Afghan Hound Times
(Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange)
Differences in Afghan Hound type in England (1970's)
Author - Charles Harrison (Vishnu Afghan Hounds, UK), 1972
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 types 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 Orange Manege which, like most of the stock of Miss Eta Pauptit, is Ghazni breeding, and gave man 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 dog of Mrs. Amps, Ghazni kennels, and the plains or desert dogs owned by Major Bell-Murray. While these two easily recognizable types are very convenient for breed historians when tracking the breed's history in Europe, it must be realized that there were almost certainly other variations of 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 dependent 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 labeled Afghan Hound, Saluki and Sloughi, all three of such marked similarly and obvious common origin, that one is astonished by 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.
From this it would be easy to explain the development on the one hand of the tall, rangy, Greyhound like dogs of the desert and plains, built for speed on the flat, with spare coats suitable for the heat, and the very different dogs evolved for use in mountainous country, with more stocky, heavy boned bodies designed for negotiating rough terrain which would break the bones of a lighter dog, and further equipped with heavy wooly coats to withstand the cold of the higher altitudes.
A study of the illustrations will quickly show that the differences between these two types of dog are more basic and subtle then 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, produces and entirely different centre of gravity from that of the mountain dogs, with their upright head carriage, more pronounced front angulation and shorter hindquarters place up under the body.
The plains dogs appear to be leaning forward, as if straining on 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, finder 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 hindquarters 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 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 hindquarters of the mountain type into the stretched back position of the desert dogs is proof of their lack of comprehension of the origins of their Afghan Hounds.
Most people know of the bitter feud which raged between Mrs. Amps and Major Bell Murray in the 1920's, each one denigrating the dogs of the other, and each claiming that their own dogs were the correct Afghan hound and that their rivals were imposters. Looking back some 50 years with all the advantages of hindsight, it may well appear incredible that no one seems to have offered for 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 there one 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. Hutchingson's Dog Encyclopedia 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 the above extract it could well apply to the Afghan hound. When it is considered that both types 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 accept the two types of Afghan Hounds, and allowed them to exist and develop separately. Thus, there would have been, as in Corgis, two accepted kinds of Afghan hound, each with its 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 die 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 contortions of the early devotees in their efforts to draw up a Standard, which embraced both types, and which will remain with us as long as the Afghan hound is bred and shown.
Sue Margrain, writing in the Irish Afghan News Sheet, highlights this dilemma of the early breeders when she questions the reasoning behind the change from "oval skull" in the 1925 Standard, to "skull long and not too 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 whom, 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 results of strong minded committee members promoting their own kennel types, than carefully considered conclusions arrived at through anatomical knowledge and rational thinking.
My personal feeling is that the mountain dog may have a slightly stronger claim, if we must accept one type as being the true native dog. The 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 quite definitely stated that the plains dogs were sometimes crossed with Salukis, and it must be admitted that in some instances their appearance would seem to support this assertion.
For those judges who assess their exhibits solely on "coat, presentation and showmanship, there 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 is it not unreasonable to ask that, in addition to the more obvious qualifications, al those who judge this breed should have a knowledge of its origins.
Exhibitors also must understand and accept the situation, realizing 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 confine 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, proportion, balance and rhythm of line for that individual dog.
Charles Harrison (Vishnu Afghan Hounds, UK), 1972GoTo Library
GoTo Whats New