed and we must all be vigilant about our selections for the future Salukis. Small changes in conformation can mean that the formidable hunter we call a Saluki becomes just another sighthound who is incapable of the great speed and endurance required of a marathon galloper. It must also be remembered that the opinion of any judge is only as good as their specific knowledge of Saluki conformation and their understanding of why correct conformation is so important. In this respect not all judges are equal either.

Lastly, as a point about health, I noticed several hounds who had periodontal problems with bleeding, swelling or redness along the gum margin. Dental cleaniness is of great importance as the bacteria in the gums can spread through the bloodstream to the heart causing heart disease. It is a simple matter to give a daily amount of seaweed powder, such as Plaque Off, followed by a dental chew or raw peeled carrot which will eliminate the plaque and help prevent tartar from forming.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that despite the criticisms and cautionary notes I have mentioned above that the overall quality of the hounds I judged was of a very high standard. The breeders are to be congratulated for maintaining the true Saluki and the owners for rearing their puppies carefully and bringing them on to fulfil their early promise. I hope that in years to come that the correct Saluki continues to thrive in Norway. Thank you once again for the opportunity to have judged your lovely hounds.

Joanne Mahon
Judge