You've been hearing all about the Saluki dog as a family pet, an indoor dog, and a hunting dog. But let's not forget about their talent in the show ring as a show dog. They participate in many types of events such as lure coursing and open field coursing.
The open coursing is used with real animals and gives the Saluki the opportunity to keep up with their hunting skills. Lure coursing is used with the aid of an artificial rabbit or a plastic motorized lure, which is thrown across a course for the dog to chase. The dog must, however, not cheat and cut across the field, but must stay in a certain course.
As is the case with many events, there are some events the dogs just seem to do better in than others. Lure coursing is the one event that the Saluki seems to favor more than any others. The dog must be very experienced in running in different directions quickly and efficiently. The dog cannot be aggressive towards the other dogs on the track.
Some of the other events the Saluki participates in are agility, obedience, tracking, exhibition jumping, fly ball, scent hurdling, oval track racing, and championship shows.
The Saluki dog also responds very well to agility events. Agility is a very active and fast moving sport, which consists of three main parts - running, jumping, and climbing. Each of these parts could be made just for the Saluki and his talents and abilities. The Saluki dog must be very well behaved and not at all aggressive with other dogs because there will be many dogs participating and all will be off leash.
In agility, the Saluki will compete in running straight as well as curved lines, running through tunnels, jumping over bars and obstacles, and climbing obstacles such as slides and ladders. The events are timed and the dog that performs the best in the quickest time gets the most points. Agility is a sport the Saluki particularly enjoys because the only response they get is praise when the job is done well. There are no disciplinary words or corrections used in agility. It is also something the dog enjoys at home when not competing. There is so much movement and activity, and the dog loves performing.
Obedience is another event the Saluki performs in and does very well at. The training for obedience events starts at a very young age. Obedience is required for the Saluki to do well in all the other events they compete in. The events may have to do with jumping, running, chasing, etc., but the dog needs basic obedience to perform well. The dog has to walk well on and off leash and respond to commands, verbal or hand commands. The basic commands are sit, stay, come, down, and heel.
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