Dogs from Morocco: Magnificent Sloughi, Superb Aidi


 
From the Moroccan kennel club on http://www.chiensdumaroc.ma/race_maroc.htm
translated by Boel Jonasson




In Morocco the dogs are always present as guard dogs or for pleasure in the urban environment, and mainly as guard dogs in the rural areas. It is rare that a rural house has no dogs for guarding, something they do with devotion day and night.

You can't talk about dogs from Morocco without being reminded of the magnificent Sloughi, a highly praised breed. Many are the inhabitants in the rural areas that are enchanted by the breeding of Sloughi which are famous for their elegance and speed. Breeding of Sloughi was however limited to rich families, as Sloughis where considered as a luxury.

Aidi:



The primary function for this breed consist of hunting and confrontations with predators, especially as an ordinary dog often is an easy target for wolfs.

Beside this, the Aidi is the pride of Morocco. The Aidi is a very robust animal and very hardy and can support extreme climate conditions. Unfortunately this splendid breed who is a real inheritance in the nation has not been valued for decades and there has been cross breeding with other dogs.

At present efforts are made by the Moroccan Kennel club and the club for Atlas Mountain dogs to revitalise this breed that attracts so much interest from abroad. Very faithful, loyal and obedient to his owner and his family, the Atlas Mountain dog has inherited a remarkable talent to guard and protect. Always vigilant, he measures by instinct the importance of and the distance to the danger, and give without fear a proportinal and effective response.

The Aidi is not a breed devised or created by the modern cynology. We have only observed its existence and studied its morphological and behavioural characteristics, as established throughout the centuries. This breed is intimately linked to the Berber population in the Atlas Mountains. Their lives are based on agriculture and herding, semi nomads since immemorial times.

Three dominant characteristics affect the physics and moral of these dogs:
  1. The Aidi is a mountain dog, very typically built, although the smallest in the group, with strong aptitude to guard and protect.
  2. The Aidi is a primitiv dog, close to nature, with a lively intelligence and intact instincts.
  3. The Aidi has been exposed to the natural selection since immemorial times. The specimens who survived and had offspring are accordingly intelligent, agile, and proud, of a very robust construction and equipped wit an iron health. The behaviour of the Aidi is due to these inherited qualities. It is very connected to its circle of family, perhaps including the entire farm, campsite or village. It recognises every member of this group, humans and animals. It never attacks a member of the group. It protects the small and the children, plays with them, pet them, and treats them as its puppies.



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