Some time ago I promised to tell you about the differences between
tazi and saluki.
From the very start I have to say it's a difficult topic because I
have never ever owned any saluki. Thus I may say that from my point
of view tazi is much more popular. :-) Off course it is not true, but
you may understand that anything I say about tazi vs saluki in
crucial parts is subjective.
I can speak some languages and Russian is among them. Then it makes
possible for me to read either English-language reports on saluki
written by Anglosaxon specialists but I may also read in Russian
reports from Russian, Kazakh, Turkmen and Uzbekh specialist in tazi.
First of all I want to empazise that I have never come across any
serious comparative work dealing with this problem. Russian tazi
supporters never discuss it and they always treat both tazi and
saluki as separate breeds with no intention to turn saluki into tazi.
Still there is an adverse tendency which might be remarked
in "western" saluki fanceirs. They tend to negate the existance of
tazi as a separate breed and they tend to melt them into saluki
family.

Anyone of us may easily guess that "saluki lobby" is overwhelming in
western dog breeding when we compare it to single tazi owners of
tazi, which is still recognized in just few FCI-countries on a
national level.

For the last few years there have been a strong tendency to bring
dogs from the far-off countries and to use them for breeding as blood
refreshers. In case of saluki breeding, tazi would be a perfect blood
refresher, because it has never been crossed with saluki and it is
proven by the dog's pedigree which enumerates generations of tazi.
Thus if you get a pedigree tazi, you get a warrenty the dog is
genetically far from the saluki bred in Europe. Potential mixing the
tazi with strongly inbred saluki might result in beautiful and
HEALTHY pups. If you see it, then you may also understand some points
in tazi vs saluki discussion. Let's say it clearly: tazi as not
recognized breed is a handy reservoir of new genes for saluki
breeding.

OK, but let's get to the point when we discuss the difference, which
are also very difficult to enumerate. The problem is that the tazi
standard has been written for various types of the breed. Dogs from
Kazahstan, Usbekistan and Turkmenistan (these countries are nearly
the same big as Europe) were supposed to have one standard written by
the Soviet ministry. Off course from the very start it must have
seemed weird, but it has been composed, published and used.

The Soviet and present standard of tazi you may read at my site:
http://dogs.orgo.eu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2

One has to know that comparing tazi from Kasahstan (where the dog is
nearly as big as greyhound) with a tazi from Turkmen steppes is even
more difficult than comparing German and Dutch shepherd dogs.

Still Kasahstan is the only country which is interested not only in
preserving the breed as a national treasure, but also in its
development. In November the national tazi club was founded and the
first mono-breed exposition was organized. For these reasons it's
reasonable to compare a standard kasah tazi with the show saluki form
Europe.

If I try to make this comparison I would say:

The whole constitution of tazi is of a stronger one. The Kasah tazi
is a dog wich is nearly the same big as a greyhound, the same strong.

The tazi's head if seen from above looks more like a pear as his
cranium is much wider. Saluki's head resambles a triangle.

The eyes of tazi are smaller and they may never be light, which is
permisible in saluki.

The croup in tazi must be that wide so one can put at least hand
between it. But the wider it is, the better it is. Because of it tazi
looks very strong in its back and when you look at a good tazi you
should see its back legs closing the rest of the body.

Hair. There should be no difference between saluki and tazi if you
read the present Russian standard, but old time Kasah specialist say
tazi should never had long hair on its paws.

Tail. Tazi's tail may never have that much hair as saluki's one.

The chest is visible more barrel-like in tazi.

Tazi is rather a scent dog, not a sight dog, althoung the sight is an
important help in hunting. Because of the strong scent tazi is used
for hunting at night as well. If ever recognized by the FCI, some say
it should belong to the 5th, not to the 10th group.

Well, if you have more questions, please ask. I will answer if I can
do it.