Smooth/Feathered Saluki Pup: How to Tell

There are two coat types in the Saluki, smooth and the feathered, but if you do an internet image search on “Saluki,” the vast majority of photographs are of feathered dogs. Curious, because genetically speaking, the smooth coat is dominant while the feathered coat is recessive. Even in a smooth Saluki, there can be variation in coat length and body hair density, and these characteristics are determined by additional genes. Coat color can also influence the length and density of hair growth.

If capital letters were used to designate the dominant gene allele, and lowercase letters used for the recessive characteristic, then SS and Ss, for example, would be the genetic makeup of a smooth Saluki. Only when we have two “ss” do we get a feathered Saluki.

Smooth Salukis from heavily feathered lines are more likely to show some brush on their tails, but experienced breeders often determine if a Saluki puppy will smooth or feathered by performing the “pluck test:” If there is hair between a breeder’s fingers after gently tugging on the hair of a 21 day old puppy’s head, the pup will be smooth. No hair, and the pup will be feathered. We’re told it’s amazingly accurate. The video below shows it being done:

Image: Five year old red smooth male Saluki from Wikicommons

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