- Fawn, with or without brindles, with white patching limited to the extremities.
- All shades, clear sand to dark fawn (mahogany)
- Brindles should be black as excluding any other shade.
- The muzzle can present a black mask.
- White patching: The blaze is very inconstant.
- On the fore chest, white may be present as white patches, more or less extensively, confined to the base of the neck.
- Permissible: Yet, a narrow white stripe on the forepart of the neck, on the forechest and on the lower part of the chest
- The bib should not extend past the point of the shoulder or go up on each side of the neck.
- Permissible: A small white spot on the nape of the neck, of reduced size
- As a continuation of the fore chest, white spots can appear below the chest, but must not in any case go up the ribs.
- Each of the four limbs has a white stocking, at least as a trace on the feet.
- Permissible: On a subject having excellent morphology, the lack of white on one limb
- The white marks on the forequarters, often irregular, should not extend beyond the elbows, or encroach on the shoulders.
- The white marks on the hindquarters, often more regular and less invasive, should not go up to the thigh.
- Undesirable: White marks appearing on the inner side of the thigh, however, should not be considered a fault
About the Azawakh
Origin: Mali
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 20-25 kg
- Female
- 15-20 kg
- Height
- Male
- 63-74 cm
- Female
- 60-70 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Sighthounds
- Origin
- Mali
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Azawakh?
Elegant, tall sighthound from West Africa with a lean, muscular build, fine coat, and long legs built for speed and endurance in desert conditions of the Sahel region
Azawakh history and origins
Ancient sighthound breed developed by nomadic Tuareg peoples of the Sahel region for hunting gazelle and other game, protecting livestock, and serving as companions. Bred for speed and stamina in Saharan and Sahelian conditions
Azawakh appearance and size
Males typically weigh 20-25 kg and stand 63-74 cm at the shoulder; females 15-20 kg and 60-70 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Sighthound that hunts for game (gazelles, hares, ostriches) and fights off predators (hyenas, jackals, lions). This dog is an important companion for the family life of the nomads and shares their camp life
- Behaviour and temperament
“Quick, attentive, distant, can be very reserved with strangers, but it can be gentle and affectionate with its family, and people whom it is willing to accept”
Quoted from FCI standard n°307. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Azawakh
What you get with the Azawakh
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Sighthound that hunts for game (gazelles, hares, ostriches) and fights off predators (hyenas, jackals, lions)”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Quick, attentive, distant, can be very reserved with strangers, but it can be gentle and affectionate with its family,…”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, fine, and down to none on the belly”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Azawakh
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible and undesirable.
Coat
Short, fine, and down to none on the belly
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°307 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Azawakh down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Head heavy lacking elegance.
- Tail thick and hairy, very curled tail.
- Body too long.
- Level bite
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Azawakh in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Azawakh
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Azawakh on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Azawakh owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Azawakh breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.