(Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange)
Wendye Slatyer (Calahorra Afghan Hounds, Australia) (Page 6) AFGHAN HOUND AUSTRALIA NEWSLETTER (VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 SPRING 1996) NEW SOUTH WALES 2756, AUSTRALIA, TELEPHONE 61 45 791 266 FACSIMILE 61 45 791 255, EMAIL (sahjobe@eagles.bbs.net.au) The correct Afghan head also HAS A PURPOSE. He needs enough length and breadth of skull to provide brain room so he can think, and enough length and strength of muzzle to be able to catch and kill an animal while both are running at great speed. This rules out those heads which can best be likened to ice cream cones and are not all that rare, either, unfortunately. He must have a prominent occiput, surmounted by a long silky topknot, supposedly useful to shade his eyes from the sun while gazing up at the falcons who were his hunting partners and game spotters. His nostrils need to be large, his muzzle flat on top, and his stop slight, so that he has free intake of air to his lungs, so essential for a galloping breed. His eyes according to the Australian/English standards should be nearly triangular (rather than almond-shaped, which is the American terminology, although they also state in parenthesis "almost triangular"), and are set obliquely, with a slight upward slant from inner corner to outer. This creates the correct Oriental expression and the requisite ability to look at and through you, and also to "gaze into the distance in memory of ages past". Don't forget, golden eyes are permissible in the Australian/English standard. In 1956, Will Hally wrote in Our Dogs..."The Afghan is typically Eastern, with the Eastern outlook on life and is naturally suspicious of strangers. This characteristic is one of his most valuable attributes. Showring experience and correct breeding will overcome this to a great degree, but the trait is basic and should remain so. Expression is important to the Afghan, being his visible sign of temperament. If we ever breed (heaven forbid!) a race of Afghans of tail-wagging docility, we then will have dogs devoid of this essential feature, the Oriental outlook and expression. Many Afghans automatically draw back from a judge when he marches right up to them, due to their dislike of familiarity, also because, as gazehounds, quick movements close to their eyes cause a momentary distortion of vision because of their far-sightedness. Specialist judges understand this...". Proper Afghan expression varies with the individual, but must be in keeping with the Oriental character of the breed. It might be a look of complete inscrutability. Some have a piercing, warlike gaze that freezes the advance of strangers, while others have a gentle-wise gaze in character with the timeless passive wisdom of the Orient. Foreign to the King of Dogs are pleading, trusting, puzzled, surprised or vacant expressions. Hand in hand goes ATTITUDE - the whole 'look' of the dog both standing and gaiting - they must give the impression of COMBINING DlGNlTY WITH CONTROLLED POWER, and it is this dignity that is so often lacking these days. Many Afghan Hounds nowadays run around wagging their tails and smiling up at their handlers, begging for bait - hardly kinglilke, and it does not relate to being aloof and dignified and fiercely independent as the standard requires.
So concludes our first issue. Volume 1 Number 2 will be out mid January 1997. In the meantime if you have any comments on any of the subject matter in this Newsletter feel free to write to the Editor and we will endeavour to incorporate them in our next issue Should you know someone who may wish to be added to our mailing list to receive the next complimentary issue please have them send their name and address on the back of an envelope with a brief comment on their interest in the Afghan Hound to: - The Editor Afghan Hound Australia 501 Laws Farm Road LOWER PORTLAND NSW 2756 Afghan Hound Australia Spring 1996 Library Of Articles/Main Menu Toolbar |
