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The standard states that all colors are allowed. However, that in itself is subject to determination. White coat patterns are not accepted, unless restricted to throat/chest areas and toes. Blazes and white markings on the body are unacceptable. It should read that all solid colors are accepted since black and tan is considered a solid color in many breeds as that it is a coat pattern which always presents itself in an identical pattern. The color Domino (grizzle in Saluki) is a change in the black and tan pattern, but it is acceptable.

Masks

The term "mask" in a dog normally denotes a different color that starts at the muzzle and can extend to cover the entire head. Normally black, the mask can also be blue, although this is not as common in the Afghan Hound.

The Afghan Hound carries a masking gene. This means the mask is or is not present. The mask is also dominant, so two masked parents will have a masked litter. However, note, the black dog may or may not have a mask. Because the mask would also be black, it would be unknown until the birth of a litter to an unmasked mate produced masked puppies.

The lack of a black mask, also called "self masked" is acceptable. However, the term "self masked" is in itself incorrect. It implies that the dog has a mask the color of its coat, when in fact the dog is without the gene to produce the mask at all. Mask less would be a more correct term, or even solid.

Black

This is a powerful color. A black dog is solid black with black pigmentation and black eyes. They may have white on their chest or toe tips. The black coloration of the black dog may also cover up a black mask and brindling. Viewing each parent can give a better idea as to the potential colors hidden by the black coat.

Black dogs may also have a reddish cast to their coat. This cast can come from excessive time in the sun. However, some dogs will grow out a coat with the red 'burnt' look to it naturally.

Also, some may 'blue' or 'gray' out. These dogs often carry a recessive dilution gene, or an incomplete dilution gene that causes a small quantity of hair to pale to gray. These dogs are still black dogs, and the 'bluing' of their coat is not a fault.

Blue

Blue dogs are diluted black dogs. They carry the dilution gene, which turns the black hairs grey. The evenness of this color can vary throughout the body, often resulting in darker legs and saddle, with shorter side coat. The blue dog can be so dark as to appear black, until beside a true black. They can also be so light as to have a silver sheen to their blue coloration. Pigmentation is to be dark, as well as eyes, although sometimes the pigmentation is also dark slate blue in coloration.

Cream

This is a true cream. Born of one or two cream parents, or from black parents, or any mixture, this dog carries two recessive crème genes. The saddle and ears will often be a darker, rich cream. The pigmentation is still black, with dark eyes. Pink pigmentation sometimes happens, but is not desirable. Creams produce creams. If paired with another color that lacks the recessive cream gene, there will be no cream puppies in the litter.

Cream

Interestingly enough, sometimes a puppy receives a double dose of dilution. This tends to happen to a puppy born dark cream, with blue tipping to its hairs. As the puppy ages the blue recedes, normally ending as only a few darker hairs on the ear tips. Unlike the recessive true cream, this puppy is actually a black dog diluted blue and then diluted cream from a second dose of dilution! Therefore this dog has the potential to create blue puppies, while a true recessive cream can not. They may also carry any number of color patterns as recessives, where a true cream only carries cream. Many of these dogs are registered as cream, even thou they are genetically blue. Daemion, our model for this photo was born with a blue overlay.

Red

This is the classic afghan color. Often paired with a black mask, the red dog is the symbol of the afghan hound. This color is also most desirable in Afghanistan, the home of these dogs. Red can range from rich mahogany all the way to pale red tinted cream. Once these dogs could be registered as apricot and a number of other descriptive terms. But now it is simply red, the powerful, striking color of the afghan hound.

White

There is actually not white in afghans. There are extremely pale creams, but they are not the true stark bone white and tend to have warm cream ear tips.

There is no elusive, rare white afghan hound. You may have a super diluted dog that appears white to the eye, but they are not rare or uncommon. Pink pigmentation would be a possible problem in a dog this pale. Pink pigmentation is extremely undesirable.

Brindle

Brindle is darker stripes on a lighter base color. At times the stripes can be so wide that the base color appears to be the stripes. But this is simply an optical illusion. In long coated breeds a brindle can become mottled and gray, blue, black, or dirty in appearance. Look at the face and the back, where the hair is short on the Afghan hound.

The three basic background colors for solid brindle are:


Red Brindle
Blue Brindle
Cream Brindle

Black and Tan

One of the most elegant patterns in dogdom. The black and tan is a black dog with tan facial markings, tan spots above each eye, tan inner legs, feet, some outer leg, and tan under the base of the tail. The coloration may run up the back of the tail. Black and tan dogs may or may not have a mask, so some may have more tan to their faces then others.

Black and Tan Brindle



This color pattern is interesting. This is the black and tan pattern, but the tan points are brindled. These dogs may come to appear as solid black when adults if the brindling fo their tan points are very heavy.

Domino

Considered in some ways to be the most exotic of patterns, the domino is in fact truly stunning. Named after a well known champion, the color pattern is some genetic mutation of black and tan. This is a striking two tone color, marked by a pale cream/white face defined by a widow's peak of the darker color that runs into the topknot. The color then follows the black and tan pattern around the body and legs, normally leaving a pale underbelly as well. Domino, when bred with other colors tends to fade out, leaving a dog with a different colored face and saddle, and sometimes a widows peak. But a truly rich, strongly colored domino is not super common. This, however, does not mean they are rare.

Black Domino
Blue Domino
Red Domino
Cream Domino

Sable

Although one of the most powerful color patterns in dogs, sable is also a very hard color to see on extremely short coated and extremely long coated breeds. The sable pattern can be seen on puppies. Typically it is a black stripe down the pups back and a black ring around the center of the tail. This stripe will expand and grow out, tipping the dogs entire coat black. However, on an extremely short coated dog, few of the guard hairs grow long enough to tip, giving the dog a dirty look. And on an extremely long coated dog, the black tips blend in and vanish.

Sable is a strong color that can come out and cover many other colors. However, on long and short coated breeds the untipped part of the coat can range from silver fawn to the deepest mahogany red.