KENAI
Afghan Hound

The breeds · sighthound · sighthound

AKC Hound · UKC Sighthound & Pariah · FCI standard 228

Afghan Hound.

FCI 228: sighthound (Group 10, Section 1, long-haired or fringed sighthounds, without working trial); "a hunter and will chase if given opportunity," today also a glamorous show dog. UKC: a medium-sized sighthound, "an efficient hunting dog, albeit a glamorous one"; the hunting in rough, mountainous ground full of crags and ravines called for a compact, well-coupled dog rather than a long-loined racer, and the breed could survive by hunting on its own. Britannica: developed as a hunter in the hill country of Afghanistan; hunts by sight. Wikipedia: no longer used for hunting, but seen in lure coursing..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

11.1YRMedian lifespan10.5 to 11.8, measured on real dogs.
27 / 25INHeightdogs 27, bitches 25. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
50–60LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 60 lb; breed bitches 50 lb.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayRKC: more than 2 hours per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 27 in (26 to 29.1) · bitches 25 in (24 to 27.2)

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC and UKC ideal with tolerance; FCI range runs slightly higher. All stand.

Weight

dogs 60 lb · bitches 50 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC and UKC print "about 50 lb" as an ideal, no range.

Coat

AKC: thick, silky, very fine hair on hindquarters, flanks, ribs, forequarters and legs; ears and all four feet well feathered; short and close hair on the saddle in mature dogs, a traditional characteristic; long silky topknot; shown natural, never clipped or trimmed. FCI 228: same pattern; any evidence of clipping or scissoring penalized. Colour: AKC all colours, white markings (especially on the head) undesirable; FCI all colours except merle, which is unacceptable. UKC: coat is long and silky on ribs, fore- and hindquarters, flanks and top of head, short on the foreface and back.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Three registries agree on the coat; colour rules differ and are stated by source.

Shedding

Shedding 1 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · AKC: thick, silky, very fine hair on hindquarters, flanks, ribs, forequarters and legs, with a short close saddle in mature dogs. UKC: the coat pattern evolved where the temperature can fluctuate widely in a single day. FCI 228: long on ribs, fore and hindquarters and flanks; short and close on the saddle.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard coat description (long, fine, heavy on the body = 2). No measured data; the short saddle is why this is not lower.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

11.1 years (10.5 to 11.8)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population. Teng et al. 2022 (VetCompass) includes no sighthound.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day; large house and large garden suggested, country. AKC breed page: energy level band 4 of 5. UKC: a very well-developed chase instinct. FCI 228: a hunter that will chase if given the opportunity.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC and AKC bands; the chase-instinct lines are the registries standard text.

Energy

AKC breed page: energy level 4 of 5 (AKC band); mental stimulation needs 3 of 5; trainability level 1 of 5.

Breed clubAKC

AKC trait bands, not a study.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; long coat; sheds. AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency band 4 of 5 (not mapped).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule. AKC trait bands are a different scale and are shown, not mapped.

Grooming

RKC: grooming every day. UKC: regular grooming is required to maintain the coat. AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency band 4 of 5, shedding level 1 of 5.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC bands are the AKC page trait scores.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 228: sighthound (Group 10, Section 1, long-haired or fringed sighthounds, without working trial); "a hunter and will chase if given opportunity," today also a glamorous show dog. UKC: a medium-sized sighthound, "an efficient hunting dog, albeit a glamorous one"; the hunting in rough, mountainous ground full of crags and ravines called for a compact, well-coupled dog rather than a long-loined racer, and the breed could survive by hunting on its own. Britannica: developed as a hunter in the hill country of Afghanistan; hunts by sight. Wikipedia: no longer used for hunting, but seen in lure coursing.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 228

FCI and UKC state the work; Britannica and Wikipedia are editorial and disagree on whether it is still hunted (Britannica speaks of its native Afghanistan; Wikipedia of today).

Primary game

RKC: deer, gazelle, and smaller game like the hare and the fox. Britannica: in its native Afghanistan it has been used to pursue leopards and gazelles.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC "About this breed" and Britannica. The AKC, UKC and FCI standards name no quarry.

Also used on

Britannica: leopard, in its native Afghanistan.

EditorialEncyclopaedia Britannica

Single editorial source. Britannica states leopards and gazelles together; gazelle is under primary_game from RKC.

Search pattern

Britannica: hunts by sight. UKC: a strong-willed, independent thinker with a very well-developed chase instinct, bred to hunt on its own over rough, mountainous ground; natural gait is the double-suspension gallop. FCI 228: smooth and springy movement. No source read states voice on the line or whether it was hunted in pack or brace.

EditorialEncyclopaedia Britannica

UKC and Britannica. Voice and pack versus single work beyond "on its own" are not stated by a source read.

Field trial standard

AKC Lure Coursing (breed eligible; dogs one year or older): tests are non-competitive pass/fail checks of coursing instinct, trials are competitive. In a trial hounds run in packs of three, each in a coloured blanket, behind a mechanical white-plastic lure on a 600+ yard course; judges score a maximum 50 points: overall ability, follow, speed, agility and endurance, 10 each. Stakes: Open (non-titled dogs), Specials (Field Champions) and Veteran. Titles: JC Junior Courser (two solo qualifying runs under two judges), QC Qualified Courser (a judge certifies a clean run with another hound), SC Senior Courser (qualifying scores at four trials under three judges), MC Master Courser (SC plus 25 more qualifying scores), FC Field Champion (15 championship points including two majors, under two judges; FC goes before the name). FCI 228 lists the Afghan Hound without a working trial. Wikipedia: seen in lure coursing today.

Breed clubAKC

AKC lure coursing Get Started and Eligible Breeds pages. The AKC lure coursing rulebook, the ASFA rules (asfa.org was blocked from this environment) and the Schedule of Points by Breed were not read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

5.8% · 7,964 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 5.8% dysplastic (mild 3.6, moderate 2.1, severe 0.1), 93.7% normal (excellent 31.1, good 56.0, fair 6.7). Wikipedia lists hip dysplasia among the breed major health issues.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so normal results are over-represented. OFA rank 176.

Elbow dysplasia

9% · 487 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 9.0% abnormal (grade 1 7.6, grade 2 1.2, grade 3 0.2), 91.0% normal.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics. Small n, and OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock: owners submit selectively, so normal results are over-represented. OFA rank 55.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: major issues are allergies, cancer and hip dysplasia; sensitive to anaesthesia (low body fat); among the breeds most likely to develop chylothorax, which can lead to lung-lobe torsion; also laryngeal paralysis, dilated cardiomyopathy (twice as common in males), testosterone-responsive dermatosis, nasal depigmentation, central diabetes insipidus, hypothyroidism, tricholemmoma, and eye conditions including cataract and progressive retinal atrophy.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source, second-hand: the underlying papers behind the Wikipedia text were not read. No VetCompass or Kennel Club breed-survey figure read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 1; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 4; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Afghan Hound yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 10 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Tazi, Baluchi Hound, Barakzai Hound, Balkh Hound

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

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