Afghan Hound

[horse_rider]

As the owner of many rescue dogs over the past 6 decades (collie, irish setter, 2 irish wolfhounds, 2 afghans, a greyhound, a beagle/bluetick), all of whom have been with me (and the last three in that list will be with me) for life, I have had a lot of experience with sight hounds, scent hounds and working dogs. The afghan hound is the most unique of all. Praised always for their exquisite hair, they are often mistaken for couch potatoes, but they are athletes who must not be considered low maintenance dogs. They need daily vigorous exercise in a large safe area when they can run free, or they often develop behavioral problems such as destructive behavior or separation anxiety. A powerful hind end, built for climbing mountains and herding sheep; flexibility that makes them seem monkey like; playfulness that makes them seem cat like - these are some of the characteristics of the afghan. Aloof and somewhat slow to bond, they are very loyal when they do. Slow to mature, independent, they are often mistaken for untrainable, but in fact they are very intelligent dogs and can be trained to come if they are given enough daily exercise, and if freedom is not a novelty.

Because of their deep chest and need to run, they are more likely than some other breeds to fall victim to bloat (torsion - when the stomach flips over and cuts off circulation - a death sentence if not quickly reversed with surgery). They should be fed two or three small meals a day, rather than one large meal. Eating from an elevated platform may also be helpful.

There are many theories on how often to bathe/groom the afghan - what is important is that they are kept mat free.

Anyone considering an afghan should be prepared to devote a few hours each day on grooming and exercise. Their reward will be an amazing devoted beautiful companion.

On a personal note, although my scent and sighthounds are trained to come when called, and therefore enjoy a daily free run with me on our long network of trails on our farm, this is a private and safe area for them with few distractions except deer, coyotes, etc (which they have been trained to not chase). However, our first afghan and 2 wolfhounds were also run daily on trails in a large park in Colorado - shared with other people and their dogs, kids and horses - and they all came when called. I believe it is a matter of bonding, training, regular vigorous exercise, and knowing when your dog is ready for this type of freedom. I've been treated to blanket statements from rescue organizations about never releasing a scent or sight hound, but in their defense, these organizations see the results of poor training and intuition - the lost dogs. They have no experience with the thousands of experienced owners who give their dogs the proper training to keep them safe and the daily exercise so freedom is not a novelty.

[Deerie me]

I have two deerhounds and they both come when called (most of the time).

[Mini Anderson Cooper]

Hi Horse Rider,
I enjoyed reading your post. It was interesting to me because your description of the Afghan Hound sounds very much like the Great Dane only on a smaller scale,right down to being predisposed to having Bloat because of their deep chest. They, however, do not have the monkeylike agility, nor the kitty playfulness. Danes are playful but is it strickly 129# of Big Girl Dog Playfulness. They do need lots of running and exercise to get them to then relax and do training.
My daughter-in-law owned and showed Afghans in New York State and other states and it was a fulltime job, although she was working at the time. She worked very hard to keep their hair just so, and they had to wear snoods after it was set for the day, tp keep their ears out of their food and water. And they had to be exercised. They every weekend she had to drive to where ever the show was to be held and get there in time with the dogs intact with a lovely hairdo. Yikes, what a job. She loved it and it was fun to watch her show her dogs. She won lots of Ribbons and had Champions. She doesn't do it now. She lost a couple of her dogs and was disheartened and quit for a while.

Thank you for taking care of these lovely dogs. It sounds as if you must have spent lots of time with them. They are a lot of worth, but if that is where your priorities are, it is well worth it. Dogs are beautiful hobbies, and companions.

Elizabeth, Cooper and Dane Miss Katie~

[Deerie me]

I've seen a video of them racing. It was beautiful.

[Farmgirl]

I trained show horses (hunters/Jumpers) for 28 years until retiring several years ago....and I've seen every sadly trained animal scenario you can imagine....and then some! Trying to teach people to recognize "horse behavior" and instinct is the hardest thing in the world. Either you have it or you don't, you can understand their instinct or you can't. You can never train a horse not to jump out of it's skin when it is startled....never....it may have a minimal reaction reather than a full blown explosion, but it will ALWAYS, ALWAYS react via instinct first and training second.

So when I retired and decided to get an Afghan Hound I heard all the stories about how you can't let them off leases...blah, blah, blah....and I thought to myself...hmmm.....poorly trained animals, with poorly trained owners.
So I got my first Afghan, worked with him....he performed as well as any show ring horse I ever had. He'd lay by my feet when we were outside...came when called...he could have been any obidience dog. Then the rabbit happened.....it came in our yard while my hound and I were outside....and the chase began...

Where was my well-trained, obedient dog??? Who substituted this wild-instinct-following hound for my hound?!?! And in an instant he was gone.....down the street, through the neighbors backyard.....etc.....luckily cornered by the chainlink fence in enough time for me to catch him before he got to the road.

You can't breed instinct out of an animal...and even the best trained animal, can not fight the call of nature that exists in them. While I would love to let my guys run free.....I love them too much to put them in a situation when they pay for my lack of judging their instinct-control, and it costs them their lives.... I learned my lesson after one go'round.
They will all eventually run....by instinct....like birds fly south, like horse fight or flight, like bears hibernate. It is the unescapable reality of this thing we call Mother Nature.

[afghanhound911]

Well said Farmgirl.

I have owned many Afghan Hounds over the past 25 years no 2 have been the same . Our 2nd Afghan received her CDX in obedience and was the most laidback Afghan Hound I had ever seen. One day she was lounging just inside of our gate (something she did daily) watching my mother gardening. Out of nowhere, a cat ran across the neighbors yard across the street. In a split second she was gone, mother recalled her, she just kept on going, right into the side of a car, crushing both her front legs. To this day, my mother never forgave herself. So you see, no matter how much training an Afghan Hound has or how great the trainer may be, instinct will always win.

It is not necessary to condemn your Afghan Hound to life on a leash. It is however necessary to ensure the safety of your Afghan Hound by allowing them off leash only in a securly fenced area. As farmgirl said "They will all eventually run....by instinct....like birds fly south, like horse fight or flight, like bears hibernate. It is the unescapable reality of this thing we call Mother Nature"

Susan Nejman
Afghan Hound Rescue of California

[teenamarie]

Also well said to Afghan Hound Rescue and Farmgirl. I'm stand firm on a leash for Afghan Hounds in unsecured areas. Not only a leash, but the proper sight hound collar.

They have a mind of their own, it could be a rabbit, or just a bird. I have a huge backyard and six foot high walls. That is plenty of room for them to run and chase what is in the yard. On walks always on a leash. Besides it's the law and it really irritates me when people feel they have responsible dogs who can walk their dogs off leash or keep their dogs in unsecured areas or yards. That is an attack on me and my dog.

I have been attacked by a black lab in an unsecured yard ~ that dog charged me and Shilo. I fell and the dogs got into a minor fight (Only because I was kicking and screaming). I almost lost my Shilo that day and had a pulled arm. I went home with torn jeans. I left Shilo home and went back over to the owners home of that black lab. The mother was in the shower, the kids told me. I told the kids I would just stand there and wait. Read her the riot act and told her next time she will be reported and told her to get her gate fixed. I reported her anyway. Guess what ~ the gate got fixed! Thankfully the end result did not end in a major injury to either myself or my dog. Others have not been so lucky. So people, who have those trained obedient dogs ~ keep them on a leash. My dog might not like your dog sniffing his butt!

Paula Grandchamp and her Afghan Hounds in California ~

[horse_rider]

Ahhhhh.... here they are... the people who have seen the poorly trained dogs. With 6 decades of experience working with great dogs, I think I know well enough through experience how to give my animals a great life, but I don't recommend this for everyone. Matter of fact, I don't recommend it for anyone who makes broad assumptions about sight and scent hounds. Incidentally, I also train horses, Farmgirl! But again, my greyhound, my other afghan, my two irish wolfhounds, my bluetick beagle cross all have long free daily walks, so freedom is not a novelty. All see rabbits, the barn cat, deer, etc regularly, and although they will all give a quick jump through instinct, they all come when called. It is a matter of bonding, training, vigorous daily exercise, and conditioning. I realize this isn't for everyone, and not everyone is capable or has the area to do this (we have a 72 acre farm with 6 km of private trails), but as I said earlier, the 2 wolfies and other afghan were run with me in a forest park in Colorado without any problems at all. My concern is that too many blanket statements float about, and if I had taken the "advice" of those that "know better", the quality of all my dogs lives would have been sadly poorer. If you want to learn a bit more, you can check out my YouTube videos which show my previous afghan lure coursing, that afghan and one of the wolfies rolling in the snow after a vigorous romp, etc. You can also see Max, our current afghan, in the fenced area (where he is not left unsupervised as he is not fully trained yet). Search skisandhorses to find the videos. There is also a clinic on camping with horses in case you'd like to see that, Farmgirl. There are also photos on Daily Puppy of Ivy and Willow on their free walks.

[Deerie me]

I'm going to pop and have a look. I love watching sighthounds in action. Thank you horse rider.

[Deerie me]

I really enjoyed the video of Shadow and Connor in the snow - lovely.

[Deerie me]

Thank you horse rider for your lovely comment on Loki's profile.Yes, he's a sighthound and yes I do let him off the lead. Sssshhhh don't tell anyone.