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(Afghan Hound Debate- preserve the original Afghan Hound?)AFGHAN HOUND DEBATE
Response 008
Date: 31 December 1997
From: Terri Borash
To: Jhickie
Dear Jim
I am not on the Internet myself, but thanks to the Ekwalls, Kennel Xciting, Sweden, they have sent me some of the copy of the above debate. Below are some observations
Firstly, may I say that if man had not evolved, changed, developed or moved forward with time, we would all still be swinging through the trees and rubbing two sticks together to make fire - always assuming that we actually got even that far !!
Even in the UK, the older breeders bemoan the fact that you now look around a ring full of Afghans, and you canīt tell what lines they come from, like you could in "in the old days". That could well be because many more people now have access to Afghans than they once did. The big kennels originally held onto the best that they bred, presumably to perpetuate their lines (or maybe because they didnīt want anyone else beating them in the showring).Also, particularly in the UK, with the explosion in popularity of the breed, everyone wanted an Afghan, and it suddenly became fashionable to rush off and use the top winning of the time, giving no regard to what he was producing, whether anything in the bitchīs pedigree tied up with the dog, or what was behind either the dog or the bitch. This resulted in an absolute mish mash of Afghans appearing in the showring, that bore no resemblance to any of the old lines. Nowadays, the bigger breeders are getting older, and the costs involved in keeping many dogs, being able to run on puppies and keep several brood bitches, is an option not open to many, both practically and financially.
I seem to remember reading in the Afghan Hound Yearbook (UK) sometime ago, about the "cookie cutter" syndrome in Australia. Iīm afraid I canīt remember who wrote the piece, but it seemed to convey dismay at the number of dogs winning well in Australia, that all looked the same. Personally, I was amazed that this could be complained about. If I am correct in my assumption, and I am sure someone will put me right if not, the Afghans that are being produced via the "cookie cutter" are remarkably alike (although I have only seen them on videos and in photographs). Somehow I would have thought that in any breed, the aim, over the years, would be to develop or perpetuate a recognisable type. The line that I am thinking of comes down via one of the top winning Afghans of all time in the USA, that sired the brother of another of the top winning dogs of all time in the USA, that in turn, sired the second top winning Afghan of all time in Australia, who then sired Swedenīs top winning Afghan of 1997, along with many other top winning Afghans of the same lines - and that is only in four generations. Not only are these lines producing an instantly recognisable type, seemingly in many parts of the world, but with phenomenal show records as well.
I was surprised that Mrs Slatyer suggested one stop taking show dogs into the ring (what else would you take ?) and start taking Afghans. Why canīt they be both ?
Do I have to assume, and again, maybe I am wrong, that Mrs Slatyer is using semen from long dead dogs beacuse she feels she has lost something in her present day breeding programme. Surely this is regression, not progression. I wonder what she would have done if semen could not be stored for so many years !!
Two original ? types of Afghan (desert and mountain) were mixed. Perhaps if they had been kept as two distinct types, there would not be so many variations in type as there are to day
We cannot stop change. However, if more judges stopped giving high awards to unsound, untypical and, in some cases, caricatures of Afghans, then maybe the question could become: how bad judging can help ruin a breed. But, human nature being what it is, and the Afghan standard being open to widely differing interpretation, someone will always come up with a silk purse when confronted with a pigs ear !!
This debate could run forever, but, Iīm glad to say that I and my partner, Ann Bettridge, have recently imported into UK, the only dog in this country that carries the "cookie cutter" lines. He conforms to the standard height, has a long lead head, low set ears, dark triangular shaped eyes, long arched neck, good shoulders, deep chest, moderate lenght of back, good fallaway, excellent sweep from hip to hock, huge feet, a ring tail and good, springy movement from sloping pasterns and arched toes - but he looks very different from many of the Afghans in the UK. Is he wrong and many of the others correct or - just maybe - has he more correct breed points than many here ? I wonder how many people have considered that one. just because something looks different doesnīt necessarily make it wrong.
We like to think that he is an Afghan and a show dog. According to Mrs Slatyer, that is not possible. Why ?
Terri Borash - UK