If you are lucky enough to enjoy the company of an Afghan greyhound on occasion, you will observe one of the most beautiful canine specimens, brimming with confidence, proud, serene, indolent, clever and "easygoing", among all dog breeds.
I consider that the most important factor for the good education of an Afghan Hound is that he spends enough time with his mother. In this way he will learn to behave according to his rank among the canids and will have a very solid emotional balance. It is better to spend one week too many with your mother, than one week less.
If you continue reading this article on our site, you will learn the best way to train an Afghan Hound.
The refined image of the Afghan greyhound
The way of sitting or resting with the belly on the floor, reveals in the Afghan greyhounds their distinguished, haughty, hieratic demeanor, which resembles stony matter when it rests on the ground. Only the faint swaying of its graceful tail shows that this animal sphinx is not made of stone and that a powerful heart is housed inside its imposing chest.
The movements of Afghan greyhounds are electric, and they are capable of jumping without taking off, or even lying on the ground. When they play harass you, and this is also practiced in authentic hunts, they approach you in a dazzling way. They make turns in a dizzying zigzag that neither your eyes nor your mind can predict.
The whole world the Afghan greyhound is considered a gentleman and luxury dog; Nothing is further from reality. He is a fearsome, brave and ruthless hunter with his prey. Wolves, snow leopards and more generally the alpine goats of the imposing and rugged mountain ranges of the Afghanistan ranges. The flowing hair of the Afghan hound hides its fibrous body and makes its attackers miss in their claws, gorings or bites. Fortunately, it is not used as a hunting dog in the Western world.
The Intelligence of the Afghan Hound
In Dr. Stanley Coren's chart, which experts say measures the intelligence of dogs, the Afghan Hound is in the No. 79 in the ranking. In other words, the last place. In theory he is the dumbest dog of all. People who have enjoyed living with an Afghan Hound can assure you that they are not a fool, quite the opposite.
What happens is that the Afghan hound is very independent and its nature is closer to the mentality of a cat than to that of another more common breed of dog. The Afghan will obey your orders if he feels like it, and if he doesn't feel like it he won't. In any case, he does understand the meaning of the orders, another question is to obey them.
A sample of intelligence
Greyhound races are held all over the world, a heinous business. The Afghan hound is almost as fast as the English and Spanish greyhound, therefore there have been guys who have tried many times to organize Afghan hound races. However, They have never succeeded in achieving their purpose with the Afghans. Do you know the reason? I'll tell you:
After the start of the race and just halfway around the oval circuit in pursuit of the mechanical hare, the Afghan greyhounds stop; They cross the circuit perpendicularly, and when the mechanical hare reaches their height, they easily catch the stuffed animal. Do you think this attitude is one of lack of intelligence… or just the opposite?
Basic fundamentals to educate an Afghan greyhound
I already mentioned it at the beginning of this article: to get an Afghan greyhound to respond wonderfully it is essential to opt for the adoption of a grown puppyof two months or more in which you have lived with the mother. Forget about tiny and fragile puppies. Dogs need to be with their mother until approximately 2 or 3 months to begin their socialization process, in which she will learn to relate appropriately to other dogs and to understand her language. However, if you have adopted an adult dog, don't worry, with patience you can also educate him.
All Afghan Hounds are very pretty as puppies or as adults. I advise you that if you want to adopt one, look him straight in the eye. Wherever you see the most superlative flash of intelligence, I recommend its adoption over other qualities.
The Afghan loves to play, and through play he can learn everything he likes and disdain everything he considers superfluous. Examples: hardly an Afghan will collect the ball or the stick you throw at him, and he will also look at you with an expression that will tell you: you go get it; if you want it now you shouldn't have thrown it so far a moment ago.
I'm not saying that you can't attend to this simple order if you dedicate a monumental amount of time to it; but there will be days when he will obey you at first, and others when there will be no way. Exactly as a cat would They also sleep about as many hours as a cat. For this reason, it is convenient that they rest on a soft base, since it is better for their bones, since they do not have body fat.
They are excited to show off their exceptional athletic qualities. Running and jumping are their thing Riding it on a bike is possible, but dangerous; The Afghan hound is very competitive when it comes to running and may try to outrun you and drag you like a horse in a chariot.
The Afghan Hound, despite Dr. Stanley Coren's list, is capable of picking up basic dog commands without any problem. Sit down, lie down, run, come, and any useful, amusing or comfortable order is easily picked up by the Afghan hound. However, things like: give me your paw, are absurd for the Afghan mentality; but despite that he can obey her
Afghan greyhounds should always be walked on a leash if it is in the city or in places with traffic, as they are very curious, they have a extraordinary sight, and if they detect something that attracts them they shoot towards it. When you walk through the city, you should stay away from the pigeons, since the Afghans walk ste althily, and when they are parallel to each other, almost surpassing them, they make a vertiginous movement to catch them between their teeth, which often happens if you are absent-minded and do not notice. you retain Then there's the shtick of him letting the poor bird loose while people watch.
When you walk through closed or very large areas (beaches, soccer fields), you can drop them and they will shoot out like a rocket. When the walk time is over and you call them over, they won't come because they want to run loose longer. If you try to chase them they will get further and further away from you, it is useless to try it even with treats.
But there is a trick that never fails: Say his name, look at him for a moment, and press to run in the opposite direction. You will see that in 5 or 6 seconds they are at your side and they look at you proudly, as if to say: "See, I have already caught you". It's time to reach for his neck or back and attach the leash to the harness or collar.
Obedience in the Afghan Hound
The secret to obtain the obedience of the Afghan hound is the same one used by an old Indian chief, when he was asked how he did it so that he would always be obeyed. The old big boss replied: "Very easy, I just I send them what they like to do". Therefore, the Afghan hound will always obey promptly when you order something that it likes. Bathing, getting into the car, combing it, running, jumping… This does not mean that it is a lapdog, quite the opposite. He is an innately formidable guard, as he is not usually friendly with strangers, despite being properly socialized.
The Afghan hound doesn't bark, it growls. But his growl is so cavernous and threatening and promising of bad things that it makes your legs shiver and your hair stand on end. This custom is given because the genetics of the Afghan greyhound has more of a wolfish contribution than that of a German shepherd, for example. This "wild" quality also causes it to sometimes howl as well.
The Afghan Hound is a very affectionate dog and will sometimes come up to you, put his head in your lap when you're sitting, staying still. It is a sign that you want to be caressed. He loves to sit on his buttocks in front of you and have you smack him on the chest while you tell him how handsome he is. When you're sad or worried, she notices. Then he comes to your side to lick you on the mouth (as wolves do) and give you comforting or encouraging cuddles.
An important factor for the education of the Afghan greyhound is that its caretaker is its guide. Given his lupoid genetics, hierarchy is important to him. You must love and care for it, but it is not convenient to pamper it. You must exercise a serene and authoritarian control over him, since if he lives with other people he probably won't pay much attention to them, except if he is interested, convenient, or amused.
The Afghan hound, children and other kinds of pets
I recognize that the Afghan greyhound is not an ideal dog to live with small children, because despite their fake delicate appearance they are very rude in their dealings. For example, if something bothers them, they hit it hard with their nose. They raise a lip with their mouths closed, showing the canine and they hit in a dry and forceful way what bothers them. It doesn't leave a mark, but it hurts a lot. Remember those ancient (and thankfully extinct) masters who hit you in the palm of your hand with a flat ruler.
Children under the age of 12 or 13 should never walk an Afghan Hound, because they pull so hard that they could drag the terrified kid. Coexistence with other pets if well socialized is not problematic.
The Afghan Hound and Adolescents
The Afghan hound is an ideal dog to live with teenagers boys or girls. A teenager is a kind of being with strange and absurd reactions, subject to unpredictable mood swings. But the presence of an Afghan in their lives appeases them.
The Afghan hound is a dog as beautiful as it is rough, which goes perfectly with adolescent beings, with whom he feels like a companion and has no hierarchy problems
An Afghan hound loves to walk around and be admired, but he doesn't like to be touched. It is true that he is not friendly with strangers, but he immediately accepts the people that his caretaker points out to him. With which, walking a majestic Afghan hound is a claim for the sophisticated teenager, or the cocky beardless kid when both try, and manage, to impress the rest of their friends and acquaintances.
