Afghan Hound versus Saluki. Final Verdict on Which is a Better Pet.

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Afghan Hound versus Saluki

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Afghan Hound Versus Saluki: Introduction

Are you thinking of getting a new pet dog, and you have narrowed down your choices to the Afghan Hound and the Saluki? Well, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will provide you a detailed comparison of these two dog breeds to help you decide which of the Afghan Hound and the Saluki better suits you.

We will provide you a detailed discussion and comparison of dog attributes such as intelligence, price, general health, friendliness, etc, for both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki.

Furthermore, we will let you know which one of the Afghan Hound and the Saluki is better suited for new dog owners, for owners with kids, for owners that live in apartments, for owners with dog allergies, etc.

Importantly, we did some analysis and calculation and we obtained a number that we call the Better-Pet Score™ for both the Afghan Hound and for the Saluki. The dog breed with the higher Better-Pet score is the `better` pet. We hope that these Better-Pet Scores will provide you more insight into deciding which pet to get between the Afghan Hound and the Saluki.

Our only goal here is to help you make a well-thought-out decision on your next long-term companion, be it the Afghan Hound or the Saluki

Afghan Hound versus Saluki

Afghan Hound versus Saluki: Overview

Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are similar in size. The Afghan Hound and the Saluki are both large-sized dogs.

Furthermore, both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are Hound Dogs. This means both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki were bred to pursue and hunt warm-blooded animals. Hounds hunt by using their good sight or their good sense of smell. Dogs that belong to the Hound Group have strong prey drives and often will stop at nothing to catch what they are pursuing.

Afghan Hound versus Saluki: Comparison Table

The table below compares the Afghan Hound to the Saluki based on different important factors such as Price, Health, Kid-friendliness, etc.

When a dog breed scores higher for a factor than the other dog breed, the box of the breed that scores higher is shaded green and the box of the breed that scores lower is shaded red. When there is no difference between the breeds for a particular factor then the box is shaded gray for both pets. Also, when the factor is not important in picking a pet, or when the factor cannot be compared between two pets, the box for the factor is shaded gray for both pets

Most of the factors in the table for each dog breed are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. “1” means “worst”, and “5” means “best”.

However, some factors such as “Price”, “Average Lifespan”, etc. cannot be on a scale of 1 to 5, so they are not on a scale of 1 to 5 in the comparison table.

Factor Afghan Hound Saluki
Does NOT Drool 5/5 5/5
Easy To Groom 1/5 4/5
Potential NOT to Gain Weight 5/5 5/5
Easy To Train 1/5 4/5
Life Span 10 to 12 years 12 to 14 years
Tolerates Being Alone 2/5 1/5
Friendly Toward Strangers 2/5 1/5
Does NOT Bark or Howl 4/5 5/5
Calmness/ Low Vigor 4/5 4/5
Height 24 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder 23 to 28 inches tall at the shoulder
Good For Novice Owners 3/5 2/5
General Health 3/5 4/5
Does NOT chew on things 3/5 2/5
Dog Friendly 4/5 4/5
Does NOT Shed 2/5 4/5
Intelligence 4/5 4/5
Minimal Exercise Needs 2/5 1/5
Potential For Playfulness 4/5 5/5
Adapts Well To Apartment Living 5/5 1/5
Easygoing 1/5 1/5
Tolerates Cold Weather 5/5 2/5
Tolerates Hot Weather 5/5 3/5
Affectionate With Family 5/5 5/5
Kid-Friendly 5/5 4/5
Low Prey Drive 1/5 1/5
Tendency NOT to Wander 1/5 1/5
NOT Rambunctious 1/5 1/5
Weight 50 to 60 pounds 35 to 70 pounds
Average Lifespan 11.0 years 13.0 years
Average Price $2390 No Data
Price Range $2250 – $2500 No Data
Common Health Problems and Recommended Health Tests
  • Autoimmune thyroiditis
  • Eye Examination- minimum age 12 months
  • Hip Dysplasia
    		•  No Data
    Popularity out of 200 Dog Breeds 105 127
    Intelligence Rank (out of 130 Dog Breeds) 79 43

    *Data from dogtime.com, OFA.org (The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals), petcalculator.com, wikipedia.org

    Next, we added the scores of the factors that can be added together for the Afghan Hound in the table (that is, `Ease of Grooming` score + `General Health` score + `Calmness` score + …etc) and we compared it to the corresponding total score for the Saluki. We call these total scores the Better-Pet Scores, as we mentioned earlier. We called this score the Better-Pet score because the better dog breed will have a higher score. This is because the pet will the higher score will have minimal needs and be easier to have as a pet.

    The Better-Pet score for a Afghan Hound is 78 out of 125 while the Better-Pet score for a Saluki is 74 out of 125.

    Based on their Better-Pet scores, the Afghan Hound is a better pet than the Saluki. So, you should get the Afghan Hound!

    Although we have done our best to analyze these two dog breeds in a very unbiased way, however, we will like to let you know that there are some dog attributes that cannot be assigned a number for comparison. We cannot put a number on how cute a dog breed is, for example. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

    Also, the dog breed that best suits you will depend on your peculiar lifestyle, your taste, and your priorities, which we do not know. So, for you to decide on which breed is right for you, read through the rest of the article to further understand both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki so that you can make your own well-informed decision on which pet to get.

    Afghan Hound versus Saluki

    The Most Remarkable Differences Between the Afghan Hound and the Saluki

    Below is a list of where the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are most different:

  • Afghan Hounds require a lot of grooming and are not very easy to groom. However, Salukis are very easy to groom.
  • Afghan Hounds are not easy to train. However, Salukis are very easy to train.
  • Afghan Hounds adapt well to apartment living. However, Salukis do not adapt well to apartment living.
  • Afghan Hounds can tolerate cold weather. However, Salukis cannot tolerate cold weather. They are vulnerable to the cold.

    • The Similarities Between the Afghan Hound and the Saluki

    The Afghan Hound and the Saluki are very similar in certain aspects. Below is the list of where the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are most similar:

  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki do not have the tendency to drool.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are not prone to gaining weight easily.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki do not like to be left alone.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are not very friendly towards strangers.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are not very vocal. They have very low tendency to bark and howl.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki do the things they do with very low vigor. They are not forceful.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki get along well with other dogs.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are highly intelligent.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are very playful.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are easily disturbed by noise in their environments. They are sensitive to human tone. They will understand the tone of your voice when you try to correct their behaviors with a firm tone.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki have a high prey drive. They do not get along well with other pets.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.
  • Both the Afghan Hound and the Saluki have very high energy levels. They need a lot of exercise time to release their high energy.

    • Size (Weight and Height) of Afghan Hound versus Saluki

    Now, let us discuss the difference in size between the Afghan Hound and the Saluki.

    Afghan Hounds weigh 50 to 60 pounds when fully grown. Afghan Hounds are 24 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.

    On the other hand, Salukis weigh 35 to 70 pounds when fully grown. Salukis are 23 to 28 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.

    Afghan Hound versus Saluki

    Adopting the Afghan Hound versus Adopting the Saluki

    You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many Afghan Hounds and many Salukis are currently available for adoption.

    These adorable and cute dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Furthermore, adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300. In addition to your local dog shelter, a good place online to see dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.

    Below is an adorable Male Afghan Hound named Sam that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely adoptable Afghan Hounds like Sam on pefinder.com.

    Also, like Afghan Hounds, Salukis are also available for adoption. For example, Fergal is a Male Saluki that is currently available for adoption on petfinder.com. You can find more Salukis like Fergal that are up for adoption on petfinder.com.

    The Afghan Hound and the Saluki can both be adopted. Images from petfinder.com

    Also Rami, an adorable Male Saluki on petfinder.com that you can adopt.

    You can find more Afghan Hounds and Salukis that are available for adoption on petfinder.

    The Intelligence of the Afghan Hound versus the Intelligence of the Saluki

    Afghan Hound Saluki
    Intelligence Rank 79 out of 130 dog breeds 43 out of 130 dog breeds
    Trainability Tend To Learn New Commands After 80 To 100 Repetitions Or More! Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions

    Professor Stanley Coren, the famous psychology/neuropsychological professor and, dog lover/trainer measured and ranked the intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.

    According to Prof. Stanley Coren, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:

  • Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence a dog has because of what the dog was bred for. This type of intelligence comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that were bred for guarding will have high `guarding` instinctive intelligence, while dog breeds that were bred for hunting will what high `hunting` instinctive intelligence. However, you cannot compare the intelligence of dog breeds based on instinctive intelligence because such a comparison will not make sense.
  • Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. It includes learning and benefiting from experience with his environment, solving new problems, and so forth. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. Thus, two dogs can have remarkably different levels of adaptive intelligence even if they are of the same breed.
  • Working/Obedience Intelligence: This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. Importantly, different dog breeds have different learning abilities. Also, science has shown that some dog breeds can learn faster than some other breeds. This means certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. Dogs with high Working/Obedience Intelligence are smart and easy to train.

    • Prof. Coren showed that the Working/Obedience Intelligence of different dog breeds can be measured reliably. Thus, he was able to rank different dog breeds based on their Working/Obedience Intelligence.

    This is important because according to Prof. Coren, 51 percent of a dog`s intelligence comes from its genes while 49 percent of a dog`s intelligence comes from the dog`s environmental circumstances.

    To rank the intelligence of dog breeds, Prof. Coren employed the help of 208 dog obedience judges in North America to fill out a detailed survey on dog obedience. This number represented more than half of all of these judges in North America at the time. He also employed 63 veterinarians and 14 guard dog experts to collect data on the personality of different dog breeds.

    Prof. Coren found that the Afghan Hound has an obedience intelligence rank of 79 out of 130 dog breeds. The Afghan Hound belongs to the `Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category. This means that Afghan Hounds tend to learn new commands after 80 to 100 repetitions or more!.

    The Saluki has an obedience intelligence rank of 43 out of 130 dog breeds. The Saluki belongs to the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category. This means that Salukis tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.

    The Saluki is more intelligent than the Afghan Hound.

    However, Prof. Coren noted that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone, that other factors such as sociability, adorability, and compatibility with the owner are other very important factors that new dog owners need to consider when deciding on a new dog.

    The Popularity of Afghan Hound versus Popularity of Saluki

    Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds. The AKC collects this data for purebred dogs only(no mixed or hybrid dogs).

    The graphs and the table below show the popularity of the Afghan Hound and the Saluki over the years.

    Based on the AKC popularity data over the years, the Afghan Hound is more popular with dog owners than the Saluki. This is because, over the years, the average popularity of the Afghan Hound is 105 out of about 200 dog breeds while the average popularity of the Saluki is 127 out of about 200 dog breeds.

    Popularity of Afghan Hound

    Popularity of Afghan Hound

    Popularity of Saluki

    Popularity of Saluki

    Year Afghan Hound Popularity Rank Saluki Popularity Rank
    2013 95 115
    2014 98 134
    2015 100 132
    2016 113 125
    2017 93 123
    2018 113 120
    2019 111 125
    2020 122 144

    Which one drools more, the Afghan Hound or the Saluki

    Afghan Hounds do have a very low tendency to drool.

    Salukis do have a very low tendency to drool.

    Which is Easier to Groom, the Afghan Hound or the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds require a lot of grooming and they are not very easy to groom.

    Salukis are very easy to groom.

    Is the Afghan Hound Easier to Train than the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds are not easy to train.

    Salukis are very easy to train.

    Tolerates Being Alone: Afghan Hound versus Saluki

    Afghan Hounds do not like to be left alone.

    Salukis do not like to be left alone.

    Do Afghan Hounds Bark and Howl? What about Salukis?

    Afghan Hounds are not very vocal. They do not tend to bark and howl.

    Salukis are not very vocal. They do not tend to bark and howl.

    Which is Better for New Dog Owners, the Afghan Hound or the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds are OK for new dog owners.

    Salukis are not the best dogs for new dog owners.

    Which Dog Breed is more Dog-Friendly, the Afghan Hound or the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds get along very well with other dogs.

    Salukis get along very well with other dogs.

    Do Afghan Hounds shed more than Salukis?

    Afghan Hounds shed. They are not recommended for people with dog allergies.

    Salukis do not shed a lot. They are good for people with dog allergies.

    Is the Afghan Hound Better for Apartment Owners than the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds adapt very well to apartment living.

    Salukis do not adapt well to apartment living.

    Can Afghan Hounds Tolerate Cold Weather? And can Salukis Tolerate Cold Weather?

    Afghan Hounds can very well tolerate cold weather.

    Salukis cannot tolerate cold weather. They are vulnerable to the cold.

    Can Afghan Hounds Tolerate Hot Weather? Can Salukis Tolerate Hot Weather?

    Afghan Hounds can tolerate hot weather.

    Salukis can tolerate hot weather as long as the weather is not too hot.

    Are Afghan Hounds good family dogs? What about Salukis?

    Afghan Hounds are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.

    Salukis are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.

    How Kid-friendly are Afghan Hounds and Salukis?

    Afghan Hounds get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.

    Salukis get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.

    Does the Afghan Hound Have a Higher Prey Drive than the Saluki?

    Afghan Hounds have a high prey drive. They have the tendency to chase after smaller animals and pets. They do not get along well with other pets.

    Salukis have a high prey drive. They have the tendency to chase after smaller animals and pets. They do not get along well with other pets.

    Wanderlust Potential: Afghan Hound vs. Saluki

    Afghan Hounds have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.

    Salukis have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.

    Other Dog Breeds That are Similar to the Afghan Hound

    Furthermore, there are other dog breeds that are very similar to the Saluki that you can consider on your quest to get the best pet.

    We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds have similar personality and temperament as the Saluki:

  • German Shorthaired Pointer (77 percent match with Saluki). Here is our comparison of the Afghan Hound vs German Shorthaired Pointer.
  • German Wirehaired Pointer (75 percent match with Saluki). Here is our comparison of the Afghan Hound vs German Wirehaired Pointer.
  • Rhodesian Ridgeback (75 percent match with Saluki). Here is our comparison of the Afghan Hound vs Rhodesian Ridgeback.

    • Other Dog Breeds That are Similar to the Saluki

    Furthermore, there are other dog breeds that are very similar to the Afghan Hound that you can consider on your quest to get the best pet.

    We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds have similar personality and temperament as the Afghan Hound:

  • Bedlington Terrier (69 percent match with Afghan Hound). Here is our comparison of the Saluki vs Bedlington Terrier.
  • Standard Schnauzer (72 percent match with Afghan Hound). Here is our comparison of the Saluki vs Standard Schnauzer.

    • Other Breed Comparisons that Might Interest You

    You may also be interested in how the Afghan Hound and how the Saluki compares to other breeds. So, see below the comparison of the Afghan Hound and of the Saluki to other breeds:

    Afghan Hound Versus Other Dog Breeds

    Afghan Hound versus Bichon Frise     Afghan Hound versus Cavachon     Afghan Hound versus Shiloh Shepherd     Afghan Hound versus Boerboel     Afghan Hound versus German Shepherd Dog     Afghan Hound versus Chi-Poo     Afghan Hound versus American Water Spaniel     Afghan Hound versus Basset Fauve de Bretagne     Afghan Hound versus Australian Shepherd     Afghan Hound versus Chinese Shar-Pei     

    Saluki Versus Other Dog Breeds

    Saluki versus Boxer     Saluki versus Rottweiler     Saluki versus Catahoula Bulldog     Saluki versus Bich Poo     Saluki versus Kooikerhondje     Saluki versus English Toy Spaniel     Saluki versus Irish Wolfhound     Saluki versus Greater Swiss Mountain Dog     Saluki versus Canaan Dog     Saluki versus Pomeranian     

    Conclusion: Afghan Hound versus Saluki. Which One is a Better Pet?

    In summary, there is nothing like a better dog breed or a worse dog breed. The important question to ask is which dog breed better matches your interests and lifestyle. We hope our discussion above will help you in deciding which dog breed between the Afghan Hound and the Saluki better suits you and your family.