Saluki puppies

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Saluki puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Heart conditions including valve disease and arrhythmia, screened by a cardiac exam
• Thyroid disease, screened by a thyroid evaluation
• Cancers including haemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma and lymphoma
• Bloat and gastric torsion, which vigorous running and playing after eating can trigger
• Autoimmune and blood conditions, which have been reported in the breed

From Saluki breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/saluki/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Your Saluki puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Saluki.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 18.1 to 29.5 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Other large breeds

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