# Azawakh LGD



## MonsterMalak (Jul 14, 2011)

This is just food for thought!

In the southern Sahara, the nomadic peoples have bred and raised a multi function LGD for over 10,000 years.  The dogs of today mirror the rock carvings of eons ago.  In the northern Sahara, the dogs are similar, but different with a Misname of Arabian Greyhound.

The Azwakh is a sighthound at 50 pounds and 30 inches tall.  I have some friends in france that breed them.  They will chase down and kill Heyenas, and chase off lions.  They protect the herd, and travel with the nomadic peoples.  

They also hunt for the people by chasing down gazelle.  Often running for hours straight in 116 degree heat.  A feat that would kill most other canine.

Here is a link;   http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG...681193/**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azawakh

I feel it might be an interesting to try these dogs in some of the hotter terrains of the SW.  Or breed them into a Turkish breed to take in some of those attributes.

Just Food for thought, and to show that the LGD is not a template of a specific type of dog.  As tha Azwakh is as different from the typical LGD as can be.  They even have a genetic mutation found only in the European Wolf, and Jackal.  Talk about different.

I wonder how they would be received by some of the sceptical people of our country.


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## carolinagirl (Jul 14, 2011)

Interesting looking dog.  It reminds me a lot of a Saluki.


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## MonsterMalak (Jul 14, 2011)

They say that even a well fed Azawakh looks starved.

Dry muscling!  But I think they are elegant looking.  And must be brave to hunt and kill heyena.

Wish there was more in the USA.


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## elevan (Jul 14, 2011)

A very interesting breed.

The breeds that come from such harsh environments are so fascinating due to the evolutionary development to survive those conditions.  Definitely something that is worth considering...why put a dog into a harsh, hot, dry environment that it wasn't made for just because you want an LGD...one of these dogs would be ideal for a place like the American SW, I would think.

There are so many breeds out there in the world that we in the US know little to nothing about.   Thanks for sharing


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## MonsterMalak (Jul 14, 2011)

I didnt realize it until I was reading over some of the Literature, but the Azwakh is related to the Basinji, and other Pariah or Semi wild dogs from Africa and Asia.  More like the Jackal, foxes, wolves.  They even share the genetics with these wild types of canines.

It has been theorized that the original Huge War Dogs of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires were the result of Domesticated dogs breeding with a Very Large Wolf specie that lived in the Mountains of Asia Minor.  The Wolf is now extinct.  
From these War dogs, came all the large breeds known today, and the ones just being discovered.  All the Turkish LGDs, Mastiff, Danes, and all the molossus breeds.







This is an Azwakh in the native Sub Sahara, with typical condition.


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## crazyland (Jul 14, 2011)

They do look starved. But wow! What an interesting breed.


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