AKC Gazette Articles

May 2006

If you had to write a standard for a heretofore unknown breed, where would you begin? Common sense would suggest that you look to the existing standards of similar dogs and see what concepts or language might co-opted – and that is precisely what the Honorable Florence Amherst did when she published the first Saluki standard in 1907.

With several sighthound breeds already recognized by the English Kennel Club, there were plenty of examples. In Florence’s standard, language very similar to that of the Irish Wolfhound (1886), Borzoi (1892), Whippet (1900), and Scottish Deerhound (1901) standards was used, and there is strong evidence that she was influenced by the elaborate descriptions of the Greyhound which had been set down in the 1870s and 1880s. The result was an elaborate and flowery description of the breed that included weights and measurements of body parts. As Florence Amherst was the only Saluki breeder at that time, her standard naturally described the dogs she owned.

This standard was used throughout the following sixteen years while she strove to gain recognition for Salukis. The Great War put her campaign on hold as rationing severely restricted shows, breeding – and even the ability to feed dogs. Florence found new hope when officers who had served in the Middle East returned with their own imported Salukis.

By early 1923, there was a critical mass of fanciers and a club meeting was organized at the Cruft’s Dog Show on Thursday, February 8th. The agenda was to decide on the official name for the breed, elect officers, and decide upon a standard. Most of the time was spent on the first two items so the standard was deferred to the next meeting – two weeks later. Between meetings, Florence Amherst, General and Gladys Lance, and Miss Sybil Kerrison re-worked the 1907 version to include the different types of Saluki that were then being imported. The new Saluki standard would have substantially less verbiage – shrinking 61% from 677 words to 265. Florence’s elaborate prose and specific descriptions were replaced with language that allowed considerably more latitude in acceptable breed type – particularly in the areas of color, coat, and height.

The success of their collaborative effort is witnessed by the fact that at the club meeting on the 22nd, there was no heated debate about the revised standard, although heights were discussed in some detail. A proposal was made to judge smooths and feathereds separately, but the motion failed and the standard was approved. At the time, it was the second shortest British sighthound standard. [1]

Four years later, fanciers in America had formed a small club and as encouragement, the AKC agreed to recognize the breed if just three fanciers would commit to breeding litters. Primarily influenced by English lines, it was natural for the American breeders to adopt the English standard – the only other one in existence (inexplicably, they changed just one word – substituting “well” for “wide” to describe the width of the hipbones). While the English standard would be changed several times in the decades to follow, the American standard of 1927 is today historically significant as the oldest unchanged sighthound standard in America – and the oldest unchanged Saluki standard in the English language.

[1] Word counts for the other sighthound standards were Whippet – 128,
Saluki – 265, Borzoi – 313, Irish Wolfhound – 414, and
Scottish Deerhound – 742.

Brian Patrick Duggan
P.O. Box 998
Delhi, CA 95315
kyzylkum@jps.net