[7]: 56  British diplomat Terence Clark wrote that the Arabic word saluqi indicates 'person or thing from a place named Saluq'.

[8] Regardless, the adjective saluqi may have been derived by the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula from the similar-sounding word for Seleucid used in the Aramaic and Syriac languages spoken there by the Assyrians of that part of Mesopotamia, but there is no irrefutable evidence.

Some desert Salukis imported from the original region have cropped ears because of the common tradition in countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.

In addition to their countries of birth, they have for example Iranian, Moroccan, Bahraini, and Saudi Arabian "Bedouin Saluki" dogs in their background.

[19] Salukis may bore easily and are not an ideal breed to leave unattended for long periods; however, they are well-suited to life in apartments, since they are generally quiet and calm as adults.

[21] In a 2006 breed-specific survey conducted by The Kennel Club and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Committee, responses highlighted several health issues.

[22] Hip dysplasia is uncommon in Salukis, with the breed ranking joint lowest in a survey by the British Veterinary Association in 2003.

[1] Images of running dogs with long, narrow bodies adorn pottery found in Susa, southwest Iran that dates back to 6,000 years ago,[24] despite the depictions bearing erect, pointed ears.

[26] The ancient skeletal remains of a dog identified as being of the greyhound/saluki form was excavated at Tell Brak in modern Syria, and dated to approximately 4,000 years before present.

[34] Other earlier artifacts place similar Saluki-like dogs further back in Chinese history to the 7th Century Tang dynasty or even before that.

The dog wears a collar decorated with a scallop shell, which is the badge of a pilgrim who has traveled the Way of Saint James in Spain.

[38] Sheik Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain during the 1930s, was known for a pack of Salukis that accompanied him throughout the Arab world on hunting trips.

[42] Today, the breed is still held in high regard throughout the Middle East and were hunting dogs for nobles and rulers around the region.

[42] In 2014, a DNA study compared dogs and wolves for AMY2B (alpha amylase 2B), which is a gene and enzyme that assists with the first step in the digestion of dietary starch and glycogen.

Having seen salukis on a Nile tour in that year, she imported a breeding pair from the Al Salihah area of Lower Egypt.

[45] One of these was Brigadier General Frederick Lance of the 19th Lancers, and his wife, Gladys, who returned to Britain with two Salukis from Sarona, Palestine, where he had been stationed during the post-war occupation.

The Lances were both keen hunters, and rode with their pack of dogs, including both Salukis and terriers, to course jackal and Dorcas gazelle whilst stationed in the desert.

[46] Together, the Lances with Florence Amherst mounted a campaign for recognition of the Middle Eastern breed, that coincided with the phenomenon of "Tutmania" caused by Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in late 1922.

[48] Imports to England during the interwar years were chiefly from areas of British military influence and commerce: Bahrain, Egypt, Transjordan, and Iraq.

[49] English Salukis (chiefly descendants of Sarona Kelb) were exported to many countries,[50] but by the mid-1930s, interest slackened, and with the outbreak of World War II, breeding and show activities almost entirely stopped.

Food rationing reserved all edible meat for humans, and to prevent the Salukis from dying from starvation or being killed by bombs, some owners euthanised entire kennels.

[51] A small number of Saluki kennels in the West survived the war, and along with fresh imports belonging to a second wave of soldiers returning from the Middle East, the slow process of re-establishing the breed began.

The popularity of the Saluki in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club, has remained relatively stable in the 2000s, with the breed ranked 107th in 1999, had decreased to 118th in 2008, but by 2008 had increased once again to 112th.

[57] Rescue organisations work with shelters in Qatar, Bahrain, and elsewhere, and directly with a network of rescuers in Kuwait, and Oman, to find the dogs adoptive homes in Europe and North America.