Azawakh - African Sighthound

An interview with MVDr. Gabriele Meissen, a well-known German Azawakh breeder, published within a series of articles on the Azawakh in Norway in 2014. Dr. Meissen had the courage to speak out thoughts about matters which are a concern for many breed lovers today.

May I express my gratitude to Dr. Meissen for granting me her kind consent to publish her words, and to Miss Ines Blix (El Adini kennel, Norway) for mediating a permit for me to publish the article on my web.

© Jana Vrbacká

In September 2013, I was approached by the editors of the Slovak dog magazine Kynologická revue who asked me to write a short article about the Azawakh for the October 2013 issue. Now, I publish a complete original version also on my web.

Great news for all the English speakers who are interested in the history of the Azawakh and who choose not to ignore the breed´s African reality: Mrs. Susan Bamford has translated into English the first - and unfortunatelly the only one - rather detailed scientific work of a French veterinary doctor Francois Roussel from 1975. In his thesis, Roussel mapped the situation of the breed in its regions of origin in the first half of the seventies. Unfortunatelly, his work, which is a valuable testimony of the African reality of the Azawakh, has never been taken into consideration by those responsible for the creation of the FCI Azawakh standard. The thesis is published on the web of a well-known Azawakh breeder, Mrs. Corine Lundqvist, Azawakhs De Garde Epeé.

May I express my gratitude to MVDr. Maria Stanovoi for her kind permission to translate and publish her article on my web. I am also very grateful to Mr. Neil Trilokekar for proofreading and editing the text before publishing.

An interesting article of Mrs. M. Christine Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR, describing the function of the dew claw on front legs. In many countries, such “fifth fingers“ are cut off shortly after the birth of puppies of different athlete breeds, the alledged reason being the prevention of possible injuries. However, in some European countries, where laws on animal welfare and prohibition of torture ban any kind of surgical intervention in animals due to aesthetic reasons, dogs without dew claws could be banned from shows and sports events and other public exhibitions, just as it is already done in the case of dogs with docked tails and cropped ears.

© M. Christine Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR

What is the future and the function of primitive breeds in Western civilisation? Should we try to modify their traits so that these fit our ambitions and lifestyle? Do we have the right to change something which has proved throughout centuries to be perfect for its original purpose? Or it is us who should change our approach and show deeper empathy, preserving these unique breeds as a part of the history of mankind?

Acknowledgement:

May I express my gratitude to Marya Morales, the President of the Azawakh Club of America, and Dr. Werner Röder, ABIS, for their kind permissions to publish their articles on my web.

Acknowledgement: May I express my gratitude to the author Dr. Dominique de Caprona for the kind permission to publish this article on my web. I also wish to thank to Mrs. Corine Lundqvist, Azawakh de Garde Epee, France, for putting me in contact with Dr. de Caprona.

An easily comprehensible article on some basic approaches towards breeding. Nowadays, a couple of persons have been making attempts at introducing standard limitations for breeding of the Azawakh, doing so against the will of the absolute majority of the Azawakh breeders and owners, reducing thus genetic diversity, and with it health and life expectancy of the breed. This article explains in an understandable manner why such an approach cannot bring anything positive for the future of any breed.

The story of the beginning of the breeding of the Azawakh in the Czech Republic on the background of the European history of the breed.

© Jana Vrbacká