Afghan Hound
The Afghan hound is a notable dog for its heavy and silky coat, and tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed was selected for its distinctive structures apt in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. It has different names; the local name is Tazi Spay, and other names are Kuchi hound, Tazi, Balkh hound, Baluchi hound, Barakzai hound, Shalgar Hound, Kabul Hound, Galanday hound etc. or sometimes wrongly named as African hound.
The Afghan hound is a tall dog with a height ranges between 61 to 74 cm (24 to 29 inches), and weight ranges between 20 to 27 kg (44 to 60 lbs.).
Coat and Color
The coat may be of any color. Most have a black facial mask; but white markings, especially on the head, are discouraged. The long, fine-textured coat needs great care and grooming. The long topknot and shorter-haired saddle on the back are unique landscapes of the Afghan hound’s coat. The high hipbones and unique small ring on the end of the tail are also physiognomies of the breed.
Temperament
The temperament of distinctive Afghan hound can be gracious, happy, and clownish when playing. The dog, like other sight-hounds, has a high prey drive and can be a successful competitor in agility trials, best instinctive therapy dog, and companion. The breed has a reputation among some dog trainers of having a comparatively sluggish ‘obedience intelligence’.
Even though rarely used for hunting in Europe and America where they are very popular, Afghan hounds are frequent participants in lure coursing events and are also famous in conformation demonstrations.
Lifespan
As per UK survey, the average life of an Afghan hound is about 12 years which is similar to other breeds of its size.
Popularity
Because of its unique presence, the Afghan hound has been shown in animated feature movies and TV shows. The dogs have also been presented in television ads, fashion magazines, books including series of mystery novels. For instance, Virginia Woolf included the Afghan hound (named Sohrab) in a novel ‘Between the Acts’ to signify the features of human characters.
History
The breed has been recognized as Basal Breed since the 19th century. It is very similar to the Saluki. The new breed of today’s Afghan hound derived from the dogs transported to Great Britain in 1920s which King Amanullah of Afghan Royal Family offered as gifts. Some of them were kept as hunting dogs and some as guardians.
Although the breed is obviously ancient, verifiable written or visual records that draw today's Afghan hound breed to specific Afghan owners or places are absent. There is much conjecture about the breed's origin and likely contacts with the ancient world among fanciers and in non-scientific breed books and websites. The contacts with other types and breeds from the same region may provide evidence to the history. A name for a desert coursing Afghan hound, Tazi (Sag-e-Tazi), proposes a common lineage with the very similar Tasy breed from the Caspian Sea region of Russia and Turkmenistan. Other types or breeds of similar look are the Taigan from mountainous Tian Shan area on the Chinese border of Afghanistan, and the Barakzay, or Kurram Valley Hound.
There are minimum 13 types of the breed recognized in Afghanistan, and some are being developed and documented into new pedigree breeds. As the lives of the peoples with whom these dogs developed a change in the new world, frequently these land-race dogs mislay their use and vanish; there may have been various other types of Long-haired Sight-hound in the history.
Once out of Afghanistan, the history of Afghan hound breed becomes a significant part of the history of very earliest dog shows and UK Kennel Club. Many sight-hounds were transported to England in the 1800s by army officers returning from British India (which at the time encompassed), Afghanistan, and Persia, and were presented at dog shows, which were then just becoming more popular with various names like Barukzy hounds. They were also called ‘Persian Greyhounds’ by the English.
Particularly, one dog ‘Zardin’ was transported from India by Captain Bariff in 1907 which became the early ideal of breed still known as Persian Greyhound. Zardin was a source of first breed standard in 1912 but its breeding was stopped by World War I.
Out of the Long-haired Sight-hound types recognized in Afghanistan, two main strains constitute the modern Afghan hound breed. The first was a group of hounds conveyed to Scotland from Baluchistan by Major and Mrs. G. Bell-Murray and Miss Jean C. Manson in 1920. These dogs, also called Kalagh, were of the coastal or steppe type with less heavily coat.
The second strain was a group of dogs from a kennel in Kabul preserved by Mrs. Mary Amps which she transported to England in 1925. She and her husband came to Kabul after the Afghan-War in 1919. The foundation sire of her kennel named ‘Ghazni’ in Kabul was a dog that closely looked like Zardin. Her Ghazni strain was the more heavily coated mountain type. Maximum Afghan hounds in the United States were established from the Ghazni strain (England). The first Afghan hound in Australia was introduced in 1934 from the Ghazni strain (United States). The French breed club was formed in 1939 (FALAPA). The mountain and steppe strains were mixed and introduced the modern Afghan hound breed. The new standard of such breed was documented in 1948 which is still in use today.
The remarkable beauty of Afghan hounds made them become very desirable show-dogs and pets, and they are introduced by all of the major kennel clubs in English-world. An Afghan hound was presented on the title page of Life Magazine, November 26, 1945. The dog was very famous in Australia in the 1970s, also won the various major shows. In 1996, an Afghan hound also won ‘Best in Show’ at World Dog Show in Budapest.
The Afghan hound breed is no longer used for hunting, although it can be seen in the games of lure coursing.
Also see: Stunning Photos of Afghan Hound Puppies and Dogs