Afghan Hound Did You Know?

• The Afghan Hound was discovered by the Western world in Afghanistan and surrounding regions during the 19th century. The current breed was developed in Afghanistan's mountainous countryside.
• The Afghan Hound first appeared in the United States in 1926.
• In 1940, the Afghan Hound Club of America was admitted to AKC membership and held its first specialty show.
• The long, fine coat of the Afghan is a sort found among animals native to high altitudes, and the contrasting short hair on the foreface, back and dorsal surface of the tail may also be related to climate.
• Two type extremes exist in the Afghan breed with numerous intermediate variations: the hounds of the southern and western regions, which tend to be relatively rangy in build, light in color, and sparse in coat; and the hounds of the northern mountain regions, which tend to be more compact, dark, and more heavily coated.
• During WWI, the breed literally disappeared in the Western world, and the start of the Afghan Hounds we have today dates back to 1920, when Major & Mrs. G. Bell Murray and Miss Jean C. Manson brought to Scotland a group of Afghans they had acquired or bred during an eight-year stay in Baluchistan (today's Pakistan).