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Country of Origin: Mali
Patronage Country: France
Utilization: Sight hunting. The nomads considered the dog equally as a “show
piece” and as a companion.
F.C.I. Classification: Group 10
Section 3: Short haired sighthounds
without working trial
Brief Historical Summary: It is an African sighthound of afro-asiatic type which appeared in Europe towards 1970 and comes from the Nigerian middle basin, among others from the valley of the Azawakh. For hundreds of years he has been the companion of the nomads of the South Sahara.
General Appearance: Particularly leggy and elegant, the Azawakh sighthound gives a general impression of great 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:
Length of body/height at withers = 9:10. This ratio may be slightly higher in
bitches.
Height of chest/height at withers = about 4:10.
Length of muzzle/length of head = 1:2.
Width of skull/length of head = 4:10.
Behavior 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.
Head: Long, fine, lean and chiseled, rather narrow, without excess.
Cranial Region: The 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 superciliary arches and the frontal furrow are slightly marked. On the other hand, the occipital crest is clearly protruding and the occipital protuberance marked.
Facial Region:
Nose: Nostrils well opened. The nose is either black or brown.
Muzzle: Long, straight, fine towards the front without exaggeration.
Jaws: Long and strong.
Cheeks: Flat.
Teeth: Scissor bite.
Eyes: Almond shaped, quite large. Their color is dark or amber. Eyelids are
pigmented.
Ears: Set quite high. 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.
Hipbones: 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 evenly curved down to the sternum.
Underline: The sternal arch is accentuated and joined without abruptness to
the belly which is 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.
Quarters:
Forequarters:
Seen as a whole: Long, fine, almost entirely vertical; set perfectly well-set.
Shoulders: Long, lean and muscular and only slight slanting seen in profile.
The scapulo-humeral angle is very open (about 130o).
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 130o).
Stifle: The femoro-tibial angle is very open (about 145o).
Hock: Hock joint and hock are straight and lean, without dewclaws.
Feet: Round shaped - pads are pigmented.
Gait - Movement: Always very supple (lissome) and with particularly high action at the trot and the walk. The gallop is leaping. The Azawakh gives a great impression of lightness, even elasticity. The movement is an essential point of the breed.
Skin: Fine, tight over the whole body.
Coat
Hair: Short, fine, down to none on the belly.
Color: Fawn with flecking limited to the extremities. All shades are
admitted from clear sand to dark red. The head may or may not have a black mask
and the list is very inconsistent. The coat includes 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 the shape of tracing on the foot. Black brindles
are allowed.
Size and Weight
Height at the withers: Dogs: between 64 and 74 cm. (25-29
inches)
Bitches: between 60 and 70 cm. (23 1/2 - 27 1/2 inches)
Weight: Dogs: about 20-27 kg. (44-55 lbs.)
Bitches: about 15-20 kg. (33-44 lbs.)
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 extremity of one or more limbs.
Light eyes; ie. bird of prey eyes.
Timid character, panicky or aggressive to the point of attack.
Non-breeding: Males must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
County of Origin: Mali
Patronage Country: France
Utilization: Sight hunting. The nomads considered the dog equally as a show
piece and as a companion.
F.C.I. Classification: Group 10
Section 3: Short-haired sighthounds without working trial
Brief Historical Summary: It is an African Sighthound of the Afro-Asiatic type which appeared in Europe towards 1970 and comes from the Nigerian middle basin, among others from the valley of the Azawakh. For hundreds of years, he has been the companion of the nomads of the South Sahara.
General Appearance: Particularly leggy and elegant, the Azawakh sighthound gives a general impression of great 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:
Length of body/height at withers = 9:10. This ratio may be slightly higher in
bitches.
Height of chest/height at withers = 4:10.
Length of muzzle/length of head = 1:2
Width of skull/length of head = 4:10
Behavior 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.
Head: Long, fine, lean and chiseled, rather narrow without excess.
Cranial Region: The 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 superciliary arches and the frontal furrow are slightly marked. On the other hand, the occipital crest is clearly protruding and the occipital protuberance marked.
Facial Region:
Nose: Nostrils well opened. The nose is either black or brown.
Muzzle: Long, straight, fine towards the front without exaggeration.
Jaws: Long and strong.
Cheeks: Flat
Teeth: Scissor bite
Eyes: Almond shaped, quite large. Their color is dark or amber. Eyelids
are pigmented.
Ears: Set quite high. 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 and with a slightly rounded tip. Their base rises 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 toward the hips.
Withers: Quite prominent.
Loin: Short, lean and often slightly arched.
Hipbones: Distinctly protruding and always placed at an equal or superior
height to the height at 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 evenly curved down to the sternum.
Underline: The sternal arch is accentuated and joined without abruptness
to the belly which is tucked up very high below the lumbar arch.
Tail: Set low, long, thin, lean and tapered. It is covered with the same
type of hair as that of the body. It is carried hanging with the tip slightly
raised, but when the dog is excited, it can be carried above the horizontal.
Quarters:
Forequarters:
Seen as a whole: Long, fine, almost entirely vertical, set perfectly well-set.
Shoulders: Long, lean and muscular and only slight slanting seen in profile.
The scapulo-humeral angle is very open (about 130o).
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 130o).
Stifle: The femoro-tibial angle is very open (about 145o).
Hock: Hock joint and hock are straight and lean, without dewclaws.
Feet: Rounded shaped - pads are pigmented.
Gait - Movement: Always very supple (lissome) and with particularly high action at the trot and the walk. The gallop is leaping. The Azawakh gives a great impression of lightness, even elasticity. The movement is an essential point of the breed.
Skin: Fine, tight over the whole body.
Coat:
Hair: Short, fine, down to none on the belly.
Color: Fawn, clear sand to dark fawn, brindle, white, black, grey, blue,
grizzle, parti-color, and all shades of brown to include chocolate. The head
may or may not have a black mask. There may be white markings on the legs, bib
and at the tip of tail.
Size and Weight:
Height at the withers:
Dogs: between 25 - 29 inches. (64 - 74 cm)
Bitches: between 23½ and 27½ inches. (60 -70 cm)
Weight:
Dogs: about 44 - 55 lb. (20 - 27 kg)
Bitches: about 33 - 44 lb. (15 - 20 kg)
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
Light eyes; i.e. bird of prey eyes.
Timid character, panicky or aggressive to the point of attack
Non-breeding: Males must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.