Last Updated: March 31, 2023
The dignified Afghan Hound you often spot in the dog shows or gracing a few lawns in the neighborhood carries a proud lineage as one of the ancient sighthounds to rule the rough terrain of Afghanistan.
Also referred to as Baluchi Hound, Persian Greyhound, or by its original name Tazi, these beautiful sighthounds are a show-stealer for their signature long silky coat from head to paw, with a mismatching slender curved tail.
Owning this exotic hound is indeed a matter of pride, but before you make a move in hurry, scroll down for an insightful gripping read about this breed.
How much does an Afghan Hound cost?
Also known as the fashion models of dogdom, the highly popular Afghan Hounds are a staple in dog shows for their striking looks.
But if you want this purebred to be a part of your family, then you might have to pay a bomb to import this rare breed from a different location.
An Afghan Hound puppy’s price can range from $1,500 – $3,000, depending on the availability, location, and the breeder’s reputation.
To search for a reputed breeder as per your location, you can also visit the official website of the Afghan Hound Club of America, AKC, or similar reputed kennels and rescues near you to obtain your first Tazi.
Check out puppy names for your Afghan Hound, before you bring it home.
How to select Afghan Hound breeders?
If you are all set to welcome the high-maintenance Afghan Hound home, here are a couple of points to keep in mind for a smooth ethical adoption.
- Connect with a reputed breeder from the prestigious Afghan Hound Club of America or other such recognized canine clubs near you.
- Once you connect with a reputed breeder, visit them to evaluate the raising ambiance and study the behavior and health of the puppy’s parents.
- If everything seems convincing, ask the breeder for the pup’s vaccination and health report to ensure you get back home with a healthy Afghan Hound puppy.
- Ask away any question that comes to your mind when buying an Afghan Hound puppy so that all your confusions are crystal clear.
When does an Afghan Hound get full size?
Afghan Hounds are slow-growing as they need a specific duration for the solid development of bones and muscles to complement their robust stature and lasting endurance.
If you lack patience watching your fur baby grow, avoid this breed.
But if you want your Afghan Hound puppy to grow into a healthy adult, you will have to wait for almost 16 months till it gets full size.
To support your Tazi during its growing months, you have to ensure a stress-free ambiance at home and feed your puppy a balanced meal every day.
Under vet recommended nutrition and routine activities, a male Afghan Hound can stand tall up to 27 inches, and the female measures 25 inches.
While a healthy grown male can weigh about 60 pounds, females weigh nearly 50 pounds.
Seeing your Afghan Hound turning adult is indeed time testing, but it is worth it for the fashionable giants to grace your home.
How to care for your Afghan Hound puppy?
Caring for Afghan Hound when they are puppies
To raise an Afghan Hound puppy into a sociable well-behaving dog, you have to take charge as one overpowering and compassionate owner from its puppy stage.
Before you welcome an Afghan Hound home, keep in mind, that they are high maintenance but don’t be fooled by their long silky coat because these dogs thrive in a hot and humid climate.
The first time you bring an Afghan Hound puppy home, it might appear aloof because of its independent temperament, but once you make things comfortable, there will not be any dull moments.
These sighthound pups are highly energetic because of their natural prey drive and need ample space to play and run around freely.
Give special attention to your pup’s daily nutrition intake to ensure healthy growth.
Caring for Afghan Hound when they grow up
Once your Afghan hound turns adult, you need to adopt a completely different grooming routine to gift your dog a complaint-free healthy life.
A full-grown Afghan Hound can get severely attached to you if you are closely looking after its need and caring for it since puppyhood, so get ready for an inseparable loving bond.
More than anything else, the Afghan hounds thrive on adequate daily exercise.
So, take them out on regular long walks or jogs to strengthen their athletic stature and promote their mental health.
As they grow, their long silky coat deserves your special attention to appear flowy and lustrous.
So, brush your Tazi’s royal coat regularly to prevent matting, and don’t forget to feed high-quality dry dog food for complete daily nutrition.
How to groom an Afghan Hound?
These high-maintenance fashionable dogs require a higher level of daily grooming to appear dog-show ready, even if yours is strictly a family dog.
Their signature long coat needs the most attention that defines their regal personality and overall appearance.
So, pet grooming this Hound all by yourself will require a lot of work like daily brushing their coat to detangle knots and keep their silky hair smooth and flowing.
Styling their long hair from head to paw is a lengthy and laborious process if we exclude the grooming of other body parts like their nails.
Clipping or trimming their nails needs an expert hand to do it safely between the hair strands without hurting the bloodline.
So, if you don’t have enough time, expertise, or if you are a first-time owner, we recommend visiting a professional groomer every 2 – 3 months to groom, shampoo, and style your exotic hound the way you like it.
How much exercise does an Afghan Hound need?
These highly-energetic hunting dogs from Afghanistan thrive on vigorous daily exercise to stay fit and healthy.
However, the exercise level of a 3-month puppy would differ from a grown-up adult so you need to consult with a trainer to ensure you are not overdoing things.
For a puppy, just give it enough space or area to gallop and run around freely as much as it wants without any compulsion.
As your pup enters its 6th month, take it out for walks and short jogs and later up the level as it approaches adulthood.
The more you involve your adult Afghan Hound in daily rigorous training and exercise, the better it will be for its holistic well-being.
Tazis love to exercise, so take it on long walks or hikes to let it gallop and sprint over the rugged terrain as such activities will strengthen its bones and muscles.
Afghan Hounds have a strong prey drive and will run at a speed of 40 miles per hour and jump up to 7 feet to catch their prey.
So you will have to keep it on the leash when going for a walk with your dog and fence your backyard so that you can engage your dog in various activities.
Does Afghan Hound shed a lot?
Now, this is one curious case of the Afghan Hounds that, despite having long silky hair, they shed medium to low, unlike the dual-coated dogs.
The coat of the Afghan hound is more like human hair than the conventional dog fur, which sheds like our hair fall pattern and is manageable with regular brushing, grooming, and professional clipping.
However, you will notice heavy shedding when your Afghan Hound puppy with a short fluffy coat starts transitioning into an adult developing signature long silky mane, permanently shedding behind the puppy hair.
The bottom line is this hairy dog is surprisingly a minimal shedder breed.
If you notice unusual shedding in your Afghan Hound, it might be because of some underlying cause and will need immediate vet attention.
Are Afghan Hounds hypoallergenic?
Yes, Afghan Hounds are hypoallergenic.
Any dog lover or we would say admirer, can’t take their eyes off the lustrous silky mane of the Afghan Hounds, but steer clear of them for the very same reason due to allergy sensitivity.
But worry no more and live your royal parenting dream as these hairy beauties are hypoallergenic and shed moderately to low, except while transitioning from puppyhood to adulthood when things can get a bit messier.
So, if you were doubting if Afghan Hounds are hypoallergenic considering their thick long hair, then shed all your pet-allergy fear and welcome this royal and elegant Hound to your home.
Understanding Afghan Hound’s Temperament
Afghan Hounds are the typically dignified elites of the dogdom to exhibit unpredictable moods and emotions, which can only be tamed by an overpowering, understanding, and loving owner.
A grown-up Afghan Hound temperament is generally friendly, depending on how you treat this independent-natured dog.
If you are raising it since puppyhood with love and dotting attention to its every need, then your Tazi can get extremely attached to you and will crave your company in your absence.
After your first adoption, you may find the Tazi pup shying away or chilling alone in the comfy corners.
Don’t let this happen for too long if you want your Hound to be sociable and a loving family dog.
Don’t rush and allow your Hound baby to get comfortable walking around the home, out on the lawn, and assess the neighborhood through a high fence because of their strong prey drive to chase anything that draws their attention.
You won’t find your Afghan Hound drooling or barking a lot and this particular breed can tolerate separation because of their aloof nature, but don’t make it a habit as prolonged separation and your rude behavior can fuel their stubbornness further.
How intelligent are Afghan Hounds?
These ancient sighthounds rank 79 out of 130 on obedience level as they were bred to lead the hunters in tracking prey through the rough terrain of Afghanistan.
However, this impressive ranking doesn’t apply to this hound when it’s about adapting to a new environment and learning new commands.
No, we are not discouraging you from adopting this breed but asking you to adopt an approachable and gentler way while dealing with this independent hound to uncover its layered brilliance.
And once you can convince your proud hound, there is no looking back and regretting your decision.
With consistent dog training tips and tricks since puppyhood, an Afghan Hound can show promising performance in learning new commands and obeying you.
However, if you lack the patience to deal with their free-spirited nature and go harsh on them, things can get complex, including your pet-owner equation.
So be very patient with your Afghan Hounds because they learn new commands or tricks after 100 repetitions, but this does not mean they are not intelligent, it’s simply because they are very independent and don’t care about what you like or dislike.
They will ignore you 70% of the time if you try to force your wishes on them.
If you are a first-time owner, we suggest consulting a seasoned canine coach who can guide you on how to deal with and train this intelligent headstrong hunter, or otherwise get ready to feel ignored around their overpowering persona.
How easy is it to train an Afghan Hound?
The stunning Afghan Hounds not only look royal but have a non-submissive temperament to test your patience and perseverance, especially if you are a first-time owner.
Even for experienced owners, training an Afghan Hound puppy can be quite challenging in the first few weeks because of its aloof and independent nature.
But if you want to raise your Tazi into a well-behaving and obedient family dog, you have to master the art of convincing with love as these free-spirited hounds don’t respond to harsh treatment and can blatantly ignore your presence.
So don’t delay the initial puppy training like teaching basic obedience commands at home, and bonding with other family members and pets to improve the equation.
These sighthounds have a tremendous prey drive, which can make things difficult if you have small pets at home except for large dog breeds with whom they can slowly adapt to stay under the same roof.
Besides basic training at home, take your Afghan Hound out on daily walks, and jogs and involve it in regular but vigorous exercise and brainstorming activities to enhance its adaptive intelligence, and transform it into a sociable dog.
What type of hunting is best for Afghan Hounds?
Afghan Hounds are at their best when you unleash them in the wild terrain to track and chase after hares, antelopes, and even wild boar, which they love doing since their origin in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan.
No matter how polished they look to emerge as the fashion model of dogdom, they are still the hunter at heart and have an immediate response to chase after anything that tickles their hunting instinct.
Their robust appearance and excellent galloping skills also define that they are born to hunt and not lie around like couch potatoes.
If you are a city dweller, you might not have many options for outdoor fun or going hunting with your Afghan Hound, which is detrimental to the health of this hunting breed.
But if you are raising this majestic breed in the vast open fields of the countryside, you are doing it all right by fulfilling their physical and mental needs.
Just like the ancient Afghan hunters, you can also take your Afghan Hound for hunting on the trails and for protecting your farm from rabbits and other pests.
Afghan Hound’s Lifespan
These ancient mountain Hounds from Afghanistan are tough and independent-natured dogs with an average life expectancy of 12 – 14 years.
Afghan Hounds are hard to train but for a healthy life, they need daily exercise to keep their hunting drive sharp.
Besides their sharp preying skills, Afghan Hounds are known for their striking coat of long lustrous hair which requires sumptuous pet grooming at home and occasional professional treatment.
They are basically high-maintenance Hounds and need regular checking of the nails, ears, and parts underneath the thick coat to avoid infections and ensure a healthy lifestyle.
Common Health Issues Associated With Afghan Hounds
The leggy Afghan Hounds are often diagnosed with hip dysplasia and joint problems during their growing years along with various musculoskeletal problems.
This is probably because of their long and strong legs that become weaker and suffer bone inflammation as they age.
Besides this, Afghan Hounds are also vulnerable to chronic dental disease, cardiac issues, seasonal infections, allergies because of their long hair, eye problems, bloating, and severe cases of thyroid clinically termed hypothyroidism.
All these symptoms if diagnosed early can help to add some healthy years to your pet’s life otherwise can cut it short by a few years.
Final Thoughts
Afghan Hounds are not just everybody’s dog.
They are regal, loyal, majestic, and the fashion model of the canine world.
All these bombastic phrases are enough to convince any dog lover like you to consider adopting or obtaining this Afghan sighthound.
These show dogs are everyone’s favorite so are ours.
But we are sure you are looking here compassionately to grace your home with the glorious presence of this majestic hound.
This is why we have put forth every detail or relevant information you are looking for to help you move forward with your royal parenting dream.
So, did you get your first Afghan Hound? How’s the experience? Do share with us in the comment box.
