AFGHAN HOUND AUSTRALIA NEWSLETTER (Page 3)

(VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 1997)

THE AFGHAN HOUND DISCUSSION

Look at these four representations of skeletons of Afghan Hounds, one from This is The Afghan Hound by Joan Brearley, another from The Complete Afghan Hound by Miller and Gilbert, this one actually drawn from an x-ray, and the others from Margaret Niblock's The Afghan Hound - A Definitive Study. You will note there are slight differences between one skeleton and another just as there are differences between live dogs. The two other skeletons provided for comparison are from The World Encyclopedia of Dogs edited by Ferelith Hamilton.

Take particular notice of the difference in the placement of shoulder blade (scapula) and the wing of the pelvis (generally but incorrectly referred to as the hip bone), between the German Shepherd and the Afghan Hound, never mind the Dachshund!! Both scapula and pelvic protruberance in the Afghan Hound are placed higher, i.e. nearer the upper surface of the spine, and this creates the definite wither and prominent hipbones that are requisites of the breed standard. The Afghan Hound's spinal vertebrae are in a straight line and very close to the skin, the Shepherd's are slightly curved and there is a layer of padding between them and the skin .

The whole structure of the Afghan Hound creates a much more upright outline, and is allied to the usually slightly lesser degree of shoulder and hindquarter angulation, and the greater length of leg. This is because to earn their living, Afghan Hounds had to gallop, while Shepherds mostly trotted, each breed of course having to be able to efficiently perform the alternate gait when required. But the natural gait for Afghans is galloping, and the natural gait for Shepherds is trotting.

The bones which compose the legs are much, much shorter in the Shepherd than are those in the Afghan Hound, and the Shepherd's rear pasterns are much longer by comparison.

The original English standard for the Afghan Hound called for 'Great length from elbow to foot' as well as from hip to hock, but the specification for the forelegs was removed during subsequent revisions - more's the pity! The breed worldwide is now paying the price with more and more incorrectly proportioned Afghan Hounds who lack length of leg, especially on the forehand.

The forequarters of the Afghan Hound (and actually of sighthounds generally) are seen by many people as a difficult area to understand and apply.

With reference to the basic outline, nobody would argue that forequarter angulation as demonstrated by the requirements of the German Shepherd standard represent 'anatomical perfection', with a layback of 90° where the shoulder joins the upper arm.

However, Nature dictates that this degree of shoulder angulation almost always demands a SHORTER FORELEG than is required for a functional sighthound.

An important point often overlooked is that an Afghan Hound can fit perfectly well into the recommended height variations for the breed, yet the ratio of height to body length needs only to be fractionally incorrect to render that particular animal's proportionsunacceptable.

English breeder Ali Hupka, (Barakzai) wrote...'The height should equal his length, regardless of his size. such hounds are balanced correctly'...

An Afghan Hound must always look houndy, i.e. Iong in leg and athletic. It is no good saying to a judge 'But he IS square' because if he does not LOOK square, he will also not appear to be balanced correctly.

Noted American sighthound authority Pat Ide (Huzzah) years ago wrote an excellent article Sighthound Judges Please Note, from which we will be regularly quoting as what she has to say about sighthounds in general is absolutely pertinent to appreciation and recognition of the essential qualities of Afghan Hounds in particular.

Increasingly, there is widespread consensus amongst serious fanciers that it is because the basic requirements for sighthounds have been separated from the show ring "attributes" of Afghan Hounds that so many problems have arisen.

Pat discusses the peculiarities connected with this classic type of dog, stating ... 'He is the only member of the domestic dog family required to perform the double suspension gallop, the fastest gait of all which is also used by the cheetah, antelope, hare and most other quadrupeds which rely on speed for existence.'

Pat states . . . ' The sighthound 's legs are exceptionally long for maximum length of stride' and she stresses that '...it is in the front assembly that we see the most significant difference between the sighthounds and other breeds, a difference which allows him to execute the double suspension gallop.' (Editor's note: This will be discussed in further detail in Issue 3.) 'To perform this gait, he must have a unique front assembly which adds power to locomotion as it reaches out, grabs the ground and propels the dog over and forward. This "front end drive" is not required of the fronts of other dogs'.. .

To quote Herman Fellton again... 'Unfortunately one sees more and more short legged specimens in the show rings today. Such Afghan Hounds have lost a basic breed characteristic, in other words, they cannot be considered "typey". It is incumbent on all of us, novice or veteran, exhibitor, breeder, or judge to recognize this condition as a fault and do whatever each can to stop the trend and correct the condition.

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