meet the... Afghan Hound

Head

• General Appearance: Fairly long, refined, rather dolichocephalic skull type, moderate in size, and in proportion to the rest of the body. The skull is of a good width in comparison to the length, with a prominent occiput. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkles.
• Expression: Dignified, regal, watchful, intelligent, and keen.
• Stop: The stop is very barely perceptible to imperceptible.
• Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio is 1:1, with the topskull being equal to the muzzle.
  The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis is parallel or may be slightly divergent.
• Muzzle: The muzzle is full, somewhat deep throughout, and somewhat broad for the length. The plane, or bridge of the muzzle, is long and may appear straight and level or with a slight prominence of the nasal bridge, giving a slight Roman muzzle. The upper and lower jaws are well-developed, approximately equal in length, have good bone substance, never snipey or weak.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws.
• Nose: The nose is well-pigmented, black, or self-colored (liver to flesh-colored), according to the coat. The nostrils are well-opened.
• Cheeks: The cheeks are smoothly muscled.
• Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, and white teeth. The bite may be level or scissor. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors. Missing or broken teeth as a result of routine work are not to be penalized.
• Eyes: Moderate in size; oval, almond, diamond, or triangular shape, and may be slightly obliquely set. They may range in color from amber to medium or dark brown. The eye rims are well-fitted and well-pigmented. The eyes are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
• Ears: Set fairly low on the skull, approximately level with the eyes, hanging close to the head.

Body and Tail

• General Description: The body is deep and of fair substance to allow for power but refined and built for speed and endurance. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Fairly long length to allow for proud head carriage and ease of scanning. The neck is powerfully muscled yet refined, with a good arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep. The brisket is deep and extends to the point of the elbows.
• Topline: Level from slightly prominent withers to croup. The back is short, broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is taut and may be flat, level, or slightly arched yet supportive. The back is never swayed or roached.
• Croup: Broad and gently sloped, with pronounced hipbones.
• Underline: Moderate to well-tucked, never appearing exaggerated or “wasp-waisted.” The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
• Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, and oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
• Tail: Set low on the croup. It is thick at the base and tapering toward the tip. The tail is carried in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level but never tucked. The tail is often seen with a ring or curve at the end (preferred), but it can also be gently curved, sabered, sickled, or straight. The tail is of a fairly long length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always balanced with the hindquarters and well-angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. Shoulder blades are long and approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm.
• Elbows: The elbows are close to the body. The point of the elbows is approximately half the dog’s height at the withers. When viewed in profile, the elbows fall directly below the withers.
• Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle, of refined yet sturdy bone, and parallel to one another.
  Side View: The forelimbs appear straight with strong pasterns.
• Pasterns: Never weak or broken, but with sufficient spring when in motion.
• Hindquarters: The upper and lower thighs are long, equal in length, strong, of refined yet sturdy bone, and well-muscled.
  Rear View: When viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are parallel to one another.
  Side View: Good angulation will allow the rear toes to align with the point of the rump or within one to two paw-lengths behind the point of the rump, with the rear pasterns remaining perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another.
• Stifle Joint: Well-angulated with a good bend to well-let-down rear pasterns.
• Stifle Joint: The angulation of the hindquarters is always in balance with the angulation of the forequarters.
• Feet: Large, oval, and round or hare-like with well-arched toes and tough pads.

Coat

• Skin: Well-fitted, yet supple. The skin should never obstruct the outline of the dog.
• Coat Type: The Afghan Hound comes in three coat varieties: the standard long coat (the Bukmal), the tasseled smooth coat (the Kalagh), or the smooth coat (the Luckbak).
  
  Bukmal/Standard coat (long-coat) variety: Short on the face, with or without a beard. The topline (from the withers to the tail base), known as the saddle, may exhibit a shorter and finer coat from the withers to the tail base and along the top portion of the tail, or it may be somewhat fuller. The coat on the body, neck, forequarters, hindquarters, and head is abundantly longer and fuller, with silky, fine hair throughout, forming a profuse top-knot on the topskull.
  
  The legs are profusely coated. However, the feet and pasterns may be either profusely coated or smooth. The underside of the tail is sparsely fringed and preferably not bushy or plumed. Coats may be naturally straight, wavy, or slightly curled but are traditionally blown straight. Any indication of altering, stripping, scissoring, or clipping a natural coat will be harshly penalized. Coats may also be shown corded.
  
  Kalagh/Tasseled smooth coat variety: The coat is short, smooth, and close to the body throughout. The texture is soft and silky. Feathering exists on the legs and the back of the thighs and may be found on the underside of the tail. Light beards or feathering on the throat may also be found in mature specimens.
  
  Smooth coat variety: The coat is short, smooth, and close to the body throughout. The texture is soft and glossy, with or without an undercoat. If an undercoat is present, the coat will be slightly longer on the neck, forming a light ruff, and on the tail. No fringe or feather is permissible. The coat is short, smooth, and close to the body throughout without feathering or fringing on any part of the dog.
• Coat Color or Pattern: All coat colors and patterns are equally permissible.

Movement

Effortless, smooth, springy, and efficient, the characteristics of a healthy structure are evident. When moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the centerline of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in line with the nose. When extended, the width between the forefeet should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and a good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.

Temperament

Like most sighthounds, the Afghan Hound possesses an independent mind and a high prey drive inside the body of a speed machine. Afghan Hounds are known to be somewhat aloof toward strangers. In well-suited homes, they are a strange combination of noble dogs and loveable goofs. Due to their independent nature and strong prey drive, they require early obedience training to ensure that they respond to commands and boundaries as adults. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.

Faults

All dogs should be in proper healthy condition, free from disease or defect. Any departure from this description is considered a fault. Unless altered, all male dogs should have two fully descended testicles.