and have expected a high degree of comfort and respect around their home. I do not believe that Afghan Hounds function well as kennel dogs, as these hounds require the proximity of like-minded humans in order to be undemanding and relaxed companions. These are not lap dogs, they are deeply committed friends.
Breeders strive to produce Afghan Hounds with healthy hips that will have the speed, agility and stamina so typical of the breed.
BREED-SPECIFIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS
Afghan Hounds are fortunate in having a reputation for being prone to very few of the more well-known canine hereditary problems. There are, however, some conditions that the would-be owner should know more about.
HIP DYSPLASIA
Hip dysplasia is a distressing condition that affects the hip joint. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that may be affected by, mainly, the socket’s not being deep enough or being incorrectly formed or the incorrect formation of the head of the femur. When this occurs, a general laxity of the hip results. Often, the consequences are changes of an arthritic nature that take place in the joint. This condition is a painful one, and the dog suffers lameness and pain if arthritis is present.
Potential breeding stock should be x-rayed for signs of this condition, and a number of breeders will take the opportunity of having their dogs routinely x-rayed. A veterinarian takes the x-rays, which are sent to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and examined. A panel of vets checks the x-rays and grades them according to a specific system. The grading system used gives breeders the opportunity to ascertain if a dog’s hips are affected and, if so, to what degree.
Dogs 24 months of age and older should have their hips x-rayed and the x-rays evaluated to determine if any degree of dysplasia is present. There are seven possible OFA grades: Excellent, Good, Fair, Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severe. Excellent, Good and Fair are considered normal, and dogs with these gradings will receive an OFA number. The other four gradings do not warrant an OFA number, with the latter three indicating that the dog is affected by some level of dysplasia. Dogs that do not receive OFA numbers should not be used in breeding programs.
When visiting a litter, a potential owner should ask to see documentation of the litter’s parents’ hip clearances from the OFA or another accredited organization; similar hip-testing schemes are in place in countries around the world. Good breeders have all of their breeding stock tested and only breed from those dogs and bitches who have received appropriate clearances.
PUPPY COAT
The close coat on the face of an Afghan Hound allows the easy viewing of these dogs’ wonderful expressions. However, many young Afghan Hounds, say 5–15 months old, carry a lot of soft coat on the face that is termed “puppy whiskers” or “monkey whiskers.” Sometimes a puppy has so much of this coat that it is hard to imagine the beautiful refined head beneath. This coat should be lost naturally at the time of the first big coat change.
EYE PROBLEMS
Cataracts: There are two types of cataract to be discussed here. There is a cataract that causes an opacity of the lens of one or both eyes, appears in the older Afghan Hound, is not considered hereditary and may affect any breed. During the 1970s, however, there was much concern regarding young Afghan Hounds with cataracts. Juvenile cataracts were found to be passed on through families, i.e., inherited. Much work was undertaken to remove and/or exclude dogs carrying this defect from breeding programs with the ultimate goal of eventually eliminating this problem from the breed.
Entropion: Entropion is a term used to describe inversion of the eyelid and eyelashes. This causes irritation to the eyes and may result in eye infection and weeping. The condition is generally considered to be inherited and is thought by some experts to be brought about by the repeated selection of dogs with small eyes (whatever the breed) for breeding. Entropion can be treated by a relatively simple operation. However, dogs affected with this defect should not be used for breeding, even if it has been surgically corrected.
MOUTH PROBLEMS
In Afghan Hounds, the AKC standard calls for a bite in which the upper and lower incisors meet together exactly, a bite known as level. This is a difficult mouth to breed correctly, and it is a bite that is prone to alteration by becoming undershot (with the lower incisors protruding) with age. In addition, a level bite will often cause increased wearing of the incisors. A scissors bite, in which the upper incisors closely overlap the lower, is seen in the breed and is preferred in some other countries, but the level bite is preferred as per the AKC standard.
In some dogs, individual or groups of the lower incisors may protrude out of line, thus overlapping the corresponding upper incisors. This type of mouth is termed a “wry mouth.” The mouth is uneven and may be less efficient in a hunting dog. This type of mouth is unlikely to seriously affect most dogs kept as companions. However, with a wry mouth, an Afghan is not suitable for showing. Since mouth defects are often passed on to future generations, it would be unwise to breed from an Afghan Hound with a wry mouth.
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIP DYSPLASIA?
X-ray of a dog with “Good” hips.
X-ray of a dog with “Moderate” dysplastic hips.
Hip dysplasia is a fairly common condition found in pure-bred dogs. When a dog has hip dysplasia, his hind leg has an incorrectly formed hip joint. By constant use of the hip joint, it becomes more and more loose, wears abnormally and may become arthritic.
Hip dysplasia can only be confirmed with an x-ray, but certain symptoms may indicate a problem. Your dog may have a hip dysplasia problem if he walks in a peculiar manner, hops instead of smoothly runs, uses his hind legs in unison (to keep the pressure off the weak joint), has trouble getting up from a prone position or always sits with both legs together on one side of his body.
As the dog matures, he may adapt well to life with a bad hip, but in a few years the arthritis develops and many dogs with hip dysplasia become crippled.
Hip dysplasia is considered an inherited disease and only can be diagnosed definitively by x-ray when the dog is two years old, although symptoms often appear earlier. Some experts claim that a special diet might help your puppy outgrow the bad hip, but the usual treatments are surgical. The removal of the pectineus muscle, the removal of the round part of the femur, reconstructing the pelvis and replacing the hip with an artificial one are all surgical interventions that are expensive, but they are usually very successful. Follow the advice of your veterinarian.
In any breed, the standard is the description of the ideal dog of that breed. All typical specimens of the Afghan Hound will have many attributes that are described in the standard. From a show viewpoint, those Afghan Hounds that are considered the
