The Afghan: Ultimate Elegance

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The Afghan: Ultimate Elegance

Silky tresses flowing, the Afghan Hound in America is a high society dog, at home with Rolls Royces, fashionable furs, cashmere sweaters, and Cartier jewelry. Far-removed from his birth in rugged Afghanistan, the dog brings a regal appearance and attitude to every space he occupies, every relationship he joins, and every job he does.

The Afghan is a study in contradictions. Beautiful in an aristocratic way, the breed is at heart and by heritage a sighthound, bound to course after cats in the yard, rabbits in the park or gazelles in his homeland. By appearance an ornament and by nature a guardian of the hearth, the Afghan's demeanor runs the gamut from jittery to dignified to merry.

There's no doubt that the Afghan is an ancient breed, a sighthound rising from the mists of time among the nomadic peoples of the Middle East. The mountain tribes that developed the breed to hunt large and small game were a conglomeration of people with a variety of customs and cultures. Much of the breed history has been lost as warlike factions led by the likes of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan overran the country from time to time and Mohammedans labeled the animals as repugnant and impure. There is evidence that the dogs were of two basic types reflecting the terrain and climate in which they developed, but isolated tribes had their own varieties that differed by color and coat description.

The desert dogs more closely resemble the Saluki, a thin, short-coated sighthound. The mountain variety of the breed is shorter in height, longer and thicker of coat, and chunkier of muscle. The American show dogs resemble the mountain type dogs.

True to his mountain heritage, the Afghan Hound is a tough, agile dog capable of climbing rocky outcrops and dodging around and over boulders. His large feet give him great support for twists and turns as he trails large game and dodges the hoofs and teeth of cornered animals. He is well-suited for cold, wet, windy climates. Swift enough to outdistance mounted hunters, the Afghan is of necessity a courageous hunter and an independent thinker, capable of holding large prey at bay until the hunter arrives.

Although there is some evidence of Afghan Hounds outside Afghanistan after the Indian-Afghani border wars in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, an English officer stationed near Kabul was the first documented Western breeder of the dogs. Afghans from his Ghazni kennel went to England in 1925, and the breed made its way to the US a few years later. Zeppo Marx of the famous Marx Brothers was an early fancier; he and his wife imported two dogs from England that eventually became the foundation of Pride's Hill Kennel in Massachusetts and the keystone of the breed in America. The American Kennel Club recognized the Afghan Hound in 1926 and the Afghan Club of America became an AKC member club in 1940.

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Silky tresses flowing, the Afghan Hound in America is a high society dog, at home with Rolls Royces, fashionable furs, cashmere sweaters, and Cartier jewelry. Far-removed from his birth in rugged Afghanistan, the dog brings a regal appearance and attitude to every space he occupies, every relationship he joins, and every job he does.

The Afghan is a study in contradictions. Beautiful in an aristocratic way, the breed is at heart and by heritage a sighthound, bound to course after cats in the yard, rabbits in the park or gazelles in his homeland. By appearance an ornament and by nature a guardian of the hearth, the Afghan's demeanor runs the gamut from jittery to dignified to merry.

There's no doubt that the Afghan is an ancient breed, a sighthound rising from the mists of time among the nomadic peoples of the Middle East. The mountain tribes that developed the breed to hunt large and small game were a conglomeration of people with a variety of customs and cultures. Much of the breed history has been lost as warlike factions led by the likes of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan overran the country from time to time and Mohammedans labeled the animals as repugnant and impure. There is evidence that the dogs were of two basic types reflecting the terrain and climate in which they developed, but isolated tribes had their own varieties that differed by color and coat description.

The desert dogs more closely resemble the Saluki, a thin, short-coated sighthound. The mountain variety of the breed is shorter in height, longer and thicker of coat, and chunkier of muscle. The American show dogs resemble the mountain type dogs.

True to his mountain heritage, the Afghan Hound is a tough, agile dog capable of climbing rocky outcrops and dodging around and over boulders. His large feet give him great support for twists and turns as he trails large game and dodges the hoofs and teeth of cornered animals. He is well-suited for cold, wet, windy climates. Swift enough to outdistance mounted hunters, the Afghan is of necessity a courageous hunter and an independent thinker, capable of holding large prey at bay until the hunter arrives.

Although there is some evidence of Afghan Hounds outside Afghanistan after the Indian-Afghani border wars in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, an English officer stationed near Kabul was the first documented Western breeder of the dogs. Afghans from his Ghazni kennel went to England in 1925, and the breed made its way to the US a few years later. Zeppo Marx of the famous Marx Brothers was an early fancier; he and his wife imported two dogs from England that eventually became the foundation of Pride's Hill Kennel in Massachusetts and the keystone of the breed in America. The American Kennel Club recognized the Afghan Hound in 1926 and the Afghan Club of America became an AKC member club in 1940.

Next >>

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