About the Afghan hound:
This is written by Marietta F. and very much tongue in cheek and meant to be amusing, but reading between the lines, one can indeed get a good idea of how the Afghan hound is to live with!
I've had Afghan Hounds for over 30 years!
And they are guaranteed not stupid, but they are created to independently race off and run down their prey and kill it.
So NOT like so many other hunting dogs, who work closely with their owner and are under orders.
And the hunting instinct is enormous, to say the least.
(And there is hardly any species of game in Denmark, that they can not run down!)
They are not in any way desiring to please you all the time, so you should not expect it, and they only do something when you ask them to do it, if it benefits them in some way, so do not expect them to always come when called, unless you are waving a quarter of beef steak, so it really pays off to be obedient!
Do not expect a dog that comes you happily wagging it’s tail to greet you! Sometimes they don’t even look up when you walk in the door!
They look you straight in the eye, they act and feel like your equal. They never wag apologetically to excuse themselves and can’t tolerate disrespectful or harsh treatment.
If you treat your Afghan other than with love and understanding for their very special mentality and ways, then you risk a dog you never can trust, as the bond between you will be lost.
They care only about children, as long as they find them entertaining and always on their own terms.
They love you, not because you own them, but if you deserve and have earned it!
They cannot not be "tamed", obedience isn’t their thing, but for the sake of their own entertainment, they can show you some lucrative tricks - and they are phenomenal when it comes to problem solving in relation to achieving the best place in your bed, on the sofa - or the best steak on the table.
For the first 2 years, the Afghan hound is a hyperactive terrorist, then it becomes a self-absorbed and very beautiful prima donna!
A well coated Afghan needs to be bathed, dried and brushed at least once a week. Additionally, you should allow for 5-6 hours weekly devoted to grooming.
If there is no time for this, then consider a Saluki, who is similar to the Afghan, but is less sharp and with very much less grooming.
Marietta F.
Photo of en Afghan doing Lure coursing - a sport where they absolutely excel: Ole Martin
They appear on this video after a few minutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUBeSC4L0Tg
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