Azawakh

Watchful with strangers, affectionate with its own people.
An Azawakh
Photo: Cristian.vantu
Adult male
20–25 kg
44–55 lb
Adult female
15–20 kg
33–44 lb
Lifespan
12–15 yrs
Class · Companion
also Field

What it's like

In temperament the breed is aloof and watchful with strangers but loyal and affectionate with its own household. It makes an alert guard and bonds closely with its own people.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Likes its own space
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Needs a calm, predictable home
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a short coat. It sheds through the year rather than in big seasonal moults. Plan on a brush once a week. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An Azawakh is a medium dog, heavier than a Border Collie and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up clearly heavier than females.

The Azawakh is built for speed in hot, open country. It is tall and very lean, and it stands taller than it is long, so its outline fits an upright rectangle. Its bones and muscles show clearly under thin skin. The coat is short and fine and almost bare on the belly. In Western breeding it is usually fawn, from light sand to dark fawn, sometimes brindled, often with white on the chest and feet. It moves with a light, springy gait.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Azawakh puppy is already as heavy as a grown Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
01020302m4m6m9m12m18m
01020302m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
4.4–5.4 kg 9.7–11.9 lb
3.6–4.8 kg 7.9–10.6 lb
3 months
6.4–8.0 kg 14.1–17.6 lb
5.1–6.8 kg 11.2–15.0 lb
4 months
9.3–11.6 kg 20.5–25.6 lb
7.3–9.7 kg 16.1–21.4 lb
5 months
12.0–14.9 kg 26.5–32.8 lb
9.2–12.3 kg 20.3–27.1 lb
6 months
14.3–17.8 kg 31.5–39.2 lb
10.8–14.4 kg 23.8–31.7 lb
7 months
16.0–20.0 kg 35.3–44.1 lb
12.0–16.0 kg 26.5–35.3 lb
8 months
17.3–21.6 kg 38.1–47.6 lb
12.8–17.1 kg 28.2–37.7 lb
9 months
18.1–22.7 kg 39.9–50.0 lb
13.4–17.9 kg 29.5–39.5 lb
10 months
18.7–23.4 kg 41.2–51.6 lb
13.8–18.5 kg 30.4–40.8 lb
11 months
19.1–23.9 kg 42.1–52.7 lb
14.1–18.9 kg 31.1–41.7 lb
12 months
19.4–24.2 kg 42.8–53.4 lb
14.4–19.1 kg 31.7–42.1 lb
15 months
19.9–24.8 kg 43.9–54.7 lb
14.8–19.7 kg 32.6–43.4 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Azawakhs live yet. The 12–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Azawakh is the sighthound of the Tuareg, Dahoussahaq and Peul herder-hunters, who moved with their dogs into the Sahel as the Sahara dried, settling along the Azawakh valley on the borders of Mali and Niger. It coursed gazelle and hare and fought off jackals and hyenas. From 1968 the first lines were exported to Europe, where enthusiasts selected the breed in consultation with their former owners4.

In Europe the Azawakh was at first shown and judged as a variety of the Sloughi. Breeders there soon set the two apart, and it was accepted as a breed in its own right, with Mali as its country of origin and France responsible for the standard. Some breeders in the West have tried to keep the dog close to its working type in the Sahel, where it is still kept as a camp guard and, less often today, as a hunter.

Breed standard

The Azawakh is judged against standard no. 307, in group 10, Sighthounds4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Azawakh figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Greyhound
Sighthounds · Large
Whippet
Sighthounds · Medium
Sloughi
Sighthounds · Medium
Afghan Hound
Sighthounds · Medium
Or compare the Azawakh with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·