: Bryony Harcourt-Brown
: Afghan Hound
: CompanionHouse Books
: 9781593787202
: Comprehensive Owner's Guide
: 1
: CHF 8.60
:
: Hobbytierhaltung
: English
: 155
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
This Comprehensive Owner's Guide to the Afghan Hound serves as a complete introduction to the world's most elegant sighthound breed. A native of Afghanistan, the exotic Afghan Hound with its abundant, long coat, near-human expression, and superb hunting ability has been a favorite breed in the Western world since the breed was first imported to England in the 1920s and a decade later in the United States. Written by British Afghan enthusiast Bryony Harcourt-Brown, the book begins with a solid chapter on the breed's history, tracing its origins in the Middle East, its development in America and the United Kingdom, illustrated with historical dogs and important show winners. The chapters on characteristics and the breed standard encapsulate all of the virtues of this impressive hound breed, offering sound advice about which owners are best suited to the breed.New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with handsome Afghan adults and puppies bursting with personality! In all, there are over 135 photographs in this compact, useful, and entertaining volume. The author's advice on obedience training the Afghan Hound, a breed that has a strong mindset and doesn't relish pleasing his owners, will help readers better mold and train their dogs into the most socialized, well-mannered Afghans in the neighborhood. The extensive chapter on healthcare written by Dr. Lowell Ackerman provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.

The Afghan Hound is one of the most beautiful and graceful, as well as one of the fastest, breeds known in the world of canines.

The Afghan Hound is a unique and noble breed that traces its ancestry back through history as a dog bred for strength of limb and soundness of movement. These dogs are fleet of foot and capable of dramatic turns of speed when running. The Afghan Hound is a sighthound, which means that he is a dog that hunts by sight and not scent, as opposed to a scent-hound such as the Bloodhound. The Afghan Hound will frequently survey the far horizon with an intent stare, appearing to see objects that are out of a human’s range of vision. The hunting instinct is still present in some Afghan Hounds; small game such as rabbit is of particular interest to an Afghan Hound in the mood for fun!

The typical Afghan Hound is a most amazing dog, unique in so many aspects of his physical and mental being. For those who love and understand the breed, having once lived with an Afghan Hound it is hard to find another breed that matches the companionship of one of these dogs.

ORIGINS OF THE BREED

Afghan Hounds were originally found in Afghanistan, a country of extremes in both terrain and temperature. The similarities of the Afghan Hound to the Saluki, in both body and head, have led to the belief held by many experts that the Saluki was the forerunner of the Afghan Hound. Both breeds have been likened to the Greyhound, the Afghan Hound actually having been called the “Persian Greyhound” historically.

The Albanian Wolfhound was known in ancient times as a fierce, fast and extremely ferocious breed that was used in hunting and protection. This illustration derives from an ancient Greek vase.

In the canine history of Afghanistan, various hound-type breeds seem to have been popular among the indigenous peoples. Over time, various strains, which were used for various types of hunting, are reputed to have formed; these dogs were often collectively referred to as Tazis. Early Afghan Hounds became highly prized for their qualities as hunting companions.

One can only wonder at the impression that these wild and independent hounds must have made on Westerners who were lucky enough to have seen them in their own territory. These dogs, so fleet of foot and dramatic in demeanor, must have appeared to be most amazing creatures to people seeing them for the first time. The coat pattern, with the short coat on the face, back and pasterns and the long silky coat on the top-knot, ears, body, legs and feet, coupled with the beautiful expressive head, must have left a lasting memory.

THE AFGHAN HOUND GOES TO BRITAIN

Despite a number of imports into Britain from as early as the 1880s, the first dog to really make a major impression on the British dog-showing fraternity was Zardin, who came to the country in the early 1900s. Zardin was used as the model for the British Afghan Hound breed standard, the revised version of which is still used in the UK today.

The next major event in the history of Afghan Hounds in Britain began in the 1920s with the return from Baluchistan of Major Bell-Murray and his family. Major Bell-Murray had acquired a number of Afghan Hounds while living in India on the Afghanistan border. Also living in India around this time was Mrs. Amps, while her husband Major Amps was in Kabul. Major Amps acquired a male Afghan Hound for his wife, who showed the dog in India. Other Afghan Hounds were obtained by Major Amps to build up the foundation of the Ghazni kennel.

Major and Mrs. Amps returned to Britain with their Afghan Hounds in the mid-1920s. In Britain, the Ampses’ hounds continued to be registered under the kennel name of Ghazni. It is thought that the Ghazni hounds originated mainly from the more mountainous regions of Afghanistan around Kabul, whereas the Bell-Murray hounds reputedly came mainly from the plains or desert areas around the border of Afghanistan and India. There were differences in type between the dogs of the two kennels, the Bell-Murrays’ being longer of leg, finer of head and sparser of coat, and the Ghazni dogs being stockier, more heavily coated and stron