Azawakh
Group 4: Hounds
Height:
Male: 64 – 74 cm.
Female: 60 – 70 cm
Weight:
Male: 20 – 25 kg.
Female: 15 – 20 kg
Energy Level: High
Original Function: Sight hound
Lifespan: 10 – 12 yrs
Recommended for: Most people, families.
About This Breed
An African sighthound descending from the types pictured in the wall paintings of the Central Sahara which date back thousands of years. The ever- increasing aridity of the Sahara caused Tuareg, Dahoussahaq and Peul shepherd-hunters to migrate with their dogs to the more hospitable lands of the Sahel in areas suitable for farming and hunting along the dry valley of the Azawakh.
Belonging to the culture of peoples who domesticated and shaped it, it is known as Oska in the Tuareg language. European enthusiasts discovered the breed. Admiring its qualities, and with the help of the local breeders, selected the first lines for export to Europe in the 1960s.
General Characteristics
Appearance: Particularly slim and elegant, the Azawakh sighthound gives a general impression of great slenderness. Its bone structure and muscles show through thin and dry skin. It is a slender dog whose body fits into a rectangle with a vertical long side.
Temperament: Quick, attentive, distant, can be very reserved with strangers, but it can be gentle and affectionate with its family, and people whom it is willing to accept.
Colour: Fawn, with or without brindles, with white patching limited to the extremities. All shades are admitted, clear sand to dark fawn (mahogany). Brindles should be black as excluding any other shade. The muzzle can present a black mask.
Coat: Skin – Thin and tight-fitting.
Hair – Short, fine, and down on none on the belly.
Grooming: Bath and a brush now and then is all that is needed for this easy care coat.
Exercise: They are relatively inactive indoors and a small yard will do, but do need to have regular long brisk walks and off lead running.
Health: Incredibly sound coursing hound.