One of the most interesting outcomes of my recent book on the Afghan Hound has been the revival, and in some cases the initiation, of interest in the original type from which our dogs in this country have sprung. This subject has been further highlighted by the recent visit to this country of Int CH Xingu VD Oranje Manage which, like most of the stock of Miss Eta Paupit, is Ghanzi breeding, and gave many people their first opportunity of seeing a top quality dog of the pure mountain type.

It is now generally known that the early imports into Great Britain were mainly of two types, namely, the mountain dogs of Mrs Amps, Ghazni kennels, and the plains or desert dogs owned by Major Bell Murray. While these two easily recognisable types are very convenient for breed historians when tracking the breed's history in Europe, it must be realised that there were almost certainly other variations on the Eastern Greyhound in a widely dispersed area in and around Afghanistan,

There can be little doubt that the Afghan Hound was derived from a comparatively short haired Greyhound of the Saluki type. The ability of all mammals, when split into isolated groups, to develop along different lines dependant upon environment and climatic conditions is well known. When this development is further assisted by planned selective breeding by man, individual types, and even separate breeds can be evolved in what is, historically speaking, a very short time.

The British Museum (Natural History) has specimens labelled Afghan Hound, Saluki and Sloughi, all three of such marked similarity and obvious common origin, that one is astonished by the changes which have been wrought in the Afghan Hound and Saluki in the 70 years since these specimens were presented to the museum. If man can bring about such changes in so short a time, it must be apparent that selective breeding aimed at producing dogs for a specific role in a particular kind of country, when carried out for hundreds of years and further modified by climatic and environmental conditions. will produce dogs of widely different character and shape from a common root stock.

A study of the illustrations will quickly show that the difference between these two types of dogs are far more basic and subtle than the breed points outlined in the previous paragraph. The forward head and neck carriage of the desert dogs, balanced by their long sweep of hindquarters produce an entirely different centre of gravity from that of the mountain dogs with their upright head carriage, more pronounced front angulation and shorter hindquarters placed up under the body.

The Plains dogs appear to be leaning forward, as if straining at the leash, while the mountain dogs stand back as if poised for a spring. Heads are also different. The mountain dogs had a shorter foreface and wider skull, with eyes set facing the front, in contrast to the longer, finer heads and oriental eyes of the larger, lighter boned dogs of the desert.

Pursuing this study it becomes evident that one cannot expect the upright head and neck of the one type with the long sweeping stretched out hind quarters of the other. Neither can the shorter, more tucked up quarters of the mountain dogs be expected with the forward neck carriage of their desert counterparts. The sight of some exhibitors attempting to force the forward head head and neck of the one type into the upright position of the other, and their equally unhappy attempts to drag back the more tucked up hind quarters of the mountain type into the stretched back positions of the desert dogs, is proof of their lack of comprehension of the origins og their Afghan Hounds.

Bitter Feud

Most people are aware of the bitter feud which raged between Mrs Amps and Major Bell Murray in the 1920s, each one degenerating the dogs of the other, and each claiming that their own dogs were the correct Afghan Hound and that their rivals were impostors. Looking back some 50 years with all the advantages of hindsight, it may well appear incredible that no one seemed to have offered the obvious explanation that neither was 'correct' or 'incorrect', but rather that each was the representative of the native dogs of different regions of the same country, and therefore correct for their own type.

After all this is not the only case where a country has produced two types of the same breed of dog. The Corgi immediately springs to mind. Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopaedia states "There are two distinct types of Corgi, one peculiar to Pembrokeshire and the other hailing from Cardiganshire, and although the general outline is somewhat similar, the two kinds differ in a variety of important points".

If the place and breed names are altered in above extract, it could well apply to the Afghan Hound. When it is considered that both type of Corgi exist side by side with separate Standards, it would seem logical and reasonable to speculate as to whether it would not have been wiser if the early breed pioneers had accepted the two types of Afghan Hound and allowed them to exist and develop separately. Thus there would have been, as in Corgis, two accepted kinds of Afghan Hound, each with it's own devotees, neither attempting to oust the other.

Fascinating as this train of thought undoubtedly is it can at this stage only be conjecture. The dye is cast, and there has to be only one official Afghan Hound; a man made composite animal produced by the blending of two, in many ways, divergent types. A blending that has created a headache for breeders and judges that can be discerned in the obvious mental condition of the early devotees in their efforts to draw up a standard which embraced both both types, and which will remain with us as long as the Afghan is bred and shown.

Sue Margrain, writing in the Irish News Sheet, highlighted this dilemma of the early breeders when she questioned the reasoning behind the change from 'oval skull' in the 1925 Standard, to skull long and not to narrow in the later Standards. Likewise the change from the powerful and slightly arched loin called for in the 1925 Standard to the straight, broad and rather short loin required today. While I have little sympathy with armchair critics who, with all the advantages of time, pick holes in the sincere efforts of bygone enthusiasts, I find it difficult to suppress the suspicion that the various alterations in the standards were more the result of strong minded committee members promoting their own kennel types, than the carefully considered conclusions arrived at through anatomical knowledge and rational thinking.

The question of eye colour has always been a source of interest to me. the 1925 Standard calls for a dark eye, but later Standards permit light eyes in light coloured dogs. When it is considered that most sight hunting dogs have light eyes, and when we further hear from a native of Afghanistan (AHA News letter 1971) that in their own country golden eyes are more highly valued as proof of night hunting prowess, it may well be asked if if the dark eye cult is not more the result of aesthetic appeal than functional necessity.

Stronger Claim

My personal feeling is that the mountain dogs may have a slightly stronger claim, if we must accept one type as being the true native dog. Their more remote habitat would make the purity of their strain more likely while their desert counterparts would be much more open to outside influences. Major Amps (Mrs Amps husband) quite definitely stated that the plains dogs were sometimes crossed with Salukis, and it must be admitted that in some instances their appearances would seem to support this assertion.

For those Judges who asses their exhibits solely on coat, presentation and showmanship, t6here is no difficulty, but for those who take a serious interest in conformation and type, the modern Afghan Hound presents some perplexing problems. In view of this it is not unreasonable to ask that, in addition to the more obvious qualifications, all those who judge this breed should have a knowledge of it's origins.

Exhibitors also must understand and accept the situation, realising that judges will inevitably have their own conception of the ideal combination of the two types; some leaning more towards one than the other, while still remaining within the confines of the Standard.

In conclusion it must be remembered that whatever the type problems may be, the basic considerations for the judge remain constant. Namely, soundness, and whatever the type, proportions, balance, and rhythm of line for that individual dog.

Further Thoughts On Basic Types

On rereading my article on breed types, written some 15 years ago. I find that there is nothing in it that I would wish to alter today.

Sometime after it was published, I had the great good fortune to meet Major Amps, the original importer of the Ghazni Afghan Hounds into this country in the 1920s. At this time in his late eighties he was kind enough to read a comment on my book and discuss with me the early Afghans in this country. As a result, I was, if anything, confirmed in the opinion that I had expressed.

Of particular interest was the description of the temperaments of some of the early dogs which formed part of his kennels in Afghanistan. They were by the standards of today, savage and untamed, needing to be approached by great caution even by their owners.

Today some 50 years later, much of the wildness has been bred out. It, more or less, continues to manifest itself in the waywardness and perversity which we all find so endearing in our present day Afghan Hounds.

My first Afghan Hound was born in 1946, she was a delightful bitch who, however had developed aloofness and disobedience almost into an art form. There was no fence that she could not jump over, or dig under. Collecting her from chicken farms and police stations was part of our early initiation into the breed.

Returning to the original discussion of types, it must be admitted that while many of the early mixtures of the Ghazni and Bell Murray hounds were disastrous,  some did produce beautiful hounds. Outstanding among these was a brindle dog, CH Westmill Tamasar, a grandson of Sindar Of Ghazni, bred by Mrs Woods, who unfortunately never allowed him to be used at stud, so his line died with him. I have always kept this dog in my mind as an ideal to be aimed at when breeding or choosing a show dog.

My wife who judges today, tells me that there are currently many beautiful dogs in the show ring. Thus proving that the two basic strains can produce dogs that are balanced and pleasing to the eye.

Charles Harrison.

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Updated 06-01-08

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