| Looks!
The Pharaoh
Hound is a beautiful dog, sleek, elegant and regal. All
Pharaohs are a shade of chestnut, ranging from a sandy color to a
deeper reddish chestnut. White markings on the chest and toes
are allowed, and a white tail tip is preferred. White markings
on the body of the dog mean disqualification in the show ring!
The eyes are amber, and the nose and lips are flesh-colored.
Pharaoh
Hounds are generally 21 to 24 inches high at the shoulder.
Weight is around 40 pounds. They are in the sighthound class,
so they are lean, but very strong! Pharaohs have long graceful necks, and
chiseled features. They have enormous, very mobile, pricked
ears, and consequently, spectacular hearing.
Pharaohs
smile by wrinkling their lips up over their teeth when they are
particularly happy. They also blush. When they are
excited, their nose and the insides of their ears turn a deep mauve.
More on the
breed can be found on the Links page in the AKC standard. |
| Brains!
As best as I
can tell, Pharaoh Hounds aren't really dogs. They are little
gnomes who take off their dog suits at night while we're all asleep.
You can only
trick a Pharaoh into doing something once. After that, they're
on to you.
They have
clever feet, and can open just about any door that's shut before
them.
They insist
on being a part of the family, including going for rides in the car
whenever possible, and looking very concerned when dinner is on the
table. If you don't have time to spend with them, they will be
miserably unhappy and bored. And bored dogs are bad dogs.
Pharaohs
understand a lot of what is said to them, usually the second time
they hear it. They learn quickly, but standard training
methods don't work very well with them. They work best when
they want to do something for you because it makes you laugh and
give belly-rubs. Punishment never works with them, and ruins
their naturally sunny disposition. |
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| Personality!
Pharaoh
Hounds are terrific house pets. Naturally clean, with no doggy
odor, their presence is unobtrusive. The first time
Hunter went out in the rain, I thought for sure she'd smell at least
a little like a dog. But no! And that's only one of the
benefits of the breed.
Pharaohs are
affectionate to family members but they
are leery of strangers, and in a very un-sighthound-like manner, are
super watchdogs. They will bark their big bark for any
stranger who comes to the door. They can be great with
children if raised with them, and see them as life-long playmates.
A word of caution, however - Pharaohs who are not around children
much tend to view them as noisy little things to be avoided at all
costs.
Pharaohs are also
incredibly curious, and it's advisable to "Pharaoh-proof"
the house, or you'll find things missing. Lithe and athletic,
they must be crate-trained for their own protection when you aren't
at home. It's impossible to expect them to stay in one area of
the house... Houdini had nothing on these dogs for escape artistry!
Because they
are basically sighthounds (though they also use their nose and
hearing to hunt) it is highly inadvisable to ever leave them
off-leash, or out of a fenced-in yard. And the fence better be
at least 5 feet high... The chase instinct might kick in, and they
don't even hear you frantically calling them.
Pharaoh
hounds are more friends than dogs. And that's coming from
someone who has both!
One last word
- if you let a Pharaoh sleep once in your bed, you'd
better plan on having it there for life. |
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