GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 63-74cm (24”-29”).
Colour: Black, brindle, gold, cream, black/tan, etc with or without a shaded or dark mask.
Coat: Adult Afghans have long silky hair with short hair on their faces and backs. Puppies sometimes have fluffy whiskers on their faces.
Gait: Smooth, powerful and springy with head held high.
Elegance is the hallmark of this breed - a long well-chiselled head carried high on a long neck is an essential characteristic for members of this Sighthound family. In proportion to its size, the Afghan body is relatively light. The legs should be long with good fore and hindquarter angulation.
The distinctive tail ends in a ring and in action is raised. 
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Like most members of the Sighthound family, the Afghan is a gentle dog who on meeting with strangers for the first time, might be aloof. In their home environment, one sees this breed’s high intelligence and their ability to use their own initiative when given the chance. Their aloof characteristics are well depicted by the way they will ignore human instructions should they see no good reason for an order. Persuasion - not heavy handedness - is the measure of success when training Afghans. Regular grooming at least once a week, with a good pin brush is necessary - it is best done by lifting the hair up so each stroke commences from the root of the hair and then brushing downwards. Afghans do not shed hair like many breeds.
HISTORY
Irrespective of the legend that Afghan Hounds were the dogs Noah took into the Ark, it is a fact that the Sighthound family dates back to between 4000 BC to 3000 BC. Deriving their name from Afghanistan, it has been suggested that the longer coated Tibetan Terrier from adjacent Tibet played a part in making the Afghan the longest coated member of the Sighthound family. In their native environment, the nomadic Afghan people put their dogs to many uses from guarding and hunting, to making use of their hair for weaving.