Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Afghan Hound Breed Overview
- History of the Afghan Hound Breed. Where Afghan Hounds came from
- What the Afghan Hound Looks Like
- How Much is the Afghan Hound Puppy?
- Best Afghan Hound Breeders
- Afghan Hound Growth
- What Colors do Afghan Hounds Have?
- The Temperament of the Afghan Hound
- How Long Afghan Hounds Live
- Afghan Hound Litter Size
- How Fast Afghan Hounds Can Run
- Good Names for Afghan Hounds
- How Intelligent are Afghan Hounds?
- How Popular are Afghan Hounds with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Afghan Hounds and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Afghan Hound
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Afghan Hounds
- Other Things to Know About Afghan Hounds
Afghan Hound Breed Overview
The Afghan Hound is a large-sized dog.
The adult Afghan Hound stands 24 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Afghan Hound belongs to the Hound Dogs group.
Dogs in the Hound Dogs group, like the Afghan Hound, were bred to pursue and hunt warm-blooded animals. Hounds hunt by using their good sight or their good sense of smell. Dogs that belong to the Hound Group have strong prey drives and often will stop at nothing to catch what they are pursuing.
The fact that the Afghan Hound belongs to the Hound Dogs group is one of the reasons why Afghan Hounds have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Afghan Hound is generally described as:
- Aloof
- Clownish
- Dignified
- Happy
- Independent
History of the Afghan Hound Breed. Where Afghan Hounds came from
The Afghan Hound was known as the Tazi where it first originated in Afghanistan.
This incredibly fast and agile dog is also one of the oldest known breeds to man.
Some say that this breed goes back as far as B.
C.
times and has become well-known and well-loved over time.
Afghan Hounds were used to hunt animals that could travel long distances.
This breed is incredibly fast due to a more complex joint pivot system in their hind legs that allows them to run at breakneck speeds.
Modern-day Afghan Hounds are placed in what is called lure races which are competitions were Afghan Hounds race around a track, often after a fake rabbit lure.
The Afghan Hound is incredibly independent and can seem even aloof to its owners, however, this dog is still friendly and loving.
You just have to get used to the kind of being cat-like with their needs for love and affection resting entirely on their own terms.
Afghan Hounds have been notoriously hard to train because of this independence so plan on training an Afghan Hound early if you do end up curious enough to find one.
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What the Afghan Hound Looks Like
The Afghan Hound is a beautiful medium to a large-size dog with long silky hair on its head, ears, and tail and a shorter, soft coat everywhere else.
Afghan Hounds can be black, cream, or red.
Sometimes a rare tri-color Afghan Hound can be found.
These dogs require extensive grooming to keep them looking silky and healthy.
It can be a challenge to groom these dogs and a professional groomer may be necessary to get the job done.
Afghan Hounds look very elegant and are very sensitive dogs when it comes to bodily injury or problems.
It is best to treat an Afghan with great empathy about its physical ailments as they can be whiny and need reassurance.
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How Much is the Afghan Hound Puppy?
The average price of a Afghan Hound puppy is $2290. The price of a Afghan Hound puppy ranges from $1912 to $2500.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Afghan Hound. These factors include what health records the Afghan Hound puppy has, the lineage of the Afghan Hound puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Afghan Hound based on the many factors that determine the price of the Afghan Hound puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Afghan Hound puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Afghan Hound breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Afghan Hound Breeders
We have researched reputable Afghan Hound breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Afghan Hound breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Bourgeois Kennels
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Swanah
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Aleta Sharafanowich
Puppy Price: $3500
Kamy Afghans
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Alisha Freeman
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Afghan Hound Growth
New Afghan Hound owners need to know about the growth of their Afghan Hounds. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Afghan Hound will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Afghan Hound early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Afghan Hound puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Afghan Hound at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Afghan Hound
What Colors do Afghan Hounds Have?
Afghan Hounds come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- White / Cream
- Golden
- Brown / Chocolate
- Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
The Temperament of the Afghan Hound
The temperament of the Afghan Hound based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Afghan Hound for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Afghan Hound here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Prey Drive | 75.1 percent |
| Stubbornness | 69.3 percent |
| Energy Level | 54.4 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 50.2 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 47.6 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 46.1 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 45.4 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 43.1 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 37.8 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 36.5 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 30.9 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 24.1 percent |
| Excitability | 22.4 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 18.4 percent |
How Long Afghan Hounds Live
The lifespan of the Afghan Hound is typically from 10 to 12 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Afghan Hound. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 143 pet Afghan Hounds lived.
From the study, it was found that Afghan Hounds have an average lifespan of 11.9 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Afghan Hounds to live as long as 16.5 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Afghan Hound to live long.
Afghan Hounds live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Afghan Hound to improve your Afghan Hound`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Afghan Hound live long.
Afghan Hound Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 8 different Afghan Hound birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Afghan Hounds can have is 8 puppies. Also, the Afghan Hound can have as few as 3 puppies per litter and as many as 12 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Afghan Hound will have depends on factors such as the age of the Afghan Hound, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Afghan Hound will have and how the litter size of the Afghan Hound compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Afghan Hounds Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 187 different Afghan Hounds, the average speed of the Afghan Hound is 24.6 mph (39.6 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Afghan Hound ran in a race is 34.09 mph (54.9 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Afghan Hound is 5.4 mph (8.7 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Afghan Hound compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Afghan Hounds
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Afghan Hound ranked by popularity:
- Cooper
- Barker
- Sam
- Monroe
- Fitzgerald
- Hamilton
How Intelligent are Afghan Hounds?
| Afghan Hound | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 79 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 80 To 100 Repetitions Or More! |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Afghan Hound has an obedience intelligence rank of 79 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Afghan Hounds in the `Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Afghan Hounds tend to learn new commands after 80 to 100 repetitions or more!.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 11 |
| Belgian Sheepdog | 15 |
| Pomeranian | 23 |
| Vizsla | 25 |
| Welsh Springer Spaniel | 31 |
| Cairn Terrier | 35 |
| Affenpinscher | 37 |
| Bedlington Terrier | 40 |
| American Water Spaniel | 44 |
| American Foxhound | 46 |
| Dachshund | 49 |
| Alaskan Malamute | 50 |
| French Bulldog | 58 |
| Maltese | 59 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Old English Sheepdog | 63 |
| Great Pyrenees | 64 |
| Saint Bernard | 65 |
| Chihuahua | 67 |
| American Bulldog | 77 |
How Popular are Afghan Hounds with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Afghan Hound.
The popularity of the Afghan Hound averaged over the years is Number 106 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Afghan Hounds and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Afghan Hound is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Afghan Hound puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Afghan Hound breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Afghan Hounds for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Afghan Hounds here.
How to Take Care of Afghan Hound
To take good care of your Afghan Hound, you need to make sure that you groom your Afghan Hound regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Afghan Hound regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Afghan Hound`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Afghan Hound daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Afghan Hound.
Also, you need to feed your Afghan Hound high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Afghan Hound from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Afghan Hound and how much food to feed the Afghan Hound at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Afghan Hound has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Afghan Hound needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Afghan Hounds
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Afghan Hound.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Afghan Hound:
- Bedlington Terrier (69 percent match with Afghan Hound). Learn more about the Bedlington Terrier here.
- Korean Jindo Dog (68 percent match with Afghan Hound). Learn more about the Korean Jindo Dog here.
- Standard Schnauzer (72 percent match with Afghan Hound). Learn more about the Standard Schnauzer here.
Other Things to Know About Afghan Hounds
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Afghan Hound that you need to know about the Afghan Hound breed:
