STANDARD AZAWAKH (n. 307)
FCI CLASSIFICATION:
Group X. - Hounds, section 3 (short-haired Sighthound without working trial)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Mali, patronage country France
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY AND GENERAL APPEARANCE:
It is an African sighthound of afro-asian type which appeared in Europe towards 1970 and comes from the Nigerian middle basin, among others from valley of the Azawkh. For hundreds of years he has been the companion of the nomads of the South-Sahara.
Particularly leggy and elegant, the Azawakh sighthound gives a general impression of hreat fineness. His bone structure and musculature is transparent beneath fine and lean tissues (skin). This sighthound presents itself as a rangy dog whose body fits into a rectangle with its longer sides in vertical position.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:Height at the withers dogs: between 64 - 74 cm, bitches: between 60 - 70 cmWeight dogs: about 20 - 25 kg, bitches: 15 - 20 kg.Lenght of body / height at the withers 9 : 10. Slightly superior in the bitches.Width of skull / lenght of head 4 : 10.Height of chest / length of head 1 : 2.BEHAVOIR AND TEMPERAMENT:
Quick, attentive, distant, reserved with strangers and may even be savage, but he can be gentle and affectionate with those he is willing to accept.
UTILIZATION:
Sight hunting. The nomads considered the dog equally as a "show piece" and as a companion.
HEAD:
- DEFINITION - long, fine, lean and chiselled, rather narrow, without excess
- SKULL - skull is almost flat, rather elongated. The width of the skull must definitely be inferior to half the length of the head. The directions of the axes of the skull and the muzzle are often slightly divergent towards the front. The supeciliary arches and the frontal furrow are slightly marked. On the other hand, the occipital crest is clearly protruding and the occipital protuberance marked.
- STOP - very slightly marked.
- MUZZLE - long, straight, fine towards the front without exaggeration.
- NOSE - nostrils well opened. The nose is either black or brown.
- CHEEKS - flat.
- TEETH - scissor bite.
- EYES - almond shaped, quite large. Their color is dark or amber. Eyelids pigmented.
- EARS - set qiute hight. They are fine, always drooping and flat, quite wide at the base, close to the skull, never a "rose ear". Their shape is that of a triangle with a slightly rounded tip. Their base raises when the hound is attentive.
- NECK - good reach of neck which is long, fine and muscular, slightly arched. The skin is fine and does not form a dewlap.
BODY: - TOPLINE - nearly straight, horizontal or rising towards the hips.
- WITHERS - quite prominent.
- LOIN - short, lean and often slightly arched.
- HIPBONE - distinctly protruding and always placed at an equal or superior height to the height of the withers.
- CROUP - oblique without accentuated slant.
- FORECHEST - not very wide.
- CHEST - well developed in length, deep but without reaching elbow level. It is not very wide but must have enough space for the heart, so the sternal region of the chest must not abruptly become narrow.
- RIBS - long, visible, slightly and evently curved down to the sternum.
- UNDERLINE - the sternal arch is accentuated and joined without abruptness to the belly which tucked up very high below the lumbar arch.
TAIL:Set low, long, thin, lean and tapered. Is covered with the same type of hair as that of the body and has a white brush at its extremity. Is carried hanging with the tip slightly raised, but when the dog is excited, it can be carried above the horizontal.
FOREQUARTERS: - SEEN AS A WHOLE - long, fine, almost entirely vertical, set perfectly well-set.
- PLECE - dlouhé a šikmé, končetiny silné.
- SHOULDERS - long, lean and muscular and only slightly slanting seen in profile. The scapulo- humeral angle is very open (about 130 degrees).
- FEET - rounded shape, with fine and tightly closed toes, the pads are pigmented.
HINDQUARTERS: - SEEN AS A WHOLE - long and lean, legs perfectly vertical.
- THIGHS- long with prominent and lean muscles. The coxo-femoral angle is very open (about 130 degrees).
- STIFLE - the femoro-tibial angle is very open (about 145°).
- HOCK - hockjoint and hock are straight and lean, wihout dewclaws.
- FEET - round shaped - pads are pigmented.
GAIT MOVEMENT:Always very supple (lissom) and with particularly high action at the trot and the walk. The gallop is bouncy. The Atawakh gives a great impression of tightness, even elasticity. The movement is an essential point of the breed.
SKIN:
Fine, tight over the whole of the body.
HAIR:
Short, fine, down to none on the belly.
COLOR:Fawn with flecking limited to the extremities. All shades are admitted from light sable to dark fawn. The head may or may not have a black mask and the blate is very inconsistent. The coat has a white bib and a white brush at the tip of the tail. Each of the four limbs must have compulsorily a white "stocking", at least in shape of a trece on the feet. The black brindleing is admitted.
FAULTS:Any departure from the foregoing should be considered a fault and the seriousness of which shall be penalized in exact proportion to its degree. General appearance- heavy. Body too long. Wide back skull, prominent stop, hipbones placed distinctly lower than withers, significant flesh coloring, depigmentation.
ELIMINATING FAULTS:- lack of type (in particular translating as a recent crossing with another breed)- size deviating from more than three centimeters (a little more than an inch) from the norms of the standard- prominent non-accidental anatomical deformation- non acquired disabling anomaly.- all spotted crippling defects.- ribs curving in reverse at the bottom of the chest which gives the aspect of a "violin case".- overshot or undershot bite.- harsh or semi-long coat.- coat not identical to the standard.- absence of any white marking at the exteremity of one or more limbs.- light eyes, i.e. bird of prey eyes.- timid character, panickly or aggeressive to the point of attack.
NB:Males must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDARD SLOUGHI (n. 188)
FCI CLASSIFICATION:Group X. - Hounds, section 3 (short-haired Sighthound without working trial)
COUNTRY OD ORIGIN:MarokoBRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY AND GENERAL APPEARANCE:The sloughi has existed for many centuries in North Africa. Nowdays most Sloughis are to be found in Morocco which is responsible for the standard. The Sloughi exists only in a single short-haired variety. By demeanour, by delicacy of tissue and by muscular leanness, his general appearance is that of a very racy and elegant dog. The head of the Sloughi is very important, the coat is very well outlined, the croup is bony with the hip bones apparent. The body and legs form essentially a rectangle (nearly a square) in side view. It is a Sighthound which, in its countries of origin, hunts rabbits, gazelles, foxes, jackals, and wild pigs. It is a robust pursuit dog with class and grace. "A Sloughi must be beautiful, but has also to work- A Sloughi who is working must be beautiful" (El Baroudi, personal communication, 1997)IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:For a male with an ideal size of 70 cm, the length of the body from point of shoulders to point of buttock should be 67 - 68 cm. For a female with an ideal size of 65 cm, the length of the body from point of shoulders to point of buttock should be 62 - 63 cm. The ratio between length of body(from point of shoulder to point of buttock) and height at withers should be 0.96 (9.6:10). The ratio between length of foreface and total length of head should be 0.5 (1:2). UTILIZATION:Sight hunting.
HEAD: - DEFINITION - The Sloughi´s long, elegant head is a significant factor in distinguishing it from other sighthounds, with the Sloughi head being sturdier. The countries of origin and Europe are givin more and more importance to the head and to thefacial expresssion of the Sloughi.
- SKULL - rather broad, seen from aside flat, from one ear to the other the skull measures 12-14 cm. The skull id distinctly rounded at the back and curving harmoniously on the sides. The superciliary ridges are scarcely projecting harmoniously on the sides. The superciliary ridges are scarcely projecting, the frontal groove hardly marked and the occipital crest and protuberynce barely visible.
- STOP - hardly pronounced.
- FACIAL REGION - seen from the side, the head is longish, refined, delicate but rather strong. Seen from above, it has the shape of very long wedge, the skull being the widest part, tapering to the tip of the nose.
- NOSE - black, strong enough to avoid being pinched. Nostrils well opened. The nose leather not being held up by a skeletal structure is very slightly inclined.
- MUZZLE - it has the shape of an, without exaggeration, elongated wedge and is perceptibly as long as the skull. The bridge of the nose is straight from its root. The profile is straight, with the lines of the nose and the muzzle almost the same. That is, the line of the nose shall be straight, sometimes very slightly sloping towards the tip of the nose, but not convex.
- LIPS - thin and supple, just covering the lower jaw, the cotner of the mouth must be as little visible as possible. The lips should be black or dark and completely pigmented.
- JAWS AND TEETH - teeth normal, jaws strong and regular, scissor bite.
- EYES - large, dark, well-set in their sockets, sometimes just covered by a slight obliquity of the eyelids. The expression is gentle, a little sad, the look like nostalgic. With a light coat, the eye can be amber-coloured. The eye rims are pigmented. The eyes should always be as dark as possible. Light-colored eyes are a fault. However, amber-colored eyes are not. The color should not be in relation to the coat color. The expression is somewhat melancholic.
- EARS - the ears are not set excessively high. When related, they should be at the level of the eye or a little under the eye. Also when relaxed, the ears should hang close to the head. The ears are very light and mobile and attentive. Sloughis have the tendency to hold them higher and away from the cranium. Ears slightly pulled backwars are acceptable, but not desirable.
NECK: Long, well set off from the shoulders and with the topline (crest) slightly arched. The length is perceptibly equal to the length of the head. The skin is fine, tight, without any dewlap, the hair is very smooth. The neck is eminently dry, with no apperent musculature, springing well up from the shoulders and slightly arched in its upper profile. Its length is similar to that of the head. It length is similar to that of the head. It should be elegant and porwerful with a great neatness of the throat.
BO: - TOPLINE- gently and harmoniously curved with prominent haunch bones equal in height or slightly higher than the withers.
- WITHERS - well projecting.
- BACK - short, almost horizontal.
- LOIN - short, lean, wide and slightly arched.
- CROUP - bony, wide and oblique, but not falling strongly away.
- CHEST - not too wide, in depth it hardly reaches the level of the elbow. Well developed in length. The ribs are flat.
- UNDERLINE AND BELLY - sternum long and raised, belly and flanks well tucked up. The underline is evenly curved, neither abruptly cut up nor whippety.
TAIL:Thi, lean, set-on in line with the croup and carried below the line of the back. It should be, at least, long enough to reach the point of hocks. At rest, the tip is forming an accentuated curve. Low, dry, curved at its tip, but not too thin at its end. Can be held as high as the horizontal line of the back.
FOREQUARTERS: - GENERALLY - forelegs vertical and parallel.
- SHOULDER - long and oblique.
- UPPER ARM - strong.
- FOREARM - bony and muscular.
- PASTERN JOINT AND PASTERN - supple and strong.
HIMDQUARTERS: - GENERALLY- viewed from behind, hindlegs vertical and parallel, muscles flat, tendons well chiselled.
- UPPER THIGH - flat and muscular.
- SECOND THIGH - long and well muscled.
- HOCK - strong, well bent. The hock shall be well open. There should not be closed angles.
- REAR PASTERN - strong, without dewclaws.
- FEET - lean, in the shapeof a harefoot. The two middle toes are distinctly longer than the others. The nails are black or coloured.
GAIT MOVEMENT:walk, trot, gallop. Gait supple, smooth and with long strides, covering plenty of ground.
SKIN:Very fine, close fitting to the body, without folds or dewlap.
HAIR AND COLOUR:Very short, dense, fine. The colour reaches from light sand through all possible different shades to red sand (fawn), with or without black mask, with or without black mantle, with or without black brindling, with or without black overlay.
FAULTS:Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. Bad ratio between length of body and height at withers. Head and body slightly too heavy. Stop too much or insufficiently pronounced. Too light coloures eyes. Top line not horizontal. Croup narrow, too or insufficiently oblique. Belly not enough tucked up. Rounded ribs. Chest not long enough, seen from the side cut up or very arched.Tail too short, with too much hair, badly carried. Muscles round and protruding. Hair hard and coarse. Small white mark on the chest.
ELIMINATING FAULTS:Body clearly longer than high, haunch bones lower than withers. Depigmented areas on the mucous membranes. Over- or undershor mouth. Ears erect, or raised with tips drooping, too long, folding backwards (rose ear). Hair semi-long. Fringes on legs or tail. White stockings, larger white markings. Colour not in accordance with the atandard.
NB:Male animals should have two apperently normal testicled fully descended into the scrotum.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of June, 24. 6. , I was a companion of Markéta on the CACIB dogshow in Brno. We left Markéta´s home early, because she was so nervous and prefered to be on show with time allowance. Eventually there was a traffic on the highway so we came in time overlap. Sure there was a round-about!!! In fleet we could see cars which were loaded with dog cages, crates and very anxious breeders. (photo: Ahaggar is waiting for judge verdict - Lu)
On this exhibition Agalella and Ahaggar ag Dalvit (brother and sister) met after some time and all auditors were astonished by their similarity. Both looked as an identical twins:o). Do you think so?