This Site Chosen By Microsoft As THE Afghan Web Link for Encarta
Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange
(Afghan Hound Debate- preserve the original Afghan Hound?)AFGHAN HOUND DEBATE
Response 001
Date: 20 Dec 1996
From: Gareth Hawkes 101646.1403@compuserve.com
To: Jhickie
Dear Editor,
I was interested to read about the monthly debate and have decided to send you this contribution.
I think that there can be little debate as to the important factors used when breeding afghans. Breeders obviously are concerned about the health of dogs, but there is little, if any guidelines, save a few obvious bad practices, on how breeding and health are related.
"Look at the number of champions in the pedigree" is the main selling point when describing an afghan.
I am also interested in the term "UNIQUE VARIETY OF DOG". How many different Breed Standards for the Afghan Hound are currently accepted somewhere in the world. Is the American Afghan related to the British Afghan? Just how well would a British Show dog fair in the USA and visa versa. There have also been several Breed standards over the years. This indicates that the standard, and can we also assume, the afghan is changing. The history books tell us that there were several different standards fighting to become that accepted standard. So just where does the afghan come from. It would appear to have come from at least two different types that have been mixed together ever since resulting in quite a variance in shape and size.
If I had three dogs, CH SIRDAR OF GHAZNI, CH TAJ MAHAL OF KAF and ZARDIN (original) and exhibited then in various countries, how well would they perform? And would the results differ from country to country?
But the afghan is for showing, and showing is about winning, and winning is about having a dog that conforms to the current trends rather than the breed standard. Think how boring it would be if they were all the same.
Yours truly, Gareth Hawkes