Not quite.  Where to start,  Ive been single going on 8 months.  Finally back on my feet, put the bottle down, and I want a dog to fill the obvious void for companionship.  I was looking around at different breed types, and oddly enough, The saluki seems to be the ideal breed for me and my life style.  Yes it is a "pretty" dog.  But damned if its isnt great.  Does anyone have any first hand experience with these creatures?  If so, any advice?

or a newfoundland. aka a gentle giant. awesoem dogs. but the saluki is a beautiful animal though. ive got a neighbor wiht one. saw it every day until they moved out

Did you ever interact with it? 

a couple of times, seemed nervous of me at first, got got used to me , sorry i cannot offer more advice
but teh best of luck to you

hell id be nervous of you too.  creepy creepy man.  lol.  Its cool.  Anyone else going to chime in.  lol.  Freaking normal people who work normal hours.   lol i keed i keed

None with that breed but I have a border collie. Which IMO is one of the best dogs on the planet.
As I sit here he is at my side and where ever I go, there he is right at my side, and is very protective. 

Look into Grey hounds.  They display the same tempermant and are very loving.  Only down side is most GHs are retired race dogs and to adopt one you have to go through a lengthy application and most places ask that you read the "Retired Grey Hounds for Dummies" or other like book so you know what your getting into.  I'm currently trying to convince the Mrs to let us adopt one but her issue is the size on the breed (65 - 80 lbs).  She has agreed to let us adopt a Whippet (25 - 40 lbs) which is a sight hound very similiar to the GH and Saluki in all aspects.  Honestly, you can't loose with any of these breeds.

PS - I do NOT trust Wikipedia for all my important info, BUT they usually have links to better networks that offer accurate information.

Saluki Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluki

Grey Hound Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_hound

Whippet Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whippet

i watch the dog shows sometimes, and the saluki is a very, very beautiful, graceful looking creature. they appear to be hight maint. though. but that's only my opinion, no facts to support that. with that said, if you get one, post pics! 

just googled them not my type of dog. good luck and that probably a good plan

I have 2 retired Grey Hounds that I got from Lincon Park the Rhoad Island dog track. Over all they are good dogs. Mine  mostlt eat ,sleep, and fart! The Grey Hound for dummies is a good book! Check out Petfinder.com, talk with breeders, and Vets. Good luck with your search! -- JIm

Quote from: cafeboy on February 09, 2009, 08:51:20 AM
None with that breed but I have a border collie. Which IMO is one of the best dogs on the planet.
As I sit here he is at my side and where ever I go, there he is right at my side, and is very protective. 

+1000 on Border Collies.   Ours was VERY active as a pup, but is a fantastic mellow loving dog now.  He is incredibly smart -- some border collies have a vocabulary of 200-400 words.  They like to have space to run.  Ours chases leaves sometimes, trying to herd them.  Bandit is 10 now and we have already talked about getting another Border Collie after he is gone.

Our vet says they are reputed to be the smartest breed and among the very best with children.

English Bull Terrier... high energy but very very friendly and loyal, awesome with kids, can be very stubborn but overall an amazing temperment.. just wouldn't leave it with another dog that's smaller than it for too long... it will be trampled!. They are nice to have in FL tho, if I had any other type of dog it probably wouldn't be alive right now. Walts been attacked (totally unprovoked, dogs running out of yards without leashes) 3x now by pit bulls, (I know its not the dog it's the owner, nothing against the PB)... the EBT can totally hold its own. Some people down here don't know how to raise a dog. Grey Hounds/Whippet type not my style but they are nice dogs. I suppose everyone is partial to a certain breed... I do really like the border collies but they're too smart for their own good.. now those dogs can really get your blood boiling!           
Here is Walter:

Thanks everyone.  One of the main reasons i decided upon the saluki, besides is obvious grace (which is a common sight hound thing) They are athletes.  Unknown to most of the world, they are indeed the fastest dog on earth.  They chase down gazelles and kill them.  Meaning they top out at more than 50 mph.  A grey hound can only do 45.  They are very similar to the greyhound in manorisms, only a little smaller(which is a plus for me since i already take up all the room where ever i am).  And  to top it off, like most ancient breeds, are virtualy problem free from the get go. This comes from thousands of years of strict breeding.  They are in the running for the most ancient breed along with the Pharoah hound.  Thier history intrigues me.  And from what ive researched thier grooming isnt needy.  Just brush em every once and a while and thier good. THey are one of the "odorless" since thier skin secrets very minimal oils due to thier desert origins which is a definet plus.  And relatively speaking, they arent a "shedder".
Go to youtube and search for saluki coursing.  Is interestign to say the least.  Kind of a first hand look at what these dogs were bred for. See it, chase it, kill it
eh

Gorgeous animals Eh?, post pics of the new arrival when he/she arrives

I will. but it may be a while.  Im in ky, and  i cant find a saluki breeder here in the state at all.  I may end up traveling.

Quote from: trumpetguy on February 09, 2009, 09:56:03 PM
+1000 on Border Collies.  they are reputed to be the smartest breed and among the very best with children.

Yea, when my boy was small and would go outside the dog would be making circles around him so he would'nt go to far and would be safe.

When I was young my family had an Australian sheep dog.  She was the most intelligent dog I've ever met.  She even knew how to lie!!  One time I was teasing our German Shepard with cookies (not nice I know but I was 10)- doing the fake cookie toss.  The whole time the aussie was just staring at me knowing I had nothing in my had.  As soon as my aunt walked in the room, the aussie jumps up and run after the pretend cookie.  My aunt yells at me for teasing them and makes me give them both cookies. 

BTW, if anyone's thinking of a german shepard there are two kinds, the intelligent trainable K9 type and the kind that walk into a room, forget why they came there in the first place, walk out then repeat the procedure three more times before they realized they wanted a drink.   Guess which kind we had!!

Quote from: dmanben on February 10, 2009, 08:25:00 AM
When I was young my family had an Australian sheep dog.  She was the most intelligent dog I've ever met.  She even knew how to lie!!  One time I was teasing our German Shepard with cookies (not nice I know but I was 10)- doing the fake cookie toss.  The whole time the aussie was just staring at me knowing I had nothing in my had.  As soon as my aunt walked in the room, the aussie jumps up and run after the pretend cookie.  My aunt yells at me for teasing them and makes me give them both cookies. 

Now that's funny I don't care WHO you are!