Although believed to be one of the oldest breeds in the world, the modern
history of this sight hound is mainly as a hunting and guard dog of Afghanistan
and Northern India. The first Afghan Hounds came to Great Britain in the
late 1800s and to the United States in the late 1930.
The Afghan in a bold animal and very courageous. Because he was bred to
run down animals such as deer, antelope, wolves, and leopards, he is a very
agile dog with great stamina. The Afghan is also very regal, highly dignified
and aristocratic in demeanor. Although he is not to be shy, he is reticent
around strangers. This fact and the care which his coat needs, means the
Afghan is not the dog for everybody.
The Afghan's head is long with little or no stop and has a level bite. A
topknot of long silky hair atop the head is an Afghan Hound characteristic.
To be able to do what he was bred for, his structure must enable him to
adapt to various types of terrain from broken, boulder-strewn hill country
to vast deserts. He should move with a smooth and powerful stride. Distinctive
to the Afghan is the hair on the shoulders, back, saddle and flank which
is short and silky in the adult dog . The hair on the rest of the body is
long, silky and fine in texture. All colors are acceptable but white markings
on the head are not desired. The height and weight of the Afghan should
range from 26 to 28 inches and 60 pounds in males and from 24 to 26 inches
and 50 pounds in females.
cameditdequoi@hotmail.com of Montreal, Quebec writes:
Truly special dogs.
Afghans are not for everyone but those lucky few who get them are really
in for a treat. Their coat requires regular care to look good. Sporadic
care will mean matting in the coat and out come the scissors BUT very few
breeds are as special as the Afghan. The biggest criticism heard about
the breed concerns their alleged lack of intelligence but this is due to
two things: they are far-sighted and see things far off in the distance
resulting in a stand-offish appearance (after all they are sighthounds)
and people believe that the puppies are so cute that they will train them
later, resulting in untrainable adults. They are wonderful pets especially
good with children and can be well trained IF started young.
dagmarbauck@hotmail.com of The Netherlands writes on 6/10/00:
If you normally think of yourself as 'katlover'..this can be your dog!
All my life I looked up when ever I saw a Afghan hound. Now I have one of
my own finally and I am more than happy with it ! If you think of getting
one you have to know that this dog has his own mind.. That means he hardly
never listening at your first call (second, third..)- no, he comes when
he thinks the time is right.. May be you have to be patient for more then
10 min. or more.. But in the end he will come..always. A wonderful/beautiful
dog with eyes that can look right through you. Of course his coat needs
lots of care! For me this dog is the right dog for people who got time and
patience and MOST OF ALL LOVE for this kind of dog with a 'kat-character'!