Azawakh - African Sighthound

The physical and physiological constitution of the Azawakh, and sighthounds in general, is different as compared to the non-sighthound breeds. This is due to the fact that during centuries, sighthounds have been bred or shaped by natural selection to achieve maximum speed and stamina. I will mention a couple of facts which could be of interest for Azawakh (and maybe any sighthound) owners.

The Azawakh belongs among the most ancient dog breeds ever known. According to genetic studies, the Azawakh is a breed of an ancient origin, which evolved from crossings of primitive African dogs and jackals. In the chromosomes of the Azawakh, a rare allele (Gpi^B) was found, which exists only in the fox, jackal, Euro-Asian wolf and some rare Japanese dog breeds and other Oriental hounds, but also in Shar-Pei, Chow-Chow and even Pekingese. Such a fact leads us to a conclusion that the Azawakh breed had evolved long before the other breeds appeared in the region.

In the cheeks of the Azawakh, there are visible lymphatic nodes. This is a specialty of the breed (and maybe also of other Oriental hounds); in other breeds, such a physiologically totally normal node is usually invisible. However, under an extremely thin skin of the Azawakh, such a node may be clearly seen. It becomes more obvious during the dentition period without being such a node a sign of any illness. The pictures show an adult male and a five-month old puppy – in both cases, the lymphatic nodes may be clearly observed.

The lack of knowledge of this Azawakh “specialty“ may have negative consequences: by way of example, a case of a five-month old puppy may be given, which underwent a surgical intervention with the objective to extract these lymphatic nodes, which were considered malignant tumours by the veterinary doctor. In another case, the vet was about to extract several teeth of an adult female, because he considered such „strange swellings“ to be signs of serious dental problems. In that case, fortunately, the vet was informed in time of the real nature of these lymphatic nodes, and the surgical intervention was prevented. So if except these ones there are no palpable and visible lymphatic nodes in the body of the Azawakh, there is nothing to worry about.

The organism of an adult Azawakh produces the lactase enzyme, which is why this breed may digest milk throughout its whole life. During the first weeks of life, the small intestine of puppies of all the dog breeds produces the lactase enzyme which is involved in the hydrolysis of lactose (contained in the milk of the bitch) to galactose and glucose. Such a capacity disappears shortly after weaning; however, such a capability persists in the case of the Azawakh throughout its whole life. This is a result of the living conditions in which the Azawakh has lived during the centuries in its region of origin, where goat and camel milk and dairy products are important part of the Azawakh´s diet. For such a reason, milk and dairy products may be added in the Azawakh´s diet in reasonable quantity during all the dog’s life. Goat milk or fermented dairy products, such as yoghurt or cottage cheese, are easier to digest and more appropriate than cow milk, which is rather fat.

Thyroid Gland – thyroid hormone concentrations were found to be different in Greyhounds and Whippets as compared to non-sighthound breeds. MVDr. L. Panáková performed a study in Sloughis, the results of which were published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine in August 2008.

In the study, 51 Sloughis with no evidence of any disease and a mean age of 4 years (range 1–12 years) were included. The results of the study furnished evidence of the fact that values of Sloughis were lower as compared to the common reference values. For such a reason, when evaluating Sloughis for hypothyroidism, veterinarians should be aware that these dogs have different thyroid hormone concentrations than non-sighthound breeds.

As the Sloughi and Azawakh are closely related breeds, such tendencies may be expected also in the Azawakh (and maybe other Oriental Sighthounds).

The Azawakh and sighthounds in general have a lower percentage of body fat, which leads to several consequences. These dog athletes are slim. An average “non-sighthound“ dog breed has approximately 35% of body fat on average. The average Greyhound has 17% of body fat; no values of body fat for the Azawakh are mentioned in the literature, however, due to the body constitution of this breed, even a slightly lower value may be anticipated. Less fat means less insulation against cold. Shorthaired sighthounds in general and especially the Azawakh are more prone to hypothermia, as their coat does not provide any protection against cold. This tendency is aggravated in the larger sighthound by their high area to body mass ratio, which causes them to cool off more rapidly. * Such a fact should be taken into consideration e.g. when applying general anaesthesia – the dog should be kept warm (heated blanket may be used; the dog should be covered with a blanket). If an Azawakh is to be shipped by air, it is better to avoid the administration of common tranquillisers due to a possible hypothermia. If necessary, it is more appropriate to administer homeopathic preparations to the dog, which should calm it down, but which would not make the dog sleep, as during sleep hypothermia may occur.

A low percentage of body fat also influences in the time which the dog needs for „waking up“ from the anaesthesia. Of course, the type of anaesthetic plays an important role, as well as the way of administration and the age and health condition of the dog. In simple words, such agents rapidly leave the bloodstream to enter the brain, where they are active. However they also rapidly leave the bloodstream to accumulate in fat tissue where they are not active. As the concentration in the blood falls, these agents leave the brain and return to the bloodstream, eventually ending up in body fat. When the concentration level in the brain falls below a certain level, the patient wakes up. Over several hours, the concentration levels continue falling but more slowly, as the ultra short agent seeps out of the fat and is metabolised by the liver. These types of injectables affect sighthounds in a different way to other breeds. The sighthound having less body fat means blood & brain concentrations remain higher for longer so that the sighthound stays unconscious longer. The liver in the sighthound metabolises this type of anaesthetic agent more slowly, so as the anaesthetic agent seeps out of the fat, the blood concentration can remain high enough to keep the hound groggy and uncoordinated for hours (even days)… *

For such a reason, a dosage applied to sighthounds should be lower in general as compared to other non-sighthound breeds, and it should be counted on the fact that the return to full consciousness could be rather prolonged.

Compared to other breeds, the sighthounds have larger hearts in proportion to their body weight. This is genetic, nothing to do with exercise or conditioning. Sighthounds pump more blood with each single heart beat, pump it more forcefully, and have a greater elasticity within their arteries to accommodate this. They also have more red blood cells per millilitre of blood as compared to non-sighthound breeds, which means that these dog athletes are able to deliver more oxygen faster to their muscles.*

The Azawakh and sighthounds in general have different values of blood count as compared to the common reference values. An owner of an Azawakh does not realise such facts in the everyday life, however, sometimes even during a regular veterinary screening, the veterinary doctor may interpret common physiological characteristics of an Azawakh in a wrong manner, if s/he does not take into consideration the differences typical of sighthounds. I will make an attempt at a comparison of the common „non-sighthound“ reference values to the values which are mentioned in literature for Greyhounds, and laboratory values obtained of several Azawaks.

Red blood cells, haemoglobin, hematocrit: The red blood cell count of an average Greyhound is higher by 1/3 as compared to the “non-sighthound“ breeds. Values given in the literature for red blood cells, haemoglobin and hematocrit tend to be higher. This means that values which are from normal to high in “non-sighthound“ breeds, may be considered a symptom of anaemia in sighthounds.**

I have collected some blood-count results of several Azawakhs, which I compare to the common reference values and values given in literature for Greyhounds: 

 I hope that my totally amateur comparison of at least some values may serve as a certain guide and become a topic for thoughts about the values of the Azawakh. In order to make such a comparison, I have taken data of studies performed in Greyhounds in the USA, Great Britain and Australia, common laboratory reference values, and blood count results of several adult Azawakhs. Unfortunately, I have been able to collect results of just a small number of dogs, which means such a comparison tells only a little. I hope to obtain more laboratory results in the future to be able to extend the table and fill in more data.

Literature and sources:

* Sylvia Evans, Dr. John Dillinger DVM. Indiana, USA, Anaesthesia in Sighthounds

** Patricia Gail Burnham, The Meaning of a Complete Blood Count (CBC)

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Volume 22, Issue 5, September–October 2008, Pages: 1144–1148, L. Panakova, H. Koch, S. Kolb and R.S. Mueller

Data from laboratory examinations performed in different laboratories

Information obtained from MVDr. Gabriele Meissen