#whippets are known for being quiet yet intelligent dogs

[hoperays-song]

Salukis and Personalities

I don't know if I've ever mention this before, but I worked as a dog trainer and caretaker for years. Like a really long time. And I have worked with a lot, and I mean a lot, of dogs. Even in fact, three Salukis (Ezra, Bailey, and Leo).

Why do I bring this up? Because we should talk about the personalities of these dogs, especially in relation to a character in Sing, Suki Lane.

Now this is all clearly going to be based on my experiences with these dogs, who could be outliers for all I know. However, after chatting with several Saluki owners as well, I'm pretty sure I got a decent grasp on them. Namely one thing,

Saluki's aren't timid.

They are classic sighthounds, yes, but I wouldn't call most of those dogs timid, with the exception of Whippets. Sighthounds by nature are cautious breeds, it can take a while to build their trust. This can extend into them being shy at times yes, but in my experience, it was more like meeting a new cat for the first time. It doesn't know what to think of you yet so it sits back, watches, and then makes it's judgement.

Why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah!

Because that's what Suki was doing to the troupe throughout the second movie. She didn't make her decision on them until she had been watching them for awhile, deciding to ultimately side with them after deeming them trustworthy.

That's what happened when she saved Buster from the office and when she lowered the stage lift, she was making her judgment of them known. For me, one of the Salukis I worked with, Ezra, did essentially the same thing. He acted indifferent to me for a week or so and then seemingly out of nowhere decided we were cool now and I could play with him. And because Salukis aren't particularly demonstrative typically, that's huge.

So, she wasn't being timid, she was being cautious. Something her type of dogs are known for. She would wait and see how things turn out before picking a side. That makes sense. And no, there wasn't any big apology scene or anything like that because, again, Salukis aren't typically demonstrative.

And while they are cautious, that's not actually what the breed is known for. You know what is?

Being aloof.

And that is a word that perfectly sums up Suki's personality. She's aloof. She isn't particularly warm or friendly and neither are most Saluki's unless they like you, and like you a lot. Which also makes sense with her character! She's a higher up at a major entertainment enterprise. She can't be nice to every single hopeful that shows up at their doors. She has to be realistic for the company's sake. So she's aloof and it fits her perfectly.

Saluki's also are known to be quiet and intelligent. The quietness something that isn't extremely noticeable in Suki's character when Jimmy is in the scene since he's so loud, or Buster because his personality is so big, but it's definitely there. Her answers are brief and straight to the point. And other than those few interactions, she doesn't talk much. She doesn't need to, as she is still perfectly filling her role in the scenes she's in through expressions. She might be a verbally quiet character, but like actual Salukis, her actions speak for her.

And the intelligence? We know this girl is smart. She's in her early to mid twenties and is already one of the right hands of an entertainment empire's CEO. She knows what she's doing. Suki was also able to call the police and betray Jimmy without him ever expecting it, which she had to have planned out for it to go that smoothly.

So in short, Suki and Salukis as a whole, aren't timid. They're cautious. They wait things out. And most notably, they are known to be aloof. A character trait that perfectly sums up Suki's personality that we see. Salukis from my experience act more like the stereotypical cat stuffed into a dog's body. It takes time for them to like you and even if they do, they aren't usually demonstrative of this fact. Which again lines up perfectly with Suki's character, much like the other traits Salukis are known to exhibit.

She's aloof and cautious, showing clear intelligence, but definitely not timid.