Afghan Hound

Place the best four of these six male Afghan Hounds in order of preference. As an American you are officially obliged to seriously consider giving first place to the typey, sound, and only truly square example in this class because the current September 14, 1948 American Kennel Club Afghan Hound Standard describes the ideal as: "The height at the shoulders equals the distance from the chest to the buttocks".

SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH
In addition to the square example, I have included three real-life Group winners; in fact two of these three were Best In Show winners. All three have virtues, however if you are familiar with Afghan type and structure you will readily see that two have some interesting faults. The emphasis you place on these faults will determine whether the dog with the sloping topline or the one with heavy, verging on coarse, head will be awarded third or fourth place.

FIFTH AND SIXTH
That leaves the two remaining (manufactured) examples to illustrate faults of particular concern to breeders. One lacks underjaw plus six other faults, the other has a short muzzle plus two other faults.

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You can type in your choices now at the bottom of the page.

FIRST PLACE

Because the AKC Standard calls for "The height at the shoulders to equal the distance from the chest to the buttocks" I have in this scenario gone with square Dog A.

Dog A is actually real-life Dog C with a piece taken out of the middle portion of his body equal to the width of the three closed fingers seen supporting the tail. This square dog may exist in reality, how well he would move at the trot is debatable.

SECOND PLACE

This multi BIS and Specialty BIS Afghan Hound came close to becoming all-time top winning Hound, and rightly so. Second place Dog C is the image I carry in my mind's eye when I judge Afghans. He can readily be seen to be slightly longer in body than tall - about three closed fingers longer than tall. This body length in combination with legs longer than body is deep (the elbow level with brisket) and good angulation front and rear, ensures that he will move well at both trot and gallop.

His topline appears practically level, the hipbones well pronounced and the stem falling away. He is well ribbed up and tucked up in flanks. His tail does not set too high on the body.

In profile his aristocratic head can be seen to be well chiseled and refined, neither lacking stop or possessing too much stop. The slightly Roman muzzle is equal in length to skull and set on parallel planes, the head surmounted by a topknot (an important Afghan characteristic) of long silky hair. The long ears are set on approximately level with outer comer of eye. The dark eyes are almond shaped (almost triangular). The nose is black, bite is scissor (may also be pincer, the current AKC Standard gives preference to pincer).

 

THIRD PLACE

My choice for third place is between the other two real-life winners, Dog B and Dog E. I chose the Borzoi-Setter Dog B not because I like him but because you go with what you have. The Borzoi part relates to this Afghan's head which in addition to resembling that of a Borzoi in profile, is sometimes narrow viewed head-on, as well as having fill in front of the eyes.

His sloped topline resembles that of a Setter. To accomplish this the exhibitor stretched the rear pasterns back at an angle (rather than correctly perpendicular) effectively lowering the hindquarters. The subterfuge unnecessary here is usually resorted to when the rear is too high (steep pelvis) or the front is low (poor forequarters).

FOURTH PLACE

Real-life Dog E is not without virtues but let's focus on this dog's faults; there are four that really disturb. The first is a very heavy head bordering coarse. Second is a short neck. Third is an abrupt break at the juncture of neck and withers. Fourth is overly long rear pasterns (hocks too high). Then compare Dog E's shorter second thigh to Dog C's "hindquarters with great length between hip and hock". Also compare Dog E's steeper front which includes a short upper arm and a pastern with less slope. These differences in bone lengths and angulation can be readily distinguished both front and rear in spite of the profuse coat. It was to this dog's advantage that one end balanced with the other.

DOG D

You did not consider this Afghan for an award. He is one of the two that illustrate faults of particular concern. To focus on these faults I have taken graphic license with what was a good Afghan.

I have reduced the height of Dog D's withers to the height of some I remember years ago. This tends to optically lengthen the body. This optical length has been further increased by the deletion of his pronounced hipbones, an important Afghan characteristic.

His head lacks underjaw and in addition to too much stop, he has round, bulgy eyes. Lastly, I have given his second thigh too much length, a current concern of knowledgeable breeders.

DOG F

The second example not in consideration for an award is Dog F. Beginning with the head, the muzzle is functionally too short - the muzzle and skull should be of equal length. Given equal muzzle length, the head would then fit the body.

Second is the high set tail. The Afghan's tail should not set too high on the body. A straight tail (one without a ring or curve on the end) is not a serious fault, a tail that curls over the back at the trot is. However, in this instance, the major question is: does the tail set high because the sacrum is horizontal, or more serious, is it because the pelvis is flat? The answer is that the sacrum is horizontal.

The third, and functionally as a Sighthound the most serious departure, is that his legs are almost two inches (5 cm) too short. To excel at the fast double-suspension Sighthound gallop, the Afghan's foreleg from elbow to ground (the elbow level with the bottom of the chest) must be longer than the body is deep. This dog may excel in the showring at the trot, he might even win if movement at the trot was the primary consideration. The Afghan Hound must always be judged as a Sighthound capable of fast speed at the gallop - not as a dog with only moderate length of leg capable of excelling only at the trot.