AZAWAKH
Thoughts on standard and the difficulty of judging

di Alberto Rossi  ( Tigidit azawakh )

Anyone present at the judging of a possibly crowded ring of Azawakh, whether as a competitor or informed spectator, will probably agree with me that the reaction to the judges’ decisions is almost inevitably one of surprise, discontent, disorientation, even incredulity, among both the public and the competitors.

We all know that the criterion, the model to which judges and breeders should refer, is the breed standard. However, we also know that these standards are often vague and give no more than a fairly imprecise idea of the dog. They often fail to communicate that special extra something that genuinely defines the breed. - Perhaps I should use the term "type", but I prefer to avoid it in this context as judges and experts often use it to refer to a series of characteristics arbitrarily determined as essential to the definition of the breed, when all they do is indicate a specific breeding line. - The standard of the Azawakh was first established in the early 1980s, following a briefer and less restricting "project of standard for the Tuareg Sighthound". This was later modified to admit brindled coats and, most recently in 2000, a detail regarding temperament.

The standard was originally established on the basis of the first dogs imported into France and Yugoslavia in the 1960s and 1970s, and on their descendants. These dogs were indisputably beautiful and reflected the breeding ideals of Tuareg nobles before the arrival of famine, social disorder and civil war distracted their attention from their dogs. Before that, the most noble Tuareg castes had drawn on the fairly homogeneous population of dogs in the Sahel for their breeding programmes. This selection clearly did not involve the entire population. Some colours were more appreciated than others, some builds were considered more elegant and others less so. Nonetheless, the basic characteristics were present in all the dogs. This is still the case even though the extreme examples that fascinated first European importers are far harder to find now than they were some decades ago. The genetic heritage has nevertheless remained the same and no large-scale contamination has occurred.

Among the dogs that inspired the standard, themselves produced by selection, there were nonetheless some obvious differences, reflecting the various preferences of the Tuareg breeders. This explains the origin of the two breeding lines in Europe: the French line and the Yugoslavian line. The different characteristic generally attributed to these two types are still can recognizable, despite the fact that the French and Yugoslavian lines have repeatedly crossed over the years and are the basis of the heterogeneous nature of the breed observed in Europe: varying lengths of he with parallel or divergent cranio-facial axes, practically absent or clearly visible occipital crests, taut or slightly fuller lips, receding or more pronounced chins; in terms of the body, a lighter or more substantial build, a rounded or more abrupt sternal arch, and more or less accentuated angulations. There are numerous variables and judges and breeders are obliged to make choices that are legitimate and, in the case of judges, essential. However, in my opinion, these choices are dictated less by absolute criteria, as we are often led to believe, than by personal preferences. An Azawakh from the French line will undoubtedly be very different from one of the Yugoslavian line, but this does not mean that the two dogs may not have equal value. The choice between them can be nothing but subjective.
In order to judge a dog, one should concentrate on the specific characteristics of the race: in my opinion, these regard the following aspects: a correct ratio between height and length (although dogs may often appear to be longer than they really are), the height at the hip, a rounded arch rising sharply to the belly, leanness; as far as the head goes, a flat cranium, not necessarily over-narrow, with flat ears set high on the head.
It is important not to be too influenced by those characteristics that, differing among themselves, nonetheless derive their origin from the various models selected by the Tuareg and imported at the outset and that cannot be attributed to the flights of fancy of more recent European breeders.
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In this context, however, some dogs produced by European breeders in recent years appear to me to have their own characteristics, which are difficult to trace back to their African ancestors.
It might be worth paying some attention to these to ensure that they do not deviate too far from the correct models. Some heads, in my opinion, are too narrow, with over-rounded craniums and ears set too low as a result and sometimes drooping. I prefer tenser ears that even tend to fly back or stand away from the head to lifeless ears that never lie correctly even when adjusted by hand, something 1 have never seen in the Sahel or on important dogs.
Another important point is the general appearance of the dog. An Azawakh is lean, angular, high on its legs, sere. It is not the harmonious creature, with flowing lines and relaxed muscular tissue, that is sometimes seen in the ring. The height and visibility of the hipbones, so important to the overall appearance, are frequently given little consideration by judges and competitors, who often even fail to emphasise this aspect of the dog, distancing the hindquarters as though they were showing a greyhound or whippet.
In recent years, two other issues have emerged to created discord and complicate judgement: character and colour.
With regard to character, the aspect of the Azawakh that is perhaps most fascinating but also most problematical, there is no doubt that it is slowly becoming more gentle, encouraging the popularity of the breed. This made it possible for the French club responsible for setting the standard of the breed, "Club du Sloughi, des lévriers d'Afrique et du Galgo" (SLAG), to introduce a modification in 1999, according to which it was no longer envisaged that an animal respond with ferocity to strangers, although it would still not allow itself to be touched. In practice, only a dog that attacks or reacts in panic can be eliminated from a contest. This does not mean that the dog's nature has been destroyed, but merely reflects a small change in character.
In 2001, SLAG specifically requested that judges handle dogs as little as possible during shows, giver that the Azawakh prefer to avoid physical contact with strangers. The Club also underlined the fact that character should not play a determining role when judging, but should only be used to choose between two dogs with he same physical characteristics.
Unfortunately, these recommendations have not been taken on board by all judges, some of whom continue to want to handle dogs at whatever cost. This sometimes seen purely as a challenge: the dog must allow itself to be touched regardless of the judge's need to assess certain anatomical features. 1 have myself seen, during a show of Azawakh in Germany, a judge irritate and provoke animals until they eventually reacted and were disqualified as a result. This should never happen. Apart from anything else, these judges should realise that they are not evaluating the character of the animal at all, but the ability of its owner to control it, his or her capacity to calm the dog and unobtrusive techniques used to physically control the animal. They also run the risk of traumatising a dog that, rather than become more courageous, will be terrified at the next contest.
I also feel that it would be a sign of respect for the breed if judges, instead of approaching the dog head-on and staring at it in an obvious way, tried to maintain a certain distance while judging. Looking at it from the side rather than from above, in a possibly foreshortened way, would also make it easier to appreciate the dog for what it is. This would benefit not only the dog. who would be less upset, but also the precision of the judgement. In any case, there are very few details that need to be examined at close range or by actually handling the dog. Apart from examination of the teeth and testicles, I'm thinking of the quality of the coat and skin (which can be assessed in part at least by observation the veins and musculature) and, above all, of any irregularities or asymmetry in the thorax. These can be identified not only by an expert hand but also, to some extent, by an attentive eye examining the dog from the side and back. We would then need to decide how much  weight should be given to these anomalies, which are rarely found and even more rarely penalised.
Let’s now look at colour, which has recently given rise to a heated debate among judges, breeders and geneticists.

According to the standard, the coat is fawn, ranging from clear sand to dark brown, with white flecking at the extremities. It should be added that the list is very inconsistent and that a white bib and brush at the tip of the tail are always present. These were the colours of the first examples to arrive in Europe and were probably those preferred by most Tuareg breeder, although according to the thesis of Francois Roussel (1975), still regarded as a reference point by lovers of the breed, the Tuareg are also quoted as prizing not only white stockings, but also blazes and collars. Black masks and brindling, both admitted to the standard, also appear to have been appreciated.

This does not mean that in the original population to the Sahel the range of colours was not far wider itian that envisaged by the standard. Both Roussel's thesis and more recent observations made during expeditions organised by the Association Burkinabé Idi du Sahel (ABIS) confirm the existence of black, grey, blue, red, chocolate and cream, as well as black saddles and grizzled masks. The size of white areas can also vary a great deal, from animals that are almost wholly pigmented or with no more than tall white stockings to dogs that are parti-coloured or almost entirely white.

As far as colour is concerned, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) standard is very restrictive when compared to the phenotypes present among the African population. The recent American standard, otherwise identical to that of the FCI, allows all colours - although the Azawakh is still not recognised by the American Kennel Club (AKC) -.
Aware of this, some judges are very flexible, while others respect the standard to a greater or less extent, penalising dogs that do not conform, although not (as requested) disqualifying them.

The communiqué sent to judges in 2001 by SLAG tried to clarify the situation, by specifying exactly what was meant by the term “Irish speckling". Its aim was to give a genetic sense to a clearly phenotypic demand made by the standard and, in doing so, to slightly extend its limits. The definition given in the SLAG communiqué of Irish speckling (genetically si) was taken from a work by Bernadette and Guy Queinnec and was as follows: 'The body, almost entirely pigmented, has clearly defined white areas in the peripheral regions: a blaze on the nose and sometimes on the head; the collar; the chest; the sternal region; the belly; the tip of the tail; the extremities of the limbs (stockings); there is often a little white on the chin and in the part of the belly between the teats... Sometimes, this type of speckling is a majority breed characteristic of the Azawakh . SLAG added: "With regard to the Azawakh, white at the tips of the extremitics is essential and should extend to the elbow on the front legs, meeting the white of the chest. At least a trace of white is also essential on the chest and at the tip of the tail. The other characteristics of Irish speckling" (such as on the collar, author's note) "may or may not be present without this affecting the value of the animal. Pied white coats (with coloured areas distributed randomly over the coat and covering approximately the same area as the white background) and coats that are almost entirely white, with only a few localised coloured areas, are not acceptable.

However, this supposed genotypic-phenotypic correspondence is only partly true, as the phenotype envisaged for the Azawakh is the expression of a variety of possible genotypes. The S gene, which regulates the distribution of white, has four alleles, of which S (complete pigmentation) appears to dominate si (Irish speckling) and partially dominate sp (white patches) and sw (almost all white). Combinations of the three 's' alleles determine intermediate colouring between the two respective homozygotes. Irish speckling can thus be obtained not only with sisi but also with Ssp and Ssw, so that dogs with the right amount of white may produce offspring that have too much or too little white. We should also remember that modifying genes may act independently of the main genes, interacting with them to produce more or less pigmentation. For example, to consider just one of many possibilities, a correctly marked Azawakh might be the expression of an SS genotype (with a minus gene modification).

All four 's' alleles are undoubtedly present in the breed, and it would be a massive task to make the rigid colour selection needed to obtain a sufficiently stable genotype for both the S gene (sisi) and modifying genes to produce results that could never, in any case, be guaranteed. And at what cost? At the cost of eliminating from the breeding process dogs that are perfectly valid in every other way, impoverishing the already meagre gene pool. Not to speak of impeding the introduction of new blood from African dogs of the correct phenotype because their genotype is unknown.

I believe that the only reason for which we might want to seek out speckled dogs "according to the standard" is as a form of respect towards the aesthetic preferences of the Tuareg, even though these are no more than assumed (a description in the Tamashek language, for example, speaks of an entirely white variety of the dog). However, in my opinion it would be difficult to justify the preference on functional grounds (better mimeticisrn, advantageous for hunting) or on health grounds (deafness, skin problems linked to an excess of white), as some people have done. The jury is still out on this, though, and it will be some time before an agreement that satisfics everyone is likely to be reached.

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