AKC Gazette Articles

November 2002

PRE BREEDING TESTS FOR SALUKIS, Part 1

            As a breed, Salukis are healthy, with a strong genetic base and without the broad range of reproductive and/or inherited problems of some other breeds.  Care on the part of everyone who plans to breed a litter is important, to ensure this continues.

            From a scientific angle, certain tests should take place well in advance of the prospective breeding date.  Both sire and dam should receive a complete physical.  If there is any family history of heart conditions OR if a murmur is auscultated at the physical exam, then a cardiac ultrasound examination should be performed.  A Complete Blood Count will give a good overall view of health.  Thyroid testing is not part of the CBC, though many clinics offer an automated T4 (only) with the CBC panel. Without the full profile of thryoid hormones, the T4 could be very misleading, since many Salukis and Greyhounds and possibly other sighthound breeds have low values normally.

            If there is any family history of thryoid conditions, do a full thyroid panel, like done at Michigan State University’s AHDL or other OFA certified laboratories.  It is important to run the thyroglobulin autoantibody which indicates if the dog is prone to develop autoimmune thyroiditis (the inherited form of hypothyroidism), often years before the clinical signs become apparent.

            A brucellosis test is strongly recommended for both sire and dam.  Consult with your vet on the timing, mine recommends within the first few days of the bitch being in heat.  Brucella is passed primarily through breeding, but the organisms can also be present in the urine of infected dogs, so any dog that has been around other dogs could potentially be exposed.  If there have been any reproductive problems previously, do vaginal cytology and culture for the female and sperm count and prostate exam and culture for the male.

            So much for the medical approach.  There is much more to breeding Salukis than testing hearts and blood.  The most important tests should be taken by the breeder, and consist of a few critical questions.  Why are you breeding this litter?  What is behind your choice of sire and/or dam?  What is your schedule like for the next four months? How about the next 15 years?

            Salukis are not a “pet” breed, where you can place a puppy with any reasonably responsible family and have the home “click” without trouble.  Nor are they a “show” breed, where the prospective big winner can migrate from owner to handler and back again.  For millenia, Salukis were a part of an extended family of humans and animals.  They had freedom to move around, and constant human companionship from the day they were born.  Breedings were done when there was a need for another generation of hunting hounds. 

            Philosophically speaking, we can’t come up with a better reason to breed than to produce a Saluki for yourself, either as a replacement for an aging canine friend or a continuation of a bloodline.  Against a backdrop of  decreasing space, increasing legislation against dogs and less time for labor intensive hobbies such as a new puppy, breeding Salukis solely for resale is nothing but irresponsible.

            We will cover the personal and philosophical prebreeding tests in the next column.  My thanks to the SCOA Health and Genetics committee for extensive assistance with this column.

Monica Stoner
PO Box 2164
West Covina, CA  91793-2164