Mary Allen
Shoulder height: 60 – 74 cm
Weight: 15 – 25 kg
Age: 10 – 12 years
Colour: light sandy to dark red with white markings (chest spot, blaze, tail tip, paws)
Use: sports dog, companion dog
Also known as the Tuareg Greyhound, the Azawakh is a sighthound that originated in Africa. It needs a lot of exercise and is considered demanding in education. Therefore, the passionate hound belongs only in the hands of experts.
Origin and history
The Azawakh is an African greyhound. Its homeland is the steppes and semi-deserts of the Sahara and the Sahel region, where it has been used for centuries as a guard and for hunting gazelles, antelopes and hares. In Europe, attention was only paid to Azawakh in the 1960s.
Appearance
The Azawakh is a highly high-legged, elegant-looking, smooth-coated sighthound. It is medium to large, its muscular body is slightly taller than it is long. The head is long and rather narrow. Its eyes are large and almond-shaped. It has a high set, triangular lop ears, and a low set long and thin tail. A striking feature is the long and straight legs of the Azawakh.
The Azawakh’s coat is short, thin, and smooth. It is almost hairless on his stomach. It comes in all shades of color from light sand to dark red before, and also black brindle. Typical are white markings on the chest, on the tip of the tail, on the paws (“boots”), and a white stripe from the forehead to the snout (blaze).
Nature
The Azawakh is an alert, lively, and attentive dog. Towards strangers, he is reserved to dismissive. However, it forms a strong bond with its humans. It needs close contact with family, lots of love, and cuddles. The Azawakh are easy and considerate with children when they treat them respectfully. It is considered highly sensitive, never forgetting injustice or undue harshness.
The Azawakh has retained much of its originality and is therefore not easy to train. Puppies need to be introduced to anything unfamiliar very early on. With a lot of patience and empathy, you can train to be an obedient family dog.
Like all greyhounds, the Azawakh needs a lot of exercise and regular exercise. It is well suited for the racetrack and coursing, where it can live out its natural urge to rush. Accordingly busy, it is pleasantly quiet at home. For easy-going people or those who have no experience with dogs, the Azawakh is not suitable.