afghan hound

The breed was always thought to date back at least to the pre-Christian era, and recent discoveries by researchers studying ancient DNA have revealed that the Afghan Hound is in fact one of the most ancient dog breeds, dating back for many thousands of years. Its original native name, Tazi, betrays its connection to the very similar Tasy breed of Russia. The proximity of southern Russia and Afghanistan argue for a common origin for both breeds. Initially, Afghan people refused to sell their national dog to outsiders; the breed was not seen in Europe and America until after the turn of the 20th century. The AKC and CKC did not recognize the Afghan Hound until the 1930s. In 1983, Chris Terrell was the last breeder-owner-handler to win Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, with his Afghan Hound Ch. Kabik's The Challenger, also the last time a dog from the Hound group has been awarded Best in Show. An Afghan Hound has taken the top honor at just one other WKC Dog Show, in 1957. On August 3, 2005, Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk announced that his team of researchers had become the first team to successfully clone a dog. The dog, an Afghan Hound, was named Snuppy. Later that year, a pattern of lies and fraud by Hwang Woo-Suk came to light, throwing in doubt all his claims. Snuppy, nonetheless, was a genuine clone, and thus the first cloned dog in history.

The Afghan Hound is a very old sighthound dog breed. Distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end, the breed acquired its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan, where it was originally used to hunt wolves, foxes, and gazelles. Its local name is Tazi (Persian: ????). Other alternate names for this breed are Balkh Hound, Baluchi Hound, Barutzy Hound and Kabul Hound.