What Dog are You?
Dogs are one of the few animals that are considered as pets and are usually domesticated by man. These canines are usually groomed to become guards or simply a home-buddy and best friend. Others spend time, efforts and money to teach their pet dogs certain tricks and abilities. Dogs, in general, are friendly and kind to their master/s while aloof and sometimes can pose threat to strangers. In current times, dogs are associated with their masters in terms of attitude, physical appearance, and abilities. In these regards, I would like to take into account the breed Saluki and its similarities to myself.
Saluki, pronounced as Sa-loo-key, is a pure breed that can be traced as far back as 3 500 B. C. The relevance of this claim can be identified through an inspection of paintings found inside the Egyptian pyramids and tombs. It also regarded as special and at some places worshiped in the Middle East regions (Brown, 1968). Murawski elaborated that Saluki plays a significant role for the Egyptians. It is revered and is known as ‘el hor’ or ‘noble one’ There is even a tradition that when a saluki died, the family that owns it shaved off their eyebrows. It is also known as Persian greyhound or gazelle greyhound (O’Neil, 2007).
Saluki is originally used by the Bedouin tribe to hunt for gazelles. Gazelles, by the way, are considered as the quickest of all antelopes (Murawski, 2001). This illustrates that Saluki’s are fast runners. According to dogbreedinfo. com, Saluki’s run at top speed of 40 mph. In Bitain and some parts of Europe, Saluki is prized for their hunting skills to bring down an agile hare (Hom, 2008 ). Saluki is usually compared or at times confused as greyhound. This is due to the fact that both are ‘gazehounds, hunting by sight and have similar body type (Allsen, 2006)’.
Both of them exhibit features such as ‘long legs and deep chest which are built for speed and endurance (Allsen, 2006 )’. The difference between the two breeds is their ears. Allsen, (2006), described that greyhounds are known for their pricked and short ears that differ from saluki which are pendulous and long and at time feathered or has longer furs. I can relate myself with Saluki in terms of temperament. Saluki’s are sensitive which highly demonstrates my perceptive side. I am critical of another person’s emotion/s and of what other people think.
I always take into consideration other people especially when they will be affected by decision/s. Saluki is also even-tempered, that is they do not get mad easy. Although, I sometimes get mood swings when really irritable circumstances are present, I usually try to understand the logic behind things before reacting. This attitude could reflect being even-tempered since I do not react easily when triggered by heated or annoying events. Other characters of saluki includes being gentle and affectionate (Burke, 2005). In my opinion I am not really an aggressive type when in comes to my friends and families.
However, like a Saluki, I seldom show my affection. I am barely a demonstrative type. Thus, people often think I am taking them for granted when in fact I just don’t want to show my emotional side. Burke (2005) elaborated that Saluki are happy in the company of other Saluki. Well, this seems to generally portray my own temperament. For one I only make friends with people who have common traits with me. One cannot be close and happy with someone you cannot connect anything about. I am a magnanimous and generous type of person especially to friends. I am also sincere to my friends and family.
When something wrong happens to anyone of them there’s this natural tendency in me to retaliate. Saluki, according to O’Neil (2007) is ideal for active people. They are recommended outdoors due to their running skills and instinct. They are basically inactive indoors. This means they are quiet, clean and enjoys as much attention, just like a cat (Burke, 2005). I think I am very much the same since I am really quiet at home but a bit more active outdoors. In the outdoors I am a bit more talkative. I can express myself more freely with friends than family members. I enjoy camping and swimming outdoors most specifically in places I haven’t been.
Camping makes me feel refreshed and free. Saluki is known to be a good watchdog (Burke, 2005). Although, of course I am not a watchman or a guard, I often watch other people and, as mentioned above, reflect on their possible position regarding a certain issue. It is not as though I am trying to learn mind reading. It is simply taking into account what their views would be and how I will or can be affected by them. As explained, Salukis are prominent hunters. They are known as hunter millennium ago and they are still used to hunt in some Middle East countries up until today.
Despite their non-aggressive nature towards humans, dogbreedinfo. com explained that it is Saluki’s natural instinct to kill or chase non-canine animals. Thus, it is recommended that obedience training are needed to keep their hunting instinct under control. Well, I don’t possess such hunting instinct myself. But I believe I am not an obedient type either. I believe that humans are embedded with their capacity to reason and think for themselves. Thus, at times it is simply hard to follow everything that your parents or elders say. There are occasions when I disobey rules but I guess it is normal for people to do things this way.
It is like testing the limits of my ability and luck. My favorite sport is soccer which is like hunting in the sense that the goal is to get the ball. Somehow, I am also a fast runner but not as fast as the Saluki, I mean, I cannot outrun a gazelle but I am confident that my running skills are good enough especially in the soccer field. In the soccer game, the Saluki abilities reflected my own since I also need to be watchful and to try to get hold of the ball as much as possible. Physically, Saluki has thin body type with long legs. Basically I am also medium built. Although I am not as thin as Salukis are.
Brown quoted Morrow in commenting that ‘Saluki’s look as if they undergone 7 weeks of famine’. I don’t really look like that. But at least I am not a fat type of guy or a muscle builder type. I also don’t have long legs; I guess my legs are normal for my height. Saluki’s has feathered fur in the ear area which somehow resembles my curly hair, according to my friends. My friends and family agree that I do resemble some of Saluki’s attitude although I do not look so much like a Saluki. My abilities do resemble some of those portrayed by Saluki such as good running skills.
Nevertheless, I am not as thin as Saluki and I am not so much as a hunter type. I believe that I best display Saluki’s abilities in the soccer field. I enjoy the outdoors as much as Saluki does. Trying to relate myself to a dog is something that uncovers my inner self. In doing this essay I did amazing discovery regarding some parts of my attitude that are too blatant for me to pay attention to. A dog indeed resembles some human abilities and a certain type of dog can be appropriate for certain types of person. As for me, I guess a saluki is not a bad match. I prefer saluki than a shiatsu or a poodle, that’s for sure.
