Afghan Hound

Tazi, Afghan Greyhound

The Afghan Hound is majestic, and his appearance is elegant and proud. His snobbish and somewhat naive appearance does not reflect his excellent character, intelligence, complicity, and affectionate nature. Despite his prince appearance, his excellent temperament makes him very endearing.

Height 63 to 74 cm
Weight 25 to 30 kg
Life expectancy 12 to 14 years
Hair Loss High
Excercise Need High
Home country Afghanistan

Quick Overview of the Afghan Hound

Temperament

  • Rather playful, but not very demonstrative
  • Great independence
  • Rather calm, never aggressive
  • Very sensitive

Appearance

  • Outstanding elegance
  • Impression of dignity and strength
  • Very long, fine and dense coat

Health

  • Suffers from the cold
  • Molts very little

Temperament of the Afghan Hound

With a rather playful, but not very demonstrative temperament, the Afghan Hound is generally wrongly considered as a snobbish and not very intelligent dog.

His natural reserve, as well as his independence have greatly contributed to this bad reputation. He is rather calm and never aggressive. He will avoid strangers instead of confronting them.

Very sensitive, susceptible and slightly dominant, the Afghan Hound does not easily submit. He is rather stubborn and very independent.

This dog will become an excellent accomplice for his master and family, but he will never depend on him or be submissive.

Unable to stand guard, being totally devoid of aggressiveness, he will avoid confrontation. Not very conciliatory by nature, the Afghan Hound will also avoid confrontation with his master, and will simply do as he pleases.

That's why this breed has to be educated with great complicity. His education must be calm and full of respect, both for the dog and master.

lévrier afghan personnalité

Breed Appearance

afghan hound

This magnificent specimen of the canine gentleman possesses an elegance out of the ordinary. He is powerful with unparalleled speed.

The sumptuous coat of the Afghan Hound, as well as his noble air make him one of the most elegant and proudest dogs.

Height

Between 68 and 74 cm (26.77 to 29.13 inches) for the male
Between 63 and 69 cm (24.80 to 27.17 inches) for the female

Weight

Between 25 and 30 kg (55.12 to 66.14 pounds) for the male
Between 25 and 30 kg (55.12 to 66.14 pounds) for the female

Color

His color is very diverse, and all color possibilities are allowed. However, the preferred colors for the breed are usually sandy to golden tones.

Hair

His coat is long, fine and dense. It will be rather short on the back and face.

Morphology

His head is long and gives him an elegant appearance. The eyes of the Afghan Hound are usually gold or dark.

His ears are further back and set low, but very close to the head and covered with long hair.

His nose can be brown or black. His tail is not too short but very hairy and its tip ends in a ring.

According to the FCI breeds nomenclature, this breed belongs to group 10, section 1 and is #228

Characteristics of the Afghan Hound

Does this dog suit your lifestyle?

Every dog breed has its own characteristics. However, the actual character of a dog can vary from one to another within the same breed.

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Life in an apartment
Good first dog
Tolerates solitude
Tolerates cold weather
Tolerates hot weather
Affectionate
Friendly with children
Friendly with strangers
Friendly with other animals
Hair loss
Drooling level
Easy to care for
Robust health
Easy to train
Intelligent
Tendency to bark
Tendency to nibble
Protective
Instinct to hunt
Adventurous spirit
Energy level
Level of intensity
Need for exercise
Playful

Afghan Hound puppies near me

Afghan Hound pictures

Tips About this breed

The popular rumor about the Afghan Hound is generally that he's totally idiot and very snobbish. This snobbish and reserved facade has therefore given him this bad reputation.

As he is totally independent and will never be submissive, the Afghan Greyhound gives the impression of being really stupid.

That's not the case. Unsubmissive, he needs a good firm education and the master must become his dog's accomplice if he wants his dog to obey.

If the dog feels that his master wants to subdue him, he will be totally delinquent and will do as he pleases, hence his false reputation of stupidity.

Even if this dog is perfectly fine in an apartment, he will have to exercise daily to be happy and complicit with his master.

Born as a hunter, his natural instinct requires a minimum of exercise, to keep him happy as companion dog. Running outdoors or on tracks is his favorite exercise.

Health of the Afghan Hound

Although he is more robust than most greyhounds, the Afghan suffers from the cold. He hardly ever sheds and it is preferable that he lives indoors because the cold is almost unbearable for him.

GROOMING

The Afghan Hound requires special grooming. Maintenance of his beautiful coat is very demanding. It is not enough to brush him daily, and his fur needs to be untangled thoroughly each time before brushing.

He must also be washed regularly, about every 15 days. As the coat has a tendency to become tangled, regular washing will prevent knots and avoid arduous untangling.

Owners of breeding dogs sometimes have a tendency to shear them in order to avoid special care. But the majority of owners prefer to maintain them and keep their beautiful coat.

His ears are to be watched during meals, because their long strands can soak into the food or water.

History of this breed

This Greyhound breed, with very ancient ancestors, is said to have appeared a long time ago, possibly on Noah's Ark. Images representing him can be found on graffiti dating back to 2000 BC.

He is also mentioned on an Egyptian papyrus apparently older than the graffiti.

His ancestor would probably come from Asia, then with the migration of Indo-Europeans to the Iranian regions, the Afghan Hound, as we know him today, would have been actually discovered at that time. This is probably the reason for his current name, i.e. Tazi which means "Arab".

In spite of his rather nebulous and uncertain origins, the Afghan Hound entered British soil around 1880, brought back by the Queen's soldiers after the Anglo-Afghan war.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first standard of the breed was officially created by the English Kennel Club and imports of the dog really began around 1920. France welcomed him about ten years later.

There is even a representation of the Afghan Hound on a painting by Salvador Dali. In 1938, he created the work "Invisible Afghan with the appearance on the beach of Garcia Leone's face in the shape of a three-figure fruit dish".

With a top speed up to 70 km/h over 300 metres (almost 1 mile), the Afghan Hound was previously popular for hunting wolf, fallow deer, fox, gazelle and snow leopard. Although he is used nowadays in the West more as a luxury and companion dog, he is still greatly appreciated for sport and herding in his native country.

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