For quiet, experienced households, they make devoted family dogs, gentle at home and good with children. Sensitivity is the key word: this breed bonds closely, stays reserved with strangers and has little interest in repetitive obedience, scoring 2 out of 5 for training. Chaotic homes and owners wanting eager compliance will both struggle with it.
The family record reads: with children, Good with children; temperament, Calm, sensitive, dignified and catlike indoors. Warmth is a welfare item in cold climates: coats and soft beds are care, not costume, under the care guidance for thin skinned, low fat breeds. This is one of the oldest bargains in dogs, per the overview: a day's coursing in exchange for a warm place to sleep it off. Recall off lead needs secure spaces, because the chase instinct is total.
The reward for the arithmetic is considerable: a breed that fits becomes the centre of family memory for a decade or more.
With other dogs the record reads: Usually good with dogs.
The record in one place: 24 to 29 inches at the shoulder, 40 to 63 lb, a lifespan of 10 to 15 years and 45 to 90 minutes of daily exercise. Most questions about this breed become easier once those four numbers are in view.
For the record's growth table: the Sloughi passes 8 weeks at about 6 to 9 lb, 4 months at about 13 to 20 lb, 18 months at about 40 to 63 lb, and tops out at 40 to 63 lb and 24 to 29 inches. In the record's grouping the Sloughi is a Hound breed, and its home ground is Morocco.
The stranger test summarises the social side: rated Reserved with strangers, the Sloughi meets the world as this page describes. The Sloughi is a fair deal for the household it suits and a poor one for any other, and the record makes the distinction plainly. Start from the Sloughi profile if you are still deciding: it gathers every figure quoted here into one place.
This page exists so the adding up happens first. When families struggle with a breed, the cause is almost never the dog's character: it is an exercise, grooming or company bill that nobody added up beforehand.
A puppy grows up fluent in your household's noise; an adult with a known history removes the guesswork. With a lifespan of 10 to 15 years either is a long commitment, and honest breeders and rescues will tell you which suits your household's stage. The families who report the easiest first year with a Sloughi almost always bought help early: a trainer, a walker or a class, before small problems set.
Usually, with planning: a dog used to car travel and new places from puppyhood holidays well. Its exercise need of 45 to 90 minutes travels with it, and heat rules apply to a short smooth fine coat in summer destinations. The with children rating, Good with children, is the breed average; the individual dog's upbringing writes the final version.
The record is encouraging: with children it reads Good with children, with other dogs Usually good with dogs, and the temperament is described as Calm, sensitive, dignified and catlike indoors. Families that meet the 45 to 90 minute exercise bill usually find the Sloughi exactly as advertised.
The Sloughi's daily exercise bill explained: what counts, how owners fit it in and what happens when it goes unpaid.
The story behind the Sloughi: origins, history and how the old job still shapes the modern dog.
Family life with a Bergamasco Shepherd Dog examined: the rating, the routine and the honest bottom line.
Last updated: November 6, 2026