The Afghan Hound – Its Origins

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:05:22 +0000

It is believed that The Afghan Hound is one of the earliest recorded breeds. It was mentioned several times in the Egyptian papyrus’s and pictured in caves of Northern Afganistan more than 4,000 years ago. It originates from Middle Eastern Sighthounds with roots that date back to the Egyptian Pharaohs.
These beautiful sight hounds, because of their prowess, incredible speed and agility were used as hunters for many centuries, hunting such game as deer, wild boars, goats and even wolves. They were also used by the shepherds as watchdogs and herders.
The earlier Afghan Hound was used by the poorer nomadic tribes in order to hunt the ground for gazelles, hare, and other small animals to bring back for food.
In order to understand the Afghan Hound’s development There were essentially two distinct types of hound that evolved from the varied Afghanistan terrain.
From the northern mountainous region, evolved the more rugged stockier type with thicker coats. Speculatively, it is thought that this type was bread by the Afghani shepherds crossing the Tibetan-Mastif, a thick coated dog with the houndy Saluki type. There is a school of thought that maybe the Saluki breed is the very original Afghan Hound.

From the Southern desert region there evolved a taller and leaner hound with longer body and lighter boned.
Afghan Hounds often hunted with the partnership of falcons, which were trained to swoop at the quarry. It was these varied and impressive skills that endeered this breed to the Chiefs and Shikaris and became much coveted and protected pets.

However, in this case their incredible hunting skills were used by the Royalty for sport and not necessity.

As a result of their history the Afghan Hound has developed great stamina, strength and speed and it’s most striking physical capabilities are its leaping distance and nimbleness.
It was in the 189s that the Afghan Hound arrived England with returning British troops and their families. During their time in Afghanistan they had become fascinated with the breed which at that time it was referred to as “Barukhzy Hounds” or “Persian Greyhounds”.

The Afghan Hound was quite a diverse breed so in order to establish a breed standard a model dog was used that best represented the elegance of today’s Afghan Hound. That dog was named Zardin.

The breed’s popularity was very slow coming, but eventually made a name in the show ring. In fact, the Afghan Hound quickly became one of the most glamorous and competitive dogs in the show ring.

During the 1970s the Afghan Hound enjoyed incredible popularity, but since then their status in the pet world has declined.

The Afghan Hound Personality

Because of it’s glamorous looks and striking features people are unaware of its history and would never guess just how skillful a hunter they are. This dog is a hunter at heart, capable of finding its prey through rough terrain, yet is peaceful and gentle, especially with children. It needs exercise on a daily basis and can be somewhat shy and reserved around strangers.

Caring for Your Afghan Hound

the Afghan Hound, contrary to common belief is highly inteligent and needs daily stimulation, both mentally and physically. This will keep the Afghan Hound in a happy state of mind. It will love the opportunity to free run at full speed if you can do so in a safe area. They should live indoors with the rest of the family but have access to an enclosed, outside area during the day. Grooming does take a little extra work with the Afghan Hound. Its coat is long and may need to be brushed thoroughly every other day.

Health Information

The average lifespan of a healthy Afghan Hound is between 12 and 15 years. They are generally very healthy dogs with absolutely no major issues and the only minor concerns that may spring up are cataracts. Occasionally seen are CHD and necrotic myelopathy, but these health problems are extremely rare.

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The Afghan Hound – Its Origins